Re: Creators

What a great idea. Let’s take a bunch of characters from different stories and then mash them up in the same world and have them fight each other. Only, that has been done before many times in the past like the Marvel and DC comics and the Super Smash Bros series video game. In Re: Creators, a normal modern world of ours is suddenly invaded by fictional characters. A normal high school boy gets caught up in it as they try to find the reason of their existence as well as a nefarious fate awaiting both the real and fictitious worlds if they don’t do something about it. Can we just write another story then? Only, if writing a story was that easy.

Episode 1
Souta Mizushino is an ordinary high school student. He goes home to work on his own manga but I guess he got lazy and decides to take a break and watch the anime, Elemental Symphony of Vogelchevalier on his iPad. Suddenly something happens. Everyone’s nightmare: BSOD!!! Strange things happen as he gets sucked into this anime’s world. He is now caught in a fight between Selesia Upitria and Gunpuku No Himegimi. He notices what is happening before his eyes is also repeating in his iPad. Selesia saves Souta from Gunpuku’s attack, causing them to return to Souta’s room. Selesia is of course stunned in this alien world as she threatens Souta for an answer. She is further shocked when he explains she came from an anime that is adapted from this manga. Gunpuku visits them. It seems she is not from Selesia’s world neither is she from this reality. She wants her to come with her but Selesia refuses. It begins a wild night chase as Selesia hijacks a car while trying to outrun Gunpuku. Funny, she can drive a car which is a much simpler mechanism than her mecha? When Selesia and Gunpuku finally clash swords, the latter tells of this world which is the land of gods and where dubious creators throng. Selesia gets assistance from Meteora Osterreich from Avalken of Reminisce (RPG game). Gunpuku retreats for now. Selesia thinks Meteora is also in the same circumstances with her. They need to talk about what is happening. Where? In Souta’s room of course. This means Souta has to stretch his allowance and buy snacks for them. Meteora is such a big eater…

Episode 2
Meteora describes a bit of herself and the world she comes from. They then discuss about this world. If they are created by creators of this world, they need to go find them and exert their influence over them so they could return to their world. There’s also that complicated reasoning how they as characters in their respective stories get materializes here, but I’m going to skip all that confusing theory bits. They also talk about Gunpuku who seems to be trying to make the story worlds collide with the land of the gods. They are unsure of what world she comes. Because if Souta can’t identify her from which anime, manga or game, is she some original creation? First they try to contact the creator of Selesia’s story, Takashi Matsubara. This ossan gets a strange email to meet Selesia. He doesn’t jump the chance to meet this perfect cosplayer of his character. You’re looking at the real deal, buddy. Their meeting is interrupted by this magical girl, Mamika Kirameki from the anime Magical Slayer Mamika. She also got word from Gunpuku about this world that has power to help people of their worlds. She will not forgive that kind of creator but since Selesia isn’t on the same viewpoint with her, Mamika gets upset and transforms. Then they start fighting. Only, the damage done is real! There’s going to be a lot of damaged buildings the way Mamika is shooting magical beams at her. Mamika realizes too late the damage she caused since Selesia is injured. Because nobody gets injured in her world! Selesia lectures her about their different worlds. Selesia gets back up, panicking Mamika. Before she could unleash her next magical blast, it is stopped by Yuuya Mirokuji, the main antagonist of Heisaku Underground.

Episode 3
Mamika is taken away by a knight and her horse both in shining armour, Alicetaria February of Alicetaria of the Scarlet. The rest talk to Mirokuji to learn how much he knows. He seems to know a lot as he too was being told and brought here by Gunpuku. But unlike the rest, he is not interested in finding his own creator because he believes he isn’t some god and just an ordinary person. Of course if he does see his creator, he would like to ask some questions but that isn’t his priority. Staying true to his character, he goes off by himself to start fights to entertain himself. Matsubara brings them to his home and calls Marine, the illustrator for Vogelchevalier. Meteora wants to test how much is needed for the creators to affect the created. Matsubara tries to write up a new spell for Selesia but nothing happens. Maybe it needs more info and context. So Marine has to sketch a visual of it. Selesia is shocked to hear spoilers of her own story. Since she came out from the anime, the story has not caught up to the manga. Once Marine is done, Selesia tries to activate it. Nothing happens. Failed. Matsubara and Selesia end up arguing so Meteora notes that if Selesia is able to dispute with her creator, it means Matsubara has created a highly detailed world of Selesia. Even if this experiment failed, Meteora at least knows there is another factor that affects them. In addition to lack of information or seriousness, discovery can be considered progress. Souta thinks as Mirokuji said, he appeared because he made a lasting impression on others. So could it be the revised story or setting needs to be accepted or identified by the mass before any change could occur? Marine suggests she could pull some strings for them to tour the publishing company, Titan Digitalsoft. They published Avalken and she was doing character designs for them before. Marine offers Selesia and Meteora to stay at her place. Yeah, Souta’s room is too small. Gunpuku talks to herself about meeting Souta again and never thought he would be involved. She notes he is a part of the world that banished Setsuna and will always be her ally.

Episode 4
When Marine brings Meteora to the company, they are shocked to learn her creator had recently died in a motor accident. She takes time but returns in no time to explain to the rest of what she thinks is happening. This world has forces trying to make sense of things. Because they are characters popping out from stories that defy the laws of this world, there is only so much it can take. That elasticity will soon give way and the world will be destroyed. Meteora took time off to play Avalken. She cleared it in a night. It is a fun game and she noticed her creator has put in a lot of effort to create such a beautiful world. The game is also about saving the world from destruction. Despite how her creator created her, it doesn’t change it is a fun game and others enjoyed it. Hence she wants to prevent the world from colliding and return everything to where it was. They then discuss about Gunpuku’s goals of bringing them here. Could she be the kind of character who loves to watch the world burn? They have to act fast as the more characters appear, the more the cracks there will be and accelerate the destruction of the world. It is hard for them to track all other characters but they know they are all somehow connected to Gunpuku. It is believed she too has her own creator somewhere in this world. Meanwhile Alicetaria is displeased at Gunpuku that she has did as she was told to force her creator to revise everything but she is still here instead of back in her world where she needs to stop some sort of war. She blames him for creating such a hellish world for entertainment. Gunpuku assures she did not lie to her. This world is sturdier than it seems. Procedures are needed. Cracks will definitely come and wants her to continue disturbing this world’s common sense. Gunpuku relates her own creators who abandoned her and didn’t want to take responsibilities. Her roles it to provide a path and lead the way for people who don’t know this world exists and have no choice but to fight. We see an odd moment with Mamika sharing her meal with Alicetaria as thanks for saving her. Matsubara gets a call from a fellow friend, Masaaki Nakanogane. Since he is nervous, Matsubara can tell he too has a character popped up in this world. However it isn’t just the main character from his latest Monomagia work but his mecha too! While the machine is hiding at the field, Rui Kanoya its rider is eating lunch right now in his place.

Episode 5
Nakanogane experienced what Souta went through when the anime character came through the screen. Only this time a giant mecha came out from the TV! As they sit around to discuss things, suddenly the military surround them. Kanoya is ready to get into his mecha action but Meteora pleads that they will cooperate and go with them. They are taken to a special council headed by Aki Kikuchihara. First she apologizes for the violent manner they handled this situation but there’s a reason for it. When strange radio interferences were detected, they started noticing strange characters with strange powers popping up. There is a CCTV footage of Mirokuji fighting a guy with a gun (Blitz Talker) at the park and the damage is extensive. After confirming Mirokuji’s creator, Kikuchihara has her men find and arrange to take him into custody. Why? There is this author named Gai Takarada who went to the police to seek protection as he felt his life is under threat. However Alicetaria barged into the place and kidnapped him. He is Alicetaria’s creator. His whereabouts are unknown. So that’s why when a large mecha popped up, they are forced to take extreme measures in fear of this. Also there are footages of Meteora stealing tax payer funded military equipment when she first popped up in this world to fight Gunpuku. Whoops. As nobody knows about Gunpuku, Meteora tells them about their theory of world destruction. Her suggestions are to reduce damage and the impact of this world and to find her creator. In order for the ‘fictional’ characters to move about freely, they will be granted necessary documents. The creators and their creations will all be under special protection. That includes Souta. As everyone return home, Souta kept thinking about Gunpuku. There is something familiar about her that he can’t put his finger on. Then he remembers a memo from someone he knew. Setsuna Shimazaki. She posted it would be her last new story before her goodbye. As he searches around the internet, he finally shockingly stumbles upon something related to Gunpuku.

Episode 6
Selesia drops in to report they haven’t made any progress in finding Gunpuku’s creator. Souta can’t find the courage to tell her what he’s found. Alicetaria and Mamika are tasked to find a new ally believed to have appeared in the area. They talk what kind of person that new character would be. Speaking of which, Magane Chikujouin takes a book without paying and claims it belongs to her. The shopkeeper stops her of course but after a series of lies, it allows her to summon a monster that kills him. Kikuchihara and Meteora are investigating this bloody site. Based on the description of eyewitnesses, they conclude she is a creation and of the villain type. Magane bumps into Alicetaria and Mamika on her way back. Although Mamika tries to get her on their side, Alicetaria can sense she is not a good person Mamika hoped to be. They descend into an argument about killing others. Because Magane points out that despite all the justice Alicetaria spouts, she is no different and could be worse. Whether one kills for fun or justice, killing is still killing. Alicetaria has had enough of her insults and charges at her despite Mamika’s objection. Luckily Selesia and Meteora come between them. Meteora argues fighting among themselves is what Gunpuku wants. She also corrects Alicetaria’s flawed logic that this world is the gods and miracles do happen (at least compared to her hellish world). With the conversation breaking down, Alicetaria attacks. Time for another epic power battle decimating the land. While Selesia has her hands full with Alicetaria, Blitz joins in and shoots down Meteora. Unconscious, he could have finished her had not Mamika intervened. She continues to block all his shots and feels the need to stop this madness. Otherwise she will be too ashamed to face her friends when she returns to her world.

Episode 7
Mamika is going to attack Alicetaria if she continues to resort to violence. More complications as Mirokuji drops in to continue his fight with Blitz. Mamika also tries to stop this but gets her ass handed by Mirokuji. By the time Kanoya drops down in his mecha, Alicetaria takes Mamika to escape. Mirokuji hangs out with Selesia and co as he believes doing so will allow him to face Blitz again. Selesia has done some research on Magane. Created by Tenkyu Kurakuma and from the novel, Yasoukiroku, her power stems from words via deception and lies. They fear a person like her walking around killing others. Mirokuji makes an interesting hypothesis that the characters who came here have changed like as though they’re finding a new purpose. Speaking of Magane, she is at her author’s home and has killed him. On Souta’s side, he has discovered Blitz’s creator and other info pertaining to him. So far no other characters have appeared but they are worried about Gunpuku as they still know nothing about her. Still not saying anything, Souta? They theorize maybe she is not from manga but anime or game but still none of the Googled descriptions closely match her. Soon news spread that Kurakuma is dead. Next morning, Nakanogane has stumbled upon something important and calls everyone to meet. Except Souta. Because he stumbled upon Mamika and she wants to talk to him. Something about believing and doing stupid things (because in her world, believing is enough to give you magic). She is greatly hinting if he knows anything about Gunpuku, please say. Nakanogane has found a site where doujin and amateurs post their works. Some go on to make it big. There is one that fits Gunpuku perfectly. Her name is Altair. Mamika believes she isn’t gathering them to change the world and is planning something very bad. Souta reveals that she is one who hates this world a lot.

Episode 8
More revelations about Altair that she is based off another character of another game. However their looks and personality all differ. Because Altair had better defined stories and traits, it diverged into another separate entity despite originating from the same base. However trying to find Altair’s creator yielded no results. Kikuchihara has brought other creators to help them, Shunma Suruga (Blitz’s creator) and Ryo Yatoji (Mirokuji’s creator). Yatoji doesn’t believe all this crap so nothing a bit of Mirokuji’s display of real power to shake things up. Meteora meets up with Souta to explain what they have discovered so far. She can tell Souta is troubled. The more Souta tries to hide it, to more obvious his burden is. So he tries to explain it in a third person perspective about jealousy and envy. Meteora says those feelings shouldn’t be denied and should work on them. Pretend they do not exist and they will slowly build up into filth. That made him feel better. Another weird moment between Mamika and Alicetaria that could be turning into mild yuri. They have differing opinions about the gods of their world. While Alicetaria isn’t grateful for her hellish world, Mamika is because she is able to meet so many different people. They hope to believe in each other no matter what. Later Magane pulls aside Souta and mocks his ‘date’ with Mamika and then Meteora over what she eavesdropped. Then she hints about the very thing that he wants to hide. A certain someone who probably doesn’t exist anymore. This is enough to cause extreme asphyxiation for Souta. That bad, huh? Magane doesn’t intend to spread it but in exchange he has to ‘date’ her. Mamika confronts Altair about lying to them. She feels her intention to destroy this world via revenge is wrong. Despite all that, she still considers her as her friend wants to save her. Altair admits she hates everything in this world. The characters, the stories. Because this world rejected her ally. All she wanted was a place to belong but they humiliated her. That is why she will destroy everything. Mamika believes everything can change like herself when she came here. Altair still will not forgive them. Mamika will show her that she can accept her sadness. She will save her soul and Setsuna’s. The mere mention of her name sends Altair into raging madness. She summons her swords to stab Mamika. But Mamika isn’t going to stand there and get killed. Magical explosion!

Episode 9
Mamika seems to have survived that blast. But not for long. Man, she’s bleeding like hell! Of all places she had to collapse, it’s where Magane is nearby. She’s eking out Altair’s plan to destroy the world when Alicetaria drops in and is about to clobber Magane. Luckily Mamika has enough strength to pinpoint Magane isn’t the culprit and leaves it up to liar girl to tell the rest. So what happens to characters like her when they die? They just disappear. For real? Mamika is dead?! Forcing Mamika’s dying wish out from Mamika, technically she isn’t lying but ambiguously rearranging her words. So she made it sound like Meteora was the one who killed Mamika and Alicetaria believes her and goes off to find her. Now Magane calls out Souta to meet. After all that teasing and harassing about the person he ‘killed’ to make him feel even more guilty, she gets to the real deal. She wants him to tell Selesia that Meteora is working for the enemy to deceive them. Souta won’t believe a liar so Magane shows proof of a bloodied Mamika’s cloth. Don’t believe Meteora killed her? Ask Alicetaria who is out for her blood. He is in shock over Mamika’s death but still refuses to believe her. So Magane hints a few more stuffs and Souta finally realizes it is Altair who killed her. This sends him into despair, which is what Magane wants. Then she makes it sound like he is responsible and the source for Mamika’s death in which he really believes so. Before she could cloud his mind further, Mirokuji shows up to fight her. Meteora picks him up but he goes hysterical revealing he was responsible for Setsuna’s death. And now Mamika is dead too because of him. Meteora offers some words to help him get back on his feet. Mirokuji’s attack falls under Magane’s spell. She is able to negate it and that rewritten law forever sticks until she dies. His attack is now useless against her. Magane offers to team up to stop Altair but they’re not buying. Realizing they don’t want to deal with her anymore, Magane warns Meteora that somebody else has a bone to pick with her. Speak of the devil, here comes furious Alicetaria. She’s been looking all over for you.

Episode 10
With Mirokuji covering for Meteora. Magane offers to help Alicetaria in which she declines. But they agree Magane takes care off Mirokuji while Alicetaria settles her score with Meteora. Magane tries to rile up Mirokuji by talking about his female spirit, Hangaku. Since he calls it a curse, she proposes to give it to her if she finds a way to free him. As Meteora gets owned, Souta calls for backup and feels useless he can’t do anything. He sums up his courage to stop Alicetaria who in turn believes he is the kind of people who views her world as entertainment. He denies all that as watching her people getting killed pains him. That is why seeing her fight brings hope to others and they look up to her virtue. Alicetaria views herself differently. Still considering herself a failure for failing to save Mamika. When Meteora wants to settle this via talking, Alicetaria isn’t open to any conversation and attacks. Meteora pushes Souta away and bears the heavy brunt of her lance. Selesia drops in. Kikuchihara and the other special forces too. But I doubt they can do anything despite surrounding the place. Mad Selesia fights Alicetaria but her sword suddenly turns into petals and she gets stabbed. This is Altair’s doing to further her plan. She wants Alicetaria to behead her but since she is in shock (you mean she wasn’t expecting to kill her?), she has Blitz do finish the job but has to settle things with Mirokuji first. Kanoya who is on standby in the sky can’t stand this anymore and drops in to fight, only for Altair to unleash a clone mecha to keep him company. With Meteora telling the humans to save themselves, Matsubara blows his top for saying such cheap lines. He will never allow his character to die like this. So he whips out his laptop and uploads a new story and Marine’s new illustrations of her. In no time it accumulates followers, likes and is trending! It’s really viral. Selesia then transforms into a powerful version that you would think twice in taking her on. With Altair’s powers weakening, she feels the stars aren’t aligned yet and tells her comrades to withdraw. Once over, Selesia reverts to her injured circumstances and needs immediate medical attention. Magane is now in possession of Hangaku.

Episode 11
Selesia and Meteora are hospitalized but recovering well. Mirokuji is sore in both aspects since he lost to Magane. Matsubara has a little private moment with Selesia. Even if her story he wrote is entertainment to others, it isn’t for him because it is proof he lived. Meanwhile Souta continues to sulk about not saying it all sooner so Kanoya takes him on a flight on his mecha. A bit of positivism to help cheer Souta up. Kanoya was once like him. Even if the fate in characters in stories have been decided, in a way it makes things easier. People aren’t forced to do things they don’t want to do. However heroes like them might be able to save the world but they do not have the freedom to save anything else. In this world, people can write stories for themselves. In a way, it is somewhat symbiotic relationship because if people who save the world exist, it is be there are worlds that must be saved and who else are there to create it? A call from Kikuchihara comes in. Meteora has woke up and is calling everyone to meet. It is about Altair’s creator who is essential to the development of their strategy. This is when Souta reveals that Setsuna is his friend and is already dead. He knew it all along but did nothing. He blames himself for killing her. Flashback time. Souta was a loner who didn’t have many friends. He used to post his drawings online and Setsuna is the only one who likes his ‘amazing’ art. She also posts her own art so they started communicating and complimenting each other’s works. Then one day there is an event in town and they decide to meet up. For the first time they see each other and their friendship took flight. As Setsuna kept posting new drawings, soon she became even more famous and collaborated with a famous producer to make a music video. But soon a scandal hit and she was accused of plagiarism. The internet being the internet, many quickly accuse her without proof. Souta cannot stand all the toxic comments and insults. He wanted to do something but feared it would make things worse. So he didn’t do nothing. In spite of all this, deep down inside his heart, he felt a sense of relief. In some ways he enjoyed watching Setsuna getting put down like that because it made him feel less lonely of being left behind.

Episode 12
Souta continues that Setsuna left a last message on his handphone that she is confused and not sure what to do anymore as she is unsure if drawing is good or bad. Souta replied (in a rude way) he doesn’t know but Setsuna never replied after that. After that he stopped contacting her until he got a final message in his email about her ‘goodbye’ and the final story she left. One morning he was awakened by a call from her. Actually it is Setsuna’s mom. Setsuna killed herself by jumping onto the tracks. It only dawned to him what happened. He erased any records of her. He didn’t want to remember. He ran away. Believing what he did to Setsuna was horrible, Altair was probably created out of her despair to make her wish come true. Souta regrets what he did but is willing to take responsibility and stop Altair at all cost. Takarada is still confined in his cell when Alicetaria releases him. She asks him several questions like if he loves the world he creates and the hero role that he created for her. He gives his honest answer he can’t do anything about it. This is something only she can solve. As for why he created her world so, I suppose it is worth it he wrote it that way. Otherwise how else would he have written it? Meteora and co discuss a plan to defeat Altair. They notice her various powers so Nakanogane shows a few videos of Altair. The varied videos show her displaying different powers. Thing is, they are all created by other people after Setsuna’s death. This means as long Altair has a steady stream of stories, her powers are continuously updated. But Meteora knows she cannot use her powers freely or she’ll be thrown out of this world. They will need to use this weakness to defeat her. Long story short, what I understand is that they are going to create a story that mashes all their characters together to fight Altair. A huge death match if I should say. If this crossover story is accepted by fans, it will be a cage that could confine her. Of course there is this problem of copyrights, etc. So they’ll need to make a big event in which they can make a killing with the viewers’ approval. But time if of essence and depending on factors like new characters showing up, their time limit will change. Meteora gives 6 months for the creators to create a stronger plot and story progression in the form of spinoffs. This is the cage that will linked their unrelated stories together and when the final battle begins, everything from there on will be adlib. Blitz reports to Altair about Alicetaria releasing Takarada. But it seems Altair has gotten a new ally who shares the same goal as her. She notes that with the impeding destruction, only 2 or 3 more characters will appear. That is when they will begin their attack.

Episode 13
Damn recap episode. Or highlights. Or records. Whatever they want to call it. But it’s not just cut and paste because there are a few new scenes like Meteora’s first battle with Altair that ended with the former achieving victory but decided to redo it and lose or else the series would be over and like it got cancelled. Say what?! Oh yeah, Meteora narrates the entire recap and sometimes make deadpan sarcastic jokes. I guess this recap isn’t so boring. But a big portion of this recap is the more detailed background and story the other characters in the play. Finally she breaks the fourth wall telling us that this recap is planned from the start otherwise the staffs making this series would go crazy due to the large number of frames and characters. So be grateful they’re responding to our high expectations!

Episode 14
Kikuchihara has gathered many authors as she explains this huge government sponsored project. There will be a schedule of events featuring characters from participating stories and the first off the list is a 90 minute special anime called Border World Coliseum. Later a special promotion video will decide its outcome. Creators will create spinoffs of their stories before the TV broadcasts. Many are sceptical because they think they cannot finish it on time. Kikuchihara will hear no excuses from them. There are questions of making Altair weak or Meteora and co strong. For the former, she exists independently without an author so they cannot tweak her stats. For the latter, suddenly increasing a power of a character might not go down well with fans and hence not accepted. Everyone also has to be careful of the stories they write so its setting of the characters do not oppose world views. She officially sounds the start of this project called Elimination Chamber Festival. The announcement is made to the public and everyone is hyped up. The first spinoff story will go to Elemental Symphony of Vogelchevalier followed by an anime by Monomagia. As the authors crack their brains together, some tensions naturally arise. Especially Yatoji who don’t share the same views as Matsubara and Nakanogane. Then there is Marine getting a bit down as she compares her own drawing to Suruga. When all heads cool down, eventually they find some good in each other’s ideas and start working on that. Souta seeks Matsubara’s permission that he too wants to participate in this. He is refused at first but after hearing out his crazy idea, there is no harm in trying. Meanwhile Meteora and the rest are trying to find the source of some magnetic field fluctuation. Don’t look now because there is a new character before them and she looks lost.

Episode 15
Folks, Meet Hikayu Hoshikawa. She is from Hoshizora Milky Way, a dating sim game. With adult contents… She is crying because everyone knows everything about her. Oh, she’s crying even louder when Nakanogane mentions her ‘fighting ability’ is to flash her panties and seduce men… Poor girl… A report came in that Takarada is now in their custody. Meanwhile, Blitz meets the acquaintance of Sho Hakua. He is also from Heisaku Underground and was once Mirokuji’s ally. He now views Mirokuji as a traitor and needs to settle things. Magane is hiding out is some luxurious apartment when Alicetaria approaches her for help. As she will only participate in things that are fun, Alicetaria knows a girl who has the same abilities as Magane but without constraints. You know what to do to make it more interesting, right? Magane doesn’t like to do bidding of others but since Alicetaria is so much interesting today, she’ll abide by that. Takarada joins the creators for this Festival. He believes Alicetaria is planning to start a revolt but as a chivalrous character, can she stab Altair from the back? Given the circumstances now, she can. The writer for Hoshizora Milky Way, Nisho Oonishi who is also Nakanogane’s old friend drops by to see Hikayu. He is like one of those typical perverted otakus who wants to marry his idol/creation. And with the other babes here, he wants to marry this heavenly harem too! After Kikuchihara puts her foot down, they carry on discussing on how to increase Hikayu’s powers. But as a normal high school girl, can she have abnormal powers? Oonishi says she can. It’s easy. Fan disk. Altair knows Blitz already knows what she is planning so why is he still following her? He views her as weak but in a way strong. She couldn’t save anyone and doesn’t want to like as though she created something to be destroyed. This only makes him want to protect her more. She tells him this is why he shouldn’t participate in the final battle. Her powers are infinite and growing every day. Now she has this clairvoyance power and knows what the enemy is doing. But she is still going to let them go through with their plan so they can see how foolish their strategy is. However if the enemy succeeds, they will lose the chance to interfere in this world. This isn’t in Blitz’s storyline and he should do it for himself and not for the plot. As he has answered to her call, she knows about his secret wish and is obliged to answer to his. Blitz wonders if he can see her again after all this. If everything goes according to plan, they won’t.

Episode 16
Wait a minute. Selesia bought a car and she can drive? Oh, she has a valid driver’s licence. Everyone attends a hotspring party as a send-off party for the Festival. Kikuchihara accidentally gets drunk and she is much scarier than before. Basically none of the men can go against her in this mode. And the rest of the party is Meteora giving her thank you speech for participating in this as well as some sort of a reminder-cum-summary of why they’re doing this and its effects if they fail. Yeah, there’s even a team hand stack. Is this the finals of some game? The Festival final is here and the stadium is full to the brim. While a concert is performed to entertain the fans, Meteora and the rest make their preparations. Soldiers and police forces are stationed at certain points around the area as Meteora prepares to lay the bait. This includes summoning Selesia’s mecha. Mirokuji has powered a lot and everyone is feeling pretty good about doing this. As Altair prepares to move, she is not surprised or anything and expects Meteora’s plans to play out as it is.

Episode 17
Altair and Alicetaria are spotted. Everyone watches in excitement as both sides clash. Souta too but looks like Magane pays him a visit. Selesia takes on Altair while Alicetaria messes around with Kanoya. Giant robot trying to swap a fly? Alicetaria hints for him to wait for the right time. Mirokuji and Sho reunite for the first time in this world and duke it out. When the timer reaches zero, Meteora chants and completes the cage. But is shocked when Altair reveals she knows what she is doing. There are also military tanks and jets firing at Altair and although she destroys them, they are just unmanned replicas created by her. Selesia then uses her new power to open gates and trap Altair in other many worlds. It didn’t work. Because where there is a gate, there is an exit. If she is able to pinpoint that in infinite spaces, why has she not escaped this cage yet? She does not have the power. Yet. Meteora can easily kill her or even get her to surrender but that would need acceptance and it would not be fun to cut short this battle. So let’s continue fighting. Meanwhile Blitz confronts Suruga. He threatens to kill her but she isn’t panicking because if he shoots her, she will take all the answers to her grave. So he asks about why she killed his daughter in the manga. Simple. To make the story interesting. Blitz shoots and wounds her. Suruga is unrepentant and stands her ground she will do anything to make her stories more interesting to her readers even if it means killing people and turning the world upside down. Even though Altair is similar to her in the sense she wants to destroy the world, he views her creator is someone worth standing up for unlike Suruga who is already famous. Suruga disagrees because nobody starts out famous and the many nights she spent slogging and crying over her work. She is here today because she faced all that. Blitz tells his plans to kill her and then all her friends. Then he will cause a big trouble and help his friends fighting elsewhere. She calls that a boring plot and would have written it for him to kill Altair instead. The military arrives late to surround Blitz. Making a surprise entrance is Blitz’s daughter, Erina. Suruga has the last laugh and reminds him he is her god.

Episode 18
Blitz cannot believe Erina is still alive because he killed her before his eyes. Sure he did. Suruga explains because of the crossover, Erina was taken to Meteora’s world whereby her magic resurrected her. The fans accepted it and that’s why she is now here. Father and daughter emotionally reunite. Magane is trying to rile Souta about the things they are doing. Whatever they are doing is a lie and even though it is real, it is all made up. Of course there is no need for approval from the audience. They can lie from the start as long as they make it look real. This makes Souta mad about looking down on others and how something superficial would move the hearts of others. However this allows Magane to release some spell that puts Souta’s side in favour. Souta is shocked that she is helping them. She reminds him that she is doing things that entertain and interest her. She doesn’t care the outcome as long as she can see Altair’s face when she realizes their plan is succeeding. She is also done with Hangaku and decides to give it back. While Mirokuji is having a tough time with Sho, Hikayu comes to the rescue. She is now a super sexy Chinese martial artist?! Fans love it, so what does it matter? Sho thought Blitz is here to help him but he turns against him. He decided to jump ship. The trio take on him. Sho lies defeated and vows to drag Mirokuji to hell with him for killing his sister and best friend. That is when Mirokuji reveals he did not kill them and instead some fortune teller he contacted with is the true mastermind as he also painted Mirokuji in a bad light. This shocking spoiler shocks everyone! Yatoji can’t write the next volume now. But it soon gains acceptance because fans think it would be so cool to have Mirokuji and Sho teaming up. Once Kanoya and Alicetaria got some booster, they start teaming up to help Selesia. After Selesia traps Altair in a barrier, the duo are supposed to finish her off. However a dark mecha knocks him off and Selesia is in disbelief to see Charon.

Episode 19
Selesia is torn to fight him. Altair teases the viewers of the friends fighting each other. She reminds him she has the power to change the world and whether or not he obtains the key is up to him. Selesia tries to persuade Charon but he isn’t listening. He is siding with Altair even if it is a miniscule chance of saving their world. After all the fighting, he has gotten tired of it. Kanoya fights in Selesia’s place while Alicetaria moves in to kill Altair. Although she stabs her, Altair chants a spell that reverses all the injuries back to her. Alicetaria dies in vain as Altair mocks she is not the main character of this story and only a supporting one. Hikayu talks to Selesia about life choices based on her own experience. Is she going to abandon everyone who believed in her up till now? This gives Selesia confidence and the determination to face Charon. Everybody else combines their effort to fight Altair but she is still many steps ahead of them. Charon gets a pep talk from Kanoya about what it means to be a hero. The way he was deceived by Altair’s words makes him less of a hero and that Selesia is one who is more. If he is a hero, fulfil his responsibilities to the end. Kanoya’s mecha takes heavy damage. Just in time for Selesia to move in. When characters start talking about the good ol’ days and even confesses they like someone, it usually means a death flag. Selesia grips Charon as hard and close to her and plans to sacrifice herself. All she needs is Kanoya to fire all he’s got at them. This is what she has decided. She knows she cannot defeat Altair herself and neither could Kanoya if he lets this chance slip. They need to destroy Altair’s final shield. More feels when she thanks Meteora and Matsubara before the big explosion.

Episode 20
When Hikayu attacks Altair, the former uses her power to return her to her original powerless state. Killing her isn’t part of her plan so she plans to make Hikayu a helpless audience who can only watch the world get destroyed. She isn’t going to do the same to the rest because all of them are characters in a story that Altair created. She is using this system against them and the cage to boost her acceptance. The creators decide to resort to this trump card that they have been working on. After Meteora casts a spell, a new character appears, Sirius. Altair is shock and mad at this character because she is supposed to be a perfect mirror image of her. She is more powerful than Altair herself. In the end, Sirius tries to absorb Altair to become her and succeeds. With the battle over, Sirius turns into some wandering doll since she has no personality and a character just to defeat Altair. But when Sirius picks up and wears Altair’s hat, Altair returns! Catching Mirokuji off guard, her swords stab him. The creators realize that Sirius did not have enough personality compared to Altair despite covering every detail they could and this backfired on them. Altair took advantage of a loophole and took over Sirius. Since Altair doesn’t have a fixed background, that’s why it worked. Sho tries to fight her but gets taken down. With Kanoya’s mecha out of commission, looks like Blitz is the last one left standing to fight her. Altair claims the finale is near. This isn’t about her showing off how strong she is but the audience wants to see the heroes struggle and lose. That is what makes a story. Souta rushes back to the main base to suggest using that final trump card. Even if it would disrupt the flow or cannot get acceptance as fast from the audience, at least the creators accepted it and they will not know if they do not try. I mean, the worst that would come is the end of the world. They just failed. Meteora uses her activation spell but just when it looks like it isn’t working, Souta uses Magane’s power to turn the lie into truth. The scene then changes into a train station. Altair is shocked to see Setsuna before her.

Episode 21
This is not the real Setsuna. It is a story that Souta created based on and around her from his memories. Call it dirty or cheating all you want, Altair. But this is allowed inside stories. So we’ve got a long sappy emotional drama as Setsuna and Altair try to reconcile with each other. Something about hope, wishes, strength, weaknesses, hatred, curse and everything else that supposedly tried to define the existence of the duo. Even if Altair is the villain, she is the champion of the weak. This is not about good or evil, right or wrong. Everyone accepted her for who she is as a story and sympathized with her. Setsuna might be the original creator but her infinite power was created by everyone. Time for the miracle to end so Setsuna jumps off the platform. Altair tries to save her but each time she destroys the train, it regenerates. Setsuna believes her death is necessary otherwise she will bend the most crucial rule of this world. Well, since Altair has infinite powers, this means she can create worlds too. So now they are in another peaceful world spending quality time together, vowing to write and create more worlds for each other. Altair returns her glasses but it isn’t hers. Setsuna notes they belong to an important person who wore them. That is why she drew her. Time for Souta’s turn to have his emotional say. Some regrets over what he did and could have done, so many things he wanted to tell her. He should have moved forward instead of standing still because he really wanted to see the same world as her. That’s why he drew and created her. He wonders if he has caught up to her. With that, this marks the end of the Festival.

Episode 22
As many credit Souta for his idea, Matsubara is now reeling from sadness of Selesia’s fate. They give him hope that Selesia and others who perish can still exist. As long as this world remains and they continue to create stories. The crossover Festival was a big hit and had many criticisms and speculation about the future but they don’t mind since the world was saved. Meteora reminds them they have not much time left before they have to go back to their own world. So the creations spend some time with their creators. Souta and Meteora visit Setsuna’s grave. She credits him for successfully creating a version of Setsuna that Altair accepted. That is why the world was able to reach the end of the story as everyone accepted it. Otherwise their entire plan would have failed. Meteora opens up a portal to send everyone back. However it seems from whatever logic, she cannot send herself back. Looks like she will be staying here. Kikuchihara has made the necessary arrangements and after that will resign from her job. Resign from a stable government job? To do what? She is now into the otaku industry! Got some useful connections during all that, eh? Some good news for Takarada as he won a young adult’s award. All the creations that have appeared here will get a sequel or some sort of extended story or spin-off. The important thing is all of them won’t stop creating. Meteora is trying as a novelist and regularly keeps in touch with Souta who is still giving his shot with his artwork. He just uploaded his latest work that includes all the characters. Hey, isn’t Altair missing? Mamika and Erina are there but not Altair?

Creations Don’t Die, They Just Get Forgotten
Hmm… Something feels off. Something feels missing. The world has returned to its rightful order and a big positive happy ending for everyone in general. So what could be it… Aha! What the hell happened to Magane?! She was totally missing in the final episode and only reduced to a mere mention in her name. Did I miss anything because I certainly didn’t see her going back into the portal. Heck, she didn’t even turn up to participate in the Festival at all. So I am assuming that she is staying in this world just like Meteora but I am wondering if this has been an oversight from the producers since they did not even show a second of a clip from her living her new comfortable life. After all, if she goes back to her own world, she is an antagonist and would have been hunted down by the hero. Why go back to all that crap when you can have the life here? I guess that little missing piece is what is bugging me till the end even if it is just something very miniscule and unimportant.

The basic premise of this story started out quite interestingly. Taking a few fictitious characters and putting them in the same world and then fight against each other and then together against the final boss. However that soon quickly turned lacklustre. Because the first half is mainly about introducing the characters as they figure whose side they belong to. Once they’ve figured out who is who as well as Altair and her goal, the second half revolves around preparing their final battle against her. Personally it got a little messy for me as I was trying to piece together what was happening. After all, different characters from different stories have different goals. But I will point out one thing that makes this series a little unique than most ‘other worldly’ genres. Instead of a protagonist or a group of them being transported to another dimension or universe, this one has those characters from other worlds coming to ours. So technically they are the protagonists of their own worlds but are now in ours.

The characters play a very important role in driving the story. It is both a double edged sword for me. For Souta, he might look like the protagonist but I feel that he is very hardly involved in the show. You know, like Hollywood’s Mad Max: Fury Road in which the titular character was hardly in the movie itself and the limelight belonged to some other strong character. In Souta’s case, he was like hardly doing any significant contribution and felt like some sort of excess baggage. He exists because so as not to make this series feel like as though this is another world. I mean, when you focus too much on those fictitious characters, it might look like this world is another despite all the current modern day familiarities. So with this kid tagging along most of the time (was getting involved with Selesia the first time gave him enough right to be part of this?) and mostly reduced to a spectator, it doesn’t feel out of place in that sense. Of course Souta has a role to play in the final part of somewhat subjugating Altair. Like as though he is the final dormant secret weapon they pulled out against her when they have exhausted all avenues. At least he finally did something good for Setsuna. So stop being an emo blaming yourself already.

As for the other fictitious characters, there is this dilemma that they could have been more interesting had their personal stories being fleshed out more. However with the limited episodes as well as not to stray from the main overall plot, all we get are just the tip of the surface of their stories. There are like as many as 8 different stories in here so if you really want to know them all, maybe the producers will ‘exploit’ that via OVA. But let’s not talk about that. In a way not knowing their history is also good because you won’t get too attached to them. Because during the course of this series, these characters did notice they have somewhat changed themselves. Not very drastic but noticeably. Like Mirokuji who was supposed to be the antagonist of his series but he acts more like the anti-hero. Of course that revelation twist that was somewhat of a spoiler and shocker to everyone but hey, maybe that’s part of the story? Alicetaria is supposed to be a chivalrous knight but she is mostly acting like some hard-headed prideful snob. These characters have to change if they are to adapt to this world and hope to get back to their own. Because no point spouting your world’s ideals and logic if it doesn’t work here.

Having this much of different characters in a series is already daunting but sometimes the greedy part deep inside of me felt that wasn’t sufficient. It needs more! More characters! If you are going to do some massive crossover, might as well have more characters into the fray. After all, we’ve already almost got every character and genre inside here. From mechas to knights to magical girls, bad boys, dating simulation girls and military character, yeah, I think they’re short of having a maid… But then again, you might argue it dilutes the value of the characters as well as the overall plot because like the say, too many cook spoil the broth. Therefore having these few characters I suppose is sufficient for the sake of keeping the flow and pacing interesting. After all, it will be really daunting to come up and create 100 more ‘original’ characters for this series. Imagine the quality of what may come of that. I would fear any sort of rejected characters that are not up to par would be featured anyway.

So of all the millions of stories in this world, so how come this tiny bunch only materialized? Not really sure but maybe Meteora has explained but I wasn’t listening. Because you see, I find her the strangest of the bunch. She talks in a cryptic manner that makes it hard for me to understand. Maybe that is her character but can you blame her after her own creator is dead? It’s like she decided to play this game differently after that. Sometimes she breaks the fourth wall and tries to make deadpan jokes but they felt lame. Not sure if it is intentional and part of her character but it makes her really weird.

Back to my initial question, perhaps these characters materialized is because they are currently the popular ones? Not necessarily a hero can be popular as antagonists and side characters too as seen here popped up. If popularity isn’t the answer, could it be that they are all somewhat related to Altair? Because we did see her at the beginning having a hand in bringing all of them to this world. Even so, I fail to see why they are connected in some manner. My last ‘disappointment’ with the multitude of characters is that even though I expected them to introduce a handful of new characters in the second half, I didn’t expect them to be from the same series. Two of them. In a way I felt ‘cheated’. Sho and Charon came from Mirokuji and Selesia’s world respectively and we’ve got a seemingly out of place Hikayu who just really doesn’t fit anywhere except we need some cute girl turned into some hot kung fu chick. I guess at this point it is pointless to take characters from new series because they wouldn’t have that back story like we know of the other characters and that would really be a waste. Poor Charon. Got only 1 episode of proper appearance before he bows out despite he did appear earlier before but that was like for 1 second and for foreshadowing purposes.

Even if these fictitious characters are not real but turned real into this world, many of the dramatization and the bonding of the characters between their creators is necessary despite how cheesy it may look. It is to show that as creators, they have put great time and effort into creating their characters. It might sound like some sort of ploy to get us viewers to like them as well because if the creators don’t even care about their own creations, who else is going to care, am I right? While we don’t see an unhealthy obsession of Matsubara with Selesia, as his creation he sees her more than just a work of art or figments of his story. She is just Selesia.

Altair is one of those overpowered characters but her story was done nicely so it is hard to despise her character. For example of other anime characters like this, we all love One Punch Man’s Saitama but absolutely detest Touya of Isekai Wa Smartphone No Tomo Ni. Her powers were not instantly a given but ‘developed’ over time by various people. Therefore we have come to accept that her character was not created with the intention of being overpowered in the first place and given her tragic story behind her creator, I guess the sympathetic side inside us sometimes want to cheer for her even if it means destroying our own world. Yeah, we can be that irrational sometimes. Yes, truth is stranger than fiction.

If I had to point out the most interesting character, it would be Magane because she is on neither side and she has this very dangerous feel to it. You don’t know what she is thinking and it keeps you on your toes because like as though if you say or do the wrong thing, a snap of her finger would mean the end of you. Too bad she isn’t highly directly involved in the final battle against Altair because it would have been amazing to see one with the power to bend reality via lie paradox against one who has infinite abilities. It would have been epic. Oh well, guess I have to reimagine that scene and story in my head. It is just too bad her whereabouts were ‘missing’ in the final episode. Like as though her entire role throughout the series was for that one little bit to give Souta that power and then that’s it. Magane-chan is out of here.

One of the oddest things I find is the government’s response to all this. I don’t know how high ranking Kikuchihara is but it looks like she could make some calls and immobilize the entire army to her beck and call. She might have been given this authority but for the Japanese government to really find this a threat and put it their top most priority? They sure fooled the fans and kept it a secret. Because imagine the mass panic when word gets out the world is going to be destroyed! No time for manga, anime and games. Oh wait. Better indulge in more of them because the world is going to end! Now that she has decided to venture into this industry, will we see her bringing some government style protocols around? Only time will tell. I bet it will be hell to whoever she becomes the editor for. Yeah… I don’t know if the government has some sort of high-tech facility because we see Meteora using it to cast her spells over the city. Not sure if that facility belongs to her but I find it weird that she has to stand inside it to use it. Couldn’t she just cast the power herself? Maybe it helps magnify the power. Not really clear on it. And from the looks of it, they have really good cameras everywhere to cover all angles because otherwise how those fans in the stadium are going to enjoy those final action bits?

Other weird moments I find include that short lesbian friendship between Alicetaria and Mamika because it sounds like a death flag for one of them, as well as how Erina could be easily brought to this world. Sure, creators are like gods but how could she have been easily materialized and brought back to life if a condition is the need for the public’s acceptance? Oh right. Plot twist and advancement. Need a reason to get Blitz on their side. Magane’s temporal possession of Hangaku was also pointless. She didn’t really do anything with it and gave it back to Mirokuji. Like, WTF in the first place?

The fight scenes are rather okay. There is a decent balance so that they do not overwhelm and overshadow the characters and plot. Of course the ‘sad’ part is that they mostly do not finish it or end in a draw because it would just be sad if a character just untimely dies. RIP Mamika… So the battles give some much needed variety to the drama and explanation. After all, it would be a waste not to test and pit each character against each other seeing each have their own unique (but limited) abilities. That is what we are here for, right? It is interesting to see their different abilities hold up to each other but sometimes thinking about it, sometimes it could be unfair because one character looks so overpowered than the other and if their attacks that worked in their world could have worked on another character from an entirely different world. Well, it’s not impossible seeing this is anime. The impossible is always possible.

Art and animation are pretty okay and decent. The designs of the fictitious characters are in line of how we expect anime characters to look. They are well detailed and are designed uniquely that makes them stand out from the other from a visual point of view (I wonder if Mamika is taken after Madoka because she sure hell reminds me of her). Too bad their creators look like typical bland otaku guys. They have this nerdy and ‘loser’ look. Why does Oonishi have this typical pervert look? I thought he was related to that guy from the retro Leisure Suit Larry video games. For some reason, Suruga reminded me of Kouda from an old anime, Girls’ High. No wonder their created characters look so much better. Yeah, real life sucks. Now you know why some of us love 2D so much more than 3D. Animation feels fine. Didn’t notice any drop in quality and even the use of CGI on the mechas, they look nicely blended into the 2D art rather than sticking out like a poorly used CGI effect.

Voice acting also feels okay with me recognizing Mikako Komatsu as Selesia, Kenichi Suzumura as Mirokuji and Youko Hikasa as Alicetaria. I thought Yui Horie was behind Marine’s voice but it turned out to be Hisako Kanemoto (Ika in Shinrayku! Ika Musume). It was also hard to notice Aki Toyosaki as Altair because of her low brooding voice and it took a while for me to notice it was her. Plus, haven’t been hearing her as often as before. The rest of the other casts are Daiki Yamashita as Souta (Yuzu in Fukumenkei Noise), Inori Minase as Meteora (Noel in Sora No Method), Maaya Sakamoto as Magane (Ciel in Kuroshitsuji), Sora Amamiya as Kanoya (Aqua in KonoSuba), Atsushi Ono as Blitz (Giriko in Bleach), Shiina Natsukawa as Hikayu (Yuki in Demi-chan Wa Kataritai), Nobuhiko Okamoto as Sho (Accelerator in To Aru Majutsu No Index), Rie Murakawa as Mamika (Ageha in Kyoukai No Rinne), Ayumi Tsunematsu as Kikuchihara (Mori in GJ-Bu), Ayaka Ohashi as Setsuna (Momoka in Sabagebu), Katsuyuki Konishi as Matsubara (Oga in Beelzebub), Ryou Sugisaki as Nakanogane (Hoshikage in Gyakuten Saiban), Daiki Hamano as Yatoji (Hirokuni Kasuga in All Out), Junichi Yanigata as Takarada (Yoshino in Rewrite), Jun Fukushima as Oonishi (Kazuma in KonoSuba) and Minako Kotobuki as Suruga (Tsumugi in K-ON!).

I like the first opening theme, GravityWall by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]: Tielle & Gemie. It has this very dark edgy techno feel to it hence making the piece a suitable opener for this series. The same singer also sings the second opening theme, Shout. Though still have that techno feel to it but somehow this one feels less dark and edgy and hence not as attractive as the first one. A total different feel for the ending themes as the first one, New Look by Mashiro Ayano is like a spunky rock beat while the second ending theme, Rubicon by Sangatsu No Phantasia is a boring generic anime pop. A special ending theme, World Etude is sung by Aki Toyosaki (you mean that’s her singing?) and its dark rock feels like a suitable piece for Altair’s character.

Overall, this series had some potential but ultimately my expectations of it brought some disappointment instead. It’s just average to me. Not to say this series is totally that bad as I did enjoy some of the moments (like the fights) and despite the cliché of crossover characters story, this take is still interesting itself because in a way you get to see from different viewpoints of others instead of your own. Good stories, bad stories, long stories, short stories, exciting stories, boring stories, no matter what kind of stories they are, they are still stories nevertheless. Everything has its own story to tell if somebody cares to listen. It is always easy to criticize stories and works of others until you try doing it yourself. I’m sure most of us as a kid we have created some half-baked stories and characters and then mostly grew out of it. I’m glad they can’t come true in this universe because I’ll be dead of embarrassment above anything else! Some creations are not meant to be seen by the rest of the world… As of why I don’t create new characters and stories today, sorry, having a writer’s block for years now…

Senki Zesshou Symphogear AXZ

Wow. There’s still more? So much more because not only Senki Zesshou Symphogear AXZ is the series’ fourth season, they also announced the fifth season at the same time! What a way to really douse speculations if there would be more seasons. But I’ll cross the bridge once I get there. For now, this fourth season… Ah shucks. I can’t remember much of the storyline anymore. I was mainly confused in past editions so I now I’m going to be even more. I know I mustn’t give up like Hibiki. Maybe at the end of it all there will be hope for me to understand everything. Or not.

Episode 1
Hibiki still slacks in doing her homework. But is this considered saved by the bell because she is being whisked away for a mission? She heads over to a South American nation to join Tsubasa and Chris to take out a dictator’s military arsenal. No matter what you’re shooting at the girls, you’ll never best their singing and firepower. Not even this giant ship he is piloting in the sky. Nothing like a load of extreme firepower to take it down and not incur a single casualty! Although this mission is a success, another one awaits them. After noticing the UN quickly treating to wounded locals of a nearby village, they join up with Maria, Kirika and Shirabe to destroy the weapon’s factory of the dictator, Val Verde. Hibiki remembers being told about the Pavarian Illuminati. Apparently all the events that have happened since the first season, this group is the one who has been pulling the strings behind the shadows. From FIS to Frontier, they have a hand in all of them. Now they have at least some evidence to prove their existence and that is why they are in Latin America as signs of Alca-Noise have popped up. But this place doesn’t hold too many fond memories for Chris. It looks like her parents died here and Sonya prevented her from following suit. Time for more action with the Symphogear ladies engaging the military as well as the Alca-Noise they can produce. Of course things go berserk as the Alca-Noise also starts killing some of the soldiers. Hey, at least they aren’t discriminating. Hibiki befriends a local boy, Stefan who helps guide them around. He tells them the military has been forcing the locals to work in the factory. Eventually the factory is taken down and Val Verde and his top aides are about to flee. But 3 cuties from Pavarian Illuminati pop up and will put him to good use. I don’t know what happened to them but I believe they’re dead and their life force contributed to whatever Saint-Germain is planning. Along with Cagliostro and Prelati, they head to the basement to recover some doll. The guys from SONG are spying on them when the damn laptop of Sakuya Fujitaka had to beep (finished scanning some data? Could he have put it on silent mode?). Run! Saint-Germain decides to experiment and unleashes some giant dragon spirit, Yohualtepoztli. Lots of men died while trying to protect the data extracted. Before it is Fujitaka and Aoi Tomosato’s turn, here comes Maria’s team! Just in time.

Episode 2
It seems Yohualtepoztli can regenerate no matter how much damage it takes. Saint-Germain views this experiment as a success because it is a step closer to attaining divine power. With that, she stops this experiment and return to base. So they’re letting them go? Saint-Germain says their priority is to retrieve the doll, Tiki. Meanwhile Stefan leads Hibiki’s team to where his villagers are being held hostage by the factor’s director. As they fight the Alca-Noise, Stefan is in danger of being killed by one. But Chris had to do what she had to do. She shot off Stefan’s leg before the infection could spread. Because of that Sonya is blaming her? Hey, he still got his life. Naturally it strained their relationship and this isn’t the kind of reunion they were hoping for after all these years. Flashback 400 years ago when the Pavarian Illuminati was founded on alchemy by gathering pieces of technology left behind by Phine, this led them to clash with Phine herself who sought to monopolize such technology. Adam Weishaupt who was the founder wanted to attain divine power and give it form. But Tiki was lost and their plans put on hold and the organization banished into the shadows. Now that Phine is no more, their revival is imminent. All they have to do is bring back Tiki. Cagliostro and Prelati decide to take lure out the Symphogear girls by attacking the airport. Maria and co respond to the call to fight the duo, dispose of the Alca-Noise and give the airplane the necessary lift off. However they ran out of power and can no longer fight effectively. Think of summoning Yohualtepoztli to finish them? Think again because here comes Hibiki punching right through it! You defy logic by punching through everything! So much about that immortality thingy.

Episode 3
Saint-Germain pops up to bring her comrades away. Back at the base, Saint-Germain revives Tiki who is supposed to be an Autoscorer created to precisely record the movements of the planets on a star map. Tiki is such an energetic bubbly girl? She is more concerned about Adam who she cannot function without. Conveniently speaking, he comes a calling. Too bad business comes first. Saint-Germain wants to investigate how Hibiki tore through the mechanisms of Yohualtepoztli but Adam tells her all that is unimportant. Just destroy the Symphogear girls. Say no more because Cagliostro and Prelati have already launched a pre-emptive strike on Maria and Tsubasa’s plane. Not only they survive, the all-important data is intact too. Returning to SONG’s base, Genjurou explains more about Tiki. During the war, Germany wanted to seek an alternate energy for fossil fuel and Japan as their ally helped in the research and hence some of the Relics like Gungnir ended up in Japan. Everyone can tell Chris has been down ever since Stefan’s incident although she brushes it off. Before they could do anything to cheer her up, it’s those damn Alca-Noise again. Saint-Germain tests another prototype and sends the Symphogear girls to another alternate space. Are they fighting on some alien planet? Actually it is a subspace pocket of Alca-Noise and all their attacks have no effect. The girls have no choice but to up the ante by using Dainsleif but I figure at this point they are a pro at using it. More extreme action to see how they break through everything and return to normal space. Saint-Germain is satisfied of the data they got from this experiment despite the failure. However Tiki has other ideas. She thinks this is the best spot to pick a fight with God.

Episode 4
There is a flashback of Saint-Germain who was being treated as a child slave and led a tragic life. Genjurou explains to the Symphogear girls about this base, Matsushiro where the military HQ was relocated after WW2. It also houses the secret Kazanari Institute. Currently the data is being deciphered but it will take time. The girls wonder why trouble the locals for evacuating them for this mission as ordered by the top boss, Kamakura. Genjurou replies the harsh reality that their mission is to protect the country and not the people. Can there be a country without its people? Maria’s team go down on the ground to find others who have not evacuated. Yup, an old lady plucking tomatoes. Look who decided to show up? Cagliostro is disappointed to see Maria’s side but nevertheless unleashes her Alca-Noise to deal with them. Luckily Chris was nearby to handle her to allow them to escape with granny. When Hibiki and Tsubasa arrive, Cagliostro has orders to retreat. Granny gives Maria a tomato as reward. And something about people’s life and tomatoes’ are similar during hardship? The decryption isn’t going well so Genjurou gets a direct call from Kamakura about his recent failures as he allowed him to use the facilities to make UN be indebted to them. More Alca-Noise are detected. Hibiki’s team take them on with their Dainsleif. Looks like the Pavarian Illuminati trio decide to show up too. This time they have something similar to Dainsleif, Faust Robes. It repels and nullifies their Dainsleif. It’s overpowered too that our Symphogear girls are left defeated. Saint-Germain explains the creation of Faust Robes by uniting the philosopher’s stone with the human body for the ultimate alchemy. It’s all thanks to the data they got from Chateau de Tiffauges. Their goal is to free mankind from oppression. Before they could finish them, here comes Adam. He uses his alchemy to trigger nuclear fusion and turns his fireball into some destructive power worth 10 megatons! Better escape if you know what’s good for you. There’s a giant simmering crater in the aftermath. But the most eyebrow raising thing is that, does he have to do all that naked?!

Episode 5
Don’t worry, all our favourite characters are still alive. As they regroup, Genjurou admits it was their total lost. The base is destroyed as well as all its secret documents. They discuss the fearsome alchemy the enemy possesses that it was able to force out their Dainsleif. Kirika and Shirabe despite injured, continue to train but their injury gets the better of them. They believe doing so can increase their sync rates and they won’t need Linker anymore. Until Elfnein mentions she is close to decipher the last piece of the puzzle from Ver’s recipe. Long story short, she needs to find some part of the brain that is connected to the Symphogear to minimize the stress. There is this VR system Ver left behind. In short, Elfnein can use it to peek into one’s mind but the risk is high since both their minds can merge and can turn into vegetable state. With no time to lose, Maria offers to be the test subject. As the rest waits, they see on the news that Stefan is in Japan to receive to undergo surgery for a prosthetic leg so he could continue his dream to play football. Meanwhile Genjurou is being called by Kamakura for his failure. There is no use chewing him out. He has a job to do. Do it. Elfnein enters Maria’s mind and relives her life. Whatever pain Maria feels, Elfnein could also feel. Too bad most of the memories are painful ones during her time at the facility under Nastassja. Then we have this episode’s obligatory Alca-Noise action so we have Maria who is self-conscious fighting waves of it and emerges victorious. After all, she can dream all she wants in her mind, right? But then they enter the subconscious area and this is where things get unstable and putting their physical bodies in danger. But look who decides to pop up now? The Pavarian Illuminati trio once again unleash a Hydra-like Alca-Noise. While the other Symphogear girls head into action, look who pops up in Maria’s subconscious? Ver! Even dead bad guys like him continue to haunt her in her mind. Yeah, the nightmare is about to begin.

Episode 6
Don’t really get this part but from what I understand, this vision of Ver is trying to lead Maria to the part of her brain connected to Symphogear since he was very intimate with the research. Meanwhile the other Symphogear girls are fighting the Hydra. But when they cut its heads off, it revives and splits into independent creatures. It could be a ploy to split them up and fight them separately but they’ll take the challenge. Maria and Elfnein are in the subconscious part whereby Maria still reels from her fears and insecurities. Then they get absorbed as Maria discovers she is now back in time during her harsh training at the facility. Despite remembering Nastassja being harsh, she remembers closely that each time she did so, she would always have a sad look on her face. She always hid her pain when seeing them suffer. She remembers she also protected all the other children who have gone on to have a brighter future. Nastassja’s harshness was their strength. With that, Elfnein knows that brain part that connects to the Symphogear and wakes up. Time to get to work. The Symphogear girls are being tested on their endurance as the Hydra keeps replicating. To Hibiki’s fear, one of them is heading towards her school. She is about to hit the panic button when Kirika and Shirabe drop in to help take out the Alca-Noise. This time they show no strains on their body and is able to perform at tip top condition. And that Hydra heading towards the school? Easily taken out by Maria. So it seems the all important ingredient in the brain to connect to the Symphogear is… Love! You mean it was this simple and cliché?! With the Symphogear girls emerging victorious and cornering the Pavarian Illuminati trio, time to spit out their intentions. Despite claiming wanting to save mankind, they don’t intend to work together. Because they have the power of God to tear down the curse of Balal. This is sounding to get more ridiculous…

Episode 7
There’s a brief explanation of that but I’m totally lost. Basically, it justifies their reason to sacrifice others. But screw all that, it’s the fights we’re here to see. Kirika and Shirabe thought they could use Dainsleif but their power up is only short-lived. Cagliostro deflects Chris bullets and they almost hit Saint-Germain. Because of that she decides to call for a retreat. Adam isn’t so pleased the trio failed to take care of the Symphogear girls. But with Tiki drawing the horoscope clearer, it’s time to prepare the altar. The trio don’t like how cocky Adam is but Cagliostro and Prelati note their loyalty isn’t to him or the organization but to Saint-Germain. She was the one who gave them perfect bodies and goals when they were originally fakes. So as Saint-Germain prepare the altar, the duo will rid of the Symphogear girls. Elfnein works hard without any break that she might be breaking herself at this rate. It would be sad if she hasn’t found anything after putting in such effort and for plot convenience, here it is. She notices a waste of lump matter that was transmuted from Hibiki when she merged with Gungnir. Since it has the opposite effect of the philosopher’s stone, she proposes using this fool’s stone (that’s what they’re calling it) to be upgraded into the Symphogear. But since it is stored at the underwater Neptune Palace, good luck finding a needle in a haystack. During this time, Cagliostro and Prelati show up to destroy the Symphogear for good. Kirika, Shirabe and Chris are the only ones who can go into action since the rest are underwater looking for the fool’s stone. They can’t let the enemy know about this or they’ll try to stop them. So how can Kirika and Shirabe fight without their Dainsleif? Unison. All they have to do is work together and be in sync. And you see how it work wonders as they kick Prelati’s ass. Because of that, another retreat. Saint-Germain reports the altar is ready but it lacks enough life energy to power its central plinth. Adam suggests sacrificing one of the duo as their perfect body will provide all the life energy needed. Not so keen on sacrificing now, eh? Well, she’s got to choose. Her cause or her comrades.

Episode 8
For the sake of progression, the fool’s stone is found. Elfnein works hard to make a new Ignite module for them. Then Genjurou trains them and despite their firepower and numbers, they cannot beat him! And this is just warm up! WTF?! They should just send this guy to do their battles! Saint-Germain begins the ritual as Adam reminds her it is time to choose. With those pesky Symphogear girls still on the loose, Cagliostro offers to destroy them for good since Prelati is injured and out of action. Before Stefan and Sonya return to their country, they see Chris and Tsubasa. There is still some animosity between Chris and Sonya. As usual, Alca-Noise drop in to attack. Cagliostro is running wild with her powers. When other Symphogear girls arrive, Cagliostro sends Hibiki, Tsubasa, Kirika and Shirabe into separate subspace pocket. Chris and Maria are left to fight her. Chris discovers Stefan and Sonya still haven’t evacuate the building. Wheelchair got stuck. WTF?! Before Cagliostro could kill Chris, Stefan stands up and his football kick saves the day! WTF?! He can perfectly get up and walk so why was he even ‘stuck’?! Anyway Stefan argues how petty the ladies are still bitter about the past unlike him who is so the future. Yeah… It motivates Chris to fight back. This time they use the fool’s stone to negate Cagliostro’s attacks. Their unison and bond are also high enough that their combo forms a twin-seater jet to destroy Cagliostro once and for all! With Cagliostro now dead, Adam sarcastically points out to Saint-Germain this saves her the trouble of choosing. They will sacrifice Prelati who is not in tip top condition. You mad, girl? Oh right. Adam has no humanity, blah, blah, blah. We know. He knows. Big deal.

Episode 9
Tsubasa and Shirabe try out their unison but it’s not working well. It seems only Shirabe is the one who doesn’t register any sort of phonic gain increment with all the unison combo. Naturally, depression sets in. A message from Yatsuhiro comes in regarding the Divine Gate, a power that the Pavarian Illuminati is looking for. For a change of pace, Genjurou sends the Symphogear girls to a shrine to investigate. The priest shows a map that shows the markings of the 7 Hikawa shrines that is like a mirrored version of the Orion constellation. Traditionally known as the Drummer’s Gate to Heaven, it is a gate where gods were known to descend. And possibly what the Pavarian Illuminati is looking for. Since Shirabe is still ‘lost’, the priest talks to her about walls. Walls aren’t just for rejection. Meanwhile Tiki wants Adam to turn her into a real human girl after he gets the divine power so he can be his real wife. They are confronted by Prelati who wants to know his true goal. He reminds them that they should have known their lives are part of his plan for his divine power. However this is the first time Prelati hears this and attacks them. But she soon leaves to go warn Saint-Germain as it is Adam’s to sacrifice all of them all along. Adam won’t go after her and let the Symphogear girls do the job. Shirabe and Tsubasa with the highest mobility go into action first. Prelati desperately tries to shake them off and is not open to listening. Time to use that unison thing. Shirabe still not confident. And yeah, the theme is kindness so something about ii that allows them to power up and combine into some weird drag car? Anyway Prelati gets killed. Tiki calls Saint-Germain to taunt her that Prelati has become road kill and because of that, they cannot use her as a sacrifice. Adam orders her return before the Symphogear girls disrupts the ritual.

Episode 10
Genjurou and co discuss the use of the leylines for a greater ritual and thus started to evacuate the people. Although there are methods to counter it, Adam destroyed all that was stored in Kazanari Institute. That’s what happens when you keep all your eggs in 1 basket. Saint-Germain starts the ritual by sacrificing her life to open the Divine Gate via Earth’s leylines. But Genjurou’s side has done some preparations. The priests of the shrines simultaneously cut the seals to sever the power lines. This disrupts the ritual and cause Tiki to be lifeless. Cue for Saint-Germain to fight Hibiki and Kirika (the rest cannot go into action as their modules are being repaired by Elfnein). Not sure what combo the duo pull off but it doesn’t look like some weird vehicle. Saint-Germain is defeated but even if her will to overthrow oppression is great, she lacks energy. This is where Hibiki comes in and uses the power of persuasion for her to use it in a better way. Just when you thought Saint-Germain is going to cave in, here comes Adam to restart the ritual. Even better, he uses the leylines from the stars in the sky!!! After all, there is that Orion’s Belt in the constellations, right? Saint-Germain tries to ascertain if he is going to use this godly power to overthrow oppression. Nope. Yup, you’ve been duped. He uses Tiki to fire a super blast. Everything could have been vaporized had not Kirika use her swan song to protect it. Although she suppresses its recoil by overdosing on the Linker, it will still be harmful to her body. With Kirika out of action, looks like Saint-Germain is going to defeat the oppressor. Make that 2 of them because Hibiki joins forces with her.

Episode 11
Saint-Germain tells Hibiki to destroy Tiki as she is acting as a vessel and focal point for the power transfer and hence preventing the divine power’s manifestation. Adam gets in their way and as they both fight, Saint-Germain realizes something. Adam could have easily destroyed them with his nuclear power thingy but yet he didn’t. He is waiting for the power from the heavens so this is their chance to take him down. When he is slightly wounded, they are shocked to realize Adam is a puppet. That mere word makes Adam mad. In turn it makes Tiki mad as she transforms into some alien monster. This is supposedly the divine weapon? Too bad it regenerates whenever Saint-Germain damages it. Adam reveals he was created by them as the group’s representative. However he was even perfect as a prototype and tossed away. Because of that, Adam cannot accept the perfect losing to the imperfect. So to answer Saint-Germain’s question if he has humanity left in him, heck he isn’t human to begin with! Tiki unleashes a powerful blast. Though it missed the girls, it seems it hit some American military satellite. Shortly, Genjurou is contacted by Kamakura about this farce. This has already become an internationally known incident and outsiders will deploy their ‘peacekeeping forces’ under UN’s name to invade Japan. Kamakura feels he has to intervene in the battle eventually. An unknown source contacts Genjurou and reveals they have decrypted all of Val Verde documents. One of them included some spear believed to be the one that kill gods. However it doesn’t possess such attributes but contains the same powers as Gungnir. In short, Gungnir is the weapon that could destroy the divine power and it is cue for Hibiki get back up and finish the job. Saint-Germain connects the dots that Adam’s weapon was not intended to destroy the Symphogear but to destroy information that would thwart his plans. Tiki cannot regenerate after being punched by Hibiki. Before she destroys the monster completely, Adam has Tiki eject from it. Though still partially destroyed, he still needs something to harbour the divine power. A puppet. Yeah, his left arm that he just ripped out. Unfortunately all that power didn’t go to him but being absorbed into Hibiki who turns into an eerie cocoon.

Episode 12
It has been 48 hours since Hibiki is in that state. Adam will not give up on that power still so I guess he has gone back to the drawing board. Genjurou is in a pinch since the Americans via UN are threatening to engage armed intervention and Yatsuhiro is trying his best to delay it so his side must produce the results in a very limited time. Thanks to information from Saint-Germain, Elfnein has gotten lots of clues to create an Anti-Linker. Because Yohualtepoztli and the divine weapon need a vessel to manifest stably its immense power, this is also how the Symphogear works. They can assume that same power is engulfing Hibiki. Time is certainly running out as Kamakura has already mobilize the unlimited national defence to prevent this disaster. Of course you know, the girls protest this is called a disaster. This is their friend. Old impatient fart won’t stand for it. The army tanks fire but it only serves to break a giant angry monster out. Yeah, see how powerful her blasts are. The Symphogear girls go into action but their normal methods couldn’t stop her. Once the Anti-Linker pods hit the monster and the effects are taking place, this is where Miku comes in. She screams Hibiki’s name? Apparently using her voice as some electromagnetic signal to get through Hibiki inside. You know, how to voice of your friend tends to wake you up. At least for Hibiki. With that, she breaks out from the monster and into safe hands. Also, with this result, the UN agrees to step down. Happy ending, right? But no. The damn US president (I want to say he looks like Donald Trump but he doesn’t) while on his vacation doesn’t want to take any risk and initiates a missile targeted at Japan! F*ck you America! With the missile homing in, there is not enough time. Even if they manage to cut it, the shockwave will still contaminate the area. This is where Saint-Germain gets to play the tragic hero. She starts singing but is surprised when Cagliostro and Prelati sing by her side. Their ghost? Nope. The real deal. Apparently Cagliostro faked her death to hide from Adam and then saved Prelati before she died. They have been preparing a special transmutation since. Saint-Germain fires this bullet to contain its explosion but it is still not enough. So they use their lives to diffuse it once and for all. All over, right? Nope. Adam returns and he has absorbed all the divine power into his hand. Literally, the power is in his hand. He won’t let them interrupt again but love maniac Tiki grabs on to him. This is what happens if you don’t give your doll enough hugs. This allows Hibiki to smash the divine weapon.

Episode 13
Despite the victory, Hibiki is still sad she couldn’t save Saint-Germain. Save that for later. They’ve still got Adam to deal with. Some Alca-Noise to deal with so as not to ‘forget’ them. When Adam’s body cannot maintain his perfect form anymore, he reverts to his true monstrous form. The people who designed him must be messed up… Guess what? His true form is faster and more powerful! WTF?! So the price of perfection is less speed and power? That isn’t perfect! Eventually all the girls risk their lives by joining their powers to sing their swan song. Leave it to Elfnein and SONG to try and divert the strain to Dainsleif. More beating up until Hibiki’s gear gave out too soon. Luckily the other girls send some of their power before her doom. Hibiki evolves as she now can do all their special moves! Finally, she has the support of Saint-Germain and co as she transcends into a shiny gold armour to give Adam a heap of punches! So explosive that Adam explodes like a nuclear bomb?! More good news as the Pavarian Illuminati members worldwide are arrested. But with the organization gone, the remnants will be the hard ones to track. Yatsuhiro talks to Kamakura about the world condemning America for trying to use such measure. But Kamakura throws him a thought. They have seen a power that rivals God. What if Japan has that power. They wouldn’t need to worry about being attacked and invaded anymore. Tempting… On the lighter side, everyone celebrates Hibiki’s 17th birthday. Just in time. Man, it was one heck of a build up to her birthday. But I suppose the best birthday gift is their victory. As usual, Hibiki is still having worries over her fist-only solution. As usual, Miku is up to remind her no matter what, she will always hold her hand. There. Friendship level increased. Elfnein tells Genjurou her theory why Hibiki was able to serve as a vessel for the divine power. Hibiki was hit with Shenshou Jing and that purified her curse, hence cleansing of her sin. However Genjurou remembers there is another person who was hit by that: Miku.

Star Doors: The Illuminati Strikes Back! Even so, It’s All In The Punching
What else can I say about this season? Everything is left hanging because we already know from the start there will be another season. Things are not done yet. Things have to be done. Basically what I understand this season is that the big final boss of everything has finally shown up and with all the Illuminati conspiracy and memes going around, I suppose they’re going to make use of them here as the main antagonist. After all, Phine is already gone so who else left is there to pull the strings? Blame it all on the Illuminati! Illuminati confirmed! Who’d knew that this sci-fi action series would eventually tread down this path of using the Illuminati as their antagonist. Maybe we will get more of such memes in the future…

This season I am still lost with all the technical terms and jargons like Linkers because I think I could barely remember them. What the heck is that Balal curse again? Therefore when they start getting technical using such terminologies, my brain automatically gets shut off. Yeah. Uhm. Whatever they said. As for the recurring characters especially our Symphogear girls, there isn’t much drama to be played out on them since with have seen them being fleshed out in previous seasons especially last season about Hibiki and her dad. So this time round we have Chris and her connections with some South American acquaintance but that itself isn’t much. Then there is also Kirika and Shirabe and snippets of their past but that too isn’t enough. Tsubasa and Maria are like treading in the background like Hibiki. When Hibiki temporarily turned into a monster, I guess it feels like déjà vu because in the previous seasons I think I remember she too turned into some berserk monster form. Although Miku is sorely missing in action (because in a previous season she did turn into a fighting machine), looks like her eternal role is to always cheer Hibiki up whenever she feels down. Yeah, the cheapest tonic to cure her depression: Friendship! But in the final scenes it is hinted she is more than a bunch of smiles so by the next season she could play an even more significant role.

The new characters for this season are the antagonists. Adam feels like a two dimensional villain because as usual, a powerful head of an organization who wants to wield absolute power. And before you can claim that he is so cliché that he has no humanity in him because of how cruel he is, they think they can pull a quick one over us because of the revelation he isn’t human to begin with! Oh, the irony. A puppet trying to destroy humanity. Turns out he looks more like a demon than your typical puppet. Am I paranoid to think this is what would happen if AI gets more intelligent than mankind in the future? I fear so… The biggest irony that a puppet is the one thinking he has the right to decide on the fate of humanity when we humans don’t even give a sh*t about each other.

As for Saint-Germain, Cagliostro and Prelati, I already predicted that they would be misguided and then somewhat become allies with the Symphogear girls in the end although it is just for a short while. Though Saint-Germain will not consider them fighting alongside each other as an ally, but if you’re fighting the same enemy together, that is good enough for me to consider that temporary team up as allies. Too bad they didn’t live in the end and hence breaking the combo of when the next season comes by, the Symphogear girls would have a new face joining their ranks (maybe they could as ghosts). Because that is what Elfnein is literally. She is now like the mad scientist of the group, only with a lot of anxiety and guilt because of the need to make better Symphogear technology for the girls to fight better, blah, blah, blah. One of the biggest ironies is how Saint-Germain was so confident and did not bat an eyelid in taking lives of others for her misguided cause only to start sweating when Adam the jerk decided to use hers and her aides. It’s like saying she can do unto others but others cannot do unto her. Like having 2 different set of rules applied. In the end, I guess all that matters is that she is satisfied to finally put her life for good use. Hey, you can’t make great progress if you don’t put your own life on the line, can you?

I suppose if there is something that I need to ‘praise’ and something that I have ‘enjoyed’ this season is the ridiculous action. Yes, this season like the previous maintains its over the top exaggerated action. It has all the flashy and explosive effects that would make your jaw drop in disbelief. You could almost feel the power packed in all those explosions. Bang for your buck? It is nonsensical but it’s fun. I wouldn’t go as far as to put the action on the same level as Hollywood’s Mad Max: Fury Road. But I’ll say it is more along the lines of that kind of mindless action. After all, when you are fighting hordes of colourful and ‘cute’ Alca-Noise, you need to destroy them in bulk as it would definitely be inefficient to destroy them one by one. This season also introduces combo team ups from the Symphogear girls as they form some sort of weird getup to destroy the enemy. Nice gimmick. So I guess we can look forward to the other strange versions they will turn into via different combinations in the future.

But nothing beats Hibiki’s punching. It’s like saying there is nothing that cannot be defeated with a good punch. Her Gungnir is like the answer to almost everything. Ironically she wants to win battles without sacrifices but always ends up using her fists. I guess that shows her persuasion skills aren’t as good as her punches. Oh well. You know what they say about action speaks louder than words. Also, it would be just plain boring and unrealistic to see Hibiki just winning over the enemy with words. That’s not why we watch this series, right? And now that she has the ability to do special attacks of her comrades… How further more will she evolve? Sometimes it feels funny that the Pavarian Illuminati girls decide to go destroy the Symphogear girls, only to always get defeated, it feels like some sort of joke because it’s like rinse and repeat every time. They feel confident in taking them down and when they clash, they lose. Retreat. Rest for a while to get back that confidence. Have a go again. I suppose this is only how we’ll get our Symphogear action.

I also want to mention the character designs of the antagonists. When Adam first made his appearance, instantly I thought what the heck is Sinbad from Magi doing here?! Has that king of Sindria finally gone rogue?! Plus, with his white suit, at certain angles he reminds me of Michael Jackson! Aaow! Heehee! Smooth Criminal! Okay, his white suit doesn’t resemble like Michael Jackson’s iconic one in Smooth Criminal but I just can’t help remember that King of Pop when looking at him. His true form she got me thinking of what is deemed as perfect. At least in the visual and physical department. Because if Adam deems his own looks as perfect, is this what humans who created him model after? Then why the heck was his true form hideous? Don’t really get it. Then there is the battle suit of Prelati. She is the oddest of the lot as it makes her look like some mini monster. Worse, it could be one of those animal pyjamas that kids go to sleep with. Serious. Then there is those Alca-Noise do come in all colours, shapes and sizes. However I tend to notice a few that really looks ridiculous. I believe I saw a few as bananas… WTF?!

I don’t know if a few political punching bags were made because the first adventure of this series that has them head to South America, one of the dictators reminded me of Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro! Maybe it was just me but then again, many dictators are stereotyped as fat bad moustachioed guys. And then there is the one of the US president. Doesn’t look like Donald Trump as I have said earlier but why do I get this feeling that it is supposed to be referring to him? And why does the pre-emptive missile strike feels like the one about North Korea?! Hopefully it is just me and crazy reality. Then there is that instant back down of the UN once SONG managed to diffuse the situation. It’s a good thing they are trying to tell us negotiations are the way instead of WMDs as proof that humans can get along. But from this reality which I came from… It sounded like BS crap. Honestly.

New casts joining this series’ line-up are Miki Shinichiro as Adam (Urahara in Bleach), Minako Kotobuki as Saint-Germain (Asuka in Hibike! Euphonium), Rina Hidaka as Prelati (Last Order in To Aru Majutsu No Index), Hina Kino as Tiki (Sylvia in Masou Gakuen HxH), Natsumi Fujiwara as Sonya (Chihiro in Shonen Maid) and Asuna Tomari as Stefan. The surprising one is Shouta Aoi as Cagliostro. Very rare that a man voices a female’s role. He certainly has a very feminine voice that would fool many into thinking that he is a woman. After all, many of his anime roles are effeminate guys like Ai in Uta No Prince-sama series, Licht in Oushitsu Koushi Haine and Renren in Hatsukoi Monster. The only other female role he voiced is Michael in Shingeki No Bahamut: Genesis. Like in previous seasons, Nana Mizuki takes on the opener, Testament while Ayahi Takagaki does the ending theme, Futurism. The techno rock style of these music isn’t my cup of tea and so are the many songs they sing during battle.

Overall, I believe only true Symphogear fans would enjoy and appreciate what is going on up till this point. If not for the mindless power action, I would have been even bored to death with all the confusing terms and plot (although it is as simple as girls in revealing sci-fi suits fighting the baddies who want to destroy or rule the world). So I am deducing that the next season would be the big finale that would end the series because after working so hard to come this far, all the battles they have fought, the lives they have saved and the friendships created, it would be a major insult to suddenly have a new hidden antagonist popping up and who is the actual big bad boss behind everything so far. Please don’t turn it into such cliché because we really want to see off the girls gracefully in their most beautiful swan song when the time comes. A song that would become an evergreen classic.

Teekyuu S9

OMG! It happened again! Teekyuu has one more surprised us with a ninth season and the main reason I am speculating why they randomly decided to do a single season is so that they could breach the 3 digit episode mark. Yup, just a few more episodes to reach a century. You’re almost there! You can do it! But still they can’t get to Wimbledon…

Season 9

Episode 97
Tomarin narrates her day in life while living with Marimo. Does she take a dump twice? Then she goes off to explore the world. She thought of destroying mankind but gets drawn into the pachinko parlour. Too bad she lost lots of minute in 30 minutes. Then she gets attracted to horse racing and like history repeating itself, she lost lots of money in the same time. Then she gets drawn into a host club and is forced to buy liquor while talking to a strange woman. More money lost. She is about to destroy mankind when a gangster invites her to play a game that doesn’t involve money. It is jenga but if you lose you will die! Tomarin loves this game… So fun…

Episode 98
Nasuno’s birthday is soon and they want to throw a surprise party. I don’t think digging a pit trap is going to cut it. Other silly ideas include cutting her up and putting her in a box, sneaking into her house and robbing her. Marimo and Kanae are bad actresses trying to convince Nasuno to make an appointment to come to her house. Yeah, it’s to look at her furniture. When they arrive at her place, Kanae accidentally drops the cake box. In hopes for it not to be squished, she surprises Nasuno by tossing it in her face! Once the birthday is no longer a surprise, they give her presents. Kanae has a box of creepy doll parts in which when you put it together will turn into… Fish cake? Surprise! Marimo mistakenly brings doteyaki instead of dorayaki but Nasuno likes it. Yuri and Youta give her a t-shirt that is so tight that it is squeezing her boobs. Oh, it has a picture of Carlos on the back.

Episode 99
Marimo warns Yuri not to make any quips about Kanae today. That’s because last year she did something like that and it turned her into a pervert. Wasn’t Marimo always a pervert? Kanae then comes up with a song on a shamisen. She jumps the gun thinking Yuri said something. Suspicious… Kanae then wants to go to Nasuno’s house to make idol clothes. Again she thinks Yuri said something even though Yuri was just being monologue in her head. They design a strange outfit that includes the horn of a narwhale. Yeah, the horn is sticking out from the butt. Nasuno has been making all sorts of silly quips and this didn’t even make Kanae suspicious. Till the rest quip it is probably those quips is the reason Nasuno’s spin-off got cancelled! Yuri can’t take it anymore and is going to quip at Kanae. See, nothing happened. Oh wait. Suddenly Yuri has a beard! Marimo and Nasuno have dreads while Kanae is a unicorn?

Episode 100
I bet they were waiting for this episode… In this ‘special’ episode, Kanae hosts the top popular characters of the series although no poll or votes were taken. 9th and 10th places are characters whom we don’t know. The bakery manager gets 8th spot. Then we have the whole Usakame characters taking their spots in the 20s range. Yuri is ranked 7th and man, she looks so disappointed. I mean, really disappointed. Hey at least better than Marimo who is 48th. Or Kanae who isn’t even in. If you care to read, from 5th to 100th are the names of weird people ranked. Yeah, really weird people that makes you go, “Who the f*ck are these?!”. Oh, Tomarin is 5th and Youta is 11th. And now for the top 4 spots. All occupied by Nasuno!!! Obviously somebody got bribed…

Episode 101
Yuri and Tomarin accompany Kondou to interview clubs. Too bad this school doesn’t have any decent clubs. From a very talkative baseball guy (who sorts balls based on gender), the tea ceremony club who makes funny faces and the light music club who plays death metal music (screaming all the way!). Then there are other weird clubs like the loan shark club and butt club. Seriously. Finally it is the tennis club in which we see our girls doing serious power shots. And Yuri wants them to make jokes? Yeah, Kondou has been sleeping in all the interviews…

Episode 102
Yuri is made to go cycling with her pals. Yeah well, Nasuno has got a penny farthing, Marimo is riding a Spanish donkey (that wooden horse torture device, that is) and Kanae riding a giant eel named Hideo! Riding their normal bicycles up the hill, they have to ignore all the people pleading for help. It’s a good thing because it sounded like those people were disappointed they didn’t fall for their trap. Then they go downhill and barely pass through several points of interests (read: dangerous points). They decide to race home but Nasuno plays cheat by riding an electric bike while Marimo starts running on foot. Yuri plays catch up and when she thinks she has surpassed those in front, they’re actually those unknown characters a couple of episodes before. Were they invited?

Episode 103
A couple of Nasuno’s dolls plan to curse her but it only rejuvenate her. Then Ayano comes in to inform one of their villas has been turned into a cursed house. The dolls decide to bring them there in a bid to curse Nasuno to death. Exploring the house, a bear scares Ayano but rest assured it is just a stuffed bear but with a lot of hate inside since it was killed by a shotgun. Then there is a flying curtain hook with a grudge since it always got stuck in the rails. Suddenly the dolls grow up into adult versions. Ayano too! Now she’s got all the curves. When the dolls want to curse Nasuno, she beats the hell out of them! Then she tears down the house. Now the dolls and those apparitions there live together with Nasuno. Things just got weirder…

Episode 104
Since mom isn’t home, Marimo and Tomarin go shopping. After all that brick Tomarin prepared tastes like rubber. When Marimo asks if there is anything she doesn’t eat, she doesn’t mean things like dynamite. And when Tomarin asks her the same thing and Marimo replies nothing in particular, it doesn’t mean you can buy rubber bands for dinner. When Tomarin tries some tomatoes she explodes into slime! Don’t worry, she can put herself back together again. Albeit some missing parts. Back home, Tomarin kneads the meat with her ‘golden balls’. So how does the steak taste? Like rubber. Suddenly Tomarin is going to explode but it is Marimo who is blown up instead.

Episode 105
Today’s episode is all about illusions. The girls visit the hall of illusions. For starters, this entrance is just a cardboard illusion. Kanae ordered tickets but they got noodles. With animals sticking out of the picture, they’re actually real! Marimo gets bitten by a tiger. Must be an illusion, eh? But the pain isn’t… Then they meet the owner and curator of this hall, Charles de Gollam. He demonstrates using his illusion powers of bending a frying pan and going through walls. All using physical force! The girls experience more endless illusions as they start thinking they are trapped in a picture, which is true. But Kanae points out they’re actually in an anime in which Nasuno rebuts animes that aren’t well animated might as well remain as manga… We know Teekyuu isn’t right?! :-).

Episode 106
The girls help out a granny at a shrine since she is going to hold a festival. Too bad grandpa is sleeping and can’t wake him up to help or else he will sue! The girls have to take out the little shrine from the closet and carry up the stairs. Kanae remembers her past life to do construction work with heavy machinery constructing a music stage. Is that Bon Jovi invited to sing?! To negotiate the vendors for the stalls, it seems they are all gangsters and ruffians. Luckily they are a kind bunch but strict with the money. There are also a bunch of old characters randomly returning to operate the stalls. Then grandpa died. His handphone dropped into the toilet bowl, that is. The festival starts well but it ends up being some idol signing event.

Episode 107
The girls visit the zoo. And no, Yuri is not an animal. Looking at the map, the zoo is divided into living animals and raw animals… But the ‘animals’ behind the cages are things like gloves, plastic bags and empty cans… And so they all stare at Yuri like as though she is some exhibit. It makes her feel uncomfortable… When they think they could see a major animal, it turns out to be an old man and the zoo’s supervisor. He is the only animal here. 3 years ago the zoo used to have lots of animals. But he misused the funds the buy luxurious cars and a trip to Dubai, spending on his mistress and living a luxurious life. It is no surprise it went all downhill and he had to sell the animals. Nasuno uses her family influence to rebuild the zoo. The bad the old guy didn’t learn his lesson and continue to spend it all.

Episode 108
The girls visit Nasuno’s botanical garden. Expect the unexpected as we see a huge living tree made out of concrete (which makes it not living in the first place), a huge banana with lots of mini bananas inside it, a herb garden that contains various herbs such as curry and petrol, a Japanese garden that contains a desert cactus and an aborigine who has lived here for a few days and is a wi-fi addict. Then they all have a nice tea garden and decorate each other with flowers. So lovely. So heavenly. But the big question that has Yuri pondering… Will we have a tenth season???!!!

Final Fantasy: Mad Rant Children
OH YEAH!!! Even after coming this far and with so many seasons behind, it still doesn’t get tiring because of all the random nonsense in very short 3 minutes. And so I am hoping that they will be doing another 10th season so as to take advantage of the perfect 10. Oh yes, it is time for Teekyuu to reach Ten-goku (the heavens). Haha! And then we can aim to reach 1000 episodes!!! Oh sh*t!! Will I still be alive when that happens???!!!

There is nothing more to b*tch about this season because what I want to say are the same and have been said in my past blogs of its previous seasons. The wacky characters, the random minor characters, the fast paced talking and the very random jokes that either you will get it in a split second or not, everything here feels at home at what Teekyuu should be.

The only difference that this season has than its predecessors doesn’t is that for the first time we have an ending theme! But because of this, doesn’t the episode proper feel a bit shorter? We’ve been short-changed! Kaiun Soufuku Etenka by Earth Star Dream has a bit of this carnival feel to it but the song is still overall wacky. Even wackier and crazier is the ending credits animation in which our Teekyuu girls have this manly face!!! Oh sh*t! Too real to handle! I don’t know if I can take them seriously if they have this serious face. But they do look like real contenders for Wimbledon… Nah! The opening theme is as usual another crazy hard rock based, Dream First Sensei-shon (that’s a pun for ‘sensation’, get it?) sung by the voice behind Yuri.

So yeah, I’m waiting for the day they will announce the 10th season because there is no reason not to. And no, I don’t want another season of Nasuno’s spin-off or that super boring Usakame counterpart. Nothing but Teekyuu will do. Carry on, girls. The kind of random and silly nonsense that you have always been putting up since the first season. It is the only kind of madness that I can accept and thanks to its 3 minutes limit, I won’t go crazy and instead it made my day. It’s good to know that in this (anime) world there are such heroes who don’t wear capes… Okay, maybe not entirely heroes. Just plain (funny) idiots.

Sakura Quest

What’s this? An anime about reviving an old dying rural town? Boring… But if my guts tell me anything, it is to never judge an anime by its synopsis. Okay, I’m guiltier because I judged it by its poster cover. Seeing how 5 cute girls are going to help revive a town with an aging and declining population, this is going to be fun, right? And hence in Sakura Quest, we are going to see them come up with all sorts of ideas and think out of the box in their bid to bring in more people to visit this rural town in the mountains while trying to maintain local traditions.

Episode 1
When Yoshino Koharu was young, her dream was to become a queen. But reality hits her hard because after 30 job applications, she has been rejected by all. Then she receives a call from Momonga Promotion Agency that there has been a job request from a client to be a spokesperson for a rural town. With nothing to lose, she packs her bags for a day’s trip to the mountainous rural area of Manoyama. Alighting from the train, there is a group of people holding a banner welcoming her. They are stumped to see Yoshino. Apparently there has been a mistake. The grumpy old boss, Ushimatsu Kadota has actually requested for Yoshino Tsubaki, a famous idol (whom Kadota is a great fan of). Too bad. She died 8 years ago! So the blame game starts. Whose fault is it? I guess somebody’s bad handwriting has some misinterpret Tsubaki that can also be read as Koharu. With all the costs taken into account, I guess they have no choice but to go with this plan. Yoshino gets to know a few other staffs working on the local tourism board like Shiori Shinomiya. Manoyama is supposed to be some Kingdom of Chupakabura but it is like a dead ghost town and many of its inhabitants have this sour puss looks. Not so friendly… At the castle where all the old people gather, Kadota starts the coronation ceremony to make Yoshino the queen. After a little party with the old folks, Shiori drives her to the cabin where she will be staying.

She finds Maki Midorikawa sleeping there. Because Yoshino doesn’t know what she is getting into, Maki shows her the truth. Uploaded online is the recent coronation ceremony that says Yoshino will be queen for 1 year! Instantly she calls her agency she didn’t sign up for this. Too bad if she had only read the finer prints of her contract… Still, she won’t take it and tries to go home. The only bus in town can’t take her to the train station. Yeah, there’s a weird wandering minstrel riding it… Better to walk. When Kadota learns she is trying to go home, he puts his plan into action. Dressed up as a chupakabura and pretending to attack Shiori in this lame act, naturally Yoshino runs away. Ignore that sword in the stone right in the middle of the road. Because their act is so pitiful, Yoshino just plays along and smacks the chupakabura with her bag. That really hurt for an old guy. No choice but to stay here, Yoshino learns how some of the people really love their town and want to invigorate it again. Locked out from the cabin, she decides to stay at the castle. She looks through the old photos on the board during its heydays. One of the group pictures here has young Yoshino as the queen. Then she remembers she has been to this place before and the reason why she wanted to be one. So she dresses up as a queen and sleeps on the throne. Next morning, Kadota sees this and believes she has made up her mind to become queen. Well then, looks like he has already going to make her work.

Episode 2
Yoshino is now tasked to sell manjuus. However another miscommunication error a thousand boxes! Blame game again… Kadota throws down the challenge for her to sell them all in a week. If she can, she is allowed to leave. Shiori meets Maki for the first time, she recognizes her as some extra in a popular detective movie. Her character seems to be popular here. Yoshino and Shiori walk around town to personally talk to people to buy them. From the bus driver Takamizawa, café-cum-fortune-teller Angelica, the grumpy waitress Erika Suzuki, the even grumpier old hag Chitose Oribe, the merchant board head who is always at odds with Kadota, nothing sold. They talk to Oribe’s granddaughter, Ririko since she is an occult maniac to find out more on chupakabura. Yoshino gets an idea to upload this onto the website by staffs Minou and Takashi Yamada points her to a web designer living in the outskirts. Meet Sanae Kouzuki. Her house is a dumpster and I hope she likes the company of bugs. Not. After telling her their issue, Sanae comes up with a plan to design a fancy website. After that they set up a tent to sell the manjuus in front of the castle. First day results: Not enough hits on the website. What does this mean? Nobody came to buy. So they try to tweak the headlines with symbols and somehow make it the queen’s fault. Second day results? Shiori’s family came to buy out of pity. Well, that’s a start. Maki suggests making a video. So we have this lame but excusable chupakabura slaying video that turns the monster into delicious manjuus. The results? Only the wandering minstrel came… A week has passed and with less than 5 boxes sold, I guess Yoshino failed. So are the girls going to eat all of it? Well, if it’s to fight depression… Mmm… They taste good.

Episode 3
So Yoshino’s failure and punishment is to ride around town? Nobody’s watching this parade… Yoshino sees Maki meeting her brother, Kousuke. She tells him she isn’t going back to Tokyo. As Yoshino has planned to stay here, she has her stuffs moved from Tokyo. As there is a regional mascot contest, Yoshino is nervous preparing for the interview although she has a script in hand. But when the interviewer asks questions not in the script, she starts to fumble. She feels down because it makes her realize she doesn’t know much about Manoyama. She tries to talk to the old people but you know how cranky some of them can be. Some of the young ones don’t really mind the slow pace of this town. Some just honestly hate it. Like Erika. So brutally honest. Yoshino learns that Manoyama’s old mascot based on the town’s specialty vegetable called Kabura Kid. However it died out very fast and during that time since UMAs were popular, that is why chupakabura became the thing. At the mascot competition, Kadota realizes his chupakabura mask is missing. Somebody accidentally threw it away. Blame game… The other girls try to find where the Kabura Kid costume is and I can’t believe they could do it and run all over the place in such a short time while the competition is still ongoing. When they finally find it, they drive as fast as they could to the competition grounds. At the same time, Minou and Takashi have found the chupakabura mask in the dump site but it stinks. So either wear the stinky mask or the torn Kabura Kid costume. At this point Yoshino puts her foot down. It doesn’t matter, she realizes by talking with the people, they don’t want the town changed. So she goes up on stage. A chupakabura wearing a kabura headgear? Then she starts her endearing speech about the town and how neither mascots were popular. So what it is that is important? Something that Manoyama holds important. What is it? She doesn’t know. But she wants to find that out with the people over the next year as their queen. In the end, the girls have a little party of their ‘success’. I guess third from last isn’t bad. Yoshino agrees to stay here for a year but with a condition that Shiori, Ririko, Sanae and Maki become her cabinet ministers. She feels she can do it if they are with her.

Episode 4
With the truck dead, the girls take it to this mechanical maniac, Busujima AKA Doku to fix. He is impressed when Yoshino manages to activate some robot jukebox. Must be her hands with some hyaluronic acid. What?! He also takes this chance to test out some exoskeleton that would help make lifting and carrying heavy things easier. After seeing the beautiful ranma woodwork, Yoshino wants to promote the wood carving district. They meet Tatsuo who runs a wood carving shop. He is eager to help but his pupil and senior, Kazushi isn’t impressed. After a few discussion, they get this idea to combine traditional art with cutting edge technology. So they test out the exoskeleton and fit it with ranma carvings. While it may look good, it isn’t practically as the wood could get in the way and break easily. Then they have another great idea. Transform a wooden Buddha statue into a vending machine! Wow. It’s really so cool! This might work. With all the hype of its potential, it is cut short when Kazushi scolds them to stop their shenanigans. Some of the old folks like Oribe are protesting of this blasphemy to mix their tradition with this futuristic sacrilege crap. The girls feel sorry because it’s like doing the same thing of making a sushi flavoured soda (something Doku did). Yoshino and Sanae got to apologize to Kazushi and sincerely wants to help promote Manoyama’s wood carving. They thought he would understand since all of them came from outside Manoyama. However Kazushi points out Sanae came here because she ran away from something difficult. He came here and knew what he was facing. He is different. When asked to name the wood he is using, they can’t. How can they promote something they don’t even know? Sanae feels depressed as she talks to Yoshino how true Kazushi’s words are. When she was in Tokyo, she worked nonstop to meet deadlines. Even when she isn’t performing, there will be someone else to replace her. Unlike Kazushi as he is the only one who can do what he does. That’s why she can’t argue back. Since she can’t put her heart into this, she wants to quit and can’t do this anymore.

Episode 5
Yoshino and the other girls take this chance to learn more about wood carving while Sanae bums around searching for a meaning. Running away again? Yoshino has this grand idea to turn the local wood carving into something likes Spain’s Sagrada Familia. They’ll call it Sakura Pond Familia. Plus, this big project once attracting the eyes of the world will attract more people and more jobs because people will come here eager to contribute to the sculpture. However this plan is rejected by Kadota. Just one big problem: They have no money! Tatsuo shows Sanae shoes made out of wood carving. He was inspired by Cinderella. Though this might make purists Kazushi mad, he doesn’t care. It seems the ranma Kazushi is working on, the owner who requested it just died and got cancelled but he continued to work on it. Stubborn. Sculpting is just a job and not getting paid is pointless. The girls are pondering who could be their ideal artist. Could it be that wandering minstrel? They look him up on the internet. Real name is Alexandre Cena Davis Celbidache. So sophisticated. Just call him Sandal. He is noted for some awesome street art. They think of asking him but sees him getting picked up by the police. Maybe not. Biggest joke of the day… After Yoshino shows her sketch of what her grand sculpture is to look like, they go source for funding. Yoshino sees the wooden shoes and after talking with Sanae about jobs and being praised, Sanae is motivated to help. She suggests using crowdfunding. But where to put this sculpture? As many people arrive at Manoyama at the train station, it is like the gateway to the world. They can make its interior like the Sistine Chapel. First they go to talk to Kazushi. It will take more than their knowledge about wood to impress him. Sanae knows a way to ensure Manoyama’s sculpture remains here without compromising his ideals. The ranma he is working on when finished, is placed at the train station’s entrance. The first step. Many more to come in the future. Yeah, they won’t be alive to see it completed. But guests arriving are certainly wowed by the magnificent carving.

Episode 6
A film crew will be here to film a shoot at Manoyama. Everyone is excited it will give the place a much needed PR but Maki isn’t pleased and opts out. Yoshino meets 3rd assistant director, Fujiwara. He hands her a list of things to do from securing permits, extras, food, etc… I guess showbiz isn’t that easy. So they go look around for locations to shoot. At Oribe’s confectionery, she didn’t like how Kadota told them they could shoot her so she chases them away. Till Ririko points out their manjuu was going to be in the film and if they aren’t, they’ll use the chupakabura ones instead. Come back! When the director, Sonoda finally arrives, it seems he ones this abandoned run down house as the final day of the shoot because he is going to burn it down! Is that in the script? Shiori protests since it is haunted but Sonoda likes it even more. Shiori will handle to seek permission from its owner. Surprisingly she is more than happy to get rid of it. So she lies she is unable to contact the owner. So Yoshino has other abandoned house they can try to use but Sonoda insists on that one. The town folks are here when the shooting begin. They have famous actors like Taiga Hayama and Moe Sawano. This zombie flick looks cheesy… More problems when an actress scheduled to arrive tomorrow has injured herself. Yoshino thought Maki could step in but she gets angry and rejects. Sanae isn’t pleased about this so she is going to lecture her. But she sees Moe talking to Maki who is her senior. Moe admires her acting but is surprised to learn she has quit the theatre and is unsure of her acting future. Sanae talks to Maki as the latter reveals Moe was able to make her big break because she did weird things on variety shows like eating a cicada. Maki couldn’t and realized that is the same of having an abusive employer. All Sanae has to say is that if she rejects the world she passionately pursues, it is disgraceful. Also, she needs to apologize to Yoshino.

Episode 7
Ririko seems to be very nervous as a stand-in. It is too late to switch or else production will stop so Maki goes to advise her. She nails it the next time. Yoshino receives word from Fujiwara that they need to reschedule some scenes. Because it is going to rain, they will be shooting tomorrow’s indoor scenes today. This means she has to round up all the elementary kids to play the mini zombies. Maki asks Kousuke for a favour and he manages to do it because mainly of their father who is the vice principal of the school. Maki isn’t impressed because she doesn’t want to see dad. Sanae thought she could stop those kids from fighting but instead one slaps her butt and all starts teasing her ass. See Ririko back away slowly… Maki finds Ririko in her old classroom. Ririko thanks her for the advice. Maki once went to this school and wanted to act in the Snow White play but ended up playing a tree. The abandoned house holds special memories for Shiori as an old lady who recently passed away used to stay here. Yoshino confronts Shiori about lying so Shiori tells her off that she is one to say for abandoning her own hometown. Eventually they both apologize and Shiori has to come to terms that the house is going either way. Later Kousuke has Maki watch an old play from her class. Dad was in charge of filming and only focused on Maki. He got scolded by the principal later. Sonoda is on a whim changing the script again. He wants the lover to dive into the burning house. Although many disagree, Moe wants to do it. Her agent reminds her this is dangerous and she has no replacement. She still wants to do it. Maki will be her double. She might be taller but if they film it from an angle, it can be done. The house is set on fire. The cameras are rolling. Maki rushes towards the burning house. It looked like she jumped in but there is a hole outside the door where she leapt into. The take is fabulous and with that, the filming ends. That’s a wrap. Fujiwara goes to thank Shiori for the house. Because Yoshino told him to put it in the special credits of its owner. The girls celebrate their hard work and the next day as Fujiwara promised, he has referred Manoyama to other directors. Yoshino eagerly picks up the call only to hear the eager beaver wanting to shoot a big time movie about car chases and blowing up temples. Looks like somebody oversold them…

Episode 8
The girls meet Shiori’s older sister, Sayuri who is a paediatrician. With the family making great food, Yoshino wants to make Shiori as the leader of the C-Rank Gourmet as they are working for an exclusive dish for Manoyama. Of course Shiori declines as she has no confidence. This prompts memories of some failed hamburger many years ago. So the girls come up with strange combo dishes… They won’t win any hearts in cooking anime shows… As Sayuri is leaving town due to her work, the family eats out at a fancy restaurant. This place is run by Kumano, Sayuri’s old classmate. He went to France to study to become a chef and recently returned to take over his ailing father’s ramen shop in which he turned into a French restaurant. The grandparents didn’t hesitate to ask Kumano to pick anyone of their 2 granddaughters when they learn he is still single. He modestly declines as he would be wasted on them but Sayuri didn’t think so. The girls with Kumano try to catch some fish. With their bare hands? The girls think Shiori and Kumano have good vibes together. They also try to incorporate some French ingredients from his list but more weird dishes came out. Shiori’s father talks to her about the future. He wants her to live the way she wants although Shiori prefer things stay the same. So Shiori talks to Sayuri about this. Thanks to their parents and grandparents providing for them, they have nothing to worry about. But things won’t last forever. Shiori learns Sayuri was interested in Kumano but because she thought he lived in a different world, she felt hard to approach him. Funny, because Shiori thought Kumano said the same thing about her. Oribe storms into the office to complain the C-Rank Gourmet is on the same day as the annual summer festival. Yoshino feels guilty since she didn’t consult the board of merchants beforehand. So they all go to apologize and as usual, Kadota isn’t really sincere. Oribe voices her opinion. Kadota always did things his way. When he changed Manoyama from the kingdom of kabura to chupakabura and tried to sell weird manjuus based on it, she tolerated it all because the ingredients were locally made. Now he is trying to revive that crap but using ingredients from the outside (despite the cost being cheaper). Kadota argues all that matters are bringing in the tourists or else nothing would happen. Yoshino thought of taking responsibility by cancelling C-Rank Gourmet but Shiori steps up to take responsibility as the leader of this project. She will think of something to put smiles on people’s face.

Episode 9
Shiori herself is surprised. She took action because she wanted to help Yoshino. While eating at Angelica who is serving soumen to everything, Shiori then hits upon an idea. She proposes to have a soumen expo as well as a contest for the best soumen in which the winning dish will be made the official dish of Manoyama. This would be in line with the summer festival’s theme. Oribe agrees to this. Yoshino goes around soliciting participants for their expo’s booths. At Kumano’s restaurant, they taste his great French toast. It was the dish that changed his life. He was making it in school and Sayuri tasted it to be good. That was when he decided to go to France and perfect it. The only problem was French toast was created by an American. And so he became a French chef. But the day he left for France, Sayuri didn’t turn up. Funny, because Shiori heard her sister said the same thing. So before Sayuri moves out, Kumano talks to her and it seems they were both waiting at the same station at the same time but how did they not meet each other since the place is small and you can’t possibly miss each other. Yoshino has some creative idea to make the expo more exciting. Looks like she is collaborating with Doku on something big. As Shiori is racking her brains, she freaks out realizing she got the date wrong. Then she realizes this calendar is last year’s. The expo is a hit. Before the winner of the contest is announced, Yoshino has a few words to say. Actually, she is in her swimsuit as she shows off this huge soumen machine. It’s like a video game whereby you try to catch soumen and eat them. It’s messy. Doku is operating behind. Shouldn’t he automated this part too? I think this will only resonate with kids. Many of the people love Shiori’s happy soumen and seek her permission to incorporate it in their own menu. Kumano is at the expo and is given a note to meet Sayuri and the calendar. When they meet, both are perplexed until Sayuri sees the calendar. Looks like she got the date wrong and she waited on the wrong day. They laugh it off as Kumano invites her to his restaurant to try out his perfected French toast.

Episode 10
There is going to be some romance tour of Manoyama. Basically a matchmaking programme. Sadly, only 3 ladies from the city sign up. Kadota wants Yoshino to help input some ideas and make those women settle down here. Looking through the programme, most are cheesy. Are they even trying? They suggests a tour of the sake brewery, fireflies and a stay at an old-style house. Feeling something is missing, it is also suggested they put on a traditional Manoyama dance. However Ririko decides to opt out since she isn’t good with traditional stuffs. Flashback shows she has always been a weird kid. Because of that she is always by herself. Yoshino and Maki welcome the 3 ladies. I’m sure if they’re here to find a lover, any hot guy would do. Like Takamizawa. Too bad he is married. The town is bustling because the next town’s singles club heard about it and came here. All men. Boy, this looks like an awkward den of predators. They have lunch at Angelica’s place to meet up with some of the guys from the local singles club who signed up for this. Erika can’t help take a sarcastic swipe at those old hags and Sandal starts playing a cheesy wedding song with his violin. Night fall, they have BBQ in the open as Yoshino and co put on the Manoyama dance. Kadota then narrates about its ‘origin and legend’. Long ago there was a dragon who lived here but hates revelry so the dance and song keep it away sealed in some shrine. Suddenly it rains so everyone starts running for cover. Some of them stumble into a small shelter that has a dragon statue. Could this be part of the legend? It looks dirty and nobody has been taking care of it. The lightning scares them and accidentally breaks the statue. Oops… Do we have a bad feeling about this?

Episode 11
Doku has fixed the shrine. But it seems strange things are happening. The throne room is messed up. Did the dragon come to visit? Also, Ririko is sick after catching a cold from the rain. At the rock climbing facility, one of the girls thought somebody is watching them. Could it be Sandal? But he reveals a surprising history to Yoshino. His great grandpa visited here for business and fell in love with a local woman. However he brought her back to his country where they got married. Hence Sandal is 1/8 Manoyama. Yoshino believes this is a great love story for this tour. While having a lunch break at a restaurant, the waiter brought an extra glass of water because he thought he saw an extra person with them. A guy with big eyes and beard. Could it be a dragon? When Yoshino goes to check on Ririko, she is chased away by Oribe who blames her for getting her involved. It is revealed that Oribe’s son married a woman who came from outside Manoyama. Because she couldn’t stand the place or want to take over Oribe’s shop, she left. Dad followed her. But after Ririko was born, they divorced and dad was shortly posted overseas. Therefore in Oribe’s eyes, her son was tricked by an outsider and that’s why she doesn’t like them. While visiting the wood carving shop, as they take photos, one of them pops up a weird character behind. A dragon?

Later Yoshino and Ririko meet outside. The latter has discovered an alternative but forgotten tale of the local dragon tale. The people wanted to learn more of the dragon and danced around the fire. However this scared the dragon. When the people realized they were wrong, the dragon had died of loneliness. They wrote a song to comfort it. The song is mostly forgotten. Hence Manoyama is a place that accepts outsider. Yoshino thinks this would be a great inclusion for tonight’s final tour but that is when Ririko snaps back that she is not like her. Yoshino is everything that Ririko cannot do. She feels nobody understands or accepts her. Surprisingly Sandal is singing that dragon song. He learnt it from mom who learnt it from grandma who learnt it from great grandma. She used to sing it to him when he cried. Yoshino manages to persuade Oribe to come see Ririko’s performance tonight. One of the girls realize somebody is watching and it is revealed a big beardy guy who is her ex. So they’re getting back together? He couldn’t let her go and tailed her. Last night’s lightning scared him as he fell into the pond and he took refuge at the throne room. Once everyone gathers, Yoshino tells a brief story of the alternate dragon story. With Sandal on his guitar, Ririko sings the song. It gets better with fireflies lighting up the place. The next day, everyone sees off the ladies at the train station. They would love to come back next time but isn’t so sure about marrying and settle down here. What about the couple who just got back together? Well, their parents are against them marrying. Ririko suggests eloping here and hence another great idea that Manoyama is a town for elopers is born. Really?

Episode 12
The 20th anniversary of the Kingdom of Chupakabura is coming up. Kadota introduces them a host of a famous TV show who in turn introduces his network’s director, Amamiya who is also a Manoyama native. He plans to do a show on how the girls are going to revive the town. It’s like a reality TV, right? So we see the cameras rolling on them in almost everything they do from meetings to the fieldwork. Is Shiori trying to look smart in glasses? However with everything feeling so normal, Amamiya can’t find elements that would make viewers get involved. Yoshino didn’t like how she is being called normal. Some of the girls learn Yoshino was here as a young kid and thought this would help spice things up but they decide it could be a pain and just to keep it a secret. With sponsorships not hitting the target, the girls are forced to contemplate on sizing down. Luckily Amamiya has managed to bring in some good news. He has managed to get Ptolemaios, a popular rock band to come perform here. Wouldn’t that be costly? Don’t worry. His network will cover those expenses. It’s not a bad deal since they are getting free advertising too. Because they are a little hesitant, Amamiya blows his top for giving excuses. This is a great chance for them so why hesitate? After filming a short promo of the town, Yoshino and co talk to Oribe and the other merchants. They are seeking additional help and funding. This does not sit well with many of them because they already have their hands full with the festival and it is pretty convenient for them to be asking this. Is this the much needed drama and tension needed for the cameras? But it is suggested that since people will be coming from far and out of their way here, why not make it worth their while and give discounts? With some agreeing to this, Oribe approves to help out with the funding since they have some reserve funds. If they don’t use it for this, when will they? Besides, if they’re going to do it, do it right. Deep in the night, Yoshino is woken up by Maki and Sanae. They see lots of early birds camping for tomorrow’s show. It’s going to be crazy.

Episode 13
Talking to the campers, it’s not like they want to camp out here. There are no proper lodgings. But beware of bears! Next day, the girls greet Ptolemaios. They look so dead. Must be the long journey. Soon the people come streaming in. Takamizawa must be shocked that there is a long queue for his bus and is full for the first time. The day events go well until it is time for Yoshino and co to do the quiz event. Due to delays from Ptolemaios, their concert started shortly after the quiz show is about to begin. This means the clash of events as the crowd starts streaming out to go watch their live concert. Well, the quiz show must go on despite the few people remaining. However, with Ptolemaios playing so loudly, probably the whole of Manoyama could hear them. Especially the quiz show next door in which people had a hard time hearing Yoshino asking the questions. After Ptolemaios is done with their show, the quiz show reaches its final round in which Sandal won?! He wins a trip for 2 to Guam. Who would he like to bring with? Kindaichi the policeman???!!! I know they are singles with no luck with women but do they have to be this gay?! At the end of the day, a small celebration party is held. It is considered a success when you consider they fulfil a year’s worth of tourist quota in a single day. But the true problems arise tomorrow. Garbage everywhere, the town is as dead as before (like as though the people just vanished) and the most heart breaking of them all is all the coupons handed out are thrown away. They thought the show would give them some reprieve but let’s just say the power of editing has the girls feel down as it doesn’t show what it is truly needed. Even if the programme is considered a success with many viewers, the girls ponder if this is what they wanted. I mean, how many people would come all the way out here again? Yoshino is hit hardest because they got all excited by Ptolemaios and the TV show and they should have learnt that reviving the town isn’t just about getting people to come. She questions herself about what she has done for the last 6 months. So is she going to quit again?

Episode 14
Yoshino takes a break and returns to her hometown. Same with Sanae and Maki but they’re bored and feeling more like outsiders. Yoshino meets up with her friend who is working in the government department of supporting new residents. She suggests how Manoyama an important strategy to revive a rural town is to have permanent residents instead of temporary ones. Then she meets up with her younger sister, Nagisa who is still schooling. She thinks she is having an easy and carefree life but gets ‘jealous’ when she finds how normal it is. How normal you ask? She has a boyfriend! Sanae meets up with her old colleagues who try to persuade her to come back to the city with the interesting projects they have but Sanae currently prefers where she is now. Likewise, Maki goes out drinking with Moe who proposes they both can hit it big with a director who is trying to find talent in his next project. Yoshino and Nagisa are at the local festival. Yoshino catches up with some of her old friends before her parents join in. She learns mom isn’t from this area and dad managed to show her the beautiful side of this town while they were dating. Meanwhile Shiori and Ririko are going around checking out abandoned houses as they have this proposal to turn them into B&B style. However they remember Kindaichi’s warning that there were suspicious people spotted loitering around them. Don’t look now but here they are! They’re speaking Spanish! True Spanish! Those guys try to be friendly to them but obviously they don’t understand a single word of Spanish and freak out!

Episode 15
Yoshino and the rest are back. But back at the castle, they are shocked to see Shiori and the rest partying with those Spanish people! Apparently they are from a group called Cryptid Twelve whereby they go around the world in search for unsolved supernatural mysteries. The Chupakabura has recently got their attention. See those local single guys trying to impress the Spanish chicks with their broken ‘Engrish’… Yoshino feels good to be back as she knows she has a place to return to. But this prompts the question of what she will do when her term ends. Speaking to Ririko about it, it never crossed her mind to leave Manoyama. If she did, grandma would be lonely. With the Cryptid members here, they are looking into the B&B issues. Because they are foreigners, there is this language barrier that prevents locals from cooperating smoothly. So how long are they staying? Until they find the Chupakabura. That’s like, never? At least until the drying event. It seems tomorrow they will drain the water from Sakura Pond to clear up some black bass problem by drying it out since it will cause some damage to the ecosystem. Plus, it hasn’t been done so for 70 years. While it will take some time and the people are excited about it, Kadota doesn’t look too happy. As this is the request of Cryptid, he is probably letting it happen (Cryptid believes Chupakabura is related to the kappa who lives in the water). This event has made several more Cryptid members wanting to come here. This means lodging problems. But Yoshino is unsure of this is what Manoyama wants for its rejuvenation as she wants to avoid making the same mistake during the festival. There is a house owner who is the only one who registered as B&B so Yoshino and co head over to clean up. That night, a camera picks up something moving in the middle of the pond. Cryptid makes a move. It turns out Kadota is drowning! Man, he can last that long? He is okay although is hospitalized. The girls wonder the rational of him jumping into the pond in the middle of the night and it could be some old ghost story. Doku calls Oribe about what Kadota did. Something about that thing from 50 years ago is back. Something Kadota desperately doesn’t want that existence to be known by everybody and hence the ‘drastic measures’.

Episode 16
The girls hear a loud crash. It’s Kadota unconscious at the wheel and he crashed into a pillar?! Did he escape from hospital? He has fever since he was running in the rain too. Back to the hospital. Next day as they investigate, it seems the car was tied to a rope trying to pull something out from the lake. Ririko then shows the rest an old photo. Kadota, Oribe and Doku were once in a band during their high school days. As they ask Doku for the story, he reveals they were indeed in a band named Garage Band. They had a pretty good song with good lyrics but singing in Manoyama won’t turn any heads. Because their parents will not allow such a thing, they decided to run away and make it big in Tokyo during the night of the festival but Kadota didn’t turn up. Instead, he went to cause trouble by singing on the float during a procession on Sakura Pond that caused everything to tumble into the water. Thanks to that, the festival was never held again. Not that it was popular to begin with. That’s why Kadota was allowed to stay here. In the end, only Doku went to Tokyo himself for college. The band broke up and Kadota and Oribe were at odds ever since. Further research about this old festival reveals it was to worship a dragon shrine. It was located where the pond is before it was then relocated after the pond was created. Hence the procession was held over the water.

More flashback reveals Oribe suggesting to Kadota to run away to make it big at Tokyo since Doku is going there to study. However Kadota had second thoughts. He kept wondering if Manoyama was no good for him before her realized he wasn’t going to run away anymore and thus that crazy act of wanting to wake up everybody to make this place interesting. Ririko talks to grandma that she wanted to leave Manoyama once. She heard from Doku and her amazing voice. Oribe couldn’t remember much of it as she advises it will be the same for her too. When you get old, you stop caring about all your dreams. That’s why before it happens, she should get out there and do whatever she wants. With the pond fully drained, they see whatever that lump of decaying stuff there is. The guitar and shrine float must have been ‘fused’ together. Can’t tell. So this is what Kadota might want to pull out to prevent everyone from remembering that embarrassing past. After Cryptid Twelve leaves, Yoshino talks to Kadota if he would like to revive the old festival because seeing how the people had fun gathering at the dried up lake. She proposes to Minou but he is sceptical as they are lacking the budget and manpower. For the first time, Shigaraki stands up and speaks. There are 3 sacred treasures needed if they want to revive the festival. It is essential for the festival to be held. However their whereabouts are unknown. Challenge accepted.

Episode 17
Reviving the Mizuchi Festival is going to be a challenge. The staff, hanging drum and golden dragon are missing and not even the old folks know anything about it. But they discover a lead that an old cultural anthropologist professor might know something about it. However he lives far deep in the mountains of Warabiya. Rennosuke Suzuhara is a bit eccentric and grumpy. He toys with them about wanting to revive the festival and hints one of them is residing in a store of a certain traditional house. Yeah, they he didn’t say it was his so the girls go on a wild goose hunt to ask other old residents of Warabiya. Nope, they don’t have it. They soon hear complaints from them and directing their frustration to Takamizawa since there are plans to cut the bus routes to Warabiya. It costs over 10 million to run a bus a year and they’re not getting the numbers. Yoshino and co go discuss with Suzuhara and the other old folks. They give their opinions but Suzuhara shoots it down with realistic facts. When Sanae suggests moving out to a denser place, Suzuhara comments about the people working hard to earn their right to live here. Breaking up a community is like breaking up a culture. He points out he is also from Tokyo and has no connection or special feelings to Manoyama. But unlike her he already has roots here. He suggests Sanae to use her expertise. Hence she comes up with the idea to teach everyone how to use iPad and technology! They might get a little carried away talking how technology will soon have driverless busses and this causes a kiddie fight between Takamizawa and Erika! A local live streaming channel is also created for the locals. But at this point all the problems also pop up because you know, the toxicity level is rising. Who says old people can’t be nasty too? Yoshino sees Suzuhara about this problem and since the time is right, he is going to take her hostage. Soon an online video of Suzuhara and the old folks of Warabiya is streamed live. They are putting up a rebellion to protest the removal of bus routes to their area. Are they annexing themselves from the Kingdom of Chupakabura? Yoshino has ‘joined’ their cause.

Episode 18
Yoshino calls the rest and says she is voluntarily becoming their hostage. She feels very needed. Sanae realizes they have been set up since as Suzuhara lists a bunch of demands. That night Maki goes to deliver some of the beer and snacks as part of the demands (because the old people are also going to record themselves having a party as nobody is going to listen to you if you only whine and complain). A little bit of booze and now she’s partying with them. Next day, a makeshift sign stands out at the entrance of Warabiya. They are calling it now the Republic of Warabiya. Ririko films the residents going about in their daily lives as per the demands while Sanae talks to Suzuhara. He knows he can’t do this forever and his plan is to make people in Manoyama aware of the problem. He also knows this village won’t be here forever and hence wants to record its culture before that happens. He will rescind the withdrawal when the time is right. With the old folks adept in using IT, Takamizawa hopes Sanae could teach him too. Yoshino continues to stay with the old people and they really want to pledge their loyalty to her if she ever replaces Kadota. They joke about this being a fairytale like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Sandal the prince? Right, he quips back the prince come riding on a bus! Next day, Takamizawa surprises everyone with an app and new business model, an on-demand bus. Let’s say this is very much like Uber. In this van, you use the app to pick what time you want to be picked up and to where. Long ago Takamizawa had this idea and proposed it to his company but back then it would cost a lot since an operator is needed and the idea was shelved. Now with technology, it is so much easier and cheaper. Though, this experiment is only confined to Manoyama for now. With that, Suzuhara makes a video to rescind the withdrawal. Suzuhara then leaves a cryptic message on the forum board on the whereabouts of one of the treasures. Sadly, that night he suddenly passes away! A funeral is held and he has left a will donating his property to the municipal government. Sanae sees a stack of books in a corner and learns he has been researching about this town every day without fail since he came 20 years ago. She realizes this is what he meant of putting down roots. The girls learn the name of the previous owner of this place (the same name on the forum board) and find the staff right next door. It’s too heavy for them to carry. Well, there’s the on-demand bus. So convenient.

Episode 19
The search for the drum leads the girls to an old school that has been closed down for a decade. Uh oh. Ririko and her ghost stories… Everyone freaks out even more when they see somebody. Well, it’s Maki’s dad. Let’s say they are on bad terms. Very bad. As the school’s ex-vice principal, he still keeps it running since it is not abandoned. After hearing what they are looking for, he shows where the drum is located. But it is badly damaged and it will eat up a lot of their budget just to repair it. Before they leave, Yoshino sees a beautiful mural but learns it will be torn down the year after the next. Yoshino creates a proposed committee to revive Mizuchi Festival. They are travelling the routes proposed for it. As the reason for this festival is lost, Yoshino needs a better motivation to bring people here. Kadota helps out as atonement as he still feels responsible for ‘destroying’ this festival 50 years ago. That’s why he tried like a madman to help Manoyama on his own. But looks like he has to start back from her. Thanks to her, he has no choice but to face it. Maki makes a rare visit home. It gets worse when dad comes home. Argument. Something about Maki dropping out of college to go into acting that didn’t turn out too well too. Mom had to stop them since today is her birthday. Maki also receives a letter from a famous director in Tokyo for an audition. If she is successful, she’ll get bigger movie roles. However she is not interested (the application was just to pacify Moe) and this upsets Kousuke as she is wasting this chance. Yoshino and Sanae discuss in turning the closed school into some lodging for the festival. Ririko is trying to upload her dragon song online for others to know but has doubts so she seeks Maki’s advice since she has experience as an actress. The other girls soon learn from Kousuke about Maki’s opportunity. They want her to take it. Yoshino drills it into her head she will regret it if she doesn’t. Yoshino might be doing her best as the queen but she doesn’t know what next year will bring. For Maki to know what she wants since young is amazing. So don’t waste it. Maki changes her mind and manages to catch the last train to Tokyo.

Episode 20
The audition results are in. Maki is happy when her name is called. Too bad those called can leave. Although she failed, she feels better about it somehow. Really? Why are you crying? I guess this means Maki is free to help Yoshino and co. Learning the school never had a proper closing ceremony, they plan to do one and contact those graduated and moved away to attend. Since it is snowing, lots of people are feeling depressed. Sandal can’t paint outside, no one rides Takamizawa’s bus and nobody patrons Angelica’s café. Yoshino has this idea of allowing Sandal to use a room of the school as his studio in which he totally loves it. They send in the closing ceremony proposal to Maki’s dead. He agrees to get approval from the education board. Also, there is going to be a play about a blood soaked Santa? It’s one of the school’s famous urban legends. Maki becomes the director of the play and they get a few of the locals as actors. The alumni of this school turn up for this closing ceremony. The taiko drum performance starts it off before this Santa comedy play. The wow factor that had the crowd giving them a standing ovation is the feature of the mural in the end. Yoshino then makes her closing speech. She surprises everyone that she has this proposal to use this school as a base to spread Manoyama’s culture. Instead of demolishing the place, they can revive the halls and open it to the public. And so the closing ceremony becomes an opening ceremony. Everyone applauses to the great idea. Maki is now inspired to do a play for that dragon song. They can incorporate it into the Mizuchi Festival. The drum is taken away for repairs. Funny, because nobody asked for it to be repaired. It seems a mysterious good Samaritan under the alias of Santa ordered for it and paid it in advance. Christmas comes early for Manoyama? But Maki has an idea who that Santa is. Thanks papa.

Episode 21
Shiori is surprised that there is a hitchhiker flagging her car down to go to Tokyo. In this snow? Turns out she is Erika and running away from home! She is brought back to the dorm as they ask why she wants to run away so badly. I guess she’s had it with this crappy place. She makes it sound so easy that she can survive in Tokyo. Yoshino convinces her to stay here for the time being and do more research first. When they go tell Angelica about it, she didn’t even realize her daughter is gone until she rushes back to see the runaway note. Oddly, Erika still has to attend school while in the midst of running away. As Maki sends her, she tells a story that ends with a cliff-hanger. She’ll continue the rest after school. Too bad Erika might feel she has gotten the raw deal because it is Shiori who picked her up. Shiori is a bit down ever since Erika’s rant of this crappy place. Shiori couldn’t understand why as she has lived her entire life here as well as all her family and friends are here. Therefore Shiori thought she might be the odd one out and only one who thinks this way. She tries to find out Erika’s reason for leaving this place. Simple. She can’t see herself growing old in this empty old town. It scares the hell out of her.

Yoshino is going around talking to individual shop owners about the festival’s revival. In fact, it isn’t just a revival but a brand new one. When she stumbles upon a closed café, Noge who runs a bookstore from across tells her it has closed down a year ago. Yoshino doesn’t mean to be rude but asks the businesses of the shopping district doesn’t look good. Noge tells her it is just to support themselves. Many move out because their children grew up and got jobs in the city. As for why they don’ rent it out, all shop owners live above their shop lot and won’t like strangers walking in just like that. After all, many don’t want their lives changed. Even if there are new stores opened here, will Yoshino shop here? And how often? Though she says she would but looks like for a big chunk of it is that she’ll visit the supermarket. Shopping districts aren’t relevant anymore. Ririko and Maki overheard Takamizawa and Kindaichi talk about some legendary treasure supposedly grant you a single wish they buried long ago as kids. It turns out to be the golden dragon. Together with Noge, they buried it because they couldn’t decide on a wish. And until they do, all of them have to come together and piece together a secret code to open it. Yoshino feels a bit uncomfortable as a foreigner she came to Manoyama to change and revive things. From Noge’s talk, she wonders if she is forcing others who only want things to remain as they are. Just like Warabiya’s case. Are they being pushy? Shiori becomes most vocal as she argues she was born and raised here. She will never stop loving this town. They agree to find a way to make the shopping district relevant again. Yoshino receives a message from Takamizawa that they are going to dig up the treasure. Too bad they need to decode the code that looks like a long incantation list.

Episode 22
Looks like they can’t remember how to crack the code. It’s going to take a while. Erika bugs Maki to complete the story. The moral of it is that wishing for something isn’t enough but one needs to be resolved too. This only serves to make Erika angrier. Later Shiori talks to her and thought a little about what she said. It is true she might not know about reality and it is good that Erika has a dream. But she should wait till she is grown up a little to achieve that. Erika doesn’t want to be dead in this town but Shiori assures her everyone here is living. Erika experiences pain in her teeth and it looks like her molar is going to drop out (baby teeth should drop out at a younger age but some drop out later). As there are no dentists open now and no pain killers suitable for kids, is internet the only hope? I suppose doing the pressure points on her foot is aggravating the issue. Ririko called her grandma who then called the pharmacist at the shopping district to open the store just for this. After this is settled, Yoshino feels a bit bad. She never shopped there and usually got her medications from the supermarket. I guess this is the special service only local shopping districts can provide. A call comes in from Angelica that her son, Anji is missing. In this snow, everyone goes to look for him but to no avail. They think he might want to find the treasure’s location as his wish is for Erika to return. Not here either. Kindaichi gets a call from Sandal asking how to brew tea. He found Anji at the park and brought him to the police box and he is asking for tea.

After returning Anji to Angelica, Erika returns home and he hopes she will not go away again. The adults advise her she can still make her dreams of opening a clothing shop here and can talk to one of those shuttered store owners to take over. Erika goes ‘berserk’ complaining nobody is going to wear nice and cute outfits here. I mean, are you going to wear them while tending the fields? Only the monkeys and cows are going to compliment you! If that’s the case, Anji promises to open one here for her. This has the adults think they need to get their act together and to make kids feel they want to live here. After Erika eats a cookie, her molar falls out. Erika resumes her waitress job. Still grumpy as ever. Shiori hopes they can go to Tokyo together. No thanks. She’ll go herself. Shiori has this idea to hang lanterns outside the shops at the shopping district so it will seem inviting even though they are closed. With Doku installing LEDs in them, there’s no fire risk. Takamizawa and co finally crack the code. They dig up the treasure… Just a toy dragon! Oh well… They return to see the beautiful lanterns illuminating the shopping district. Another lesson learnt: You can’t wait for someone else to grant your wishes. You have to do it yourself.

Episode 23
Yoshino sees the CEO of a famous pastry franchise, Belem. As he is a Manoyama native and attended that closing ceremony, he wants to help the town’s revival and open another branch there. While this is good news, they think it would be a problem convincing Oribe since you know, another rival confectionary. Surprisingly but not she agrees since it is for the greater good of the shopping district. The only thing they need now is one of the shop owners to rent it out. However it is no good as many live on the second floor are not willing to do so. There is only 1 person who doesn’t live above the shop and elsewhere: Akiyama. When Yoshino and co visit him, he declines them. Plus, Oribe visited earlier and he too declined her. The girls didn’t know they would hit this roadblock. Erika learns Belem is opening here and really wants to work at that place. She loves their pastries. Well, at least we know that will be her reason to stay. She gets aggressive suggesting those not operating their shop should just hand over! Oribe calls an emergency meeting with everyone to discuss the fate of the shopping district. As Noge is opening a café at the abandoned school, once that place is popular, she thinks of disbanding the board of merchants. Their way of doing business is outdated and they don’t want to force others who don’t want to stay open. Everyone then turns to Akiyama and pressures him to rent it out. Oribe stops everyone from pestering as Kadota makes Yoshino say something. It seems she too agrees of not forcing everyone. Sure she wants to revitalize Manoyama but not in a way where some loses. This is not revitalization but just development. They should come together and think what each of them can do for the shopping district.

It is then Akiyama says he doesn’t want to go through that again. Many years ago when he rented his shop to an outsider selling accessories, he was happy and helped out anyway he can. But 6 months down the road, he disappeared. Akiyama was the bank’s guarantor so you can imagine what he went through. He told nobody except Oribe because if he did, the board of merchants’ contempt for outsiders would grow stronger. All he wants now is to be left alone. One of the old guys then decides to rent out his shop because compared to Akiyama’s story to his own pathetic reason of not liking sweet smell is nothing. Yoshino thanks him as Akiyama asks her why is she doing so hard for Manoyama when she is an outsider. That’s because Manoyama took her in. Kadota finally says sorry to Oribe for that long outstanding grudge. She moves on and keeping up with this feel good momentum is that the board of merchants decides to officially join the Mizuchi Festival. Yoshino gets Noge’s permission to borrow his toy dragon for it. To get a real one costs a lot and this toy dragon is still a dragon. With everything looking so bright, there can’t be anything bad, right? Well… Here comes Kadota with bad news. Those guys in suits seen around Manoyama from time to time, looks like there are rumours that Manoyama will be absorbed into Tomikura.

Episode 24
Kadota reveals he was invited secretly on the absorption council. It is a dilemma for everyone because it will bring life to the place but weird things will happen like renaming of things. Although they will get better government services, Manoyama will also become a minority and their voices will be hard to hear. But for now the importance is to preserve Manoyama’s culture and hence the revival of Mizuchi Festival. Amamiya comes down to warn them that the TV host will be coming to propose changes to the dragon play. It seems he wants to replace the lead actors with idols and this means Ririko will not sing as intended. This also puts them in a dilemma because the exposure of this show will allow many others to know more about Manoyama. When the TV host is here, Kadota loudly protests against it. He will not accept his proposal because they are trying to revive a tradition and if they’re going to do it, they’ll do it their way. And that’s that. The Manoyama citizens put up their own videos to the countdown of the festival. Things are looking up with more and more people supporting and funding it. But Yoshino’s pals bring up the topic of her leaving at the end since they overheard her agency called her recently to discuss the end of her contract. Yoshino might consider returning to Tokyo and get normal jobs. After all, you get used to it and you can find inspiration anywhere. But she thanks them for helping her through the year and giving her lots of inspiration. As they are cleaning the shrine, clearing the moss on the stone reveals names of those who created the Sakura Pond. Among them are Sandal’s great grandparents. Despite the hectic schedule, everyone manages to surprise Yoshino with a birthday cake. The festival proceeds well and the old guys get to carry the shrine with ease thanks to Doku’s exoskeleton. When Kadota learns about the names on the rock, he gets an idea to make sister cities out of Manoyama and Sandal’s hometown and use it as leverage against the absorption. Well, what do you know? Sandal follows Mayor Naumann on social media and lucky him. Currently he is on a vacation in Japan and enjoying every moment of it. Kadota is going to get him here and drives his car all the way to Kanazawa! Oribe fears he might destroy the festival again but Yoshino puts her faith in him that he will return before the dragon play.

Episode 25
Kadota is at the place but he needs to put on something recognizable. Chupakabura mask? He is scaring others in search of Naumann. Naturally he gets arrested. Thankfully Naumann is looking for directions at the police box. As the festival runs its course, Yoshino is surprised her family is here to visit. When Kadota is taking too long to return, they get a call from him that his car run out of fuel. Shiori goes to get him and this is one of those occasions the on-demand bus is useful. They manage to get them in time but since most of the roads are blocked, they have to make the rest of the way via foot. During that time, Naumann gets lost but thankfully he wanders into the parade carrying the shrine and even takes part in it! The dragon play proceeds smoothly with Ririko singing a beautiful rendition of the song. In the aftermath, the staffs celebrate. Kadota and Naumann are like good buddies now. The girls talk about their future. Like Ririko she plans to go see the world after this but promises to come back. Yoshino has also decided as she expresses her love for Manoyama as her second hometown. Early next morning, Yoshino sees Kadota. A year has gone by in a flash as he quips it is better she leaves now or stay too long and she won’t be an outsider anymore. But what is he going to do for the next queen? Don’t worry. He too has decided. Yoshino’s final speech as the queen is recorded as she conveys the beautiful town of Manoyama and how it changed her. Then, Kadota makes his speech how Manoyama forgot its cultural roots and needed a queen to remind them. As it is every individual’s responsibility to pass on Manoyama’s culture and change-cum-adapt to the times, they do not need a queen nor the Kingdom of Chupakabura now. He hereby relieves the queen of her duties and disbands the kingdom. Later, Yoshino and her pals plant a tree symbolizing them. Shiori has a dream to keep planting sakura trees to turn Manoyama blooming with them. Everyone sees Yoshino off at the train station. Probably the entire town lined up along its path to wish her goodbye. The most touching one is Kadota who reduced Yoshino to tears as he tells her she will always be welcomed here. The Kingdom of Chupakabura now has been renamed as Sakura Pond. Although Yoshino has left Manoyama, she didn’t return to Tokyo or her hometown. She is now starting to help another town possibly located in the tropics.

Home Is Where The Heart Is
Despite the overall feel good and heart-warming overall, I have mixed feelings wondering if Yoshino should have stayed at Manoyama or not. Now that she has left to help revive other towns, it is like as though her mission is completed and hence there is no more reason for her to stay. Thankfully without her now, the people of Manoyama can go on living better lives. Had Yoshino stayed on, she would have become part of them and things would go on happily like they used to. But there is this sort of danger when one gets so used to it. Complacency sets in and history might repeat itself again. Who knows? It’s all good feelings now because it worked out but in the future, nobody could tell. So perhaps leaving Manoyama was the best option since she came to do what she needs to do and that’s that.

Surprisingly but not, the story is not boring as I was predicting it to be. It might not be the best story or series for the season or the year but this series is definitely entertaining and worth watching if you have too much fantasy adventures, violent blood spilling action, shameless fanservice comedies and the ubiquitous high school settings. Maybe it is an original anime and not based on any manga or game. Though the plot of reviving a dying town might not sound appeasing, the more interesting aspects are how the various characters of the town go about and do their best in a bid to make Manoyama a better place to live and visit. Yes, it isn’t just about bringing in outside people to stay temporarily or longer but also a plan to improve and enrich the lives of the locals.

So I’m glad that it is mostly a win-win situation for everybody. Manoyama might not have become as popular and attractive as Tokyo but it retains its charm of a traditional and easy going countryside town. I mean, let’s be realistic. You can’t have everything and be the best town ever. Manoyama is Manoyama and it doesn’t need to be another hectic and bustling Tokyo or Tokyo v2. Even if all the old people of Manoyama has kicked the bucket and do not live long enough to see how well Manoyama has grown, but the legacy and effort they put in would surely be remembered for a long time to come. Of course, proper recording and the young ones continue to uphold the traditions play an important role too.

Speaking of realism, I know I am being a little sceptical here but the way I say Yoshino and everyone going about doing their job promoting ideas feel like they are too easy. It’s like child’s play. Maybe there are lots of preparations going on behind the scenes that are not shown here and since I don’t come from such a sleepy town, I do not understand or feel such sentiments. Maybe in this small town, things get moving a bit faster because of the closer community that is fostered. The gap between rank and file isn’t large and everyone is like family here. Therefore seeing Yoshino and her cabinet ministers easily getting approval and getting things done with ease sure makes it look like it is just so easy in managing a small town. Of course there are some problems and challenges faced but in the end it always turns out for the better. I mean, doesn’t it sound like a fairytale. I know this is just anime and we all love a good ending but like I said, blame my scepticism and the harsh reality that made me think so.

Also, now that Yoshino has decided to go on a revival spree (assuming she does this for the rest of her lives), assuming that all the dying towns in Japan are revived again, Yoshino feels like some sort of angel, doesn’t she? A town gets touched by her ideas and efforts and gets the revitalization they pretty much needed. Theoretically that would sound awesome as this means no dead or dying towns in Japan ever. But just the realistic problem of the people visiting and making those towns lively again. Assuming the population of Japan is somewhat ‘fixed’ and if they are interested to check out certain towns, this means deserting another. Sure, we can assume this rotation thingy like visiting this town today and another town tomorrow. If people are so free to visit towns, does this means mega cities like Tokyo would soon be dying? Because you know, you just cannot create people out of thin air. They need to come from somewhere. So revitalizing a town in the sense of bringing more people could mean turning others into dead town. So by the time Yoshino finishes her entire revitalization across Japan, Manoyama might be dead again. This is of course I am assuming in extreme cases. Of course revitalizing doesn’t mean bringing in the crowd. It is also about culture preservation and documentation which I believe is what Yoshino is going to do.

Although the characters are lovable and they will grow on you that in the end you would love to support all of the Manoyama citizens in the end, I feel that they aren’t too deep. After all, the main priority is to revive Manoyama and if you get too many character development and drama in between, it might be very distracting. So I believe there is a right mix of how the characters are portrayed, played out as well as how they grow along with this town. Like the ex-city girls Yoshino and Sanae, they were mainly finding a place to belong. Even Maki could be said to be one because after failed attempts in the showbiz industry, this is where she ends up but it is all a blessing in disguise if I should say so.

So for Yoshino who became the queen of Manoyama, like anybody who has spent their time and devotion to something, they will naturally grow attach to it. I won’t say that Yoshino does a perfect job as the queen but she does try her best. It is that the reason why the people of Manoyama loves and respects her. She earned it. Thankfully I want to say that most of the stuffs she do turn out positive because if she fails, I am guessing her head would roll. But that’s another story. Yoshino puts dedication in her job better than most representatives of their districts because after all, what has she got to lose? She is in this for the long run but that will soon look like something short turn once you start having fun and loving it. As an outsider, probably it is one reason why many of her suggestion works and hence a perfect example of what thinking outside the box is. After all, Manoyama gave her a chance when so many in Tokyo did not so why not repay that opportunity? Now she has gotten the experience and has found her true calling in reviving other similar towns. Yoshino the Reviver. Hmm… How does that sound?

As for the rest of her cabinet ministers, there isn’t much I could say about them but they provide the support that Yoshino needs. It is a good thing Maki is around because she is like the handywoman of the group as her little experience here and there allows her to be knowledgeable and handy about almost everything. Sometimes I feel it is like a little running joke because it is like she knows everything but yet didn’t make it big. Then there is Ririko who looks like she is stuck with that deadpan emotionless face and an occult freak but many times she helps out her team when they are stuck with the folklores and researches she has done. Shiori is the liveliest of the group and a local girl who loves her town so much. Last and not least, Sanae might look out of place in the sense that in this backwater town, do you need an IT specialist? I mean, if you look at her specific job of handling the IT side, it might look like she is the most redundant. Heck, having Doku as the ‘science’ guy is pretty much sufficient for this town. And of course as we have seen Manoyama embracing some sort of technology so all is not lost.

If I have to point out the most interesting character of them all in the series, it has got to be Sandal. This guy is cool, enigmatic, positive and very calm in his very own way. Sometimes I feel like he is the angel that watches over Manoyama! No kidding. Because do you not feel that sometimes he is the saviour in certain times likes when Anji got lost and who was the one who found him? This wandering artist also has his own funny charm and wit and you can hear it mostly at the end of the next episode preview where he makes a short quip of things. At least it makes you break into a little smile. So why is this guy bumming around in a sleepy town like Manoyama? I believe it has got to be more than just his ancestral roots since he did come from a western country town. Only Sandal himself knows the answer to that.

However if I had to pick a favourite character, it had to be Erika. Yes, this grumpy but realistically honest girl is one of the fun characters to watch. Her comments really sting you but only because it is the truth. It is with mixed feelings that I find it sad she hates so much this town she spends all her life in (and doesn’t hesitate to badmouth it) and wants to get out but because of this, I find her really funny and lovable. I suppose Erika is at an age where she thinks she knows everything and can handle everything by herself. Hey, at least I’ll give her points for being confident even though her simple plan wouldn’t be so easy if she ever goes through with it. Sadly Erika doesn’t get as much appearance and even though there were a couple of episodes towards the end that puts her in the short limelight, I guess it is better than nothing. So I am guessing one of the biggest motivation for her staying is Kousuke. There are hints she likes that guy and since this guy is dead set on staying in Manoyama to become a taiko drummer, there’s her motivation to stay back as well.

For the other residents of Manoyama, I guess they’re pretty okay. Like Doku and his crazy inventions that are mostly more of aesthetic than practical and Takamizawa who doesn’t get bored being the only bus driver around town. At least he gets to wear his suits. I believe Kindaichi isn’t the only policeman in this town but I only see him around most of the time. Not forgetting Kadota and Oribe who are at odds for so long that seeing them on good terms is just a bit awkward. Who’d knew that the crazy backstory of them was the cause of this long standing tension (and the death of a certain festival). So I guess Kadota must have been regretting it all this time and turned into a grumpy old geezer trying to make amends by reviving Manoyama with his crazy antics, something that is always opposed by Oribe. I also want to mention about a staff in Kadota’s office, Shigaraki. This guy literally has no dialogue (until that one time he stood up and spoke which surprised us – and the last time we will hear of him speaking) and he has this big freaking frown on his face that says I-wish-I-was-not-here-doing-this-job. Yeah, how can a person on the tourism board be this unhappy looking? The kind of face that would scare kids and be good enough for children’s horror stories. He doesn’t even move much from his seat and at one point I was starting to think if he was just part of the office’s furniture.

The art and animation are pretty decent. Nothing much to shout about but it is still pretty much okay. Young people look pretty but the old folks really look, uhm, not so pretty. Just old. Sorry. I mean, it really shows age has really caught up to them. If the art style also feels so familiar it is because P.A. Works produced this and they maintained their trademark character designs as seen in many of their previous works such as Shirobako, Glasslip, Tari Tari, Hanasaku Iroha, Charlotte and True Tears. This is a reason why many of the characters look so familiar like as though they are that character from a different anime in an alternate world. For example, Yoshino has this close resemblance to Shirobako’s Aoi, Erika looks as close like True Tears’ Noe and Shiori having this close similarity to Glasslip’s Touko. Also to note, because of this at first I thought Sakura Quest and Shirobako are almost similar because it follows the story of 5 girls trying their best to complete something in their industry. Well, generally speaking.

Voice acting… MAMIKO NOTO MAKING HER CAMEO AS SAYURI!!! Nothing else needs to be said. Just kidding. The cast list is very long as there are many minor and background characters popping up in almost every episode. Too bad I only recognized Hiro Shimono as Yamada, Mikako Komatsu as Sanae and Youko Hikasa as the young high school girl version of Oribe. I thought Tomokazu Sugita was the voice of Minou but it turns out to be Daiki Hamano (Yatoji in Re: Creators). But the most surprising seiyuu among them all is Sandal. He is not voiced by a Japanese native but a foreigner! Surprise, surprise. This character again. Though he is not the first character voiced by a foreigner that I have heard but it has been a long time since I heard one. No wonder he sounds so different that it is refreshing. Sandal is voiced by an Indian, Vinay Murthy who is of course proficient in the Japanese language and this is so far his only anime role. Oh right, there is another foreigner here but only as cameo in the final episode, Eric Kelso as Naumann. I also believe actual foreigners were also hired as those Spanish people.

The rest of the other casts are Ayaka Nanase as Yoshino (Osamu in Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi), Reina Ueda as Shiori (Jasminka in Little Witch Academy), Chika Anzai as Maki (Reina in Hibike! Euphonium), Chiemi Tanaka as Ririko (Tsuji in Sansha Sanyou), Atsushi Ono as Kadota (Blitz in Re: Creators), Maki Izawa as Oribe (Hatobane in Kujira No Kora Wa Sajou Ni Utau), Kazuhiro Yamaji as Doku (Eugen in Granblue Fantasy The Animation), Katsuyuki Konishi as Takamizawa (Laxus in Fairy Tail), Nanako Mori as Angelica (Eiko Yamano in Knights Of Sidonia), Tomoyo Kurosawa as Erika (Kumiko in Hibike! Euphonium), Masashi Nogawa as Kindaichi (Rakshas in Berserk), Youji Ueda as Noge (Usui in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei) and Yuusuke Kobayashi as Kousuke (Subaru in Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu).

All the opening and ending themes including the few insert songs are sung by [K]now_Name (it looks like not only the naming of groups these days are getting ridiculous or creative as they put it but the way they use symbols and all too). The first opening theme, Morning Glory has this hip and playful feel to it but the second opener, Lupinus doesn’t appeal much to me since it is more of pop rock. The first ending theme, Freesia is also quite good as well as the second ending theme, Baby’s Breath with the former being hip and the latter having this calming and sunshiny beat.

Overall, this series is still a great watch despite not one of those hyped and mainstream titles. It is one of those hidden gems of the season or year. Those who watch it would definitely find it satisfying in the sense that you get to learn some life lessons and the broader and more meaningful concept of family or community. And those who are working would resonate well that after a hard day of work, it is always well worth to see the fruits of labour grow. Like the old saying, sometimes you might not end up where you want to be but you will always end up where you are were meant to be. And for Yoshino, she has found her place of calling. A place she could really call her home. Welcome home, Yoshino. Wherever she may happily be.

Jikan No Shihaisha

Time and tide wait for no man. Sorry, had to think of a time pun to start off my blog about an anime that has time manipulation as its setting. I’m not expecting much from Jikan No Shihaisha as it sounds like one of those action shonen animes of a group of warriors with the ability to use time to fight against monsters who devour time of ordinary people. Since it is not going to be the next Bleach, Naruto, One Piece or Fairy Tail (that is, it isn’t going to run into 3 digits of episode numbers), I guess there is no harm in trying. After all, what do I have to lose but a few minutes and accumulatively a few hours of my life?

Episode 1
Several girls of a high school are talking about rumours that one can turn back time if one makes a wish under the clock tower at the cemetery. Koyuki brushes it off as untrue but perhaps she is one who really wished for that rumour to be true. She had a beloved older brother who died in an accident. As she prays by his grave, she sees a guy fighting a monster. Kiri Putin is fighting this dark monster known as Horologues but it runs away. Kiri is confident because his partner, Victor is where it is heading. Anytime now… To his horror, he sees Victor flirting with girls! He chides him for fooling around but Victor points back at him. Is he fooling around with Koyuki? So at a cabaret, they try to dismiss all they have seen as special effects of a movie they are filming. Too bad Victor is having a good laugh and tries to ruin it all with his contradictions while writing in his journal. When Koyuki mentions about the rumour, Kiri rubbishes it. Because those who died can never return. Kiri does damage control before Victor could further ruin things. But Victor leaves a note for her to wait at a certain location. Back in their hotel, Kiri chides Victor for trying to reveal the truth to Koyuki that could have put her in danger. Victor argues a person’s desire is hard to erase unless they force reality upon her.

Koyuki graduates and she still believes in the rumour. As she makes her way to the cemetery, she sees her teacher, Emily looking younger than before. She heard rumours she did that ritual. Victor sees Koyuki praying earnestly for time to turn back when her brother was still alive. However a Horologue pops up and demands her time. Luckily Kiri saves her from being devoured. Koyuki still doesn’t care if this dangerous ritual calls forth some demon. Then reality hits her hard when she sees Emily has reverted into a child. Victor tries to save her from approaching the Horologue but her time keeps reversing till she becomes nothing. He explains about Horologues who appear to grant humans wishes but they actually devour their time. Once a human is bitten by them, their time is drained away until they return to nothingness. Victor then activates his Oath of Time and uses his cards to fight the Horologue. Oath of Time is a device that only allows them to control the speed of time. Koyuki still won’t give up. Kiri explains how Victor let his mother die. His depression allowed a Horologue appear. He was bitten. Victor has an Oath of Time embedded in his skin to slow down the time of flow within. It is slowly turning him into nothingness and not any younger. It also eats into his memories, that’s why he writes things in his journal. Victor does a dangerous move that could speed up his own time. After defeating the Horologue, Kiri wonders if Victor still recognizes him. Lucky for him, he still does. But still fooling around as usual. Kiri returns Koyuki’s dropped pendant. Behind the picture of her brother are words stating he will always be with her. The memories she had with him is a priceless treasure. As Koyuki leaves town, she remembers asking about Victor’s actual age. With each passing day, Victor becomes younger by a day. So could Victor be Kiri’s older brother? His true age is 39. Victor is Kiri’s father!

Episode 2
In this sin city, Victor allows a pickpocket to steal their money! He believes he can earn it back by gambling! Yeah, gamblers’ mentality… Kiri doesn’t have pleasant memories of his dad since he often goes out to gamble. Later Kiri sees that pickpocket trying to pay off his debts but since it isn’t enough, the debt collector gives him a final chance. This causes the pickpocket to fall under depression and summon a huge number of Horologues. Kiri manages to slay them but a huge eyeball Horologue appears. Everyone thinks it’s some filming. Father and son confront this giant eyeball, Aiks. He knows Victor because he was the one who bit him 12 years ago. Victor is desperate to get back his time and is in danger of speeding his own time. He won’t listen to Kiri since he is willing to sacrifice himself to get his revenge in worst case scenario. They get assistance from this hot chick, Mina who claims she is Victor’s wife. The debt collector tells Aiks to back down or it will put their master in a bad mood. Kiri remains suspicious of Mina because his mom’s name is Nana and died 12 years ago. The name Mina also has never appeared in Victor’s journal. With the guys continue to argue like usual, Mina steals his journal. Kiri goes after it but what made her return it? After Victor ‘threatens’ to do lots of censored stuff on her. Mina decides to live with them and they’ll make even better memories together. Because Victor is still reeling from his missing memories, Mina had to show a scar that she too has been bitten by a Horologue. With Victor and Mina teaming up, the teasing on Kiri has just doubled. Mina takes them to the organization who fights Horologues, Chronos. It is believed it has Victor’s records of his time working there. Yeah, Victor, conveniently remembers vaguely he worked there. Kiri remains suspicious if Mina is actually his mom. She explains proof of Chronos’ existence is because of the Oath of Time. However all of them are based from the one original that is called Unique. It avoids sudden massive regression in age as it is able to control time of living things and not objects. Victor has Unique. However if Victor has the one and only Unique, how is Mina slowing her time? She whispers maybe she’ll kill him for it.

Episode 3
Chronos’ HQ is located underground. They meet this perverted guy, Snake who is the head of Chronos’ technology division. He likes school girl uniforms…After examining and confirming Victor’s Unique as the original, he explains about Chronos’ establishment 2,200 years ago to fight Horologues. Snake then paralyzes them with his Oath of Time. He is under orders to take Unique. With so many of their comrades sacrificed and dead, if they have Unique, they will be capable of ruling time of all living things and put a stop to the war on Horologues. Sacrificing 1 life for the future is worth it. Mina opposes this but there is nothing much she can do. Before Snake’s assistants could take them away, Victor and Kiri easily escape Snake’s trap. Victor’s cards put up some sort of barrier to prevent the paralysation. They coolly leave and don’t want to be part of whatever Chronos is planning. Mina is sad because Victor has never trusted her in the first place. She tries to convince she wasn’t tricking him but it fell on deaf ears. Once father and son reach the surface, Victor locks Kiri out as he returns to the HQ. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. All Chronos members are on alert to bring them back dead or alive. So as they go on a wild goose hunt, little do they know Victor has snuck back into the HQ and this works for him since less personnel means less guards. He remembers Mina telling the documents are located at the tower top. Inside the library, he finds a book containing his records. Only one problem: He can’t read this language! There is also a photo of him and Mina together and the date stamp shows it was taken 12 years ago. Kiri tries to break in but is faced with this crazy fire dude, Blaze. Victor is interrupted by this sexy vixen, Ice Radar. She remembers him but obviously he doesn’t. He wants to know why he joined Chronos and how he can get back his time but is explained the origins of Chronos instead. Something about the god of time fought and won over Horologues but a small number of them survived and hence the formation of Chronos so his descendants will continue to fight them. Victor considers himself an atheist so Ice Radar is going to prove there is one standing right before him.

Episode 4
Victor jumps back before Ice Radar could pummel him. She continues explaining she is the true descendent of Chronos and the one who will subjugate all Horologues. She will be taking his Unique which belongs to her that she lost 2,200 years ago while fighting Horologues, and then put him to sleep. Being one who is able to control any flow of time, Victor can’t even control his own time to fight against her. Mina returns to the tower to see Victor getting owned as he tries to desperate use a desperate measure to speed up time. This horror has her remember 500 years ago when she was at her mom’s funeral. She was devastated mom left her alone. Apparently Ice Radar is her older sister and is told the harsh reality about the fleeting life of humans. Everyone she knows will have to die one day. Although Mina doesn’t have the true power of Chronos yet, if Ice Radar dies, she must carry on and inherit those powers to subjugate the Horologues. It is her duty. Now Mina tries to fight Ice Radar and blames her for always getting in her way. Mina easily gets owned and is paralyzed in her own time. Mina is willing to sacrifice her own leg to break out of that paralysis. It is a small price to pay not to lose Victor. Luckily Victor is back up and saves Mina. She breaks down in tears, happy he is still alive. Victor has always thought Mina was fooling around but realizes she is genuinely in love with him. But the fight with Ice Radar is not over yet. When Victor fights her, he realizes he could speed up time without losing his own. Ice Radar reveals she fixed his Unique and missed his vitals. Now he can use his powers without worrying the side effects. She did this favour because the info he gave to them 12 years ago when he returned from the Horologues’ nest is more vital than his life. Victor realizes this is her way to test him if he is worthy to hold on to Unique. Well, the test is not over yet. The fight continues with some complicated speed up, speed down of time explanations. Because Victor has found a loophole that Ice Radar being a god doesn’t make her absolute. Something about her may be able to control time but that doesn’t mean it nullifies his own ability. The control of time can only be countered by controlling time. Huh?

Episode 5
Kiri can only defend against Blaze’s punches. Blaze claims he wants to be the worst villain in the world. Why? Oh, flashback time. Long time ago there was this good kid who did everything to help others. The villagers loved him. On the other hand, there is also this bad kid who bullied others. The villagers gave up on him. What happens when good kid tries to turn bad kid over to a new leaf? One night, bad kid has good kid follow him to a windmill. Bad kid burns windmill down! Both kids got caught and although bad kid got scolded, it was much worst for good kid. They think he has been lying to them by being nice. Everyone hated him. Because of the disappointment, he decided to become a villain. This means he is not tied down to anyone. Nice story about yourself. It’s Kiri’s turn. Not after he surprises Blaze with a move that his old Oath of Time model cannot do. Seems he is able to pull it off because he swapped Mina’s Oath of Time while she was sleeping. His intentions was to limit her movements. So Victor’s back story rants about how his father has regressed into a stranger. Guess what? Blaze is so touched that he cried!!! Such tragic past! WTF?! Blaze blames the Horologues for this and will take them down to be the next villain. Until then, stay undefeated. Also, he wants to become Kiri’s big brother. Kiri collapses after Blaze reveals it is not his master’s plan to kill Victor but to see if he is worthy of Unique. So back to that fight, Victor manages to pull out some tricks up his sleeves to bind Ice Radar. He has learnt a few things from the fight like her limited range of time control despite calling herself a god. Well, she still manages to live up to that since she manages to break out. She beats him up before he finishes talking thinking it is his form of distracting her. Then to her surprise, it is like he is able to control her body and slow down time. After checkmating her, he reveals that it was his torn cards scattered during the fight that got stuck on her body that allowed him to slow down her time when the timing is right, making it look like he controlled her body. So next time, let others finish what they have to say first. She acknowledges him worthy to keep Unique.

Episode 6
Kiri must be even embarrassed as Blaze keeps calling out to Victor about his son worried about him. Snake welcomes them back and reveals this was all a test. He lets Kiri know about the records on Victor but it is in a coded language that is still being deciphered. Because Victor is a mysterious man himself and they didn’t know he is his son, what are they chances they know about his time here? But guess what? Time for Kiri to blow his top again when he sees Victor flirting with the ladies! Heck, all of them are flocking around him! Kiri asks Snake about Aiks and if it is possible that Horologues can talk. Normally they couldn’t but after devouring humans for a long time, they might have developed that ability. But even if they defeat it, it might not be able to recover Victor’s time. It is possible if it is 60 seconds when it was first devoured. That night, Kiri sees Victor successfully deciphering his records. They are coded alphabets that he substituted out with the names of girls. So he wasn’t just only flirting then? Many of the records are nothing important. Just flirting around. But there is one that details everything. It was his final mission. It is at Coubjurs, his hometown.

Next day, Victor says his goodbye to Ice Radar. He sets a time of 1 month to defeat that Horologue otherwise he will return Unique to her. He also asks if Mina is really his wife. If she was, she would have tried to help reclaim his time but she is more interested in creating new ones. Ice Radar shows a DNA test she secretly conducted on Mina and Kiri. Not related. But then again, Mina is a descendent of Chronos and her DNA changes when she reaches 18. But she knows Victor and Mina were a team back then and she really wanted to marry him and have a child. When he went missing, she fell into depression and only ‘revived’ recently when she heard he was still alive. She isn’t sure if they are really married but Mina’s love for him is real. Ice Radar has a favour to ask of him. He hopes she can open her eyes. As a descendent of Chronos, human emotions will only cloud her judgment. Victor can’t promise that and can only love her as long as she loves him. Ice Radar then freezes his time as a threat. He won’t change his stance but words it in a way that if Mina loses interest in him, he will not pursue her. As they leave, Snake gives them a few items and ‘cool’ nicknames. This signifies they are part of the top 12 Guardians of Chronos. Mina joins them in their trip to Coubjurs. You think teaming up bullying Kiri is on the cards but when Victor says he will be hers once he gets back his time, Mina snaps. So now she is not happy? Apparently she thinks he is doing this out of responsibility and if so, she doesn’t want this kind of love. I guess Kiri is in a dilemma again. If they’re acting like stupid lovers, it’s bad for him. Now they’re not talking and such heavy mood, it’s still bad for him. And then Blaze pops up. In his own pace he makes everyone get along. Yeah, looks like he is going on this trip with them too. For once, Kiri is grateful he saved the situation.

Episode 7
While on a plane to Coubjurs, they stop this gamer freak kid, Bill Reidan from using his Horologue ring on the rest of the passengers. How? Mina’s swift wind power blast the related parties outside to fight on the plane! And everyone else didn’t notice a thing. Yeah, it must be just a small turbulence or something. Anyway, he uses the ring to summon a Bahamut to fight them. It is a 3,800 year old Horologue so you bet it packs some power. Although Bill gets injured, he doesn’t feel any pain. He thinks life is a game and hence doesn’t feel the pain. So there’s this flashback of him of how boring he views reality. He found his ‘reality’ in online games. He turned into a shut-in and this made his mom sad. But her love for him had her continue to feed him and leave him alone. Until she died via overworking. It was then Bill woke up and regretted it. A strange man approached him and told him a way to get his mom back. Giving him the ring, if he collects time from others, the reverse flow of time will eventually get his mom back. Well, they destroy his ring and if Bahamut goes out of control, Victor destroys it with a single strike using Unique! Down on the ground, you could say Bill is now brought back down to earth as he starts to feel the pain and regret of reality. Victor tries to give him hope that his mom might be gone but memories of her still live inside his heart. However Bill only remembers treating her like trash and a slave. He never once said thank you. It is those memories that made it so painful. It’s because he can remember them all. This invokes a deep memory inside Victor. Standing at the beach and 2 coffins next to him. The coffins are empty. Victor lets Bill go as they make their way to Coubjurs. Although he claims he is okay, Kiri can tell he is only putting up a strong front. And Blaze is crying over Bill’s touching story… I hope he doesn’t want to be his big brother too…

Episode 8
Arriving at Coubjurs, this backwater place brings back lots of childhood memories for Victor. But to his shock, he spots his parents before his eyes. They’re supposed to be dead. Then they realize the date of a newspaper. It looks like the time of this place is 34 years ago! Kiri knows something is wrong but assuming if those are Victor’s real parents, it could mean time has been turned back. Victor is tempted to go to his parents, Alexander and Eve who run a local clinic but Kiri doesn’t want them to raise suspicions. This place might not mean anything to Kiri it does to Victor. Kiri decides to play along with his sentimentality in exchange their relation won’t be discovered. Mina assures it won’t since they don’t look alike. Kiri hits back that she and Ice Radar too don’t look alike. That’s for sure. They aren’t really blood related and call each other so for convenience. Besides, she too doesn’t remember her past but doesn’t care about it as she is more concerned of building a future with Victor. When Eve bumps into them again and invites them for dinner, Kiri naturally wanted to decline but Victor views it as a worthy investigation. They might get to the bottom of it all if they stick around them. Alexander talks how he became a doctor to help with Eve’s weak body. In short, he is unlicensed and a quack doctor although his intentions are good. Kiri is pissed he is made to cook for them. Yeah, it tastes horrible! Almost died? The commotion causes a young Victor to tell them to pipe down because he is studying. Plus, he badmouths his parents and doesn’t have high hopes for them. Blaze wants to teach him a lesson but Victor tells him to let it go. Kiri knows Victor’s parents died in a fire although the cause is unknown. The loss of his parents forced Victor to grow in the truest sense and made him appreciate them. Next morning, Victor talks to Eve about the drawing she wanted to give her son. Kiri had to remind him about his sentimentality to atone his wrongdoing. Because his parents died in the fire, he never received the drawing. On the contrary, he already knows what it is because he returned to the spot and saw the drawing. It is a message for him to be a victor. Kiri tries to remind him he can’t change the past and these people are fakes but is shrugged off he doesn’t know anything or how parents feel about their child. Both go their own separate ways to investigate. Why so mad, Kiri?

Episode 9
Kiri, Blaze and Mina are fighting a 4,500 year old snake Horologue. However it soon turns tail and run. Kiri knows something is wrong. Like is as though it is being controlled by someone and trying to lead them somewhere because it is running ‘slow’ enough to let them follow while being fast enough to dodge their attacks. Kiri and co decide to follow it in hopes it will lead to the perpetrator. Kiri wonders why of all days Mina decided to not follow Victor. Ever since he met Eve, there is always that sadness in his smile. She hates this town because it only brings Victor sadness. Hence she is going to change this town. Only when Victor is happy, she is happy. Meanwhile Victor sees Alexander rushing home because he got word his wife has collapsed. Thankfully young Victor did all the necessary. However something is still wrong. Even isn’t getting better. Alexander deduces a blood transfusion is needed. But Eve has a rare AB negative blood. Young Victor decides to return and donate his blood. Mom doesn’t want him to miss the bus for his entrance exam but I guess young brat decided his mom’s life is more important. However his puny size means the transfusion isn’t enough. Victor just realized he too has the same blood and steps in. Even though he feels his parents might be fakes but he can’t help hope that by doing something, something will change. Eve’s life is saved so when Victor tries to praise his little self, he instead badmouths his parents that thanks to this, he missed the bus and now has to wait another year. He is stuck here with them when he could have gotten away from them for good. Victor slaps him! I guess little brat is still a kid and cries like one. Alexander isn’t appreciative of that. Thanks for saving Eve. But please leave. Depressed Victor has this strange dream of being admonished he isn’t the strong victorious Victor his parents hoped him to be but a weakling who can’t put his parents behind him. Kiri and co now stumble upon a strange barrier that might have stopped time in this town.

Episode 10
Kiri further deduces that the Horologues are protecting Coubjurs so that the residents can have a peaceful life. There is also a possibility that the town is repeating the same day because the residents seem not to remember them when the next day arrives. It could also be that the time in the town is flowing backwards. They encounter the perpetrators, Kyousuke Fujibayashi and Raiko. They have a ring that controls Horologues. But they aren’t the ones behind this but their master. Their job is to lure them away from Coubjurs in which their master is conducting an experiment and kill them before moving on to Victor. Fujibayashi somewhat recognizes Mina. He calls her Nana and remembers her as being all over Victor back then. There was also a little specky kid who was always clingy to her. This makes Mina mad. She tells Kiri to go save Victor while she handles him. The fact is that there is something she doesn’t want Kiri to hear. Meanwhile Victor is depressed back at the cabin when one of Alexander’s frequent patients show up. He is confused despite Victor saved Eve, he is not happy and hit his young self. Bill then pops up looking for another ring. Patient dude isn’t sure what he is talking about so he devours Bill to read his memories! This guy is actually Aiks and as a Horologue who has lived so long, he came to possess an ego and disguised himself as a human to observe them. So he made this town his experiment to understand them. He tells of several experiments he did on Victor’s family like killing them or letting them die but their reaction is not what he expected. As he is able to do this experiment infinitely, he assures he will turn back time of this town to normal when he is done. Victor gets emotional and attacks him but fails. Aiks suggests he become the subject of his experiment if he doesn’t like this. He lets him know that consuming time of this town has him use a large portion of his energy. If he can damage his eating organ, he could spit up the time he has eaten. The town will return to normal but Victor will not see his dead parents again. Therefore Aiks is curious to know which Victor will choose. Victor doesn’t hesitate to attack him to take back his memories. But Aiks can tell he still has doubts as his attacks aren’t as powerful. Victor is on the verge of being devoured by disappointed Aiks. But here comes Kiri to the rescue. He too is disappointed a pathetic father he is.

Episode 11
Mina thought breaking his ring would turn his Horologue crazy and eat him. However it isn’t working since the ring she broke was fake. She then cannot move. Fujibayashi explains when she protected Kiri and got bitten by his Horologue, its toxins are taking effect. Horologues not only eat time but they also gain the abilities of those devoured and in this case all the venomous snakes and bugs. As he tries to experiment poisons on her, his Horologue suddenly disappears. Apparently Mina’s blood can purify poison because of her relation to Chronos. Therefore it is like fighting poison with poison. She locks him in a vacuum. Meanwhile Blaze is having a hard time with Raiko but isn’t giving up. He is shocked to see his body fused with Horologue. Old guy explains he was abandoned by his parents since he has muscle atrophy. But his master took him in and fused his body with a Horologue. That’s why he will devote his life to him. Guess what? Blaze is crying and touched by his story. As they continue fighting, Blaze seems to be on the losing end. Till he plays his ultimate trump card. Scattered gunpowder that might be small but when blown up together, the effect is immense. One roast jiji coming up. Kiri fights Aiks and although he manages to damage him, Aiks eats himself to heal himself like as though reversing time before the injury. Huh? Kiri then gets bitten as Aiks explains he still doesn’t understand human emotions after all his observations. Except for one: Fear. If you’re wondering why Victor didn’t move in to help, it’s because his inner conscious in the form of Alexander and his young self are holding him back. They warn him killing Aiks will kill them. Does he not want them to exist? Victor sums up his courage to reconcile about reality. He knows his parents are dead and can’t save Kiri if he is trapped in the past. He breaks free of his chance and will claim victory with his own strength. For he is Victor the victory. But why is he now scared when he is going to kill Eve? Must be the sad gentle smile…

Episode 12
Victor attacks Aiks but avoids his eating organ. Aiks wonders why Victor now has the confidence to defeat him when he did not before. He observes him again by making him see visions of Eve and other townspeople accusing him of being selfish if he returns the town to normal. Victor will not be fooled and punches his way to shatter the illusion as well as destroying Aiks’ eating organ. With that, the flow of time of this town is slowly returning it to its dilapidated state. Victor wants to go see his parents one last time but Kiri tells him to face reality now or he will never be freed from the regrets of his past. So Victor talks to Eve. Especially about the painting she was to give Victor. He knows what it is and assures Victor will grow up to be a fine man. But Eve explains about the pen she uses to draw it. It was given to her by Alexander whom he got from his father. It is very precious and has lots of memories in it. This is what she wants to give to him. This makes Victor realize he was wrong. He didn’t trust his family and companions and only believed in his own abilities. Eve knew this Victor was her grown up son ever since they first met. She thanks him for turning out what they had hoped for. Victor apologizes and regrets all that he has done. Too bad he took too long and now mom is gone. Aiks returns and thinks Victor didn’t appreciate his family when he was young and he grew up troubled by it. He wants to experiment this again and recreates Eve. But when Victor says the experiment ends here, he kills her. Victor then asks how it feels to understand human emotion. After all the experiments? Nothing. Victor punches him and is going to make him pay. With everyone reuniting to fight against him, Aiks is stumped that they have no fear in fighting him. He materializes wings that will turn anything upon contact into nothing. It puts a little fear back in them. Flashback shows Aiks ate some villagers to learn about fear. Then he met his master who named him and will give him endless supplies for him to understand human emotions in exchange for his loyalty. Aiks gets pounded once the rest know the trick to his attack. No more fear again. This forces Aiks to transform into his true form and fire his devastating Gastas Ray directly at Victor.

Episode 13
Don’t worry. He survives. Mina goes on the offensive with Aiks seeing that she is the only one with Chronos blood and can fight him without taking too much damage. Trying to protect her son is so touching, eh? Kiri then hatches a plan. Before that, he apologizes he can’t remember his mom and didn’t understand how Victor felt when he came here. When father and son come up close to Aiks, his attacks doesn’t work. It seems they cover the cards with puddle and turn it into a mirror. Because Aiks attack digests everything he sees, this means he eats his own self in the mirror. Too bad, not yet final victory yet since Aiks hid his real eating organ somewhere. As he rains devastation everywhere, the rest hides and Victor tells Kiri his dangerous plan. Kiri is against it since failure means his life and even if he is successful, there would be high damage. Keeping positive, if they are successful, they can defeat Aiks. In the end, it boils down to believe in him. First, Victor quickly attacks him with Unique. Time is seeping out fast from him. This dangerous act makes Aiks expose his real eating organ to defend himself. This is the cue for the rest to attack Aiks with all they’ve got. They defeat the Horologue and Aiks realizes another emotion other than fear and loves it. In the aftermath, the rest are looking for Victor but only sees his clothes. Cue for emotional infighting especially Mina calling her son not her son because she allowed Victor to die. But wait. Victor is around but as a ghost? He is disappearing fast. Then he sees his parents as ghost. They are happy about him being a victor and tell him not to come over here and that he has a life. See how everyone is calling for him and Kiri getting too emotional. He is calling Victor as his dad and would be lost if he isn’t around. With that, Victor returns to everyone’s relief. After Kiri denies all that embarrassing stuff, he hands Victor the pen. As they take a train home, Kiri talks to Victor and knows Aiks is still alive out there because Victor is still in his same form. So it’s not over yet by a long shot. The past might never return but as long as you have those dearest in your heart, you can take off to the future again.

Time’s Up! A Pyrrhic Victory?
So I guess that when a Horologue eats your time and you can never get it back is just crap. Victor just proved it. All you need to do is find the right Horologue and hang on long enough before you turn into nothingness. Well, too bad nobody else has Unique so I suppose everyone else cannot be saved. So looks like the happy family of four is going to take another road trip to wherever leads them to. Hopefully within the time frame of their lives because they aren’t immortals, you know. But for me, I’ve it’s time out. I was hoping there would be something interesting for me to look forward to but alas like in many animes, it didn’t. And here I thought the final episode would have some sort of interesting twist or something that would allow it to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Oh Victor, your name only means so in the context of this anime but otherwise it has been a total loss for the rest of us. The series may have ended on a good and happy note but with nothing that spectacular throughout and possibly for the sequel (if there is going to be one but I highly doubt it), this ‘victory’ seems somewhat hollow. Because pretty soon it feels like this anime will be quickly tossed into those forgettable bins and never to resurface in time again. What’s the use of speeding up or slowing down time when nobody gives you their time?

Honestly, although the general plot and setting of the series starts off as interesting, it quickly loses that excitement as early as the second episode. I believe the first episode is by far the most interesting one as it sets up the lore and settings of this series. Heck, it was like a standalone filler but it was okay. The intrigue of a high school girl’s desperation to turn back time to get back her lost brother serves as an introduction for the main characters who look simply interesting and fascinating at first (as well as the first looks of how horrifying Horologues look). And then by the next episode when the ‘real plot’ starts to get rolling about finding Chronos’ HQ followed by the trip back to Coubjurs, that is where the series starts to wane. I don’t know. It just felt boring. Like as though the entire series is just one long journey for Victor to try to get back his lost memories. Therefore the synopsis I read about this series felt like a big troll because it was basically a summary for the first episode! Deception or surprise? You’ll never hear of that Koyuki girl ever again. I try not to sound bias but seeing that this story was written and adapted from a Chinese manhua… Oh well…

Because of all that, I also find the characters to be annoying in some ways. Like Victor and Kiri is one of those weird opposite team combos because while you have one who is easy going and cool, the other is the serious and trying to keep things in line. Making it even weirder is that Victor is Kiri’s father and he is getting younger by the day. How weird is it to have your father one day be the one who is younger than you? Certainly the curious case of Benjamin Button… As said, the entire series is like a long journey to shed light on Victor’s past. He gets the big bulk of the focus. Sometimes he is funny but more often at times comes off as annoying. It’s like he is trying to be funny but fails. Especially when he is flirting around and having girls swarm all over his feet like as though the purpose of it all is to piss off Kiri (especially that recurring joke of wanting him to eat pasta through his nose. WTF. And no, Blaze, don’t you dare challenge that with pasta up your butt…). And what do you know? He was actually doing something beneficial by using his charms to get or do something. I guess there are some things you just can’t get by walking straight up to someone and demanding for it. So that’s why I suppose Kiri is always complaining, blowing his top thinking his father isn’t serious in getting the job done. Like as though it is his destiny to always be mad. Also, I think Victor doesn’t reprimand Kiri and just let him be because doesn’t Kiri’s anger reminds Victor of his own when he was younger? Yeah, he knows how that feels. You can’t fight anger with anger.

Mina and Blaze complete this ragtag quartet group and also as annoying in their own ways. Like Mina (whose ‘complicated’ past and relationship with her ‘sister’, Ice Radar which I still can’t understand) who is constantly trying to pander to her darling and the terrible duo become Kiri’s worse nightmare as they team up to tease him. It’s good she is thinking of the future and moving forward instead of being obsessed about the past. But you know what they say about knowing history and preventing it from happening again. Therefore Victor has to solve the case of his parents and put a close on it before he needs to move on. By the way, in which it doesn’t feel too convincing since Victor feels like an outsider watching his own past unfolding, then having the dilemma of wanting to stay this way forever or not, then making his decision by coming to terms with reality. And goodbye mommy. Sad to say, that didn’t stir up any emotions in me. Oh sh*t, am I as bad as Aiks?

Speaking of Aiks, as this season’s main antagonist, he too doesn’t feel like one. Just one confused Horologue trying to understand human emotions and hence his twisted judgment of experimenting on humans of a little town over and over again. The reason he could never understand it is firstly, he isn’t human to begin with even though he knows what fear is but that doesn’t mean understanding a human emotion is an indication he should be able to understand the rest. Secondly, with that said, this is the case of trying to describe colours to a blind person. Thus no matter how many experiments with different variations he pulls off, he is never going to understand anything. We saw how he didn’t feel anything after all that, right?

Before I forget, Blaze feels like the obligatory comic relief character as he is shown as the biggest idiot who is more brawn than brains. With lots of passion. Guys like him are supposed to relief tension in the group but this is also what makes him annoying. Unlike One Piece’s Luffy and Fairy Tail’s Natsu, this guy isn’t the main character so that is why he isn’t that likeable. At least to me. Just annoying. So all you need to do to get this guy on your side is to tell a decently touching story, wait for him to bawl some tears and then by that time if you don’t intend to kill him, wait for him to announce to be your brother or ally or whatever. He’ll be on your side definitely. And what’s this about wanting to be the world’s greatest villain? Bad guys don’t help others but themselves. It’s like he is just twisting the definition of a villain but plays the hero of justice. But if he says he wants to be the world’s greatest clown, that I can agree… Maybe Snake can be his buffoon partner but I think he’ll get arrested before that could happen. Yeah, doing time… Haha!

Therefore a few mysteries and questions bugging me like the history of Chronos and Horologues, the workings of the Oath of Time and if that you can never get back your devoured time still lingers on my mind. I believe some are explained but not in detail. Just enough to get you by this season. Because we all know there is one big master behind the Horologues and the likes. The mind boggling thing about Ice Radar isn’t about her being a descendant of Chronos or how Mina who isn’t blood related became her sister, but rather how the f*cks this she end up with such an alien name like Ice Radar?! Not that I can see she uses any ice power or radar effects. Not too sure if it is a corruption of her name in kanji, Aisuredar. Whatever. Are you curious to find out who are the other members of the 12 Guardians of Chronos? Who? Don’t remember them? So do I. Yeah, so irrelevant and unrelated…

I was hoping the action bits would alleviate some of the boringness but unfortunately even though they are still averagely entertaining, it still didn’t manage to boost my impressions of the series. There are a few terms albeit simple ones but I still don’t understand them. Especially about that speeding up and slowing down of time. Whatever. I thought Victor’s team is going to be a group of elemental warriors seeing with have water for Kiri, wind for Mina and fire for the aptly named Blaze. So who is the one controlling the ground or earth element? Beats me. Because a pack of cards sure isn’t in any way related to that. Whatever. Not too sure about the variety of moves they have too because Kiri is always slashing with his sword, Mina kicking some wind action with her feet, Blaze bursting flames with his fists and Victor throwing his cards or setting them up as barriers.

Art and drawing are also average. Sometimes I can see a dip in quality but with me so bored at this point, I don’t even care. I just want to point out that when I first looked at the characters, I had this familiar feeling that I have seen them from somewhere. Though I won’t name them all because I can’t remember which anime character they resemble (read: Lazy), the one that caught my attention is Kiri. Think back. Why does this guy look so familiar? Why, isn’t this Ishida from Bleach???!!! OMG! Did somebody cut and paste this character?! Did the designer blatantly rip off this character? Bleach has gone off the air for so many years and this is where he ended up? He traded his spiritual bow for a water sword? This might be a long shot but I think the designer took inspiration in Victor’s design from Devil May Cry’s Dante. The original one. I also find some similarity with Blaze and Fairy Tail’s Natsu. Despite looking different, same fire power, same hot headed temper. And doesn’t Eve look like a gentler version of Erza of Fairy Tail? Last but not least, doesn’t Bill look like a crazy version of One Piece’s Ace?!

As for the design of the Horologues, at first they seem a bit scary at least for me since I am a horror averse person. I mean, with clocks as eye pupils, creepy enough for me. Especially with multiple of such eyes popping up all over the body. It’s not like I got used to it but then I realize that clocks aren’t scary and once I accepted that, the Horologues don’t look scary anymore. So I was like Victor facing reality and now I don’t have to fear again? What BS did I just say? Also, those round eating organ Horologues from Aiks, I can’t help think of them as a dark evil version of Pac-Man…

The opening theme, Ruler Game by Fo’x Tails did get my attention at first because of the frenzy piano finger play at the opening. Then it descends into some noisy hard rock punk death metal music. I suppose it is fitting for this genre but I didn’t quite like it. So I prefer the ending theme, Jikan Wa Mado No Mukougawa by Nagi Yanagi even though it sounds weird in the sense it feels out of place for this series. It starts off as a slow and calming ballad before turning up the pace and tempo a little. Also I want to note that there are a few BGMs in the series which have this jazzy feel to it. Although they aren’t too shabby, but sometimes it feels a bit out of place in a series like this. I don’t know, it just doesn’t fit but they’re nice to hear at times.

The series is ‘saved’ with the casting of a few recognizable seiyuus albeit not by much. Great to hear voices like Jun Fukuyama as Victor, Rie Kugimiya as Mina, Jouji Nakata as Aiks, Shizuka Itou as Ice Radar, Sayaka Ohara as Eve and Tomokazu Sugita as Snake. For the rest, they are Kaito Ishikawa as Kiri (Iida in Boku No Hero Academia), Kenji Akabane as Blaze (Arashi in Triage X), Kazuhiko Inoue as Alexander (Gildarts in Fairy Tail), Kengo Kawanishi as Bill (Rei in 3-gatsu No Lion) and Chika Anzai (titular character in Hitsugi No Chaika).

Overall, this is largely a disappointing series. A boring less than stellar plot and annoying characters outweighs the cool jazzy BGMs and popular seiyuus landing their talents here. It looks like the Chinese manhua has still got a long way to go if they want to match up to their Japanese counterparts but given the fact that this series has been given the Japanese anime treatment, I guess it shows it has some potential, right? Or does Japan starting to run out of creativity and decided to look for that elsewhere? Too bad the time I have ‘wasted’ watching this series didn’t turn it into something enjoyable. I won’t be wise of me to wish for time to be turned back and returned to me because it would have defeated the purpose of watching what this series is all about. And sadly this series will eventually fade away by the time the next season rolls around. Couldn’t stand the test of time… Sorry, needed to make a time pun to end this. Heck, better than eating pasta through your nose joke, right?

Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love! Love! Love!

Oh my. You mean there is more of it?! More of the gayness?! Well, it seems that Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love! Love! Love! Is going to be the final. That is why this OVA is almost an hour long! Oh boy. I don’t know if I should feel relief or sad but this is it. Graduation is looming for the gang and with that they won’t be able to stay together like before. Let’s hear for one last time for the boys.

The ending of the love…
We hear the guys discussing how Tawarayama has been revived so many times that they wonder if he is still the same person. It creeps them out thinking if he isn’t. Next we see the guys taking a bath as they talk and reminisce about things. Among them include Kusatsu having a writer’s block to come up with a graduation speech, the very short encounter of how Kusatsu and Zundar met but a very long one between Wombat and the Earth Defence Club quintet. Then there is an argument between the Beppu twins, Io, Ryuu and Akoya on which one of them is supposed to address the speech as the underclassman representative to the graduating students. Cue for each of them to sing their own character image song. Each of them. Yup, this is going to take some time. Then they realize something is wrong when Yumoto isn’t here. Something truly is when Wombat says he has not been cuddled once today! They find him depressed in the clubroom holding a sponge. What’s this? Wombat getting jealous and wants him to hug him like he always do?! Creepy! And to think he hated the ‘raping’ so much. However Yumoto is still dejected and denies he is the main character or something. The rest think he must be sentimental since spring is here and to leave him alone. Yumoto passes by Yuzuru Botan who hates graduation ceremonies. Yumoto sympathizes with him and knows how he feels.

When the graduation ceremony is here, a button monster attacks the place. Caerula Adamas go into action to subdue him but he escapes. The quintet then want to leave this to them since they have to concentrate on the ceremony. The culprits behind this are Zundar and Dadacha. They pretended to have reformed and gone home but waited for the right time to exact revenge. Battle Lovers get help from VEPPer but still aren’t good enough to take the monster down. They argue the good of the graduation ceremony when the monster questions back if the important things are found in every day, so what is the point of having this special ceremony? For the first time, Yumoto is outdebated and loses his power. Goura explains this is so because Yumoto doesn’t want the graduation ceremony to happen too. Yumoto admits that and doesn’t care about it. They should even call it off. The rest also feel the same. Yumoto is surprised and explains he didn’t mean this to bother them. It is that he wants to stay with them like this forever. The monster attacks as Yumoto’s friends protect him. Goura wants to help but Wombat stops him. This is a challenge to see if Battle Lovers can solve this themselves. After all, his love is letting things go. Zundar and Dadacha try to convince the twins to rejoin them in the universal stage but they refuse. They thank Dadacha for everything but it’s time to say goodbye. Yumoto and the rest face the reality of graduation. He thanks them for everything and for the first time they purify the monster without being in their Battle Lovers form. The graduation ceremony proceeds well. When they don’t see Wombat, they realize he has left a note in the clubroom. By the time they read this, he is already preparing to leave this planet and taking along Zundar and Dadacha with him. As Earth is now filled with love, his role here is over. There are still many planets filled with hatred and fear so his retirement is still a long way off. The guys manage to catch Wombat for the last time before his galaxy railways takes off into the stars.

Love Is Over!
Oh well, like I have said, I don’t know if I should feel at ease because it is all over or sad because everything has already ended. Unless… But as for now and at this point, it looks like another one of those series which I didn’t even expect to get a second season has finally come to a close. I suppose this is much better than many of the other animes out there which never got its proper closure and just left hanging and forgotten over time after losing its appeal. It goes to show that nothing lasts forever. Not even love. Heck, even Naruto has ended! Although technically there is a new spinoff of it running, basically the original is already done. So there goes my joke of what is the difference between love and Naruto. Love ends. Hah… Not funny anymore…

It is so obvious that a big chunk of this OVA is because of the character image songs in the first half of this show. This is why the running time could last up to almost an hour. I believe this is the first time I am hearing all of them (except the Beppu twins who used their trademark battle song) and I figure the best sounding one is Io’s since it is all about money. You know this is going to be some sort of special final goodbye when during these songs they start replaying clips from previous seasons, many of which I cannot remember. Oh yeah, those were the good ol’ (gay) days. Making it even ‘sadder’ is the ending theme, Kokoro To Kokoro De which is filled with all the goodbye and parting words. It definitely gives you the feels that it is really over.

Fighting the final monster also feels like a final parting gift for the series as we see everyone in their battle uniforms for one last time but the twist of it all is that how the power of love that comes directly from the heart heals the monster instead of the usual love attacks. It is still creepy and cringing to now think that Wombat has accepted Yumoto’s cuddles. It was one of the very ambiguously gay moments (if not bordering bestiality) that sends shivers down your spine but at the same time makes you laugh at how silly and cringe it is. Oh well, no more Wombat raping moments ever. From the looks of it, Yumoto has gotten over that since he has prioritize his friends. Good for him.

So this is it. Even if this series is gone, I’m sure the love making will not stop. Things have to go on and move forward but essentially all that love is still the same but in different forms. The only mind boggling thing is that if Wombat claims Earth is now filled with love, is this only confined to Japan? Because hell, it looks like the rest of the world didn’t get the loving touch of Battle Lovers. Oh Wombat, one day you will realize this and make a u-turn back to Earth and reunite with our boys again. And hence another sequel! Oh God. Please don’t think about this and give others strange ideas. But for now, we know a certain pink wombat is out there trying to bring peace and love to all that hatred and terror. And possible getting ‘raped’ at it. The price of love…

Isekai Shokudou

Another food anime? Well, I suppose there are those who can’t stand the exaggerations of Shokugeki No Souma, Chuuka Ichiban or Yakitate! Japan and all those muscle heads abominations in Toriko. Heck, even Kofuku Graffiti is a little too sexy and distracting to be considered a food anime. But it is. Piace – Watashi No Italian is too short and Amaama To Inazuma is too boring and very down to earth-like. JK Meshi sucks and everyone has forgotten about Ben-To. So how do you please somebody who wants great down to earth food but also a fantasy setting? Yes, you can have that. It’s all in Isekai Shokudou. Imagine a normal western restaurant serving our food to mythical creatures from another world. Yeah, our food must be so good that these creatures become returning customers for life. Is this some sort of subtle? Advertising. Well, let that sink in. I mean your teeth into those juicy delicious foods.

Episode 1A
A samurai, sage, barbarian, beastman and lizardman are eating in a western restaurant, Nekoya. No, this is not a walk-into bar joke. They all argue what dish goes best with their rice. Then they try to steal each other food to taste and see if what they’re saying is true. Could have been an epic bloodshed had not Tenshu (master chef of Nekoya) tells them to stop. Keep this up and he’ll stop cooking for them. That did the trick. A majestic red dragon transforms into her sexy humanoid form to patron Nekoya. Her lair is filled with gold and treasure so I’m sure she can afford anything and everything. But she always orders her favourite beef stew. After she has her fill, she has Tenshu fill up a pot of more beef stew in which she can further enjoy back at her lair.

Episode 1B
Aletta wanders in Nekoya and feeling hungry, she can’t help herself to finish the delicious corn potage and falls asleep after a good meal. Goldilocks? However she is caught red handed by Tenshu. She explains her story she came to the capital to work. She is of the demon race and as proof she has demon horns. However she has no magic skills or super strength. She tried to make an honest living as a waitress but when her horns were found out, she had to quit due to the discrimination against non-humans. Currently she is living impoverished in some ruins and still unemployed. One cold night, a mysterious door appeared before her and she curiously entered. He invites her to eat breakfast with him. Yeah, ham and bacon and eggs taste so good. Tenshu offers her to work here as a waitress, to wait on tables and clear the dishes. She’ll also be able to eat as staff meals. Aletta seizes this chance as she begins her new life as a waitress of Nekoya.

Episode 2A
Sarah Gold the treasure hunter is in another one of her treasure hunting adventures. She sees a strange door before her. She enters and finds herself in Nekoya. She takes up Tenshu’s offer to stay and eat. Suspicious at first, soon she finds the ice lemon water delicious and the prices of many of the menu items cheaper than many places. She enjoys her minced meat cutlet and gets to order refills for her bread and soup. Once done, Tenshu hands her an extra takeout of more minced meat cutlet since she enjoyed her meal a lot. It’s on the house. Apparently Tenshu knows her father, William (Indiana Jones clone?). However he has sadly passed on and his ‘regret’ was he won’t be able to come here anymore. Sarah notes this was his last hidden treasure.

Episode 2B
Tatsugorou the samurai sees Lord Heinrich Seelemann in his castle to return a sword he has long forgotten. Seelemann remembers 3 years ago he was in charge of a fort that was swamped by monsters. As he was an excellent rider, he was chosen to ride to the capital to request for reinforcements. However he did not pack enough food and his horse died along the way and he had to travel the rest of the way by foot. Weakened and hungry, he stumbled upon a cottage with a strange door. He entered Nekoya and is offered fried shrimp. He starts eating the mouth-watering dish and it whets his appetite as he orders 3 more! After licking all of the plates clean, he remembers his mission and realizes he cannot pay him. In order not to be indebted, he left his sword as collateral and promises to come back the next time to pay. He leaves in a hurry and didn’t hear Tenshu’s words that the door only appears once in every 7 days, on the day of Satur. Seelemann was able to reach the capital and sought what he needed and the duchy narrowly escaped doom. When he returned to that cabin, that door is gone. Seelemann wants to know more about Nekoya. Tatsugorou knows there is a similar door close by. On the next day of Satur, Seelemann steps into Nekoya once more and is glad to be back.

Episode 3A
Thomas Alfade is a famous proprietor who deals with various ingredients and seasonings. He has revolutionized the dining table and is dubbed the Genius of Culinary Innovation. He is now retired. Underneath his cellar is a door to Nekoya. He brings his grandson, Sirius along. Sirius is introduced to the various other worldly food. Tenshu then hands him a box containing various gold and currency. It is payment for ingredients Thomas brought for Tenshu’s own consumption. He uses them to research flavours too. Thomas orders his favourite spaghetti with meat sauce. His son also tries the same and is overwhelmed by the taste. Note, in the other world, tomatoes grow in squares?! Thomas then reveals his title is no more than a sham. He comes here to eat Tenshu’s food and merely brings them back to his world for others to try. He leaves it to Sirius to continue his legacy. Yeah, looks like he orders the same food Thomas does every time he visits.

Episode 3B
Adelheid is the granddaughter to the king of a small nation, Wilhelm. Due to her sick condition which has no definite cure, she has to stay at his castle and is always alone. One day he decides to take her to his secret place and must promise not to tell anyone. Adelheid is now all grown up and Wilhelm has passed on as she returns to his castle. She cannot remember much of the place except she ate ‘clouds’. One day while in her room, a strange door pops up. Entering Nekoya brings back a few memories. During that time Tenshu was just an apprentice chef and his grandpa was the main chef who served them. Apparently Tenshu remembers Adelheid. She’s all grown up so beautiful but he still could identify her? Heck, he even remembers serving her chocolate parfait. The ‘clouds’. Adelheid feels a lot better and returns home. It really brighten up her day.

Episode 4A
Why does this feel like a documentary? We take a look at the lives of the lizardmen living in the marshlands in the south. We also take a look at their strongest warrior, Gaganpo. Why the heck do we need to see him bath, clean and arm himself?! Not the fanservice I was expecting! Anyway this is to get ready for a ritual. 30 years ago, a mysterious door popped up at the altar. Gerupa who was the strongest warrior then bravely ventured into Nekoya. He brought back delicious food. And so it has become a ritual that every 7 days, a strong warrior is chosen to enter Nekoya. Today is Gaganpo as he orders omelette rice. Weird seeing a reptile eat this. He brings back 3 takeaways for his tribe. I wonder if that is enough. Yeah, it is carefully divided into small pieces. Better savour it. If you want more, better be the strongest. Because that is what Gaganpo plans to continue being so he can eat more omelette rice for a long time.

Episode 4B
Fardania the elven archer goes out to hunt for food. She stumbles upon the door to Nekoya thinking it is an ancient elf magic. She enters the restaurant and is sceptical of everything. She also looks down on the barbaric human cooking. She challenges if they could serve a dish that contains no meat, fish, milk or eggs. Otherwise she’ll leave. Tenshu says he can make one. Fardania is surprised. Can he? One trace of those ingredients and she’ll reject it. Tenshu makes tofu steak. It’s not a real steak. Made of tofu and seaweed stock. There is also rice to go with it. She tastes it and brings back fond memories of her late mom. She used to go to the human world to bring back dried mushrooms that made the soup tastier that no ordinary mushrooms in their world could. Could this be the same method? As she doesn’t want to lose to a human, Fardania wants to start cooking better dishes. Is she sure she just didn’t make up an excuse to continue dining at Nekoya?

Episode 5A
Lionel the beastman lost his battle to a half-elf hero, Alexander. He is not killed but sold as a gladiator slave. Oddly, the door to Nekoya pops up in his cell. He ventures into it and meets Tenshu’s grandpa who is still a young man then. Feeling hungry, he wants to be fed. Anything as long as it brings him victory. So he is made katsudon. That’s a pun, right? Of course one bowl of those delicious pork cutlets isn’t going to cut it so he eats not 2, not 3 but 5 of them! Man, he is going to be really victorious! No money? No problem. Put it on his tab. He returns invigorated and easily defeats his opponent. He uses the money he wins to eat more katsudon and went on to dominate the arena for more than 20 years. I guess that confirms it. Katsudon = victory!

Episode 5B
Sage Artorius narrates in some eastern continent, a duchy has an eldest princess who remains unwed, Victoria. She is likely to remain so because she is half-elf. Oddly, both her parents are normal humans. Somehow this world discriminates against anyone with elf traits and you know life for them is tough. Their options on what they can do are limited so Victoria walks down the path of mastering sorcery. She has talent in it and in no time her ability was recognized and became the court’s head sorcerer which leads her to become Artorius’ disciple. Under his tutelage, she began researching on magic and is generously funded on a condition that she keeps out of the spotlight. But she isn’t always researching. She takes a break once in 7 days. You’ve guessed it. Nekoya time. She always orders pudding a la mode as she likes sweets. Back then when Tenshu was young, he didn’t know what desserts to add so she helped out by suggesting a few. Her handwriting is still used in his menu. Once done, she heads back to her research and of course having a few more for the road. Aletta realizes if she is half-elf, can she eat egg and milk based food? Well, Victoria isn’t bitter about her half-elf lineage. She is grateful for enabling her to do more research on it.

Episode 6A
We see Aletta’s day at Nekoya. Before the store opens, she starts by washing herself clean. It’s good to be clean, right? After dressing up and eating breakfast, she cleans the place. When Tenshu arrives, he finds there isn’t enough ingredients. So they take the elevator to another floor where he houses the raw ingredients. I understand Aletta has ‘trauma’ on potatoes because this is the food she ate while she was very poor and hence it is a food for survival. Tenshu will teach her how to cook a delicious potato. But first, the store opens and the usuals arrive to dine. There are days when they end up arguing which dish is better. Today is that day. Yeah, this time what goes best with bread. Can meek Aletta tell everyone to pipe down? Well, nobody listens to the waitress unless she is repeating your order, right? Eventually all start suggesting that the best sandwich would be their favourite dish and put it on bread. To solve this, they order that for the other person. My, with this much orders and extra orders, can Aletta keep up with it all? Looks like she can without screwing up. And without writing them down! Impressive!

Episode 6B
After the last customer has left, Tenshu now shows Aletta how to steam a potato. We hear him explain the little science of steaming. Although it took him many years and practice for him to perfect the art of steaming dim sum and the likes, the easiest to steam is the potato. Once it is done, he puts unsalted butter as topping and voila! We have steamed potato with butter. Bon appetite. Aletta eats this delicious dish as it melts away her trauma. Alas what was once a food she feared most has now become her favourite.

Episode 7A
Admiral Alphonse Flugel was once the strongest navy in the duchy, his ship was sunk by a Kraken and presumed missing. But he was washed up on an uninhabited island where he had to fight tooth and nail for his survival. He lived there all alone for 20 years. Then 3 days ago, a passing ship stopped by to repair its damage. Alphonse is spotted and taken back with them but he is reluctant to leave. Apparently there is a door to Nekoya there! No wonder! Now he has to say goodbye to the best curry dish. He hopes to find a door in the duchy since he noticed a countrymen was dining there. Eventually he finds that door at the cabin and is glad to have his curry again. After having his fill, Tenshu wants him to test taste a new curry dish.

Episode 7B
A black dragon sits in solitude on the decimated moon. She narrates how the 7 coloured dragons cooperated to fight some marble-tentacle-monster. It was a brutal fight with the dragons emerging victorious. But the black dragon represents death and weaker beings die in its presence. Feeling she is no better than that monster in this case, the dragons divided their territories and so she ended up on the moon where there is no life. One day, the door to Nekoya pops up. Even on the moon?! She takes a peek into it. Tenshu gives Alphonse taste his new chicken curry dish. Spicier than usual but he loves it. The black dragon also wants to taste it and assumes the form of a naked elf girl. Well, if they’re going to get embarrassed, Tenshu should’ve put up a sign that says, “No shirt, no shoes, no service!”. Haha! Anyway, she can materialize some clothes for herself. Artorius can tell she is no elf but a black dragon. He fears her but chooses to observe her for now. Alphonse orders curry rice for her and puts it on his tabs. Not sure if they’re in some competition because they keep ordering and eating more. Even when Alphonse has reached his limits, she continues to devour plate after plate, hour after hour!!! The red dragon enters for her usual beef stew and notices her. She advises her that she needs money if she wants to continue eating like this. Money? What’s that? She is warned this place is under her jurisdiction and if she tries anything funny, pay with your life. So if she has no money, all she needs to do is work. The red dragon suggests to Tenshu to let Kuro work here even for scraps. While Kuro is okay with that, poor Aletta is in shock as she jumps the gun thinking Tenshu is unhappy with her and is going to fire and replace her! Don’t drop the pot of beef stew…

Episode 8A
Rokei went sailing but a bad storm causes him to get thrown overboard. Luckily Arte the mermaid saved him and even prayed to the gods for a better weather. He is then taken to an uninhabited island to rest and when he wants to repay her and she requests 10 silver coins. Rokei finds it weird because mermaids do not use currency like humans do. To find out why, she wants him to return here in 3 days. Of course we all know there is a door to Nekoya here. Arte can pray to the gods to transform her into a human form as she patrons. She has been a returning customer that Tenshu and Aletta know her and she likes to order Hamburg steak. She lets Rokei tastes it and he likes it. He orders extra but she fears she has not enough money. Don’t worry. He’ll pay. It’s on him. That’s thanks for saving his life. They agree to come back here again on the next day of Satur.

Episode 8B
Aletta has found a steady job as a housekeeper but it is the house of Sarah! Tenshu has also given her assorted baked cookies as gift for this good news. Apparently above Nekoya is a bakery. Aletta has to ‘ration’ her cookies so she doesn’t finish them in one sitting. But it’s hard to eat just 1 each time, right? Oh, they’re quite expensive too so better savour them. When Shia, Sarah’s younger sister visits, Aletta answers the door. Sarah isn’t home at the moment. Shia doesn’t like her sister hiring a demon. An explanation about this family that certain generations get this ‘curse’ to go on a feverish adventure. Many end up paying with their lives. Sarah is one with this and whenever she is back home, Shia visits to check on her. Aletta serves her the cookies and quickly Shia likes them (as well as opening up to Aletta too). Shia wants more although Aletta has served the last of it. She needs to know more and is shown the box. Looks expensive. Shia gives her a gold coin (worth her entire month’s allowance) to buy it for the next time. Yeah, she’s placing her hopes on Aletta to get them. Aletta makes good her promises as she manages to get a few boxes of different sizes and at dirt cheap price of 1 or 2 silver coins! I’m sure they taste as good.

Episode 9A
A couple of dwarves trek up the mountain to a door to Nekoya. One of them is sceptical about his friend bringing him to this place. Yeah, just wait till you taste the food. And like they say, seeing is believing, or rather in this case, tasting is believing. Now the friend is a total covert as they drink and order big glasses of beer. While waiting for their food, they admire the simple beer glass design. Then they dig into the fried seafood plate. Despite being short people, they have enormous appetite and order more. I guess this is considered tiny by dwarven standards. To top it all, they have whiskey. In the aftermath, the dwarves spruce up the cabin for travellers to stay who come to visit their land. But there is a locked room in which they only hold the key to. It’s their ultimate treasure and no surprise the door to Nekoya.

Episode 9B
Prince Shareef from an Arabian-like desert kingdom seems to be frequenting Nekoya because he is smitten over Adelheid. But he is such a shy guy that his step sister, Renner had to lecture to him to be bolder or else he’ll never win her heart. And she doesn’t even mean it on a diplomacy level where both their nations marry to strengthen ties and such. I guess even if you’re a prince of a nation and the guy who created iced coffee that is all the craze now in his kingdom, when it comes to the matters of the heart, it isn’t easy. So on the next visit to Nekoya, while they wait for Adelheid to show up, we see Renner having a go with her melon soda float. When Adelheid finally arrives, Renner invites her to dine with them but Shareef again becomes a shy guy. This is going to take a long time…

Episode 10A
A strange door opens in the land of fairies. Queen Tiana Silvario XVI and her subjects think this is some sort of invasion as they prepare to go through and take up whatever challenge the invaders have in store for them. Of course it is a door to Nekoya as they are surprised by its interior. Tiana then asks Victoria about the place since she could sense some magic aura on her. After explaining about this eatery, Tiana decides to be bold and try a cooking. Victoria considers the kind of food and diet fairies can eat and ends up ordering a mixed fruit crepe for them. As usual, they find it delicious and good. Tiana then asks Tenshu about the door appearing in their land but he isn’t sure about the details. Tiana is grateful to Victoria and gives her a flower seed. Victoria in turn will pay for their bill each time she dines. Many months later, since everything is so good, the subjects are arguing what to order. So they head over to the other side and continue their debate.

Episode 10B
Fardania has found the secret location of Christian who is her parents’ best friend and one who is a gourmand still researching in cooking. She notices rotting smell in his place as he reveals of the cheese he is fermenting from elven beans to eat for himself. When he explains he got this idea from a restaurant from another world, Fardania also knows the place. So at Nekoya, Christian treats her to natto spaghetti. It isn’t a popular dish and apparently only he orders it. After having their fill, Fardania has this idea to try this natto with rice. Christian is shocked that she is daring to try this combination which he never ever thought of. Let’s say it tastes even better. Back home, Christian informs that rice too exist in their world but only in the western continent. He gives her a jar of miso made from his fermented elven beans since he knows she likes it. This is the result of his years of research. He notes despite the elves’ long lifespan, the world out there is still a wide place to explore.

Episode 11A
Kuro narrates one day she felt a strange gaze from Tenshu. Not wanting to pursue it, she ignores and continues to have her chicken curry. She also narrates the deal she made with the red dragon. While Kuro is working at Nekoya, the red dragon told her to protect the place while she works until she arrives. A pair of sirens, Iris and Arius want to find a new island to make their nest but there is one that they feared as the one they nicknamed Chimera Killer lived there. They believe it has been so many years and this monster would be old and week. As they explore the cave supposedly to be the Chimera Killer’s nest, they find a box of gold and silver as well a strange letter. The Chimera Killer is actually Alphonse as he left behind these treasures for those who are shipwrecked here. The letter also states about Nekoya so the sirens go look for it but do not find anything. After a few days waiting, the door finally pops up. They enter and Aletta explains to them about this restaurant. When they see a piano and hear its nice sound, they start singing, causing Tenshu and Aletta to fall into some trance. Kuro quickly shuts them up and warns certain creatures aren’t immune to their songs. She also warns them never to sing again if they want to eat and return in one piece. They wonder if this place has raw fish. Certainly do. It’s called carpaccio. Tastes good as always. They return home and agree to make this place their new nest.

Episode 11B
Tenshu makes curry bun for themselves to eat after work. Kuro being the spicy fan has only praises for it as we hear her compliment and analyse its taste and contents. Then she washes it all down with milk so she can have more of them. When they leave, Aletta wishes her to take care. Kuro notes she is the only one living on the moon and there isn’t many creatures who can actually harm her. But with the recent experiences at Nekoya, I’m sure Kuro is feeling pretty much at home. She also wishes Aletta to take care.

Episode 12A
As narrated, the legendary 4 heroes named Leonard, Artorius, Alexander and Yomi band together and defeated the evil demon lord. However it came with the cost of Yomi’s life. Leonard went on to become a pontiff, Artorius a great sage and magician while Alexander a mercenary. Alexander visits Artorius as he heard from a friend about a door to another world. Artorius agrees to take him there but only later in the evening when no one is around. Because there are a few enemies of his who are dining there. As today is meat day, Tenshu changes the miso soup to pork soup. Since everyone finds it good, they are ordering more of it. Naturally this is depleting their stock faster than usual. But eventually everyone is able to have their fill.

Episode 12B
Once Nekoya is empty, Artorius pops up with Alexander. Immediately Alexander orders croquettes. Alexander could feel something different about Kuro and is scared. He agrees with Artorius not to start any trouble with her. As expected, Alexander finds the croquettes of Nekoya to be much better than those he tried in the Empire. Even much more when he adds the undeniable soy sauce to it. He asks if this sauce can be made in their own world. Artorius says it is impossible. Even Yomi said that. It is then revealed that Yomi is still alive. After their victory over the demon lord 70 years ago, she fell into this world and survived. She has a grandson. Guess who? Alexander finds great comfort that she led a comfortable life and so they drink a toast to this world as thanks for taking her in. Later Alexander visits the grave of his old comrades. It turns out to be the graves of Wilhelm and Adelheid’s great grandmother. Aletta is worried that pork soup costs more than miso soup. Will Nekoya be in the red? Tenshu assures her meat day is only held once a month. The payment from normal meals is enough to cover it. After all, grandpa once said extra service at a restaurant should be provide with food, not money. And with everyone enjoying it, it can’t hurt to do so once in a while.

Good Time, Great Taste! At Nekoya!
Sighs… If only we had eateries that provide such good service and quality food at assumingly reasonable price, the world could have been a much happier place. Don’t laugh. Who knows the reason why this reality of ours has lots of angry people and warring countries is that of the simplest reason that they don’t have good food to eat. When one is full and satisfied, there is no reason to fight, right? Not to say that the other world is entirely living in peace but you can see the happy faces of customers which very much guarantees return patronage. Oh well… The only reason why I regularly return to a handful of eateries is because I have no money and I am still picky on what I eat. Yeah…

Although the foods served at Nekoya are supposed to be the main stars (isn’t that why they name every episode after the featured dish?), what is most interesting is not the foods themselves but rather the back stories of some of the customers that led them to discover this wonderful eatery. And that is what I believe is what keeps this series from being a total bore. Not to say that this series is oh so very interesting and there are certain stories that aren’t as interesting, but a majority of them are. Therefore for a food themed anime, it is quite refreshing and unique in a way that it doesn’t totally focus on the food too much. Despite the staffs at Nekoya are supposed to be the ‘main characters’, the actual main protagonists are those who patron Nekoya. With different races and creatures from all walks of life coming into the restaurant, it is no wonder that many of their backgrounds are quite fascinating to watch. Eventually it is Nekoya that is what ties them all together. Is it me or do all these customers only order the same food? Do they not want to be adventurous to try others? Oh well, you can only come here every 7 days so by that time, you would want to have your favourite food. No wonder Tenshu can remember who orders what. So easy.

Therefore it is a hit and miss if you want to talk about the characters. The customers usually have their one segment of focus especially when they are first introduced. Sometimes, a brief explanation of the land they come from too. After that, they will fade into obscurity and some only will recur as background characters. A few interactions here and there but there is nothing more added to it. So as I’ve said, these customers some have interesting backgrounds and circumstances they come from but that is as far as we know about them. Because it always ends on a happy note. I mean, who would ever complain after being served such great dishes, right? Oddly, this other world houses almost every mythological creature mankind created. It’s like a big mash of fairytale setting all in one world. Just short of zombies…

Even Nekoya’s staffs, Tenshu, Aletta and Kuro do not have much back story to it. Of course we heard about Aletta and Kuro’s case but nothing deeper. Since Aletta and Kuro are only working here part time on the day of Satur, does Tenshu get help from others on other days? Unless there is no crowd… But he can’t be running his restaurant if he doesn’t have business, right? I’m thinking it isn’t about the money that he is thinking about. If it was all about profits, you think he allows certain beings to owe and have tabs? Tenshu is also a big mystery if you want to talk about him because he is just some guy who inherits the place and then puts his heart and soul in his cooking for his customers. That’s all. Heck, you don’t even know his real name. Okay, maybe the last episode’s revelation revealed his blood ties to a legendary hero but that doesn’t mean anything much seeing in this world instead of slaying demons with swords, he slices meat and vegetables with his kitchen knife! Haha! Therefore sometimes this series could be a bit confusing of what it actually is. It’s not really about the characters. It’s not really about the food. Is it just to create awareness that such foods exist?

I won’t say that the foods aren’t interesting but personally they are not as prominent as the stories of the customers. After all, these foods are not made up or created out of creativity as seen in Shokugeki No Souma and Toriko. They are normal dishes in which you can order in decent western restaurants all over the world. So it is sometimes odd to see that these beings from another world being taken in so much by our food. Especially beasts and creatures eating our rice and meat. Fantasy characters eating our normal food? Feels a bit odd. Also, with some characters not having that detailed or long background stories, the focus will be on them describing and praising the food they just tasted. Nothing very exaggerative as they try to keep it down to earth but with some great praises to paint how good it is. Of course it is. You’d think they would come back here if the food tastes horrible? Yeah, it would have been interesting to see a case like that for twist purposes but I guess with Tenshu being so good and dedicated, it isn’t going to happen at all. Not on his watch. Also, this world has a few foods that are similar to ours but slightly and differently named or look. If you’re wondering what the hell is shripe, you’ll understand that it is just shrimp. Marmetts might look a bit different but they taste exactly the same as tomatoes.

Now, throughout watching this series, I am sure this has also crossed the minds of many viewers. The biggest question and mystery of this series is the door itself. With Tenshu once mentioning he doesn’t know how it works sounds like an excuse not to explain it all. Of course knowing how the door works is not what the series is about but as viewers, we would really like to know and the explanation would help make sense of some of the questions bugging us. For example, I would like to start off on why it only appears on the day of Satur (obviously Saturday) and not on other days. Does the door appear elsewhere on other days? I don’t think so because it is day of Satur for all the customers in this other world. And what if the customer in Nekoya misses the door to go back to his/her world? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe he/she got drunk and stayed over a night? Then the next morning comes and you can’t go back anymore. Have to wait till the next day of Satur.

The biggest question of it all is how would the door know which customer to return to his/her spot she came from? As the door appears all over the continent, if there are multiple customers and they arrive and leave at different times, how does the door know which spot to send them back? Has there been a case whereby the customer ended up in the wrong region? I’ll be damned if I ever end up at the arena. Because after I’ve fully eaten, it’s my turn to get eaten! It sucks, dude! Since there are none of such cases, I guess the door must be smart enough. Yeah, maybe the customers’ hands serve like fingerprints and the door automatically knows where you came from. I didn’t know Nekoya is such a sophisticated restaurant despite serving normal but good meals.

The other questions about Nekoya is if Tenshu has ever served normal humans from our own world. I suppose that he does but on other days. That is probably why beings from the other world only arrive on day of Satur. We also don’t see those normal people is probably because, remember the name of this anime? Assuming this is true, then I suppose it is those other days and times when Tenshu stocks up his ingredients. Because it would be damn weird if Nekoya only and solely exists in its own dimensional space. Yeah, it wouldn’t make sense if he had infinite supplies and raw materials to cook. This doesn’t even touch the other stuffs he has to maintain like the gas or the utensils. Who is supplying or fixing them? Unless you say it’s magic… Also, I am assuming that all the different beings in this other world has the same stomach functions and features as our normal humans. Because they don’t seem to have any indigestions or complications whatsoever. Yeah, look at the lizardmen… They can eat omelette rice? I know it’s fantasy stuff, but just saying… Hence, just leave it all to Tenshu! Nobody ever died or even so much as to complain about his cooking.

Art and drawing are pretty standard and nothing much to shout about. The characters and backgrounds do look decent but it is nothing that spectacular. Even the varied locations and terrains of the other world, they just look pretty okay. I have to admit that the food do look delicious because some of them even made my mouth water just by looking at them. I had my dinner already a few hours ago so I think I can consider the way they put some detail into the food as served to the customers as good as it tastes because my only regret is not being able to taste how freaking good it is. That’s the problem with all food themed animes. This series is animated by Silver Link who did Non Non Biyori, Kokoro Connect, Masamune-kun No Revenge, WataMote and Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu.

Due to the nature of this series, there are a lot of seiyuus lending their voice and making cameo appearances. This means a handful of them that I recognize like Junichi Suwabe as Tenshu, Shizuka Itou as the red dragon, Tomokazu Sugita as Seelemann, Yukari Tamura as Victoria, Youko Hikasa as Fardania, Fumihiko Tachiki as Alphonse, Hochuu Ootsuka as Tatsugoro, Hiro Shimono as Sirius, Nobuyuki Hiyama as Lionel, Takahiro Sakurai as Alexander, Nao Touyama as Iris and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Rokei. The rest of the casts are Sumire Uesaka as Aletta (Sanae in Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai), Saori Oonishi as Kuro (Aiz in DanMachi), Reina Ueda as Adelheid (Mira in Dimension W), Kiyono Yasuno as Sarah (Megumi in Saenai Heroine No Sodatekata), Sumire Morohoshi as Shia (Nina in Shingeki No Bahamut: Virgin Soul), Motomu Kiyokawa as Artorius Yuusaku (Walter in Hellsing), Yara as Thomas (Chin in Toriko), Katsuyuki Konishi as Christian (Laxus in Fairy Tail), Makoto Yasumura as Gaganpo (Akaya in Maken-Ki), Yoshino Aoyama as Tiana (Guri in Renai Boukun), Ayaka Suwa as Arte (Tokaku in Akuma No Riddle), Atsushi Tamaru as Shareef (Shouichi in Seiren) and Shino Shimoji as Renner (Tooru in Seiren). At first I thought it was Rie Kugimiya behind Arius but I was mistaken. It’s Ayaka Asai (Hazuki in Hibike! Euphonium).

I guess this is one of the very few times in which I could instantly recognize which singer sings the theme song. For the opening theme, I was right when One In A Billion was May’N. Well, half right. Wake Up Girls also help sing this piece by providing the support background vocals. They also have a voice acting role here and make their cameo as those fairies. May’N’s powerful vocals was instantly recognizable since this upbeat song has this similar feel to other anime themes that I heard her sing before such as the openers of Ookami-san To Shichinin No Nakama-tachi and Hidan No Aria. But not really sure if the lively beat of this song fits the theme of this anime because you see how civilized and calm everyone has their food so if this is to hype (whet) your appetite, I don’t think it quite cuts it. But it’s still a good song nevertheless. The ending song is a very lovely slow ballad, Chiisana Hitotsubu by Kiyono Yasuno. Although this is quite a nice piece, I wonder if it is fitting for a food themed anime. Because it fits better if it was played on a romance or even slice of life drama genre. I mean, after having a satisfying meal and hearing this song, it just doesn’t go together like how some foods don’t go with certain wines. Also to note there are a few slow and easy BGMs but my favourite one is the short and catchy piano piece played during the next episode preview.

Overall, this series isn’t anything that amazing as the only thing unique that separates it from other food themed animes is that instead of fellow humans eating our food, individuals from another world come in to enjoy them. The plot is close to non-existent while the characters are not very deep. If you often eat the foods featured here, you won’t be tempted or inspired at all. But its rather relaxing and calming pace makes it enjoyable in its own right because that is how we should all eat our food, right? No silly competitions to outdo each other to create ‘creative’ foods that would temporarily kill you (because it sends you into some crazy heavenly ecstasy). No food fights to save the world or survival of the fittest. Just your little humble great cooking with heart and soul as its not-so-secret ingredients poured into them. Sniff, sniff. Makes me so envious that I wish I had such great cooking at regular intervals. So when is that damn door going to pop up right at my doorstep?! Yeah, being hungry makes you irritable alright.

Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun

Football is such a dirty game. And no, I’m not even talking about all the diving and fouls committed. It is one of those games that is heavy on the contact side and since you and many other players will be on the field chasing the ball for 90 minutes, it is hard to keep clean. That is why it is mind boggling when you have Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun, the titular character who is part of his school’s football team is actually a clean freak. How can someone who always has the tendency to clean and keep clean play such a sweaty game like football? It’s like saying a person who is obviously tone deaf going on to record a smash hit that sells millions internationally. Oh wait. It did happen… But it’s going to be interesting and funny to see how someone like this dude gets to play football and stay true to his ideals of remaining squeaky clean. Show me an absolutely clean footballer and I’ll show you… Uhm… Never mind. Let’s just watch the anime.

Episode 1
Aoyama scores the winning goal for his country in an Under-16 match! His teammates want to celebrate but he won’t let them hug him! You guys are dirty! So if he is not playing football, he is cleaning everything. Everything! No wonder the girls in class are swooning over him. Such a clean freak. He is even more famous than all the guys who play football in his club. This irks Kaoru Zaizen very much because coach Miwa Takei has paired them together and his clean freak attitude makes him a hard player to play with. I mean, Aoyama won’t move and just stands there… Can’t get dirty if you don’t move, right? Making it worse, all the other guys love Aoyama despite his clean freak because he too is a very talented footballer. So when Zaizen tells them off not to pamper Aoyama, they in turn get mad and tell him back that Zaizen is the one most pampered. He comes from a rich family and is wearing brand new shoes! Who is the pampered one?! Don’t attack Aoyama because if you do, you get a judo throw by Miwa. Oh, did I mention she is a pro in judo? A judo master coaching a football team? That night, Zaizen is shocked when Miwa shows him how Aoyama cleans all the footballs in the storeroom without fail. As a germaphobe, this gives him a handicap because you can’t play football without getting dirty or without contacting others. It is tough on him. Despite all that, he engages in football activities every day. This makes him a true football fan.

Akira Takechi and his guys from Oshigami-Minami are here to arrive for a friendly football match with Fujinami. Takechi is one of the current forwards of Japan’s youth football. He has always acknowledged Aoyama’s talent and cannot fathom why he continues to play for a weak school like Fujinami and wants him to join his better side. He could sound serious if he doesn’t have this weird habit of flaunting his abs… However, all Aoyama says that there is something unique in this school that makes him enrol here. Takechi is going to convince Aoyama to switch alliance with this match. As the game starts, Oshigami-Minami quickly takes the lead. However suddenly when Aoyama gets the ball, he dribbles past all defenders and scores! Then another one! As explained, in order for him to avoid contact with others, his movements are frighteningly precise. When others come too close to him, he moves at this lightning speed, hence making him hard to mark. But if they give him space, his shot becomes more precise. This is the ultimate strategy for a germaphobe. But other than that, he is just standing there not trying to get dirty. With Fujinami leading at halftime, in the next half Takechi has 4 defenders surround him. This might give Fujinami’s other players more space but they’re such lousy shots. Especially Zaizen. Where you kicking? Oshigami-Minami fights back to take the lead. When it starts raining, Aoyama’s movements are weird. Is he injured? Nah. Just don’t want to get wet. With Zaizen and the guys not giving up, he shoots but misses. However Aoyama moves and scores! But he is all dirty now. Is he okay with that? He thinks he can pull through with 5 minutes less and hates losing more than anything. With that, Fujinami scores another goal and wins. But still, no hugging. And definitely no exchange of t-shirts. Takechi is left to rue his team’s failure but keeps wondering the unique thing Fujinami has. Turns out to be the toilet bowls that have this washing feature.

Episode 2
Zaizen makes Aoyama collect the balls. He is going to clean them, right? Aoyama doesn’t pick them up but kicks all of them into the bin. Including some using Zaizen for ricochet effect. Everyone thinks Aoyama has been diligently cleaning the clubroom but folding their shirts too? However he says he would rather die than touch someone else’s shirt. The team captain, Gaku Ishikawa suspects something amiss because the clubroom is locked and Aoyama was practising with them. Aoyama notices a cat doll in his locker. For a few days, someone else has been breaking in and cleaning and folding the shirts. A fairy? Yeah, let’s go with that! But each time the cat doll gets bigger. The culprit turns out to be Moka Gotou. She picks the locks to enter and clean. Flashback shows she saw Aoyama trying to touch a kitten but his clean freak won’t allow him. Moka then gave him a cat doll for it but he won’t accept it till she washes it. Eventually she didn’t give it to him and now that they are in the same high school, she wants to support him from the shadows. She is soon caught in the act by Aoyama himself and she fears it is all over. However he recommends a better cleaning brand and still remembers her. Eventually the other teammates know about her and seeing how cute she is pleading to them, the guys plead to Ishikawa to make her the club’s manager. And the latest cat doll to fit into Aoyama feels a bit too big…

Jin Tsukamoto just did the creepiest thing. He smells Aoyama’s towel while he is in the shower! Wow. Such a good smell?! This has the other guys curious so during matches, while they rest on the bench, each take their turn to sniff it. Eventually all but Zaizen has their share and they relate how great it is! Perverts! Of course Moka overheard this and vows to protect Aoyama. His towels, that is. Yeah, that baseball bat with nails is sure effective to keep the persistent away. While it worked, however Tsukamoto has posted the goodness of Aoyama’s towel’s smell online. Rumours spread like wildfire and before your know it, everyone from all walks of life converge at one of the practice, waiting eagerly at the side lines for a chance. So after Aoyama wipes his sweat, all hell breaks loose. Get his towel! Not even petite Moka can handle this on her own. Well, she could. But she would have to turn into a murderer but luckily Miwa stops her. Surprisingly it is Zaizen who scolds everyone to cut it out because they’re serious about football and they better not do anything funny. Or else he’ll kill them! At least that killed their mood. Later as Zaizen sits alone in the clubroom, the wind blows Aoyama’s towel in his hand. Tempting… The smell gives him this nostalgia of his mom. Wow. He is really sniffing it. Till Aoyama catches him in the act. It’s not what you think! Well, he doesn’t want the towel anymore. So he gets to keep it?

Episode 3
The guys are trying to force Zaizen to treat them as part of their tradition before facing a team tomorrow. They also try to get Aoyama on this but since it starts raining heavily, I guess they’ll have to take shelter in this restaurant. Yeah, Aoyama is cleaning the plates, glasses and table… It seems Takechi is here too. Flexing his abs as intimidation? When food arrives, Aoyama doesn’t touch his. Takechi says he cooks his own food to keep himself optimum as a player but the rest believes he is a germaphobe who won’t eat outside. Somehow it becomes an eating challenge between Takechi and Taichi Yoshioka. Wow. They’re going strong eating all the food in the menu. It has got nothing to do with football no matter how you look at it. Eventually, Takechi thought he won but Aoyama calls a super mega sized parfait. Dead. Yoshioka finishes it and Fujinami wins again! Not even a football match. Next day, the Fujinami guys are at Takada Academy for their first match for the preliminaries. However Aoyama is nowhere to be seen. He is cleaning himself when this girl, Kana who is the girlfriend of Takada’s football captain, Youji Orihara, approaches him to seek his help to clean the football clubroom which is in a mess. But this is part of her ploy to lock him inside and won’t let him play. And if he makes any noise, she will scream rape. However Aoyama collapses because in addition to be a clean freak, he is claustrophobic?!

The match begins without Aoyama and although Takada doesn’t have any notable players, these delinquents like to get rough. They have already scored 2 goals. Luckily Moka finds them thanks to her lock picking skills and would have become a murderer had not Aoyama tell her to stop it. But with 15 minutes left, can Aoyama who has returned to the field turn things around? Yes he can! Because when the Takada side tries to get rough, as usual he goes into that slick dodging mode. He scores! But for the second goal, he got roughly taken down although Zaizen scores the second one. With him all dirty, Aoyama is now sluggish. Both sides become relentless to find the winning goal. But with 5 minutes left on the clock, suddenly Aoyama revives! Nobody can touch him again. He finds the net! Orihara is shocked that he is supposed to be paralyzed from all the dirt. Aoyama tells him if there is one thing he hates more than dirtiness, it is dirty cheaters! In the end, Fujinami goes on a scoring spree and wins 5-2. When Takada returns to the clubroom, it is so clean! That means Aoyama wasn’t locked in but he spent his time cleaning the clubroom! The biggest loser must be Orihara because Kana is now cheering for Aoyama! So cool!

Episode 4
Shion Narita is also a clean freak like Aoyama. The best way to communicate and stay away from others is via online. The only difference is that nobody knows about it and he doesn’t want others to know. He is always the first in class to arrive so he could clean his table in secrecy. Even way earlier than Aoyama. Therefore, he is forced to put up with all the accidental dirty contacts from his classmates. It is his policy that the best way to live a normal life as a germaphobe is not to be confrontational and tolerance is the key. During home economics, somehow it turns into a cooking competition between Narita and Aoyama. They make great food so much so all their classmates want a taste of it. Since they’re trying to outdo each other, they make more food. It gets out of hand when the aroma scatters throughout school and every other student comes rushing to grab a bite! You thought it is over when they ran out of ingredients but some came back after buying more! OMG! I thought this is a football show and not a cooking show???!!! Once everyone has their fill, Narita notes that as clean freaks, they do not eat things prepared by others. He is surprised when Aoyama makes him coffee. This prompts him to wonder if he isn’t a clean freak and just loves cooking.

Narita is a leader of a guild in an online MMORPG under the alias Smart. When a new guy named San joins his group, he is suspicious if he is Aoyama because of some key traits. But when he starts acting so differently, he doesn’t think so. But in reality, he sees a badge on Aoyama’s bag. A custom made badge that only guild members have. On its reverse side should have his alias. As he ponders to look at it while Aoyama is away, the class in a commotion. It seems somebody stole the gym clothes of Yuuko Rikiishi. Because she put it in her locker yesterday before she left home and since the classrooms are locked, it only means somebody must have stolen them during a certain time period. Everyone starts suspecting Narita since he is always the first and last to leave. He panics and makes the mistake of running away. The boys catch him and pin him down. Try not to let your face touch the floor. He rues the end of his normal life when Aoyama returns with Yuuko’s gym clothes. Looks like Yuuko put it in the wrong locker. Aoyama then hands Narita a cleaning agent. Looks like he knows his secret and wants him to get clean with the rest. However Narita will still not let others know. Everyone apologizes to him but he doesn’t hold a grudge. Literally, washing his hands off the case. Yuuko then hugs and smothers her dirty face over his chest for being such a good guy. How long more can he stay calm? But at least he gets to see and confirm the badge that Aoyama is San. Back on his online game, Narita concludes the vast contrast in Aoyama’s personality. He thinks this is what he would be like if he wasn’t a germaphobe.

Episode 5
Tsukamoto is an expert juggling the ball with his butt. That’s apparently his only best football skill. But this makes everyone laugh and he is dubbed the ‘good vibes officer’ as this antics of his cheers up the whole team. When Ishikawa isn’t practising, he is part of the Aoyama cheer leading squad. Oddly his girlfriend, Yuri Tamura is also in this squad. The weird part is how she cheers on for Aoyama and has all the words printed over her that she is an Aoyama for life but notes the only person she ever loves is Ishikawa. Today, Fujinami will face Minamida Fuzoku. As usual, Tsukamoto is entertaining everyone with his butt antics when suddenly Minamida Fuzoku’s football captain, Ryou Kadomatsu ‘accidentally’ kicks a ball in his face. Looks like they know each other and this brings back some fearful memories for Tsukamoto. As the first half begins, Aoyama scores to take the lead. But Kadomatsu knows Fujinami has another weakness: Tsukamoto. When Kadomatsu pops up before Tsukamoto, the latter freezes and this allows Kadomatsu to score. He does the same thing and scores again. During halftime, Tsukamoto holes himself up in the toilet cubicle. A couple of Minamida Fuzoku players walk in as we hear them talk how Tsukamoto was a bully victim to Kadomatsu in the middle school. After they leave, Tsukamoto is shocked that Aoyama was cleaning in the next cubicle and heard it! It doesn’t matter. Tsukamoto knows he will be substituted.

But when the next half begins, Tsukamoto is still in the game. Apparently his buddies, Kazuma Sakai and Yoshioka also overheard that story and told Miwa not to sub him and keep him on the field for a little while. Since they asked so seriously, she allowed it. Flashback shows Tsukamoto entertained others with his butt juggling. But Kadomatsu always smashed a ball in his face for goofing off with the excuse everyone is serious in playing football. Every time he does this, Kadomatsu does the same thing so much so he freezes whenever he sees him. And looks like Tsukamoto is in danger of falling into the same trap again. Luckily Sakai and Yoshioka are able to cover his back. This improves Tsukamoto’s morale. In the dying minutes, Aoyama is vastly surrounded. Tsukamoto surprisingly pushes forward. This was part of the plan discussed in the toilet. When Aoyama is surrounded, he will pass the ball to him. Tsukamoto is unsure to use his head or feet since he isn’t good at handling such crosses. But instinctively he uses his butt and scores the equalizer! With Aoyama back on their feet, they are able to win the game 4-2. As Aoyama’s side celebrates, some of the reporters note Aoyama wasn’t particularly good today. Even if he was trying to save a fellow footballer, if he loses here, his football career will be over. Taking such a risk makes him an idiot.

Episode 6
Nobody knows that Atsumu Ozaki is the author of a popular shonen manga. However he always has that sad and intense stare. One day he sees a teacher confiscate a manga from a student as she rips it apart! She must be having a bad day since her best friend stole her boyfriend. Oh, her car has cat footprints all over too. She discovers the culprit is Moka who is feeding a family of strays. She blames her to take responsibility and threatens to call animal shelter. Moka of course can’t since her family is allergic to cats. Well, Moka is actually thinking of killing her! Ozaki sees this and snatches her handphone, throws it away and adopts the cats. The distraught teacher wants compensation for her handphone but Ozaki reminds her about that manga ripping. Then he had her fooled as he didn’t actually throw it away and returns it to her. We learn Ozaki is always staring intensely is because high school is a place to get inspiration for his manga. But there is one person whom has caught his interest lately. Who else buy Aoyama? As he observes him, from his perspective he notices Aoyama is like bossing people around and acting arrogant.

Hence in his new manga chapter, he creates a new villain based on Aoyama, Blue Wizard. Guess what? Everybody likes this villain! As this is not Ozaki’s intention, he makes Wizard do more evil stuffs but the more he does that, the more everybody loves Wizard! To the point he is more popular than the main hero! They’re calling the hero a loser?! Ozaki is so distraught that he decides to kill off everything by exploding the planet! Of course his editor rejects it and so he makes Wizard owns all the women in the world. This causes Wizard’s popularity to decline as the female readers dislike it. But Ozaki is happy that he finally nailed it. However his editor reminds him this will reflect badly on the company and with an upcoming anime, he better do all he can to maintain Wizard’s popularity. So when Ozaki introduces a new villain and put Wizard’s fight with the hero’s on hold, everyone hates it! The more Ozaki tries to fix stuffs to make Wizard popular again, the more it backfires. So much so the readers can’t tell head or tails the direction of anything. Ozaki finally decides to go ask Aoyama himself since he notices he reads the manga magazine. However to his dismay, Aoyama skips his story! Actually, he never reads it as he never liked the art style. This pisses off Ozaki so much that he turns Wizard into a traitorous character who ones up on the hero and new villain. Everybody loves Wizard is back! Ozaki just can’t understand these people…

Episode 7
Mio Odagiri is a regular starter in the girls’ basketball team. Despite her athleticism, she can never shoot in! Not sure if it is eternal positivism or just stupidity. Even Aoyama shoots better than her! Heck, is he some sort of shooting machine?! Because of that, Mio looks up to him as her master. This earns the jealousy of other basketball guys who admire her beauty and the source of their strength. As Mio is also a bit big, and I mean not just her bust size, but her overall physique, some girls despise her. In a match, Mio is desperate to score but keeps failing. All the opponents have to do is just wait for her to fail and snatch the ball on the rebound. So Mio asks Aoyama for advice. Feelings. So she goes with the slam dunk. Failed. It bounced back to Aoyama who is cleaning to opponent’s basket. He kicks it back and he scores! She has done it? Of course that won’t count. Mio is grateful to him (despite not doing anything) that she pats his shoulders. Nothing happens. Everyone is shocked that Aoyama didn’t react to that like as though he is okay with it. This prompts everyone to believe they are in love with each other. Soon this spreads throughout school and you can bet it devastates all of Aoyama’s fan girls. Yeah, his supporting team is so dead. Even oddly Yuri wants to break up with Ishikawa… Moka is so depressed that she is eating. Why do I have a feeling it is to bust up?

One day, Aoyama surprisingly asks Sayaka Ariga to shake his hand. They did and she thinks he is trying to mock her but soon Aoyama collapses! Later Aoyama challenges Mio to arm wrestling. He is wearing gloves to touch the table but not her hand? Mio uses too much strength that her button pops out, revealing her boobs. All the guys are so grateful to Aoyama. Aoyama cooks for Mio in exchange she cooks for him tomorrow. She returns the favour with a super huge serving. But he won’t taste it since all the jealous guys take a bite. Then Aoyama asks her to come watch his match this Sunday. I guess at this point everyone really believes they are dating. During an online game, Narita believes he is having problems of the heart but San freaks out that it isn’t so but isn’t sure why he was okay with being touched. During the football match, after Aoyama scores, he wants Mio to high five him. After doing so, it is then Moka realizes that what Aoyama wanted to do all along is to touch others. Then everyone finds out they aren’t really dating. You can’t imagine how relief all his fans are. His support team turns their funeral zombie chanting back to a lively passionate cheer. Moka doesn’t know if there are romantic feelings involved but she finds it cute that Aoyama is doing all the things he can’t with Mio.

Episode 8
Tsubasa Umeya is the best judo guy in Fujinami. However he suddenly quits and joins the football club! WTF?! Ah, I see he likes Moka… You bet his judo coach isn’t going to accept this and teach him a lesson but gets a judo throw. This guy has never played football in his life can suddenly match up to Aoyama?! Soon, the rest of the football guys know Umeya has a crush on Moka. Whenever Umeya sees Moka working, he offers to go help her. At first she is cautious but since he is patient and persevering, she allows him to help out. Though, her sights will always be on Aoyama. Since she still always hide from him whenever he comes around, Umeya asks why she likes him. She doesn’t know but by the time she realizes it, she is already in love with him. Umeya realizes he is the same. Thus he decides to support Moka’s love for Aoyama and sets up a date between them at the zoo. The 3 Stooges think it is his vile plan so make Moka slip up so he can get her for himself. At the zoo, Umeya keeps staring at Moka who keeps staring at Aoyama who is the only one watching the animals. So awkward. And yeah, the 3 Stooges spying on them all. At the cat petting room, that is where they meet Mio and this opens a new can of worms. Yeah, the equation is slightly more complicated now. With Mio also staring at Aoyama, Moka feels inferior in every aspect to her. When gangsters decide to cause them trouble, oddly Umeya didn’t do anything but it is Mio who saved the day and give enough time for everyone to run. Umeya suggests a boat ride before they leave. Aoyama and Moka are together as Umeya serves as the barrier between Mio and Yuuko. Moka is at her lowest point thinking she must be the most boring girl ever as she has not spoken a word to him all day! When Umeya gives her a shout out about today, this encourages Moka to finally talk to Aoyama that she had fun today. Yuuko can’t understand why Umeya is genuinely rooting for them to be together. Does he not mind they end up together? His goal is to protect Moka’s feelings and sometimes it is not destiny for every couple to be married. Of course, he hopes to be buried next to her in exchange for all this. Long term plan?!

Episode 9
Miwa is inspired by her favourite football anime (Football Boyfriend?) and thus decides for the football club to go on a training camp. Zaizen suggests using his summer villa and this prompts everyone wanting to bring their girlfriend, grandma and pets… We’re not going on a holiday. Of course Aoyama won’t go because of all the sharing. When Zaizen goes home, dad isn’t impressed he needs to attend a training camp and knows he sucks in football. Because papa is going to use his influence and change the rules of football! Zaizen’s little sister, Karin tells daddy not to spoil him too much but she gets treated like a little girl. Always her daddy’s princes. Miwa is here because she needs Karin’s help for the training. Surprisingly Aoyama turns up to head to the training camp. Not before he cleans the bus. Well apparently the entire school is going on this training camp. Yeah, the highway is jammed with school busses. You thought everyone is going to enjoy the luxurious facilities but Zaizen prefers the rundown dilapidated versions. It really feels more like a real training camp. Rich kid wants to be a commoner… Practising football on the beach helps to train one’s footing. Aoyama won’t play because the sand is dirty. Don’t worry, Karin assures the sand is all clean! Is that even possible?! When Ishikawa sprains his ankle, Miwa lets Moka play as she knows she has always been practising in secret. Moka shows off her skills and she is much better than many of the guys! She can even dribble past Aoyama! And she also knows how to dive! Aoyama then tells her to stop it. He doesn’t like playing dirty. But he also commends her dribbling. Moka regrets her actions but felt his feet touched hers during the tackle so she feels happy either way.

When everyone trains to swim to the nearest shore, they find something amiss. It’s like they can never get there. Then it turns out the picturesque scene is just a giant picture. Heck, this entire beach is just a dome! Brought to you by all the high technology and research of Zaizen’s corporation! Karin thought of having her brother train by swimming against the waves but everyone knows this won’t help in his terrible shooting. But if Zaizen is happy… For dinner, everyone was expecting some luxurious meal. But it’s just a grain of pea packed with all the nutrients! Damn Zaizen corporation technology and research. Disappointed? When they smell something good, they realize Aoyama is cooking his own meal. They want to share! That sure is satisfying. Miwa has them play kimodameshi. Karin uses a high tech machine for the pairing. Everybody wants to pair with Aoyama but the lucky guy is Zaizen. Too bad he is chicken sh*t all the way. Aoyama is cleaning all the way while Moka whacks and zombies that might bring him trouble. It’s really messed up. In the end, the entire haunted house is cleaned and Zaizen must be the biggest chicken sh*t to be screaming all the way. The training camp proceeds as usual with the usual hotspring bath and pillow fight. Miwa decides to watch her football anime to check if what they all did were correct. Not sure about the answer, but I guess the important thing is that everyone had fun.

Episode 10
When Kozue Kurata appears before Aoyama, he gives the most surprising shock reaction. This of course has everyone talking about the secrets Aoyama have as he rarely talks about himself. Thus Zaizen and the 3 Stooges try to tail him but Aoyama knows and gives them the slip. They still won’t give up and they end up in his house. But what is that youth national footballer, Seigo Ibuki doing in his house eating Aoyama’s cooking?! Actually, this is Ibuki’s house! So what is Aoyama doing here? He lost a match against him and this is his penalty. What?! Aoyama lost?! Arienai! Next day, Aoyama intentionally skips practice so Zaizen and Moka tail him. They are shock at first when they see him meet up with Kozue and Takechi, thinking Aoyama has been coaxed by her to join Oshigami-Minami. However Ibuki is also here as he explains he has joined Oshigami-Minami. Why is a guy like him who is currently playing for a youth football club in Spain coming all the way back to Japan? He is picky of his Japanese soba and misses them. This place has the best soba. Oh, Kozue is his childhood friend and her cooking sucks. Aoyama is here to request a 1-on-1 match with Ibuki. As they play, Aoyama then wants to stop the match. Kozue also agrees. It seems they notice Ibuki’s sloppy performance. Aoyama doesn’t want to win when Ibuki is not at his best.

So Aoyama talks to him in a bid to discover the cause of his decline. From the way he says it, it looks like Kozue is the ‘problem’. Girlfriend problems? It all began when Ibuki puts mayonnaise on all of her cooking. Because her cooking sucks. This broke her heart and she slapped him. Aoyama wants him to call her and go on a date. Now, all the silly things you see Ibuki does is all part of Aoyama’s plan. I mean, that guy said he is clueless when it comes to girls despite being a football genius. So leave it all to Aoyama, eh? So wearing a cat mascot outfit? Because cats are supposed to heal and calm angry people down. Looks like it is having an opposite effect. What’s this? Giving her a recipe book as present? She feels insulted! She tried her best to do her research and improve her cooking and this is what she gets?! Oh, now they’re playing football? Playing together is supposed to bring you closer? Kozue is so fed up and just plays along. She narrates how she followed him to Spain and did everything for him is simply because she loves him and the way he plays football. She wanted to try and help him with that so why can’t he understand that? Aoyama senses they are now back on normal terms and resumes his challenge for Ibuki. Well, well. Aoyama lost again! Kozue thought Ibuki finally appreciates her cooking when he eats it without complain. Actually anything tastes good when you are hungry! Poor Kozue is so mad she wants to break up with him. It’s over.

Episode 11
What’s this? Girls are cheering for Sakai?! Maybe it’s his hairstyle resembling close to Aoyama. Not only he has got tons of girls supporting him but his football skills also level up! He is scoring all the goals! Even the football god is with him! Oh, he has got several girls confessing to him! But he rejects them all because he belongs to everyone! So cool! His pals aren’t impressed that he has gone on to the elite side and try to bring him back with their tomfoolery but fail. Sakai relishes in the new spotlight and loves the girls calling his name. This is his goal and doesn’t care if the team goes to the Nationals. Since he is so good, Miwa is planning to switch Zaizen’s forward position with Sakai. Under threat, Zaizen marks his own teammate and tries to score but fails miserably. At this rate he’ll just be a substitute. Then he gets the ultimatum from papa. Since he wasn’t in the starting eleven, the next time he fails to make the cut, he will give up football forever! So of all people, Zaizen goes to seek Moka’s help to train him. I guess it’s reasonable since the best like Aoyama is into cleaning, Miwa is into judo and Ishikawa into cheerleading. Moka starts off with him kicking spot kicks. Even with no goalkeeper, he cannot score! After a few kicks, he decides to go home and rest. That’s it for the day. This upsets Moka as she tries to bring him back to continue training. Maybe that’s why he sucks. With a few more kicks and he still hasn’t improved, his father has seen it all and is going to do the ultimate. Bribe Miwa to bring him back into the starting eleven!!! This makes Moka angry as she turns into Terminator to beat them up. No more nice little girl. She is going to train him like hell.

During the next match, Sakai is still on a hot streak. Till he modifies his hairstyle a little. The girls lose interest and the football god deserts him. Noticing his declining trend, his friends are tempting him to go back to their ranks. Sakai vows never to go back there again and returns to his Aoyama hairstyle. Once again the girls start cheering. But it is not like before. So he goes to seek Moka’s help to train but Moka is not impressed. She takes it as an insult he is trying to defile Aoyama and threatens to beat him up. At this point, Sakai is starting to panic when he can’t hear the girls cheering for him. With Zaizen finally scoring, Sakai joins his other pals into doing a silly victory dance. The girls find it lame and desert him. And since Sakai has reverted to his idiotic form, I guess Miwa has no choice but to make Zaizen their striker again. ‘Trouble’ starts when everyone notices scouts from the youth division are seen talking to Aoyama. He might quit their team…

Episode 12
Everyone is of course worried if he is going to leave so Zaizen talks to him that the team depends on him. Yeah, this is how important he is (or how useless everyone is). But soon he takes back those words and tells him to play wherever he wants. But for tomorrow’s match with Kuraishi High School, let’s do their best. In addition to those scouts causing more anxiety, the rest thinks Zaizen is depressed is because he just visited the grave of his mom. Today might be her death’s anniversary. So they plan to support him by letting him score a goal. Of course it won’t be easy since Zaizen cannot fully concentrate. Thoughts of his mom weighing heavily on his mind as she used to support his play. Because of that he makes some mistakes and Kuraishi scores their first goal. Oh, did I mention Kuraishi has won all their matches without conceding a goal? The second half starts and Kuraishi scores another goal. Yeah, Zaizen is continued to be bogged down by memories of mama. Before they could score their third, Aoyama uses his body to block it, causing him to be all dirty. This makes Zaizen blame himself for this. But Aoyama tells him if he doesn’t want to win, please substitute himself. This opens up Zaizen’s eyes (complete with heat butting the goal post for total awakening) as he returns to his usual self. Kuraishi’s defence is still hard to break but at least he is feeling much better than before. After blocking a Kuraishi shot with his face, Fujinami takes this chance to go on the offence. Zaizen sees his mom in the stands and draws out enough strength to rebound and score! In the aftermath, Fujinami makes a comeback beating Kuraishi 3-2 (Aoyama scores the rest of the other goals). Everyone gets a shock when they see Zaizen’s mother in the flesh! You mean she isn’t dead? So that grave was just his ancestral grave? It seems mom went somewhere far away to do volunteer work. She lost track of time and 5 years has passed! But she did remember Zaizen’s words that he will score a goal for her birthday and that’s why she came back. After a heart-warming mother and son hug (cue for emotional tears), looks like mom has to be whisked away again for yet another volunteer work. Hello Brazil. But the real question now is Aoyama going to quit the team. He rejects the scouts who aren’t pleased he isn’t taking this opportunity. So what is the reason he rejected them? He likes Fujinami’s white uniform. White = clean. So Fujinami is the only school in Japan who has white uniform?

Aoyama-kun Desu Ga! Keeping The Beautiful Game Clean Since…

And so Aoyama will continue to play for his ‘favourite’ school. All because of a colour. You know what they say about geniuses being crazy people. A big relief to the football team because now they don’t have to put in so much effort and just rely on him. Yeah… So while we got this ‘happy ending’ of Aoyama staying, it doesn’t feel so much like an ending considering the nature of this series. The ending may technically symbolizes friendship over a bright future of an individual which in turn makes the nation one of the best footballing nations in the world. You might call Aoyama dumb for his silly reason and choice for staying and that he is wasting his talents. But everyone forgets that the most important thing is having fun when you are playing. I believe Aoyama finds that in Fujinami too. He’s not saying it because it will be so shockingly out of character. Maybe he’ll say it via his online avatar. From the way I see it, Aoyama isn’t going to waste his talents being a nobody. Just that more people won’t be able to watch him play (and agents won’t rake in big money from star power exploitation). So carry on playing how you like and as you are, Aoyama.

Since this isn’t actually a shonen sports anime, it is obvious that this anime isn’t about football because if you really want a true football show, there is always that classic Captain Tsubasa and the more modern but weird Inazuma Eleven. So with not so much focus on the football field (only needed when it is to display how cool Aoyama is), we get to see a wide variety of antics that just doesn’t restrict itself to anything football related. Remember, cleaning is the first priority of someone. So the football matches are pretty much predictable because Aoyama will always be the main striker who scores. Fujinami always wins in the end. If the opponent leads in the first half, Fujinami with the courtesy of Aoyama’s awesome skills will make a comeback.

At this rate, I believe Fujinami will be on its way to win the Nationals. Heck, they would go on to win the AFC Asian Cup and even the big Holy Grail of the football world: The World Cup. Oh heck, I don’t think Fujinami is going to do that but Aoyama himself! He can just be a one man team and score every goal there is while everybody just stands there for decoration and to abide by the rules. Japan, you don’t need a new generation of youths and talented footballers. All you need is Aoyama! He’ll get the job done and stay clean while he is at it. Except for the last 5 minutes. Nah, makes no difference. That’s where you’re also screwed. If a football match’s victory can be predicted by how clean your football is, then Fujinami has got the crown written in the stars since the start. Yeah, if this football world had it Aoyama’s way, he could tell how well your love for the sport by how clean your football is!

One of the biggest dilemmas for me in this series is the characters. Despite Aoyama being the titular character, he does not appear or feel like the main star. Of course this is very much because of his enigmatic character. Heck, even the final episode isn’t about Aoyama himself but Zaizen. The question of whether Aoyama stays or leaves can be slotted in anywhere but I guess this is the ‘happy ending’ we have arrived at. Therefore instead of a dozen episodes totally focusing the spotlight on Aoyama, a big chunk of this series seems to concentrate on the other side characters. This is evident when you have the title of that episode named after that side character. Of course all these side characters have their stories or goals somewhat related back to Aoyama. In a way, it relegates Aoyama to being a secondary character although in an indirect way he still shines. Therefore it is with mixed feelings for me for the characters because even though they are a wild wacky bunch, most of them featured here are just for one episode and then they fall into obscurity. Some may make very small cameos for the rest of the episodes and others you’ll never hear off again. Like as though it makes the series of compiled unrelated shorts.

As for Aoyama, his enigmatic feel sometimes gives an impression that he is the football version of that Sakamoto guy. You know, another anime with a cool main mysterious character who is also named in the title. Being full of mystery and sometimes acting in ways that defies the laws of the world makes him fun and interesting but at the same time mind boggling. I guess in the larger picture this very personality and that we do not know much about him (heck, we don’t even know his first name) is all part of the fun. Because if you know all there is to know about Aoyama, the fun factor is gone. Throughout the series we are made to guess who he really is since he is able to keep clean after everything and dodge people who want to hug him better than any ninja from Naruto. On the downside, it makes Aoyama pretty much predictable and boring because he is obsessed with cleaning and we can expect to see him clean something in every episode. I believe he has other amazing skills but we just don’t see him display it given the nature of the episode and the story being played out.

In some ways like Sakamoto, I have this feeling he might be an alien because of how effortless he seems to be doing all those stuffs. So inhuman… You know what they say about cleanliness is next to godliness. But to show he isn’t perfect, he lost to Ibuki. But that is one of the very few imperfections compared to everything else he does that is so flawless. He also cares about his friends and it might seem he doesn’t directly help them but in a lot of indirect in discreet ways he’ll drop some hints and assistance. Perhaps Aoyama might not show it but I want to believe that he is staying at Fujinami too because of great football friends like these. Okay, maybe not the best of footballers or the best of friend-like material but they still are a team. You might think he doesn’t need others because he is always a loner and doing his own (cleaning) things but without his friends or school, he has no reason to clean! He would have moved somewhere else then.

What can I say about Moka? She’s like the cutie girl factor and one of the many Aoyama obsessed fan (clearly written on her shirt for all to see). It becomes her running joke that if she is ever out of options, she turns into this Terminator mode and takes out her nail ridden baseball bat, getting ready to stain her hands with blood. Thankfully it never got that far. Something irks me seeing her go into this mode because when her eyes turn red (hence why I termed it Terminator), she doesn’t seem convincing enough that she has become a blood thirsty killer. Just her eyes glow in this colour but she maintains her overall cutie pie appearance. I know this is a comedy anime but I think it would be funnier to see Moka’s face actually transforming into something scary. But then again, maybe not.

The other running joke is Zaizen who can never shoot straight. It is just mind boggling how he can keep his striker position. I bet because Aoyama is always there to score so it doesn’t matter if Zaizen screws up or not. I get this feeling that with Zaizen being the rich kid, it goes to show that not even money can buy your way into football! I hope this is true in reality… Among the 3 Stooges, Tsukamoto stands out more because of his butt juggling that perhaps makes it one of the most unique and bizarre technique ever. So called rival Takechi is one of those very self-absorbed characters as he loves showing off his abs. It’s like rubbing it in our faces that he flaunts his six pack every moment he shows up. I get it you have great abs compared to my flabby belly so stop it already! Ugh. There he goes again. If only the girls in this anime weren’t so preoccupied with Aoyama, he might have scored with them. But then again, his only target is getting Aoyama to join his school. I guess he isn’t that desperate because if he was, he could have quit Oshigami-Minami and join Fujinami.

The animation and art seem decent but nothing too detailed seeing this is comedy and nothing very serious. There will be many times the characters go into their chibi mode. The weirdest looking one I find is Yoshioka because I don’t know if his face is of a dog or a monkey. You could also say that the artwork looks clean enough and lives up to Aoyama’s strict cleaning standards. I guess that is why everything looks bright and almost spotless. But if you want to talk about the animation of the footballing action, it is somewhat jerky and not smooth. One might forgive this because this isn’t technically a football anime but still, the below average quality of the football play animation is obvious. Animated by Studio Hibari who did a few sports themed anime like Major and that very old Ping Pong Club anime. Other animes under their belt include Fight Ippatsu Juuden-chan, Kashimashi, Sumomomo Momomo, Happy Lesson, Venus Versus Virus and Wagamama Fairy Mirumo De Pon.

If that angst voice of Zaizen sounds familiar, it’s Tomokazu Seki whom I have haven’t heard in a while. Not to say he was on hiatus, but it must be I didn’t notice him in minor roles in recent animes. But it sure brings back those old days of Nodame Cantabile’s Chiaki and the titular character in Maze. Some of the recognizable seiyuus include Takehito Koyasu as Takechi, Sho Hayami as Zaizen’s father, Daisuke Sakaguchi as Tsukamoto, Mai Nakahara as Mio, Showtaro Morikubo as Ozaki and Sinichiro Miki as Ibuki. With limited lines, couldn’t spot Rina Satou as Yuri. The rest of the other casts are Ryotaro Okiayu as Aoyama (Tezuka in Prince Of Tennis), Anzu Haruno as Moka (Mafuyu in Blend S), Michiko Neya as Miwa (Reiju in One Piece), Noriaki Sugiyama as Ishikawa (Shirou in Fate series), Miwa Hirofumi Nojima as Narita (Akatsuki in Aria series), Souichirou Hoshi as Sakai (Samon in Nanbaka), Hiroyuki Yoshino as Yoshioka (Yajirou in Uchouten Kazoku), Daisuke Namikawa as Umeya (Rock in Black Lagoon), Minami Takahashi as Karin (Megumi in Shokugeki No Souma) and Aya Endo as Kozue (Miyuki in Lucky Star).

The opening theme is White by Bentham. I think it is just coincidence and me thinking too much that this J-pop band is suspiciously named after a certain English footballer and did the opening gig for this anime. I didn’t go through the band’s history so it may be true or not. As for whether this rock music is suitable for this series? Well, if it was a shonen football anime… The ending theme, Taiyou Ga Kureta Kisetsu by the Fujinami football club guys is an interesting and amusing piece. It sounds like one of those retro anime songs (like those mecha series) and even the animation goes so far as to animate it retro style. Alright everybody! Let’s run towards the sun for a brighter tomorrow!

Overall, this isn’t really a football series as football becomes irrelevant as the series progresses. Football is just one of those excuses to bring about some weird settings and enhance the comedic effect around the main and side characters. Although it is funny and enjoyable, it is very much on the light side so also don’t go expecting to be as heavyweight as Gintama. A few lovable and quirky characters but nothing too deep about them and with the almost non-existent story or plot, this is truly for light watching. You watch, you laugh, then you move on. Because with Japan already qualified for the 2018 edition of World Cup in Russia, I’m sure all eyes are now on the national team to avoid that embarrassing exit in the previous instalment (because Aoyama wasn’t playing in it. Damn it). Now Aoyama can clean the toilets and sinks in peace. And since he doesn’t miss a spot, could this mean Japan will not miss their spot kicks? And since he has been keeping clean, does this mean Japan will keep cleans sheets for the rest of the tournament and for the first time land their and Asia’s first World Cup???!!! Ganbare Nippon!

Boku No Hero Academia S2

After that pretty meh American-like superhero series, The Reflection, I guess it is time to go back and let the Japanese show us how it is done, their brand and take on superheroes. Heh. And with that, Boku No Hero Academia S2 is here for all those who have been waiting and it even gets better this season because this season is double cour! Twice the length of the first season! Wohoo! I guess more interesting (AKA weird) characters and heroes are going to pop up but seeing how the main characters are just students of a superhero school, I’m not expecting them to take on the world yet. But still, even though it is all just training and practice and the likes, anything superheroes do will still be super and of epic proportions.

OVA 1
Taking place right after the USJ incident, Aizawa and Thirteen are recovering well and are back to teaching Class 1A in no time. So we see them doing a mock rescue simulation with some pretending to be victims and the rest trying to use normal means without their Quirks to rescue them. The next simulation is to locate victims in a devastated city. Basically, one big hide and seek game. As Todoroki ponders about his own past and forced succession by his father, he is attacked by a villain. This bull mask villain then disrupts the rest of the simulation as the other students are shocked to see Todoroki, the strongest in their class defeated. He closes off all the exits to take on them. Bakugou as usual, hot and fiery tries to take him down on his own. However it is Midoriya’s plan that has everyone combine and use their Quirks that help pin the villain down. Before they could do some serious damage, the villain unmasks himself to be All Might! I guess sorry can’t cut it right now. Todoroki was also in on this since All Might asked his help. Flashback shows All Might suggested it to Aizawa. The latter was against it as it might traumatize them but All Might believed it would help strengthen them after the USJ attack. They must learn to have the determination to overcome anything.

Episode 14
All Might writes to his mentor about the aftermath of the USJ incident. Although many small fries of the League of Villains were arrested, the ring leader was never caught. He also writes about the potential he sees in Midoriya to succeed him. Class 1A is shocked that Aizawa shows up in class when he is supposed to be recuperating. He is here to announce an important upcoming event: The UA sports festival. There has been a debate whether to cancel it in light of the recent villain attack but it is decided to continue to show that a little shake up like that won’t deter their spirits. This event is also one of the most important in Japan since hero agencies will also be here to scout potential sidekicks and recruits. The students get motivated to do their best. Ochako reveals her intentions to become a hero is for money since her family is broke. Midoriya has lunch with All Might as he is being told that the recent fight with Noumu has now limited his power to only 50 minutes. Although Midoriya still can’t regulate his power, he noticed that when he used it against a villain then, it had no backlash. It was the first time he tried to use his power on a person. Since All Might doesn’t have enough time and those with evil intent are starting to realize it, he needs Midoriya to succeed him. The time has come for him to show the world that at UA sports festival. He wants him to tell the world that he is the next All Might, the fledgling symbol of peace.

Episode 15
The festival is briefly explained. Hero classes are not the only classes in UA. It also has support, business and general studies. The event brings all such classes together to compete. There will be preliminary stages before the finals. Because Class 1A became ‘famous’ during the USJ incident, many from other classes are here to check them out. Especially this villainous-looking Hitoshi Shinsou from the general studies here to make his war declaration on them. We see montages of them training and before you know it, the festival is here. Before it begins, Todoroki comes up to Midoriya and declares war on him since he is suspicious that All Might has set his eyes on him. Midoriya might feel Todoroki is way better than him, but he isn’t going to give up without a fight. All the students head into the arena. The festival is to be hosted by R-rated hero, Midnight. Bakugou as the representative for the first years, goes up to make his speech. He pledges… He’ll be number one! We expect him to piss off everyone from the start. Midoriya feels something odd about his speech because it’s like he is driving himself to a corner. The first game is an obstacle course. As long as they stay within the course, anything goes. As the race flags off, the students make a mad dash to the narrowing hallways. Todoroki gets ahead of the pack by freezing everyone. But his trick doesn’t work on a few with Quirks. Like Bakugou who is just mad in hunting him down. Their first obstacle are robots used during the entrance exam. It’s child’s play for Todoroki as he freezes them all and times them properly to fall and block off the path for the chasing pack.

Episode 16
We see some of the students using their Quirks to get pass the robots. But Midoriya uses his brains and luck instead. Using a broken metal piece of the robot, he manages to slam those aiming for him in the right moment. The next obstacle has them crossing chasms. This stage is where the support class shines because they are able to showcase their inventions. Like Mei Hatsume and her overkill gadgets that get her easily across. The final obstacle is landmines. Though they are easily marked to be identified, they won’t kill but the blast is enough to send you flying out. At this point, Bakugou catches up with Todoroki and they’re fighting each other. Bakugou is mad that he declared war to the wrong person. Midoriya is at the back of the pack. He uses his brains again. He gathers a few mines and then slams on them to propel him high into the air riding on his metal piece to the front. Then he uses Todoroki and Bakugou as springboard and a final blast to push him to first place. He makes a final dash back to the arena where he wins first place! Todoroki and Bakugou arrive second and third shortly. The top 42 advance to the next round with Aoyama propping up the final spot. If you are wondering why cowardly Mineta is placed so high (18th) and Yaoyorozu so low (17th) it is because that midget stuck on to her back and ride her all the way! Yeah, he killed 2 birds with a stone as he probably admired her ass all the way. The next game is kibasen. So as to be fair, the points of each participant is based on their standings from the obstacle race. 42nd is worth 5 points, 41st is 10 points, 40th is 15 points and so on. So what is the top guy worth? 10 million points! Wow. Everybody is now staring and targeting Midoriya. Literally everyone is eyeing on him now.

Episode 17
Midnight explains the rules. With a team consisting of 4, the team’s points are totalled up in the headband to be worn by the rider. As long as the rider doesn’t fall off and touch the ground, even if you have your headband stolen, you are still in the game. But those who deliberately try to make other teams fall will be immediately disqualified. The students are strategizing who is to be in their team. Midoriya knows points are not important but needs the right people. Of course no one wants to be in his team and lots of people seem to be wanting to join Bakugou’s team (lucky ones who got in are Kirishima, Mina Ashido and Hanta Sero). On a side note, Mineta is in despair as no chicks want to join his team. Surprisingly Ochako agrees. Better to team up with people you know, right? Why do I have a feeling it is more than that? Midoriya’s next plan is to have Iida but he refuses him. He has been losing to him ever since the entrance exam. If he intends to be great, he must stop following him. Iida joins Todoroki’s team that consists of Yaoyorozu and Denki Kaminari. Hatsume surprisingly wants to be in Midoriya’s team because as all eyes are on him, this will make her equipment well known. The last person he needs on his team… Fumikage Tokoyami. The plan is for Midoriya to keep running until the time runs out. As expected, all teams target him. However thanks to Hatsume’s equipment that allows the team to fly, plus Ochako’s making everything lighter and Tokoyami’s dark shadow twin to dispel attacks from all sides, it is the perfect defence and getaway. With half the time gone, the rankings are up to see the standings. Everyone is shocked that half of the teams have got their headbands stolen by team Neito Monoma, launching his team to second place. Including Bakugou’s team. This slick dude explains the reason why hero Class 1B has many of its students end up in the middle or the back of the pack, enough to make it to the next round as compared to Class 1A. From the back, they are able to observe their Quirks. Because he mocks Bakugou for being an ‘annual villain victim’, as expected he is enraged and changes his plan to take him down before he gets Midoriya. Midoriya continues to run away but this has to come to a stop. Because now team Todoroki is targeting him.

Episode 18
Todoroki uses his ice to block off other teams and to limit Midoriya from running all around. With both of them duking out, the other teams have no choice but to steal from each other. As Bakugou tries to attack Monoma, he is shocked to see he possesses the same explosive Quirk. Then he realizes that is not the case. Monoma’s Quirk is to copy other Quirks whom he touches for only 5 minutes. Bakugou is so mad he won’t be defeated by this that his explosiveness breaks through Monoma team’s barrier to snatch back a couple of headbands. Iida uses his secret move in which he accelerates faster than the eye can see for Todoroki to snatch Midoriya’s headband. This is his trump card he never told anybody but using this move means he will be immobile for a while. With time running out, Midoriya makes his last ditch attempt to steal back his headband. He plans to use his Quirk on Todoroki. The move is successful. No damage done to his hand and it leaves Todoroki in shock. However Midoriya got the wrong headband. By the time they’re going in for another charge, time is up. The top 4 teams move on to the next round. Todoroki’s team is in first place. Bakugou comes in second. Shinsou’s team is a surprise third. Guess who makes the final cut? Thanks to Tokoyami’s dark shadow stealing a headband from Todoroki in the final seconds, Midoriya’s team takes fourth place! As the festival takes an hour break, Todoroki pulls Midoriya over to talk. All Might meets up with Endeavour, Todoroki’s father who is only second in the hero rankings to All Might and not impressed with his son’s performance.

Episode 19
Endeavour brushes off All Might and it is still obvious he still resents the latter after all these years just by being number one. Midoriya fears his secret with All Might may be exposed when Todoroki explains he could feel the same aura from All Might from him. But Todoroki thinks he is All Might’s secret love child! Before this can become a joke, Todoroki continues and reveals his father as Endeavour who has always been stuck with the number 2 label. So if Midoriya has something to do with the number 1 hero, all the more reason to beat him. Because Endeavour couldn’t beat All Might, he shifted to his next plan. Force marrying into someone with a Quirk to produce a powerful offspring with an equally powerful Quirk. Endeavour is trying to fulfil his own desire by raising him to be a hero to surpass All Might. Todoroki won’t be his tool. He always remembers mother crying. She told him his left side is ugly. While pouring boiling water on it. That’s why Todoroki picked a fight with Midoriya to show him what he can do and without using that Quirk of his. Midoriya might be overwhelmed hearing this. But he has a responsibility to the people who have supported him and hence he challenges back Todoroki he will not lose. While the draw for the octo-finals is going to start, surprisingly fellow 1A classmate, Mashirao Ojiro wants to withdraw! He was on Shinsou’s team. Everyone is shocked but there is something about pride he can’t say (hinting it has something to do with Shinsou’s Quirk). Similarly, a guy on Shinsou’s team from 1B also wants to withdraw. Midnight likes their passion and allows. With 2 spaces left, the duo to replace them are Ibara Shiozaki and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu (both are from the team who has been fighting hard to defend their third place in the kibasen before being snatched away last minute by Shinsou’s team). The draw is done. The first match pits Midoriya against Shinsou. When Shinsou wishes him for a good match, Ojiro quickly shuts him up and doesn’t want Midoriya to answer him. There are recreational games for those who didn’t make the cut before the octo-finals. But now the real match is here. The rules are simple. You win by immobilizing or pushing your opponent out of the ring or make him/her quit. Otherwise anything goes. Of course, no moves that could kill. As both Midoriya and Shinsou take the stage, Shinsou starts badmouthing Ojiro as a coward. This makes Midoriya mad. Suddenly his body freezes.

Episode 20
Aizawa takes a look at Shinsou’s stats and notes how the entrance exam was unfair. Because it was a display of physical Quirk, Shinsou’s Quirk never stood a chance and that’s why he didn’t end up in the hero course. But he knew that if he had done well in the games, they would review him and transfer him to a hero course. So as you might have guessed, Shinsou’s Quirk is brainwashing. He tells Midoriya to turn around and leave the arena in which he obediently does. Midoriya remembers Ojiro telling him about this. As long as you answer him, you will fall under his Quirk. Ojiro had no recollection under his spell but during the kibasen when his shoulder was accidentally bumped, he regained control of himself. Some kind of shock is needed to regain control but not sure how much of it. When Midoriya is close to the edge, he sees visions of a few people. It causes him to use his Quirk that in turn damages his fingers, breaking him out of Shinsou’s spell. Shinsou is shocked with this as he tries to make Midoriya answer his hard hitting questions. Midoriya shuts up and tries to push him off the edge. Shinsou fights back but Midoriya eventually does a judo throw. Midoriya wins and advances. Flashback shows Shinsou’s classmates were really admiring his cool Quirk and gave him ideas on how to use it. Despite how tempting it was to turn to the villain side, he never strayed from his dream to become a hero. Midoriya understands his frustration of unable to become a hero before he got All Might’s Quirk. Shinsou is surprised when his classmates praised him for a good fight against the guy who was first in the obstacle courses. There are also a few heroes interested in his Quirk to fight against villains. It was enough motivation for Shinsou not to give up entirely. As Midoriya gets treated, he asks All Might about the vision. One of them looked like him so he figures if that vision is all those who inherited this Quirk. Maybe. But All Might believes it wasn’t that that broke him out of the brainwashing but his strong emotions. The next match is Todoroki against Sero. We all know how this will end, right? Before Todoroki takes the stage, he isn’t pleased to see father who tells him to give up his rebellious side and use his power. Todoroki won’t and will win using only mom’s powers. Todoroki freezes half the stadium to immobilize Sero! Talk about overkill!

Episode 21
Here are the rest of the matches’ highlights…

* Shiozaki vs Kaminari: Lightning boy got no chance against this God praying vine girl, easily absorbing his shocks and trapping him in her vines. All over in a second…

* Iida vs Hatsume: Iida agrees to use Hatsume’s devices for a fair fight. However she is just using him to advertise her products! After 10 minutes of being fooled around, Hatsume voluntarily steps out of the ring. Her work is done… Iida, you’ve been literally taken for a ride.

* Aoyama vs Mina: Looks like laser belly boy can’t fire too long as he gets a stomach ache. Mina turns the tables by sliding around, dirtying his belt, cuts loose his pants and an uppercut to finish it all. How embarrassing…

* Tokoyami vs Yaoyorozu: Dark shadow has no lag time compared to Yaoyorozu who needs to recollect her thoughts to materialize things. He keeps hitting her hard and when he stops so and she has a chance to fight back, she realizes she is already out of the ring. Oh… So sad for her… So pitiful… No chance to do anything…

* Kirishima vs Tetsutetsu: What happens when you have overlapping characters with the same hardening abilities clash? Oh boy, this is going to take a while… Hard punches that go nowhere… When they finally knock each other out, it is a draw and will be decided with an arm wrestling match later. So while we wait…

* Ochako vs Bakugou: Why does this feel like the most disturbing matchup ever? Oh, we’re out of time for this episode…

Episode 22
Ideally, as long Ochako can touch Bakugou, she can levitate him and have a chance at winning. So when the match starts, she charges straight at him. Of course he blows up everything to keep her from coming close. With his sharp reaction times, it will be hard to even distract him. Ochako gets blasted but never gives up. The crowd is starting to feel painful to watch. Some even boo Bakugou for bullying a girl and should end the match if he is a pro. Aizawa shuts them up because Bakugou is acknowledging Ochako as a serious opponent. After more blasting, Ochako puts her true plan into motion. All the ground debris that Bakugou had blown up, she touched them and are floating in the air. She drops them all on him like a meteor shower and hopes this would give the necessary distraction for her to touch him. However Bakugou unleashes his strongest blast to blast everything away. No chance left. Bakugou is about to get serious attacking Ochako but she collapses from exhaustion. Bakugou wins. Midoriya goes to the waiting room to wait for his next match but is surprised to see Ochako fine and chirpy. Meanwhile the arm wrestling match between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu gets underway. Kirishima wins when Tetsutetsu’s arm cracks from metal fatigue. Remember kids, eat more iron. After Midoriya leaves, Ochako gets a call from father who praises her for her efforts. You know the usual stuff that will eventually… Please don’t cry… PLEASE DON’T CRY… Too late… Midoriya stumbles into Endeavour. The latter sense his Quirk is similar to All Might. He tells Midoriya about his son’s duty to surpass All Might and this match will be a very instructive test bed. Midoriya replies he isn’t All Might and at the same time, Todoroki isn’t Endeavour.

Episode 23
The most anticipated match is here. Midoriya vs Todoroki. Todoroki starts off as expected using his ice powers but Midoriya powerfully deflects them all with his finger. Each time injuring them. So if he is going to do this all the time, at this rate he’ll run out of fingers… When he is used them all up, Todoroki tries to go in for the kill but Midoriya used his injured finger to continue deflecting. It’s looking even worse than before. Midoriya is visibly mad. He lectures Todoroki about Quirks being physical abilities. This means it has its limits. He notices Todoroki trembling from the over usage of ice powers. It could have been easily solved using his flame side. However he remains stubborn and wants to be number one with half his strength? He hasn’t even put a scratch on him! Technically, he is right. Surprisingly Midoriya is the one who is able to punch Todoroki despite the punches are weak. Seeing Midoriya going so far and pushing his limits despite his injury makes Todoroki remember his abusive childhood with his father who has always been trying to make him stronger to beat All Might. His only solace was his kind mom but one day he heard her breaking down that she couldn’t raise a monster who is looking more and more like his father every day. When mom tried to hurt him, Endeavour put her in a hospital. Todoroki blamed his father ever since and made that vow not to use his power. With Midoriya reminding him that the power he has is his, Todoroki remembers mom telling him it is okay for him to be a hero. It is when he starts using his flame side. Everyone is shocked to see this. Not Endeavour. He is happy his son has finally acknowledged himself. For those who analysed deeper, they believe Midoriya has done a great service by saving Todoroki. Both sides power up for one final ultimate decisive blow. Do you think Midoriya can withstand the power of fire and ice? Had not the judge intervene with some ground block in between, the explosion might have been even severe. In the end, Midoriya is out of bounds and unconscious. Todoroki wins.

Episode 24
Endeavour is happy his son has gotten over his childish tantrum. After he graduates he wants him to work under him. However Todoroki says he hasn’t forgotten anything. It was just at that moment he forgot about him. Midoriya’s bones in his arm are all shattered. Even if Recovery Girl heals him, it won’t be the same. So we have Midoriya apologizing for not living up to expectations and All Might advised not to praise his act because it was reckless and foolish. Despite all that he has done, it has the essence of what a hero is supposed to be. Midoriya’s arm might have this crooked look and scars but it should serve as a reminder not to be reckless again. Recovery Girl warns she will not heal him again. So find a way to use that Quirk without being destructive. All Might reveals a shocking truth to him that he was once Quirkless. Back then, having a Quirk wasn’t as common as today. His master believed in him and left All For One with him. Back to the match, Iida quickly pushes Shiozaki out and likewise, Tokoyami also pushes Mina out with ease. Iida tries to call his brother but he is out busy trying to hunt down Hero Killer Stain. Bakugou looks to be on the defence even though he bombs Kirishima. But after Kirishima is at his limits because he has to strain his body to harden it, Bakugou shows no mercy and bombs him till he knocks out. The first semi-final match has Todoroki against Iida. Iida uses his super speed to avoid his ice, even giving him a deep kick that is sure to knock anyone out. Iida tries to quickly toss him out of the wrong but he realizes too late that Todoroki has frozen his engines. With his entire body immobilized in ice, Todoroki advances to the finals. At the same time, Ingenium has been done in to a bloody pulp by Stain who claims all the heroes are sh*t and the only one qualified to kill him is All Might. Bakugou bombs the hell out of Tokoyami and knows his shadow’s weakness. As long as there is bright light, his shadow is rendered ineffective. Tokoyami gives up. It is going to be the most explosive and fiery final. Iida gets a call from his mom as she updates him on his Ingenium’s situation. As Stain vows to reveal the hypocrisy of society to the heroes, Kurogiri appears before him and wants to talk.

Episode 25
Even before the match in the waiting room, Bakugou is already blowing his top at Todoroki who is ever more confused if he should use his fire power. Bakugou tells him off he doesn’t care about his problems. He wants him to go all out with his power and that will make his defeat worthwhile. The final starts and Todoroki unleashes his huge ice power. Bakugou and his explosions and anger just blast it all away. As Todoroki is not using his flames, this only incurs Bakugou’s wrath. He doesn’t want to win this way and if he doesn’t have any intention to win, don’t stand before him. When Midoriya screams out to support Todoroki, he gets a little motivated. However when Bakugou releases his fury of blasts, Todoroki withdraws his flames. Todoroki is unconscious out of bounds. Bakugou is super mad now for this easy win. Midnight had to knock Bakugou out before he gets violent. So yeah, Bakugou wins the overall. During the awards ceremony, Bakugou is restrained like a mad dog! Tokoyami and Iida share third place but the latter had to leave to attend family matters. All Might hands the medals to the podium winners, gives them advice and a big hero hug. Bakugou still b*tching about why he won’t accept this win. Just shut up and take the medal! Iida reaches the hospital and is shocked to see his brother barely alive and in ICU. Sadness overwhelms him to see the person he admires to be in such a state. Likewise, Todoroki also visits the hospital to see his mom for the first time. At first his presence would put pressure on her. But after his fight with Midoriya, he realizes that in order to move forward and become a hero, he has to see and talk to her. Even if she doesn’t want to be rescued, he will do it.

Episode 26
On the train, it seems Midoriya is famous because everyone recognizes him. Today’s class will be for our young heroes to choose a hero name. Aizawa also informs with this they will go pick and do their internship in hero agencies who are interested in them. Todoroki and Bakugou lead with the offers with thousands of agencies wanting them. The rest are just so far away… However none for Midoriya. Midnight will help out since she is a pro in hero names. So we have some like as though they’re trying to be funny like Aoyama’s I Cannot Stop Twinkling (is this a sentence?) and Mina’s Alien Queen (you mean as in that Hollywood sci-fi horror movie?), some are creatively puns like Tsuyu’s Froppy and Ochako’s Uravity, some are just huh like Mineta’s Grape Juice and some just describing their ability straight. I mean, Invisible Girl? Todoroki is a surprise because he goes with his first name, Shouto. Iida remembers his brother telling him he cannot feel his legs anymore and this is the end of Ingenium. He wants him to take over his place. However Iida follows Todoroki’s route and goes with his first name. Midoriya also goes with something similar. His previous nicknames all had All Might in them (just at Junior, Super, Captain, etc). This time he picks his nickname, Deku. Bakugou needs to cool down and think of names that doesn’t sound scary. King Explosion Murder? Lord Explosion Murder? Later All Might talks to Midoriya to tell him a hero agency has submitted late an offer to Midoriya. He is Gran Torino and All Might’s mentor. He must be a fearsome guy since All Might is shaking while talking! Aizawa notices Iida’s pick of hero agency. It is in Hosu City, the place where Ingenium was taken down. No prizes to guess his motives here. Midoriya learnt what happened to Ingenium later over the news. He never said anything to Iida because he never talked about it. Before each leaves for their internship, Midoriya talks to Iida and says if he needs help, let him know. Of course Iida puts on that assuring smile but away from those eyes, he has this vengeance look on his face. Midoriya arrives at Gran Torino’s place and gets the shock of his life when the old guy pranks him with his own death.

Episode 27
Gran Torino might look like a senile old man with dementia but he is still powerful. He tests Midoriya’s strength as he bounces about the place with his jet propulsion. Of course Midoriya loses and couldn’t see it coming. He has watched Midoriya fight and tells him his admiration for All Might is a liability and shackle. He needs to get stronger fast but time and enemies won’t wait. So how? Think about it yourself. Maybe he doesn’t know the answer either? We see the other heroes in their internship. Bakugou meets one of the top 5 popular heroes, Best Jeanist. He is not amused jeans face doesn’t like him despite his agency requested for him. Best Jeanist points out his fatal flaw in his personality. There is a thin line between a hero and villain. They are just opposite sides of the same coin. He is going to teach Bakugou on how to control his emotions and enforcing his morals. Stain is taken to see Shigaraki who wants him to join his ranks. When Stain learns his plan to kill All Might and all those he don’t like such as Midoriya, Stain becomes disappointed of his childish tantrums and is going to kill him. Midoriya tries testing out his Quirk in the alley at night. Let’s say he has a long way to go. It is no surprise he looks all beat up next morning. Midoriya understands why All Might is afraid of Gran Torino is because he is always getting beaten up as his training. However Midoriya is unaware of All Might’s late predecessor who was Gran Torino’s best friend and how he came to look after All Might. Midoriya hits an inspiration when he microwaves the taiyaki. He now understands how his Quirk works. Because he thinks of using them when the time calls for it, it will take time to warm up and power on. So why not switch it on from the start and let it flow through his body? He starts getting the feel of it but isn’t sure if he can move his body at this state. Care to test it out?

Episode 28
Gran Torino gives him 3 minutes to touch him. Midoriya gets creative in ways to stop his jet springing. Although he fails, he has improved a lot. Tsukauchi talks to All Might about his investigation on Noumu. The original body belongs to a thug with a criminal record. After doing some DNA tests, they found 4 different people’s DNA intermingled inside. His body has been modified to hold multiple Quirks. Given that only a Quirk is possible for a body, it is very likely there is someone with a Quirk that can give others Quirks. All Might believes that man is starting to move again. Stain almost kills Shigaraki and Kurogiri. However he is shocked when Shigaraki is able to rot his blade. Stain was just testing him and although their goals are opposites, currently they have the same goal. However Shigaraki doesn’t want this crazy guy in his party. But Kurogiri believes Stain will be a good asset. Gran Torino takes Midoriya to Shibuya. That is where their next training will be. What better way for some real experience in fighting different real villains under real circumstances. Midoriya knows he will pass Hosu and hopes to contact Iida then. Iida is being advised by his mentor not to use his Quirk for selfish reasons since it is against the rules. He knows Iida joined the agency to search for Stain. Speaking of which, Stain is back in Hosu. In his bid to reform this city, more victims are required. The concept of hero is no disillusioned. They do not really help and are only in for the money. They only act like heroes. Until the world realizes this, he will continue to appear. Shigaraki still can’t accept his way of doing things so he unleashes several Noumus to wreak havoc. Gran Torino and Midoriya are riding the train when they see fire in Hosu. A Noumu beats up a hero and crashes into the train. Gran Torino immediately fights this one. Iida doesn’t think this flashy chaos is Stain’s style. He must be ‘delighted’ to come into Stain as he stops him from killing another hero in the alley. As Stain warns him to go away, Iida is mad he is not even his target. He then lets him know the name of the hero who is going to defeat him. Iida takes on Ingenium’s name.

Episode 29
Noumus are indiscriminately attacking people. Gran Torino can handle one well. He gets backup from Endeavour. Midoriya is trying to head to the centre of the commotion. He hears a hero looking for Iida since he isn’t around. Realizing that Iida isn’t the kind to disobey in such a situation, it means he must have found the Hero Killer. Mad Iida continues to praise how great his brother was but Stain lectures him about using his own power for revenge. That is furthest away from being a hero. He should die. In good timing, Midoriya arrives and punches him away. Iida is shocked he is here to save him and warns Stain’s Quirk to make one’s body paralyze after being cut. Midoriya knows he isn’t up to handle Stain himself and sends an SOS message. Iida doesn’t want him to get involved and run away. But if he does that, what good is a hero? He fights Stain but also gets cut. Now he is unable to move. Stain likes Midoriya because of his thinking and will let him leave. Before he could kill Iida, here comes Todoroki to save the day. He got his SOS. Midoriya is one who doesn’t signal for help without reason. It must mean he is in real trouble. Todoroki has no qualms switching between his ice and fire powers to fight Stain. Todoroki gets cut but Midoriya is able to move and prevent the unfortunate. He deduces a few possibilities about Stain’s Quirk why some are able to move. It seems he can paralyze your body by licking your blood and how long you stay paralyzed depends on your blood type. Stain confirms O type is the shortest in which Midoriya is one. Midoriya and Todoroki team up to fight Stain while they wait for the pros to come. Todoroki knows the pain and narrow vision Iida has because he too was in his shoes. When he visited his mother and told her everything, she cried and smiled as she knew he would be able to move forward without anything holding him back. Todoroki joined his father’s agency so that he could see and experience first-hand why he was number 2. It was just simple as that although he still won’t forgive him for what he did. With Stain getting more aggressive and Iida still bugging for them not to get involve, Todoroki tells him off to look properly at what he wants to be.

Episode 30
Iida reflects on his immaturity and his past admiration for his brother. He gets up and uses his acceleration to save Todoroki before he gets sliced. They continue to attack him but Stain is still dangerously strong and fast as ever. Iida’s exhaust has overheated as he seeks Todoroki’s ice power to cool it down to the right temperature. At the same time, Midoriya is able to move and powers up to charge at Stain. They manage to thump Stain at the same time and Todoroki finishing him off. He is finally knocked out. What a fight. Meanwhile Endeavour easily defeats the other Noumus despite each having multiple Quirks. All he needs to do is just adjust. Prior to it all, when he first arrived here, he wanted to show his son what it’s like to be a hero but Todoroki got that message from Midoriya and ran off on his own. Endeavour has the other heroes to head to where his son is. They are shocked to see the kids tying up Stain and defeated him. Iida makes his tearful apology to them. Suddenly a stray and injured Noumu kidnaps Midoriya. Its blood somewhat dripped on Stain. He licks it and becomes enraged as he kills it. This is all for the sake of his just society. Shigaraki is mad that his Noumus are dead and Midoriya of all people has turned up here. Endeavour pops up and sees Stain. He is ready to fight but Stain gets up. His infuriating madness sends a deadly shiver down everyone’s spine. He dares to take on all the fakes on his own and proclaims only All Might the true hero can kill him. But all that madness dies down when he passes out. While standing up. Phew. It has been one hell of a night.

Episode 31
The trio are in hospital recuperating. They are visited by the dog faced police chief, Kenji Tsuragamae. He tells them Stain has got lots of broken bones and burns and receiving treatment under close monitoring. He talks about rules in the superhero profession and hence their supervisors will be punished. Todoroki is not amused. Had they not act, there would have been casualties. Is he saying rules are more important? Tsuragamae continues that this is the official police opinion. However if this gets out, they will be praised by the public. Luckily there are few witnesses. This means they can go scot free and their violations will end here. Nobody knows. Which is better? However their supervisors will still be punished. The media is filled with reports on Stain. Shigaraki is not happy. Because it’s like the Noumus are just side stories. Iida has finished his examination. There is long term damage to his left arm. It could be healed with a transplant but after reflecting the truth Stain said, he would like to keep his arm the way it is till he matures as a hero. Midoriya understands and he hopes they could grow strong together. All Might gets a call from Gran Torino complaining about Midoriya. Because of that he has got a pay cut and teaching licence revoked. However he is here to talk about Stain. With the hype coverage on Stain and relating him to the League of Villains, it might encourage other villains in the shadow to follow in his footsteps. He believes the man who killed All Might’s master and the one who made a hole in All Might’s stomach might have foreseen this and must be planning to move again. With Midoriya admiring him so much, it’s time to tell the truth. Meanwhile some shady black market dealer is ruing business is down since crime is down after Stain has been arrested. However his buddy knows of a good way to make money. Showing an internet video of Stain’s idea of how he wants to kill current fake heroes and instil the old real ideal of a hero (which he was rejected and mocked in the past), this video has been taken down and re-uploaded many times. This means his way of life is infectious. Many have not noticed yet but those evil scattered throughout the world in darkness are now making their way to the League of Villains.

Episode 32
The official story released by the police is that Endeavour saved the day by defeating Stain. Midoriya, Iida and Todoroki are not mentioned by name but it is noted the interns got their injuries via accident during their internship. Although we get a glimpse of the others doing their internship (Bakugou still needs to work on his crudeness as he is still making the kids cry!), the main focus is on Tsuyu. Her internship is with the coast guard hero, Selkie the seal and Sirius is in charge over her. Tsuyu feels disappointed when she is ordered to stay and watch while the rest answer a request from the coast guards to apprehend stowaways. Selkie and his men inspect the suspected ship but get trapped. Sirius whose Quirk is sensitive hearing could tell this ship was just a decoy as Selkie orders her to stop the main ship. It is up to Sirius and Tsuyu but Sirius gets taken as a hostage by the squid villain. Tsuyu is in a dilemma whether to lie there were no stowaways as the baddie wants her to or else Sirius is dead meat. She realizes what it takes to be a hero and instead reveals their current location. Squiddy goes ballistic and tries to kill Tsuyu. Luckily her agility as a frog saves her but she can only dodge his tentacles for so long. Before she gets done in, here comes Selkie to beat the crap out of him and save the day. The stowaways are arrested and they put a stop to their plan to distribute some illegal drug. Tsuyu is very happy when Selkie calls her an excellent hero even though she doesn’t have a hero licence yet.

Episode 33
The internship is over. Midoriya leaves but not getting a goodbye lecture from Gran Torino. He asks despite being All Might’s master, why isn’t he a famous hero? He never wanted to become one. He just got his licence so he could use his Quirk freely. Back at UA, our young heroes are given another basic training, a rescue race this time. In this industrialized labyrinth, the first to reach All Might wins. Midoriya surprises everyone using a hopping move he copied from Bakugou (that guy is getting mad again) but ultimately he slips because of unequal footing while landing. After class, he goes to see All Might as requested. First he assures the One For All Quirk cannot be simply transferred unless the bearer wishes it so Stain licking his DNA can’t steal his Quirk (remember All Might gave Midoriya his Quirk via eating his hair strand). Now for its history. It was derived from a certain Quirk in the past. A Quirk that could steal other Quirks and make them the holder. So there was this one guy in the past who stole Quirks and used it to commit evil acts to spread his influence and get others to follow him. However not everyone could accept the Quirk he gave them. Some became vegetables. Something like Noumu. Others had some sort of mix or change in the Quirk. That guy too had a Quirkless younger brother who has a sense of justice and didn’t like what his older brother is committing. So he was forced to submission to have a Quirk. A Quirk to pass on Quirks. That is the irony of One For All as its justice came from evil. So why an old story? That guy probably had an immortal Quirk. The defeated younger brother decided to entrust his Quirk to future generations in hopes that he would be defeated one day. All Might thought he defeated him but is still found alive and is now the mastermind behind the League of Villains. Therefore One For All is the power inherited to defeat All For One. Midoriya is willing to do what it takes but All Might feels something is wrong but can’t bring himself to tell him. Because when that time comes, he might not be by his side anymore. The League of Villains’ big bad boss didn’t think Stain could get caught but is more than happy others will look up to him and go on a rampage or join the League of Villains as an outlet to release their urges. Currently he is in a race to fix up his body and believes Shigaraki has what it takes to become the League of Villains’ leader and the next him.

Episode 34
The final exams are coming up. There will be written and practical. Mina and Kaminari prop up the bottom of the class based on their midterm rankings. Surprisingly, Mineta is has high as 9th place! First is of course Yaoyorozu followed by Iida, Bakugou, Midoriya and Todoroki. With some of them wanting to be coached by Yaoyorozu, she gets motivated to help them as she starts deciding in setting up her ‘party’. Monoma tries to intimidate Class 1A that they invite trouble but is taken out by fellow classmate, Itsuka Kendou. As apology she tells them information she got from her seniors that the practical will be fighting against robots. Bakugou seems to be getting worse because he is angrier especially at Midoriya and wants to settle everything at the finals. Back to those days? Everyone who goes to study at Yaoyorozu’s place is shocked to find her living in a big mansion. Too great a hospitality… The written exam is over and now it’s time for the practical. However everyone is shocked to learn it will be them against the teachers. As a pair, they will try to take out the teacher by putting on handcuffs or escape from the arena. For handicap, the teachers are worn bracelets to restrain their power. Midoriya and Bakugou are paired up to fight All Might. Aizawa purposely set this pairing because of their bad relationship. A few days ago, the teachers discussed about Stain and the League of Villains. Baddies might be invigorated by it and hence robots will not be the best practice anymore. Hence this students vs teacher suggestion. The first match pits Kirishima and Satou against Cementoss. However all the brute might they use eventually tires them out as Cementoss is able to eternally flow his cement. They lost and this sends shockwaves to the rest. Midoriya realizes this exam’s key is to see how well the students deal with their weakness. Next is Tsuyu and Tokoyami against Ectoplasm.

Episode 35
Their best chance is to escape but Ectoplasm can create clones of himself. Tokoyami and Tsuyu use their Quirks to complement each other. But as they near the exit, the real Ectoplasm stands between them. He now forms a giant clone that has captured them. While Tokoyami’s dark shadow keeps Ectoplasm busy, Tsuyu hatches a last ditch ‘disgusting’ plan. She pulled out the handcuffs she has been keeping in her stomach and passes it to the dark shadow without being seen. So during the clash, Ectoplasm gets cuffed. They passed. Iida and Ojiro is having a tough time against Power Loader who is digging holes everywhere. Iida improvises to let Ojiro escape and they too pass this test. Next up is Todoroki and Yaoyorozu against Aizawa. Yaoyorozu continues to have low self-confidence. She follows his plan to escape as he stays back to hold down Aizawa. Since Aizawa can nullify Quirks, Todoroki is easily defeated. She becomes indecisive to whether save him or escape. And she already turned back to go save him. Still undecided, Todoroki tells her to think of a plan because this is what she is supposed to be good at. She gets her confidence and comes up with one. First they run away enough from his vision to get back their Quirk. Todoroki then forms a large ice wall to put up a barrier between them. When it’s time to move, they cloak themselves. Aizawa thought they could hide from his nullifying but when he attacks, it is just a decoy. She then catapults ropes that looks like Aizawa’s but they are actually some sort of alloy that when burnt, returns to its original shape and this restrains him. They put the handcuffs on and pass the test. Ochako and Aoyama are having it real hard with Thirteen sucking everything. Aoyama is sure a joker joking at such moments. Ochako tries to think what Midoriya would do in this situation. It prompts Aoyama to ask if she likes him.

Episode 36
The shock has Ochako losing her grip and being sucked towards Thirteen. Now, he can’t get too violent with her so he stops his suction. With Ochako in ‘rage’ over Aoyama’s words, she turns into some ‘monster’ and quickly cuffs him. At least it worked. Next is Mina and Kaminari against Nezu who is also UA’s principal. They have a hard time running from his destruction since his Quirk allows him to calculate the aftereffects easily. In the end, the got cornered until time ran out. Next is Jirou and Kouji Kouda against Mic. Mic’s voice is deafening. Jirou has an idea using ants but Kouda is afraid of bugs. Noticing Jirou’s ears are bleeding, Kouda mans up to face his fears. Soon bugs start crawling from out of the ground over Mic. He passes out and this gives them an easy path to escape. Next is Mezou Shouji and Toru Hagakure against Snipe (Overwatch’s McCree?). This one is easy seeing Hagakure is an invisible girl so she easily cuffs him while Shouji distracts him. Oh, she can accuse him of molesting her too. Mineta is running away! But he is mad? Actually Sero saved him from Midnight’s Quirk that makes one sleep when smelling her fragrance. So Mineta is jealous that because of that, Sero gets to touch her boobs and sleep on her lap. Mineta is reconsidering why he became a hero. It was to be popular with chicks. Well, looks like he is so far away. But being at UA he learnt that heroes here aren’t cool because they are heroes, they are heroes because they’re cool. Midnight is coming after him as making her wait is unleashing her sadistic side. But this is all part of his big plan to trap and her make her stuck with his Quirk at the opposite end of the arena. This allows him to carry Sero out to the exit with no hindrance. Job well done. His only ‘complaint’ is that he need not have to work this hard had he not been saved.

Episode 37
As usual, Midoriya tries to talk to Bakugou for a plan but he is yelled at and told to shut up. Nothing works. Argue too much and here comes All Might with his full power. He doesn’t pull his punches and shows no mercy in pummelling the boys. While Midoriya thinks of running away, Bakugou has only defeating All Might on his mind. They only get in each other’s way. All Might tries to advise him on his anger as well as his envy on Midoriya’s sudden improvement. But when Bakugou tells him off he would rather lose than seek help from that pipsqueak, Midoriya surprisingly punches Bakugou and then takes him to run. In the alley, Midoriya admonishes him for giving up because he was never like that. That is why he admired him. So try using him at least once before giving up. Well, looks like Bakugou has got a plan. A pincher attack that has them blast All Might in between (Midoriya borrowing one of his explosive gauntlets) and then make a mad dash to the exit. But he recovers in no time and soon another round of beat down. This time All Might destroys Bakugou’s gauntlets to prevent anything similar from happening. Bakugou refuses to give up as she continues to fight All Might head on as he throws Midoriya towards the exit. All Might tries to thwart this but each time Bakugou distracts him. Without his gauntlets, each explosive blow is putting a strain on his limbs. In the end when Bakugou is knocked out cold, Midoriya turns back to give All Might a good punch and then retrieve Bakugou and head for the exit. They finally do so and pass. And perhaps All Might is already at his limit. Recovery Girl is having a hard time healing them. Barely. All Might notes their tremendous growth and room for more improvement. Meanwhile a bunch of new weirdoes inspired by Shigaraki’s attack has come to apply to join the League of Villains.

Episode 38
Shigaraki doesn’t want these freaks to join but Giran the broker hopes to accept them because he gets a cut for introducing people to join. So meet Hibiko Toga and Dabi. Since they are so hyped on Stain, Shigaraki blows his top and tries to attack them. They too attack back but thanks to Kurogiri’s warp, they miss each other. He advises Shigaraki to accept them since he will need to use all the help he can get. Back at UA, those who failed the practical exam fear they cannot join the summer camp. Then Aizawa relays the good news that everyone is in. Of course a failure is a failure and those who failed will have a different work lined up for them. Most of them decide to go shopping together tomorrow to get the necessary stuffs. At the mall, they all go their own way and agree to meet back later. Ochako is now very conscious around Midoriya and runs away. I guess being heroes from UA is famous because they are quite recognizable. In fact, one of them approaches Midoriya and knows him too well. Why, it’s Shigaraki! So this is his crazy face without those hands. He warns Midoriya not to do anything silly as he is here to just talk. If other heroes come to his aid, he can take down 20 or 30 people before being taken down. Shigaraki talks he is jealous that all his work has been upstaged by Stain. I mean, they’re the same so why is Stain more popular? Midoriya says he could understand Stain. Although defeated, at least he had his conviction right till the very end unlike Shigaraki who just gave up and went home during the USJ attack. This makes Shigaraki very relieved. Because now he believes the root of the cause is All Might. He is going to use Stain’s ideals as a stepping stone and doesn’t have to do what is different.

At this point, Ochako returns to apologize but sees Shigaraki. He ends the conversation and leaves. Midoriya wants to know about All For One’s goal but he doesn’t know or care. Shigaraki warns him to be careful because the next time they meet, he might kill him. Shigaraki is happy of his new conviction to kill All Might because without him, it will show how fragile the justice in this world is. After Ochako reports, the mall is evacuated and locked down. But Shigaraki was nowhere to be found. Midoriya is taken to the police station to give descriptions of Shigaraki’s look to Tsukauchi. Midoriya might feel he didn’t do enough but at least there were no casualties. When All Might picks him up, Midoriya asks if he failed to save anyone before. Lots of them. Those he can’t reach and in dire need of help right now. It’s sad but he is only human. That’s all the more reason to stand and smile so that the symbol of justice can always be lit in our hearts. A bit of a heart breaker when Midoriya’s mom comes to pick him up. She can’t take all this anymore. It’s bad for her heart. Tsukauchi talks to All Might about the UA students might be getting targeted more frequently. He suggests quitting UA. All For One is happy that Shigaraki now has conviction. This means more baddies will join and approve of his conviction. He will provide and support all Shigaraki needs until he is ready to take over him.

OVA 2
Taking place after the internship, we see Tsuyu introducing her froggy family as well as how she made friends with this snake head girl, Habuko Mongoose. A frog and a snake best friends? Today’s hero class will have 4 guests from Isami High School to join them. Aside Habuko, the rest are Kashiko Sekigai (class rep material), Dadan Tadan (fatty pessimist) and Romero Fujimi (overlapping angry character). You bet Fujimi and Bakugou are going to hate each other. They will be participating in a survival game. Divided into teams of 4, they can capture their opponents with tape and the last team standing wins. Midoriya has his mini harem of Ochako, Mina and Tsuyu. Their plan is to stay where they are and not move. The other teams have the same idea but Bakugou has a different idea. He goes around singlehandedly busting a couple of teams. When he faces off with Fujimi, the latter releases pink gas. It is bad because anybody who breathes in turns into a zombie! That is Fujimi’s Quirk. So slowly one by one the other survivors get bitten and even turn into one. Yeah, even Fujimi himself. Tsuyu and Habuko are so good friends that the latter doesn’t even bite her in her zombie form. Too bad Tsuyu got bitten by others. When All Might jumps in to save the day, because he is in his deflated form, the rest thinks he is a zombie! Even the zombies don’t bite him thinking he is one of them! Midoriya, Todoroki, Ochako and Mina are trapped in a cave. The only way is to bust forward. So when Midoriya does so, it looks like the Quirk effect is over and everyone returns to normal, not knowing why Midoriya busted their ass. Bakugou takes this as a sign of challenge and beats the hell out of him. In the end, both sides are really sorry for this but Bakugou and Fujimi are still at each other’s necks. More friendship power between Tsuyu and Habuko. All Might is sorry for what happened. He thought a cake could cheer Midoriya up but his entire face is bandaged…

To Be Hero
Well what do you know? There is going to be a third season! Hooray! The season is saved. The series is saved. My day is saved. My heroes indeed. With so many potentials going on, it would be a waste to just end it like that this season. Because now we have the final final big boss, right? Or don’t tell me there is going to be a twist and there is going to be a final final final big big big boss? Whatever. Just as long as the next season is coming, you bet I’m going to be there. I guess this is a perk of being a normal citizen-cum-bystander without any super powers. You get to watch from the sidelines the people with awesome super powers clash and battle it out while hoping you don’t get caught in the crossfire. Yeah, don’t stand too close to the action, silly. So get ready my popcorns?

This season itself did not disappoint. While it might not be perfect but at least it still lives up to the greatness and all that epic hype stuff as expected and hoped for from the first season. This season might still show our budding young heroes still in training and honing their skills but remember, what is the name of this series again? Despite the double cours and the arcs are a bit long (the sports festival, the internship and the training against the teachers are the only arcs this season), it doesn’t feel a bit boring and in fact each of the arcs are interesting and intriguing in their own ways. Each time it made me looking forward to the next episode with lots of anticipation and when that episode comes, it doesn’t disappoint. Kudos to a good season and let’s hope this momentum can be kept up in the next.

This season does some justice to some of the characters in Class 1A instead of the Midoriya-Bakugou focus that we were getting in the first season. Namely, Todoroki and Iida. We see them grow along the rest of the class as well as with our main duo (I assume their rivalry has also grown to new heights) and you can’t help feel the more you want to support them. Though, there are some characters in Class 1A who are still very much lacking but I guess I can’t complain this season. If you really want to give each of them decent screen time, it would have diluted the screen time of some of the more important ones like as aforementioned, Todoroki and Iida. So even if they still have a much lesser impact, but at least they still have a slightly more screen time thanks to the final arc of training with the teachers.

Bakugou is still as annoying this season but he is much less annoying compared to the first season. Firstly we don’t see him often getting mad each time he gets to be on screen or whenever Midoriya takes the spotlight. Sure, he does get annoyed and angry but it feels like he has learnt some sort of control. It’s a great step but he still needs more anger management class. While you can’t deny the love-hate relationship between Midoriya and Bakugou, I suppose this is the way they interact. This is the way they are as friends. Nobody ever said friendship was a bed of roses. And the question if Ochako likes Midoriya… Still not really answered this season but is greatly hinted. We all know deep down but we just want some sort of on screen confirmation.

While Class 1A heroes are growing steadily and learning to become fine superheroes themselves one day, my main concern and worry was for Yaoyorozu. I had this fear that she would become a villain. Because I noticed that very disappointed and disillusioned look on her face ever since she did badly during the sports festival. There was this risk that she would turn to the dark side as she may have been fighting depression from within while we were not looking. Thank goodness that fear of mine was all unfounded as she got back to her groove in the end. For now. Hopefully. It would have been a shocking turn of events to the series but at the same time leave a bitter taste in the mouth of viewers. She might not be as prominent as the rest but she is still part of the overall team. If she ever really did turn to the dark side, it would be a real shocker and although it would give rise to future interesting stories and clashes, I don’t think we could stomach this one in the long run. Because Bakugou is always that angry dude and is most likely to go rogue and for Yaoyorozu to become a villain is just unthinkable.

Other characters to note from Class 1A is Mineta who seems to be having a fun ride despite all the cowardice actions he has been seen doing. Being physically the smallest, he is the biggest pervert, but it is shown that even if he wants to hit on the chicks, he still needs to put in some effort. Kirishima is slowly establishing himself as the joker and comic relief character due to his hard headedness. Making him even more so is his character purposely overlapping with Tetsutetsu. Double the jokers, double the fun? Though it is a good thing that in the latter half of this season, the mid-intermission screen shows the bio-data of the Class 1A students, the one thing I find very irritating and annoying is the fact that in every episode when a character first appears, their names and Quirk description will always be on screen. Not just Class 1A but every other characters as well. I get it. You want us to remember who they are and the power they have but if you’re spamming Midoriya’s name and Quirk in every damn episode, you have got to be the most stupidest person on Earth to not understand what his powers are (generally) after watching this far into the series. Even so, I still can’t remember the Quirks of the lesser known characters. And so the spamming will continue…

With my praises for the characters of Class 1A, however I seem to have this little discontent with the other characters outside this class. For instance, Class 1B and some of the other students in the other classes. These few new characters during the sports festival were great introductions and breathe some freshness into the season. But when the season ends, that is it for them. It is a shame because I thought Shinsou and Hatsume had some potential especially the former. This guy has an interesting and mysterious personality to him that makes his character hover between good and evil. His Quirk is so villain-like and it is a good thing to see him in a hero class. Had he had more screen time and prominence, I would have probably worried about this guy as much as Yaoyorozu of turning to the dark side. After all, being a hero is no bed of roses too with all the regulations and politics, being a hero and saving the day isn’t as easy and straightforward one might hope for as a kid.

Another disappointing character is Stain. And I don’t mean on an overall character kind of stuff. Though a very lethal and dangerous character, I thought this Hero Killer would be a mainstay, a new antagonist aside the League of Villains or maybe join them. You know, a superhero series needs more than just the same villain so the story doesn’t get boring. But unfortunately his appearance during the internship arc is rather short and ironically taken down by a bunch of students. This is the guy who has been going around killing heroes and he got defeated by a bunch of kids (because they are main characters material too). Alas, too bad he was just part of a little stepping stone for Iida’s story and character to progress as well as setting a bigger stone in movement for the League of Villains, especially Shigaraki’s newfound conviction. This is assuming he won’t return next season but there is this faint hope he might because he is too good of a character and villain to be wasted like that.

Speaking of this group of villains, this season they are pretty much ‘disappointing’ too but that isn’t entirely a bad thing. They were introduced and appeared late in the first season and after that awesome and life and death battle at USJ, they need some time to recuperate. Shigaraki’s final episode encounter with Midoriya and their first on non-battling terms is an indication that things are going to get even more heated up. Stain’s actions that led to his eventual fall did open up new possibilities for the group and with a bigger villain with past ties with All Might lurking in the background, I believe they will make a bigger and more devastating impact next season instead of the little failed skirmish Shigaraki unleashed here.

It is no doubt that the superhero action is the highlight of the series. It doesn’t disappoint this season too although there is this dilemma of mine if some of the fights are too short. I know the more important ones last for a few episodes but I suppose there is this give and take to not bore us by giving each fight equal screen time. The season might last up till 50 episodes in that case. After all, some fights are really over in a matter of seconds. Despite everyone having a single Quirk, it still doesn’t get boring to see the way they use it in various situations and circumstances. So while we do not have some indestructible Noumu as the end boss (the ones during the internship arc didn’t last long under the combine effort of the veteran heroes), at least we got to see why All Might lived up to his name as the world’s greatest hero with some great pounding explosive action with Midoriya and Bakugou whose Quirks do pack a punch. On a trivial note, I guess this season we don’t get to hear All Might spout his American city names in his punches. Except New Hampshire.

This season also continues to rock music for its opening and ending themes that very much befit the superhero genre. But still, not as hardcore and as epic as the one in One Punch Man. This season we have Peace Sign by Kenshi Yonezu as the first opener and Sora Ni Utaeba by Amazarashi as the second one. Dakara Hitori Ja Nai by Little Glee Monster serves as the first ending theme while Datte Atashi No Hero by Lisa is the second ending theme. Oddly, the first ending animation credits feel like one for the girls of Class 1A since it is all on them. The second ending animation credits feel even odder because Class 1A students helming RPG roles slaying monsters and dragons. Weird.

Overall, an amazing second season that makes me feel the series is better than all the Marvel and DC cinematic universe put together. Though, I have not been watching many of such Hollywood blockbuster movies recently. But I get that feel. This series is one of the few anime titles whose second season is as good or better than the first season (Shingeki No Kyojin and Shingeki No Bahamut to name a few) and it is one of the best action shonen type animes out there (sorry Naruto, you’ll never beat this series in my books). So maximum scores for this solid season for a highly entertaining season that really makes me look forward to the next. It’s not just Plus Ultra, make that Double Plus Ultra!

Shingeki No Bahamut: Virgin Soul

OMG! I didn’t really expect this to have a sequel since the series somewhat properly ended. Is this the ‘prophecy’ that Favaro hinted to us last season that Bahamut cannot die and will someday return?! So it seems there is more to tell so I can’t complain. New characters, new plots. And hence, I couldn’t contain my hype and shock to learn Shingeki No Bahamut: Virgin Soul graced the airwaves. It was such an awesome series and for the sequel to get twice the amount of episodes from the first season, it means it is going to be even more awesome, right? I know that isn’t a good indicator of whether a show is good or not by the number of episodes but I’m just going to ride the Baha-Max wave. Baha-Baha-Baha-Soul! Here we go!

Episode 1
Heaven looks like in trouble again. It isn’t the demons attacking the sanctuary but humans?! Wow. Humans coolly killing angels? We see how vile humans have become as some are even trafficking poor demons as slaves. However those traffickers are suddenly killed by a ‘saviour’ known as Rag Demon. He is being hunted down by Kaisar (captain of the Orlean Knights) but escapes before anything could happen. Nina Drango is such a lively and cheery girl. Oh, did I mention how super strong she is? She can do several men’s work in construction. She sees a painter painting a big mural about the legacy of humans. How under King Charioce XVII resurrected the capital Anatae from despair. Also in the painting is Bahamut. Nina remembers its destructive force 10 years ago because it razed her village. Nina is here to make money as a bounty hunter and send it back to her village where her mom lives. Currently she is staying at Bacchus and Hamsa’s place. Bacchus is annoyed he didn’t invite her to stay. Charioce summons Kaisar for his failure to capture the Rag Demon. He gives him one last chance not to disappoint him. A trap is set out to lure out the Rag Demon. A short clash with Kaisar before he runs away. He bumps into Nina. She recognizes him from the reward poster and starts to chase him. However she blunders with her whip and accidentally hits Kaisar. She can’t apologize decently because seems she has a thing for hot guys… It sets her heart racing… So as she tries to scout for the Rag Demon from a high place, the Orlean Knights think she is Rag Demon’s accomplice for hurting Kaisar. They try to shoot her down from the tower. The Rag Demon looked like he flies there to save her when actually it was his other kid accomplice, Mugaro who was coincidentally at that same spot. Oops. Saved the wrong person. Nina’s close proximity with the Rag Demon who is a hot hunk himself sets her heart racing. She can’t take it anymore and then boom! After crashing down into the buildings, what pops out is a fiery red dragon! Kaisar orders his troops to retreat. Next thing Nina knows when she wakes up, she is in Rita’s room. Since when did zombie girl became a doctor? Oh, quack doctor.

Episode 2
Nina remembers she transformed into a dragon and ran rampage throughout the city before blacking out and being brought here. She still writes to her mom to update about her life in the capital. Rita introduces Nina to Rocky the hand. Yes, he is just a hand. Like the one from Addam’s Family. If you remember from last season, this is Kaisar’s chopped off hand. Charioce summons Kaisar again. I guess he failed. Because of that, this duty to capture the Rag Demon will be reassigned to the Onyx Knights. Kaisar accepts his fate but his subordinate, Alessand Visponti is disappointed his captain did not fight back for another chance. Charioce wants an Onyx Knight to keep watch on Kaisar. Those who have watched the previous season should know that the Rag Demon’s identity is no other than Azazel. He confronts Nina and wants her to join forces with him. He needs her power that is devastating on humans. Nina is reluctant so Azazel will show her reality. He takes her to the slums where demons are being made slaves. They are in a pitiful state. Charioce waged war against the demons but sought the powers to defeat them from Heaven before turning against them. So yes, Azazel hates humans. He also explains about Mugaro who was sold into slavery. He is a mute because they crushed his windpipe. Nina is reluctant to get involved but Azazel continues to bug her until Rita puts a stop to this harassment. Time for Azazel to head to work but he still won’t give up on Nina. Azazel and Mugaro work in the Coliseum picking up dead bodies of demon gladiators. Kaisar can tell Azazel is the Rag Demon from those same eyes. That night, Azazel continues to play his Rag Demon role by killing humans who mistreat demons. Kaisar catches him in the act and wants him to escape since Charioce is serious about hunting him down. Will murdering humans improve the situation? Azazel shocks his naivety by showing this place is also where humans torture and experiment on helpless demons. He asks back if his chivalry includes demons. Azazel won’t kill him because he is lower than others he killed. The Onyx Knights surround Azazel and is about to kill him with their magic. However Mugaro’s heavenly magic paralyzes them as he retrieves Azazel.

Episode 3
Heaven learns that a certain blessed child is still alive. They need to find him if they are to regain man’s faith in the Gods. Azazel is being treated by Rita. He remembers picking up Mugaro after killing all the humans in a building. Mugaro clung onto him. Hamsa is making tons of money by challenging strong men to arm wrestle with Nina. No chance! She’s stronger than all of you! So strong that you can even fly away! Meanwhile Sofiel talks Bacchus about his last chance to return to Heaven. He must help them find a certain child or forever be exiled. Nina now faces a challenge from a handsome guy who leaves some sort of royal ring as his entrance fee (Hamsa thinks it’s fake). So much so she needs to blindfold herself! But touching his hand even sets her heart racing. Although this guy is as strong as her although he ultimately loses. Nina still can’t get over his handsomeness so Hamsa calls it a day after raking in a fortune. With the Rag Demon continuing to kill humans, Charioce is going all for broke. He plans to lure him out by executing demons in the town square tonight. Kaisar is against it because provoking him will only do more harm. However Charioce warns him not to invite needless suspicion for defending demons too much. With the earnings, Nina gets to buy a feast. Not that Hamsa is happy since half of the earnings were spent on it. Everyone is shocked to learn that Nina’s master is no other than Favaro! I can see the similarities in their idiocy… Nina hopes to learn more about him but Rita knows a person who knows better. Speaking of that demon (human actually), here comes Kaisar running in to asking Rita about Azazel’s whereabouts. It is awkward at first for Nina to meet again ‘Rocky’s father’ but she eventually apologizes for the other night. Azazel leaves Mugaro a message not to come near the square no matter what happens. If he dies, go to Rita. Unheeding Rita’s advice, Nina instantly rushes towards the square to catch Azazel. Charioce is about to execute the first demon when Azazel shows up.

Episode 4
Charioce’s forces brings down and does lots of damage to Azazel. Now Charioce knows the Rag Demon’s identity. Nina is running along when she stumbles into Mugaro. Conveniently Azazel crashes nearby. She won’t let him return to fight or he’ll die with those injuries. I think he is willing to do that. Nina has no choice but first makes him promise not to tell this to anyone. Now hug her. What? You heard her. The moment he does, she turns into a red dragon and goes on a rampage. Charioce challenges her but Kaisar comes in between. While she does damage, everyone retreats and Charioce is left admiring the raw power. When it’s done, Nina reverts back and Rita quickly picks her up. Charioce commends for Kaisar’s performance but orders him to disclose his connection with the Rag Demon. Azazel killed his father. So why not kill him? Because he has someone with him that is more powerful: The red dragon. After dismissing him, Charioce comments he is a poor liar. Nina wakes up and is still left embarrassed while reminding Azazel not to tell how she turns into a dragon. Men who set her heart racing would trigger it. Her dad’s a dragon and mom’s a human. Yeah, I wonder how that union is even possible… Nina sucked at transforming into a dragon. Till one day a handsome guy visited and she transformed. She damaged the picturesque village! Mom scolded her and told her to stay away from handsome guys. It was easy since the village is full of old people but the city is filled with hot guys. In that form, she has no memories of what happened. Azazel knows a way to control it. If she can’t, he will by making love to her! WTF?! It causes Nina to run away in embarrassment. So that is more embarrassing than streaking across the area in just a towel? Azazel decides to go into hiding for a while and wants Mugaro to stay with Rita. Just great. She’s already got a lot on her hands (sorry, bad pun). Charioce sees Jeanne in the dungeons to remind her of his offer to team up and crush demons and Gods. She remains silent and praying. He lets her know her son was spotted and knows it was quite smart and cruel of her to hide him among the demon slaves. Azazel enters the hideout for demons. They are not impressed to see him here. He tells them he is the Rag Demon and the time to bring back their lost demon pride is now.

Episode 5
Azazel’s plan is to use the red dragon to defeat the humans. Nina takes Mugaro out shopping. She can get away with free or discounted stuffs as she challenges the shopkeepers to arm wrestling. Isn’t that technically arm twisting? Along the way back, they stumble into a cruel master abusing his demon slaves. Nina is the only one with balls to go tell him off. She even dares challenge him to try and make her his slave! So when he and his goons are going to make their move, Mugaro’s eye suddenly flash. It breaks the demons’ collar chain. They are free and turn on their human masters. Sofiel senses something and rushes there but by that time, everything is settled down. Since when is Rita a counsellor? Because Kaisar is here to seek her advice. He tries to troll us to believe he wants to confess his feelings to only Rita. Turns out it is about his worries as Orlean Knights’ captain. Oh Rita, are you so disappointed? You must be. Because he keeps complaining and complaining without stopping! Even zombies can’t stand nagging as she punches him! After 10 years, he has descended into this cry baby. Yeah, you tell him, girl. Sofiel talks to Bacchus about something happening today. Since he ignores her, she believes he really wants to stay in this world. Hamsa really wants to go back to heaven and is willing to be her pet but gets ignored. She warns Bacchus to just follow her orders and find that child. When Nina returns, she brags about what happened. You mean Bacchus and Hamsa doesn’t know Mugaro is that child?! Kaisar talks to Charioce as he believes his ways will only lead to more violence and uprising. Charioce assures he will always find that power to crush his enemies and calls Kaisar’s vision to have all 3 races to coexist as naïve. Even if Kaisar tells him about humans, Gods and demons uniting to defeat Bahamut once, Charioce says everyone has the right to live their life they see fit. But if he gets in his way, he will show no mercy. Bacchus and Hamsa try to peek on Mugaro’s eye while he is asleep. Oh Nina… We’re just admiring how cute you are. Perverts! She kicks them out! Of their own carriage?! Well, at least they confirmed Mugaro’s different coloured eye.

Episode 6
Wow. Nina still hates Bacchus. As she runs errands for the festival, she is being confronted by the slave trader. He brought his pals. But she can’t fight back because they are all handsome men! Luckily that handsome guy whom Nina arm wrestled and won the other day beat them up. If you haven’t guessed it, he is Charioce in disguise. The hooligans leave when they see his bracelet. Charioce is nice enough to put back all of Nina’ stuff. To thank him, she invites him to her stall for the festivals. Meanwhile Azazel relays his plans to attack during the festival’s parade. It looks like it will be relying heavily on the red dragon but they have no choice but to place their trust in Azazel’s words. Nina is spacing out in love throughout the festival. Except when it comes to Bacchus. Rita’s stall is selling spicy chicken. Charioce actually visits but embarrassing Nina even more is how Bacchus suggests he takes Nina out to the festival. Charioce actually takes up that offer. So they spend a good amount of time together (and a good amount of time she has been blushing this whole episode) and even dancing their heart out. She hopes to dance again with him and asks his name. He says it is Chris. Nina can no longer hold her emotions so she sprints the whole way back until she bumps into Azazel. He tells her to go up to that tower when the parade begins tomorrow.

Episode 7
Kaisar wants Charioce to not attend the parade since the demons are moving suspiciously. But he believes it would be more fun because today was the day the demon capital fell. Sofiel bugs Bacchus again for that kid. Heck, I guess she doesn’t even know that Mugaro is that kid even if he is right before her eyes. Though she is suspicious, Bacchus lies he is just some demon kid he picked up to work on the stalls. Hamsa wonders why he lied when it’s their ticket back to heaven. Bacchus has a bad feeling about this. While demons are planting magic bombs over the place, Kaisar is trying to look for them. Funny, he should at least spotted Azazel since he likes to hang out on the roofs overlooking the city. He is annoyed that Nina didn’t show up but that’s because she is enjoying the parade. So he finds her and whisks her away. Then he tries to hug her. Nothing happens. Again. Nothing happens. Nina must be feeling weird out. WTF is going on? Desperate, he tries to kiss her! She punches him away. I guess she isn’t transforming. At the same time, the bombs go off. The crowd panics as Charioce orders his men to stand and fight. As Azazel goes off trying to stop the battle, the demons wonder if Azazel has betrayed them. Besides, the red dragon isn’t showing up either. Charioce sniffs some of the demons out and orders their head so a huge battle between men and demons take place. Almost all are killed by the time Azazel arrives. He uses himself as bait for the rest to escape but unfortunately they got killed while escaping.

Episode 8
Before they could kill Azazel, Mugaro’s holy light petrifies the guards. Azazel fights Charioce but Kaisar comes in between. It then becomes a messy 3 way fight. However Kaisar is able to unarm Charioce and defeat Azazel. He won’t kill him since there is no reason for him to die here. At this time, Sofiel and her angels have popped up to reign in Mugaro (Bacchus and Hamsa are also taken in). Nina also arrives but she is confused. Azazel tells her to transform now. After seeing dead bodies, Mugaro in pain and all that dramatic starring, nothing happens. She can’t transform! Game over. You lose, Azazel. In the aftermath, it is announced that the Rag Demon has been captured. A knight captain was aiding the demons and will be sentenced along with Nina. The people cannot believe Nina was involved and thought it was a mistake. They try to seek a revision but are threatened to be thrown into prison if they side the traitors. Kaisar and Nina are read their charges for treason and aiding the demons to kill the king. Charioce sentences them to be imprisoned in the prison tower indefinitely. Nina looks surprised. She thought it would be just 3 days! She then starts shooting her mouth at him for being a bad king. She accuses him on picking on demons. This city was built by demons so it shows he needed them. He is just like a big bully and a worthless king. Everyone may be scared of him but not her. Charioce laughs and asks if she is the red dragon. She denies. Take them away. Mugaro wakes up in Heaven. Gabriel speaks to him. His name is El, named by his mother, Jeanne. If they work together, he can see her. Bacchus and Hamsa are imprisoned. Sofiel wonders why Bacchus hid the child. He felt like it. She reveals their intention for the kid because he has a power of breaking the forbidden magic used by humans. As humans have lost their way, Gabriel intends to guide them back and have them return praying to Gods. Bacchus doesn’t want Mugaro to be involved because it would be like Jeanne’s case all over again. Nina hears Azazel is being tortured to reveal information of other colluders. Too late to regret thinking if you have transformed then. Charioce talks to Azazel to ask if he knows about Mugaro’s true identity. Azazel remains silent. Charioce reveals his plans to kill that kid before he fell into the Gods’ hands. But now the Gods have him, it doesn’t matter since they will be overconfident. He’ll just have to kill them all. By then, that woman will stop praying. Nina is thrown in a cell and she sees Jeanne praying in the cell across. Also, Kaisar is thrown in his and he hears a familiar voice mocking his pathetic state. Hey… It’s Favaro! So that’s where he’s been. Rita must be so lonely know that everyone is gone…

Episode 9
Hard labour is nothing to Nina. Although the food is little, at least she gets a ‘special’ room all for herself. This is prison, you know… Kaisar talks to Favaro how he ended up here. During his journey, he stumbled into Nina’s village. One night Nina crept into his room and wants to become his disciple. He didn’t want to at first but after she display her strength as proof, he runs for it! Too bad she can outrun you. No choice, he teaches her the ways of the bounty hunter. One night he soaked in the hotspring and saw her naked, she turned into a red dragon. He learns her secret but why was it only then she could transform? Maybe his afro makes him look like an ugly guy? After he has nothing more to teach her, he lets her know a few stuff and some cheesy lines, Nina is left awed. No wonder she’s a bit twisted… When Favaro enters the next town, royal guards surround him. He has been imprisoned then but believes Charioce has been toying with him for his own amusement. I suppose Kaisar is the last to know Nina’s true identity. Meanwhile Alessand is drunk at Cerberus’ host club. He is complaining his captain is in prison and his dream of joining Orlean Knights was to see his favourite woman, Jeanne. Cerberus suggests he becomes the next captain. Nina and Jeanne become friends. She tells what happens and Jeanne is interested to know more about Mugaro. Speaking of him, because he still will not open up, there is not enough time so Gabriel is going to start the ritual to turn him into godhood. Sofiel apologizes to Mugaro for separating him from his mom. As she was also once saved by her, rest assured she will save her. Jeanne now wants to break out and meet Mugaro to ascertain something. Nina is impressed and will support her. Well, if she could have just kept her voice down… Because the other prisoners are applauding?

Episode 10
7 years ago when Jeanne was still the captain of Orlean Knights, she fought a giant demon invading the city. Although the demon was eventually slain by Kaisar, she failed to save a child. As she was injured from the fight, this prompts other knights to badmouth her that she is not fit to be captain. She even loses in practice duels. Despite losing her holy powers, she still intends to trudge on until she loses her captaincy. When Charioce took over the throne without the Gods’ blessing and vowed a change for mankind, Jeanne disagreed his ways of severing ties with the Gods. There is something he wanted but they refused him and thus the only way is to take it by force. He gave Jeanne the ultimatum to pledge her loyalty to him or leave the castle. She decided. And so for a while Jeanne lived a happy farmer life outside the city. Her only solace was praying to Michael. Then one night it’s like God heard her prayers or something and made her suddenly gave birth to a child! It just popped out from her stomach! Is this considered Caesarean?! Woah. Jeanne like Virgin Mary… So “Mama” is El’s first word? Anyway they lived the happy family life till one stormy night Sofiel crashed into their place. Jeanne hid her before the Onyx Knights break down their door and threaten her. It is then El unleashed his magic to stun them. Mother and son then fled. Charioce receives reports of this and realizes the potential of that child if he were to fall into the hands of the Gods. He orders them to be captured dead or alive as long as the Gods don’t have them. With the routes cut off, Jeanne and El are forced to hide in the city. They stumble upon a torture chamber for demon slaves. With Onyx Knights hot on their table, Jeanne has no choice but to pour a dead demon corpse’s blood all over El and cut off his wings. This is to make him look like one of the demon slaves as she runs off with the corpse and bait the Onyx Knights to chase her. She is shortly captured and has not known of El’s whereabouts since. Nina is so touched with her story. She’s crying! This strengthens Nina’s vow to escape from here but the prison lady says no one has done so before. Then she’ll be the first! Always be positive no matter what.

Episode 11
During the break, Jeanne and Nina make a break for it. At the same time, Rita and Rocky sneak into the place. And by that I mean beating up all the guards along the way. Gabriel convinces El to use his power to save this world so he can live a peaceful life with his mom. El is now restored to his angel form and regains his voice. During a battle at the Coliseum, Gabriel descends to demand Charioce return their rightful stuff and release Jeanne to them. He dare them to take it by force. With the humans booing the Gods, Gabriel uses this chance to further brainwash El how mankind must be corrected. But some of the people are not happy Charioce waged a war with the Gods. They are protesting outside and as a result they get beaten up by the guards. Nina shows her strength by beating up the guards guarding the elevator to the top. If she is this strong, why did she not beat up the guards from where she was all the way instead of sneaking around through holes? When Jeanne gets to the elevator, here comes Charioce. Just in time. He needs her. As the Gods have declared war, he wants her to pledge her loyalty to him and convince them to back down. Otherwise he will slaughter them all and most likely her son will also die. Nina continues to badmouth Charioce as a bully. But when she takes a closer look at him, she realizes he is that handsome guy she went out with. Dumbfounded. Shocked beyond words. At least for once she shuts up. Jeanne decides not to follow Charioce as she cannot betray the Gods and those who believe in her. In that case she can stay in her cell and wait till everybody dies. Nina is conflicted about Charioce in her cell but she is all smiles when Rita and Rocky drop in to rescue. Took her this long?

Episode 12
Now for the big break that includes Nina throwing rocks at the guards to slow them down and a wild mine cart ride that flings them to the men’s side. Gabriel rallies her angels they will no longer forgive mankind, punish those who wronged them and return balance to the worlds. Wow. She sounds like a war god. Sofiel fears El’s power is untested but Gabriel is confident since she has seen him strip human of their power. So Heaven is here. The citizens some have evacuated and others are protesting for Charioce to lose. When El activates his power, the humans become powerless. The angels easily slaughter the humans. Man, this is overkill. Charioce then orders the device to be activated. With the commotion in the men’s prison area, time for Favaro to signal their escape. He tells Kaisar to use his mechanical hand. Following his instructions to make the fingers in certain position, it then explodes! Well, thank Rita for putting that bomb inside just in case. The guys and the girls coincidentally run into each other. Kaisar and Jeanne are glad to see each other. Favaro is glad to see Nina. Or at least her developed body. Lonely Rita has to play the straight man to remind them to escape. Suddenly they get engulfed in this giant device that looks like it is a love child between Tron and Cybertron. So this giant orb thingy is the key weapon to defeat Heaven?

Episode 13
Apparently Dromos is the weapon men stole from Heaven. It could obliterate the Gods. If only Gabriel told the other angels why they’re retreating instead of having them disobey her. Heck, she even wanted to retreat herself but El says it’s no go. They haven’t save his mom yet. Charioce powers up Dromos. My, what a powerful blast! Enough to send the heavenly ship crashing down! With that, the soldiers are able to kill the angels easily. Jeanne goes crazy seeing the angels murdered before her eyes. Nina was blown away by the shockwave into Charioce’s arms. It seems he has lost an eyesight as the result of using Dromos. When Nina wakes up, she still has conflicted feelings over Charioce. But seeing Kaisar and Rita in trouble as they are trying to help Jeanne, Nina wants Charioce to help her. Hug her, that is. He does so and she transforms into the red dragon. She fights on the giant golem and protects Jeanne. She emerges victorious and is now face to face with Charioce. However she runs out of energy and reverts back. Charioce wants to take her but Rita will not let her touch her. Kaisar buys the ladies time to escape in Bacchus’ carriage. Then he surrenders and gets beaten up by the soldiers. Charioce doesn’t want him killed and since the Gods have retreated, they’ll head back to the palace for now. El is still unconscious and Gabriel is in despair and in disbelief that man could create such a thing. Dromos existed before a time man, demons and Gods roamed Mistarcia. It is a weapon that could destroy the balance of the world just like Bahamut. Rita decides to go back down to the capital to check on Kaisar and missing Favaro. Nina’s job is to guard Jeanne as they are now wanted criminals and can’t go back. Jeanne’s next goal is to go to Heaven since she believes her son is there. However she doesn’t know where that is. Nina knows an old lady from her village who knows about it. Time to return home.

Episode 14
Kaisar is tortured while interrogated but he his lips are sealed. He is visited by his comrade, Dias Bardolomew and tells him of his meeting with Jeanne. They believe the Orlean Knights will rise again. Nina and Jeanne arrive at the village. The kids are glad to see Nina again. Nina takes Jeanne to see granny, the head of the village. First she tells the history of how the Gods and demons worked together to defeat Bahamut 2,000 years ago. She took the tired Gods back to this village to rest. There is a picture of granny in her majestic dragon form in her heydays. Nina continues to taunt her so granny starts pouting and won’t tell the location of Heaven. Oh, now she falls asleep. Try again tomorrow. So the ladies soak in the outside hotspring as Nina teases Jeanne being ‘naughty’ to have a son. Jeanne is cool with it as she asks Nina back about a man capturing her heart. She too plays it cool. She is conflicted about her feelings for Charioce since he is a great guy but has done lots of horrible things. She can’t bring himself to hate him. Jeanne doesn’t find it strange for a man to have contradictions. She too has many faces. When eating dinner, the kids are eager to hear stories of this Mugaro kid. Jeanne can’t sleep that night and talks to Nina’s mom. She learns Nina’s dad died 10 years ago while protecting the village from the fireball. Jeanne feels guilty since she was partly responsible for that. Nina’s mom hope Nina isn’t too much of a bother. Ever since her dad died, she would turn into a dragon whenever she nears a man like him. Almost as if to avoid painful memories. Jeanne feels bad and doesn’t deserve her thanks for taking after Nina. But mom can tell how kind she is to her. Jeanne breaks down. Next morning, granny will take them to Heaven on her back. Nina teases the old fart couldn’t do it but she has to eat her words. Granny is still a majestic dragon! You were saying, Nina? And what’s that about bringing an angel back as souvenir?

Episode 15
The surviving demons are biding their time in some wasteland. They will follow Lucifer’s plan to wait and see as they lack the means to fight humans. They wonder how Azazel is doing since he stormed off by himself to the human capital. He is now one of the gladiators in the Coliseum. Everybody wants him dead but he easily kills his opponents. Granny can’t fly further through the storm as the barrier has become stronger. They must go by themselves. She tosses the carriage all the way up to Heaven. Sofiel wants Bacchus to take care of El since he is sulking ever since. Initially Bacchus won’t babysit but since she’ll reward him with wine, he’ll gladly do it! Nina and Jeanne arrive in Heaven and are almost attacked by angels. Jeanne lets them know who she is and her intentions so Ridwan first takes them to a hall with magnificent lights. They represent the Gods and angels lost during the fight with Bahamut. Recently more were added after their recent loss to mankind. That is why so few Gods are here. She blames them for being ingrates of biting the hand that feeds them. Nina notes even Gods hate mankind but can’t stand the idea of Charioce being hated by everyone. Meanwhile Charioce has everyone working hard to their limits to break the seal of Eibos. It will be even more dangerous and Charioce will stand to lose his life but he will not hesitate to sacrifice himself. Jeanne is brought to Sofiel and they are both glad to see each other. Jeanne wants to see her son but Gabriel mentions he is being confined. After being used for the war and lost, he has lost faith in them. Perhaps Jeanne could help persuade him. That sneaky smile… El is so happy to see his mom. Cue for emotional mother and child reunion. Even Nina is in on it. Even more emotional? Sorry Bacchus and Hamsa, not you. Time to catch up on stuffs as El narrates how he was being sold as a slave but Azazel saved him. As per her instructions, he followed the first person who rescued him. El wants to leave for the human world and believes he can bring peace. Someone must stop the evil from spreading and he has the power to do it. Sofiel disagrees so El counters that by saying Gabriel cannot save the world. On he can do it. That evil confident grin…

Episode 16
Nina comes to talk to El but he is sulking since mom is against his idea to return to the human world. So Nina is back on good terms with Bacchus because she’s really teasing him about falling in love with a human since his exile from Heaven. He claims being worshipped isn’t his style and left. Nina dreams of being seduced by Charioce. Too short to kiss him? But that turns into a nightmare since Charioce becomes the evil king. When Nina wakes up, she realizes he clothes are gone. Not only that, El too. Bacchus and Hamsa know they will be in trouble if they don’t find him. Yeah, no more wine. El has worn Nina’s clothes in an attempt to escape. He is trying to use Bacchus’ carriage but good luck trying to pick out from the hundreds of similar looking ones. Meanwhile Kaisar is sentenced to fight to the death in the Coliseum with Azazel. At first he only defends and keeps running away since he couldn’t fight with a hand. Favaro among the crowd then throws him Rocky to turn the tables. So he fights better with both hands? Although besting Azazel, he doesn’t kill him, earning the ire of the crowd. If you’re wondering why Favaro is dressed up so fat, that’s because he has lots of smoke bombs. Enough for them to escape. Nina, Bacchus and Hamsa fail at communicating and flop in capturing El. The chase is on. Nina tries to jump on him but falls short. It’s a long way from Heaven to Earth. El dives to save her but they have to go through the stormy patch. When the other angels surround Bacchus and Hamsa and accuse them of freeing El, they jump off too but not after summoning their carriage. In good timing they rescue falling El and Nina as they safely arrive back on Earth. Bacchus warns if El plans to fight, he’ll bring him back to Heaven. He assures he isn’t. He is here to bring peace. But what about Jeanne? He will fulfil his mother’s duty. Kaisar, Favaro and Azazel meet up with Rita. Kaisar has to return his hand to her? Oh, Rocky is hers. Anyway, Azazel wants to part but Kaisar needs his help. Charioce is building a secret weapon that rivals the power of Bahamut underneath the capital. I guess he can’t say no. Oh, that goes the same for you too, Favaro.

Episode 17
Gabriel wants El back but Jeanne wants to go find him in their place as she will not leave this matter to those whom El doesn’t trust. You mad, Gabriel? Sofiel wants to help Jeanne. Guess what? Jeanne jumps off! Sofiel dives down to save her as they descend into the human world. Jeanne knew Sofiel wouldn’t let her die. So a human was testing an angel?! After promising she won’t do anything reckless, Sofiel agrees to help her. After all, Jeanne did ‘threaten’ Sofiel was indebted to them for saving her life then. Nina and co all reunite in a secret underground camp. Rita in some weird devil outfit? They talk about the great weapon Charioce has and the need to neutralize it. Rita notices he was controlling it via bracelet so El gets eager to steal it. But Bacchus warns about his promise. After Rita has Nina wear a strange devil outfit (is it Halloween?), she runs off outside herself. She is shocked to see Charioce in disguised at the graves. Trying to hide failed. She learns he is visiting the grave of his mother who was one of the king’s many concubines. She was discarded as soon she had a son. She kept dreaming in poverty she would return to the royal life but died waiting since Bahamut attacked 10 years ago. With this and royal blood flowing through his veins, that was when Chris became Charioce. He then has Nina take her to the demon slums. He buys a pendant and even plays football with the demon kids, risking his identity. He whispers to Nina they are being watched by the Onyx Knights so they make a run for it. At a cave, Nina is confused of him. He is a bad guy as king but treats her nicely. She wants to know which of him is real. There is something he must achieve at all cost but cannot tell her what it is now. All his actions as king was for this. His convictions were never wavered until he met her. He would have led a cushy king’s life if he had not met her. Surprisingly Nina hugs him! She wants to help him overcome whatever he is dealing with. It gets awkward because they kissed! It is then Nina realizes now she could control her transformation into the red dragon. She takes him flying through the night sky all over the capital and in the end he gives her the pendant. Wow. It really looks like a date. She really looks forward to meeting him next time in which he will tell her his goal. A big hug before she leaves. The Onyx Knight captain has been watching them and believes Charioce is under the red dragon’s spell.

Episode 18
Nina returns a happy girl. It’s written all over her face. Mugaro is back but Azazel ignores him. Did he not recognize him? With the prison island heavy on the security and the lots of soldiers patrolling the streets, their movements are restricted. The only clue they’ve got is Charioce’s bracelet. Nina confirms he is always wearing it. Oops, almost gave away you dated him. Charioce will hold a ball at his palace in a few days and they need somebody to sneak in to move in on him. Nina wants to be it and even proves how she can control her transformation. Azazel is shocked to see this. Too late? He’s crying?! I don’t think it is tears of happiness. Charioce continues to force the activation of Dromos. This means no rest for the workers. Mugaro tails Azazel around and he feels guilty the latter is revisiting the site all his friends were killed. However Azazel doesn’t blame him and they reconcile. Alessand is getting drunk with Cerberus. He approached the Onyx Knight captain to join his force but is told he is worthless. So much so he accidentally punches Kaisar who is in disguise at this place! What will he do once he realizes his mistake? Punch him again! Once things calm down, Kaisar tells of his plans to stop Charioce. He needs their help. Especially Alessand who comes from a noble family and will have no trouble attending. At first Alessand refuses and blames Kaisar for the downfall of Orlean Knights. But after he considers them his precious subordinates and not useless, I guess he has to relent. Nina thought nobody is around so she screams out I love you to the open sky. Too bad Favaro is there. Busted. He doesn’t care what she is hiding and advises her to think hard before she acts. He became a bounty hunter in order to live freely but at times he too had to make hard decisions. Must talking about Amira, huh? Since she won’t admit she loves Charioce, Favaro starts howling to the open sky I love you. Embarrassing! Annoyingly noisy! Meanwhile the Onyx Knight captain hires some beast guy to kill the red dragon.

Episode 19
What’s this? Gabriel is depressed and locked herself in her chamber? Is she now a lost angel? Jeanne and Sofiel take refuge in the capital as they continue to search for El but Jeanne is getting impatient to reunite with her son for each passing moment. Rita tells everyone her plan. Nina and Alessand will infiltrate the ball as nobles. Once Nina locates Charioce, she will be on standby. Favaro and Dias will also infiltrate but through the knight’s barracks. Once so, she will give the signal to Nina to transform into a dragon. This will be a distraction for Favaro to steal the bracelet. After that he will hop on Nina’s back and fly away. As for the rest, they are to secure routes for their escape if the plan fails. Mugaro wants to join in but with Azazel hinting him not to, he backs down. You wonder if Nina can pull this off because the moment she steps off the carriage, she trips on her own gown. Then she pigs out at the food table. She notices a line of ladies queuing and waiting to dance with Charioce. But Nina doesn’t need that crap. She herself is a free pass to waltz up to him and extend her hand! Charioce is surprised to see her and you guessed it, he takes her hand. Take that all you b*tches! They start dancing and wow, is Nina this good? Super wow. They’re perfect! At the end, Nina is one happy girl. But Charioce looks serious. He tells they will never see each other again. You serious? Then what was that ‘date’ all about? Was it a lie? Yes. Oh, don’t go breaking her heart. I guess this means he won’t tell her his goal. Favaro then interrupts as he points his crossbow. Hand over the bracelet. No can do. It’s stuck as long as he lives. Then he’ll have to cut off his hand. However Nina protects Charioce. You’ll have to shoot her first! I guess it is finally heartbreak hotel when Nina confirms Charioce will never dance with her again. The guards now surround them. Favaro throws smoke bomb for them to escape. Guess what is left behind? Nina’s high heels… Rita gives Bacchus to signal the failure of this plan. Nina realizes just got dumped but needs to put this behind her to escape. Yeah, she is running faster than usual. Alessand manages to escape but bumps into Azazel and Mugaro. On their way out, they bump into Jeanne and Sofiel. At the port, Favaro and Kaisar are subdued but the Onyx Knights. Nina is faced with the beast guy.

Episode 20
Beast guy badmouths Nina’s tainted dragon blood in a bid to provoke her. She transforms. He does too. Bigger and more ferocious. Jeanne wants El to come back with her but he cowers behind Azazel who in makes him face reality. El senses Nina in trouble and off everyone goes, leaving confused Alessand behind. Nina gets owned by beast guy’s might. Before Onyx Knight captain kills her, Favaro tries to play the card that Charioce is in love with her. However Onyx Knight captain says Charioce only views her as a disposable toy. Proof? It was his order that he is sent to kill her. That broke Nina’s heart. Favaro and Kaisar break out to protect her who is at this point very much like a vegetable in shock. El arrives to magically paralyze the Onyx Knights while Sofiel and Azazel ‘cooperate’ to destroy the beast guy. Back at the base, Favaro explains the failed plan to Rita. Kaisar asks Sofiel about the weapon Charioce has. Sofiel is unsure except that it is an artefact from an ancient era that existed way before the time of Gods and demons. Because the Gods are not even sure what it is, they sealed it, only for Charioce to march in and steal it. So how does Charioce know how to activate it? Beats the Gods too. When El is told to return to Heaven, he argues his power is meant for a higher purpose. Bacchus blows his top about his crap. He is born for his mother. I’m sure he is just pulling it out of the air but it made El repent and will return with his mom. But he’ll go tomorrow as he wants to say goodbye. Meanwhile Nina is really heartbroken. She’s throwing a tantrum and destroying that pendant gift. She has to stop and put on a brave face when El comes to say his goodbye. Charioce will soon leave for Eibos and is confident of breaking the seal. Onyx Knight captain lies he killed the red dragon. Sofiel asks if Bacchus would like to return to Heaven. I don’t think he wants too. I’m sure there is punishment or banishment waiting. But she now understands why he did so as she came down without Gabriel’s permission. She wants him to stay here to discover Charioce’s true intentions. El is emotionally in his goodbye to Azazel. But on his way back, he gets stabbed by Alessand!

Episode 21
Alessand stabbed El out of jealousy that he was a wuss and couldn’t join Onyx Knights. Favaro finds dying El and brings him back to Rita. Can she revive an angel?! If surgery doesn’t work, try CPR! Jeanne must have never prayed to God so hard. In the end after all that shocking drama, El dies. Wait. NOOO!!! Azazel crying?! Azazel suspects Dias or Alessand because they are outsiders so Kaisar ends up in a heated argument with him. Favaro then reveals it was Alessand because he saw him running away. Jeanne and Sofiel return to Heaven. You mean they just left Mugaro’s dead body here?! Alessand shows the tainted dagger he killed El to Onyx Knight captain. Can he join now? He is taken to a room where the Onyx Knights are suffering in pain from the effects of a magic stone. If he joins, he must embed this stone in his body which sucks his life force but allows him to use abilities. He will use his life to serve Charioce. Is that what you want? Alessand chickens out and now regrets killing El. Too late. Well, at least he is made the captain of Orlean Knights. Kaisar tells what happened to Dias. They don’t understand why Alessand did this. Dias in turn reports information he threatened from one of the top vessels that Charioce has secretly left last night to Eibos. Jeanne sees Gabriel and tells her El is dead. She will take down Charioce and Gabriel WILL help her. Sofiel transfers her life to her and now Jeanne is an angel? Azazel sees Lucifer and wants him to take action now as Jeanne will soon make a rebellion. However Lucifer is reluctant to believe him as they have lost once. Without any assurance of victory, all they can do is sit back and observe. This angers Azazel who steps over the line to claim Lucifer a coward and only ran away. Even if Azazel failed to save his brethren, he managed to survive by choosing to fight alone. Lucifer will need to see if Azazel can keep his words or not. Nina has been keeping herself busy cleaning from the recent heartbreaks. Then the tears naturally flow. I guess the last time she cried like that was seeing her dad’s corpse. When Favaro talks to her, she has this very determined look that she is going to stop Charioce to avoid him from taking those dearest to her. Thus she is packing her stuffs and heading to Eibos. Jeanne through Gabriel’s power announces to the world she will be striking down Charioce and those who serve him. Those who suffered by his hands can join her and take up arms at Edith’s Hill.

Episode 22
Jean rallies the humans, demons and angels who have risen up to fight against Charioce. Making their way to the capital, Kaisar stops Jeanne. He tells her that Charioce had no hand in El’s death and it was solely Alessand acting on his own. He will take responsibility for this. But to Jeanne, that doesn’t change the fact her son is dead and even when alive, Charioce targeted him. Negotiations failed. Some of the castle soldiers are having low morale. They wonder they too should have defected because if you have a wuss like Alessand leading, they’re doomed. Soon Jeanne’s forces storm through the capital. Meanwhile Nina’s side has reached Eibos. She kicks ass all those who stand in her way. She fights Charioce in a bid to stop his madness and easily overwhelms him. However she cannot kill or cut off his hand. She just can’t. Favaro wants to know if it is his plan to revive Bahamut. However the priest brushes off that silly idea and is doing the opposite. Charioce plans to slay Bahamut and that is why Dromos is needed. As explained again, 10 years ago when a guy (who is now Onyx Knight captain) discovered a secret room and a manual belonged to Martinet. It has meticulous detailed about the sealed weapon as well as Bahamut’s path of destruction. After studying the texts further, they conclude Bahamut would inevitably return to these lands. To avoid such danger, a king with incredible mental fortitude was needed so they could put forth their plan to slay Bahamut (that included invading Heaven and stealing the sealed weapon). Of course that requires a price and it isn’t going to be just his hand but eventually his life. Oh Nina, you look so shock. Favaro has him answer one last question. Why was he surprised when he saw Nina? Because this means Onyx Knight captain lied to him that she died and that eliminating her was a lie too. Because if he wanted her dead, he wouldn’t have let her leave the ball. He also didn’t order El’s death because if he is going to slay Bahamut, getting into a fight with the Gods is the last thing he’d want. Oh, looks like it is time. Better run as fast as you can since the place is crumbling. Favaro and Nina mange to escape in time into Bacchus’ carriage. Amidst the big explosion, look who is back after 10 years? Why, it’s big daddy Bahamut! ROAR! Long time no see. Charioce orders to lead it back to the capital.

Episode 23
Jeanne storms into the castle but thinks Charioce could be at the prison island since all the offensive is coming from there. When a giant floating monster arrives, all the demons rejoice. It’s Lucifer! Azazel teams up with Jeanne to kick ass and they make a pretty good combo. Kaisar and Dias run into their old comrades trying to kill demon kids. Kaisar is forced to knock them out. Dias spots Alessand running away and wants to take care of this. Alessand still thinks he is not at fault and while he might sound repentant, he stabs Dias thinking he let his guard down. Too bad big guys like Dias can hold off your puny stab. Alessand turns into a coward and runs away screaming when he sees Dias going to kill him. You lost your chance and honour. As he hides, he spots that demon kid hiding. He thought of making friends with him but he let his guard down and gets stabbed by him. Still with regrets of not wanting to die, too bad his last sight is Dias’ angry face. Kaisar wants to head to the centre of the battle so instead of swimming in which case he will definitely not make it, Rita summons the dead, turns them into zombies to form an undead wave to take them across. With Charioce’s returning, this boost the soldiers’ morale. Jeanne and Azazel drop down to fight him but his loyal Onyx Knights fight to their very last breath to protect him. The magic stone has consumed too much of their lives. I don’t know why Jeanne was hesitating. Was it how much toll it took on them? Onyx Knight captain could have killed her had he too not run out of steam. And now the duo fight Charioce. As he too is at his limits, before the duo can kill him, Kaisar jumps to defend him. OMG! Kaisar dead?! No wonder everybody is so shocked! But save your shock later because here comes the real shocker: Bahamut. Feel its rage!!!

Episode 24
Bahamut is blasting everything to bits! Angels and demons join hands in protecting everyone but I guess that’s not enough. After Nina carries Bacchus, Hamsa and Favaro to safety, her master tells her the truth of how he sacrificed a girl to choose this world. What shall she choose? Without hesitating, Nina will choose Charioce! Then don’t worry what happens to the world. Go tear that dragon to shreds. Nina dashes all the way to Charioce who is powering up Dromos. She isn’t here to stop him but if he is going to sacrifice his life, she will do the same. Double the life force, double the power? Dromos turns into some digital dragon? Black dragon versus digital dragon? OMG! Its blast is so powerful that Bahamut is blown to bits!!! For a brief moment, Nina met Amira. When the light of dawn shines, everyone rejoices to see Bahamut’s corpse! Bahamut literally died standing. Hooray! We survived! Nina narrates the aftermath. The success means Charioce has lost both his sight though he still remains king. What about Nina? What price did she pay? She lost her voice. That’s pretty light if you ask me. Dias becomes the leader of the Orlean Knights. Humans and demons might still have their animosity but they are getting along fine and there are no slaveries like before. Jeanne returns to live in Heaven but before that she prays at El’s grave. Azazel also pays his respects before leaving for parts unknown. Nina continues to crash at Bacchus’ place. Sofiel stays with them because she and Bacchus are a couple. Yeah, believe it. Before Favaro leaves for his usual life of wandering, Nina tells him she met Amira in Bahamut’s light. She wished him all the best. Thought we could see him tear up a little there… Finally, Nina manages to sneak into the palace and dance with Charioce. One day, the corpse of Bahamut just disappears. Favaro knows it isn’t dead yet. Oh dear… Last but not least, Kaisar lives! As a zombie! Oh Rita…

Man Becomes The Demon When He Plays God
OMG! OMG! OMG!!! EVERYTHING WAS SO AWESOME!!! I can’t feel happy and sad at the same time the way things ended. Well, there is a price to pay for peace. There is a price to pay for everything. So with Bahamut not being dead, I guess this leaves room for another season? And it feels like the efforts and sacrifice of all is for naught, eh? But it’ll take a while before Bahamut returns to terrorize again. Then sh*t starts to happen all over again. Enjoy your peace while it lasts. Because if Bahamut is dead, it’s like saying Amira is also dead. Well, good thing we all know she is alive inside Bahamut.

It has been one helluva interesting and exciting ride from start to finish. This sequel could be even possibly better than the first season if that is the case. I think it is. It was really a fun and interesting ride from start to finish and there wasn’t a moment where I was bored since my attention was being so captivated and fixated on the screen that my eyes never strayed from the monitor. Really. There might be some slow moments but I won’t go so far as to call it boring. Watching this season feels like I have been losing track of time because whenever the episode ends, I would be going like, “Aww, it’s already over?”. I can’t help feel really excited and hyped for the next episode. Uh huh. This means when the season really ends, I was like going, “Aww, it’s already over?”. This itself is a good testament of what an absolutely good series should do and leave a mark or impression on its audiences.

I don’t know where to begin with to say how awesome everything is. But I have to start from somewhere. You can blame me for being very impartial and waxing lyrical about this season and this series overall since I am being blown away by the awesomeness of everything. As long as it is a very good thing to me, I’m okay with that. So this season seems to like have a hand in almost every movie genre. It has action, adventure, fantasy, comedy and even romance. The romance bit might feel like a distraction and a bit out of place but it is all part of giving the characters and plot more depth. Maybe just missing out on the musical genre but I’m sure it would be weird to hear Nina and Charioce break into a song. Not that I won’t mind seeing them but it would definitely be an eyebrow raiser. A distraction. After all, such a great season doesn’t need such a distraction when you have so many awesome things going on.

The story itself is interesting and there are enough developments to keep the viewers intrigued. There might not be any ground breaking twists (how can a good looking king like Charioce by such a black hearted king? There must be some sort of ulterior motive…) and there were some parts which were predictable (like how Alessand was going down the bad road and paying for it – seen that coming from a mile). Like I said, it was really one helluva ride from start to finish the moment Nina was introduced. A nonstop roller coaster ride that sees the storyline ranging from a demon rebellion, Nina being sent to prison, Heaven launching an attack on humans but failed, a trip to Nina’s hometown and then a ride up to Heaven, a ball infiltration before the climax of the biggest and ultimate battle with the big and baddest antagonist of it all. Speaking of which, I was wondering how Bahamut is going to play out its role considering that dragon is after all the name of the series. I was thinking that it was going to be only mentioned in flashbacks and legend until the climax. Well, here’s my wish of Bahamut making his very late appearance. Yeah, just like last season in which the dragon finally moved in the final episode. And also got defeated too. I thought there would be the mother of all battles, you know, Nina versus Bahamut. I guess she is smart enough to not take on that might alone. Red dragon versus black dragon… Why does it sound like a Mortal Kombat reference?

The characters add live and depth to the plot and you’ll find most of them likeable. Well, most of them. Because nobody likes that complaining Alessand to the very end and I’m sure nobody shed a tear when he rightfully met his fate. Right? Even Azazel is more likeable than him despite he is very hot tempered and rash. At least Azazel tries to do something even though things fail and don’t go as planned, he doesn’t give up. Unlike Alessand who just complains and dreams of the bigger stuffs but when the real deal comes, he chickens out. At least Azazel is more human than him. The fact he saved and took care of Mugaro says a lot even if he himself doesn’t want to admit it. Yeah, there’s this very odd relationship between a half angel and demon…

Anyway, Nina has been an absolute interesting character ever since making her debut. She is lively, she is spunky, she is funny and she goes at her own pace. It makes her quite likeable in that sense. We all love a headstrong and independent heroine character, don’t we? She isn’t technically human (her monstrous strength is supposedly a giveaway) so I guess we can’t compare her to what constitutes and the ethics of being human but spending most of her time in human form, I guess she too has developed some sort of human emotions like falling in love. Of all people, the king, right? Yeah, which girl doesn’t dream of marrying the king? It was one of those conflicting moments for her but she is able to get up and move on (albeit it took a bit of a while) and continue doing what she believes is right.

I figure they were trying to paint Charioce as an absolute baddie king here but my guts tell me that there were more than meets the eye. After all, when you have a king this good looking, anime cliché tells us there is more to it. Of course his heartless actions isn’t totally heartless at all. Therefore in this aspect if he was trying to act and play the bad king for his ulterior motive, man I swore I could have seen through his act from all that ‘bad acting’ right from the initial episodes. Because he doesn’t act very much like a ruthless and merciless king. Okay, maybe his gentle and suave ways make him a smooth talker but still, if he really was a cruel king, he would have gone about a much violent way. So by playing the bad guy all the while, does that make him a considerate guy? Maybe that is why Nina clicks with him, despite their romance feels a bit weird. Cheesy? Cliché? After all, commoner girl falls in love with powerful king is quite an overused trope. Hmm… Is this the Virgin Soul the second title might be referring to? Virgins in love, that is… It is a bit sad that both lost some of their sensory so Charioce can never see and hear Nina while she can never speak to him again. But as long as they’re together, they can forever dance beautifully.

Fans are delighted that last season’s characters also appear here. So there is some sort of continuity instead of this sequel of being an unrelated new story. I remember last season Kaisar started off as an annoying guy who keeps chasing Favaro around. He doesn’t do that anymore here or even b*tch about his family’s past honours but as the leader of the Orlean Knights, he still feel pretty much a wuss. I mean this guy opposes violence and he tries to settle things the non-violent way. I don’t know. Despite his noble intentions of wanting peaceful solutions and all the races to live in harmony, in a way it might do more harm than good because everyone else are just cruel pieces of sh*t. That’s the cruel fact of this world. So trying to be passive and accommodating just makes him look like a weak loser. No wonder weaker people like Alessand started to lose faith in him. But thank goodness for loyal Dias, right? Now Kaisar has found true peace in death and as much as I want to find that funny, I couldn’t. It is with mixed feelings to see Rita revive him as a zombie because he isn’t technically the same again. After all, Rita was the most affected by his death as their odd relationship goes back a long way since the first season. And to think Rita thought he wanted to confess to her…

There was this initial fear that Favaro wasn’t going to appear at all seeing that he was nowhere around in the first half. Well, thank goodness he did around halfway point. What an unlikely place to make your first appearance this season in the prison. Favaro hasn’t lost his edge but he isn’t the main character and hero he was in the first season as Nina now takes over that role. He is more like the master sifu role now. Still funny in his own way, still sharp and smart. He must have learnt a lot ever since Amira’s passing last season. It pretty much feels the same for Rita since cool zombie girl became a quack doctor treating demons in her hideout and her role is like to provide sarcasm, voice of reason and a bit comic relief. Don’t worry, she has Rocky by her side so I’m sure she isn’t lonely. Too bad Rocky doesn’t leave as much impression as I thought it would. Not that it would become as famous as Addams Family’s Thing. Bacchus and Hamsa still feel like the comic relief pair from Disney. And now this drunkard is an item with Sofiel, it’s like a match made in Heaven, right? Only on Earth. Only they’re not royalty. I swore I could have guessed Sofiel had a thing for Bacchus from the start as she kept bugging a disgraced God for a simple task of finding a kid which I believe she could have done it herself. Of all people, right?

It was really weird to see Jeanne having a child when she is still a virgin. It made me wonder if this is what the Virgin Soul is supposedly refers to. It feels like the case of déjà vu for Jeanne because in the last season, she absorbed Michael to obtain power. This season, she absorbed Sofiel to power up and gain revenge for her son. She is after all human. Can’t blame her. And you know what they say about hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Especially a mother whose child got killed. Ironically, El never get to live up to his destiny or role. He is supposed to be the key hindrance and target of Charioce’s plan and he is supposed to bring peace to the world but look what happened to him. Sad, right?

If you’re here for the action, you won’t be very disappointed. Fans who were awed by the amazing action spectacular in the first season can expect even more power action in this season. It doesn’t disappoint to say the least with all the power and magic play in the battle, it is anybody’s game. Just don’t get hit by any one of those magic blasts because they’re really powerful. Like Dromos being the mother of all blasts. Not even angels can stand up to its power. And you thought creatures from Heaven would be all mighty and invincible but that might just be our perception. It’s a different case for them in this world. But still, they’re no pushovers with their heavenly powers. But I suppose the Gods are not useful enough that Charioce had to do it himself to get rid of Bahamut. Prove that if you want something done, do it yourself. And yeah, praying to God won’t get anything done. Period. Whoops! As excuse for more destruction on the human side, hence they have giant golems so that they can be toppled and destroyed. Not to say that there aren’t body counts from actual humans from the knights but I suppose it lessens the impact of watching a fellow human being cut down. They’re just stones and machines, right? What am I saying…

Art and animation are still top notched. Many of the main characters have this bishonen and bishoujo looks so characters like Charioce, Kaisar, Azazel and even Lucifer have this pretty boy looks. Even in Heaven with all the male angels are tanned and muscular, female angels all have very big boobs. Mmm… But all is not pretty and good looking when you consider the demon slums. Yeah, those really look horrible. Not the quality of the animation but rather you can feel the very neglected state of those areas. CGI is also used especially on the golems and Bahamut. Pretty much okay, I guess.

The old casts are retained and continue to do a fine job reprising their roles. Sumire Morohoshi did a good job as Nina to make her really sound spunky and lively. Although she sounds like as though she is newbie in voice acting and has this raw sound to it, she has been in the industry for quite some time (going all the way back to 2010’s Kuragehime’s Clara although this isn’t technically her debut role but one her early roles). I didn’t really know it was Rie Kugimiya behind Mugaro/El’s voice. Firstly, the character didn’t even speak until the latter half. Even so, it was one of those boyish roles Rie Kugimiya played unlike her stereotypical tsundere character role so it took me a while to realize it was her. The other new casts added are Yuuichirou Umehara as Charioce (Mitsuhide in Akagami No Shirayuki-hime), Maaya Sakamoto as Sofiel (Ciel in Kuroshitsuji), Hiroshi Shirokuma as Onyx Knight captain (Warrod in Fairy Tail), Yasuhiro Mamiya as Dias (Naomasa in Drifters) and Kensho Ono as Alessand (Seiji in Renai Boukun).

If you remember the first season’s hard punk heavy metal acid rock-like opening, this season is no different either. Yup, the first opening theme, Let It End is sung by the same band, Sim. Not really my kind of music because of all the screaming like as though you can burst your lungs if you sing too hard. The second opening theme is more bearable, Walk This Way by The Beat Garden. It reminds me of that ending theme in Devil Survivor 2 The Animation. Not bad and epic in its own right. As for the ending themes, they are weird and unique in the context of this series. The first ending theme is Haikei Goodbye Sayonara by Daoko. It’s like a techno rap song and the credits animation is very video game-like. But all that is nothing compared to the second ending theme, Cinderella Step also by Daoko. The song is very fairytale-like as well as its animation. It is most amusing and I believe this is one of the very few animations in which I enjoy because there is a ‘twist’. With Nina being Cinderella and Charioce as Prince Charming, what happens when the clock strikes 12 at the ball? Why, they go disco dancing!!! OMFG!!! This is way too funny and creative!!! I really love it. Everyone, let’s get down on the dance floor! Also worth mentioning are the epic voices used as BGMs during epic sequences. It really makes everything so grandeur and epic.

Originally, before this season came out, there was supposed to be another Shingeki No Bahamut series, Manaria Friends. However it was cancelled indefinitely in 2016 and no news of any progress has been made since. Because of the poster picture of Manaria Friends, it made me wonder if it was connected to the Shingeki No Bahamut series in the first place and hence why I thought Virgin Souls could be a totally different and unrelated to the original. Heck, I saw the list of seiyuus being casted and they were all for totally different new characters. I wonder how things would have turned out had Manaria Friends actually aired. Would it have been a hit? Would it have been a miss? Would it have affected Virgin Souls? Was it why Virgin Souls was made instead? Whatever the reasons were, I’m glad I got to watch this season.

Overall, this series is so amazing and awesome and at this point I might be sounding like a broken tape recorder. In recent seasons and years, there have only been a few good animes and rarely a few in a single season. I supposed when you have been going down and reached the lowest (obviously it didn’t but just for argument’s sake), the only way left is up and good stuffs. So other than this series, we had great second seasons like Shingeki No Kyojin, Boku No Hero Academia and Uchouten Kazoku (can I also consider Teekyuu’s ninth season as awesome?) as well as new ones like Princess Principal, Kakegurui and Zero Kara Hajimeru Mahou No Sho that really saved the season. If you really love action, adventure and fantasy all into one, this is the series to go to. Till the next rage of Bahamut, keep your Baha-Baha-Baha-Soul to the Baha-Baha-Baha-Max. Baha-Baha-Baha-Amen! The wind is certainly blowing in the direction of tomorrow!

Battle Girl High School

Is it me or does Battle Girl High School have this very similar feel to Schoolgirl Strikers? Both are based off a social network game and have this group of girls divided into teams in which when they transform into their outfit allows them to use special weapons and powers to fight against the invading aliens and defend planet Earth. Only this time we have a mysterious new girl joining the ranks as they continue to fight off the invaders while trying to lead a normal school life. Heh. Anything is beyond normal if you send school girls to do the fighting.

Episode 1
Miki Hoshitsuki, Subaru Wakaba and Haruka Narumi attend a concert. However they are recalled by Sensei who has detected a growing miasma threat. So our girls need to go into action for the sake of the concert to keep going. Weird alien creatures known as Irous attack the people as our girls transform to beat the crap out of them. I suppose this is a good excuse to introduce a whole bunch of them. Yes, all of the team members as they join in to help kick Irous’ butt. Also, not forgetting their teachers who also keep a check on their stats, data, etc. And as expected, the day (night, rather) is saved thanks to the girls’ efforts. We see them leading ordinary lives at school. Anko Tsubuzaki and Sakura Fujimiya are called by the student council because their club has done nothing but goof around. Therefore their club is on the verge of being shut down and their clubroom seized for other clubs. Dumb excuses not acceptable. They are given a chance to find new members or hold suitable club activities or face the music. We also see them in mock training among each other until this strange girl with a big claw weapon drops in to attack. The school’s president, Botan Kamine assures everyone she isn’t dangerous. Misaki is their newest team member.

Episode 2
A narration tells the back story of this setting. Miasma descended upon the world and girls garbed in celestial suits fought against it and put off the Irous invasion. But a very large scale attack left Earth devastated and the remaining humans escaped to orbit where they sought refuge in the Colony by the Holy Tree. It is here where a new team is trained to recapture Earth. The Holy Tree is successfully back on Earth but the girls at Hoshimori are ever vigilante to stave off the continuous Irous threat. This is a history video shown by Sensei to Misaki as protocol for newbies. As the girls form teams to take turns fighting the Irous, Misaki is the odd one out as she often jumps into battle without any directives to fight them. Some are not happy she doesn’t have good discipline to follow orders while others cut her some slack since she did save their comrades’ skin. Since everyone notices Misaki is a loner and doesn’t mix well with others, they want to hold a welcome party for her so they can get to know each other better. The girls divide their tasks and we see Miki sucks in cooking. I don’t know, maybe she could use this to kill Irous. Unless your sense of taste is dead like Sakura… Everyone surprises Misaki but she doesn’t look surprised. The lamest has got to be Asuha Kusunoki whose lame pun just ruined everything in addition to embarrassing herself that no one is laughing. But wait! Misaki is laughing her ass off???!!! Strange taste in jokes… Sorry to ruin your party girls, but we’ve detected some Irous. Haven’t fought some this episode, right? There is a new type of Irous never seen before in the fray. Of course they don’t know its traits, etc. Misaki once more breaks protocol to jump in and fight it, successfully defeating it. Miki is impressed with her but Misaki views that wasn’t good enough. Sensei senses something amiss because no doubt Misaki is good, it is as though she almost knew how to defeat it.

Episode 3
The sun! The sea! The beach! Swimsuits! What a paradise! Hate to break it to you girls but we’re not here for fun and games because the purpose of this trip is to train their ass off. So get to it! No mercy from the demon teacher, Furan Mitsurugi. Look at her smirk. It’s like she enjoys seeing the girls in pain! Thanks to that, even with all the delicious food, the girls are in no mood to eat. Tired and sunburn. Oddly, they are also here to learn how to dance because apparently the celestial suits draw power from certain motions. I guess like martial arts, form and rhythm are important. That night, Anko, Nozomi Amano, Sadone, Sakura and Hinata Minami head for the nearby ‘spirit’ island to play their own kimodameshi. The reward for all this is the view of the beautiful city lights across. They realize suddenly there are 2 moons. Wait. One of them is getting bigger. Then it turns into a giant spider Irous (War of the Worlds?) as it forms a barrier locking them in and releasing miasma. They try to break out but the barrier is too hard and at this rate they will slowly collapse from inhaling too much miasma. As everyone gets sortie, Misaki can’t wait for the slow pokes and disobeys orders again to head in to fight the Irous. If Misaki can’t even break through it, you think the others can? Well, don’t give up (important lesson of the episode, I guess). But remember your training. That dance training. And with all the proper moves they have learnt (including some friendship flashback thingy), the barrier is broken and the friends saved. In the aftermath, Asuha lectures the ‘adventurers’ and Sadone learns from Miki that Misaki was the first one to rush to their aid. She knows why Misaki is always tough on us and it’s because she doesn’t want them hurt.

Episode 4
Shiho Kunieda and Kanon Kougami of Fortissimo are on their last leg of their high school tour when something unfortunate happened. Miki and co are big fans of them and are even praying at a shrine for success. Despite the relatively decent luck they get, there is a little warning that their wish won’t go their way. And that bad news comes in the form of Fortissimo staff being unable to arrive in time. The bus they were travelling in were blocked by a landslide. They got food poisoning while waiting and are all sick. The logical step is to cancel it but seeing how fully booked the concert is, that is why the duo are here to plead to the Hoshimori girls to be part of their staffs. Gladly. Yeah, free labour. So all get to work and their roles being assigned quickly. Everyone is surprised Misaki volunteers to work out instead of skipping. They work really hard and you can’t blame them for being tired at school. It gets worse when Irous come to attack. Shiho and Kanon thought of helping out and although they successfully defeat the Irous, Kanon sprained her foot. It isn’t that bad and she doesn’t want to disappoint fans and can still go on. Shiho believes in her. And so concert day is here. Fortissimo puts up an exciting concert as usual. Miki and her team had to partially miss it since those damn Irous show up. The faster you kill, the faster you can get back to the concert. Before the penultimate song, Kanon’s bandage broke. She still thinks she can go on but this will be risky. Misaki volunteers to dance in her place since she is the same size and height and her. Kanon disagrees at first but since the crowd cannot wait… Everyone is awed seeing ‘Kanon’s’ dance move. It is then her pals realize she is a hardcore Fortissimo fan. Kanon’s foot has healed enough for them to head out and sing their last song. The concert is a success and to thank the Hoshimori girls for their hard work, they sing an encore for them in private.

Episode 5
Once again, the girls are in a pinch. Once again, Misaki comes to the rescue and destroy the Irous with a single punch. To the crotch???!!! When the girls converge for their usual training, Yuri Himukai blows her top because again Misaki isn’t here. Is she exempted? Well, Sensei did ask her to join but Misaki believes she will not gain anything. Later Kurumi Tokiwa talks to Misaki how Yuri once resembled her. She used to fight alone. Misaki believes by being weak only puts others in danger. Kurumi takes it that she once had a team. Yes she does. However she relied on them and grew weak. That’s why she wants to grow strong enough not to seek help from others. Kurumi believes there is strength in teamwork. Meanwhile, Nozomi also notes to Yuri how similar Misaki is to her. This prompts Misaki to remember Nozomi also used to skip out on training. Time for flashback. 2 years ago, another lost to their seniors prompted Yuri to want her team to start training. Nozomi didn’t like the idea. Their relationship soon strained as Nozomi reveals her reasons to Kurumi. She feels scared to lose when mankind’s future rests on their shoulders. She can’t do it. So when the next emergency call comes, Nozomi is nowhere to be heard. She didn’t even pick up the call. Everyone heads out to fight the Irous and Yuri thinks she can tackle the big one herself. Too bad she failed. Before she gets owned, look who changed her mind and came back to save her? Nozomi! She admits her fears especially the thought of losing Yuri. That is why she came. They both cooperate and kick Irous ass. Misaki wakes up in cold sweat from a dream of running up the endless stairs to be stronger. She sees Kurumi planting irises. She planted them as a sign of Yuri and Nozomi getting back together. It is a flower that stands for hope.

Episode 6
Renge Serizawa and Kurumi are in some nice dream? Turns out they were hit by an Irous attack. Thankfully no tentacle rape but those tentacles sure made them have those dreams. As usual, Misaki destroys it. Now it is all back to the normal school the next day but Renge notices something amiss. She is in Kurumi’s body! They have swapped bodies alright. Since retard Kurumi didn’t realize it, she has to quickly take her away to give her a pep talk before anyone suspects. Hence, they decide to live each other’s lives for now. Of course this is Renge’s ulterior motive to take more sleazy shots of the girls. Too bad Kurumi is a little absent minded and needs to be reminded. And Kurumi starts harassing everyone… Is this how everyone thinks of Renge? Renge begins her ‘mission’ by having Urara Hasumi and Kokomi Asahina pose as her models. Before they could suspect her acting like Renge, she gives excuse about their brilliant performance as Fortissimo’s backup dancers. This also leads to a bigger ‘catch’ as Shiho and Kanon volunteer to be her models. Renge is now ‘addicted’ and goes on a sleazy secret photo shoot of everyone. The last is Misaki. Speaking of which, it could be her best chance yet as Misaki wants to wash the back of ‘Kurumi’ as thanks. Had Renge not start fantasizing her delusions, Misaki would not have suspected this is the fake Kurumi. Because of that, Misaki suspects this fake must a humanoid Irous and attacks her! Later when the teachers discover how Renge and Kurumi swapped bodies, looks like the only way back is to get hit by that Irous’ attack again. Yup, go get assaulted again. They manage to switch back as Renge apologizes to everyone. Especially to Kurumi for using her body to do sleazy stuffs. She won’t do it again because she would prefer to do it all as herself! Didn’t learn a damn thing!

Episode 7
The girls are having a hard time fighting this mean Spyro-like Irous. Because its metallic skin is really hard. So when it uses up its energy, it just stops dead in its tracks and will rest up to recover. But at this point because half its body is in another plane of existence, the girls cannot even do harm to it until it moves. They’re screwed, right? So they take this time to discuss how to take it down and I’m not sure why Misaki is silently seething in anger about the girls trying to use brute force to bring it down. Eventually they deduce of concentrating their attacks on its head where the energy is being gathered that they believe is the weak spot. Okay. It’s moving again. Off to the battlefield. However it is as hard as hell as ever. As the Irous inches closer to school, Botan plays it safe by evacuating everyone. Renge and Nozomi get light injuries during the ensuing battle. Misaki is being pessimistic? Because she believes it is best for everyone to retreat and let the city fall. What happen to just clawing her way through her enemies? Well, she can’t claw through this one so I guess it makes sense if she can’t defeat it, no one can. However Miki won’t give up. And so do the other ordinary school girls. They start cheering for them and suddenly they have this glow that powers them up. It’s the Holy Tree. Of course Miki and Misaki has to power up the most because they are the ones to destroy the Irous. Their combo smashes it to smithereens. Everybody rejoices and the girls get thanked. Also, odd to see Misaki being this happy? Something about realizing the true power of Hoshimori team.

Episode 8
Miki must be having bad luck. She draw the short end of the stick and this means for the holidays, she has to stay back at school to watch in case of any Irous attack. Although Haruka and Subaru also draw the short end, at least they don’t have to study like Miki since she failed her tests and need to make up for it. Meanwhile we see the rest of the other girls having fun their own way. The oddest one I think is Yuri because she is pulling off that iconic pose from Titanic. One night, Haruka thought she heard a burglar in one of the dorm’s rooms. Because nobody but them should be around. So as they prepare to tackle the burglar, their thoughts change, what if it’s a ghost! Eventually they barge in and they only discover Anko. Didn’t she go for a trip? Yes. On her VR. Apparently Misaki also stayed behind to learn some sort of sneaking tactic. Yeah, there was one time the girls were sleeping in the gym, Misaki snuck in to sleep with them. Huh? Miki continues to be frustrated with her studies and thinks the teachers have it easy. So when Misaki tells how Sensei has been working hard nonstop, Miki realizes he has been thinking about them in ways they don’t normally see. They decide to bake him a cake but they fail so hard and messed up the kitchen that ironically Sensei had to come to their rescue. At the same time, all the other girls have the same idea of returning home a day early to give Miki and co souvenirs.

Episode 9
It’s time for the school’s cultural festival. But the Hoshimori girls won’t get to choose what they’ll do since they were late in submission and all that is left is to do a play. As they have no time, they decide to do a play based on the costumes available. A variety of costumes, some looking too big and loose while some are just too tight and revealing on others. Either way, Renge is having a field day. So the play is some screwed up fairytale. I believe Renge is the lead character and very much appropriately the wolf because she tries to hound other characters like Red Riding Hood and the 3 little pigs but they end up ditching her ‘love’. Twisted but hey, let’s just go with it because nobody could come up with better stuffs. The festival gets underway and everything is looking fine. Yeah, so fine like as though Irous marked their calendar so as not to disturb the girls on this special day. Anyway the Hoshimori girls are now in session. Of course it had to go well until things don’t go well. The teachers detect an Irous reading within the school. A strange hooded character drops in on stage to attack but luckily Misaki is there to protect. The teachers cannot risk panic or else there will be casualties. So… Carry on? Luckily the crowd thinks this is one damn good play. When other Hoshimori girls back up Misaki, the shady character escapes and vanishes. The play ends with everyone giving them a standing ovation. So good that it was so real! Ignorance is sure bliss… Misaki has a bad feeling about the person she just fought. It could be somebody she knew…

Episode 10
I guess with no Irous detected recently, the teachers decide to give our Hoshimori girls a vacation. Yeah, just wait and see… Miki invites Misaki to stay at her place since she has nowhere to go. She meets Miki’s mom and little sister, Miku. Is it me or do they all look like Miki clones? Anyway despite their first time meeting, Misaki somehow knows about Miku. Did Miki once tell about her? Even more so it feels like they have been family for a long time. This should raises some suspicions about Misaki’s identity, if you know what I mean… So apparently something is wrong about Misaki because late at night when everyone is sleeping, she runs away from ‘home’. Of course this is when the hooded character attacks her. The teachers sense this Irous reading and send out the emergency notification. Miku is worried Misaki left with her bags. With the notification’s timing, Miki assures her it could be Misaki just went ahead for the usual. Misaki gets owned but luckily Miki and some of the other Hoshimori girls come to her aid. You think they have the numbers, right? Well, hoodie girl also brought her hoodie pals to even the odds. They are faster and more powerful! OMG! Is this Hoshimori’s doom? When the hooded character is unmasked… Miki???!!! Misaki calls out to her as her big sister. Miki clone did not say anything. All of them just walk away and vanished. They didn’t run away. They just let them go. Apparently this is the plan of the big bad villainess, Iris who has been watching them all the while. She wants them to further fall into the darkness of despair. With Miki seeking answers, Misaki explains she is the Miki from another world. Don’t hold your breath but we should have seen this coming that this means Misaki too is from another world.

Episode 11
We see Misaki and her sister at their limits fighting Irous. And then they get absorbed into some strange alternate space dimension that is supposed to be a place where worlds connect via Holy Tree. As they can’t stay here long, sister use the last of her powers to push Misaki out to another world. So when she lands in this world, Botan was the first one to find her. And now Misaki reveals to the other girls that she isn’t from this world. There is this simple explanation of parallel worlds to the dumb girls but I can’t say I understand it myself. It’s not that simple of just an example of taking the left route or right route. In Misaki’s world, the victory over Irous never came. They have been constantly fighting Irous as the Holy Tree lost its light and fell into darkness. It is known as the Wicked Tree. It might have found its way to this world. So why is everyone worried they have to fight Misaki’s sister? Looks like Iris is in possession of the Wicked Tree and relishes pitting the Hoshimori girls of different worlds against one another. Botan and the teachers try to deduce of all the parallel worlds, why Misaki ended up in this one. Did the Holy Tree brought her here as answer to Misaki’s sister’s prayers? In that case, it shouldn’t have brought the Wicked Tree along as well and that it must have been brought here by answering the call of the evil desires of someone in this world. Misaki is reminiscing all the good times spent with the Hoshimori girls. And what do you know? Everyone realizes she is missing and goes out looking for her. Because we all know Misaki is going to have a final showdown with her sister to settle things. She is doing this because she doesn’t want her new friends to be put in danger. She believes they are so because of her arrival. Too bad Misaki gets owned. She plans to sacrifice herself and take her sister along. Just in time here comes Miki to stop her. Why? Because we’re friends! Right. With the other girls being grateful to her as well, I guess it’s not a time to be selfish. Now a flying dragon turtle Irous appears. This one is more dangerous than ever. More powerful in fact. Because the Wicked Tree is riding on it. What else? Let’s take it on together!

Episode 12
As Misaki and Miki move forward, the other girls take on their dark counterparts and other Irous in the way. To cut things short, they took out each other. Just as the duo find the Wicked Tree, Iris sends them to another dimension. Looks familiar this dimensional rift? Déjà vu? Stuck. Meanwhile the teachers are worried about the girls. Botan gives the usual believe in them speech. So Sensei communicates with all the girls to relay to them the bad news that Misaki and Miki are trapped in the rift. Because of their determination to help them but they lack the energy, the Holy Tree starts resonating. The girls also start resonating. Their powers being absorbed by the Holy Tree to be given to Misaki and Miki! F*ck yeah! Power of friendship! The duo power up enough to break out from the rift and back to reality. They receive a new battle suit to reflect that power up. Uhm, looks like a wedding dress… Misaki now faces off with her sister. All the clashing didn’t work and what did was her yell to tell her not to lose out to the Wicked Tree. With that, big sister returns to her senses. That easy, huh? Big sister than powers up her weapon so she could help Miki slay Iris and the Wicked Tree. Mission completed. Time to rejoice. All is not lost for Misaki’s sister. The Wicked Tree is now a small sprouting bud. It then glows and opens a portal to allow big sister and the rest to return to their own world. However Misaki is staying because she has things that needs to be done. Friends > Sister. Apparently. I expected big sister and the rest wanting to stay here too but I guess they have better things to do back at their own world. Bye. And so our Hoshimori girls continue to live their happy school life with lots of fun.

Battered Girls High Schoolgirl Strikers
I know this is supposed to be a feel good happy ending but I can’t help feel the cringe ever since the final arc started. Probably everything was so cliché and predictable that I had already lost my enthusiasm. Heck, I think I lost it earlier on. Because with Misaki now staying in this world and becoming part of Miki’s family, she looks a lot happier and my theory for her to do is because her original world sucks. You know how dark and gloomy it is, right? With her original world so gloomy, I don’t think she even has any friends but her sister there. So while her sister and other counterparts are probably doing their best to rebuild things, Misaki is going to have fun with her friends here. Yeah, smart girl. And she gets ‘join forces’ with Miku to pick on Miki who is a retard and klutz at times. Now I can see why she wants to stay. Everyone is so friendly with her that they even gave her a second welcoming party in the end.

Forgive me if you are going to hear me compare this series with Schoolgirl Strikers because of how similar they are but yet different enough that I don’t get confused of which is which. Firstly, like I have said in my opening paragraph, the plot and storyline generally feels so similar. At the end of the day, it doesn’t make it any better because I find this series as boring as ever. Heck, it could be even worse than Schoolgirl Strikers. There is hardly anything that would make for an exciting story because other than the fact the girls need to battle Irous feels forced and necessary in an otherwise a much more boring show to begin with. While they are not battling the ‘unimportant’ monsters, we get a glimpse of their so called school life. Which leads to the next big problem of the series. Then they add this twist that Misaki is not of this world. Oh, such original plot. Saw this coming right from the first episode because when new girl doesn’t fit in and gradually does, it is a tell-tale sign that she is an alien. In that foreigner sense, that is.

This parallel world thingy is a subjective subject and it can be good or bad depending on how well it is played out as the plot. It isn’t a good one here. With the plot of parallel worlds being introduced, somehow it feels odd that everybody just accepted the fact that it is like normal. This is assuming that nobody knows that other parallel worlds exist but even in the case they do, they would have at least suspected something different about Misaki since she is able to fight new Irous with ease. But nobody cares as long as they’re happy living their school girl life, right? And with Misaki being able to traverse time, this raises the question of Irous being sent from other parallel worlds to screw up other worlds too. I am sure they can obtain victory by doing that but I guess that will be too much for our puny brains to handle because all we want is to see the Hoshimori girls have some yuri fun, right? Yeah, screw this parallel world thingy. Just for plot convenience. And the final part whereby the Hoshimori girls send their powers to bring them back is all part of the BS so that history doesn’t need to repeat itself as neither girls would need to sacrifice themselves to send the other back. All hail the power of girl friendship!

Now, one of the biggest issues of having a short series and so many main characters is that you will never have a fair share of screen time for all of them. Hence this makes some of the less popular characters to be even more obscure. Heck, there are 18 main girls of the Hoshimori team! Oh, make that 19 ever since Misaki joined them. Schoolgirl Strikers I believe have slightly more than this number (20, I believe) but the reason that series doesn’t feel as bad as this one in terms on the focus of the characters is because that series mainly focused on one group. The rest are totally like supporting. It is not the case for this one. Here, the girls are grouped into 3 per team and the team is categorized by their high school grade. This means you have seniors, sophomores and juniors of both high school and middle school. The line is blurred because you don’t focus on just one team but a few of them. I know I said that some of them feels like they lack the screen time but with the focus on few of the other girls, one could easily get lost as in to figure who is supposed to be the main heroine. Though, from the so called plot we would deduce it would be Miki and Misaki.

Therefore the characters themselves are a big miss because some feel they are just generic and cliché to give us a variety a personalities although many of them aren’t memorable. So much so by the time the series ended, I don’t think I could remember the names of even half the Hoshimori girls! Sad but true. Even the mid-intermission that shows the bio-data of the girls from their birthday and likes didn’t help much. Unless you’re really interested to know more about them, such data is pretty much insignificant. Just one of those things to prove they have some personality after all. Aside Miki and Misaki, I suppose if I had to pick which is the most memorable one, it had to be Renge because she is a pervert. Ah, such personalities are usually a stand out, right? I also remember Anko but not because of her personality but rather her big fluff of hair that looks so heavy that it could break her head any time. Kanon and Shiho are only because they are the only idols in the team but other than that, I don’t remember anything else about them. Some whom I remembered not because of their name but rather the seiyuu they voiced them. Alas it is not the retard and cutie pie I remember in Kurumi and Sadone but rather I refer to them as Saori Hayami and Aoi Yuuki respectively. Speaking of seiyuus, this series has way less recognizable seiyuus lending their talents compared to Schoolgirl Strikers. The only other ones I recognized are Tomokazu Sugita as Sensei and Shizuka Itou as Iris.

Speaking of Sensei, I believe he is the only male in the sea of females. As I discovered, he is the only character to appear in the anime and does not appear in the game. So having him in this series feels so out of place because Schoolgirl Strikers don’t even have any males in their line of casts to begin with. With Sensei painted as a considerate and caring teacher, it only makes him feel even out of place and sometimes my mind can’t help drift that he is some sort of lolicon. I know he isn’t but this guy sounds like a wuss as he is constantly worried about the Hoshimori girls. And I mean, he really worries about them. Take for instance in the final episode. The girls are in trouble. He goes all out to communicate with them. The girls are victorious. He is the only one screaming in joy (making him sound cringey) while the rest of the teachers were just cool cats. The other 2 teachers who assist him aren’t memorable either. What’s their names again? Oh, why do I care? One looks like the kind who would be the sexy infirmary teacher and the other looks like the brainy type because, you know, glasses. To further screw with us all, Botan the president looks fit to be an elementary school kid but she holds the highest power in school and authority over the Hoshimori girls.

So now moving on to Misaki and Miki, with Misaki appearing for the first time and her cold lone wolf exterior, it should have raised a few flags that there is something off about her. I mean, the girls have been fighting Irous for so long and with Misaki being so adept in destroying never-seen-before ones, that should give you a big hint of who she at least is. Misaki feels like Schoolgirl Strikers’ Tsubame’s case. Because they are not from the present world. And when you have spent a decent time with nice people, you too open up your heart and become part of the gang. My only question is that if they are each other from parallel worlds, are they considered to be sisters or even step sisters? Oh man, this sci-fi thinking might open another can of worms so I’m going to drop this. As long as they are happy, everyone is happy, I am happy, the world is happy, everything is fine. Simple.

The fight against Irous are as inspiring and bland as they can get. They are just a tool and excuse needed to showcase the Hoshimori girls beating the crap out of hostile aliens. Otherwise, there is nothing more that we know further about them. Even the villainess Iris is uninspiring. From time to time you can see her observing everything from her monitors inside her dark cave, snickering to herself because like as though she has some sort of bigger plan to it all. Even in the end when she was defeated, we don’t know if she was defeated for real or not. She is so shallow and one-dimensional that they don’t even give her a background or why she is trying to do all this. To spread the misery and sorrow? Maybe some people just want to see the world(s) burn to the ground. She could have been some nameless villain but I think that will make it even worse. Heck, I don’t think I have ever heard her name mentioned in the series. It was only stated in the ending credits. Way to go girls. Fighting an evil villain boss without even knowing her name. Like we all care, eh? And our Hoshimori girls using their oversized weapons in battles just feels meh. Either they are swords, spears or guns. Nothing that inspiring.

If you are considering the art and animation of this series, they lean more towards the cute and moe type. Personally, Schoolgirl Strikers look better because they are the bishoujo type (at least they had a group of maids) and since I’m not a lolicon, all the Hoshimori girls ranging from middle school to high school, they all have this moe and kawaii look. Like as though they are all the same age. Sometimes they look so similar that it is hard for me to tell them apart. Thank heavens for different hair colours and hairstyles, right? At least now I know why Miki and Misaki look same. Heck, their names are so similar too. And your mind will be blown even further if you realize their fighting outfits resembled closely to each other. No wonder I get confused sometimes. But lucky me, I could still tell them apart because of their hair length as well as somebody doesn’t smile as often as the other. In worse cases, sometimes I mistake Yuri to look like them too. On a trivial note, is it me or does Haruka’s battle suit make her look like Frozen’s Elsa?

I read that the game itself has lots of music because of the idol characters in it. But as far as the anime is concerned, the opening theme, Hoshi No Kizuna which is sung by the entire cast of the Hoshimori girls (man, that is one heck of a big crowd) and it sounds like your typical hyper lively rock pop that fits the nature of this series. The ending theme, Melody Ring by f*f (the voices behind Kanon and Shiho) feel no different either. There are a few other insert songs they sing throughout the series but it didn’t resonate with me since I’m not really into that pop idol music stuff.

Overall, this is largely disappointing and boring. Unless you are a hardcore fan of the series, I am guessing and believe would be right that you are better off playing the game instead of watching the anime. Take that from a guy who doesn’t even play the game or even heard of it before the anime version was adapted. After all, the only reason why this was adapted was because to celebrate its first year anniversary of the game. So let me get this straight. The game debuted in early 2015 and a year later they decided to celebrate this by making an anime but we only get it in the latter half of 2017? So… Happy belated anniversary?

While many consider this series to be no different than Schoolgirl Strikers and in extreme cases slightly better than it, personally I prefer Schoolgirl Strikers slightly more but that too is itself an extreme case. So why do we keep sending in high school girls to keep aliens out? Where the heck are all the guys anyway? Right. Who wants to see high school dudes fighting aliens unless they ride an awesome mecha? Girls don’t need to ride giant robots to save the world. All they need is their cute outfits and the power of friendship. It’s like saying high school girls are the only hope for our dark future. Very dark indeed. I guess that’s why we never learn.

Kyoukai No Rinne S3

As promised by Sabato and Bijin at the end of the second season, I guess they were not pulling our legs or deceiving us to buy some useless products of theirs because indeed we did get another season of Kyoukai No Rinne. Fans of the series and/or Rumiko Takahashi would expect more or less the same thing as seen in the past 2 seasons and for us who are expecting more, let’s hope this season would answer and solve a few issues that we would want to see resolved. But of course there are some things that can never be resolved otherwise everything else in the series loses its charm. Like Rinne being a poor shinigami… Ouch…

Episode 1
Rinne goes to the census to get his payment. It depends on your shinigami ranking. So if Shouma has a gold card, does this mean he ranks hire than Rinne? Turns out to be fake. Kain then explains there have been fake gold cards being going around. It is a crime so whoever catches the mastermind will be promoted. You bet Rinne wants in. Then they see Ageha buying one from a vending machine. She goes a step ahead by bombing it to shut out other rivals! But the Damashigami runs away so they chase it till they arrive at its HQ. They believe Sabato is the culprit since he has printed many copies. But when they see one with Sabato’s ID on it, they think it is fake. But Kain checks it to be real! How can this be? For one to achieve it, one must purify 2000 spirits. That’s like 10 years of continuous hard work. If Sabato was a slacker, how can he get it? Simple. He got it during high school. Everyone goes back to Tamako and she confirms it is real. During his high school years, his frustrated teacher gave him the ultimatum to purify 200 souls before sundown. Luckily there was a group of girls practising nearby. So he helps them by semi-purifying spirits before they complete the job. That at most was only 100 spirits. His teacher is so sad since tomorrow he will go for reincarnation so he challenges him to a duel whereby he laid his gold card on the line. Because defeating such holder means you are a worthy opponent. Sabato could only defend from his aggressive attacks. But those girls cheered on him and before he knows it, Sabato wins. Up till recently, Sabato forgot about the card and made the fake copies using it. Tamako suggests Rinne fight Sabato for it. Sabato seems serious but his scythe’s handle breaks. So he goes to Sakura for duct tape and now she’s involved. Sabato makes a run for it so Kain uses some spirit attraction tool for spirits to slow him down. Sabato manages to semi-purify them. Rinne is in a dilemma if he should complete the purification because it would mean owing him. But screw all that because money is more important! Sabato’s scythe breaks and hits Rinne’s head. Technically he lost. Sabato escapes. In the end, Rinne has only himself to blame for eating expired food. The fake gold card eventually couldn’t sell because of how cheap it looks.

Episode 2
Riku Hayata is the ace of the track team. But he keeps tripping each time he runs. Sakura sees a ghost hand latched on to his leg. Hayata’s senior, Shu Kazami is injured and is worried of Hayata as the preliminaries are around the corner. The injury stems from Hayata carelessly throwing a banana peel and he slipped on it. Kazami doesn’t blame him but Hayata is insists it is his fault. After observing Hayata run and tripping again, it is revealed the hand latching onto his leg is Kazami. At least his living spirit. Hayata hopes Rinne can solve this without telling Kazami. Talking to the living spirit, it doesn’t harbour grudges for that incident. Since on the day of the accident, both were to race each other, Rinne bought an expensive doll to recreate that race. It ends with no regrets but the living spirit is still there. Rinne goes to spy on Kazami at his house and finds something shocking. So he brings the gang here as they discover Kazami is being haunted by a living spirit of Hayata! It is regretting throwing the banana peel. So with the duo making up, the living spirit disappears. Reward for solving this? Boxes of bananas… Hurry and it all up before they expire. Next day, there are cases of males from clubs involving drawing getting their face smeared by black paint by a faceless ghost woman! It seems she wants them to draw her face but they don’t know how she looks like and just drew. That earned her wrath. When Rinne and Tsubasa try to catch it, they realize it is not a ghost or evil spirit because it cannot be exorcised or materialized. When the ghost appears before Suguru Egawa, the president of the art club, she panics and doesn’t want him to draw her face and runs away. Egawa explains she was the former president of this club. Rinne follows the ghost back to her home and finds a faceless girl sketch. Next day, Hitomi Egusa comes running to the clubroom. Rinne had left a fake blackmail letter regarding the sketch. Egawa confirms the sketch belong to him but was stolen. He is willing to burn it to solve this incident. As Sakura talks to Egusa, she learns that she was worried how Egawa would draw her. It’s not that his drawing sucks, the original drawing had her wear glasses. She did wear those before she moved onto contacts. Egusa didn’t like it and tried to secretly erase it but erased the entire face. When Egawa is heard coming in, she tore the page and ran away. With everyone hearing about it, Egawa claims he wanted to give that drawing as her farewell gift. The old Egusa with glasses is always in his fond memories. The rest realizes the duo have a secret crush on each other and hence the faceless ghost incident is no more.

Episode 3
It’s time to clean the reincarnation wheel. No pay but there is certainly great BBQ after that. However Suzu is ‘sabotaging’ as she doodles all over the place and Sabato trying to steal their scythes and in an attempt to get them back, the dropped scythes scratched the wheel. In the end, they have to hire a professional cleaner. Talk about saving costs… But everyone still had great BBQ, though. Later Raito and Refuto want Rinne to purify a scythe. When they sell it, they always get sold back. When Ageha comes by, she immediately buys it and attacks Renge next door. Seems this is part of the curse as well. The siblings remember they went to some site to mine for iron but it was contaminated by evil spirits who harbour hatred towards shinigami. Now Renge buys it and intends to attack others. When Kain comes into the picture, she plays the victim and points out the fault to the siblings. Kain then forces them to fix it all for free. Ken Amano seems to have a dark rainy cloud over his head ever since he got a new dog, Kotarou. Rinne and Sakura hears him out it could be a grudge from the past. When he was young, he and his friends stumbled upon an abandoned puppy, Bero. Due to their circumstances, they took turns to feed it. One day when it was Amano’s turn, his parents brought him to the amusement park and he forgot all about it until he came back. It was raining then. Next day, Bero was no longer there and Amano lied to his friends he did feed it. He thought he was taken but this curse could be its curse. Using a device to show what happened that night, Bero did stray from his box. It looked like he was being hit by a car but a young girl took it in and nurtured it properly. Wow. Bero had a more luxurious life than all of them. The rain cloud then turns into Bero. It pats Amano’s shoulder before passing on. They deduce Bero’s passing was at the same time Amano adopted Kotarou. Amano might have unconsciously called Bero’s spirit. The raincloud was because it was their shared memory and perhaps Bero wanted him to remember their moments one last time before he passes on.

Episode 4
Sakura tells Rinne about a fortune teller, Annette Hitomi Anematsuri who can predict with accuracy at the mall. She felt something off about her and the crystal ball so Rinne checks and the crystal ball has been a lost item. When they try to see her, she already left a note that the shinigami won’t get her. She must have seen this coming. But it didn’t take long before she returns. They start chasing her but obviously she can see the future of what is going to happen. However she trips and the crystal ball fall into the pond. In the end, she escapes and they couldn’t find the crystal ball either. The next day, a note is left saying she has retired. In school, they are shocked that Annette has become their teacher! Confronting her again, she reveals the crystal ball was passed down by her ancestors who are witches. As she has French ancestry, they made a deal not with the devil but a shinigami for the crystal ball in exchange for bread. Her ancestors were able to avoid witch hunts and generations later, her grandpa moved to Japan. The crystal ball seems to return to her no matter how she loses it. As for why she is working as a teacher, she saw her future with no job. She became a bum but her mom told her to go find work or else. She saw this part time fortune telling at the mall. So this teacher job was just her getting a normal job. Rinne confiscates the crystal ball. Annette sees the future and has no qualms giving it to him. As he is about to return it, he sees the future of repairing it and Annette rewarding him. Can’t go against fate, right? Sure, Annette did pay him. But just to cover the costs. With the crystal ball back in her hands, she becomes more popular giving free divinations to students. But her greatest challenge yet is when Manami Ubukata has problems with her boyfriend. It seems an old man ghost is haunting her. She promises to fix it but goes to Rinne for help. Yup, she can only see spirits but not purify them. Rinne wants to be paid but she isn’t willing to part with her money. When Ubukata’s relationship gets worse, she blames Annette for not fixing and others start to think she is a scam. Desperate, she looks for a saviour. Tsubasa? His sacred ash didn’t manage to do the job. So they look into Ubukata’s past. It turns out this old guy is her father. In fact it is his living spirit. He didn’t like her dating a boy so he unwittingly cursed they would break up. The spirit stops showing up when he realizes about it. Though, he still hopes they would break up. Annette sees more spirits but wants Rinne to help purify. No money, no talk.

Episode 5
Rinne is tasked to train Sansei, Kuroboshi’s grandson since that black cat wants to retire. Although Sansei can detect spirits faster than anybody, he is actually scared of them! Attempts to train him to overcome his phobia fails. Sansei even tries to bribe Rinne not to report this! Oh, money! So eventually Tamako takes over the training and Kuroboshi has to fork out money for it. Retirement is a long way off… Sabato seeks Annette’s help since the money he put in the lucky pot is missing. She sees the culprit… Rinne?! Sabato thinks he knows where he misplaced it as Rinne chases him back to the store. All his lucky pot merchandise is unsold so they try to break the pots to see which one has the money. None. They remember only 1 customer bought it. Well, they’re in luck because dumb Ageha returns to complain. Rinne manages to snatch it away and as predicted, he got the money. However that is short-lived since the landlord confiscates the money for due rental and reparations. Rinne is out picking bamboo shoots and he isn’t particularly interested in a rainbow one since there is a penalty for misusing it. But with Renge wanting it to so it could grant her a wish and Kurosu wanting to sell it on the black market, you bet Rinne is hard up to fight for it. The rainbow bamboo shoot seems to have a mind on its own as it tries to escape its pursuers. We see it change hands frequently from Ageha boiling its outer skin to Kain mistakenly accusing Rinne for trying to steal it and Suzu trying to roast and eat it. Eventually the rainbow bamboo shoot cannot take all of this anymore and wishes itself to become a grown bamboo tree. With no more wishes, I guess it is safe from the greedy predators. Kain covers it up that there was no rainbow bamboo shoot sighted.

Episode 6
Shouma hands Rinne a little yatagarasu for him to keep as he wants to show it to his friends tomorrow. Rinne won’t have any part of it since it is illegal. But for 5,000 Yen for the job?! Okay! However the bird eats up all the food. Shouma fishes it out and plans to return it to its sanctuary since the reward is double. 10,000 Yen! So as they try to retrieve it, it eats more food and it grows bigger. Too late because when it is an adult, it will return to the sanctuary itself. This means no reward. But does it feel grateful for Rinne giving all his food? Well, the reward is only reimbursement for the food it has eaten and 10,000 Yen is its limit. So with Rinne’s ramen, he only got 140 Yen reimbursed… Rumours of a wandering veiled bride. Rinne and Sakura spot it enter a café and looking for a nearby chapel. Talking to her, she seems to have died in an accident while on her way to a chapel. It could be really a tragic love triangle since the café’s owner’s late husband is the same as the bride’s supposed husband. As they try to replay the events that day, the veiled bride is actually the husband?! He owns a chapel and the lack of marriages is making him in the red. He needs to do a promo but lacks money to hire a bride model. His wife was pregnant and couldn’t fit in the dress so he dressed up as a bride himself. As he ran out of film, he rushed out to buy one but on his way back got hit by a car. The case is solved when Rinne takes a picture of them. And he is trying to sell it to the café’s owner?! Rinne finds a transparent safe containing a 10,000 Yen. This is part of Masato’s plan to see Rinne fail as the safe is made out of the strongest ice from hell. So he gives Rinne free items to see him fail in breaking the safe. He is enjoying it. So when Rinne starts to catch on that it might be somebody’s prank, Masato tries to leave but here comes Renge after all that commotion. She recognizes the safe because it was stolen by Masato from the fair organized by Damashigami. Rinne gets the key from her to open it but gets a sucker punch. Oh, the bill is fake too. In the end, after forcing Masato to restore his place back to normal, he is thrown into the depths of hell. Ungrateful…

Episode 7
Sakura hears a power stone at the shop beckoning her. The shop assistant insists in giving it for her free. Turns out there is this little jester devil who claims he can grant her any wish. But he lazily does it and often fails. Tsubasa takes a look at it and realizes this is the legendary wandering stone in which he will bug you until you say the right wish or pass it on to others. As different stones give different luck, this little guy won’t let him inspect and pushes him away. Despite the strong push, Tsubasa feels more relief than pain. He uses other stone spirits to help determine but they smirk at the little guy. He then reveals he is unsure of what his stone does and is going about trial and error. It is soon discovered it is a rock salt. Mmm… Nice delicious tea… Sakura visits her classmate, Yumi Kariya who recently moved into this place. It is dirt cheap because it is haunted by a poltergeist. See those flying plates and bowls? Rinne is called in and the poltergeist haunting is some weirdo pervert balancing the dishes?! Turns out he was the previous resident of this home and trying to look for a job. He found one on welcoming parties so he bought several stuffs and practised himself to death. His lingering regret is to make people laugh. So Rinne has Kariya’s family watch his comedy show. But they become disgruntled upon seeing what kind of ghost was haunting them. They get mad he broke their dishes! Can he never find peace? Till Kariya’s dad lectures him about being true to himself and not hiding his face. That is how you make a good impression in finding a job. He takes off his disguise and he looks quite handsome! Before the ladies swoon over, I guess dad has his face doodled again. The case is solved and he is able to pass over. Ageha realizes there is an expired wandering spirit house under her bed. There is a taboo and penalty for not turning it in on time. So she dumps it at Rinne’s place. He too is unsure if it was his fault and tries to find a way to illegally dump it. Luckily dumb Suzu crashes into him. It gets mixed up in it. She brings it back to Kain and he too is unsure if this expired house was his. When it is his shift to collect those houses, Rinne is before him. He tries to sneak in the house but Rinne can read his moves. They try to outdo one another until Ageha starts dumping a whole lot of expired houses right in front of them. Well, she does live in a big house. Of course she gets reprimanded. And if you’re wondering why the other shinigami are so kind to help, looks like they have a heap of expired houses too! Yeah, the taboo is not so rigorously followed.

Episode 8
Ageha finds an old box from elementary school. Suddenly something bursts out. A cursed straw doll attacks Renge at school. Flashback shows how the duo were paired to learn counter cursing. You put the hair of the person you want to curse in the straw doll and wait for 7 days. If it passes that day, something bad will happen. I guess it’s going to get worse since Ageha forgot and many years passed. She hires Rinne to get rid of it but each time he hurts the straw doll, Renge gets injured. Renge gets her revenge by putting Ageha’s hair in it so it starts attacking her. Then they blow each other up. Rinne returns with many counter curse straw dolls borrowed from the elementary school to deflect all the curse back. Case solved and a rare good ending for Rinne since he got paid for doing nothing. Raito and Refuto give Rinne a reward to test out a silver scythe. But the more he purifies, the silver peels off. Is this fake? Because there is an amount behind the peel, they remember some cash reward system to motivate shinigami to work hard. With a thousand yen as reward, you bet Rinne is going to work hard. As more peels off, OMG it is worth a billion yen!!! The siblings then steal it from him to claim the reward for themselves. A struggle ensues and eventually Rinne turns it in. Hmm… The highest cash reward is only a million yen. Turns out the predecessor who made the scythe lost count in how many zeroes to put in since the difficult part was engraving the cash amount. No reward then… Rinne and Sakura meet a spirit of a girl who passed away a week ago in front of the hospital. She knows about shinigami since one guided her to the Sanzu River but he disappeared. If she can cross the river with him, she’ll rest in peace. As she describes him, Rinne becomes less thrilled because that shinigami is Matsugo! They go see him and Matsugo is so happy that his gay tendencies are showing. And Matsugo doesn’t remember who this girl is but pretends to do so. As advised, he takes her to ride across the river. But with Rinne. The girl isn’t satisfied so Matsugo as advised rides his white steed. Guess what? He lets her chase after him! After more advice, he lets her ride it. Still not satisfied? This time he takes her on a date and everything goes pretty well surprisingly. The girl is satisfied and passes on. So what was Matsugo’s success? Kuromitsu whispered to him to take this as training for his date with Rinne. Oh dear. Now Matsugo wants to ‘date’ Rinne, he is nowhere to be found! But Matsugo continues to bug him by always waiting for him outside his place. But nobody’s home… I think he ran away like forever.

Episode 9
Sabato is praying at his father’s grave when he spots a gold mackerel can. Tamako calls Rinne because there is a thief in her house. Turns out to be Sabato. But he has mackerel marks on his face, proof that he fell for Tamako’s trap at the grave. As it cannot be normally washed off, he must go seek forgiveness at the altar at home. However Tamako has laced various portals in the house, making him unable to reach his destination. Well, there is a way. Through this messy room. Rinne tries to escape but Tamako will pay him to help clean up. As father and son does so, they find an old savings book with lots of money. Perhaps Tamako had forgotten about it. So they try to search for the stamp and all hell breaks loose. Eventually grandpa mackerel simply have to guide them to the altar to apologize as they’re taking too long. But after that they continue searching for it but nothing was found. Tsubasa invites Sakura to study at his home. She had to invite Rinne so Tsubasa distracts him to eat his high grade tuna. Apparently Sakura’s friends are also here. Tsubasa receives a parcel from his father. A spirit pops out from a bottle named Minerva. Tsubasa lies it is a goddess of wisdom so Sakura’s friends want to touch it to be smart. Of course Sakura can tell it is a spirit so they have to catch it. Rinne is also roped in because the spirit ruined his tuna meal. The spirit is seemingly playing pranks on everyone. Tsubasa reads the instructions on how to catch it. With a banana? The spirit is actually a monkey. Everyone settles for tuna since it is rich in DHA. The shinigami are cleaning the Sanzu River. Those who cross cannot bring their belongings and are forced to dump them. So during clean up times, those who get it can claim possession. Rokumon finds a gold bar. Imagine all the things he can but. And even resign from his job! He tries to hide it from Rinne but eventually is found out. As they try to outdo each other to claim the gold bar, soon everyone starts tussling for it. In the end, it is flung into the deep end of the river and clean up time is over. I guess they’ll have to wait for the next time. For now, it’s back to the poor life.

Episode 10
Suddenly boxes of bombs drop into Rinne’s room. Sabato orders them in his name and wants him to pay. Not a chance. Turns out somebody has started a union and spread the word to his Damashigami employees to fight for better wages and refusing free overtime work. So as they try to figure things out, Sabato almost uses his inflammable tools to cook or light up things but is luckily put to a stop. Damashigami employees are then seen stealing the boxes. Meanwhile, it is Renge who is the leader of the union. She thought nobody turned up but it turns out everyone was too dumb to get here. As Rinne tries to follow the Damashigami, it leads him to a party that Sabato and his employees are having fun in. The sold the bombs for a profit. Renge? She went home to sleep, frustrated that everyone is so dumb. Sabato tries to get Renge to steal Annette’s ball to sell it on the black market. Of course she doesn’t want to but the thought of stealing it herself and profiting from it without him. Also, Annette can see this future so when Renge sets a trap, it all went according to prediction. Annette shows Renge a future where she will get cuffed by Kain. Will her identity be revealed? She brushes it off and later is shocked to learn Kain is here to collect the ball upon hearing rumours it still exists. At first she thought of finding it fast or she’ll be arrested but realizes if she is near the ball, she’ll get arrested. She tells Sabato she wants out but he doesn’t listen. He throws her a fake ball to switch with the real one. So why doesn’t he do it himself? She throws it back to him but hits Kain! He seeks her explanation so she blames it on Rinne. So Kain and Renge face off with Rinne to arrest him but another fake ball knocks Kain out. Rinne pulls Sabato out but soon Kain goes to chase for the scumbag. By this time, Annette sees a new future for Renge in which she attacks Kain in her cuffs. Resisting arrest? Kain returns with handcuffs to arrest Annette. However she pushes Renge towards him and she gets cuffed instead. So it was her fault? Rinne notices something strange about this Kain. It turns out to be a doll version, a trap set by Sabato. Renge attacks it out of frustration. Sabato returns to steal the ball this time but from all the confusion it is fake when he tries to sell it. Annette still holds the real one. This is destiny?

Episode 11
Kain has been missing for 3 days after trying to investigate the dying flower fields. No motivation to find him? There’s a cash reward. Let’s go! With all the related parties jostling each other for this, eventually Kain is found but he refuses to go back and let Rinne have his reward. Turns out he needs to get to the bottom of this. Somebody has been digging underground tunnels and thus denying the flowers the nutrients. After another round of chaos because money faced people will do what it takes to get him back, the culprit turns out to be a mole spirit who got lost. Kain returns but Rinne didn’t get his reward… During the test, Sakura notices a different spirit hand substitutes Rinne’s hand to take the test. Because of that, he ends up in the top 10. Renge calls him out for cheating as she notices this. Rinne admits he did. This breaks Sakura’s heart and she feels disappointed with him. Rinne then brings them to the spirit world hotspring and introduce to them smart people who died without being able to use their smart talents. The only way they could pass on if they take the high school test. And this season if they do so, they get double points or something. Even so, this doesn’t hide the fact Rinne didn’t put in the effort and is still cheating. When Rinne is forced to take the make-up test because he failed English, the rest are puzzled. Didn’t he had a foreigner take his English test? Apparently the foreigner didn’t know how to read questions in Japanese. Everyone is humbled by Rinne’s act. He knew he would fail and yet he allowed it so the spirit could rest in peace. Well, in actual fact, Rinne regrets picking the wrong person and tries to find a spirit who is proficient in both language before his test. Study himself for once, please? Annette invites Rinne to her house since the reports cards are missing. When Suzuki tasked her to help, she decided to summon fairies to do the job. Of course she needs to reward them with a French cake. Seeing the shops don’t sell it, she made it herself. You don’t need to see the future to see what happened to them after eating this charcoal. Failure to reward means there is a price to pay. This means the report cards are returned covered in charcoal and the fairies start throwing ink. They realize the burnt cake is used for the payback and it will end once all is used up. Eventually the entire house is covered with charcoal when the payback is finished. Now Annette wants Rinne to help clean up the place before mom and grandma gets back. Too late. She feigns she was marking the report cards. Should have done this all the while, no? The students wonder why the reports card are so dirty.

Episode 12
Rinne is tasked to investigate a haunted beach house. But first, have fun at the beach! When they decide to investigate, they start cleaning it first. They’re going to stay here as part of their vacation?! Turns out the central pillar is haunted. Rather, a tree spirit. He explains he was born in the mountains and longed to see the ocean after hearing about it. When he was finally chopped down and made into this house, his joy is short-lived because he is facing the wrong way. Hence all the poltergeist activities are actually him trying to turn around and causing the things to move. Rinne has an item that allows him to see the ocean. Everything would have been fine had not the rest start causing havoc and blocking his view. In his anger, he forcefully turns around and the entire house collapses. At least he has a clear view now. A granny refuses to go home on an eggplant at the end of the Obon. She visits her old house which is dilapidated. As she hates eggplants, they can’t force her to go back so Rinne peaks into her past. She used to grow this garden with lots of eggplants and converses a lot with her neighbour over the hedge. She likes him as he reminded her of her late husband but knew she was too old for such romance. She wanted to give eggplants as thanks but on that day when she died, he came over to help her. This dream guy of hers looks like an eggplant! Now, he thinks Sakura is her granddaughter and leaves some flowers. It calms granny’s heart as she returns home. Rinne has a request to bust a Damashigami for a meagre 500 Yen at a festival. Seeing Renge doing a con job at the water balloon stall (people who play the game get their soul suck into it), he believes he can nab her in action and use the reward to have fun. Unfortunately Kain is here to investigate too so Renge drops her bad girl act and does legitimate business. She decides to close her store to have fun with him but Suzu has made him broke so he goes off. Renge is back to shady business and Rinne is left to wonder if he should spend his money to patron and catch her in the act. He couldn’t decide so Renge goes free. Too bad Suzu busts all her balloons and frees all the souls.

Episode 13
Rinne is at the pawn shop and sees an unredeemed scythe that belongs to the legendary shinigami, Otome who suddenly went missing 10 years ago. Also pawned with it is her platinum licence. Rinne sees the licence and is shocked. Going back to confirm with Tamako, Otome is indeed his mother. She was a very good mother and wife. Too good for that lazy ass Sabato. They weren’t exactly on bad terms but the day she went missing, Sabato pawned her scythe. Maybe that is why. Also, anything that belonged to her also went missing that day. They tried searching for her but to no avail. Back in school, Sakura tells Rinne that a new family moved into a house nearby but their daughter, Ichigo could see spirits sensed a ghost haunting it. Rinne purifies the ghost that turns out to be a living spirit. The previous owner bought the house but business went south and was forced to give it up. Kids these days, Ichigo ‘abuses’ the living spirit to get the hell out! And that case is solved. Rinne would like to be paid (no mercy) but Ichigo wants him to hear her out then. It seems for a long time she has this feeling something is watching her. Rinne and Sakura spots a camera from the other world spying at her. Rinne gives a pendant to block the camera from filming. He’ll be charging for that too. When he goes home, he sees Sabato knocked out in his room and Otome’s scythe is missing. Sabato then purposely sprays an evil spirit scent on Rinne. He is forced to purify them all. His purpose is that when a shinigami purifies evil spirits, they get paid. Suddenly here comes Otome purifying the rest of them. She’s back like that? She beats up Sabato for being a lazy ass. Rinne is mixed seeing his mom again. However… She doesn’t recognize him! Heart break! Even more so, she thinks Rinne is going to pay her. Mother or not, nobody takes his money! Sabato causes more mischief by unleashing more evil spirits over town. Otome and Rinne compete to see who can purify more (and thus get paid more). She isn’t a platinum licence holder for nothing. It is revealed Otome has been working hard to earn money for her young son since her husband is useless. Could it be her memory stopped at that? Ichigo is being chased by evil spirits and Rinne goes to help her. But when Ichigo sees Otome, she knows who she is.

Episode 14
Otome suddenly turns into a doll! Apparently the doll is from Sabato. Care to explain? He used to licence as it is Otome’s only belonging left to try and find out the truth why she left. However after creating the doll, it whacked him out and took the scythe and left. Sabato cannot understand why she left. Things were going great between them. True, it was. Otome even had a good relationship with Tamako. Sabato desperately looked for her and found her sandal by the Sanzu River. He traced it and it looked like she went into the reincarnation wheel. Suddenly Ichigo takes the scythe and beats the crap out of Sabato! She has fully remembered. Ichigo is Otome reincarnated! She isn’t aware he even pawned her scythe. On the day Rinne first walked, he accidentally tripped over a bag of books that Sabato bought from the pawned scythe. It contains list of names whom Sabato claims he wanted to call to make project deals. However one of the books she saw terrified her and she decided to get rid of it. After throwing it into Sanzu River, a herd of gnus dragged her along into the reincarnation wheel. She reincarnated into a fish, followed by a canary an anteater before as Ichigo. Sabato tried to track her reincarnation and sent out numerous spy cameras. He has proof of many photos of Ichigo. And other women? However this doesn’t explain why she took all her belongings and a certain book.

So we go back in time when they first met. They were doing some work at the shinigami youth society. It was love at first sight. He proposed to her that day but she had something to do and came back 3 days later with an answer. Within a week, they got married. Sounds like a happy story so far. Now, one of the books contained an old yearbook. It seems the general knowledge is that Otome is 2 years older than Sabato. However she lied about her age and took all her stuffs relating to her so as not to miss out anything and threw them away. Before they married, Otome snuck into the census office to alter data about her age. Sabato doesn’t mind if she is 10 years older because he still loves her. So how old is she actually? Two years younger. Hey, that’s not bad, right? Well, 2 years younger… Than Tamako!!! Holy sh*t!!! No wonder she clicked so well with Tamako because they’re from the same generation! No wonder she is platinum licence holder. Who could have purified so much spirits lest you are that old! Sabato is in the greatest shock because nobody lied to him before in his life. So will they get back together again? No way. Sabato isn’t a pedo and Ichigo has a new life to live. With the case solved, Ichigo gives Rinne an allowance of 500 Yen. She might be reincarnated but she is still his mother. Well Rinne, so glad you still have a kind mother, right? Until later he realizes he didn’t get reimbursed the full amount of all the tools he used which amounts to 2,000 Yen.

Episode 15
Weird to see Ichigo coming to Rinne’s school for help. She and her friends played Kokkuri and now the spirit won’t leave and keeps bugging them. Ichigo purposely makes the spirit visible so the school could see how Rinne purifies and hence earn money. However they don’t sense anything malicious from the spirit who seems to be targeting Ichigo. Heck, he could even talk. His scary look is because he died while working in a haunted house. He fell into the Sanzu River and Otome was passing by. He signalled her help but was told to wait as she got rid of the yearbook. Of course we know what happened and he waited and waited till he was somehow dragged back to the real world. Since Ichigo cannot purify him anymore, she introduces his son. Here comes the money! Mother hatches more scheme to use Kokkuri to get more money but the school bans it. Rumours of a spirit forced students who pass by the park to pay up. Rinne investigates and it turns out to be a cursed maneki neko. Actually Sabato is behind it. Flashback shows he entered some haunted house to steal something. He saw this and took it. Now his hands are stuck to it until he could fill it up with money. There is an amount in the front to show the remaining sum to be filled up. But it has not moved since. Rinne busts him as he has never put the students’ money into it but his own pocket! Sabato escapes to continue his unholy business so Rinne chases after him. He manages to knock it out of his hands but it becomes a time bomb only dangerous to spirits. Greedy Sabato tries to grab at and gets caught in the explosion. Luckily he didn’t get purified and in hospital he thinks of making copies of it to sell. Tamako has Sansei clean the storeroom but it is filled with spirits so he freaks out and breaks everything before running away. Because of that, Tamako won’t speak to him and ignores him. He bribes Rinne to come apologize with him. However Tamako continues to ignore him and treat like as though he doesn’t exist. Checking out the storeroom doesn’t reveal anything much. Tamako hires Rinne to clean it. Sansei tries to help but is treated roughly and the way she says thinks, it looks like he is fired? Poor Sansei. Is it that bad? As they try to figure things out, it finally dawned to them that Tamako cannot see and hear Sansei. Sansei remembers he ate some buns sent from the shinigami association as thanks for Tamako. It is meant for spirits and you won’t see them for 7 days. Sansei is glad she doesn’t hate him but still has to bear with her ‘abuse’. It wears off in 7 days. Two more days to go…

Episode 16
Rinne is investigating a restaurant with creepy crawling marks all over. At the same time, Annette needs his advice because she can’t stop splurging money. Well, she is letting him having seconds and ordering what he wants. The waiter points out that Annette is the woman whom they realize the strange marks started appearing. It is discovered a snake spirit is haunting Annette. She reveals she bought a wallet supposedly with the charm to save money. However at this restaurant as she examines the wallet, she thought this salmon skin leather inside was creepy and threw it away. It is actually a snake hide and is the lucky charm. After purifying the snake, she manages to get the charm back as it is still inside the trash bin. The charm forgives her after she vows to take care of it. But for now it is going to sleep for 100 years. Rinne bugs Annette for payment. Come back in 100 years. After another beat down by Rinne, Masato tries to steal Annette’s crystal ball because if a demon curses it, it alters its future vision. So to everyone’s shock, they see Rinne holding a stack of cash in this altered future. Rinne thought this could be his lucky day. He thought his 2,000 Yen could bring lots of savings. However he missed the deadline and finally when he bought and won the lottery, he won only 1,000 Yen. Cheated? You bet Rinne is going to help Annette find a cure for this even if he has to work for free! She has something in a box that would cleanse this curse. However she lost the key. And her house is messy. Better start looking. They see visions of Rinne stealing money from her wallet. Could this be fake? Rinne’s attempt to find Masato hiding in her house has him stumbled upon the wallet. Rokumon and Masato try to convince him to steal it since this is all Annette’s fault to begin with so this ‘compensation’ is nothing. Annette almost kills him but in her wallet she finds her key. But now the box is missing. I guess she got lazy to find it so she thinks it’s easier to beat up Masato and break the curse. So the house becomes even messier and chaotic. During all that, the box is found but you need to pay 1,000 Yen for its contents! Rinne got his bill stolen by Masato so Annette uses her own money. It’s a clean cloth? Anyway it did wipe away the curse. Hell hath no fury like a Rinne who lost his money so he beats the hell out of Masato. In the end, Annette and Masato got reprimanded by the former’s mom and grandma who returned only to see the house in a total mess. Annette blames Masato…

Episode 17
Annette seeks Rinne’s help since she noticed a head has been watching at her at times before disappearing. It turns out that head isn’t a spirit but a human. Rei Kuroki is a student of the school. He admires Annette but she never teaches in his class. One day Annette held a flea market and Rei in disguised bought a funny suit thinking it belonged to her (it’s her grandma’s). After he put it on, he realized he became an invisible man and cannot take it off. Only those who can see spirits of course can see him. He tried to go to Annette for help but each time she beat the head away. Attempts to take it off failed. They see a note in the outfit that is supposed to free him. However it is in French and Annette can’t read it! Doomed? Luckily grandma returns to save the day. Guess who got reprimanded? Annette thought she could make it up to Rei by ‘dating’ him tomorrow but she conveniently forgot about him and stood him up. Poor guy… Rinne sees Raito and Refuto making an altar on his roof. They’re supposed to offer dumplings to the moon deity and in return will receive the spell for a prosperous business. So Rinne and Rokumon are hired to guard it and must endure the temptation to eat it. One dumpling gone and they have to pay compensation. However the dumplings attract other spirits so they have to guard it with their life. When the moon deity arrives, they can’t believe this fat rabbit doesn’t want it. He is on a diet and has a cavity but the siblings force the rabbit to eat them all. So what’s the spell? Can’t hear him with his mouth full. If you’re curious, it’s telling them to go find a part time job. And Rinne is bugging for his payment. Kain has the shinigami participate in the saury festival. They realize they have been duped because they are to repose a giant saury who wasn’t grilled properly. They don’t want to work but Kain says the reward is food. Yup, the saury they will repose is the main dish. But it is shooting fireballs and coming onto land?! They thought it is easier to just purify it but Rinne realize at this rate they won’t be eating it. So he borrows all their scythes and place it over some high grade charcoal to make a big grill. The saury is then relaxed and when it is time to eat it, it got purified. And so they have their meal with the saury. What a bummer.

Episode 18
Rinne loves Sakura feeding him food. It’s the food, not her. However she soon turns into Matsugo! Weird dream. This happens several times as they soon discover a dream demon is responsible for this. Tracing it back, it belongs to Matsugo. He is in some training from his school to catch the dream demon. Yeah, he dreams of having gay time with Rinne but Anju always ends up with him. Apparently some dream incense connects all their dreams together and you’ve guessed it, Matsugo illegally put one in Rinne’s room. Until the dream demon is caught, I guess they’ll have to relive this dream-turned-nightmare. Hence Rinne is forced to ‘sleep’ with Matsugo to put an end to it. He has to put up with the gayness and can’t wake up or else the entire thing will restart again. With the rest slowly falling asleep, we see a helter-skelter mess. Besides the usual Rinne and Matsugo dream-cum-nightmare, we have Renge dreaming of Kain but is always busted by Rinne as well as Tsubasa having a nice life with Sakura. A big heartbreak for Rinne when this Sakura hates him. With Rinne trying his best to stomp out the dream demon, the rest are trying to sabotage him because they don’t want the dream to end. Eventually Sakura falls asleep as we see her dream is for Rinne repaying her in full the money she loaned him as well as the food she cooked for him. It’s the truth but Rinne feels hurt by it that and tries to punch it. However he accidentally squashes the dream demon and everyone is back into reality. Well Rinne, let’s hope your promise to repay won’t remain a dream. But when the dream demon returns and Matsugo continues to invade Rinne’s dream to continue his gay dreams. That’s because since the case was solved by a person outside his school, Matsugo has to redo it again. Stop the gayness!

Episode 19
Rinne can’t believe the steamed bun has no fillings. Ageha thought she could soothe his heart and steal it with hers but they are all empty too. Turns out some steamed bun spirit is on a rampage devouring only the fillings. From the entire football team’s snack to Sakura who purposely bought some for him. That’s it. No more nice guy. It is revealed a guy next class created this ‘mascot’. During the cultural festival, the class was to do steamed buns and he was in charge of marketing. When he has made the mascot, they changed their minds to something else. Hence, the regret of not being used. But eating up all the meat isn’t going to solve the problem so Rinne puts the steamed bun over his head and instantly it purifies. The guy gives them red bean paste buns as reward but it is also empty. Oh, did he tell you he made a ‘girlfriend’ for the mascot too? A steep hill part of the school’s marathon route is what the students dread the most. However they cannot go up further and those who do will get their face slapped. Turns out Rinne has put a barrier there. As students run up, they give out negative emotions that has built up over the years. He is about to cleanse the monster devouring those negative emotions but gets accidentally hit by it and is now lazy. Tsubasa tries to do his job but is also hit with the same fate. It is all up to Sakura as Rokumon says only this big ball is able to purify it. How is she going to throw something this big? Roll it downhill! Case solved. Rinne receives a prized matsutake mushroom from an unknown sender. Believing this must be a trick to make him pay later, he is about to send it back but Rokumon betrays him and decides to eat it himself. Rinne is hot on his tail as they both try to outdo each other. In the end, the mushrooms get grilled and since there is no turning back, they both make a truce and decide to eat it. However it tastes horrible since they’re supposed to grill it in a foil. Wasted. The sender turns out to be Tamako who forgot to write her name.

Episode 20
What’s this?! Masato trying to do good?! But it is just a façade to trick others. However each time he does it, something bad befalls him. Turns out he is cursed with angel wings?! When he went to illegal dump something at a swamp, amidst the garbage there were angel buns. So happen an angel was living in the swamp and liked it and blessed him with angel wings. At this rate, Masato will turn into an angel. Hence, Rinne will go all out to help him turn back into a demon by making him do bad stuffs. How nice of him. Turns out Rinne too has ulterior motive because today is a day shinigami get points for eradicating evil spirits. No matter how Rinne gets back at him, Masato doesn’t get mad. Wow. Rinne looks like the bad guy. When he has exhaust all avenues, Rinne goes into depression and so Masato arrogantly laughs at his pathetic state and refuses to help him. That is when he got back his demon wings. Oops. A hippo at a zoo just passed on. Shouma as part of his school’s assignment has to reign it in but is having trouble. Ichigo helps out with the intention to fulfil her unfulfilled desire of not being there when Rinne was younger. Actually, it is to sell Shouma tools she bought at double the price. Eventually Shouma succeeds but Ichigo has earned tons of money from it. Shouma gives a gift to her as thanks. It’s a cute bunny doll instead of money as she hoped. Maybe he has a crush on her? When the broadcast at school plays a cassette tape and everyone hears a girl screaming in it, Rinne and Sakura investigate the broadcast room that has this eerie feeling ever since it was played. Turns out there is a ghost haunting it. Though taking the tape away, the haunting stops, the ghost, Oribe is ‘stalking’ them. He mistakes Sakura to be a girl named Miya whom he has a crush on. He tells his story that he and Miya were fans of some old band. She managed to get a live recording of that band’s performance. When he played it, he is shocked to learn she was with some other guy. Perhaps she already got a boyfriend. He couldn’t concentrate and accidentally record over the tape. This made Miya mad and hence that scream. Oribe feared she would hate him and decided to go find if there is another recording. At that time his parents changed jobs and he transferred school. Luckily there was a guy in the new school who had this recording. Happy but sad. Because he soon died in an accident. So they trace this Miya girl who turns out to be Sakura’s mom. Oribe manages to give her the tape and passes on. Too bad Sakura’s household has no tape player anymore. All CDs. Luckily mom has a CD recording of it. She confirms she was on a date during that concert but won’t say if it is her husband.

Episode 21
A vending machine at school seems to eat students’ money and not give anything in return. Worse, the money put in goes missing! This has everyone suspect Rinne stealing it and even Annette’s crystal ball sees this. The accusation gets worse when the pennies he won from a dart game drops out from his pocket. Rinne is determined to get to clear his name as he examines the vending machine. There is a portal in it that sucks him it. It leads him to some black monolith that sucks all his money. But each time he hits it, a few more coins drop out. The monolith flies away as he gives chase and the rest try to follow. Unfit Annette decides to rest at a nearby convenience store but its vending machine is out of order. Turns out the old lady running the candy shop nearby says it is going to be shifted as her store is closing down. Long ago this place was bustling with kids so it could be the spirit of this vending machine. True enough it is and it returns to its rightful place once Rinne strikes it dry till there are no coins left. Good news: Nobody accuses Rinne anymore. Bad news: That is after he returns all the money. Easy come, easy go. There is a notice at an alley that tells students to use this shortcut. It leads to a dead end and the granny of this house is a spirit. It seems she tries to help late students to use her place as shortcut. However she opens up a portal and the students often get lost as it sends them everywhere. So when Rinne wants to close it, she is reluctant and instead pushes him into the portal. Rinne has a hard time finding his way back since there are many other portals inside it. Luckily Tamako is here doing a job to close them and tells him this granny is on the high list of spirits that must be purified. Meanwhile Sakura and Ichigo hear her story. Her late husband was the school’s former vice principal and he was friendly enough to let students pass through. But a few years ago he died and although the students attended the funeral, they continue to use the alley as if it was nothing. Granny was mad at first and set up several traps like tying the grass as knots. But she fell victim to it and passed away. She felt bad when those students also attended her funeral. The reason why she is reluctant to close this portal is because she painted the fence behind it with sticky pine tar. She regrets it now. After passing on, Rinne and his family now have a serious discussion about the money they spent on tools to close the portals.

Episode 22
Ageha calls the gang because it is her last chance to save Bijin. Apparently Sabato proposed to her! So what does this mean? Bijin will be Rinne’s mom! No can do! After Sabato has Bijin stamp on a paper, lucky the gang intercepts. They find the paper is actually a sales contract. So he is making her buy the ring? Bijin still believes in him till many rings and contracts drop out. This is when Bijin gets disappointed. She returns to being an elite shinigami and is coming for his head! Sabato doesn’t learn his lesson as he tries to sell the ring and contract to others. It is discovered that he is commissioned to sell 100 of them. When he does so, he gets a free trip to the hotspring and he wanted Bijin to be the last one so he could take her there. Now she is back on his side. Later the gang receives a photo of their trip. Turns out to be a company trip and Bijin looks so disappointed. Something is wrong when Rokumon doesn’t want food. It is already a week and it is discovered he has been eating food in place of a cat’s spirit. He never told Rinne because he couldn’t eat cat food anyway. Talking to this cat spirit, Tora, they discover granny puts food for her to eat. That’s all. That is as far their relationship goes. But Tora died somewhere and granny might not know about it so she feels bad and that is when she met Rokumon and struck this deal. Further investigations shows granny knows Tora is dead because from the photos she took, Tora looks transparent. Can a human camera do that? Probably Tora can’t rest in peace is because she never let her touch her. Too bad anybody who does so would immediately get scratched. Good thing or not, granny is allergic to cats. Knowing that Tora has always thought of her, granny is happy. Tora also feels at peace and soon passes on. I suppose granny isn’t going to feed Rokumon from now on… Sansei participates in his first black cats’ children’s meet. He teams up with Rokumon, Oboro and Suzu for an obstacle race in which the winner gets a year’s worth of expensive food. This race is also to test their aptitude and with Sansei being afraid of ghosts, Kurosu is going to write it all down till Kuroboshi bribes him not to see anything. Meanwhile Suzu is having fun teasing Sansei by dragging ghosts to him. As the obstacle race gets tougher, many other teams fall victim to traps that typical cats love to distract themselves with. Rokumon’s team manage to bypass all the obstacles after cheating by stamping every page with the same stamp. However they fail in the last obstacle and nobody wins it since they fall for the comfort of the kotatsu.

Episode 23
Rinne sent his scythe for maintenance and it got stolen! Turns out Sabato is the culprit because some good luck wax put on it makes it a magnet for coins. You bet he is going on a coin magnet spree. Luckily there is a cream to get rid of that wax but do you think Sabato is going to give up that easily? In the end, although Rinne manages to apply cream on his scythe, Sabato still refuses to give up. He waxes his entire body to become a magnet himself. Too bad all the coins hit him like a bullet. And yeah, they must return all the coins to their rightful owners. A mannequin chases after Rika and it turns out it is trying to get her coat. Rika remembers she bought it from a flea market dirt cheap and lots of other freebies were thrown in. That should have probably given us a hint… Further revelations from the coat reveal that the coat and mannequin used to hang out together at a display shop till it closed down. That’s when they were separated. As the coat got new owners, the mannequin often pops up, scaring the owner and making them to sell it off. The coat thinks the mannequin is jealous of her new life and when they lure the mannequin out, the coat gets violent on her! Of course we have to listen to her side of her story. After the shop closed, the mannequin was thrown into the dumpsite. She realized something a long time ago but never intended to tell her as long as they were together. It seems there is a broken needle stuck on the back and she tried to warn her and hence looking like a stalking ghost. The coat feels bad for suspecting her. They make peace and pass on. Rinne hands in his claims to be processed and is typically told he will get his money by the month’s end. When the time comes, nothing is done and there are other unhappy shinigami complaining over this as well. Turns out a ghost goat is eating all the receipts! With Kain washing his hands off this like a typical government employee (come back again next month), everyone tries to catch the goat. Good luck about that. After all the mishaps, Rinne finally captures it. He is furious to find out Kain purposely didn’t process his claim but since he owes him for this, he will make it his priority. A month later when he comes back, all rewards and claims has been offset with the compensation of damage.

Episode 24
Ageha missed a class and is forced to take a supplementary class to catch fierce dog spirits. However there is a dog with a human face (Jinmenkei) that is making it tough for her. She conveniently lets Sakura handle it while she ‘forgets’ and goes on a ‘date’ with Rinne. When Sakura finally confronts her to take back the responsibility, it is revealed the Jinmenkei is actually a human but the collar Ageha put on him turned him into a dog and confused him. However he still wants to put on the collar? It seems the guy is a rocker running late for an audition. He forgot his choker and ran back to get it but was met with an accident. Rinne takes him back to be purified. Sakura is with Ichigo at the food bazaar when she notices a strange person. Ichigo points out that is the money spirit and it is over once you notice it. Legend has it money that has been kept in drawers become spirits to come down to the human world to spend money to relief some steam. Once its identity is found out, something bad will happen. Tsubasa tries to confront it head on but is beaten up and all his money taken. Rinne and Ichigo try teaming up to steal his money without making him notice. But Renge has a better plan. She sells to him food and rips him off at an expensive price. That’s how it’s done. Rinne thinks he has no money and hence nothing to lose and attacks head on. The money spirit realizes he has been discovered and escapes. So what does Rinne get? Just his food receipts… Renge seeks Rinne’s help to help out an evil spirit haunting a ramen store. The owner wants to give Rinne free ramen but the evil spirit always ruins it. I’m sure Rinne would want to force purify it but Renge could have done it herself. Instead she wants him to help talk to reveal things. It is learnt the evil spirit is jealous of this current ramen owner’s success seeing he was the previous owner of this ramen shop but ran out of business. However he did save up 300 million Yen but can’t remember where he put the money! So that’s why. After further help, it seems he hid it in a safe in his attic. So it becomes a race between the poor souls to get it. But the safe is empty? Further revelation shows there is no way a stack of 300 million Yen could have fit into that small safe. What actually happened was he bought lottery tickets and hoped to win that money. But he got drunk and forgot about it. Yeah, he still has those tickets. None are winning numbers. After force purifying him, Rinne and Renge are so dead even if they got a free ramen as payment. You don’t know how much 300 million is worth…

Episode 25
Rinne is invited to Matsugo’s school’s cultural festival. At first he is sceptical because you know, gay moments. But Kuromitsu assures he is working on the committee so no time for gay. Rinne brings his friends along and they really see him working. Could this mean he is really over Rinne? He invites them to enter this haunted house. But they have to follow this Orpheus Rule in which boys cannot look back and girls cannot go ahead of the boys. Doing so results in disqualification. Pairs who made it to the end will receive a free yakisoba! You bet those misers are going for it seeing how ‘expensive’ everything else are sold here. Soon Tsubasa and Renge are tricked and taken out. Rinne and Sakura are the only ones left. However this haunted house has a ‘curse’. Couples who made it eventually break up. The logic is that when a girl screams for help, the boy can’t look back and help because of the rule and hence continues to move forward. This causes the girl to be mad and soon after breaks up. And you bet this is part of Matsugo’s plan to break Rinne up with Sakura. But as he tries to scare Sakura, we all know she is so accustomed to spirits so nothing really works. However Matsugo exploits this loophole. Because Rinne cannot look back, he doesn’t know if Sakura is behind her. Thus Matsugo switches place with her after dumping her in a pit. Luckily Anju foils his plan and lets Rinne look in the mirror. I guess that is legal. But this causes another dilemma. Although Sakura is back behind him, Rinne doubts if it is the real her. On the other hand, Sakura too starts thinking Rinne places more importance on the yakisoba than her. When Sakura yet again falls into another pit, Rinne is faced with his big dilemma. Head forward for the yakisoba or turn back to look for her. He chose. He decides Sakura is more important and looks back. But she isn’t there. He goes to find her but unknowingly steps on her head while she is crawling out from the hole! Rinne sees lot of mad couples and fears that Sakura might be doing the same thing. When Sakura comes to, she thinks Rinne has gone ahead without her. She looks a bit sad she lost to a yakisoba. By the time Rinne gets to the exit, he wonders if Sakura has passed through it. Nope. He could still hear her voice. Where is she? Fallen down another pit! He helps her out but gets disqualified. Well, Matsugo’s last laugh, you could say. In the aftermath, it is a good thing Rinne didn’t go for the yakisoba because it tastes horrible! Although Sakura didn’t find the haunted house scary, it was scary in another sense for Rinne. But now he can breathe easy. Just when Rinne thought he could have a private picnic with Sakura alone, all the other characters of the series pop up together to ruin it. Because. Last episode.

Poverty Is Not A Crime But It’s A Sin To Be Poor
Say… Since there is nobody announcing anything about another season in the final scene of the last episode, does this really mean this series isn’t getting renewed for the fourth season? What’s more, when you have the entire main and supporting casts gathering together for one big group picture and saying thank you to us, it is a big sign that it has already reached the end. Is this the end of it? A trilogy of seasons and that’s it? Or is this part of their sneaky plan to announce it later when nobody least suspects it? Either way, no more Rinne for now. By the way, that last group picture I managed to pinpoint all the main and supporting characters but I noticed Bijin is missing! Holy cow! Is she not considered part of the casts? Did they somewhat forgot about her? Oh wait. Matsugo and Kuromitsu aren’t there either. And Anju. And Kuroboshi too. I feel like I’m forgetting someone too… Oh well. Not so complete either. I mean if they can feature Rika and Miho…

Well, sad to say that this season doesn’t feel any refreshing as the last. It is very much following the same formula with Rinne and the other characters getting into their usual antics. Those hoping for big developments would be mostly disappointed. I’m not saying there aren’t any developments at all but if you are hoping for something that will turn the series upside down or head in a new direction, you’re not going to find it in this season. In fact, I believe that this season has more short antics than the previous seasons combined. What I mean is that in many of the episodes, an episode is split into 3 short stories. If the story is a bit long, maybe 2 per episode. This season alone has more than 3/4 of such episodes. That is 75% of this season consisting only of short story antics. It is both good and bad because if you really love random funny moments from the gang, it’s cool. But it gets tiring after a while and since we’re already in the third season, perhaps we have come to expect something more than just casual pieces. I’m not say that it is entirely bad and as an overall, but just that it feels like there is no meat left to advance the plot so they resort to this for some little laughs.

Hence the only most interesting plot for this season comes from the revelation of Rinne’s mom, Otome. Seeing the direction of this season as mentioned in my prior paragraph, the age old question of what happened to Rinne’s mom has finally been answered. It was indeed a mixed of bittersweet emotions to learn what she has went through and at the same time a little weird because now his mom who was as old as a typical grandma is now a young little girl and could be one the youngest characters in the series. Sadly, I thought Otome/Ichigo would be more prominent after her debut halfway through this season but alas she didn’t make as much impact and hence relegating her to other supporting characters of the series.

Which brings me to my next topic: The characters. This season, only a handful of mainstays make their debut. As mentioned, Otome/Ichigo and the other being Annette and Sansei. That is all. Both good and bad, this means with the wide line up of characters this series has introduced over the seasons, the screen time to be focused on them is very much reduced. There is only so much characters you can bring into one story and making it even worse is how short the stories this season feel. I can’t even make head or tail who appeared more or who appeared less like Tsubasa, Ageha, Renge and Kain. Of course Rinne being the titular character takes up the bulk and I believe could be the only one who appears in all the stories. I’m sure Sakura is next in line. But for the rest, it’s like playing musical chairs. Even Masato feels so much less here as well as Matsugo (I’m figuring they don’t want to spam and overplay that gay antic). Heck, all those bunch of black cats that were introduced last season felt even lesser here.

Having said so, this means that some of the main issues that have been bugging us from the start remains unresolved. What do I mean? Will it be Rinne or Tsubasa that ends up with Sakura? Or will it be some other guy? Yup, the romance factor here feels very much non-existent and if you’re new to the series, you won’t really guess that there are very subtle crushes between these characters. That last episode was just teasing-cum-trolling because to have Sakura for once this season stating her concern that she loses out to a yakisoba in Rinne’s books is just to get our hopes up. Then it all goes back to square one. That’s not what we want! They’ve been on so many exorcism and misadventures together and it’s like second nature for her to join in (fate, as some might call it) each time something supernatural happens. So it doesn’t really quite cut it that the final episode merely hints about this but as usual doesn’t even develop the slightest from there. Most probably the typical status quo is needed and often played out in series that relies on polygon romance because once a romance is ‘solved’ (a couple is officially paired), it causes a domino effect and breaks the chain connecting everyone. The fun ends. That is why you won’t see much about Renge ever getting closer to Kain or if Anju would ever stop stalking Matsugo or Ageha would smart up in some ways to win Rinne’s heart. So I guess those pictures of Rinne and Sakura dressed very nicely together in the ending credits animation are just to troll us?

In the end, the characters all remain the same as they are as we know them from the start. Rinne is still the poor shinigami who cries blood each time he has to spend more money, pushing him further into the red or when he loses all the cash. He is so poor that even the slightest normal treat sends him into ecstasy. Yes, it is that bad for him. It’s like a running joke to keep him poor because that is where all the comedic moments come from. The mind boggling thing is that seeing that Otome has gone through reincarnation and somehow retained her memories, shouldn’t Rinne try something similar to have a better chance to escape poverty? Yeah, that wouldn’t be fun if Rinne looks different. It is also mind boggling that with Ichigo doing all she can to help Rinne, it makes me wonder where all the money she makes go. Because as I can see, Rinne is still living the poor life. Unless she isn’t making enough to turn things around.

Therefore all the strange shinigami tools that he buys and introduced throughout the seasons feel like one big damnation because he can’t solve the case without the tool but when he does so, the rewards aren’t enough for him to be compensated or reimbursed. Speaking of those tools, I know this is the nature of the series to be comedy but sometimes I feel that the tools are just so much more of a convenience than anything. It’s like there is a tool for almost anything for the right price. It is like an excuse for all the antics we see and the plot to head in that certain outcome. Shinigami tools. Bane or boon?

What else can I say for the rest? Still the same. Sakura and her poker face sarcasm. Tsubasa throwing his holy ash (though I feel he doesn’t use his Bible’s corner as often or that power stone. Remember that one?), Tamako still giving Rinne a noogie as he continues to call her grandma, Rokumon still a loyal black cat to Rinne (except when it comes down to money and food – though he is totally loyal to Ichigo after she somehow won over him), Sabato continues to be a greedy sneaky swindler, Renge is still a sly devilish fallen shinigami, Kain still picking his fight with Rinne and using rules of the census to his advantage for free labour, Masato still picking a fight with Rinne but his stupidity gets in the way, Ageha still the dumb one and it proves money can’t buy intelligence, Suzu still the dumb troublemaking simpleton, Oboro still doing the bare minimum and causing trouble for Ageha, Kurosu still working strictly from 9 to 5 and moonlighting to earn extra income, Raito and Refuto still trying to scam Rinne in buying their useless products via hiding it behind some ‘good’ deal, Rika and Miho still running away the moment they see spirits popping up before them (and they have no qualms flirting with guys who would spend money for them. Or they think they would – that’s you, Tsubasa). Oh right, I almost forgot. Bijin. The only other interesting revelation of this season is that this is her real name! Shocker, right? And you thought that was some sort of moniker or something. Dad must be a real confident guy to name his daughter like that at birth.

As for the new characters, they do add some variety and colour to the already extended casts. Like Annette who is quickly established as a shady fortune teller because she too is lazy and tends to blame others for her own wrongdoing. She is also a cheapskate miser but seeing Rinne is willing to work for peanuts like as though he never got ‘this much’ before, she often gets to hire him. But you know what they say, you pay peanuts, you get… Heck, I think Annette and many others who hire Rinne usually end up not paying him eventually when the case is solved. I mean, do you not notice how many times this running joke that Rinne is seen bugging them for his payment when the story ends? Sansei is less memorable seeing the only trait that stands out is his phobia for spirits. I have already said for Ichigo earlier on but I suppose she is the most disappointing of the new characters in terms of appearance. No doubt she makes her debut halfway but I thought she could have done more but alas that wasn’t the case.

With the previous seasons’ casts retained, the few new ones are added and I only recognized Miyuki Sawashiro as Annette. I didn’t realize it was Megumi Hayashibara behind Otome/Ichigo. It has been such a long time since I heard from her so did I start forgetting her voice? Or did she grow old… Oops! Sansei is voiced by Emiri Katou (Akatsuki in Log Horizon).

For this season, the first opening theme, Shiny by Yoru No Honki Dance doesn’t sound appealing. Generic rock piece with the lead singer sounding like a gay. Really. However it is the second opening, Setsuna Yumemishi by Keytalk that gained my attention. Because this song sounds so freaking familiar to the best song (still is) of the series, Ouka Ranman! Like as though it is a spiritual successor! Or did they just copy and do a little tweaking? Anyhow, it sounds great. Of course, it is sung by the same band too and that is why it sounds familiar. I still like Ouka Ranman best but this one isn’t so bad after all since the other themes weren’t so catchy and this one came as a surprise. The first ending theme is Suki Nano Kana by Softly. A bit of hip hop and a bit weird itself. Not that bad but I would rate it as just slightly above average. The second ending theme is Puzzle by Mone Kamishiraishi. Not really liking this one. In both these ending themes, how come the singers sound like they’re singing softly? As in, they’re lacking energy in singing them. Plus, don’t they sound the same? I tried Googling but I couldn’t find any results about them being related seeing how generic that word is. I know I’m lazy… Damn it, hit that Roberta Flack search results again…

Overall, the third season is still as enjoyable in its own right but it still doesn’t resolve anything and those hoping for some sort of progression would be disappointed. Not to say that the short comedy bits are bad. They are okay and entertaining but it could be a double edged sword since the jokes are more or less the same thing and this could be boring to some looking for something refreshing. But like they say, if it isn’t broken, why fix it? Oh Rinne, even if you are fated to be poor for the rest of your lives, at least you are rich in the sense that you have a bunch of characters, allies and enemies, winners and losers, all hanging around you. What’s that you say? They don’t put food on your table? Well, have you ever considered paying Sakura back a little? Well then, I guess you’ll have to be content that you are ‘rich’ with so many people around you. It sucks to be poor…

The Reflection

Looks like the superhero phenomenon isn’t going anywhere soon. At least the western kind of superhero. So it feels like they are trying to expand into the Japanese market and see if it will hit big with The Reflection. Giving weight to why this series has all the ‘hype’ is because it is co-created by Stan “The Man” Lee himself and Hiroshi Nagahama, a Japanese director who is famously known for directing Mushishi. This isn’t the first time Stan Lee has tried his hands in creating and making an anime with superheroes as he already did so back in 2010 with Heroman. Too bad I didn’t see that one. The synopsis is as vague as it can get. After a certain incident a few years ago, certain individuals obtain several super powers. Some become heroes, some become villains. How and why this phenomenon came to be? Tune in to find out. I hope it isn’t just lazy writing and hence the obscurity of the synopsis to cultivate ‘interest’ to tune in and watch. Because from the guy who created lots of Marvel greats like Spiderman, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, the Hulk and the X-Men, I’m having high expectations here…

Episode 1
In New York Times Square, there is an aerial battle raging on between uhm, iron-man with uhm, frog-man and bat-man. Don’t mind the property damage and all the citizens snapping and filming away with their handphones. Iron-man defeats frog-man by making him stuck in some sewer hole. Meanwhile, journalist Eleanor Evans stumbles into uhm, x-spidey fighting against uhm water-astronaut. Being distracted, Eleanor is then taken hostage by uhm, tentacle-hoodlum. However she has some sort of power that is able to free herself. X-spidey seemingly gets stabbed by water-astronaut. But he absorbs his power and leaks him. Then he also absorbs tentacle-hoodlum to defeat him. Then there is this uhm, flame-woman appearing before him but he disappears since the agency reinforcements are here to round up the defeated baddies. Iron-man finally defeats bat-man. The press interviews him. They want to know his name. He is called I-Guy. WTF. I feel like making a joke out of iPhone… The crowd wonders if he will continue to protect New York. Sorry, he lives in LA. As the baddies termed as the Reflected are being transported away, their comrade, Steel Ruler easily breaks in and frees them. Today’s events make the news as they talk about the Reflection incident that happened 3 years ago when the world was hit by strange smoke and light. Many recovered, some died but others suffered some sort of side effects. Nobody knows why it occurred but it wasn’t a terrorist attack. This could be what manifested in today’s events. Eleanor returns to her home and is surprised to find x-spidey there. She notes that what happened to them 3 years ago wasn’t something that affected everyone equally. They were chosen.

Episode 2
We get a glimpse of those strange smoke and light descending on the world 3 years ago. Now, 3 years later in New York, the mayor is giving his speech for this memorial when his talk is being hijacked by Flaming Fury (flame-woman). She accuses everyone of forgetting them and did not care about their suffering. They will open their eyes. This stunt is actually to lure out X-on (x-spidey) but he is already in the crowd taking out some of the Reflected. Flaming Fury didn’t realize or know about I-Guy and wonders if X-on has an ally. X-on looks through Eleanor’s files. Is she his stalker? He praises her thorough research as he can tell she too has powers although unstable. Eleanor explains she is a survivor of that incident. But gaining such powers made her a bully victim. She felt lost until she came to know about X-on. She hopes he could make her his disciple to help control her powers and make the best of it like he does. However he doesn’t want to take that responsibility. Instead, he hopes she would shift her attention to Wraith. Who is that? That’s for her to find out. Yeah, I think he doesn’t know either. I-Guy (real name Ian Izzet, but he is no Tony Stark) returns to his base in LA where his team celebrates his successful debut. I think all that air sickness makes him vomit and passes out. He dreams of that incident 3 years ago. He was hit by the light but survived. He was once a singer too. Also, we play clips of I-Guy’s fight with bat-man and frog-man but this time with dialogue with his team. I-Guy continues to be the new hero of LA as he sweeps crime and the people love him. He’s even got a red carpet treatment. Steel Ruler and Flaming Fury are speaking with their comrade, Mr Mystic (Stan Lee?!) as they discuss about the Reflected are those who were hit by the smoke and light and became criminals. It is their job to take them in. They are going to let I-Guy work had so they are able to find more Reflected.

Episode 3
Eleanor looks at the footage of Times Square before the ceremony. She thinks she spotted a suspicious person but isn’t sure. There were also lot of weird happenings then but the one who caught her eyes is the disappearance of Jennifer Allen who works at a boutique. Strangely, 2 days before, her cousin May from Dayton, Ohio also disappeared. Footage also shows a strange figure there. Eleanor’s place is suddenly on fire. Luckily she manages to escape. X-on knows this is the work of Flaming Fury. It means she is on the right track that they have something they don’t want to see. With nowhere to go, Eleanor wants to follow X-on to Dayton to investigate. Along the way, they talk about that smoke and light incident. It is believed those hit by the smoke turned into violent monsters while those hit by the light gained powers from some internal change. At Dayton, Eleanor almost runs into a wheelchair girl, Lisa Livingstone. As precaution, she takes her to the hospital but nothing serious. Her father a cop, isn’t pleased with the outsider but Lisa claims Eleanor is her friend and has invited her home for dinner. X-on follows a suspicious person. He knows he has been tricked since at this car junkyard, Steel Ruler can bend and twist metals to her will. However she escapes since she doesn’t need him anymore. Lisa’s dad tells Eleanor about the incident 3 years ago. A repeat drug offender took Lisa hostage. His team went in when the Reflection happened. Luckily nothing serious happened. Dad blames himself as he has made many enemies. That’s why he wants to protect Lisa. But Lisa never thinks of herself as unfortunate nor has she blamed anyone. What dad is doing is only holding her down. After Eleanor picks up X-on and they return to Lisa’s place, her home is in a mess. X-on calls Deborah for a place of metal stockpile in Dayton. Steel Ruler and blob-man are torturing Lisa and her dad. They believe Lisa is a Reflected although Lisa denies. X-on arrives to fight Steel Ruler but blob-man is going to crush Lisa with his inner cutters. That is when her wheelchair turns into some awesome robot loaded with guns and missiles! Woah! Mini mass weapons of destruction! She is able to defeat blob-man and save her dad. Dad has never told Lisa but during that incident he saw green lights absorbing into her and her wheelchair. Lisa can’t stay with him anymore as she will only bring danger. She wants to learn about these powers and flies off. Steel Ruler is pleased since they have made some progress.

Episode 4
Eleanor thinks Lisa’s power is great. Well, her robot ran out of energy and they almost crashed! Eleanor has also done more research on the Allens. It seems that there are several kidnappings with women of that surname in a few cities close by. It’s like as though they’re kidnapping those they think are the Reflected. There is another one, Michelle in New Orleans. That’s their next destination. I-Guy continues to be the hero defeating villains. However the media paints him as an irresponsible one because a few hours later, the villains escape and had to be rearrested. Not his problem! Also, Ian seems to have a problem about being jealous of I-Guy because he wants to show who the true star is so he has his producer set up some show. At some party, he is about the sing that 80’s one-hit wonder, Sky Show but did he forget his lyrics? It seems the moment he opens his mouth, the glass cracks. He is taken off stage as Ian believes his producer was right. The world doesn’t want Ian now. So he plays Sky Show as I-Guy? At New Orleans, Eleanor goes to do her investigation. But at the bar, the master says Michelle has already been taken by Merchant and Trader for being a Reflected. The duo are something like buying and trading Reflected. Eleanor sees a kid, Ben being bullied by punks as they believe he is a friend of that Reflected. When Eleanor uses her power to save her, she receives the hostile attention of the crowd. The local police, Warren Dallas wants to take her in but Merchant and Trader pops up to take her away. Reflected shall take care of the Reflected. After all, their goal is the same: A world without Reflected. Lisa is mad that X-on isn’t going to do anything to save Eleanor as he is pondering about Michelle’s case. Fine. She’ll find her by herself. Eleanor wakes up in a mansion. She enters a room crowded with people.

Episode 5
Inside the mansion, these people have powers. Michael Hoden explains that ever since that incident, the fear and hatred for the Reflected grew. People would become violent with them and then claim self-defence. So much so the police were also joining in to attack them. Thus he has searched for the Reflected and sheltered them here. Lisa is looking around. She almost gets mixed up in some bar brawl but Ben saves her. Looks like Dallas is also on the take from Steel Ruler. Eleanor finds Michelle but the latter is not pleased to be holed up here. She insists she is not a Reflected although Michael believes she is. He may be blind but he can tell. 3 years ago, he was gambling his money away when the incident happened. He returned to his wife, Vy who was mad about throwing away their money. She turned into some armoured beast and shortly after he lost his eyesight. But the only thing he could see are the Reflected. Hence all those here are those Reflected hit by the light. Those hit by the smoke don’t want to have anything to do with them and are more violent. Eleanor mentions about other Reflected trying to mobilize and doing something but Michael is bent on protecting Vy and others from the outside world. That is why he is given this power. It is his atonement. Ben tells Lisa that Merchant and Trader do not eat Reflected as widely believed but sheltered them. They are then kidnapped by men who force Ben to reveal that location. Ben tells them it is deep in the wetlands otherwise Lisa is shot. And those guys are actually the police under Dallas. When he mobilizes the force there, Michael confronts them and doesn’t want to fight them. Dallas doesn’t believe a word since he has lied to him all the while. The police opens fire as Vy protects Michael. Her armour chips away to reveal her original human form. Is this time for some romance? Well, the police cuts it short by firing again. Vy returns being an armoured beast. Eleanor uses her teleport power to try and take down as much police as she can. Steel Ruler is here as she orders electro-guy to attack. Electricity and metal don’t mix… Luckily here comes Lisa and X-on. Not even electricity can beat a huge missile in your face. The baddies escape, the police rounded up and Michael feels he now wants to let the sheltered Reflected out into the world so they can fight together. Eleanor wants to relay that message but no one is left in the mansion. Too late?

Episode 6
Eleanor has done more research and from all that confusing computation, it looks like the place where there are lots of Allens living is San Antonio. Time for another road trip. Since Michael and Vy are tagging along, I think Eleanor is going to need a bigger car. However the evil Reflected have been stealing the Allen women from our heroes. Like this sea-dragon-guy who gave Vy and Michael the slip because he swam too deep. Lisa failed to apprehend shadow-cat-guy because her robot is too big to move inside the museum walls. Eleanor lost tack before clone-maker-guy made everyone look the same. X-on failed to follow Dead Wing (bat-man) because of his ultrasonic wave. With the news reporting the daring Reflected crimes, X-on calls Jim, his detective friend. I don’t know what hacking he did on Eleanor’s laptop but the next target is Nina Fischer. Not Allen? Women change their name when they get married, right? At this barber store, this grumpy woman isn’t Nina but her mother, Margaret. She hasn’t seen her daughter in 20 years as she has gone to LA and never contacted since. Michael could see her as a Reflected so looks like she is forced to come along. Flaming Fury and Dead Wing try to intervene but this is just decoy truck by Jim, Michael and Vy. The rest are on their way to LA. As Margaret lectures Eleanor about being an adult, Eleanor suddenly sees a vision of Wraith. He claims only she can see him and wants to talk to her. He acknowledges her power and needs her on their side to make this world their own. It is what Darkness desires. Eleanor will not betray humanity but is told Darkness will decide that. In LA, mother and daughter reunite. They are hostile at first but soon the tears keep rolling. But it is short-lived as Steel Ruler is here. She wants the last of the targets to be handed over and Eleanor won’t get hurt. Since they refuse, she is going to take them by force. You know bullets won’t harm her, right? I-Guy crashes into the place.

Episode 7
Steel Ruler makes a cage to trap them but I-Guy breaks out. Flaming Fury aims for the ladies but has to face X-on who absorbs her powers and fights her head on. Steel Ruler is about to back her up but here comes Lisa keeping her company. Dead Wing has spotted Eleanor taking the ladies to run. But now he has to play with I-Guy. Panther-guy catches up to Eleanor and beats her up. Meanwhile Margaret and Nina are being absorbed into some shadow. Margaret seems to have some power as she teleports Nina away but at the cost of her life. When all the heroes and villains converge, Steel Ruler receives word from Mr Mystic that this is an unfortunate incident but they have enough to move forward. Eleanor is distraught at why they are doing this. Steel Ruler says this is all for the plan. Everyone is part of it and they cannot escape. You and me. When I-Guy tries to welcome them to LA, he gets punched by X-on who blames him for his interference. He could have saved the family. He accuses him of playing a hero and just a lighthouse whose mindless light attracts and lures out those with abilities. Back at the motel, Eleanor tells X-on about her vision of Wraith. He thinks he is the perfect bait then. In that case, she’s not going to hide around. I-Guy returns to his base and he is sulking over what X-on said. So as he plays his guitar on the streets and reminisces the good ol’ days, Wraith suddenly pops up before him. He thanks Ian and gives him tons of cash for doing what he is supposed to. He has done so much for them and now it is his time to ‘retire’. As a hero. Leave his future to him as he needs a fool who is empty and listens to orders. Ian rubbishes it but Wraith replies I-Guy only exists because of his team. He will welcome him the Hollow King any time. Ian rushes back to his base to see all his team dead. He plays a recent recording from one of them talking about how they believed they could do things together, etc. Ian lost his singer job because his voice became a weapon and that’s why he became a hero. Since it is ridiculous to have so many people to put on his outfit, a hero should transform by himself. That’s why they have just finished creating a version 2. They want him to test it. This sports car? Eleanor waits and sees Steel Ruler before her.

Episode 8
I-Guy (dark version?) beats up street punks in order to find out about Wraith. He could have killed them had not X-on stopped him. Eleanor avoids Steel Ruler’s attack with her teleportation. Eleanor wonders why they even bother with them because if they’re not their targets but still keep coming after them. Especially her. First it is to test her abilities. Secondly it isn’t fun for Steel Ruler. She claims Wraith will envelope the world with darkness and make it equal for everyone. She might sound twisted saying if she cannot grasp light, let darkness envelope everything. Flashback 3 years ago she was a victim of a robbery. Left for dead after being stabbed, those smoke touched her. She became who she is and killed her perpetrator. The hostages they took in New Orleans, she is willing to release them if Eleanor comes to their side. If Eleanor is going to ask X-on for an answer, don’t bother. He only finds answers for himself. He won’t save his friends. After handing her a pendrive, she tells her to meet her here again at dawn if she agrees to the terms. Eleanor is then taken in by Deborah in her surveillance truck. It seems her unit has been monitoring the Reflected. Eleanor is not amused with all that is happening, they did not take action. Since their mission is to find Wraith’s goal, she hopes Eleanor can help them. By being bait? Even if it is a trap, will she go? Eleanor asks her connections with X-on. She doesn’t know anything about him and only deal when their interests align. Eleanor checks the pendrive. Some newspaper clippings, footage and info on people. She goes to confront X-on to ask what is she to him. Nothing to say? From the pendrive, she learnt of some fire incident 20 years ago. All died except a boy who survived. This boy ‘x’ went missing. Is it him? Not answering too? How about if he lets his friends die? He admits he does. Eleanor also admits she is weak and can’t do anything but she isn’t going to sit around and abandon people. I guess this means she is going to accept Steel Ruler’s terms. Deborah meets Jim and X-on back at the motel and discuss that fire incident. X-on tells them what he told her and Jim thought they agreed on it so that nobody could have regrets. With Eleanor going to Wraith, Jim believes it is a trap because there is no way they’ll keep their word. We’ll see. Because she is already meeting with Steel Ruler.

Episode 9
Despite Steel Ruler telling her this is an obvious trap. Eleanor doesn’t care and still goes with them. After entering their truck, Deborah and her team try to tail them. To shake them off, a Reflected makes them see snake illusions crawling everywhere, sending them into the panic. Deborah takes over the wheel as she overcomes the illusion so another Reflected has the truck drive straight through walls. I think Deborah knows the place like the back of her hand so she is able to keep up. It ends when Volt (electro-guy) turns them turtle. He could have killed them had not Vy tackle him. With the SWAT team arriving, Volt flees. Meanwhile Lisa pretends to wake up from her sleep. Yeah, she heard everything. Doesn’t anybody find it strange she was sleeping with her glasses on? Anyway she is grateful for them for giving her this chance and to continue believing in Eleanor. She is about to go alone to find her but the SWAT team has surrounded the place. Seriously, nobody heard them? They are brought back to their secret base. This is the LA branch for the Anti-Reflected Squad who is headed by Clarence. He explains they have been monitoring the Reflected and termed those who were hit by the smoke as Darkness Reflected and those by the light as Brightstar Reflected. No prizes guessing which side is which. Their surveillance somehow stopped working like as though someone from the other side can turn it off. Deborah says it is no surprise since they have been dancing to their tune all along. The whole time they wanted them to see what they could do, thus they never bothered about being watched and always retreated. But this time it was different. Since they have Eleanor, Deborah feels they were really trying to kill her. As Eleanor refused to cooperate, that’s why Clarence brought our Reflected heroes here to monitor them until they know what’s going on. Lisa will not have her freedom taken away and transforms to defy. This also causes Vy to do the same. However Michael can see her trying to tell him that the other side is calling her. He tells X-on that Darkness is calling her so X-on wants her to go there so she can lead them to Eleanor. Okay. But why does she need to bust out and leave the place in a mess? Ian’s car is like Knight Rider. It can detect and inform nearby Reflected as Ian begins following her. Michael thought X-on’s plan was to offer Eleanor to see Wraith’s plan despite being risky. However X-on views Wraith as not the problem but Eleanor. Speaking of her, Mr Mystic greets her, sure their master is looking forward to see her.

Episode 10
Eleanor goes off on her own and Mr Mystic doesn’t want the rest to go after her since she will find her way to their master. Lisa and co have arrived at the mansion. They are greeted by Mr Mystic who gives them a warm welcome by letting Flaming Fury and Volt dispose of them. Lisa thought she saw Eleanor wandering around so X-on goes to tail her only to be obstructed by Steel Ruler. I-Guy has arrived too and faces off with Dead Wing. When he learns he is the one who killed his friends, his energy spikes. His blast vaporizes Dead Wing! OMG! This is the power of anger! Eleanor tries to find the hostages and ends up in some weird cave where she meets Wraith who is glad she has come to him. You know all those times she was researching him? Yeah. He thinks she is really into him. Like a stalker? Weird. Eleanor considers him the enemy for all they had done but he says they were merely gathering the Reflected. He asks despite they are always a step ahead but allowed her to follow behind. It’s because she is connected to him. She chose him. Not X-on. That guy has no friends and would not hesitate to betray. This leads to Wraith mentioning about how her parents abandoned and never cared for her. Because all they cared was his dead twin brother, Ethan. That’s why she strayed from them and reached out her hand to cling to X-on. But he didn’t. Because she meant nothing to him. But there is someone who needs her. Those hostages are not kidnapped. He reached out his hand to them. Their existence matters and are necessary fragments part of something bigger. Take his hand and be acknowledged. When X-on manages to dispose Steel Ruler, he follows Eleanor to a cave. This is a trap set by Mr Mystic to lure him there but he didn’t expect Steel Ruler to also closely follow X-on into it. By the time X-on arrives, Eleanor looks like she has reached out to Wraith. Because Wraith has now possessed her. Using her body, he transforms to his actual form: Ethan. And if you still don’t get it, Ethan = Wraith.

Episode 11
Steel Ruler is shocked Eleanor is Wraith. Wraith says Eleanor was only in the way and would have never gotten this power had she remained so. In order to eliminate her, she needed to wish herself to disappear. He thanks X-on for that. That is why he brought him here to witness this. Because of him, Eleanor knew her true self as worthless. Wraith begins a ritual. In this desert of White Sands, New Mexico where approximately 500 Reflected are teleported here, they see a group of those Allen women. All except Nina has died during the ritual. They had this teleport power and hence to teleport this large number of people, hence they were kidnapped. Wraith and his merry little band of Reflected pop up. Some pledge their allegiance while others wonder who the f*ck this bastard is. Wraith addresses the Reflected about being discriminated since their appearance 3 years ago. While some want to kill the discriminators, Wraith doesn’t believe it can happen because of their small numbers. What they can do is change the world into one where they can live in. A world of Darkness. That is why he has gathered them here as he needs their powers. Some rubbish this and walk away as others follow suit. X-on gets a call from Deborah that the military has detected them and is sending the army to deal with it. Get out of there. Well, too late. They’re already here. Why is it at such times is the US Army so quick and responsive? Actually they are here not to harm them and just want everyone to leave. But chewing-gum-guy hypnotizes one of them to fire. This causes the panicked Reflected to fight back. And so all hell breaks loose. X-on signals to the heroes to stop this fighting otherwise Wraith will get what he wants. Michael can see Brightstar Reflected turning into Darkness Reflected thanks to the hatred and rage. This is Wraith’s plan. So as they try to stop the fighting on both sides, Wraith also mobilizes his henchmen. But it seems Steel Ruler has a little hesitance in her heart. Dead Wing is back to face I-Guy. Yeah, version 2 because he is all mechanized. In the end, Wraith just zaps everyone. WTF.

Episode 12
Wraith is controlling all the Reflected. We get another I-Guy vs Dead Wing fight. Let’s hope this settles this dysfunctional fight once and for all. Dead Wing’s ultrasonic microwave is paralyzing him and causing pain. Luckily he is saved by the appearance of magical girls!? Power Rangers version?! Finally those Japanese high school girls make their ‘proper’ appearance. They help take down Dead Wing before I-Guy disintegrates him for good by absorbing and using his own ultrasonic microwave against him. When all the Reflected stop dead in their tracks, looks like Wraith has gotten enough power to make forth Darkness. It’s getting pretty dark and windy in here. This means all Reflected who are still alive lose their Reflected power. Vy reverts to her human form. Too bad Michael can’t see her. Is this time for some cheesy romance? X-on asks Wraith’s goal so the standard protocol for villains to tell everything now is that he will have everyone become one with Darkness where nothing and eternity awaits. For that, it is why he let Eleanor die. Everyone struggling to get close to Wraith but they get blasted back every time. Oh look who is peeking out of that darkness window? That’s Darkness? Wraith is shocked to see Eleanor before him. Or is this her ghost?! She tells him that everyone has walked a dark path in their life and hence they aren’t tainted by his darkness. WTF. Are you saying Wraith’s darkness is just pussy level darkness?! Wraith is confused (so am I) that Eleanor succumbed to him. Yes, she did but she can’t hold on to him forever. From what I understand, Eleanor created Ethan to cope with his loss or something. Her darkness was her dead brother. Since she can’t hold on to herself or make herself disappear, she decided to live with her darkness. If that is true, then who is Wraith?

At this point, X-on has grabbed on to Wraith and absorbs his power. This enables some light back in and the Reflected heroes get their power back. X-on makes a stunning revelation that everyone has misunderstood: He is not a Reflected! It is heroes versus villains (including the ‘highlight’ of those Japanese girls owning a frog family?!). Steel Ruler defects and fights Flaming Fury. Everyone cooperates to take own Wraith before I-Guy finally blasts him to smithereens. Full light is back. And Darkness is like, oh, guess I don’t need this. Bye. Great happy news to go with the happy ending is that Eleanor returns once Wraith is gone. All the other surviving villains retreat. Those who are not so fortunate like Steel Ruler get taken into custody by the Anti-Reflected Squad. These people always arrive in time just for this, huh? I-Guy and those Japanese girls strangely click with each other. Eleanor talks to X-on and regrets doing something awful. He notes using the power of Darkness to create someone who shouldn’t have existed but she eventually was the only one who could defeat him and she did. You are the one who can only decide on how to use your own powers. Eleanor and X-on have different views about darkness and light. The former believe both exist among each other while the latter each exists separately. Suddenly there is a huge phenomenon getting bigger over the sky. Green light and purple smoke. Second wave?

The Rejection
And so we are left with a typical cliff-hanger soon after a happy ending for the current arc. Leaving enough for another potential season because other main baddies like Mystic Man and Flaming Fury are still running free. But as far as this season is concerned, I would rate it as somewhat average. I believe this isn’t going to be the next big mainstream hero thingy since my guts are strongly telling me this won’t be overtaking classic Japanese heroes or even dethroning current popular Marvel and DC superheroes. For every successful hero and villain series, there are many more which don’t necessarily succeed. Maybe some will shine for a while before falling back into the darkness of time where nobody will ever remember it again. The neglected, I’d say.

I don’t know. The story and plot feels a bit awkward for me. Although it sounds like your typical and cliché superhero good guys versus supervillain bad guys, the entire series feels like one big chase across the United States to prevent the baddies from realizing their goal. It is somewhat laughable when you think about it because the villains are so ‘considerate’ enough to tease and let them follow on their tail but enough time for them to escape. It’s like the villains have always been toying our desperate heroes and leading them from one point to another. Got played and danced right into the palm of their hands? And playing that Reflection incident card feels like a weak link because it wasn’t properly explained. Maybe it didn’t have enough episodes to flesh out so basically for some strange reason to give people strange powers, so basically the Reflection can be said to be something like this: You get hit by light, you is good. You get hit by smoke, you bad. Basically, a term used to describe mutants which is otherwise trademarked by a certain series. And of all places, the final fight had to be in the middle of a desert. Hardly the most exciting of places but I guess it is an excuse not to animate detailed buildings and backgrounds. Yeah, makes it a lot easier.

The main characters themselves also don’t feel that inspiring. Like X-on who is supposedly the main star and hero but most of the time he keeps to himself and only speaks whenever necessary. In this modern age and day, the line is further greyed so it is understandable that X-on isn’t as goody-goody as one might hope to be. But he is still a hero so he still has to have some heroic qualities, right? He never explains things straight up, whether why his goal is Wraith and about his sketchy and tragic past that is only teased and hinted. Maybe that is why those who rarely speak are such a mystery. So when X-on revealed he isn’t a Reflected, I’m sure we are searching for answers how he got such weird super powers. He could have been a victim of some experiment gone wrong. That slightly explains why his powers are so different than the rest. Eleanor is a lost soul who got even more lost and till she finally meet Wraith, she got lost forever. That is what happens when the superhero you look up to don’t reciprocate your feelings. You turn to the dark side!

Every hero isn’t perfect and has some sort of problems. I-Guy feels like that hero. First he has got an ego problem getting jealous that his superhero side is more famous than his musician side whom he wants to be remembered for. I don’t see how his heroic antics are more bane than boon and even so, that just feels miniscule. So he is like the unwitting tool for villains and goes into further depression when his friends are killed. Don’t worry. They’ll live on forever digitally in that Knight Rider and suit of his. For most of the entire series, I-Guy looks like his role is to brood and seek revenge for his buddies. Is it me or does Dead Wing feel like a character who is created to be a mockery of Batman? It is hard not to think it is not related to anything politically correct these days because that is what I feel Lisa is for. It feels like she is needed to show that handicapped people too can be superheroes. Or maybe they just need some sort of excuse to turn something into a mecha. Super powers come in all types of forms. So I’m not sure if Michael’s ability to see different Reflected is of anything useful. Because otherwise he has not fighting skills and mostly clings on to Vy as that iron monster-cum-Godzilla Hulk smashes her way through things.

It just boggles the mind that Wraith wanted to get rid of Eleanor and the only way he can do it is to psycho her into wishing that she doesn’t exist. It just feels so awkward. He looks like the big bad boss but he isn’t that powerful considering he has to do this roundabout way just to eliminate her. Maybe just to take over her body as vessel? So Wraith is her dead brother? Or rather she is Wraith? Just a figment of her own imagination? Was she the main bad guy and the main hero who defeated herself? Wow. So original plot twist. I’m so confused about her and Wraith in the end that it didn’t matter anymore because if the baddie is gone, that means good ending, right? There are a handful of very strange villains but sadly with their very limited appearance, it makes you wonder if they are just there to make up for the numbers. Like some you see them once and then you never see them again. Did they forget to include them later? And then some new ones just pop up later and make you go, “Who the f*ck is this guy?! Haven’t seen this dude before”. Yeah, some of their names are really an eyebrow raiser. Like… Liquid Terror… Like, WTF. I guess it is slightly better than X-on and I-Guy. I mean, don’t you feel those names are like weird even for a superhero? Like X-on, let’s get it on! I-Guy, You-girl. I-good, you-bad… Like, WTF.

Throughout the series, you will notice there are a group of Japanese high school girls who seemingly aren’t related to the story and the plot of what is concurrently going on. In almost every episode the quartet get a few seconds focused on them as they hang in school, at a fast food joint before hopping on a plane to America for their school trip. Yeah, those English lessons better come in handy. Anyway, they are the Japanese all-girl pop group, 9nine. They somewhat play as themselves here and initially their roles aren’t as clear because they seem to look more like a detached distraction from the main story. Since the setting of this story is in America, let’s not forget that there is some sort of Japanese involvement in this too. And what do American people think most about Japan? High school girls! Wait, what?! Anyway that is how I think these girls are shoehorned into this series that would otherwise have no effect on the main storyline whatsoever. Not at first. It’s like a little deal to promote 9nine. After all, can normal Americans name 1 Japanese idol group? I think they can name a few Korean ones…

And for some odd reason they finally make their ‘proper’ appearance in the final episode. I mean, it would be a waste for them to just make cameos here and there without getting into the action, right? If it was so, they would have been even more forgettable. I know this is a superhero movie but the thought of them conveniently finding those costumes right in the middle of the desert and then suddenly after putting them on they know how to control and use their powers effectively is rather absurd. Unless you’re saying Japanese high school girls are always perfect as heroines. Making it funnier is how everyone in this series is speaking in Japanese although that is for convenience to the viewers. It gets odd when the girls and I-Guy don’t understand a thing they say despite speaking in Japanese. Get what I mean? The Americans speaking in Japanese are ‘automatically translated’ into Japanese so that’s why it feels funny to hear them all speaking in Japanese when it is supposed to be American English. I believe this would be even stranger in the dubbed version. Assuming they dubbed the Japanese girls’ voices into English. If they remained, then all makes sense.

One of the notable aspects of this series is the visuals. In other words, the animation looks like it is straight out from a comic book. Either you love it or you hate it. Anime purists who have been so used to the typical conventional Japanese style anime may not like the very comic book style art, the shading and tone of the overall because in some ways it does make the series look like low quality. I mean, if you compare it with your typical Japanese anime visuals, this one looks below average. The comic book visual style somewhat gives it a reason and excuse for this ‘quality’. Just take a look at some of the backgrounds. It feels like it is lazily done. Then it is covered up in the name of this comic book style visual. Besides, with many of the heroes and villains having a mask or their face covered like X-on, I-Guy, Steel Ruler and even Wraith, it reduces the need to animate their mouth whenever they speak. Even for those like Eleanor, you just kinda feel a bit odd the animation when they speak. Heck, the final episode whereby all the Reflected got zapped and turned into some purple lump of blob feels like everything was done so lazily.

I am not a comic book fan and have been out of the scene for many years. Yes, I was once into Spiderman during my youth buying a few comics to read and that was a pretty long time ago before I got ‘corrupted’ by anime. Even so, I feel that the character designs especially of the Reflected are just average and somewhat meh. Like for instance X-on, I thought they mesh in Spiderman, Deadpool and I think that old X-Men costume of Cyclops. I think. I got a feeling that I-Guy was inspired by Iron Man but at the same time his armour costume design somewhat reminds me of Star Wars’ Boba Fett. Same thing I feel for Flaming Fury like as though they drew inspiration from Overwatch’s Zarya. And Vy’s monstrosity design feels like they’ve just given up and just designed some lump of sh*t for the character. Seriously. This is a bit far-fetched but sometimes when I look at Steel Ruler, I thought I see X-Men’s Storm in her.

One thing I noticed that kept bugging me throughout the series is the flickering of lights. As in, in certain scenes, I noticed the background will start to flicker for a few seconds. It is not that obvious but it is noticeable enough and too many times it becomes a bit annoying. I thought it was my hardware problem but I don’t seem to have this problem with other animes I watched. Could the source of the video be corrupted? If so, all of them? So it made me wonder if this strange flicker is some sort of subliminal brainwashing message that the producers hid throughout the episodes for some sort or ulterior motive and agenda. Well, thankfully I think I’m still okay. Not that I want to rush out to buy American comics or Japanese manga. Maybe all this paranoia is just me, huh?

Superhero genres need to have this action, right? Meh. Just so-so for this one. The ridiculous plot of our heroes chasing down the villains from time to time are just an excuse for some sort of little skirmish and clash. It is nothing spectacular. Compounded with the visual styles, maybe it is better to read a comic book and then let your imagination run wild. Like X-on who has got this lasso thingy that is why I thought he resembles a bit like Spidey, plus I think he has some ability to absorb other powers and this gives him a free pass to use it whenever the plot and scenario conveniently compels him to. I-Guy shoots lasers from his suit while Lisa’s machine isn’t exactly anywhere near Gundam so don’t expect any sort of flashy arsenal or fireworks. Essentially, characters who live up to their nicknames in using their power like Flaming Fury’s flames, Steel Ruler’s steel and Volt’s electricity. Hardly anything exciting but I guess it is better than nothing. Oh, the one thing I think it parodies about Hollywood action in this series is that helicopters explode! Did you notice them?! Yeah, only in Hollywood, helicopters’ existence is to be exploded no matter the reason. Well, we had our fun here.

Voice acting is just okay with me recognizing Miki Shinichiro as X-on and Youko Hikasa as Steel Ruler. Stan Lee who has always made cameos in his Marvel movies also plays Mystic Man here. Of course he voices that said character in the dubbed version. His Japanese equivalent is Tomomichi Nishimura (Anzai in Slam Dunk) and he sounds close enough. Stan Lee also lends his voice to the original Japanese version although that is only left to reading the next episode’s title and previously on The Reflection. No, not the entire summary. Just the lines, “Previously on The Reflection”. What the heck is Excelsior anyway? What does it have to do with anything? The other casts are Mariya Ise as Eleanor (Levi in Fairy Tail), Satoshi Mikami as I-Guy (Sloan in Durarara!!x2), Satomi Hanamura as Lisa (Anise in Galaxy Angel Rune), Toshihiko Seki as Michael (Senketsu in Kill La Kill), Yuko Sanpei as Flaming Fury (Sasha in Seikon No Qwaser), Kouki Miyata as Wraith (Hanatarou in Bleach), Mika Doi as Deborah (Coby in One Piece) and Ryusei Nakao as Jim (Frieza in Dragonball series).

There isn’t any opening theme but if it is, I suppose this nameless orchestra piece is as epic as it could ever get and it is definitely made for superhero movies. The kind of grandeur you would expect to hear at the opening of any superhero movies you go to. So it is kinda fitting for this sort of superhero theme. The ending theme is of course sung by 9nine, SunSunSunrise. It feels like a dance pop beat like how I vividly remember and like the other only song I heard from them: Shoujo Traveler which is one of the ending themes for Beelzebub. The ending credits animation feels a bit trippy because you see silhouettes of them dancing and prancing about amidst the fanciful colours and patterns ripping across the screen. For the first few episodes where I-Guy was still making decent appearances, the insert song of Sky Show (although credited to Trevor Horn who produced the series’ soundtrack, it is originally written and performed by Christopher Braide) is constantly spammed in the first few episodes. Like as though it was going to be the theme song of the show before it somewhat faded into obscurity. Is this the reality and reflection of one hit wonders?

Overall, this isn’t the deal breaker for western superheroes or one that would greatly penetrate into the Japanese market or even the rest of the world. Hey, even if you are the great Stan Lee, there will always be some hits and misses. He scored more hits of course but this one feels more like the latter. Mediocre storyline and poor as well as uninteresting characters leave a lot to be desired. Some might use this as ammunition as to why western and Japanese comics can never mix. A total rejection of anything non-Japanese. If this was their idea to save anime or give it a new leash of life or direction, well I guess it didn’t. So let’s hope this series would be given a proper closure, given its dues and criticism and then we all should move along. Otherwise like they say, you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Maybe that is what Stan Lee’s cameo here means???!!!

Centaur No Nayami

Again? Another comedy series that involves monster girls? After Monster Musume No Iru Nichijou and then Demi-chan Wa Kataritai, now we have Centaur No Nayami. At first I wanted to skip this one thinking that monster girls aren’t my cup of tea. Especially now we have a Centaur as the main focus, she looks a bit scary even if the general art feels cute and all. Then I decided to give this a try because I too am curious what Centaurs worry about while growing up in a normal high school life. Wait. What?! I’m interested to know about a Centaur’s life. Thanks to that internet thingy…

Episode 1A
Himeno “Hime” Kimihara kisses Nozomi Gokuraku. Everyone is shocked. Despite this is just a play, should she really have done it in this practice? Apparently her script says the kiss is a must. Well, somebody’s handwriting is there. The one who passed her the script was Makoto Komori. Previously he was supposed to play the prince but when it is discovered he rigged the vote, he was replaced by Nozomi. There goes his kiss for Hime. But the question is, would Hime have really kissed him? The rest notes Hime has always being playing princess roles is it because of her name? The preparation and practice goes well. The actual play also goes well. But no real kiss. Except the props they were standing on start to collapse due to Hime’s weight. Luckily Hime uses her agility as a Centaur to save herself and Nozomi. Once landed safely, Nozomi pecks her on the cheek. Everyone loves the play and they get great praises.

Episode 1B
There is some origin of the evolution of ‘humans’. Sounds like sophisticated BS. But anyway, these dominant humans evolved into 4 groups: Fauns (or those with long ears or tail), Angelfolk (dragons include), Centaurs (Weretigers were included but became extinct) and Merfolk. There is also a tragic past how these people discriminated against each other as well as the possibility of amphibians evolving. Kyouko Naraku has no stamina in running. Though, she can eat all she wants without getting fat but she is really ‘flat and straight’. They wonder how fast Hime can run so she demonstrates. As fast as a horse. Too bad she forgot how to stop and almost crashed into a car! An accident could have happened! Despite her horsepower, she is the slowest of the Centaurs and a klutz in all other areas. When the midterm exam results are out, Nozomi is devastated. She scored 299 overall and those scoring below 300 have to take supplementary lessons and make-up tests.

Episode 2A
Nozomi is unsure if the model on this magazine is Hime. Mitsuyo Akechi confirms it is so. She then tries to blackmail Nozomi to become a model for her as she hints working part time is against school rules and will get her expelled. No choice, she goes to her home only to discover she has been set up to wear her cosplay outfits. She doesn’t want to do this anymore till another blackmail how expelled students will find it hard to get letter of recommendation. Later Nozomi asks Hime if she is hiding something. No, not the extra doughnut you ate. Apparently Hime’s mom’s friend is an editor-in-chief of a magazine and since there were no Centaur models around, she begged her for this role. But isn’t it against school rules? Not if you don’t get paid! Of course Hime doesn’t plan in going into modelling since she finds the editor-in-chief’s eyes scary. She would prefer to be a veterinarian, fishmonger or medical research. Later Akechi’s lesbian partner, Michi Inukai whispers a juicy detail to Nozomi who then confronts Akechi about working part time in a maid café. Now she threatens her of expulsion but Akechi is confident she won’t because she is her friend. In that case, is Hime her friend? She runs to hug her. Yes she is.

Episode 2B
It’s such a cold day so Akechi teases Manami “Tama” Mitama by wrapping herself around her warm angel wings. This encourages Kyouko and Nozomi to lie themselves on Hime’s back. Looks funny and embarrassing as they keep walking like that. This prompts them to remember a time where they visited the school for Merfolks and the place is obviously submerged in some water. The Merfolks are quite beautiful people but of course both sides were curious with each other. Like how the guys were trying to hit on Kyouko. Despite being almost naked all the time, their biological construct of course differs from others and can stay warm in the cold water. Meanwhile Takamichi Koma is always seen carrying the Mermolk, Ruru Shizuura. They get teased by their friends but they soon realize why he keeps doing this is because Shizuura is his childhood friend, beautiful and has boobs. You girls just lost. Later Shizuura wants him to buy a Centaur-like robot that will help her walk around instead of him always having to carry her but it’s too expensive.

Episode 3A
Hime’s young cousin, Shino comes over to visit. As they take a walk, they bump into Tama and her triplets little sisters, Chiho, Chinami and Chigusa. The triplets are the kind who love to kiss to show their love so when they try to kiss Hime, Shino puts a stop to it. Nobody kisses her Hime but her! And so at the park, Shino explains all she knows about what is love. But when they ask if their big sisters kiss each other, they say girls don’t kiss each other when they grow up. Till Akechi and Inukai pop up and show them how it’s done! And then pecks Tama on the cheek! Another form of love?! Tama beats her up. Poor leek got damaged… And when Akechi wants to kiss Hime, Shino blocks her. Now the triplets want to kiss Shino. She doesn’t want it and runs away. And so begins the world’s slowest chase… Luckily they end up being friends and play with each other. Nothing naughty there… Though, they get all their clothes wet and their sisters have to come pick up after them. Back home, Shino is still confused and asks Hime about the meaning of girls kissing. Maybe she’ll understand when she grows up. Hime thinks that is when she’ll have boobs as big as her.

Episode 3B
The triplets aren’t happy when they need to watch over the house since Tama has some work and needs to go out. Tama has to explain about society. Not really in detail but their dad has to work to earn money and can’t stay home all day to play around. So that’s what weekends are for? In exchange, the triplets get to call some friends over and play. While doing so, their youngest sibling, Sue suddenly falls ill. They believe she is always so when she runs around a lot. So instead of playing outside, why not play inside! Meanwhile Tama is in her student council meeting and she is rushing for time. She wastes no time in admitting she needs to be home by a certain time to cook for her family. This stem from her stubborn late grandpa who always put his dojo first. When he was on his deathbed, he called out to wife and wanted to go home. That was when she decided to put family first. When Tama goes home, she gets mad at the triplets for letting one of their friends look after Sue while they go play. Well, they kept their promise by staying at home. At the end of the day, the triplets realize something eerie because there seems to be an extra friend whom they didn’t invite nor showed up late. Dad thinks it is a zashiki warashi and it’s a good spirit.

Episode 4A
A guy gives Hime a love letter. But in the train? But she gets scared and runs away when her stop is here. So her friends later talk to her why she acted so. Turns out a trauma she had when she went on a school’s field trip. You know those cows? Those udders? A kid teased her she had them. To put it bluntly, she is worried about her vagina. Well, can’t blame her because, can Centaurs see their own crotch? With this complex, she can’t date anyone. Nozomi assures they will show theirs and they can check hers out. Twisted. But if it is what gives her peace of mind… Nozomi goes first. Looks… Unused… Nozomi then forces Kyouko to show hers. Erm… Hairy? Let our imagination go wild! Finally they check Hime’s. Uhm, beautiful? With her fears allayed, the next time the guy gives her the letter, she is able to take it with confidence. However when she reads it, she gets disappointed. The next time when he waits for her answer, she rejects him. Her friends find out why. The letter wrote and described her big and beautiful boobs.

Episode 4B
Nozomi is being lazy. She doesn’t want to study so Kyouko and Hime are forced to make her do so. Even so, Nozomi lacks the motivation. So they play psychological with her that if she stays back a grade, they couldn’t do things together anymore. Well, that did the trick. While studying, Nozomi thought she saw a UFO. This leads them to discuss about aliens and more practically, those reptilians who live in Antarctica who possess technology that the rest of the world doesn’t have. The next day as they head to school, they notice the place is tight on security. Even more so at their school. In class they notice an extra table. Could it be an important transfer student? Yes. It is Sassassul “Sassu” Quetzalcoatl from Antarctica. Hime is tasked to show her around. She’s scared. Yeah, those snake eyes are scary…

Episode 5A
Hime must be wondering if snakes like to eat horses. But she faints upon seeing Sassu’s fangs! Later as she wakes up at the infirmary, her friends learn her fear of such stems from an old movie about a reptilian eating a Centaur, spitting out her skin and masquerading in it! Yeah, pretty traumatic. But is that a Psycho reference? Sassu comes by to apologize and explains she was just trying to smile. Yeah, it was sure a scary smile. So when they tell her about that movie, they go and watch it. Is Hime’s trauma going to be reactivated again? Well, it was scary enough for both girls to hug each other. At the end of the day, Sassu dismisses some of the myths like how their jaws are too weak to bite like that and they cannot kill via constricting like snakes. Asked if she is going to sue to movie producers, Sassu says the reason she is here is to quell such myths. She hopes they can be friends. She smiles and once again Hime passes out. Maybe she really needs to work on this.

Episode 5B
The classmates are spamming Sassu with questions. She explains them all to quell all the myths surrounding her people like they are more warm blooded like birds rather than reptiles and the unfounded claims that they rule the world from behind the shadows. When they try to ask her love life, it all turns back to something pedantic again because only the queen can lay eggs and they themselves are not sure about emotions and if it were to be the same as the other humans. Back home, Sassu sees the news that an American ship was sunk near Antarctica and this causes some tension between both nations. She feels guilty about it and tries to hide her face in public? Well, she looks like attracting more attention looking like a burglar. Hime and co talk to her about it and assure everything would be fine. It’s not her fault to begin with. Also notice her strange clothes which she based on monks, they take her to shop and buy some clothes. Sassu hangs out with them. She hopes to understand more about others. Not because of work but because as duty.

Episode 6A
It must be one of those days Hime got up from the wrong side of the bed. Despite mom keeps pestering, she still wants to tug in and there is this ‘fight’ with dad over the use of the toilet, causing her to run late for school. Oh well… In school, she and her friends talk about their hairstyles because for some races, it is really troublesome to keep them looking good. This also extends to some races with hair on their tail. Hime’s friends then notice her red hair which is supposed to be rare for Centaurs. She claims she got it from her mother’s side. Once a teacher detained her thinking she dyed it but he got arrested for discrimination! Yikes! Hime relates the supposed story that her ancestry was of a royal family. A princess got kidnapped from Japan and taken to Europe but her siblings chased all the way there to bring her back. There are many other exaggerated legends like how an arrow sunk a ship but even if it sounds far-fetched, there are some records of it.

Episode 6B
Kyouko is like the secretary to her father and is very strict in making him meet his deadline for a publisher. It is a good thing because otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten any work done. Yeah, looks like she is his life manager as well, doing all the cooking and such. Meanwhile Tama arrives at Kyouko’s neighbour to help solve a cursed box she is having. This is a way for her to make ends meet for her family. When she returns, her siblings are sleeping and father is cooking. What she proceeds to ask dad is quite thought provoking. As he alternates between a contractor and painter, she asks if he is really a painter. He thinks she is implying if it puts food on the table. But what she meant was when he is off work, the kids are asleep. He should be using this time to paint. Inspiration, he says? She then tells him if he is a painter, he should continue doing so if he hates it and when even his daughter hates him for it. Can he be both? But does he have the talent to manage both? If he isn’t dedicated on being a painter, this means he is working as a half contractor too. It also means it makes him a lousy father and is trying to earn compensation on Sue due to her medical conditions. Wow. So deep… At least Hime is having it easy sleeping and being pampered by mom.

Episode 7A
The triplets meet Sassu for the first time. They are fascinated and can’t help toy with the ‘dinosaur’. Snake being toyed by kittens? All of them head to the pool. If you are curious how a Centaur puts on its pants, be fascinated on how they do so here. Oddly Sassu is scared of water as falling in one back in Antarctica means certain death. Her kind also lack sweat glands so they don’t bath. Then the triplets naughtily bring her into the shallowest part of the pool. Well, she’s still alive. The triplets want to follow Shino to another section of the pool but Tama stops them since that area is only for Centaurs. They pout as they learn swimming under Tama as Shino learns under Hime’s guidance. When it is done, the triplets sulk when Shino wants to play with them. But all return to their playful self when she starts splashing water on them. On the way home, the young ones get sleepy but luckily there is enough ‘manpower’ for each one of them to carry each of them. But when Hime starts to feel sleepy… Nobody is going to carry that heavy half horse back home.

Episode 7B
Hime and her friends are part of the occult club. The club’s president, Buchou wants them to stay here overnight and tell ghost stories. He is inviting Towako Yachiyoda too. The girls think this is his subtle way to ask her out but he says she won’t come if it is just the 2 of them so she won’t feel so lonely if the rest come. Not only that, they can gather scary stories, submit it as their activity and hence the club will receive increase in funding and budget. Killing 3 birds with a stone! If this is the real reason, it just sucks, right? So I guess everyone is in since they’re interested to hear what kind of ghost stories they can tell. Towako also tags along but she isn’t really impressed. So we hear lame ghost stories from Kyouko and superstitious stories from Sassu. But the lamest has got to be Buchou’s because he is talking about some ghost of an extinct dinosaur animal and the punch line is to show his ‘scary’ face. In all cases, Hime freaks out and almost chokes Nozomi to death. In the end, Towako can’t put up any more with this crap and wants to go to the toilet but wants somebody to accompany her. Is she scared? She denies but nobody seems to believe her…

Episode 8A
Hime is part of the archery club. But her junior, Ayaka Wakamaki doesn’t seem to like her as she doesn’t look serious in her practice. Plus, a tournament is coming up so Ayaka tells her to put more effort in it although she won’t be putting her hopes too much on her. This hostility stems from a past tournament in which Ayaka was doing badly and Hime tried to cheer her up by doing a funny face. It only distracted her. But it worked on Shino… At the tournament, Kyouko knows for a way to motivate Ayaka. She whispers to Hime to make a bet with Ayaka. If Hime loses, she will have to date her. Oh dear. Now Ayaka is only more distracted. She is only thinking of what to wear during the date! Is she tsundere?! I think so. Ayaka gets serious and focuses. Her date is on the line. In the aftermath, Hime and Ayaka go on a date. I guess she really won. Hime’s friends are hiding and tailing them but because of Sassu, I guess they are easily spotted.

Episode 8B
Those Merfolk guys must be really lucky. The females actually swim around topless and it is nothing to them. They just put on something to cover when other races visit. So some Merfolk guys are still looking at soft porn of other races. Why? Because it is fun when you have your boobs covered! You lucky bastards! I think these guys love flat chests too because their favourite is the idol, Eri. It must be the way she acts embarrassed too. Eri for the first time is tasked to sing for a festival as celebration to a local god, Tamon. As she starts singing, a good sign is when man-dolphins (aren’t they just dolphins?) start swimming and dancing about. However they get scared and run away when the waves get violent. A large monster fish appears and proclaims he is Tamon. The elder recognizes it as an imposter and takes Eri to swim as far as away. He tells her the god they worship is only a rock as living gods can’t exist among them. They head back to shore to report to the coastal guard. Well, those snake people coastal guards examine it but I’m not sure what they do with it. Meanwhile Sassu talks to her friends about gods but they don’t really believe such exists. Nozomi thinks of asking Tama the ‘master’. At first she is thinking of brushing it off but has this devilish thought of how she can ‘defeat’ them (source of income seems to be the key) and tells them how they exist because of all the good luck charms they bring. Meanwhile Tama’s father thought Sue is playing alone. However he can’t seem to see this ‘god’ kid she is playing with. Anyway she beats him flat.

Episode 9A
Hime notices this frog guy, Jean Rosseau recently all over in advertisements online. He is a president of a conglomerate company as Sassu explains his past of how he was picked up by a French missionary after being found almost dead in the jungles. He was brought up and discovered has quite the intelligence. He went on to achieve greatness to where he is today. He will soon be giving a speech at the school. But first we see him in one of his daily dealings. Like meeting and making a deal with a president of another company. Then he dons his traditional tribal wear to visit his tribal folks. However they believe he has been corrupted by the mammals. Rosseau is sad that their warring attitude is what makes them like mammals and his advice to coexist with others fall on deaf ears. After giving his speech at the school, he accidentally burns his tongue on hot tea.

Episode 9B
OMG. What is this?! A remake of the Holocaust?! Nazi Centaurs beating up Angelfolk Jews?! Actually there are all species on both side of the divide. We focus on a young Angelfolk boy who has been sent to the concentration camp and being worked to death. He learns about discrimination as he watches other prisoners gang up and beat a Centaur dude for colluding with the Nazis. One day, Angelfolk boy thought he was going to die after he didn’t have the energy to continue working and is taken away by Centaur guy for a beating. However he gives him his food portion instead. He can tell kids like him are good guys and must live to make the world better. He knows he himself will not survive the war. If stays a prisoner, get executed. If freed, executed as a traitor. Soon the liberation army liberated the camp. Angelfolk boy finds Centaur dude hanged by dissatisfied fellow prisoners. They were going to hang him too thinking he is a traitor but a soldier protected him and even adopted him into his family. He is now an old guy and president of a company who just made a deal with Rosseau.

Episode 10A
What’s this?! Sassu on a date with Taito Nakafumi? Cue for Hime and friends to tail them. No matter what disguise Hime puts, she’ll always stand out. Also hot on the tail of this date are Sassu’s SPs but they’re being very stealthy about it. Oddly, they are at the art museum as Nakafumi’s view about art is enlightening. For instance, watching a famous movie 10 times won’t give you 10 times the satisfaction. That is why some art remains abstract and subjective so they don’t capture its actual essence. After all, it is up to everyone’s interpretation. Hime accidentally bumps into Tama there. Hey, is she on a date with a guy too? Too bad they have not enough resources to tail both dates so they continue with tailing Sassu. Then the biggest fear: Are they going to a love hotel?! Are you curious how a snake person makes out with another species? The SPs begin implementing their plan for ‘juvenile protection’. Thankfully or disappointingly, they walk pass the love hotel and into a used bookstore. Next day in school, Hime and co learn about Sassu’s ‘date’. She was trying to understand different forms of art. Not that she quite get it either. Meanwhile the guy Tama was dating is actually a girl.

Episode 10B
Now we see what happened on Tama’s side. She went out with Makoto Omaki and the triplets were pouting they had to stay home while she goes out on a ‘date’. On the way because there are punks trying to hit on girls, Omaki’s boyish looks make it the perfect cover to make them look like as though they are a couple as they hold hands. After Hime bumps into them, Omaki is interested to tail them but Tama reminds her they’re here to visit the art museum. Tama asks Omaki’s advice about her dad being a painter. His art is average and he doesn’t want to paint abstract art but remain painting normal stuffs. There are many students who draw better than him. He too isn’t bringing in much income because if he is to be an illustrator, he has to draw as clients request but he draws as he wishes. So he is doing it as hobby. Tama feels bad and cannot tell him to stop because he has been doing it even before she was born. Omaki tells her she is being soft on him. She might be shouldering responsibilities of an adult but technically she is still a kid. Wouldn’t it be weird for her to plan out her dad’s life? Having faith to support someone is important too. Tama feels better and when she gets home, she gives dad her support to continue his painting. Next day Tama thanks Omaki for her advice.

Episode 11A
Sue is so cute that others want to kidnap her! The triplets relay a few cases whereby a friend’s dog wanted to keep her and a random little girl suddenly wanted to become Sue’s older sister! We see Shino trying to explain to her kindergarten friends about the different flowers as well as shapes. I guess it must be confusing for a kid but well, don’t give up. Next day, her friend is shocked that the flowers are gone. Although the teacher explains it as weed, she is still sad. Till Shino explains the seeds are somewhere and will one day bloom as flowers again. Wow. Shino more adult than the adult? And now she knows what it is like being a grownup and that how hard it is for Hime to be a big sister. Remember kids, don’t neglect your studies!

Episode 11B
The triplets teach Sue how to move her tail. I think they’re teasing-cum-bullying her because of their longer tail, they can make other shapes. Tama assures them when the triplets were younger, they had very short tail too. This leads them to discuss holes in pants and skirts so they are able to move their tail freely without any wardrobe malfunction and discomfort. Tama shows a younger toddler self so the triplets cheekily ask why she didn’t stay this cute. Otherwise she wouldn’t be able to cook and take care of them. When Sue calls Tama the prettiest girl in the world, the triplets disagree. They think this will get to her head as they preach about there will always be someone better. So if you think you’re important, there’s always someone important. Not sure if they’re trolling when Tama says father is most important of this house and they go into deep thinking! And so begins the triplets’ goal to find other pretty woman. Their kindergarten teacher? Nope. Hime and friends? Not really. They even think Nozomi is a boy! That is insulting. At the end of the day, they won’t give up and believe the world is so big and there is bound to be someone prettier. Yeah, they won’t leave it at Tama being the prettiest. Otherwise one day she’ll grow up to be an ugly old hag. In that case, the triplets and sue will be the prettiest. Really? If they be good girls and do as they’re told. I don’t think they look too convinced about Tama lecturing them again.

Episode 12A
RPG version! Hime the archer, Nozomi the fighter, Kyouko the mage and Sassu the dancer? Oh, priestess. They fight through hordes of monsters and earn meagre coins. Then there is this slime monster that serves as tentacle rape. I think Kyouko purposely doesn’t want to help them and leaves it late till their armour is all eaten. They reach the final boss who is Tama the queen. Queen as in the dominatrix kind? They ‘defeat’ her after noting her fake boobs thanks to all the padding. She runs away in defeat as the place crumbles. Turns out it is a story written by Akechi. They ponder the point of it all and Akechi ‘agrees’ it is somewhat useless to have some of them wear bikini armour because they have no boobs…

Episode 12B
The girls are holding an arm wrestling tournament. Hime is the favourite as she is the strongest. Given her monstrous Centaur strength, she hears others whispering about that natural gorilla strength of hers and purposely loses. But nobody is buying it and warn her if she does so again, they’ll personally inspect if her boobs are real! Replaying her match, she instantly wins! Brute force! The tournament is down to the last 4: Hime, Tama, Nozomi and Inukai. Nozomi takes on Tama and after putting up a fight, Tama wins. A mother’s love beats the strength of a dojo. Hime vs Inukai. No contest. Hime easily wins! Again! Too bad Akechi’s love isn’t enough to stand up to brute force. Finals. Hime vs Tama. As it begins, Tama looks like she is struggling. A lot. Hime isn’t breaking into any sweat. And then the inevitable. Hime wins. Looks like brute force overwhelms a mother’s love. Hime is declared the winner but her answer of why they’re holding this tournament is never answered. Because final episode shenanigans?

The Centaur Of Attention
Can I say this series falls under the category of cute girls doing cute things? Even if you tell me the definition of cute, I’m going to say that despite the girls here are cute but they aren’t cute in my books. Oh. I just confused myself. What I’m saying is that they might not look scary but if I were to imagine myself to date any one of them, I wouldn’t. Discrimination!

Therefore there is really no plot or storyline throughout the series. When it first started, we are already thrown into this very odd world and as we learn a bit more as we go along. And of course, it had to end in a somewhat familiar fashion where there is no closure or anything that would hint of something really ominous. You know, like say, a darker species trying to wipe them all out! Too bad we don’t have any of that so basically every episode is the same slice of life but infused with some supernatural creatures. If you’re not into this, you’ll definitely find it boring as it does fit the characteristics of what constitutes to be a cute girls doing cute things genre. Which is still pretty odd for me to call it so.

However not all the episodes are pretty boring. Heck, let me just be honest. There was only 1 episode which was really interesting. It was that Holocaust one. It was really different than the boring high school daily life as we get to see a different aspect of life in the past although the story is hardly new and is probably a rip-off from some other war story. Heh. Even when they are different species, they fight among each other. This also prompted a provoking thought mentioned here that even if they look exactly the same, humans will pick on something else to fight over about like different clothes, etc. It is so damn true. I guess that is why humans will always be humans.

Before I go into the other aspects of this series, I want to point out something mind boggling about the setting of this series. All the creatures and species here are referred to as humans. Yeah, it gets weirder and weirder. I am not sure if they evolved from us actual humans or this is completely a different and alternate world where the term humans is generally referred to all the intelligent life forms on this planet. Oddly enough, they do sometimes make reference to their animal appearance like snakes or frogs so this shows that such animals exist in this world too, right? So it’s like a rose is still a rose no matter what other name you call it, except this is the visual version of it. Humans will still be humans no matter how different they look physically. Here is another odd thing. In addition to these humans, the animals are not just animals. What I mean was, did you notice that normal dogs in this world has 6 legs?! WTF???!!! Like as though this is the aftermath of some sort of nuclear fallout and hence everyone got mutated into something weird but history worded it in a nicer way called evolution. Keeps us all from freaking out, eh?

Sometimes this series feels like a bit of propaganda. With a few types of humans, it is made clearly how any sort of discrimination towards the other kind is forbidden and illegal and it could land you in prison. Hmm… Are they trying to imply something in the real world? No wonder I can see why everyone is living so peacefully and not insulting each other the different race they are from. I’m sure that all the characters you see here don’t give a damn about it either. You see interracial marriages and hence siblings coming out mixed as in the case of Tama and the triplets. Sure, discrimination is bad but sometimes they really make it sound like it is the end of the world if you ever cross that line. Because if you noticed Sassu has lots of SPs working in the background and almost everywhere just to keep watch on her. I am not sure if she is aware of it but it feels like as though if something bad happens to her, a world war will erupt. It feels like they’re taking this discrimination thing a bit too far although in some ways it is good to keep certain people on their toes. Never take peace for granted!

Speaking about Tama’s household, it brings a whole new question of how different species can mate and produce offspring. Because screw science and DNA, right? I guess this is why they coin the term humans for all of them here. Despite you looking so much like an alien, as long as you are man and woman, you are able to f*ck each other and form a whole new family. Yeah, I don’t know if I am supposed to be curious or utterly horrified to think how it looks like when one species f*cks another kind of species. Definitely weird.

On to the characters of the series, despite they have their charm points, overall I still find them boring. Hime doesn’t steal the limelight and I believe she doesn’t even get half of it although it feels she takes up most of it compared to the other characters. So instead of giving us a dozen of episodes showing what Hime worries about, we also see the other struggles of other characters. Which is sometimes a bit odd considering that this series is called. But it isn’t like Hime is having a hard time in life nor is she facing some sort of crossroads in her life that makes her stuck in a dilemma to choose. We see a bit of insights like how Centaurs wear pants but nothing so much as thought provoking. Heck, if Hime was a normal human instead of a Centaur, I’m sure her troubles are no different than a normal girl.

Tama is the other character given the most prominence because of her family household. She acts like the responsible adult given her circumstances but she is still a child legally and isn’t as perfect as you might think of her to be. She isn’t such a strict uptight person you first thought. Like I’ve said, her circumstances has her to be more responsible than carefree than her classmates. If I had to point out the best character of the series, it had to go to the triplets. They’re the funniest because of their kid-like honesty and hence the sarcasm in the innocence. They are cheeky in that sense and in a way it makes them cute. Hey, they’re just toddlers!

For the rest of the other characters, well, not so much leaving an impression in me. Like Nozomi who is tomboyish and Kyouko who seems to have that sly and ulterior motive. Sassu is the transfer student on the series as she tries to understand the ways of the human culture. Then there is the lesbian pair of Akechi and Inukai whom you’ll slowly forget they are ever one in the first place as well as Shino who has this big sister complex. For a short series, it does have a lot of other characters although they only make their appearance once. Like that Koma and Shizuura case. They appeared so short and that their part could have been done without. Like as though they are there just to fill the remaining duration of the episode. I thought they would play some sort of role later on but looks like they have been forgotten. Even that Eri Merfolk story also feels out of place because at the end it just made me go, “So what?”. What happened to Ayaka? Wasn’t she going to be some sort of lesbian junior to Hime? I guess we don’t need any more lesbian couples. Did Buchou get Towako in the end too? Remember Sue’s real imaginary friend? No? So do I. Hence many of these once-only characters feel like fire and forget.

Talking about the art and animation, it is leaning more towards the cute aspect and this is one of the elements that I find conflicting within myself. This is more of a personal taste than anything since this aspect is rather okay and not too bad. Seeing these supernatural creatures is definitely odd for me especially if the setting is a normal high school setting. Because like Hime as a Centaur, to me she looks pretty ‘intimidating’. I like my girls to look like bishoujo, cute and kawaii so someone like Hime just doesn’t quite cut it and not really pleasant to my eyes. Discrimination! At least she doesn’t look as scary as those in Monster Musume No Iru Nichijou. Still, seeing other characters with ears, tail and wings still somewhat puts me off. But the scariest of the lot has got to go to Sassu because she really looks scary with her snake head and eyes like as though she is some sort of alien ready to pounce on you if you let your guard down. Discrimination! Okay, okay. Call me a racist if you love to as long as I don’t have a girlfriend looking like this because it’ll give me more nightmares and fuel my fears instead of giving all my love, get what I mean? Haha! Oops.

Another surprise I discovered is that this series is animated by Haoliners Animation League. They produced mainly series that has Chinese setting and influence so it threw me off with this one since this series has nothing very Chinese-like. Of course the original manga it was adapted from was written by a Japanese. I don’t see many of their other works being that crappy and silly To Be Hero still as my favourite. But this series, it was definitely a surprise to know it was from them.

A bunch of large seiyuus lend their voices to this series. But I’m just going to state the main ones. The only one I recognized was Yukari Tamura making her small cameo as Eri as the rest are mostly newbies. They are Seria Fukagawa as Hime (Touko in Glasslip), Yuuki Kuwahara as Nozomi (Tooru in Kobayashi-san Chi No Maid Dragon), Haruka Shiraishi as Kyouko (Kirie in Himouto! Umaru-chan), Yuu Ayase as Sassu (Stylet in Frame Arms Girl), Yuna Kamakura as Tama (Ema in Yugioh! VRAINS), Emi Miyajima as Akechi (Mayu in High School Fleet), Honoka Kuroki as Inukai (Ruise in Seiren), Akane Kiryu as Shino and Atsumi Tanezaki tripling as the triplets (Mizore in Hibike! Euphonium).

The opening theme is Oshiete Darwin by Purely Monster. Yes, there is a cute all-girl idol group by this name. I’m not making this up and initially I thought that was the name of the group formed exclusively for the seiyuus of the main casts to sing. But the song is a typical lively anime pop piece that you’d expect from an all-girl idol group to sing. However the other surprise is the ending theme, Edelweiss by Asaka. Sometimes it feels out of place but yet it is curiously interesting. This is quite a dramatic piece that you would not have expected to hear in at least this kind of genre. Even more so, the credits animation shows only Tama like as though she is an angel going through hard times. Really weird. But interesting, though.

Overall, this is a very strange anime. Although mostly light-hearted moments, it has some thought provoking moments as well but the characters in the form of supernatural mythical creatures and calling themselves as humans are somewhat a put off for me. I guess a real and impartial person who isn’t a racist can only see past the physical and skin deep aspects and enjoy this series. And to answer your question why I decided to watch this anime because of the internet arousing my curiosity of Centaurs recently… Because I wanted to know how Centaurs masturbate given their body structure and all. HOLY SH*T!!! NOW YOU CANNOT UNHEAR THAT!!! Curse you internet! And curses, Hime didn’t really address that question of mine in any of the episodes. I really hoped she would at least give a hint instead of making me look for the answer on the internet. Sighs… Hentai no nayami…

Owarimonogatari S2

The end is finally here. After 7 years of animating every story and chapter in the Monogatari series (more than 10 years if you want to count the start of the light novel), we have finally reached the final part in Owarimonogatari S2. The ultimate showdown with the mysterious antagonist and entity known as Ougi is what I believe is this finale will be about or at least most focused on. And some other stuffs too. Isn’t that why they split this final season into 3 arcs with 7 episodes? I just hope that I can understand the important stuffs in this long running and long winded and convoluted story. I’ve come so far so it better be! Or it will be the end of me.

Mayoi Hell

Episode 1
Taking off from right where the final episode of Koyomimonogatari ended, Araragi is so glad to see Hachikuji that he molests her! He feels her! He licks her! Time for her counterattack to bite him. Araragi explains all the things that has happened since the last time they parted. She corrects him that this isn’t the shrine he was killed at or the park they first met. He is in the lowest level of hell! His sin is saving a demon. So it’s not the case of her appearing before him but him appearing before her. Though he is in shock, what is more shocking is that means Hachikuji is in hell too?! Not sure about kids going to hell if they die before their parents. She was piling stones at the banks of hell but someone who supposedly knows everything told her he is coming. Hence she was able to make her way here to pick him up. Hachikuji is going to bring him to that person so they could resurrect him. Along the way, they go through several important decision points of what-ifs over the series had Araragi chose differently. Like had he not saved Shinobu then or becoming friends with Hanekawa or saving Senjougahara from that fall. Because for that last one had he not, Kaiki would then soon return to town and Senjougahara could have gone back to him. Then there is something about Yotsugi being Hachikuji’s successor. This prompts Araragi to note about balance as he once had a debate with his sisters about one trying to correct mistakes is different than doing the right thing. After all this talk, Araragi realized that the person he wanted to talk most about is Ougi and finds it strange her name didn’t cross her mind all the while. They have finally reached their destination. A shrine. The person who told Hachikuji of Araragi’s arrival: Tadatsuru.

Episode 2
Refresh your memories that this guy was killed by Yotsugi in Tsukimonogatari. He claims being killed by her was all part of a bigger plan. A plan to fall into hell ahead of time and to prepare resurrecting Araragi. Tadatsuru further reveals his true self died a long time ago and the one Yotsugi killed was a puppet he controlled. Nobody else knows this except Gaen and Oshino. He has this skill to create dolls and after creating the one called Yotsugi, he parted ways with them. But Gaen kept pressuring him so he hastily tried to come up with a forbidden technique. A doll named Tadatsuru. But he failed and this is where he ended up. Despite so, he continued to ‘live’ through his dolls. He faked his own death because last month he received a request to solve the anomalies happening in town. Araragi and Shinobu are part of the targets. However in Gaen’s network, they were considered harmless. Request or not, Tadatsuru had to make them his target and hence pulled off that kidnapping act. Had he not done so, he wondered if he could have escaped unscathed. He heard from someone else that was the middleman between him and Gaen: Oshino. He contacted him and made him feel like a free man. At that point, he realized his identity as a doll was known and it was probably a threat to make him do his bidding in which otherwise his real identity will be exposed. He argued as long as the duo are left alone, nothing will happen. That is, until a special case like when they collude among themselves and Araragi continues to turn himself into a vampire. If such events were to happen, he would receive a request to hunt down vampires. He was told to forget his past grudges and seek contact with Gaen as she cannot move and must hold her position. But in reality, things went exactly like he thought it would. So when the request to exterminate them came, it scared him. He also found it strange that Oshino didn’t want to do this on his own if it concerned him so much. He thought of playing along with his game.

A thread drops down from the sky. It is Araragi’s ticket back to the real world. Miss this and he will forever be stuck suffering in hell. Araragi continues to ask if he could have just turned down the request. Tadatsuru wanted to do this to find out their intent as well as this was a necessary measure to stop Araragi’s progression into a vampire. His role as the bad guy made him fit for this job. Araragi seems to be stalling his resurrection as he spams more questions. Like the shrine and park he was supposed to be. Tadatsuru explains that park was previously the name of that shrine and over the years due to corruption and misspelling, it became named so. Since Araragi feels guilty to be resurrected, Hachikuji punches him. He can say all that because he hasn’t experience true hardships yet. Still, he feels there are many more deserving to be resurrected and with him getting this, it is as though he is cutting the queue. Hachikuji without a doubt believes he has all the right and should be the first in line. Yeah, after naming all the parts of girls he loves, if he isn’t alive, he can’t cherish girls at all! Not quite exactly what she intended but that’ll do. After all, he was someone who loves being alive and has come back from the brink of death, narrowly escaping them many times. As Araragi gets pulled up, he can’t stand the fact Hachikuji will be left behind to continue piling stones in hell. It is like he shoved her aside to be resurrected. He can’t stand the fact to be parted with her again so he grabs her along as the thread is pulled up. Tadatsuru lets him know one last thing. The enemy who requested Araragi to be exterminated is Ougi. Gaen welcomes him back and even more so bringing Hachikuji along. With Shinobu ready to pounce on her throat, she backs down since Araragi is back and there is no need for needless killings. Araragi knows that in all cases, this will be bad as he wonders if Hachikuji fulfilled the conditions for the darkness to be triggered. With Araragi’s miracle, Gaen thanks him they have a slight advantage because the lost girl pawn is what she needs. For now, he has to go take his entrance exam. He can still make it. Everything will be settled before graduation and with White Day tomorrow, it is perfect timing to end the story of this town where a white snake once reigned.

Hitagi Rendezvous

Episode 3
Araragi narrates his love for Senjougahara. Then she makes a surprise by breaking out of her character and proposes to date tomorrow. And since they haven’t been with each other for so long, let’s cram 6 months’ worth of it into that date. But taking up the whole day is impossible as by evening she needs to be back for the main event which is to have dinner with her father. Back home, Araragi talks to Yotsugi about this and she’s like hinting she wants to tag along. He asks about Tadatsuru since he sent his regards to her but she doesn’t really care. There is this discussion about Kagenui not returning. What will happen to Yotsugi? In that case, she will forever follow Araragi. Yotsugi suddenly plays dead when Tsukihi barges in to take her doll back, accusing Araragi for taking it without her permission. She can tell he will be going out on a date with Senjougahara tomorrow but don’t worry about her, she has become best friends with Sengoku and plans to hang out with her. When Araragi goes to Senjougahara’s place, it isn’t only her Hanekawa hairstyle that surprises him but she has a driver’s licence! While he was studying for his exam, she too was studying and taking a different kind of exam. She will drive him to their place of date, the planetarium. More surprises in store for him as she mentions Hanekawa contacted her and has found Oshino’s hiding place. Or at least she narrowed it down to 2 possible places. But since Senjougahara wasn’t interested she didn’t listen properly. Senjougahara also reveals she consulted with her about today’s date and such. Araragi learns that Senjougahara’s dream is to learn astronomy. She has been fascinated with the universe and the stars for some time. Especially the space map that isn’t your ordinary 2D world map. It is in the shape of an ougi (hand fan). Araragi didn’t react to that word.

Episode 4
Since mentioning that name, I guess here pops up Ougi. This is definitely Araragi’s dream as pointed out. Ougi points out the Hydra constellation being the biggest among the 88 and how it reminds her of Shinobu because of its immortality. There is also another snake constellation, Serpens that isn’t part of Hydra but also has something to do with immortality. It is also the only constellation that is split up into the western and eastern parts. Despite being ‘split up’, in the middle there is this snake charmer, Ophiuchus dubbed Asklepios the sage magician. His medical skills were so remarkable, he was able to bring the dead back to life. And that itself is a sin and against all rules as he was struck down. Yotsugi is one of those resurrected and all parties that resurrected her (Tadatsuru, Kagenui, Oshino and Kaiki) will have to pay a price and had curses placed on their bodies. Hence, the question is what kind of penalty Gaen will pay for reviving Araragi from hell. Then she talks about the difficulty in doing the right thing since there are also attachments along with it, right or wrong. As long as you are right, you shouldn’t be doing the right thing. And if a mistake always comes when you try to do the right thing, everything balances out to zero. Thus Kagenui and the Fire Sisters’ brand of justice isn’t doing the right thing but correct mistakes and injustice. Ougi also considers herself as that type and it is her role to eject those who have broken the rules. As it is time to wake up, she hopes he will make the right decision. He asks her true identity but she can’t say much now except that she is the principles of the universe. The good news is that she doesn’t have to be concerned with him anymore so long he doesn’t do what Gaen tells him to. With Shinobu in her complete form and Hachikuji lost in this world after resting in peace, she really hopes he will make the right decision to forsake them.

Araragi wakes up with Senjougahara lying next to him. It must be a tiring day at the planetarium. But they continue their date doing various things. Including a bowling and karaoke contest in which she suggests a penalty game whereby the loser must swear absolute obedience to the winner. In both instances, Araragi won. I don’t think he’ll be making any lewd requests as she is hoping. But she did make him carry her like a princess all the way back to the car. Then stopping by the seaside, she then talks how ‘disappointed’ she was. As today is White Day, she had been hoping perhaps he was planning some sort of secret surprise for her. Nothing. Sorry. I guess he is forced to pledge his absolute obedience to her for life to stop her from killing herself. So the first thing she wants him to do? Call her by her first name. Araragi realizes maybe that is why she set up the penalty game. If not for opportunities like these, it would have been something he would have never been able to say. He calls her by her name with ease and so does she. When Araragi reaches home, Ougi is waiting at his gates. She was being ‘considerate’ not to interfere with his last date. He corrects her. His last date in high school. When he tries to ask why she wanted him exterminated, she brushes it off as false accusation. There is no way she would hurt him. So what about his decision? Without a doubt he will not forsake Shinobu and Hachikuji. He isn’t sure if it is the right path but it is one he must take. Ougi is ‘disappointed’ he hurried in his decision. She would like him to voluntarily withdraw but that will be going over her boundaries. She corrects his understanding of her: She is not the darkness. Ougi lets him know that she has one regret in spite of all that is to happen. She has to do it even if she has to put everything else aside. She must fall into Gaen’s trap. She pleads to Araragi to help fight on her side.

Ougi Dark

Episode 5
All the players are at the park. Gaen, Shinobu, Hachikuji and Yotsugi. All getting ready… To play baseball? With Shinobu in her true completed adult form, she ‘bullies’ Yotsugi with her might for all the insult she has thrown all this time. After Araragi returns the talisman to Gaen, she reminds they must exterminate Ougi who is the main enemy tonight. Will she show up? She has to. Otherwise she will not be Ougi and there will be no more other chances. But first, Gaen narrates a little history of the shrine. 400 years ago when Shinobu visited Japan and crashed into the sacred lake, it was more like a blessing as she ‘took over’ and became the new local god. Previously the gods that were worshiped at the lake took the form of a water snake as well as the mountain snake for the minority faith. Gaen’s initial plan was to enshrine Shinobu as the god of the shrine. Before she continues, she wants to hear Araragi’s stance since she brought him to pull off a miracle but a disaster could also happen. He would like to do something for Hachikuji and Shinobu especially the former who might be swallowed up by the darkness at this rate. Of course he is also worried about others around him. Gaen notes since he isn’t concerned of his own safety, they can come to an agreement. As for Shinobu’s stance, if could really desire it, it is to return to her young girl form.

Now Gaen goes into the minimum requirements needed to meet all their objectives as well as exterminate Ougi. As said, previously Gaen wanted to enshrine Shinobu as a new god but now Hachikuji is a better fit. I mean, for one to go to hell and come back, that has got to be legendary, right? Otherwise, the other options are she goes back to hell again or she gets swallowed up by the darkness. But can a snail replace a snake? Heard of a 3 way stand-off? A stand-off between a snake, frog and slug. Araragi finds the slug familiar as he remembers the fake apparition Kaiki used on Sengoku. A slug is closely related to the snail. All Hachikuji needs is to swallow the talisman to become god but if Araragi doesn’t want her to become so, it’s his call. This has him prompt to ask maybe they have mistaken Ougi as the darkness. Gaen says she already knows. What gave him the impression she was one? Perhaps it was the way she talks and acts that over time he came to that conclusion. Gaen explains although Ougi isn’t the darkness, she plays its same role. So if they leave Hachikuji as she is, the darkness might reappear in town. But if Hachikuji becomes god, Ougi might play that darkness role and attack her. That is why they must exterminate Ougi or the story will not end. Araragi doesn’t appreciate she keeps using the word extermination, like as though Ougi is an apparition. Well, she’s got news for you, buddy. Ougi is indeed a normal apparition!

Episode 6
When asked on what basis she called Ougi an apparition, she asks back on what basis he calls her Ougi. Just because she called herself so, he believed her. It is true that her relation to Oshino is a lie and the reason she derived that name is a little complicated. So what is she? Right now, an unknown. Gaen’s initial plan is to slay her with the demon sword she created, Kokoro Watari AKA Apparition Killer. As a specialist, she can use a standard approach to exterminate Ougi. Does she mean she predicted Ougi’s appearance? Not quite. But she had seen something familiar. Though, it was her older sister, Tooe who is Kanbaru’s mom who experienced it first-hand. Her personality somewhat reminds her of Araragi. So she wants him to be the one to do the job. He must disclose Ougi’s true identity to cause it to collapse. Apparitions who lie about themselves get swallowed by the darkness especially Ougi who is playing the darkness role, the punishment will be most severe. Araragi agrees to not save Ougi but on one condition she tells him her true identity.

Meanwhile we take a detour to see Tsukihi helping Sengoku with her manga. After she’s done, she leaves but waiting at the doorsteps is Ougi who offers to give her a ride home. They talk on several things like Tsukihi being satisfied living in the present. This has Ougi noting that she is dependent on others as her family is keeping her family alive. Otherwise she would have died during summer break. Tsukihi notices she is going the wrong way so they stop to check for directions. They are at the abandoned cram school so they check it out. Ougi talks about the suspense in mysterious novels and when the mystery is known, everything is no longer fun. She wishes things in reality were like this. But Tsukihi has a different approach. She thinks it is more dangerous when the culprit is discovered. Because the real story only begins when you know who they really are. Knowing the true identity may not be correct as there might be a bigger twist. Ougi is enlightened that true identity may be seen as right body. Ougi mentions her true identity is unsightly. Ougi has unfinished business so she has Tsukihi take her bicycle to go home. Because now she meets Araragi who is waiting for her. He wants to know what they were talking. Well, she didn’t get to finish her job at talking. Knowing Tsukihi as a phoenix is beyond what she can handle. A monster can be exterminated once its true identity is disclose but not Tsukihi because she has the eternal love of her brother. But she knows she herself will get exterminated once Araragi discloses her true identity. She hints she has been pleading for her life by asking him to side her. But it looks like Araragi has chosen not to. Ougi notes that is the right decision. Even so, she wanted him to decline that. It is then Araragi discloses Ougi’s true identity: Ougi is himself!

Episode 7
Gaen explained the apparition called Ougi created by Araragi. It was how Tooe created an apparition called Rainy Devil. You could say Ougi is Araragi’s desire to criticize himself. It was last August when he learnt the meaning of darkness and what is wrong is wrong. Then there is some incident with Shinobu and Kanbaru that I didn’t understand or have forgotten. But mostly can’t understand. It is Oshino from Shinobu’s name that Ougi originates from. The argument of Araragi creating an apparition to attack himself stems from the guilt from helping all the other girls. Like when he helped Shinobu first, he wanted to face the consequences. When he became friends with Hanekawa, he worries if he is worthy if he could live up to her feelings. Like when he helped Senjougahara, he ended up dating her and wondered if he was taking advantage of her weakness. It is all because if it was unfair to use his immortality powers freely. That portion of his mind manifested itself entirely in the form of Ougi. Ougi still has some things left undone like Tsukihi. That is why Gaen used her as a lure. She might have no evidence and only speculating but Araragi knows himself better than anyone else. That is why it must be him who discloses Ougi’s true identity. It is a battle among himself. End it with his own hands. After all, killing himself for the sake of others is something he does every day.

With this revelation, a black hole appears to suck in Ougi. Araragi is shocked that Ougi knew this would happen and yet she came. There are some fights you have to fight even if you know you’re going to lose. At least she was able to make his youth right. In that case, he doesn’t want what is right. They note some of the cases they were right or wrong. And since Ougi will be disappearing, it shows Araragi was the one who is right. It might not be the end of his life or the world but perhaps the end of one of his many stories. As they say farewell to each other, suddenly Araragi has a change in heart. He saves her from being devoured by the darkness at the expense of losing his entire right arm! Remember, he is no longer an immortal but a normal human. Ougi is shocked he would do such a thing even for a person who brought nothing but misery to him. This makes him the worst person ever. But Araragi corrects her. He saved himself. Because all the girls saved him. What is the point if everyone saved him and he didn’t save himself? So they’re going to die together? Until Oshino pops up! In the flesh! And here comes Hanekawa running in, collapsing while trying to catch her breath. Ougi is shocked that she really brought Oshino back from Antarctica. The moment Oshino acknowledges Ougi is her niece, the black hole disappears. This signifies Ougi’s existence as herself. With that, Araragi’s youth comes to an end.

In the epilogue, before Araragi leaves for his graduation, he talks to Karen about what she finds justice to mean. Helping others. He advises her to start helping herself too. I am guessing he doesn’t want another apparition to pop up because of that. A lesson well learnt? On his way, he meets Hachikuji who has now become a god. He teases nobody is going to visit her and the town will be left godless. Well, there is always him. He can visit her shrine, her home any time. Previously, Gaen talks to Shinobu as she heals Araragi’s arm about wanting to be sealed again in Araragi’s shadow. Her reason is that she is tired of fighting and wants to be harmless. Originally she planned to retreat to the mountains and live a secluded life after healing his arm. But seeing Araragi declined to turn back into a vampire, it is only right she declines her own desires. And also, there are no doughnut shops in the mountains. At school, Araragi talks to Hanekawa. She has no time as she will be leaving soon. It seems in order to bring back Oshino, she sold off a bit of her brains! Don’t worry, they’re a good institute so she needs to chase them to get it back. They deduce if Oshino was in Antarctica, Kagenui must be in North Pole. Yotsugi wanted to go there but Kagenui declined so she’ll continue to live in his house. Oshino and Gaen has again left. Hanekawa teases the good vibe between Araragi and Senjougahara. Walking upstairs, a troubled girl zooms pass them. Hanekawa and Senjougahara tell him to do what he needs. Looks like he is willing to skip his own graduation ceremony to help this random strange. Maybe he’ll let the girls pick up his diploma for him. He passes Ougi along the way as she notes he hasn’t change. On the contrary, he says he is but no matter how much he changes, he will still be him.

The Be-All And End-All Of The End
Well, guess what? It isn’t entirely the end of the end yet. There are more stories that came out after this but those are like additional side stories. As far as this one is concerned, the main story has ended. So far, nothing has been said yet about adapting those works but what are the chances that SHAFT will adapt them seeing they have adapted all of the arcs of the main story so I guess that if they ever run out of new projects in the future, I have a hunch they can fall back on this one. Like they say, the end of a story only heralds the beginning of a new one. Yeah, and some people say they can’t let this series end and rest in peace. How could they? Not when you have a cult following.

So let’s get back to my thoughts on this finale season and the series overall. As usual, not to say that I have understood everything completely and entirely but well, I guess it was good enough to not leave me with unanswered questions. Heck, more accurately I have mostly forgotten about the previous stories and seasons so I can’t really recall. Can’t be confused if you can’t remember a single thing about it. So the biggest twist in revealing the true identity of Ougi didn’t blow my mind away but at the same time I was a bit surprised. It was the biggest moment that I have been waiting for ever since Ougi appeared. Because of all the confusing stories and plots, it is mostly why I never could have guessed she was Araragi’s apparition. Hardcore fans may have picked up clues along the way and guessed it but I was busy having my brains thinking about the story so I didn’t bother about thinking Ougi’s identity. When I think back a little, it does make sense why Ougi is Araragi. Like especially when she often claims she doesn’t know anything but it is him who does. That should have been the biggest hint.

To say that the final season was a long winded story to end it all is not exactly entirely accurate either. Because you know how fast everything could have ended without all the long winded story telling in between. I suppose that is the main charm of this series. Despite being confusing at times, the way it is executed and told are interesting in its own way. That is why they were able to drag out stories into many episodes and spanning many arcs (also to confuse simpletons like me). Imagine if all the other arcs in the Monogatari Series had not been this long but just a few minutes, I don’t think that would have quite cut it. That is why the Monogatari Series is named so. It is the way they tell the stories. Like I’ve said, it is still overall confusing but I consider it to be done in a good way. I mean, being confused and interested are 2 completely different things. Despite my confusion in trying to piece together the pieces, I was not bored and kept watching. That says a lot. Kudos to the series and those who wrote and produced it.

In view of all that, sometimes I feel if the ending of this season and the overall could be somewhat unfashionable. Actually I am myself to blame for expecting some sort of epic fight and showdown with Ougi. Yes, I actually expected there would be some sort of battle! I mean, when you have Gaen and Shinobu gathered in your ranks, it looks more like a mini army ready to take on the last boss, right? After all, expect the unexpected. That’s me trying to sound smart and look like I’ve learnt something from following this series but failed. But no showdown in the form of fist fighting, sword swinging or spell casting. Staying true to its roots, all we see, or rather hear, are just words and dialogues. Like they say, some battles can be won without lifting actual weapons. And just like that, the big story comes to a close. I suppose it tried to give us a good ending as well because we presumed Ougi had been a villain but she wasn’t and is just a dark side of Araragi. So a good ending has to be given to her as she now exists as a separate entity on her own. It also gives closure to Oshino’s whereabouts (as well as Kagenui’s), otherwise we will be forever wondering where the hell that guy has been and further speculate if he is a ghost or just a figment of imagination in Araragi’s mind. Even if his appearance was just bloody short, he played an important role to help end this particular story.

So you can say that the entire story was about Araragi fighting against himself and it is quite true if you piece together all that has happened. Each time he helped a girl in trouble, you could see there is some sort of guilt forming after that. It would have been even worse had he not helped them because a more terrifying apparition could have formed from the guilt of turning a blind eye. It’s like he is in a catch-22 situation, damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. So while he deeply cares for all those around him, it is a bit odd that he questions himself if he has the right or worth to do all that. I wonder if this is the extreme case of being humble. Imagine all the trouble that has happened in town just because of one guy’s guilt. I know life generally isn’t a bed of roses but this is taking it to the extreme.

But thankfully it all turned out right for him and the girls as we can see. Senjougahara is his lovely girlfriend (not a crazy tsundere and yandere type), Hanekawa is still his friend, Kanbaru is still his respectable (but pervy) senior, Sengoku doing fine with her manga (no longer a crazy yandere if you remember and a scam victim), Kaiki is dead (no more scamming others but I don’t see him anywhere in hell), Hachikuji perhaps won the biggest share of the lottery as she is now a god, Yotsugi is pretty much harmless staying his place, Shinobu is still loyal to him and pretty much harmless staying in his shadow, and finally his sisters are doing fine at their own pace and continued to be loved by him. Not forgetting Ougi is now her own existence herself. Things cannot get better than this, right? I guess it is pretty much a good ending after all that has happened. Well, I was just thinking why Ougi still looks as creepy like as though she popped up from some horror novel. Couldn’t they at least ‘normalize’ how she looks? Nah. Maybe not.

In the end, this series has been one very compelling tale. It is filled with lots of curious and interesting things but at the same time a very confusing and long winded one. For those who weren’t taken in by the storytelling, at least creative and unique art and visual styles are certainly there to catch your eye. Don’t blink or you might miss something funny or creative. There are also the good voice acting as well as the many different variety of theme songs, some of which are quite catchy and were my personal favourite (Staple Stable, Kimi No Shiranai Monogatari, Platinum Disco and Renai Circulation to name a few) but others didn’t really attracted me. With this, another long story chapter has come to an end. It felt really hard to say goodbye and suddenly it prompted me to remember another similar series made by SHAFT that had ended a long, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Oh man. Still remember that one? I suppose whether we like it or not, stories need to end and find a closure otherwise a new one cannot begin. Unless you prefer to eternally watch reruns. I wonder what kind of apparition would form from that…

Gamers

Oh no. Not again. Do we need another anime about high school student and video games? Oh come on. In that same season we already had a sequel of a group of girls working in a game company and not too long ago there was a club of a high school that only consists of only girls in making video games (that personally didn’t really fare well with me). D-Frag! too had this theme although it is mostly random wacky stuff. And now we have Gamers. Is it a trend these days for high school students and video games to blend together? They’re getting lazier in naming the series and just named it as a group of people who plays games. Is this what it has become? Wait. What’s that you say? This isn’t about a group of students of a video game club? It’s about the love polygon between them? Oh. Okay. Sure this isn’t some dating simulation either?

Episode 1
Keita Amano is a plain guy who likes playing games. Well, not every game. This time it’s some dating simulation with blondes. And when the school’s top beauty and idol, Karen Tendou approaches him and talks to him about joining her game club, you bet this guy has all the reservations if this is some sort of new tactic in bullying. Meanwhile we take a detour to see Tasuku Uehara being easily winning a crane game to get his cutie girlfriend, Aguri a cat plushie. But does he have to go this far to note Keita is a loser since he doesn’t have a girlfriend like him? Keita learns more about Tendou that she came to Otobuki High School because there is a famous game club. However by the time she entered, it fell apart. This year she worked hard behind the scenes to try and revive it. Luckily it all paid off. Tendou has to leave because of her curfew and invites Keita to come take a look. He is happy with this prospect as he helps a fellow online gamer, Mono in some online mobile game. Next day, Keita is introduced to Eiichi Misumi. She also invited another person to come check out the club. Inside the clubroom are 2 seniors who are still glued to their screens playing their respective games. Folks, meet Gakuto Kase who is a pro in FPS (is this CSO a hybrid of Call of Duty + Counter Strike?) and Niina Oiso who is a pro in fighting games (nobody can talk to her when she is seriously concentrating). Tendou also shows off all the trophies the club has won during the year. Yes, this is the hard work she was talking about.

Kase has them play CSO. It might be fun for a few rounds but after 30 rounds… Keita is ‘dead’. Plus, Keita is such a noob that if this was real life, the toxic community would’ve killed him. So it makes Kase’s ‘criticism’ look like child’s play. As they take a break, Tendou asks why they became gamers. Kase’s dad tried to train him to be mercenary and Niina tried to bring a friend back from a dark side. Seriously? So Keita’s reason of he just likes games is weird? Not as weird as Misumi’s amnesia thingy. Are these people joking? So how is the club for these newbies? While Misumi would love to join, Keita won’t because they don’t play the games he likes! Don’t know why he is regretting the next day but Tendou confronts him and pleads for him to reconsider. When a cute angel with a cute smile reaches out her hand to you like that, you take it and not answer your online friend’s call for assistance! OMG! Keita must be gay to do that!!! He adds he wants to play games for fun and not for competition. He will play the game the way he likes. Poor Tendou. Slipped on a banana and cried all her way out. Keita you meanie!!!

Episode 2
In the eyes of others, it looked like Tendou got rejected! So Tasuku and his friends are talking about this and because Tasuku and Aguri are like day and night, the friends wonder how they ended up dating each other. Tasuku remembers he wasn’t given a chance to reject. Aguri doesn’t care as long as they’re happy together. Well, Tasuku doesn’t look like it… At the arcade, Tasuku accidentally bumps into Keita who recommends him one of the games he likes. Tasuku finds it weird for him to be at the arcade as he thought he likes gaming (of the console or mobile kind). Tasuku then suggests they play a game together. Tasuku whoops Keita’s ass in this Persona fighting game. It’s not that he is very good. Keita sucks like hell. However he notices Keita is having fun despite his heavy defeat. They play many other games as Tendou is spying from a corner. She looks like a stalker. When Keita realizes Tasuku came here with his friends, he calls it a day. Tasuku didn’t like that tone of it and ditches Aguri (who has been waiting for him) just to track down Keita to give his piece of mind about him running away. He gets a bit rough on him as he lectures Keita about grouping people together and thinking his style of gaming is better. Some short clips about Tasuku burying his nerdy side after stereotypes from around. When Tasuku calls Tendou’s club stupid, Keita fights back. Woah! Is he going to throw him down the pedestrian bridge???!!! Long story short from his ranting, Keita doesn’t like how Tasuku insulted Tendou who worked hard and was kind to him. Thankfully everyone cool their heads before somebody gets a permanent record of becoming a young killer.

As they leave, Tasuku notices Tendou watching from afar in awe. Safe to say that she has fallen for that plain guy. Now Tasuku has to deal with Aguri. To make up for ditching her, he has to get her another cat plushie from the crane game. He asks what she likes about him and he is shocked to learn she has liked him since middle school. A dark time when he was a nerd. He remembers coming here to this arcade and she used to observe him playing the games here. In fact she got her first plushie from him then. So when she heard they are going to the same school, she worked hard to become prettier for him and it’s like they both won the lottery because he too ditched his nerdy side and became a handsome hunk. Is it just me that I find the original Aguri to be cuter? Anyway, Tasuku is left shocked that he runs away? Next day in class, Tasuku reconciles with Keita. They become friends so he hopes he would recommend some good games to him. He is in a happy mood lately since he is having a blast with video games. Meanwhile Tendou can’t stop thinking about Keita. She is shocked he is at her class. Unfortunately he is here not to see her but another girl. WHAT???!!! Poor Tendou… I hope the shock didn’t kill her.

Episode 3
Keita and Tasuku are like gaming buddies now. But sometimes Tasuku can’t help get mad at some of the games he recommend because they are really crap. I guess it is all about taste. Be careful not to be too aggressive or the fujoshis will start having wild fantasies… Tasuku tries to be a nice guy and help ‘alleviate’ Keita’s loner status. So he shows her a girl in Tendou’s class, Chiaki Hoshinomiya how is also a loner gamer like him. With Aguri bugging Tasuku to hang out with her, Keita is left to his own devices. But why does he have to go through this? So Tendou was snapped out from her love struck daydreaming and ‘died’ hearing Keita is here for another girl. Then she ‘dies’ again hearing he wants to be friends with Chiaki. So dramatic… At first Chiaki is afraid of him but when Keita finds out Tendou too approached her to join her club and she declined because the games aren’t her type, they instantly clicked. Suddenly they become good friends! They share the same tastes like as though they are mirrors of each other. Well, almost. Just a slight different in philosophy has them ending up arguing. Games are this deep too.

So Tasuku is forced to moderate between them. So when they start talking the things they like, they’re back to normal. Because Keita earlier insulted Chiaki for her seaweed hair, Tasuku tries to sooth her that he likes girls with natural messy hair. It sounds and looks like he is trying to hit on another girl! Well, at least from Aguri’s perspective. He even goes as far as to suggest she cut her hair. Aguri is ‘dead’ and Tendou is left to rue who this Chiaki woman is so close to Keita. Aguri is visibly upset so when she asks Tasuku about his new friends, he can’t read the atmosphere that explaining Keita is his gaming buddy and was just meditating a fight with Chiaki made it worse. The next day, the guys at school are abuzz with a cute new girl. Actually it is Chiaki cutting her hair short! She really did take Tasuku’s advice. How can one level up so much by just cutting her hair?! It gets worse when Tasuku comments how cute she is and Aguri heard it! Keita tries to go after her but bumps into Tendou. Sorry girl. He is not looking for you this time too. So sad… Relationship drama… When he catches up to Aguri, I guess he didn’t plan things out and asks her to go out for a drink with him. Okay. Now what? She is still depressed. He tries to cheer her up that Tasuku still loves her and that he is rooting for them. So it may seem that things have calmed down for now but little do they know they are just in the eye of the storm. Here is the shocking scene they see from across the street: Tasuku hanging out and being overly friendly with Chiaki! Hand on her shoulder… Indeed relationship drama just ramped up a notch.

Episode 4
We peek into Tendou’s daily life before she became a love wreck. Ah, everything she does is so on time and with elegance and class. Even the toughest part of rejecting those asking her out, she is truly respectable. And now this is her daily life after meeting Keita. She can’t stop thinking about him, waking up late to the point of doing her homework that morning, clumsy, forgetful and even disrespecting those she rejected during their confession. If that is not bad enough, her gaming skills are getting worse. Bedtime, she stays up late lying in bed thinking all about Keita. Basically, Keita on her mind 24/7. She knows what the problem is and needs to fix it quick. So this chance meeting with Keita on the streets could be that chance? Nervous at first, she manages to convince him to go for a walk with her. Looking a bit like a date… After stopping by a game shop, they head to the arcade. Tendou gets worried when she hears him talk about the new game buddy he has. She can’t help think it is Chiaki when it could also be Tasuku. Please don’t abuse the game machine… Tendou then challenges Keita to a coin game. This is part of her plan to get over her slump. Well, not only Keita is a noob but he lost everything! Even if Tendou won big, she still feels dissatisfied. Then Keita borrows a coin from her and bets it all on a horse racing game. He lost. She is shocked to hear that he wants to win since this is a challenge or else it is no fun. Hence she is confused if he declined joining their club because of their difference in playing, how can he want to win and at the same time only cared about having fun? Girl, you do know that both can exist in the same sentence, right? You play games to win and when you win, you have fun. There will be good and bad times, you make a big deal of it either way. Enjoying wins and fretting losses are all part of the thrill of gaming. He declined joining the club because he didn’t have the tenacity to win. Tendou feels better and has the mood to go home to play games. However… Her gaming skills continue to suck and is now worse than a beginner! Every time it starts getting fun, she keeps thinking of Keita’s face. So in the end, it is still all his fault after all?

Episode 5
Flashback a few moments ago, Chiaki followed Tasuku because she wanted advice on game development. She drops the subject and plays her mobile game when he mentions Keita’s name. Tasuku then realizes Chiaki’s online name: Mono. She is also playing with her best online partner, Tsucchie whom Tasuku knows is Keita. When he tries to ask her opinion on both guys, she hates Keita and likes Tsucchie. He couldn’t get more appalled than this. Even more so when he hears how she chose that online moniker which is exactly how Keita chose his: Based on their mom’s maiden’s name. Do gamers think alike? Trying to solve this tangled relationship, Tasuku hits an idea. So he calls Keita and Chiaki for their first gamer’s meet-up. Oh, they still hate each other. He also invited someone else. Guess who that eager beaver is? But I suppose Tasuku didn’t tell Tendou that the duo are in this meet-up so imagine her shock-cum-disappointment seeing them together. And it’s not because they both turned her down to join her club. Chiaki tells her problems about creating games. Her games are more popular when she plays it safe but it’s no fun. Keita might sound disdainful when he doesn’t care. What matters if the game is good or not. More importantly, just make the games you want. Chiaki is touched but Keita had to ruin it with his honest sarcasm that he doesn’t really care about the games she make. Tendou seeing this misinterprets they like each other. Tasuku senses his plan will fall apart so he assures Tendou they are like this. Besides, isn’t it partly her fault that Keita and Chiaki hang out together? He is just trying to start by talking to a fellow gamer. Because of their good vibe, Keita and Chiaki now think Tasuku and Tendou like each other. Keita spots Aguri spying. She also misinterprets what she saw. Keita excuses himself to go with Keita. More misinterpretation when Chiaki mentions Aguri might be Keita’s girlfriend as she has seen them together many times. Poor Tendou and Tasuku… Ended up crying… First gamer’s meet-up failed. It could be their last as well…

So Aguri is crying her heart out and complaining loudly while taking out her frustrations on Keita? Please don’t bother other diners… Keita wonders why she likes a guy like Tasuku. She tells him you don’t do love. You fall in love. This touched his heart so he is motivated to bring them back together. This passionate declaration is spotted by Chiaki. Keita tries to explain to her but she doesn’t look convinced. What did he say? He is explaining Aguri as the best girlfriend ever. Hey. You didn’t say whose girlfriend… Aguri is also motivated to help Keita talk to Tendou. Meanwhile, Tasuku is going crazy thinking about Aguri and Keita as a pair. Hey. You need to insert coins to play the game. And it’s like some sort of foreboding because Keita plays his blonde dating simulation and gets a bad ending of being killed by a character that looks like Tendou… Yandere route… Next day in class, Keita and Tasuku talk. Tasuku thinks Keita should start making a move on Tendou. However Keita views he is not in her good books. He doesn’t think hanging out with her that day makes him her friend. Well, from Tasuku’s point of view he is already talking normally with Tendou. And with the other girls… Keita thinks Tendou is just nice to him so she can get close to Tasuku. Tasuku can’t believe Keita being denser about friendship. It’s about to get more complicated since Keita is happy Tasuku is concerned about him and that they are friends. Chiaki walks in and again misinterprets this passionate declaration. Wow. Now we have a gay connection. She runs away and Tasuku chases after her.

Episode 6
Tasuku and Chiaki are talking things out. Chiaki still thinks badly of Keita but admires Tendou. She asks him about his opinions then. Tasuku tells of Tendou’s good points albeit it is meant as sarcasm but Chiaki takes it the wrong way that he likes her. Instinctively he pats her head to cheer her up so she panics and runs. Keita and Aguri were eavesdropping and are shocked to hear this development. Now it’s their turn to discuss. Keita views life relationships like a game so Aguri tells him about this world that 1 + 1 isn’t equals 2. Rather, 1 + 1 = Love! Huh? Aguri believes if he really wants to be friends with Tendou, he won’t have trouble saying the necessary words. It might look like Tendou is practising her brutal rejection lines. Too bad she took it all out on a guy confessing to her. I hope he doesn’t turn into a delinquent given how a bad mood he has become. Misumi had to point out how brutal she was and advise of her very dismissive personality recently. Tendou thinks she needs to be more open instead of rejecting outright. Though, Misumi honestly can’t see her narrowing the gap with Keita. Keita is playing his blonde simulation for the umpteenth time and always gets a bad end. Frustrating. With some indirect advices from his pals, he plays the game again but with a different outlook. There. Good ending. So the lesson of it all is to not treat people like crap even though they treat you well? Wait, what?

Tasuku has purposely set up Keita and Tendou to meet after school and spread this throughout school. At first Keita isn’t appreciative till he explains about trying to make others respect him, some witnesses to see everything instead of rumours circulating behind his back when he suddenly becomes friends with Tendou. He bought it. Meanwhile we see the others ‘analysing’ this meet-up. Like Aguri who has drawn a ‘complicated’ love chart. Yeah, more complicated than her math class. Chiaki is also getting distressed thinking Keita is being played out by Aguri and that he might want to be Tendou’s friend just for the money! Thus it is Keita’s SOS for help! Tasuku’s real reason for this setup is so that he could watch Aguri’s reaction to determine if she is cheating or not. Although all also thought of how bad it could end if it doesn’t turn out the way they expected, they brush it off it won’t turn that bad. Fat chance… Anyway they are so deep in thought that their body actions and facial expressions are just bothering everyone. Even Tendou is starting to think this meeting is to end their relationship! After all, she has been bugging him. She tries to be positive and needs to tell him how she feels openly and honestly. So the much awaited meeting is here, all the related parties and a huge crowd have gathered. Tendou trying to hold back her emotional self so when Keita looks around, he sees his pals not looking at them but staring at each other! Maybe they pity him knowing he will be rejected? Tasuku and Aguri are intensely staring at each other and start to believe this reaction means the other is really cheating! Chiaki is staring at both of them means they are going out and will freak out at what Keita might say! As Keita is about to ask for Tendou’s friendship, his life flashes through his eyes. It ends with him winning his blonde simulation. Thus he blurts out for Tendou to go out with him. She instantly says yes! He realizes too late he messed up because now everybody is in shock! Can we undo this? Was there a previous save point?! Oh no. The game level has just increased its difficulty hundredfold.

Episode 7
Keita is now so ‘famous’. The stares from everyone are scarier than any horror movie. But the misunderstanding from the related parties is still there. It’s only going to get worse. Like Tasuku hinting he doesn’t know how to face Aguri because a certain guy likes Tendou. Obviously he is referring to Keita but that guy thinks Tasuku is referring to himself. Definitely cheating! Then Chiaki talks to Keita and when the latter confirms he isn’t dating Aguri in the first place, she believes he has quickly gotten over it. And then later with Aguri, she blames him that everything has gone downhill ever since she met him. Especially with the fact that Tendou and Chiaki knew Tasuku through him. This makes Keita depressed as he thinks Tasuku is using him. The duo decide to stay positive. So Keita calls Tendou to meet at the rooftop. She is nervous as hell as she jumps the gun believing he wants to break up because it has been hell for him ever since the confession. But she is in for a surprise when he wants her to go out on a date with him. Wait. What?! Why?! Hey, they’re in a ‘relationship’, right? Clearly Tendou doesn’t understand but Keita doesn’t want to lose to Tasuku. He puts it in a gamer’s perspective that it is wrong to disconnect before the winner decided. That resonated with her so she accepts going out with him.

They’re both here at the gaming centre and have lots of fun. There is also a pool section so she teases him about wanting to see her in her swimsuit. If you don’t want to, you’re gay… And so Keita ‘betrays mankind’ to see Tendou’s godly body in exchange for ‘losing a life’. They play some water splashing game but it makes them look like a lame pair of lovers in comparison so they stop. They see Chiaki being harassed by guys. Chiaki runs and clings on to Keita to force those flirters to leave. Because the duo continue to argue and she is still clinging so close to him, Tendou gets mad. Chiaki came here with her little sister but they got separated. Keita wants to help find her but Tendou doesn’t want him to flirt with more chicks and tells her to go wait at the arcade. She’ll look for her sister by herself. Not sure whether they found her or not (I suppose they did) because Tendou and Chiaki now join Keita playing a kart racing game. In the end, Tendou couldn’t stop laughing at how pathetic Keita lost. He had a rare item that could have made him won the game but he didn’t use it. He managed to entertain all the onlookers and made the whole thing fun. That’s what she likes about him. Keita notes he also likes how she didn’t go easy on him because he wouldn’t have enjoyed the game if she purposely let him win. Looks like their vibe is good so they continue talking about a recently released game.

Episode 8
Konoha is a model student and in the student council. But away from the public eyes, she is a pervert who loves sniffing the butt heat on the chairs of her all-girl student council. One night she dresses up like a man to go buy a hentai game. Also at the store are Keita and Misumi. Keita chose a really old game and gives his in-depth opinion about it. It makes Konoha feel bad and guilty for labelling him as a typical normal guy. Eventually she buys that game and we learn she is Chiaki’s younger sister. Tasuku dreadfully narrates the happy marriage between Keita and Aguri while all other parties look in dread. It turns out to be a board game of Life. Since Chiaki’s mom won it, Tasuku thought of an idea to gather them and talk things out. Well, it isn’t going to be easy. Everyone is so intense. Because it seems Keita is like a pervy guy who keeps adding more children to his family, Chiaki is like a jobless graduate and Tendou the rich workaholic with zero love life. Is it me that the fates sound mostly negative or discreetly an accurate depiction of their current relationship? Tasuku thought he could reset things if his player marries Aguri. He got Chiaki. Suspicions further increase. Also, Keita and Chiaki seem to land on the same space. When Chiaki temporarily leaves as Konoha is calling her. At the same time, Keita gets a notification of his online mobile game. Tendou watches him play and looks like their vibe is good. Tasuku and Aguri also take this chance to get back together. Tasuku holds her hand and Aguri worries he is doing it in front of Tendou. He replies she has nothing to do with it. When Chiaki returns, she hears everything how Keita praises Mono for always helping him and is his precious online friend. That devastated look on Tasuku’s face because he knows the love polygon is going to get worse. Chiaki might be late to the game but she now spots this I’ve-fallen-for-you look on Keita.

Episode 9
Chiaki narrates how her interests in developing games began. So she is a one woman show under the name Nobe, created many mobile games by herself. However she never enjoyed them with the mostly negative feedback. But she kept going because of one person who always appreciates them. So Chiaki is now trying to get ‘assurance’ from Konoha about her position with Keita. Too bad she isn’t sure what she is talking about. When Chiaki goes to get some stuffs at the convenience store, she bumps into Keita. They talk about a few things and since he starts praising the games she made, I guess it soften her heart again so she invites him to her place. She has him wait in the living room while she goes back to her own room to hide ‘evidence’ she is Nobe and Mono. However Keita comes in to alert her it is raining and her laundry is outside. In her fumbling attempt to cover up, it only exposes her more. Keita then sees the contents. Could it be? Chiaki is about to confess something important but Konoha just woke up sleeping on her bed. Chiaki then points out Konoha is both Nobe and Mono! Why you complicate things further?! Obviously shocked Keita tells this to Tasuku later and he too his shocked at this ‘lie’. Keita can’t put his finger on it because he can’t see Konoha as a game developer and player. The person he admires isn’t what he had in mind. You don’t say… Tasuku would have love to tell the truth as ultimately the decision lies with Chiaki. Since he can’t be happy if things work out between Keita and Tendou, he is going to root for Chiaki. Keita goes to the store to buy a game. At the same time, Konoha not incognito also buys the same game. Awkward. So she’s trying hard to be in character but ultimately goes with Keita’s suggestion that she has split personality. She doesn’t want him to tell others that she buys adult games. She asks his opinion about Chiaki. Nothing much really. What about Nobe and Mono? I love your works! Konoha punches him! Then they bump into Chiaki and she is puzzled why they are so close. I guess Konoha is trying to hint they’re talking about the games ‘she’ made and getting close together but Chiaki is not impressed a scumbag like him is hanging out with her bright sister. Chiaki gets a surprising call from Tasuku. However after he seriously blurted out a short “I choose you!”, he hangs up. Is he playing Pokemon? I don’t know but everyone thinks it is a confession! It’s just getting confusing.

Episode 10
Keita invites Aguri to join the gamers meet. She gives excuses she isn’t into gaming and the fact Tasuku and Tendou are going to be there isn’t going to sway her. But he’ll let her have this cake. Agreed! Keita is glad since he feels bad for her that Tasuku confessed to another girl behind her back. A few days ago after Tasuku’s surprise confession, the trio discuss about it and Chiaki can’t find a reason to turn Tasuku down. Hence Keita called Tendou to ask her advice on how to break up! You’re already breaking her heart. Thinking he is planning to use it on her, of course she tells him to think himself. She is so sick that she feels hurt and Keita thinks she is really hurt. He would definitely come to her rescue and this makes her feel better. She says she loves him and hangs up. Did it just get worse? Keita then asks Konoha for advice since she must have turned down lots of admirers for being this cute. She can tell off people as she is busy as the student council president but Chiaki can’t use that excuse. Thus Keita suggests a meet where all parties talk things through. And here they all are. Keita is about to make the important announcement but he chickens out and blabs about some game he wants to buy tomorrow so don’t get in his way. Back home, Konoha comes to check on Chiaki to ascertain her feelings. Still undecided? Better decide soon since her position as Mono and Nobe are getting shakier by the minute. Make up your mind if you want to get closer or always fight with him. It’s not going to be easy…

Tasuku wants to talk to Chiaki about Keita and of course she gets the wrong idea it’s about the answer for his confession. At the same Tendou wants to talk to them both. Meanwhile Aguri meets up with her old classmate, Sarina. She and her guys are like totally delinquents. They badmouth Aguri’s gamer friends thinking they are smelly fatty nerds. Even if they’re not, Aguri doesn’t want to stay around them. Because she has better fun with those smelly fatty nerds. Sarina gets mad for her attitude. If her boyfriend isn’t one of those nerds, why should she get mad? Aguri leaves her in a stitch, hinting about Keita being her boyfriend but not quite. She gets desperate to call Tasuku but he doesn’t answer. That’s because he is accompanying both ladies as Tendou speaks about her problems. She likes Keita but can’t help think he is always with Aguri. Tasuku assures she views him as some high maintenance brother. Chiaki adds Keita puts gaming first despite being a wuss. Tendou feels sad that Keita would rather choose gaming over her. At the same time, Aguri sees them. What makes it worse is how Tasuku is putting his hands on the girls’ shoulder! Aguri runs away in tears, believing he has been cheating on her. They run after her as the girls assure they see Tasuku as some bug and are way over him. It’s odd hearing Aguri commenting on Tasuku being called a cheater by the girls he is cheating on. Desperate Aguri calls Keita for help. When things calm down, here comes Keita rushing to her. Was he supposed to be out buying his game? He put that on hold. This is more important, Aguri calling him for help despite being exaggerated. With Keita and Aguri being so casual with each other, looks like the rest is starting to develop some sort of suspicion…

Episode 11
Tasuku and Tendou talk about Keita and Aguri. It only makes them more depressed. However they haven’t given up as Tasuku hatches a plan to turn things around. Tendou calls Keita to go on a double date with Tasuku and Aguri at the amusement park. He can’t say no because he wants to answer her wishes like a man? So here they are, Keita and Tendou are so happy like kids since the park’s theme is like an RPG game. The cringe is strong… Tasuku and Tendou’s plan is to look like they are dating with each other so as to break them up. Yeah, the duo seeing them like this are already starting to feel depressed instead. When they are about to take things further by a step by holding hands, they are spotted by Chiaki and Konoha. Apparently Konoha overheard about this double date planned and tricked Chiaki into coming along. Because if she doesn’t want to go with Keita, maybe Konoha will go with him. After a few rides, the real challenge now is the haunted house. However before Tendou could go further with Keita, he is already ‘gone’. Konoha had taken Keita and Chiaki to a shortcut exit so as to get them alone together. However Chiaki has been afraid all this time and she soon passes out only to wake up sleeping on Konoha’s lap. Keita carried her here. Konoha leaves to go buy drinks so as to leave them alone. Chiaki gets nervous with him although she would hate it even more to be left alone. She asks what he thinks of Nobe and Mono. His usual earnest opinion. Of course he thinks everyone else is also important. That includes you, Chiaki. Though he plays down Tendou, Chiaki just tells him to stop trying to be that cool. Their conversation is interrupted when they spot Konoha spying on them. It’s late and they should reunite with the others but Chiaki wants to go home. However Keita takes her hand and brings her to the parade where the others are. After explaining what happened, I guess Keita needs to spend some time with Tendou too so he agrees to hold her hand so as not to get lost. Chiaki most probably lost it as she breaks out of her character after all of Konoha’s teasing. She vows to make Keita fall slave to her charms. This outing is at least good for Tasuku and Aguri because they’re back on very good terms.

Episode 12
Before we forget who Misumi is, we see him narrate his life. He was wandering on the streets till he saved a rich girl, Riki from being kidnapped. She took him in and his basics in life were covered. However he has to face tortures, experiments and jealousy. Now he is in some video game tournament final and the person he is facing off is no other than Riki! Back to our proper story, Tendou has the gang go on a ‘serious training camp’. How can you have a training camp at the hotspring? Anyway, since she imposes the rule of no flirting, Keita and Aguri better not get too friendly with each other otherwise it’s those piercing stares. And Tendou shouldn’t break that rule herself because she is dressed up so nicely. Like as though she is trying to attract someone… The big ‘catch’ of this episode is how we see Aguri who is a non-gamer reasoning from her own perspective and all the irrational things gamers do, hence earning their ire. Especially DLC. Yeah… It really hits hard when she cannot understand one would spend money for clothes on your digital character when you can use that same money to buy real clothes! So true! Then there is this ‘trap’ of how DLC lures unsuspecting people to buy more and Aguri falls into it easily when Keita puts Tasuku as the object. She would love to spend and give her money all for him! So in the end, Aguri accepts DLC and concludes that games are real sh*t! So true for today’s industry! We ‘level up’ as now we hear the girls talking more about it in the hotspring. Is there a DLC to unlock those steam censors? They talk about game difficulties and how some like harder games and it makes them like some sort of masochist. They also talk about epilogue DLC and that this entire DLC thingy should be removed and if needed to be added, it should be one helluva crazy stuff. Back together with the rest, Aguri has now understand the concept of DLC as she explains it by substituting game with desserts and the extra toppings you buy at the shop and find it all very sh*tty. Keita also talks about a game his parents wrongly bought. It was crappier and more expensive than the clone and he couldn’t have the heart to tell them about it. But it wasn’t all that bad when he started playing. That was what makes it memorable. Games gives you the flexibility and freedom to make as much emotional investment as you want. There will always be terrible games out there so it is up to us to enjoy the games to the best of our ability in each of our own way. With that, Keita wants to play this crappy game but everybody tugs in for the night.

Game Of Love And Lies
Wow. The final episode was really different and enlightening. It actually highlights one of the biggest problems that today’s gaming industry is facing. This finale isn’t actually as bad except that it might be a little draggy and boring considering we have been watching all the comical hijinks and misunderstandings all the while and then they drop this ‘surprise’. It is enlightening and interesting but at the same time it is lacklustre and tedious especially if you are not from the gaming industry or even a decent gamer yourself, you will not understand what they are trying to say. Thus it is with mixed feelings that they decided to end the series this way. Or at least the ‘stage is clear’. Because with the relationship problems taken a backseat, maybe the next level of the ‘game’ would begin when they get back. But that is another story. Or a DLC! Curse you DLCs!!!

The entire premise is built on one big messy misunderstanding. This in itself can be a double edged sword. While it is fun and funny to see how the misunderstandings can carry on for a dozen episodes, the never ending mix-ups and confusions compounded from all the ambiguity and misapprehensions, at the same time the entire series gets a little draggy. The longer everything is dragged out, the more confusing it gets. Despite there are only a handful of players (you can literally count them all in one hand), trying to mentally come up with a love chart flow ended up me being confused of who is perceived to have mistakenly fall in love with who during a particular period. At the end of the day, I just screw all that and come to the conclusion that everybody loves everybody! I mean take for instance, Keita who first confessed to Tendou and then later everyone thinks he is hooking up with Aguri but at the same time Tasuku believes Chiaki has a crush on him. Same goes for Tasuku. Aguri is his real girlfriend but he is misinterpreted to be two timing her via Tendou and Chiaki. So you see, in the end all of them thinks the other loves somebody else but is gravely mistaken. Confusing? Sighs, if they had only been honest with what they want to say, this whole mess wouldn’t have occurred. But then again, where lies the fun in that?

Therefore I can’t say much about the characters because basically all of them are bad in communicating with one another for fear that the other would misconstrue and trying to be considerate but of course it backfired. That itself is a charm and curse for this series. Like Keita who is just really a plain guy and has nothing that stands out other than the fact he likes to play games. Tasuku is also somewhat similar except that he has a cooler perspective of life. Not so cool now that he’s gotten into this mess. From what I can see that he is the one mostly responsible for prolonging this misunderstanding drama because we hear his thoughts how he would like to quickly solve this problem but eventually things don’t go the way he wants and his entire plan takes another turn. Tendou has turned from somewhat a respectable cool beauty into one who keeps bugging Keita for his friendship. To a point that we can see she is some sort of Keita attention whore. I hope she doesn’t turn into some yandere. That would be real life bad end for Keita.

Aguri is the only one of the main characters who isn’t interested in gaming. Her misconception that Tasuku has strayed from her has led her to be involved in this complicated game of love. It could have not been such a big issue and this overall love complication not being blown out of proportion for so long if she had perhaps confided with a female person instead of a guy like Keita. Maybe Sarina is too b*tchy to talk about anything. Who else is so ‘understanding’ as Keita? So when a girl like her confides in a guy like him, you bet others will see them in a different light. Then there is Chiaki who started out as Keita’s verbal spat partner and that slowly evolved into love. When you argue with somebody so much, you eventually fall in love with that person. Don’t ask me. That is the logic of love. So she is like the tsundere of the series, trying to get her feelings across to Keita but at the same time trying to maintain that status quo of being his enemy. Say what? For now I don’t see how Konoha could enter the mix but I foresee that the more she want to play matchmaking for her sister, the more she will eventually find herself fall in love with Keita. I guess watching her sister in love is much more fun in playing her hentai game.

Sometimes it feels a little bit deceptive why they call this series so. Sure, video games are a theme but it is not the main focus. Those club members in Tendou’s gaming club are soon forgotten once this crazy romance antics start to roll. I beat they are still honing their FPS and fighting game skill while Tendou is out ‘chasing a boy’. So I’m thinking that the main quintet that got involved in this messy affair that could be viewed from another perspective as a game. You know, the first one to clear this mess ‘wins’. Game over when normalcy is achieved and the situation reverted to how it once was at the beginning. And that Misumi’s cameo in the appearance was one where it trolled us all and threw us off our balance. Because while we were watching the quintet in their silly misunderstandings, he has been fighting his own battle against a cutie pie that we will sadly never get to see. Don’t you dare suggest a DLC for those who want to watch this! Maybe his amnesia reason wasn’t a lie…

The art and drawing feels pretty standard. Animated by Pine Jam, they are a relatively new anime studio. This series is their first normal length animated series since previously they have only animated anime shorts like both seasons of Mahou Shojo Nante Mou Ii Desu Kara and Getsuyoubi No Tawawa.

I have no problems with the voice acting. But somehow I just find it weird that Keita is voiced by a female. It is not unusual for boys’ roles to be helmed by a female but for Keita’s case, it makes him sound like a wuss. Yeah, maybe he is one. Just like that wuss main character in Tsugumomo. Keita is voiced by Megumi Han who did the titular character in Mushibugyou. The rest of the casts are Hisako Kanemoto as Tendou (Ika in Shinryaku! Ika Musume), Toshiyuki Toyonaga as Tasuku (Mikado in Durarara), Rumi Ookubo as Aguri (Chinatsu in YuruYuri), Manaka Iwami as Chiaki (Erina in Re: Creators), Yuuki Kuwahara as Konoha (Tooru in Kobayashi-san Chi No Maid Dragon) and Natsuki Hanae as Misumi (Takumi in Shokugeki No Souma).

The opening theme is the same name as this anime and sung by the trio behind Tendou, Aguri and Chiaki. Sounds like one of those generic all-girl pop songs although they try to put in some video game-like sound effects in it. Not that I really like the song either but I prefer the opening credits animation since there are a few video game parodies like Street Fighter II, Super Mario Bros and even Super Smash Brothers. I might be mistaken, but isn’t there one that mildly parodies that very gay Cho Aniki game? I thought the same trio sung both the ending themes since they sound so alike. Apparently it was an all-girl group, Luce Twinkle Wink. The first ending theme Fight On sounds more like rock pop while the second ending theme, Koi No Prologue plays to a slower pace which I thought felt more suitable for a love romance drama genre. But among all the themes, I prefer this one.

Overall, this is still a fun and enjoyable series to watch. Especially those who love romantic comedies whereby boy-meets-girl-but-lots-of-funny-stuffs-happen-along-the-way-and-things-get-blown-out-of-proportion. Even though the plotline is wafer thin and cliché but at least they make it funny and amusing from the chaos that ensued. Those who are additionally decent gamers could spot a few game trivia here as well. I once thought that video games would in some ways help as practice for real life situations like dating and love. Then I realized it could just be a form of escapism. Because in real life there are no buttons to pause, restart or redo from an earlier save point. Heck, there are no save points! You don’t have 3 lives but only 1 chance to make it right. Otherwise it’s game over. Nobody checks the programming bug permeating in real life, hence all the communication glitches. Sadly, DLC in real life is also applicable if you have the cash to splash for easier access to everything. It’s all about the money. No wonder games today are so sh*tty. No wonder today’s quality of life is so sh*tty. And damn there’s no DLC for a better life.

Hina Logi – From Luck & Logic

This is what I didn’t have in mind when I heard Luck & Logic was going to have another season. Heck, I believe ordinary people wouldn’t have thought it was the sequel so they had to put it in the name just to tell us. Yup, make no mistake. Hina Logi – From Luck & Logic is not exactly a direct sequel of the original. Instead it takes place many years after the Foreigner threat has been stabilized. There is now world peace. At least humans and Foreigners are somewhat coexisting. So what is left to tell when you don’t have alien baddies from another world to harm us? Why, you have a group of cute lolis in a school that trains them to be future Logicalists to maintain the future and world peace. That’s about it! So, this has turned from some sci-fi action fantasy into some cute girls doing cute things?

Episode 1
Liones “Lion” Yelistratova hitches a ride from the countryside to arrive at Pirari Academy, a training school for Logicalists. Nina Alexandrovna sees a huge backpack before her. My, what a cute blue little furry critter. Turns out it is Lion crushed under the backpack and she knows Nina. Belle is her pet familiar. After feeding the hungry girl, Nina is tasked by the teacher to show Lion around but since she is dirty, shower time first. Lion then meets Rino Fujisaki, the assistant homeroom teacher and is given an ALCA card. Lion is nervous introducing herself in class. Yayoi Tachibana the class rep warmly welcomes her to make her feel at ease. Now we have a short review of generally the terms in this series so as to refresh our memories what are Logicalists, Foreigners and the likes. Lion has lunch with her classmates. They learn she is the only child of a royalty of a small country and despite being a highly ranked, she is unsure of what it takes to be a Logicalist. Like she already has Belle but has not make any contract with it whatsoever. When they want to analyse Belle, it starts jumping about mischievously. In all that confusion, Lion worries what she’ll do. Her card then activates as she turns into some plant whipping princess? Not only that, her character has changed into a playful one. The vines go out of control so Nina believes she is Trancejack. Nina transforms into her sci-fi magical girl form to turn her back to normal. While Lion is unconscious, she dreams of this mysterious woman. Later, Lion talks to Nina and she knew her because she saw her on TV before. She admired her and wanted to be like her, her reason for coming here. However Nina lets her know she is only here because of orders from her superior. Therefore she isn’t confident they can become friends as she might go back to HQ soon. Lion remains positive that even so, she’ll be right behind her tail. Lion must be overflowing with love so she tries to hug Nina and they end up falling over the bridge into the shallow river. Cue for all the girls to take a bath together. They further learn Nina snuck away to this academy since her father was against her enrolling here. It’s like she ran away from home but her mom knows she is here.

Episode 2
The girls take their midterm exams. Wait. Lion doesn’t even know what that is?! It’s no surprise she can’t answer and is damn right she should be worried about her score. I guess Lion is cute enough that she becomes the object of tug of war between the student council president and her vice, Mizuki Azuma and Yuuko Morigaya respectively. They note how the world is peaceful enough that Logicalists on active duty are able to transfer to study here. Later we have mock practice battles between the girls like Nina vs Yayoi in which the former wins. Homeroom teacher, Shizuha Kagura has Lion register Belle to her card. Lion is transported into another dimension where she comes face to face with that mysterious woman, Rosa. She wants to stay with Nina and be stronger. With that, she is able to transform without being Transjack. The results are out. Lion scores 15%. Hey, at least it isn’t zero. Nina remembers her superior, Veronica wanted her to study and train at Pirari despite having understand all the fundamentals and possessing capabilities of a university graduate. There is something she wants her to learn there. Nina thinks this is her way of telling her she is weak. She will prove herself and then apply to reinstate her previous mission. Lion, Nina and Mahiro Kyoubashi make their way to go flower viewing. Nobody trusts Mahiro’s device because it always malfunctions and explodes in the end. They manage to find the place and enjoy themselves. I guess it was worth it even though Nina remembers she missed today’s training.

Episode 3
The girls are alerted when the alarm is sounded. Was there supposed to be a drill. Lion’ sharp eye could spot something approaching. It is a man in armour riding a missile! All the anti-aircraft guns can’t take it down. Kagura’s bazooka took down the missile. The man then barges through the door and fights Kagura. It all comes to a stop when Lion tells her stupid dad to stop! That’s her dad?! Oh, he is the kind of father who dotes on his daughter (he even named her after his kingdom). No wonder Lion is so embarrassed and doesn’t like him. So hate is his taboo word and he’ll get emotional if that ever happens. He is here to see his daughter. Because he keeps bugging, the vice principal is forced to allow him to stay and watch. It must be weird, awkward and downright embarrassing for Lion to have her dad following around and cheering her. The only time she opens to him is when he serves lunch. But even that she realizes how embarrassing it is and wants to be left alone. Poor papa… During a mock practice battle between Lion, Nina, Yayoi and Mahiro, Mahiro didn’t want to lose and messed with that missile (why the f*ck is it still there despite being cordoned off?) and they all blast off towards the snowy mountains. Nina couldn’t stop hugging a cute bear cub. Father bear takes this the wrong way and gets mad. Time to run. But Nina still won’t stop hugging… Hiding inside a cave, Lion uses her plant power as a mark to pinpoint where they are. The bear corners them. For once, Lion is praying for dad to save her. And you bet this Russian dude is going to trek and climb all the way to save his daughter. There is no man stronger than a father protecting his daughter. One punch is enough to knock the bear out. Seeing the cub crawling back to it, father understands they are the same. Best reward for him when Lion comes hugging him. Back at the academy. Lion is grateful and realized daddy was worried about her. But worry no more. She has her own friends. Should papa be sad? When it is time to eat, Lion takes all the containers to share them with her friends in her dorm. Oh, only women are allowed in this dorm. Sorry daddy, your little girl has flown the nest.

Episode 4
Mahiro is updating Yuuko’s PC. It seems her password is very easy to remember because it is her birthday. Then the girls realize that today is her birthday! So Yayoi and the rest have a secret meeting to give Yuuko a surprise birthday party (Yuuko is kept busy with all the updates and installation progress). All is set for a pyjamas party when Nina points out what about the presents. You fail as birthday organizer! Yayoi, Nina and Lion head to town to shop for a present while Mahiro, Karen and Karin Kiritani try to stall Yuuko. As the party will be in her room, they need to get her out. Mahiro uses her remote to spam fake viruses. So she leaves to go find Mahiro. Since she could come back anytime, they have Mizuki lure her away by saying there is a bomb in her room! Those virus alerts must be it. Mizuki wants to invite Yuuko to her own personal birthday party but she is taking too dramatically long and Yuuko is gone. With nowhere to go, Yuuko cleans the bathroom. Does she need to Trance just to clean? Meanwhile, because Lion is having fun eating here and there, I guess they got some delay in buying a present. They bump into a little crying girl who insists on getting a dahlia. They ask all the flower shops but coincidentally dahlia has all been sold out. One shop only sells the seeds but this is enough for Lion. She uses her Trance to water and grow them. The little girl is happy and goes on her way. By the time they get to the store, it is already closed. But Nina points they already have a present. After Yuuko is done bathing, she sees an invitation card in the basket asking her to come to her room dressed in these pyjamas. The girls surprise her (honestly, she doesn’t sound THAT surprise) and it is the best birthday party ever. They hand her dahlias as present but she hands them back each a piece as thanks. Mahiro has created a long ass password that is better fool proof. They look like random letters and numbers… That little girl could be the school’s principal in her chibi form? Mizuki continues to eagerly wait for Yuuko…

Episode 5
In addition to the written exam, there will also be a practical exam for these future Logicalists. Yayoi trains hard as she wants to be number one but it seems Nina can do her training even better and without sweat. Trying hard to catch up? Fujisaki explains the practical exam whereby they have to move ‘victims’ in the form of cute stuffed dolls past certain spots to safety at the principal’s office. I wonder if they will be listening to the rest of the rules like the limited number of times they can Trance and not allowed to hurt others. If their victim gets injured or they lose it, they get disqualified. Veteran Logicalists like Chloe, Mana and Yukari helping out. The first part of the test sees Kagura standing before them. Are they going to fight her? Hell no! Jump off the bridge and into the water to bypass her! While climbing the rocks, Mana snipes at them while Yukari helps out. Yayoi falls off but Lion Trances to save her. Yayoi wants to disqualify herself but is told their mission is to get the victims to safety. Nina duels with Chloe and although she beats her, she gets taken about by Mana-Yukari combo. Yayoi then comes to face Chloe and the latter warns her comrades not to help her. Yayoi feigns and gives Chloe the slip since she has a secret help from Lion. I guess that’s what you get when you don’t allow your pals to help. In the end, Lion takes first place and Yayoi allowed her to do so since it was her strategy that made her realize what is important. So while everybody has fun soaking in the hotspring, only Nina looks miserable. Later Kagura has Lion undergo a test by letting her hold a mirror. As she thinks about Rosa, the mirror starts to glow green stuff. Kagura explains the mirror shows her balance with Rosa. As a Logicalist and Foreigner share half their Logic and become one, Lion is entrusting too much to Rosa. It is bad as it could damage herself and her surroundings. She must learn to retain her own will. Nina continues to train hard but she still doesn’t look happy.

Episode 6
Everyone is at Lion’s home and kingdom for the summer vacation. Why does the air-cond in the place have to break down at all times? I’m sure Lion’s mom’s great hospitality would cool things down. Except when she’s going to teach her husband a lesson for all this. When school just ended, he came to pick up Lion back home. However Lion wants to stay with her friends a little longer. He ‘enticed’ them that back home has got lots of food, luxurious amenities and a place to explore Foreigners! Wow! Please let us come! Only Nina has no interest but with Lion begging with puppy dog eyes, that’s how the whole gang is here. Meanwhile Lion and Mahiro are out in nearby forests researching about Foreigners. Mahiro explains her entire family are ALCA researchers. They’re so obsessed in researching, she wonders if they’ll ever come home. They didn’t find any Foreigners here so Mahiro hopes perhaps Belle could have some clues. Lion isn’t sure and views it as a family member. Thanks to Lion’s dad using his might to create a pool, the girls can now rest easy and cool off. After a nice BBQ, they head to the nearby woods to watch the stars. Seeing a shooting star, they all make their wish. Mahiro blurts out hers as wanting to go to the alternate world. She is really curious about Foreigners and wants to see what their world is like. Her parents were against it since it will be dangerous as a human body is not very adaptive. So why not ask Belle? Well, if that critter can talk. Nope. But it can sing! Maybe Lion taught it? Lion also hums along. The girls have not heard it before so Lion’s dad points out this song is not from this world. It used to be a song Rosa sang. Mahiro is excited and wants to meet her but Lion left her card back at the academy. Looks like she’ll have to wait till they get back. The next day the friends leave. Nina had to ‘assure’ Lion she’ll come back to the dorm early to give her some hope. Maybe she doesn’t want to be too long with her baka dad? Even if dad wants to have fun with her all day? But mom tells her to finish something important first: Her homework!

Episode 7
Mizuki is at her usual spying on Yuuko in the morning. She almost gets spotted and I don’t think acting like a bird will do the trick. Luckily a call from Lion that she is coming home tomorrow (daddy is heard crying so badly in the background) distracts her. But Mizuki is now stuck on the tree. Yuuko is in a dilemma since she will be having a career discussion. She doesn’t know if she wants to join ALCA once she graduates. Here comes Mizuki to give her opinion. I guess it sounded exaggerated because of some grand revolution nonsense. But as she explains how ALCA has put a lot of effort to maintain the balance in all the worlds, it sounds very true and realistic. Yuuko remembers she had many dreams as a kid including being a patisserie and florist. She joined this academy but her powers are not suited for battle. Mizuki on the other hand couldn’t form a covenant but is proud that she is able to see the world the way she does. As Yuuko is still uncertain in her life, Mizuki says to do whatever she wants. There is no better motivation than that. She wants to invite her for the Bon festival dance competition but Lion has returned and cuts her off. Maybe next time. With everyone back at the dorm, it’s time to prepare for the festival. But first, those who didn’t finish their homework are forced to do so. Luckily Lion has already done hers. All thanks to tiger mom. We see the girls in their yukata enjoying their evening at the festivals. Some moments together between Lion and Nina. Then an incident. The prize for the dance is stolen. Black feathers are seen around it. Of course they’re going to find it and it’s cue for your girls to Trans this episode. It doesn’t take a genius to know the culprit is a crow and no time for them to retrieve it. Lion sees Yuuko spying at them from a tree branch and climbs up to go join her. This makes the other girls fluster since she isn’t wearing anything underneath. Strange, because everyone is doing the same. They don’t have to get Mizuki down since she falls off after a massive nose bleed. Everyone goes back to have fun. Yuuko tells Mizuki she likes it best seeing Lion and her friends have fun. She likes their smile and wants to watch them grow up. It sounds creepy but if that is her dream, so be it. Oh, Lion won the dance.

Episode 8
The girls are showing their summer research projects. Mostly as weird as it gets. Then it’s Mahiro’s turn. She is really eager to show her mecha that allows human to enter the Paradox Zone. Too bad she spent so much time, the teachers won’t let her demonstrate it. Then Mizuki announces their school’s cultural festival and hopes everyone could pitch ideas on what to do based on the theme of coexisting with Foreigners. So the girls start thinking of what to do until Mahiro hits the idea of singing that song Lion hummed. They should be able to learn Foreigner culture from such songs. Since they have only 1 song, Yayoi suggests making a play out of it. This means Mahiro is made the project leader and has to write the script. Responsibility feels so heavy… You can tell how hard she works as she falls asleep in class with lame mechanisms to make it look like she is still awake. The teacher isn’t going to bother her… The rest have a mock battle. At the end of it, Lion still has that green glowing stuff. Kagura suggests she’ll need to train her in more ways. Especially of the heart. How? Kagura feigns attacking Lion and she immediately Trance. This shows she is too sensitive. With threats as small as this, her emotions run wild. Lion isn’t only having trouble trying to be the best Logicalist. Nina too is pondering how to get back to ALCA. Lion doesn’t want to bother Mahiro so she sleeps at Yayoi’s room. She notes that Mahiro always puts in a lot of energy to do things. Of course she has failed many times. But she wouldn’t be Mahiro otherwise. Mahiro has finally write up the script. She makes her casting announcement with Lion and Nina helming the starring roles. While Lion is ecstatic, Nina isn’t.

Episode 9
It’s funny. Lion’s father engaging his entire maid force just to rescue a cat stuck high up. They make it sound so dramatic. But then he has to leave for a more important mission. It’s the school’s cultural festival. Preparations are coming along fine. Except for Lion. Her acting sucks. However she can only act whenever she is in Trance. Otherwise, normal Lion is just as stiff as ever. During the festival, since the play will be in the afternoon, the girls go visit the various stalls. Lion notices a number on Yuuko and it seems those with them are candidates for a popularity contest. And suddenly Lion gets one too. Yeah, you bet her father is promoting very hard to make her win. He has got competition from Mizuki since she is also promoting for Yuuko’s victory. It comes to a crashing halt for big daddy since his wife is here to take him away. Oh, that cat mission was a success. During the play, everything is going well with Rosa in Lion’s place. Until the climax part Lion accidentally slips and is snapped out of her Trance. She gets stage fright. Nina quickly improvises and calms her down so they manage to sing the song together and end the play on a high note. Lion later hugs her mom and ignores her dad. Nina gets a surprise visit by Veronica who is glad she has adapted to high school life and wants her to continue enjoying it. Mizuki announces the winner of the popularity contest: Yuuko! Poor Lion’s dad can’t stop crying. But why do I have a feeling the result is rigged? Yayoi talks to Mahiro that although their play got second place, everybody worked hard for it and believes Mahiro’s message was delivered. Too bad Mahiro is fast asleep.

Episode 10
Lion must be happy winter break is coming. But first… The exams… Not so happy now. Like the last time, there will be written and practical exam. The latter will be in knockout format and it looks like Lion will face Nina in the first round. Nina talks to the principal and is confident she will be placed first in everything. She is requesting for a chance to go back to ALCA. She didn’t give a straight answer but I’m figuring it’s a no. Lion continues to suck at practice with Kagura. I don’t see any improvements at all. So Nina and Lion’s fight is here. Surprisingly, it is Lion who goes on the offensive. This makes Nina mad because it is as though she is hiding her strength all this while. She tries to go easy on her then but Nina feels insulted for being pitied. Sh*t hits the fan when Nina doesn’t consider Lion her friend. Wait. If she isn’t your friend, but you’re worried she is now crying? That is when Lion loses it and her powers go berserk. Rosa takes over and wrecks the place. Nothing like a few shouting from her other friends to bring Lion back. But when Nina tries to talk to her, Rosa takes over again and escapes. Nina volunteers to look for her and Belle is brought along since it has this power to balance her out. When Lion is found, Rosa’s vines start attacking her. Nothing like whipping a few pain and scratches to stir up some emotion. Finally Belle gets to Lion and, uhm, starts glowing. Lion reverts back once Nina manages to touch her. Kiss and makeup, okay? As Nina passes out, Lion notices they are lost in the middle of the icy desert. She seeks Belle’s help and at this point Belle turns into her true majestic Foreigner form. They both make a pact. This means a new Trance outfit for Lion. They return safely. In the aftermath, they are told that the practical is cancelled (but of course) and they’ll calculate their scores based on something else. They also have to report to ALCA in detail. It doesn’t matter who is at fault as ALCA will be the one who decides. That will take some time. More importantly, the duo are back safely. Lion and Nina further reconcile and return to the rest of their friends who are already all geared up for the Christmas party.

Episode 11
The friends leave for the winter break. Nina is only left at the dorm. She is happy because she can now watch her reserves of comedy. What? And also study something about the universe. Huh? All that comes crashing down when she sees Lion in her room. Didn’t she leave? Apparently she heard Nina wasn’t going back and decided to stay. I guess it’s better to be in her company than her dad’s, eh? If you can’t beat them, join them. They got addicted to the kotatsu that they’re so lazy in answering the door. They do a staring contest and Lion loses immediately and laughs like mad. Nina is insulted since she didn’t do a funny face. But Belle is laughing too… It seems someone delivered high quality crabs. From who? Don’t know. But after eating it, they realize it is sent to the wrong person. Fujisaki seems to be waiting forever for it when it finally arrives. She is going to share this with Kagura but something tastes off… It doesn’t tastes like high quality crab… In actuality, Nina and Lion rushed to the store to buy crab sticks and replace them before delivering it to the right doorstep. As Yuuko is making Valentine Chocolates, Lion and Yayoi help out. Lion accidentally spoils the oven but nothing like Mahiro can fix it. But you know how she fixes things… The oven ‘attacks’ Lion but is luckily taken out by Nina’s arrow. Lion gives the chocolate as thanks but after Nina eats it, she feels different. Suddenly Nina confesses she loves Lion and starts hugging her! OMG! First lesbian loli sex?! Why you so freaked out Lion? Didn’t you like this? It is believed Nina’s arrow had some sort of effect so they need to dispose the rest. How? Mahiro eats one! Now she has lesbian loli sex with Yayoi! Karen and Karin walk in to see this betrayal. How will they protect her? Join in and make it a foursome! Yuuko needs to dispose the last one but bumps into Mizuki. She thinks the chocolate is for her and eats it. But we aren’t surprised seeing we know her character. I don’t think she is under its influence as she gets down to her knee and proposes to Yuuko. But Yuuko isn’t shocked. She believes the effects will wear off and returns to the rest. Mizuki feels so rejected. The affected girls return to normal. Nina must be in damn shock to learn what has happened. It’s Lion’s turn to get lovey-dovey with her. Though Nina still gives her own chocolate to Lion and this makes her very happy.

Episode 12
It looks like Lion and Nina won’t be punished by ALCA. However Lion will need to take extra supplementary classes. Later Fujisaki and Kagura talk to Nina privately. They hand her a letter from ALCA commending her actions. Does this mean she has a chance to go back to ALCA? Yayoi and Karin heard this and report it to the rest. The only one still overreacting is Yayoi. Even Lion is happy for Nina. But her happiness looks fake… And then seeing Yuuko packing her stuffs because she is graduating in 2 more days puts a lot more damper. Yayoi thought of hatching up a plan to make it look like there is a reason for Nina to stay but you’ll know it will fail. Like this lavish dinner, the topic of Yuuko leaving permeating the conversation. Then there is this leaving photos of Lion and Nina as a trail. Nina finds it creepy and the one who fell for it is Lion. Yayoi and Mahiro best Karin and Karen to win the right to face Nina in their challenge letter. Nina takes on both of them and in the end she beats them both despite not even going all out. Graduation ceremony is here. Mizuki has lots of fan girls crying over her. Not sure why Mizuki is ‘sad’ when Yuuko tells her juniors that she has been assigned to the same ALCA office as her. Is it because she knows she considers her as troublesome? Is this a hint she doesn’t like her? Suddenly the withered sakura trees bloom back to life. This could only be the work of Lion so Nina starts finding her. Apparently Lion must be so important that Nina purposely runs pass Veronica even when their eyes met. Pretend to look the other way? Eventually Nina finds Lion and learns she did this as a parting gift. Lion promises to catch up to her. Is 5 years enough? Okay Lion. Stop pretending to be tough. It’s time to cry. Nina hugs her and drops the biggest news: She is staying. How could she leave all her previous friends behind? Now everyone can be all smiles again. After they see off Yuuko and Mizuki, they walk home holding hands. They tell each other the kind of Logicalist they want to become. Nina whispers softly that she looks up to Lion. Care to repeat that louder? They return to their waiting friends. Lion bursts the bubble telling them Nina considers them as previous friends. Big smiles! Big group hug! But don’t overdo it! Too late. Lion did so and they all fall into the river. How the heck can Lion catch a fish?!

Screw Logic! Because, Friendship
I guess that is the price we all have to pay for peace. Everything looks so boring unless you enjoy little girls having fun hanging out together you lolicon! It was really kinda expected of Nina to remain because it will be totally sad that if Yuuko goes, it will be double blow for another one to go. I mean, who is going to fill in that freaking huge friendship gap?! Make new friends?! At this point where the anime has just ended?! Screw that. Even happier ending when ALCA decided not to fully punish them because it is a crime to just punish lolis. They might lose some brownie points if they do so because some higher ups might have that sort of fetish. Oops… So another day, another year and another term. I’m guessing more or less the same thing will happen to our friends because what else could happen if there is nothing bad or evil lurking in this time and world but only good and fun times? We better be grateful for those Logicalists who fought and sacrifice their lives for this.

I don’t know. I feel that if the series had not been associated with the original Luck & Logic and stands on its own and everything, I’m not sure if I would feel this way. Because it still is one boring cute girls doing cute things. Sure, there are some cute and light hearted moments but nothing in general that would make it stand out from the numerous cute girls doing cute things shows that I have seen throughout the seasons and years. So for familiarity and nostalgia sake, they use a few familiar terminologies like Foreigners and Logicalists as well as making some of the characters in the original series to return. But they too don’t add much to anything. After all, what plot is there to tell when the Foreigner threat has been subdued? I can only blame myself for expecting that this sequel would be close to the original despite I wasn’t that impressed with the original and had this hope this sequel would make it up. Well, it didn’t. Maybe if I don’t compare it with the original, this spin-off sequel does have its own merits. Like cute girls doing cute things. That can’t be entirely a bad thing, right? Better than seeing cute lolis being sent to battle and fight hostile aliens and seeing them being injured. World peace is the best!

This means whatever questions you want to know and development or things you want to find out about the other worlds especially the Foreigners, they will not be answered. We have no clue about the other world these Foreigners come from or the history or why they have been hostile to us and that curious song that Lion knows that belongs to Foreigners. But screw all that, right? Who cares about Foreigners who look like cute adult humanoids when you can have a bunch of cute lolis.

As for the characters, the main concentration is on the Lion and Nina pair. It’s to showcase their ‘beautiful friendship’, I guess. Because in such peaceful times, Lion is ‘forgiven’ to be helming the role of the airhead, ditz and klutz. We put up with it because she is cute and have that moe charming effect on us. We don’t hate honest girls like her and since she is super genki and lively, all is forgiven. Yeah, I can’t even find myself to consider her annoying as much as I want to. Because you know, moe factor. For dynamism in many friendships, we need to have another character who is at the other end of the pole. That is where Nina comes in. At first she doesn’t show any emotions and isn’t as bubbly as Lion. Slowly she opens up her heart to her and finds that it isn’t bad having her as a friend. It was interesting to note why she was sent here by Veronica instead of continuing her stay at ALCA. I suppose Veronica had some sort of vision of Nina’s attitude and wanted her to experience something that only schools could provide. For better or worse, Nina does change a little. She might not put up big smiles but at least eking out a little smile is better than no smile. Even when she decided to stay and I saw this coming from miles away, it wasn’t really a surprise. From a girl who looked so bent in returning to ALCA has succumbed to the temptations called friendship. Yeah, it can really do wonders even for a strong willed girl like her. My worry is that if Lion drags her down and doesn’t buckle up, they will join ALCA much later. But that’s okay. They have each other, right?

As for the other characters, there isn’t much to note about them and it feels like they are there for a bit of variety. Because there is the danger of us getting bored if they spam too much Lion-Nina time. So like Yayoi, she sounds and looks like a typical oujo-sama although she has her pride, it is a good thing she isn’t the arrogant type like how most oujo-sama types always turn out to be. She is friendly and helpful at times. Her personal bodyguards, Karin and Karen also feel like poles apart. Because with Karin being the more responsible one, Karen is the airhead and ditzy one. Is there some sort of trade off for that because as a result for being the more responsible one, Karin is as flat as a washboard while Karen is so well-endowed. Is this where her brains go to? Mahiro’s running joke is that whatever inventions she makes or fixes, it will tend to blow up in her face. Is this what we all want to remember her by?

Then there is Yuuko and Mizuki. It also feels like a running joke that Mizuki is trying so hard to charm Yuuko but all that always fails and backfires because Yuuko ignores it all or she doesn’t give a sh*t. Maybe it is because of Mizuki’s dramatic over the top acting. Sorry to say this, but perhaps Yuuko isn’t accepting you isn’t because of all the fakeness and bad acting. You should be yourself if you want a better chance of Yuuko accepting you. Or maybe this is Mizuki’s true self? Or Yuuko is just one big blur head and doesn’t know it even if it is spelled out in front of her eyes. Well, keep trying. And keep being disappointed. At least we’ll give you points for being perseverance. Not too sure if Mizuki is trying to be something like Revolutionary Girl Utena because the way she dresses reminds me of so although I didn’t see that anime.

Adding to the mystery aspect is the principal and vice principal. They barely show up unless necessary but the principal herself is a big bag of mystery. I’m sure we have many questions about her existence like why is she always playing a harp in her spare time and why is her hair such an odd colour or maybe if she is some sort of hybrid between a human and Foreigner. But with all the focus on our moe young girls, why do we care about older women anyway?

For added cuteness and the need for an animal mascot of the series, hence the reason why Belle sticks around with Lion. Perhaps the same reason why Pikachu follows Ash instead of being cooped up in the Pokeball like other Pokemon. Because as I have noticed, the girls do possess multiple contracts with several Foreigners and is able to switch and Trance between them. So for Belle to be besides Lion everywhere she goes, it is like a subliminal plot to have them enter a contract eventually. In which in my case, so what? I guess it is better than popping up a random never seen before Foreigner.

Personally, the most interesting and my personal favourite character in this series is not any one of these girls. Yup. The only guy in this series is Lion’s father. Not that I’m being gay with him after being hit with all the loli lesbian fanservice but this guy is just funny. This macho guy isn’t so macho once you get to know how much he dotes on Lion and then gets depressed when his little girl ignores him. The way he overdoes his love and ‘protection’ of Lion is just funny. But I guess that is a father’s love for you. He might be the king of his own little kingdom but he can never be king of Lion’s heart. Because Lion must be going through that puberty phase. Only his wife can put a stop to his extreme ways to spoil his daughter. This guy should get more appearance. And ruin Lion and Nina’s lesbian loli moments? I’m sure papa would approve. As long as it isn’t a boy. I can already imagine this big guy’s reaction if there is ever a time Lion falls in love with a real boy. Imagine that kind of ‘foreigner’…

One of the funniest segments has to be the next episode preview. In many instances, we see the teachers of the school drinking at the bar and mostly Fujisaki and the vice principal complaining about something. Especially about finding her Mr Right. Typically how a frustrated single woman who isn’t getting younger by the day would cry and blurt it all out over a few cups of alcohol. I guess they’re desperate they’ll take on any advice. Even taking some from Lion’s mom who appeared once as a guest. At the end of it all, we see Belle giving us that smirk. Is it trying to imply something about these no hopers?

The action scenes in this sequel isn’t really something to look forward to. It feels forced. Because mock battles between the girls feel necessary from time to time to remind us what this show was about as well as to showcase their magical girl outfits and the transformation scene. Yeah, only in such weird outfits that these girls could pull off special powered moves. Otherwise, the fights are just as boring since it feels like the lesbian loli fanservice is the factor that they are trying to focus on. So if you like your women mature, look somewhere else. So no real fights with dangerous Foreigners because they’ve all been tamed enough so our girls can have a good time frolicking with each other.

Art and animation are very bright and colourful. Important when you want to highlight how cute and moe the girls are. Well, I guess having them in normal school uniform and the occasional magical girl-like outfit when they trance is better than the original’s ALCA uniform whereby the crotch area looks freaking weird. Imagine the female characters wearing those… Just too weird. Animated by Doga Kobo who also did the original series, they also did lots of moe anime like YuruYuri, Koihime Musou, New Game, Love Lab, Sansha Sanyou, GJ-Bu, Gabriel Dropout, Himouto! Umaru-chan, Hidan No Aria AA and Mikakunin De Shinkoukei. I’m sure they have perfected the art of drawing moe girls.

Voice acting feels okay with me only recognizing Rikiya Koyama as Lione’s father, Kana Ueda as Yuuko and Yui Ogura as Karin. The rest are Madoka Asahina as Lion (Nene in New Game), Hibiku Yamamura as Nina (Hibiki in Anne Happy), Natsumi Takamori as Mahiro (Miyano in Tanaka-kun Wa Itsumo Kedaruge), Suzuko Mimori as Yayoi (Sherlock in Tantei Opera Milky Holmes series), Kaede Yuasa as Karen, Maaya Uchida as Mizuki (Rikka in Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai), Mai Aizawa as Kagura (Neris in Shining Hearts: Shiawase No Pan), Tomoyo Takayanagi as Fujisaki, Akiko Yajima as the principal (titular character in Crayon Shin-chan series) and Atsumi Tanezaki as the vice principal (Mizore in Hibike! Euphonium).

The opening theme, Butterfly Effector by True is a heavy rock piece and didn’t resonate with me. But what I find creative in the opening credits animation is the cut out paper stop motion animation that is used amidst some of the real life backdrop. It is pretty cool and creative. Another rock piece for the ending theme, Baby Bird ~Gakuen Logic~ by the trio behind Lion, Nina and Mahiro. The song also isn’t to my liking but again what I find amusing is the ending credits animation of how we see the trio chasing far and wide after their egg rolls away. When they finally grab the egg and it starts hatching, it pops out another egg! It rolls away and hence another repetitive cycle of chasing it down.

Overall, this sequel is just decent and appeal to those who are very much into moe lolis and cute girls doing cute things. Otherwise, fans of the original series would be in for a shock to have discovered how different everything has become. Perhaps another season to explain what happened in between? You know, that goal Yoshichika and Athena supposed to have and do at the end of the original season? No? Don’t remember? So do I. So we have to thank the efforts of the Logicalists who have worked hard to bring peace between the worlds. That is why we are able to enjoy seeing lolis having a good time being lesbians with each other. Ah, good times. Maybe that is why the Foreigners stopped attacking because they too are intrigued and getting a boner in seeing little girls getting overly friendly with each other. Because f*ck logic as long as we get to see cute (lesbian) girls doing cute (lesbian) things.

Jigoku Shoujo: Yoi No Togi

What, what WHAAAAAAAAT????!!!! OMG!!! I thought it all ended?! But here it is, the fourth season, Jigoku Shoujo: Yoi No Togi! I never knew it would happen since it has been 8 years since the third season last aired! Why now?! What is this nostalgia they’re playing at?! Hell, what do I care? As long as I get to hear Mamiko Noto again I’m more than happy to watch this horror series, the only horror series that I will ever approve myself of watching. But hmm… There is a catch. In its synopsis it is already stated there will be 6 new episodes and 6 ‘reminiscent’ episodes. Oh no… RERUN!!! Ippen shinde miru ka?!

Episode 1
Shizuka Mayama is constantly being bullied by her classmates. At least on the social messaging service, everyone calls her names. Especially a gasball since she is chubby. She thought of calling Enma Ai. She wants to send a few to hell but is told only one at a time. The harassment continues and Mayama would definitely have played into their hands if she responded but Yukawa ‘saved’ her by distracting the teacher’s attention. Yukawa hangs out with her and they both become friends. After lecturing her about continue to get involved by listening to the nasty harassment, she invites Mayama to join a social messaging she created only for loners. The only other person is Yokota. Mayama seems a lot happier messaging in this group. She even gives suggestions how others should die. Enma Ai and her team continue to watch over her when a strange girl pops up before Enma Ai asking her if she is sure about doing this before disappearing. One day, Mayama sees her classmates acting strange. There is a laptop on her desk that reveals the loners’ conversations. Thinking Yukawa couldn’t be the one, Mayama heads over to the next class to find Yokota. She isn’t sure what she is talking about and laughs. Then she finds Yukawa also badmouthing her in the other conversation. With anger building up, Mayama contacts Enma Ai. She is now given a straw doll. Then she goes to confront Yukawa. She reveals that she was the one who started this harassment because she found her annoying (like always apologizing for no reason, etc). But she didn’t think it would turn out this bad and would die out. She felt bad and became her friend. Mayama is not convinced since she still posted bad things about her. Yukawa denies it was her. Maybe it was Yokota. But Mayama says she met her and that’s how she knew Yukawa and Yokota are the same person. She pulls the string. Yukawa suffers a handphone nightmare with an app deleting all her innards before being sent to hell. As Enma Ai rows her to hell, the strange girl views all this is wrong. Enma Ai doesn’t care. This is work and has nothing to do with it. Mayama becomes badass in the aftermath, not caring about anybody. It is revealed that there is another person with the same Yokota name in that same class. A boy.

Episode 2
Enma Ai gives Haru a straw doll. But she gives it back as she cannot do it. Hone interviews a famous comedian, Nanako. Her comedy partner is Haru. She looks like the dumb and clumsy type and is always doing Nanako’s bidding. However behind the face of the public, the roles are reversed. Haru is the brains and Nanako is her obedient subordinate. Sounds more like an avid fan girl who is grateful for picking her up. The strange girl continues to bug Enma Ai. When Wanyuudou asks about her, all Enma Ai says is that she has forgotten her own identity. Ren becomes their manager as he continues to observe them. One night as Haru is racking her brains for new materials, Nanako mentions she saw her former partner in audience. He might have quit show business but seeing how Haru has become famous, maybe he wants her back. Wow. Yandere look… The next time she sees him, she wants to report a stalker. After all, he once abused her and all. Haru is crept out seeing how clingy Nanako is and slaps her. She accuses her of sleeping with the producer to get her first gig. Later Nanako goes to see what new materials she had come out with: None. Haru goes to see her former partner to complain how weird Nanako has become. He finds it odd that she was the one who picked her up and now she doesn’t want her. Flashback shows how Haru saw Nanako in a lame act on stage. For some reason she asked her out for a drink and a weird partnership formed between them. Haru was able to do it because of Nanako but now she feels she is a baggage. She realizes she has become like him in abusing her. Haru goes home and starts anew, discussing new materials with Nanako. After doing another successful show, at the backstage, Haru pops the message they should break up since she is at her limit. But Nanako views this as her being abandoned since she wants to get back with her old partner. Haru assures he has nothing to do with it and also doesn’t blame her. But what’s this? Nanako has a straw doll in her hand?! Nanako believes she won’t be happy even if she quits comedy and that’s why she doesn’t want to live anymore. Haru realizes Nanako has always understood her. Of course. She is her partner. Nanako pulls the string and promises she’ll be there soon. Haru will be waiting too.

Episode 3
Each of the grownups in the Nagata family have some sort of disturbing personality problem. So it is hard for the young kids, Akira and Arina to live in such a sick family. It’s literally hell. One night, Akira sees his mom pulling the string on the straw doll and the next day, grandma is gone. Akira talks to Arina about this so they decide to do something. They call the adults their parents who have an affair with as well as their eldest sister’s bully victim. They want them to help send them to hell. Once they’re gone, the siblings will inherit the assets in which they will distribute to them. However they throw caution that the penalty outweighs the benefit because they themselves will go to hell. Besides, they know they are afraid of going to hell themselves and therefore requesting them to do it on their behalf. It’s a no go. One day, eldest sister brings back home their cousin to live with them. She has an affair with him and he too has a nasty personality. When the parents try to tell him to go home, he becomes violent and beats them up. So he is hurting them for hurting him by not being sensitive to his feelings? Crazy. Akira is okay with the abuse he puts up with him but he line is drawn when he tries to rape Arina. After the parents left home with their ‘respective reasons’, the cousin gets even more violent with the kids. After tying up Akira, he goes to rape Arina. That was the last straw. I mean, he got a straw doll. He is going to send the cousin to hell. At the same time, the bully victim also has one and plans to send eldest sister to hell. They discuss how they have found the resolve to do this because as long as those demons are alive, somebody will suffer. They are going to sacrifice themselves for their sakes. Besides, knowing they will go to hell, they won’t be afraid what kind of person they’ll meet after this. They pull the string. In the aftermath, Akira and bully victim team up to murder the latter’s tormenters. Hey, it isn’t murder if their body isn’t found, right? Akira’s parents never return home and Arina continues to be a vegetable. Sad…

Episode 4
At a retirement home, Sakura is being lamely scared by a fellow senile old woman, Tamie. I’m sure she’s just fooling around as it looks funny than scary. Unfortunately the abusive workers beat her up and bring her back to her bed where she is tied up. Sakura tries to save her but is also abused. Thus Sakura seeks Enma Ai. She has lots of people she wants to send to hell but since she can only send one, that person is Saeko Yanohara who is the facility’s director who covers up the abuses and profits from it. Working in this facility is Tsugumi. She is one of the few kind workers but has no power to stand up to authority. Wanyuudou also disguises himself to investigate and he and Sakura clicked since the latter thinks he looks like her former school teacher, her first crush. Oh, the flame is still burning strong in these old people? I mean, Wanyuudou seriously takes a liking for her? He talks to her why she never reported this to her family members. She doesn’t want to worry her family as she does not worry about them. She asks him about hell and if it is right to curse someone at the end of one’s life. One day, Wanyuudou sees her collapsed on the floor and her hands dirtied. She wanted to watch the sakura trees bloom. So he brings her there. One day when Saeko brings the reporters to show them how good her facility is, Wanyuudou is shocked that Sakura has lost her memory. Tsugumi attends her and it seems she still remembers. She hints to the old guy that Sakura has forgotten whom she wants to send to hell and it is better this way. Another facility staff tries to expose the cruelty of this facility in front of the reporters. That is when Tamie happily says Sakura keeps a diary of all the abuse. That night, Saeko and the workers storm into Sakura’s room, abuse her to look for the diary. They only find the straw doll as she tosses it out. Wanyuudou realizes Sakura buried the diary near the sakura tree that day before losing her memories. Tamie comes in trying to save her but gets abused too. Wanyuudou put back the straw doll and this time Sakura is able to reach it and pull the string. In the aftermath, Sakura looks calmer now that she is in the hands of Tsugumi.

Episode 5
The strange girl slowly remembers herself as Michiru. There is a joint funeral of 3 families whose sons died. When another family comes to pay their respects, they are shooed away and they blame them for their son, Satoshi is the only one who survived the tragedy. Flashback shows the family are transporting their sons on a trip. Not only they bullied Satoshi but they disregard safety advice from his parents. Then an accident happened. Those with seatbelts on are still alright. Those without are flung out and it’s a horrible mess. Michiru feels sorry for Satoshi as she could relate to him. She lives in the feudal era and her father helped bring electricity to the other tenants. The landlord is not happy about this. So his son and his friends try to lure and push Michiru into a pond but they drowned instead. She is the only one who survived but her family gets accused for killing the boys. The villagers even turn their backs on them. Therefore Michiru thinks it is wrong for innocent Satoshi to be sent to hell since one of the boys’ mother has written down his name. Enma Ai tells her she’ll have her answer once she remembers everything. Continuing the flashback, as Michiru’s family has been ostracized, she goes around to find food. However she is lured and trapped in the landlord’s shed where they left her to die. Michiru uses her last ounce of strength to climb to the top window to place a wind chime. Her parents searched for her for days but couldn’t find her. Then they hear strange wind chime sounds and follow it to the shed. They break down the door and see her. At this time, the landlord and villagers are going to burn down the place. Father tries to reason with them that they will be charged for murder but nobody’s listening. Yeah, if the police can’t find any evidence… The shed is burnt down and father instantly died after taking a blow to the head when he tried to fight back. Michiru believes she has remembered her memories and her decision still doesn’t change. She is pleading to Enma Ai to stop the mother to send Satoru to hell. However the mom throws away the straw doll. Enma Ai explains when your situation changes, your allies change too. What is right or wrong is no more than a person’s feelings. There is more that Michiru hasn’t remember fully yet. When her mom died trying to protect her from the flames, Michiru let out a curse. The flames then burnt everyone down and eventually the entire town. She has committed an unforgivable sin and must atone for it by becoming Jigoku Shoujo! That is her answer.

Episode 6
Michiru refuses to become Jigoku Shoujo and she believes Enma Ai has been persistent in trying to turn her into one. She denies and says it is this spider from hell who wishes it. She doesn’t believe and leaves but the rest knows no matter how much she escapes, she’ll come back here. Tetsuya and Yui are dating and soon he pops the question. Happy story, right? However Yui has been visiting JT every midnight but never goes through with it. Yui then takes Tetsuya to see her father in hospital. He is in coma and on life support. She reveals the truth. Her father once ran a food delivery service. One night 5 years ago he was assaulted and left for dead. Although the culprit was caught and sentenced to only 3 years. Yui noticed Tetsuya who was supposed to be the culprit’s colleague not satisfied and left. Yui then worked in his company to find him and learn the real truth. The only clue was he had a mark on his chest. Of course it was hard and she was about to give up and by accident she spotted it on him. Tetsuya reveals on that night, there were 5 of them. A couple were drunk and when they accidentally bumped into Yui’s father, they got violent and beat him to a pulp. The rest were too scared to stop. The ringleader is Kogure who is now the president of the company. Suzumura is his accomplice but he is no longer around. He died in an accident shortly after that incident. Michiru has been spying on this case so Enma Ai notes it is for her to decide. Yui is going to enter Kogure’s name in JT but Tetsuya stops her. He doesn’t want her to go to hell. He knows about it because he was the one who sent Suzumura to hell. Shortly after that incident, Suzumura raped his sister who worked in the company. She was threatened not to tell and Tetsuya only knew about it after she hanged herself and left a note. Tetsuya contacted Jigoku Shoujo and immediately pulled the string. Tetsuya is going to set things straight. After quitting the company, he goes to the police station. However Yui contacts JT. Michiru is now Jigoku Shoujo???!!! She doesn’t hesitate to pull the string. We see Michiru in action. Is it me or does she look cute than scary? Yui is satisfied it is over as she unplugs father’s life support. She is shortly arrested. Tetsuya is disheartened to learn what happened. All she can say is that she is going to hell with Kogure while her father goes to heaven. Now Satoshi sees Michiru and wants to send himself to hell, thinking he would be trouble around his parents. Of course that isn’t possible so Michiru tells him how sad his parents will be without him around. It might be impossible now but do it for his parents’ sake. Please smile too so that one day they can meet in heaven. Kikuri is mad because Yamawaro has ‘dumped’ her to be Michiru’s assistant. After all the constant abuse? I can see why.

Episode 7
Mamoru Hanagasa is a talented baseball player. Lots of girls admire him. Lots of his comrades admire him. Away from the prying eyes, Hanagasa beats up fatty Shinichi Muroi and frames Daisuke Iwashita that they were fooling around by the river and accidentally pushed him over. So when Iwashita sends Muroi home, he has to pretend and go with Hanagasa’s story. That was the last Iwashita saw of Muroi. He never come to school and a few days later, the school announces he has sadly passed away. At his funeral, everyone blames Iwashita as the culprit. Even his own father punches him for it. Hanagasa also pays his respect but he is a good actor shedding crocodile tears. It gets worse when the detectives want to question him because autopsy reveals Muroi had ruptured organs. Iwashita panics and runs away. Later that night he contacts Jigoku Shoujo and is given a straw doll. Next day he confronts Hanagasa to take responsibility. However he won’t and even ‘thanks’ them. Due to this, he doesn’t need to play in the tournament and it would save his shoulder. He did plan this all on purpose. Iwashita cannot accept this anymore and pulls the string. And so we see Iwashita’s baseball torment as well as his judgment from the Jigoku Shoujo team. He remains arrogant till the end and does not own up to his responsibility before being sent to hell. Hanagasa has disappeared and others are talking how a witness came forth to reveal he beat up Muroi with a baseball bat. Iwashita moves away to his aunt’s place and notes it will take time for him to settle down.

Episode 8
Namiko Todaka is the wife of the local branch manager and beware those who crosses her path. The unfortunate for Keiko Yasuda as she has been harassed and living in fear. Even her daughter, Haruka is not spared from the harassment by Todaka’s daughter and her friends although to a lesser degree. The harassment even reaches her husband who for some reason gets accused for no reason by the branch manager. One day the harassment got too much as Todaka sent a guy to harass her at home. When Haruka comes home, she sees her mom unconscious and gas building up in the closed area. She starts to have a grudge on that woman and contacts Jigoku Shoujo. However Enma Ai warns her she cannot save her mom and only provide revenge. After understanding the T&C, Enma Ai shows her what happened. One day they were walking home, her mom saw Todaka making out with a man from her window. Todaka spotted her and became enraged. Soon, she framed her mom by hiring guys to make it look like she had a fling with them. If she exposes this, she will implicate Haruka too. Haruka witnesses her dad beating mom up and not believing what she says. Haruka cannot take this anymore. Her family is ruined so she pulls the string for Todaka to face hell. In the aftermath, her mom smiles more often and it is rumoured Todaka ran off with another man. Her daughter becomes the talk of town and is ashamed of what her mom did. Almost a target for bullies. Haruka notes her life might have become better for now but knows she’ll have to pay a price once she dies.

Episode 9
Akane Sawai locks herself in her room despite her teacher, Yoshiki Fukasawa keeps knocking on her door to talk to her. Ignoring his pleas, she only contacts with an online friend known only as Cheppo. With Fukasawa being persistent, Cheppo suggests she try contacting JT. Of course Sawai is in a dilemma to pull the string. We see Fukasawa constantly doing this is because the vice principal has been pressuring him. Truancy is bad for reputation. One night, Sawai is surprised he visits. So she finally explains about the hell that is society. You have to put up with something even if you don’t want to do it. When she can tell he has been pressured because of his reputation, he blows his top and yells back to not speak like she knows everything. He realizes his outburst and apologizes. He then admits all that and leaves. This makes Sawai even more confused. She doesn’t know what to do. She seeks Cheppo’s help but she too is unsure. Next day, everyone is in shock that Sawai turns up to class. Later Fukasawa talks to her in the teacher’s room but had to leave for a while to attend something. Sawai then contacts Cheppo but notices Fukasawa’s handphone ringing. To her horror, Fukasawa is Cheppo! She demands an explanation so he takes her to an abandoned house where he admits he is Cheppo but unaware Sawai is the person whom he is corresponding with. He explains he never knew why kids skipped school until he became a teacher. After she lets him know she entered his name on JT, he wants her to send him to hell. He is tired of it all and wants to be at peace. Really?! Hell is peace? Sawai is unsure at first but as she observes, Fukasawa continues to teach but the students never paid him attention and he often gets lectured by the vice principal. She finally pulls the string. Fukasawa is glad to see Enma Ai who then shows him the consequences of what he has done to Sawai. I guess he didn’t know she is going to hell too as he sees her crying and murmuring how she will join him there. Too late to regret now. He’ll forever be in regret.

Episode 10
Wanyuudou hitchhikes with a truck driver on a coastal road as he reminisces his past on this path. But the truck driver asks him if he has heard of JT. Because at the end of this road there is a stubborn old man living alone in a house. He refused to move out despite being given compensation and it is believed he is being greedy. Because of that, the road has to be built around it and this has caused accidents and death. The truck driver’s younger brother died in an accident here. Even after that, the old man refused to move out. The truck driver entered his name in JT but Jigoku Shoujo never came. He is going to avenge his brother by himself. Meanwhile Hone stays at the old man’s house as a wandering traveller. She learns all his family is dead and he is the last one left. He tells her he was born in this house, lived all his life here and wants to die here. People think he is greedy but even if they relocate him, do they expect him to live in a new environment with strangers? The old man starts coughing. The truck driver is going to ram into the house but that is when Enma Ai appears before him to hand him a straw doll. He wanted to pull it but he was a second too late. The old man has died. He doesn’t believe it and still wants to crash his truck. Till he tries to avoid Kikuri and had not Wanyuudou stop it, he would have died in the same place as his brother did. Soon the truck driver sees the old man’s peaceful body. There is a letter addressed to him in which he leaves all his property and compensation of his brother’s death to him. The house then ‘dies’ along with the owner and collapses.

Episode 11
Akira Kitakami keeps staring at Mitsuko who is manning the electrical shop. It’s not that he likes her or anything. Maybe he does. But the thing is, her husband Seiji is very abusive. He thinks she is trying to seduce that kid and always tortures her. Worse, Akira secretly spies on this torture. Even when Mitsuko is slow in answering the phone, he tortures her. Akira contacts JT but is still unsure if he should pull the string so he talks to Yuzuki for help. He is confused why Mitsuko doesn’t run away and keeps staying by his side and take in all the abuse. Maybe this is a form of love? Ultimately Yuzuki tells him to not get involved. One day he visits the store again and this time he is serious in wanting her to run away from that creep. He will help her if needed. She is reluctant since he will always hunt her down. Too late. Hubby’s back. He gets even violent in beating her up. Pipsqueak can’t even take him down. Trapped beneath the rack and Mitsuko continues to suffer, his only way out is to pull the string. It’s over. Next day, he comes to see her again. The store is still in a mess but Mitsuko is missing ever since.

Episode 12
Kaede Inao is believed to have a fox spirit named Gon that does as she wishes. So when a classmate sends in a curse request and it becomes true, Inao who was once a loner and ostracized is now ‘famous’ and getting all the attention she wants. With friends requesting curses, she does them and it all turns out well and as per wanted. Of course the Jigoku Shoujo team know there is no such spirit and all that has happened are merely coincidence. One day a classmate wants her to kill a stalker and nothing happened to the stalker, Inao becomes more and more desperate and her classmate is starting to get impatient and threatens to expose her as a fake. Inao went to great lengths and performing ridiculous rituals just to get this stalker killed but in the end he still breathes. Now even more desperate, she contacts Enma Ai and pulls the string even before she could finish reading the terms of the contract. With this case ‘solved’, the classmate is so glad the stalker has disappeared. Oh, she lied about the stalker and just didn’t like his face. Now she introduces a friend who has a request of someone killed…

To Hell With Everything!
WTF???!!! Is this how it ‘ends’???!!! I’m sure many viewers and long-time fans would be cursing the producers for deceiving them about this season. Yeah, rerun half the season with old episodes and call it a new season. I have this bad feeling so many people are contacting Jigoku Shoujo to send them to hell. Furthermore, the way it just suddenly ‘ends’ without further explaining about that Michiru’s case rubs further insult on wounds. More on that later.

After a long absence, watching the same old formula of vengeful people sending others to hell still feels interesting and intriguing. Yes, it worked on my nostalgia side too. The new stories are nothing new or original, at least not that it brings in any fresh ideas because it is still people with twisted vengeance and motives sending the ones they hate or ‘love’ to hell. They also try to put this mysterious Michiru girl in the mix. At first it sounds interesting because you’ll be guessing who this girl is and what her connection is to Enma Ai. And when her past and all is revealed, she is supposed to become the next Jigoku Shoujo? Or at least another colleague? Erm, didn’t they try that in the third season whereby Yuzuki was supposed to be the next Jigoku Shoujo but that didn’t happen and hence Enma Ai continued to helm that role?

But it was most mind boggling, confusing and disappointing to see how Michiru’s story ‘ends’. Because she has been against Enma Ai’s ways and refused to become Jigoku Shoujo. And what do you know? Suddenly she becomes Jigoku Shoujo in the end! WTF?! How the hell did that happened? What exactly happened?! Did the master of hell brainwashed her into accepting her role? Well, the only good thing Michiru became one is how Yamawaro is now her subordinate and this should shut Kikuri up. Yeah, I love seeing that annoying brat getting tormented now that the object of her bully has gone over to the other side. That’s the best way to get back at someone who has been tormenting you ever since. They’ll only appreciate it when they find themselves no one and nothing to torment anymore. Come back!

The way the new episodes ‘ended’ just to pave way for the reminiscence episodes is one reason why I felt disappointed with this season generally. Not only did I not get enough explanation about Michiru’s end result (maybe it is just that, Michiru becomes Jigoku Shoujo. The end), the reminiscence episodes are just reruns of an entire episode from previous seasons. Damn copy and paste. Are they trying to hint something here using this method? Well, this isn’t the first time a series does this as Gintama did it in one of their seasons. A few other animes have also done this but that is more of a recap episode rather than entirely copy and paste. The only difference that prevents it from being 100% copy and paste is that at the start of each episode, we see a mix of paper cut-out and real life animation of the Jigoku Shoujo team in a bar reminiscing one of those old episodes. The only good part about this segment is how Kikuri gets owned and bullied, her plans backfired because of her brattiness. It’s like getting a taste of her own medicine. They should have just made this part longer and renamed it, Kikuri Gets Bullied. Anyway, watching the reruns in a way made me feel mixed. Because I couldn’t remember a damn thing! It was as though I have watched this for the first time! Serious! I didn’t actually recall any of these episodes. So I was going like, “Did I see this before?”. Only that truck driver episode I remember hints of it but still I forgot many parts of it.

Because I vaguely describe such episodes in a sentence in my previous blog, it didn’t help jog my memory. Yeah, I was even being lazy then. Therefore if they rerun the entire 3 seasons, I might as well have watched like as though it is new since I have already forgotten about them. So I believe this reminiscence episodes are like teasers for audiences new to anime so that they can go back a decade to watch the original seasons. I also feel that this fourth season is like the producers and writers ran out of ideas and thus they needed some reruns. This is also why the fourth season is the shortest among all the other seasons at it only has a single cour to it whereas all first 3 seasons were double cours. Heck, this fourth season had only half of an actual cour. More people being sent to hell, more back stories of the Jigoku Shoujo team to find out and the other third party who is trying to stop them. And this is why Michiru as the new character and latest addition to the Jigoku Shoujo team feels wasted and disappointed.

In a way, the reminiscence episodes aren’t so bad since it brings some nostalgia as we get to see the entire old process of how Enma Ai and her team fly into action. Right down from handing over the straw doll to the person who called her and saying the T&C, to that mysterious granny’s shadow who is always turning the spinning wheel and when the string is pulled we see again how Enma Ai puts on her kimono as well as Wanyuudou’s fiery face on the fiery wheel fly over the horizon to take the targeted person to hell. But still, it is overall bad for the series because if we wanted to watch reruns in HD, which is already available a long time ago, we would have gone watched them.

I tried to come up with conspiracy theories of why certain episodes were selected for the reminiscence arc. As much as I scratch my head about it, I can’t find a connection. Because some episodes show young Tsugumi and some show Yuzuki. It is truly copy and paste. So if you have not watched previous seasons and wonder who these girls are, you’re going to be very much confused. I thought the episodes were multiples of 3’s but one of them broke this combo. Damn. That was the closest I could find. Or maybe they just selected them at random. Just to screw with us. Even if we were told there are 6 new episodes and 6 reminiscent ones, we kept hoping one of them would be different and especially when it reached the final one, there would be something absolutely different. We were wrong. Why oh why do I even ponder about this kind of things?

Of course there are a few questions that I once asked in the previous instalments of this series and it made me ponder again but with no real answers in sight. For example, I remember asking what if the time isn’t exactly midnight, can you still contact Jigoku Shoujo? What I meant is that if you turn your PC clock back or forward, will you still be able to contact her? Because we always see people connecting to JT right on the dot. What if multiple people hand in their request at the same time? Assuming they are at the same location in a similar time zone. Because you know, there is only one Enma Ai who has to give the straw doll and explain the T&C. Now with Michiru joining the team, I guess it lightens the load. But you know, human grudges are so endless and it is unrealistic that there is only 1 request per night. And some who requested do not pull the string immediately but they wait for a few days. So what happens in between those days while the team is waiting? Besides, the Jigoku Shoujo team has only ‘limited staff’ and hence limited number of straw dolls Enma Ai can hand out. Imagine if there are 100 people who request a grudge that night. What do you mean that won’t happen? Imagine the aftermath of a football match in which a controversial goal was given and hence a controversial victory to the traditional rival. Yeah… There’ll be thousands who are going to hell tonight! They should have been addressing such questions rather than putting in those reruns.

Art and animation for the new episodes seem to be updated as they are sharp and vivid. There is a stark difference when you compare and watch to the reminiscence episodes. You can see how a decade changes stuffs like technology. Imagine just 10 years ago we were still using CRT monitors and television. 10 years ago we didn’t have Smartphones with apps and the latest were like those Motorola Razr flip phones. Heck there is even landline phones! Rarely see those today, right? And USB pendrives were like 8MB!!!! That’s so big at that time!!! Wow. Really nostalgic.

As for the voice acting, I still love Mamiko Noto all these years and this is probably one of the earliest anime series that I watched featuring her that made me fell in love in her voice in the first place. It’s really nostalgic. Her character might be saying the same lines over and over again and her other dialogues may not be varied but I never get tired of her voice. More Jigoku Shoujo anyone? More like, more Mamiko Noto for me!!!!!!!! Oops. Anyway, as for the opening theme, Noise by Mio Yamazaki feels odd. It is such a lively rock piece. I shouldn’t be surprised because previous seasons of the opening themes like Nightmare, Tsukihana and Sakasama No Chou has this lively feel to it. Like in all season, Mamiko Noto sings the ending themes. This season’s Irogami still has that creepy feel that makes it feel that it is a good thing she isn’t a full-fledged singer? Hey, I love her voice but not exactly when it comes to singing.

Overall, I still love the Jigoku Shoujo series and mainly it is because of Mamiko Noto. But if you’re talking specifically about this fourth season, I would say it is disappointing. It only seemed a bit better because of the nostalgia factor that hyped me up. Having reruns in already a short cour isn’t the good way to go and the new story itself as well as the new character isn’t satisfying enough. Maybe the hint is already in the series’ name itself. The series is already at its twilight. If this is its way of going out with a bang, it sure wasn’t it. In conclusion, it goes to show that people never change. The grudges will always be there. The vengeance will always be there. The money milking drive from nostalgia will always be there. The suckers will always be there. When are we ever going to learn? Curse you all! O pitiful shadow bound in darkness, bringing torment and pain to others. A soul drowned in sins. Want to try dying for once? No thanks. I’d rather keep my soul in case the next season comes around.

Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi No Kyoushitsu E

They say meritocracy is fair. If you have the skills and talents, it would allow you access to almost anything. But doesn’t that just increases the gap between the skilled and the not so skilled and hence a window for discrimination? Those at the top will be favoured much more than those have nots at the bottom. And so it is interesting to note that Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi No Kyoushitsu E has a top elite school that lets students do anything they want. Literally a paradise for any student who gets to enrol in here because you will be set for life if you do well. However the sad truth is that only the superior receive favourable treatment. I guess it is only human nature… Or would that be human habit actually?

Episode 1
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji is on a bus as he witness Kikyou Kushida trying to advice this arrogant blondie, Rokusuke Kouenji to give up his seat for the elderly since he is sitting in a priority seat. However he talks back that he is not legally bound to do that and doesn’t intend to contribute to society. Kushida asks others but nobody dared make a move. Finally a kind lady decides to give up hers. Ayanokouji arrives at Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, a government supported school to nurture futures for the future. Outside the entrance, he meets fellow student Suzune Horikita who was also on that bus. She doesn’t like that he is looking at her so he points out she is the same like him who didn’t give up their seat. She brushes him off and tells him not to assume she is the same as him. It must be a big coincidence that all these students end up in the same classroom, 1-D. What are the chances Ayanokouji and Horikita are even seated next to each other? Yosuke Hirata has this idea of everyone introducing themselves before the teachers arrive. Some participate, some don’t. Ayanokouji is profiling what kind of person they would be from their speech. When it comes to Ayanokouji’s turn, it’s boring and normal. Sae Chabashira is the homeroom teacher as she hands out manuals that lists the rules for this school. Among them include they will all live in dorms and have limited contact with the outside world as this place has all the facilities they need. It’s like a mini kingdom? Also, they will use points as currencies and each of them gets 100,000 private points at the start of every month. At the store, Ayanokouji bumps into Horikita again. He tries to talk to her but she isn’t interested in becoming his friend. More so, take his advice to buy more expensive stuffs instead of cheap ones. Outside the store, they see fellow classmate Ken Sudou being mocked by other students. He wants to fight but they just laugh and go away. Ayanokouji and Horikita ignore all this.

In a few days, groups are formed. Kushida talks to Ayanokouji and thinks he is close to Horikita. Well, he is the only one she talks to. Kushida’s aim is to make friends with everyone and was turned down by her. Yeah, need his help. So after school, Ayanokouji invites Horikita to join him at a café. When Kushida joins in, Horikita wants to leave immediately. She knows she has been setup. Kushida begs for her to be her friend and is again turned down. Horikita doesn’t mind being alone. In fact she has been alone for 9 years and never felt like so. As time passes, Ayanokouji notices his classmates skip classes or do their own thing even when the teacher is teaching. Even so, Chabashira didn’t take action and continued teaching. A month later, the classmates realize their points didn’t get refilled. So they as Chabashira about it. She tells them they have already been allotted. But they didn’t get any… She mocks them for being idiots. After listing down all their violations, she reminds them evaluates their grades and performances and points are given to you based on this reflection. Therefore she has evaluated them to be given zero points! Time to hit the panic button. She further adds salt to injury by deriding them that they think there would be no catch to this. In short, they are all worthless. They are all garbage.

Episode 2
Class 1-D enjoying themselves in the pool? It’s like nothing happened. Or are they taking their mind off from that mind blowing revelation? Flashback reveals Chabashira revealing a bit on the assessment of the S-system. She is ‘impressed’ they managed to blow all their points in a single month. She also explained about the class points they can earn and if they earn enough, they can overtake 1-C and swap places with them. She warned them for the next test, those who fail will be expelled immediately. Hirata tries to rally the rest to try and get some points but some like Sudou aren’t interested. Ayanokouji is stumped when Horikita treats him to an expensive meal. So once he digs in, she tells him their classmates are holding a study group for the tests. Only 3 opted not to join: Sudou, Kanji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi. At this rate they will fail and their class must not only lose points but gain them. Her idea is to hold a study group for them and it is Ayanokouji’s job to gather them for her. That’s why she treated him. Oh, she hasn’t forgiven him for his conspiracy with Kushida. A woman’s grudge runs deep… Her goal is to climb up to 1-A. Of course when he tries, all reject him. Time to push his responsibilities to Kushida and make her the goodwill ambassador. The eager beaver does her job and manages to have all of them agree to come! Amazing. I can’t help speculate maybe she flashed her boobs? In exchange for this, Kushida wants in on the study group. However Horikita rejects and will not entertain this any further.

Kushida joins the study group anyway. And it is off to a bad start as Sudou is mad at Horikita for calling him incompetent. He continues to mock his dream of becoming a pro basketball player since the world isn’t that easy and he lacks commitment and dedication. He quits. Ike and Yamauchi follow. At this point Horikita decides not to waste her time on them. If they are going to bring the class down, they’re better off being expelled as soon as possible. Kushida still won’t give up and this prompts Horikita to mock her motives to join this study group. Is it to sabotage her? Kushida feels hurt to hear that. That night when Ayanokouji goes out to buy stuff, he sees Horikita talking to her brother Manabu who is the student council president. She promises she will get to 1-A soon but he is not impressed. Calling her fool to come here and hasn’t realized her own shortcomings. He blames her that because she got assigned to 1-D, it is him who bears the shame. He is about to teach her a lesson when Ayanokouji intervenes. When Manabu fights back, Ayanokouji is able to dodge all his attacks swiftly. Impressive. Manabu recognizes him as the student who scored exactly 50 points in all tests. Middle ground. Was it on purpose? Coincidence. Manabu leaves as he warns his sister about mistaking isolation for independence and if she wants to reach the top, struggle with all her might. Ayanokouji and Horikita talk. As she is still persistent those 3 losers are a waste of her time, he tells her that her shortcoming is assuming others will hold her back. Isn’t it because she looks down on others that puts them at a distance from the start and got herself in 1-D? The test come and go. Every student in 1-D for every single subject achieved high scores.

Episode 3
Most of the guys are praising Kushida for saving them. Horikita wonders if Ayanokouji had done something. Flashback 3 days ago, Ayanokouji spotted Sudou getting into trouble with other students only for the fight to be stopped by Honami Ichinose who warns she will report this. Ayanokouji tries again to convince Sudou for the group study but he isn’t interested. After Sudou finishes his basketball activities, Horikita approaches to hand him summarized points. She gets psychological with him that if he stays, he gets to play basketball. Of course she is doing this for her own benefit. Ayanokouji and Kushida approach a fellow senior of Class D. He is willing to trade points for his past test papers. With Kushida being pleading in a cute way and all, I guess they struck a deal at 15,000 points. Ayanokouji’s logic is that the test questions do not differ much. In fact, they confirm it is exactly the same. He doesn’t want Kushida to reveal them to their classmates so soon as they will become desperate in trying to memorize the answer. He also makes a condition he wants her to take all the credit. With 1-D in a high, Chabashira is impressed they did well. However, she points out on the average score, Sudou has failed. Oh… Just by a point. He will be expelled. Kushida tries to find a way to save him but rules are rules. Later Ayanokouji confronts Chabashira. They talk about equality and such. He wants to buy a point for Sudou to pass. Remember, you can buy anything in this school with points. She charges 10,000 points. Can he afford? Horikita will help cover that. As they do not know the penalty of an expelled student on the class, she views the merit of having Sudou sticking around. Chabashira agrees to sell it but notes they are an interesting bunch because no Class D in this history of this school has ever advanced to a higher tier.

Later Ayanokouji talks to Horikita about doing this for herself. Because he knows she realized Sudou is weak in English so she herself purposely lowered her own score to lower the class average. So those barely passed party in Ayanokouji’s place. Kushida asks how they manage to rescind Sudou’s expulsion. He lies that Horikita argued with the teacher and none could counter her. The guys are amazed at her but Kushida feels something amiss. Later Kushida asks Ayanokouji if he likes Horikita because they are always seen together. He denies and that she is just his classmate and neighbour. After everyone leaves, Ayanokouji notices Kushida left her handphone behind. As he tries to follow her to return it, he sees this shocking display of a change in her personality. Her voice becomes hoarser as she curses Horikita while vandalizing public property. Eventually Ayanokouji is caught. She warns him he will pay dearly if he tells anyone about this. Those killer eyes… How will he pay? She is going to cry rape. False accusation? She puts his hand on her boobs. There. Fingerprint evidence. Don’t mess with her. She looks serious. Then she returns back to her bright sparkly angelic personality. At this point Ayanokouji wonders which is the real her.

Episode 4
Class 1-B has a rise in their class points. Many thank Ichinose for it. However there seems to be a system glitch today so the provision points to students of 1-C and 1-D are delayed. Ichinose calls Ayanokouji to meet so she could ask advice on how to deal with the love letter she got. When her friend arrives and misinterpret the situation, Ayanokouji gives his advice on how hard it is to confess. Wow. He sounds like a pro. In the after math, we see that friend leaving in tears. I suppose she was the one who confessed and got rejected. Ichinose feels bad she tried so hard to focus not to hurt her but ended up doing so. She hopes everything will go back fine tomorrow. An incident happened as 1-C has made a report that Sudou assaulted and injured them after basketball practice. Sudou claims he fought back in self-defence but nobody believes him since with the threat they might have points forfeiture, they start thinking he is better off expelled. As usual, Kushida rallies the class to help solve this. This means Ayanokouji is forced to help out, right? After all, he notes that there might be demerit points they cannot see since they don’t know how the system works. It might not be deducted now but in the future. Kushida and some of the guys try to find witnesses but to no avail. Ichinose hears about this and volunteers to help as she owes Ayanokouji. She posts on the bulletin for people to contact her classmate, Ryuuji Kanzaki if they have any information. An information streams in saying that one of the guys who fought Sudou, Daichi Ishizaki had a pretty violent history too. They feel something doesn’t add up because it’s like they willingly get beaten up to set up Sudou. When Ichinose doesn’t know how to transfer reward points for the information, Ayanokouji helps her. But he can’t help saw her total points of 2.6 million! How did she get so much?

Ayanokouji returns to his room. Looks like the usual gang has duplicated his key to make this hang out place. Horikita has new information. There was a witness. She is Airi Sakura and from their class. She knows because when Kushida pleaded for help from other classmates, everyone looked at her but Sakura kept looking down. However even if she is willing to testify and Sudou’s self-defence, it will not mean anything. Later Kushida ponders about what she meant so Ayanokouji gives an example. If there was a murder and 2 people were suspected. One with a history of killing before and one is a clean law abiding citizen. Who do you think would be suspected in the event of lack of evidence? So Sudou’s terrible personality makes a bad impression to those around him and his behaviour and history brought it upon himself. Since Sudou doesn’t feel he has done anything wrong, the reason why Horikita was reluctant to cooperate. The next day, Kushida tries to talk to Sakura in person. However she refuses to say anything. As she struggles to get away, she drops her camera. It isn’t working now. She continues running and mumbles something about not wanting everyone to know about her true self.

Episode 5
Sakura asking Ayanokouji and Kushida to accompany her to send her camera to be fixed? Ayanokouji can see why because the salesman is pretty shady and intimidating and Sakura needs the numbers. However she is still too afraid to fill up her details so Ayanokouji writes his instead. The guy is appalled but with Ayanokouji’s dead serious eyes, I guess there are no legal issues here. Later while they chill out, Ayanokouji observes from Sakura’s behaviour that she does not trust Kushida, thus why she confides totally in him. He tells her to drop all the burden she is carrying and just do it for her own sake. Not for others but for herself. Later Kushida drops by Ayanokouji’s room to show him pictures of a girl in sexy poses. It looks like Sakura but he cannot be sure is her. However one of the rooms looks like their dorm so it could be a big possibility it is her. This has him note that the glasses Sakura wears is fake. Back in school, Horikita tells that Sudou’s trial will be held today after school. Both sides attend and is presided by the student council treasurer, Akane Tachibana. However, because Manabu is also here, Ayanokouji feels this has hindered Horikita’s ability to perform. As the hearing begins with both sides giving contradicting circumstances and the only thing similar is how Sudou’s victims are injured, the guys start a shouting contest. And because Horikita is spacing out, Ayanokouji pinches her waist! Awkward! He tells her if she doesn’t fight, they will lose. So she begins by asking about why they brought Ishizaki into the picture as he isn’t a member of the basketball club. For insurance. He knows martial arts to fight against Sudou’s violence. If so, why were they injured so badly? Like as though they wanted to be beaten up.

Horikita then brings in Sakura as the witness. Because of her nervousness, she is grilled for not stepping forward immediately. She is even accused of being forced to act so to save Sudou. Sakura sums up her courage to show proof she was there. Inside her memory card are those sexy poses. There is one where she took a selfie with Sudou and the rest fighting in the background. However it doesn’t proof who started the fight. It is suggest that both sides compromise. 2 weeks suspension for Sudou and a week suspension for the 1-C guys. Horikita states her opinion on this. As she chides-cum-advises Sudou about the need to reflect his behaviour, this trial is supposed to free him of his guilt. In other words, she wants nothing more than Sudou’s innocence. She claims Sudou has been intentionally set up. Manabu has to decide. He notes one side is lying and state his judgment at tomorrow 4pm. However he has expulsion on his mind. Later Manabu talks to Ayanokouji because he thought he had some strategy. He did not. So Horikita just went rogue there defending Sudou. Manabu then turns his attention to Sakura. She asserts she has told the truth. Ayanokouji believes her. He dodges a quick attack by Manabu who wants to know if he can prove it. Maybe.

Episode 6
Sakura narrates she doesn’t interact well with others. That’s why she is okay being alone and putting on a mask. She masquerades as an internet idol under the name Shizuku. When one of her fans wants to come and see her, she gets scared. She then finds lots of fan mail in her letterbox and they contain pictures of her everywhere! OMG. Stalker! As Ayanokouji and Horikita ponder their next move, it then hit her that the place the fight took place did not have security cameras. As Sakura is still jittery, Ayanokouji assures to call him if she ever needs help. Using a fake email from Kushida to the 1-C ‘victims’ to meet at a special annex, they aren’t interested in talking to Ayanokouji and Horikita until they point out security cameras around. They start panicking. If their fight was recorded, why wasn’t it brought up in the trial? The school is trying to test their ability to solve this. So if this gets out, they will be charged for lying and expulsion. The only way out is to withdraw their complaint. A school can’t take action if there is none. Ishizaki wants to make a call but Horikita snatches his handphone. He gets rough but she reminds him those cameras. They give up. Sakura is walking alone when she notices somebody following her. She tries to call Ayanokouji for help but that creepy salesman overwhelms her at an alley. He claims he is her biggest fan and sent her all those letters. He is about to rape her to prove his love when Ayanokouji takes a picture of him in action. He is going to be ‘famous’ tomorrow all over the news since there are security cameras all around. He tries to escape but Ichinose has called the police to arrest him. He then rants about him being Shizuku’s biggest fan but Sakura tells him off she doesn’t consider him as one and to never see her again. With his heart broken, he switches his story and starts calling her ugly and such. Later, Ayanokouji shows the GPS in her handphone that allowed him to know where she is. Sakura then takes off her glasses and decides to stop lying. Keeping up with lies was really hard.

Chabashira calls out Horikita and wants to know what strategy she used to make 1-C withdraw their complaint. She won’t say anything so Chabashira advises her if she plans to make it to 1-A, try and understand Ayanokouji as much as she can. Otherwise it might be too late. As Class D is viewed as a place for defective people, Ayanokouji in her eyes is the most defective. Ayanokouji stumbles into Manabu. He too is surprised 1-C withdrew their complaint. Ayanokouji claims it was all Horikita’s doing. Manabu wants him to join the student council as the secretary. Of course he refuses as he intends to live a normal life without expending too much effort. Manabu accepts but warn not to disappoint him. Ichizaki and co are being beaten up by the big boss of 1-C, Kakeru Ryuuen. He is displeased they withdrew the complaint without his permission. There goes his plan to see what reaction the school will have with an expulsion. He wants the names of those who set them up. Later he crosses path with Arisu Sakayanagi of 1-A. He mocks she is already playing the queen. He tells her his intention to crush 1-D, 1-B, 1-A and then her. Because there can only be 1 ruler. Horikita confronts Ayanokouji about his idea to plant fake cameras at the annex. This is forging false evidence. She wants to know what he is thinking since he never cared for his friends so why is he doing this. Did she not forget she forced him to help her get to 1-A? Ayanokouji has only this to say to her. He will get her to 1-A as promised. In exchange, don’t pry into his life.

Episode 7
Horikita didn’t want to answer a call from Ayanokouji. But he is persistent… And when he asks if she would like to come to the pool, she hangs up. Horikita sees Hirata and Kei Karuizawa as a couple. The irony of her telling them she doesn’t need companions is that she meets up with Ayanokouji and the rest to the pool. So what changed her mind? Apparently everything looked like normal fun and games for everybody. However there is a very secretive operation going on behind on all. Sudou, Ike and Yamauchi are conducting an elaborated scheme to put hidden cameras in the girl’s changing room. Hideo Sotomura is the ‘control operative’. Wow. Those are elaborate hand signals there. With Sudou and Ike trying to keep the rest in the pool area, Yamauchi is fixing the camera but he has trouble installing them. Because of that, since the fake maintenance sign at the changing room, this means there is a long queue to the toilet near the pool and it is getting suspicious. Even more so when Yamauchi is gone for a long time. Yamauchi can’t do it so he eventually returns to the gang but switches places with Ike. Things are about to go from bad to worse because Ryuuen and his gang disregard the fake maintenance sign to head in. Ike is trapped. Sotomura signals Sudou for help as he fakes a cram to go stall Ryuuen’s side. Sudou might be caught in the middle because Sakayanagi and her gang are also here. Big showdown… That’s not over. Manabu drops in to see what the problem is. This is where Sotomura signals to Ayanokouji for help. Yup, he is in it. Ayanokouji then wants Horikita’s help. She then makes a commotion by drawing everyone’s attention by declaring how the defective class can be better than all the other classes above them. During that, Ike manages to leave in one piece. At the end of the day, it seems Horikita knew about the cameras and has the memory cards in possession. When Ayanokouji called her for the pool invitation, he also told her about Ike’s plan to put hidden cameras and then retrieve them after the pool is closed. If Ayanokouji opposed, they would have done it secretly behind his back. So it is better to let them try and fail. Horikita could have just taken out the memory cards beforehand but the interference of other classes made things more difficult. Since Horikita still prefers being alone, Ayanokouji pushes her into the pool as a joke. He tries to pull her out but she pulls him in. Then everybody gets the wrong idea and starts jumping in and splashing water. Back in her room, Horikita receives a group photo of them. She notes being alone is easier.

Episode 8
Chabashira talks to Ayanokouji that the school received a message from an anonymous man to expel him. Of course he is protected by the school rules. Unless he does something. He assures he won’t but Chabashira disagrees his intentions. If she decides he is a problem, that’s what he is. A threat? She wants to make a deal. Aim for 1-A and she will cover for him. Otherwise he will be expelled. Ayanokouji grabs her by the collar. Is that a yes or no? She’ll regret manipulating him. Don’t worry. Her life is already full of regrets. The school is on a vacation on a luxury liner. Ike decides to confess to Kushida but gets cold feet and is satisfied with calling her by her first name. Now this makes Sudou want to do the same to Horikita. I guess these guys aren’t ‘civilized’ enough to know what is on the French menu and act appropriately so a guy from 1-A tells them off. Sudou is about to get nasty when Kouhei Katsuragi warns to stop this provocation. Even if they are on vacation, they may still get penalized. He also advises the 1-D counterparts to learn some manners. Later Ayanokouji meets Horikita as she requested. She talks to him about this trip being more than just a vacation because their destination is a boarding house owned by the school on the South Seas. They are interrupted by Ryuuen who tries to flirt with her but she rejects him. He ‘warns’ her he will deal with her personally next time. His classmate, Mio Ibuki comes in to protest about his ways. She has had it with how he does things. However she is mishandled away by his ‘bodyguard’, Albert Yamada. Ayanokouji tries to talk to Ibuki but she isn’t interested. Horikita notes Class 1-C may be on the verge of collapsing. When the liner nears the island, the students are assembled on the deck. They are made to wear a wristband in place of their school’s ID. If they take it off without permission, they will be penalized. They are then given a brief rundown of what’s to happen. This will be their first special test. For a week, they’ll be living as a group on this deserted island. It is up to them to make whatever decisions. Some students are in shock to hear this. Well, vacation’s over.

Episode 9
Class 1-D take stock of their items on shore. Reading the manual, each class are given points which can be deducted if there are injuries, pollutions, stealing or even used to buy stuffs. Points can also be added if they secure certain spots on the island. The first snag hit is that some of the girls can’t use the basic makeshift toilet. Although a decent one can be bought, some guys prefer not to recklessly spend points and want them to tough it out. Hirata suggests to give the girls some peace of mind and reduce the anxiety of this test. Also, it is for hygienic purpose. As they walk around to find a suitable spot to set up camp, some volunteer to go look for spots. Divided into groups, Ayanokouji is with Sakura and Kouenji. Kouenji is so athletic he is swinging from branch to branch like a monkey! Is he Tarzan reincarnated? Too bad he goes off on his own. Ayanokouji and Sakura stumble upon a cave mouth but have to hide since they see Katsuragi coming out. Flashback shows Chabashira explaining about the secured spots. A class can occupy it for 8 hours and can only be done by the class leader who is given a card. At the end of the test, classes can try to guess the other class leaders and earn big extra points but get one wrong, the penalty will cost them big points too. Thus they can search for other class leaders and try to hide their own. Katsuragi looks like his is the leader for 1-A as they overhear his conversation with another fellow classmate. Ike has found a spot by the river. Class 1-D meets up and decides to select this place as their base. As for who should be their leader, Kushida suggests that since Hirata and Karuizawa stand out, they need someone who doesn’t and is responsible. Horikita fits that bill. She accepts the role. Class 1-D is setting up camp and the basic needs for survival nicely thanks to Ike since he has experience in camping with his family. Yamauchi thinks of confessing to Sakura and tries to look good in front of her. But they spot Ibuki bruised and sitting alone in a place. They want to help her but she refuses to accept their hospitality. Hirata then discusses the use and rationing of points. What and how they should spend it over the week as the leftover points will be added to their class points. It seems pretty decent and achievable. Ibuki is brought to 1-D’s camp and she cannot believe how nice these people are to accept her into their group. Suddenly they receive bad news. Kouenji has reportedly went back to the liner after calling it sick. This means there will be points deduction for them. It puts a damper to their plan. And what do you know? Kouenji looks pretty fine…

Episode 10
Ayanokouji and Horikita pair up to scout the island as well as the camps of other classes. Hey, there is no rule in preventing them to check things out, right? Checking out Ichinose and her 1-B, they seem to be holding their base well. It seems they are also housing a guy who was driven out by 1-C after a falling out. Next they check out 1-A at the caves. Katsuragi allows and dares them to look but if they try anything funny, there’ll be war. Finally 1-C is like having a beach party!!! They notice Ryuuen is ruling with an iron fist. He does what he wants, the way he wants it. Ayanokouji knows 1-C has spent all their special points on the first day. Because points cannot go into the negative, this negate whatever effect the penalty they will get. They’ll just get zero points, that’s all. Hence they’re not planning to tough it out all week and once they’re done, they just call it sick like Kouenji and return back to the ship. Could this be one of the correct answers for this survival? After all, the test is about the freedom to choose in every sense of the term. That night when everyone is asleep, somebody sneaks in the girls’ tent and takes a look at Ibuki’s belongings. She has the card.

Next day, Ayanokouji and Sakura pair up for more reconnaissance. Looks like 1-C’s beach party is over and everything is packed and gone. They stumble into Ichinose and Kanzaki. Ayanokouji asks if she knows anything about Katsuragi. Currently he is the de facto leader for 1-A since Sakayanagi is out (she was ill before the test started). It seems their ideals are at extreme poles and always butt heads with each other. That night, Sudou and Ibuki almost get into a fight seeing the latter remains uncooperative. Next morning, the girls wake the boys up. It seems somebody has stolen Karuizawa’s panties. Yeah, it’s a big deal… Since they suspect the guys but have no proof, Hirata will allow the boys to handle checking their own bags for privacy. Ike realizes he has the pantsu. He starts to panic. He didn’t steal it and believes somebody put in there. Panicking, he gives it to Ayanokouji. He’ll think of something, right? Funny, why didn’t he just throw or hide it somewhere else? Once the search is over and none of the boys are suspected, the girls still aren’t satisfied. Time for a body check. Ayanokouji has no way out this time as Hirata frisks him. However, when he notices something in his pockets, Hirata clears him. Later Ayanokouji talks to him why he didn’t turn him in. Hirata knows he isn’t the kind of person to do such stuffs and that is why he believes in him as not the culprit. He takes the panties and thinks would be the least damaged by being named the culprit since Karuizawa is his girlfriend. Hirata wants Ayanokouji to help find the culprit but when he does, inform him and not tell anyone else first. Because no matter who it is, the truth is best buried.

Episode 11
The friction between the boys and girls of 1-D gets worse. They want to move their tents farther but the boys won’t help. Since Hirata is such a good guy, they allow him (because Karuizawa said so). However Horikita can’t entirely trust him either and to speed things up, she recommends another trustworthy guy: Ayanokouji. Ibuki talks to Ayanokouji about the theft since most of the guys are suspecting her. She is surprised Ayanokouji believes her. Later Ayanokouji talks to Horikita. He can tell she has been sick before this survival test started. They have been holding out fine so she thinks she can tough it out. While gathering rations, he asks to see her card since he saw one from 1-A but isn’t sure. At this place? It is safer than at the camp. She shows it to him but he can’t tell if other classes have the same and each card might be assigned different colours. Yamauchi tries to tease them for being close. He dumps mud over her head! Horikita judo throws him over Ayanokouji! If she didn’t do that, he would have died! So Ayanokouji broke his fall? Later, Horikita wants to talk to Ayanokouji in private. She admits it is her fault and mistake since her card is stolen. He doesn’t want the rest to know to avoid panic. Horikita suspects Karuizawa and Ibuki. But since Ayanokouji can vouch where Karuizawa was, all that is left is Ibuki. They have to rush back seeing there is fire and smoke coming from their base. Somebody lit the manual on fire. Horikita suspects Ibuki but she looks in shock. After putting out the fire, the girls and boys accuse each other again. First a panty thief and now an arsonist. Is there a traitor among them? It is then they realize Ibuki who was just around is now nowhere to be seen. At this point Hirata is on the verge of going crazy because of all the bad luck. Ayanokouji nudges him back so he returns to take command and give orders on what to do next. Horikita has gone after Ibuki and has caught up. She wants her to return what was taken but Ibuki doesn’t know what she is talking about. She lets her check he bag but it is a feint as Ibuki starts her kung fu kicking moves on her. Although Horikita is burning up, she is still fast enough to avoid. Ibuki then admits she is the one who stole the card. Horikita has her guard down when Ibuki also reveals she was talking in a roundabout way to find out if she was the one who started the fire. When Horikita visualizes the suspect, she got kicked and knocked out. Ibuki then meets up with the person who has requested her to steal Horikita’s card.

Episode 12
Ibuki contacts Katsuragi about retrieving Horikita’s card. The latter calculates the special points 1-A can get and is set to win this game. When Horikita wakes up, Ayanokouji is beside her. She tells what happened and he tells her to drop out. She gets desperate to set things right even if she has to do it herself and curses herself for having no allies. He tells her straight she is not strong enough to do it by herself. If she can’t fight by herself, fight with another. Ayanokouji brings her to the teacher’s base and requests that Horikita be dropped out. Ayanokouji tells Hirata all this and he becomes frustrated at all the points they have collected but is set to lose. All he wanted was everyone to get along and now this sh*t. Don’t worry. Ayanokouji has a plan. On the final day as all the classes line up, everyone is shocked to see Ryuuen returning. He never left. This is what happened. On the first day, Ryuuen and Katsuragi made a pact. 1-C would transfer 200 special points’ worth of goods to 1-A as well as other info his class would find about other class leaders. For safety, Katsuragi wants proof. Hence, Ryuuen beats up Ibuki and another guy meant to be spies for 1-D and 1-B respectively. They have to look the part that they hate him to defect. After 1-C dropped out, Ryuuen hid himself on the island alone. What Katsuragi didn’t know is that Ryuuen also made a pact with Sakayanagi’s faction. Ryuuen calculates that their penalty points will be well overtaken just by guessing the leaders and that it is his victory. This is the result: Fourth place: 1-C with zero points; Third place: 1-A with 120 points; Second place: 1-B with 140 points; First place: 1-D with 225 points!!! Everyone is in shock but 1-D rejoices with this shocking outcome.

Back on the ship, Masayoshi Hashimoto contacts Sakayanagi who believes everything has gone according to plan. Now everyone is pointing fingers at Katsuragi as he believes Hashimoto has sold them out. Horikita seeks Ayanokouji’s answer. How did he do this? Simple. Horikita isn’t 1-D’s leader, hence everyone named her wrongly and lost points. Based on the rule, a class must have a valid reason to change leader. Her failing health was valid. Ayanokouji replaced her as the leader. He knew Ibuki was a spy and destroyed her camera, forcing her to take action to steal the card. He then made a deal with Yamauchi to dump dirt on her and also force Ibuki to steal the card. He then started the fire to make give her the chance to run and to meet up with Ryuuen. Ayanokouji explains how he knew Katsuragi wasn’t 1-A’s leader from that cave observation thingy. He also knew Ryuuen was on the island because when they visited his party, he noticed his radio. Ibuki had a similar one so it means she must be contacting him who is still on this island. At that point, he switched from spot occupation tactic to leader identification to earn points. He left 1-B alone because eroding their alliance in the long run is disadvantageous. Before she could find out his intentions, other 1-D students flank Horikita. They are impressed after hearing she is the reason they won and other lies they have been fed to. Later Ayanokouji meets Chabashira. He believes that man who is his father is the one asking her to expel him. All she has to say to him is that his father believes he will be expelled by his own accord. Ryuuen shows Ibuki a contract he has that he will receive hundreds of thousands of points every month till he graduates. This is provided he fulfils certain tasks and is approved by all 1-A students except Sakayanagi. This is Ryuuen’s main goal, to get this contract and he doesn’t like others interfering with it. Horikita confronts Ayanokouji again after finding out about the lies he told others to make her look like a hero. He reminds her about the allies she need. She thinks he did it for her and starts to blush. Once she thanks him, she starts sounding like a tsundere… But we hear Ayanokouji’s dark thoughts. He never thought of her as an ally. Not Kushida. Not Hirata. Not anybody. He views others as tools and will use whatever means to win.

Classroom Crisis: Solitude Is Better Than In Bad Company
Just as I feared, it couldn’t end at a point where it gets the ball rolling. Or at least when things are starting to look interesting. Ayanokouji revealing a side of his that we never knew. Okay, maybe we might get a rough idea of his character but we didn’t expect that he will have this kind of dark side. Or maybe he is just phrasing it in a metamorphic way. Maybe not.

Although generally the series itself is quite interesting, in some ways I find it a bit draggy and the pace could be a little slow at times. Especially the final arc of the season whereby the first years are thrown on an uninhabited island to fend for themselves for a week. It is almost like Survivor but Japanese high school anime style with all the drama and power play. There are some tension, trust issues and a possible traitor amidst the group and though the final episode’s explanation was quite interesting to say the least, well, too much thinking for a simpleton like me feels like a put off. So perhaps it is me for being impatient because the draggy parts of this Survivor game serves to build up all the twists and revelation in the end. But still, even if it is a bit confusing, it is still highly interesting.

I have this feeling this anime is a mix and borrows from a few other series. Since this series separates students’ abilities via classes and the lowest class gets discriminated, there is also a points battle system whereby classes can overtake that position if you have enough points to overhaul. Hence, I thought this series was some sort of comedy at first as this was what Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu was all about. No idiotic idiots around for comic relief. With Ayanokouji’s analytical narrations, it reminds me of the similar nature of the main character in Yahari Ore No Seishun Love Comedy Wa Machigatteiru. Also since the last class which is where our main protagonist and focus are gets the least favourable treatment, it somewhat reminds me of a similar system in Ansatsu Kyoushitsu. Hence they work their way to prove otherwise. Competition is healthy, right? Well, not if you have really dark ulterior motives to do whatever it takes to keep those lower than you where they are.

I don’t know if this ‘scare tactic’ is a great way to get people to motivate and work hard. Because our mothers are always trying to drill into our young heads to study hard and get good grades to get high paying jobs. Otherwise you can only work as a garbage collector! See, you don’t need the government level people to tell us that. Mothers can be this strict too. You better listen to your mother’s words or else you’ll grow up with regrets regretting you should have listened to your mom to study hard then.

It also brings about the question of how this school actually grades and separates the first years into their respective classes. Because if 1-D is believed to be the most defective, should not they be allowed to be enrolled here in the first place? Like Ayanokouji who screwed up in the entrance exam, he got placed in the lowest class. Had he done better, he would have placed in a higher and better class and would things have turned out differently from him? Some like him may shine later and the school system allows him to upgrade if he does better. But remember, the other classes would have also improved. That is why sometimes making first impression and having a good start counts. Despite class 1-D being labelled as so, they are not totally useless. It could be just something that is ‘undesirable’ that the government doesn’t feel it is beneficial or advantageous to society or the nation in general. Like say, being an otaku? Something defective doesn’t necessarily it cannot be fixed. So being labelled as defective shouldn’t become a life sentence. But you know, society…

One thing interesting about each episode title is that they are based off a quote from a literature of various European philosophers. Mostly I can see taken are from French philosophers but there are German and Danish ones too. The quotes itself are interesting as it tells the dark nature of humans as perceived and observed by another human from a cynical perspective. You think man is smart and superior? Everyone has their own ulterior agenda and motive and it is quite interesting to note how these quotes subtly fit nicely into the episode. It makes you think that all the meritocracy and the likes are perhaps just a big fancy term to hide something more sinister like keeping yourself in power and keeping others below you. Basically, survival of the fittest too.

Also interesting to note is the mid-intermission section whereby it will display information pertaining to the school rules and like for the final arc of island survival, guidelines of how the survival game is played out. It is quite insightful and if you didn’t catch what the rules explained over in the episode proper, perhaps this part could be useful enough as a summary to pause and read through if you are ‘too lazy’ to go back and start finding out more on the rules later.

The characters are a hit and miss. It is not that they are very likeable but I noticed that the main ones and if possible all of them have something to hide. There is a Japanese saying that everyone has 3 types of faces: One you show the world, one you show to your closest friends and family and one only to yourself. This is what basically summarizes the main characters. In short, everyone lies or at least doesn’t seem to have that trustworthiness or the ability to trust others. Like Ayanokouji who looks like a sluggish guy who prefers not to get involved in anything but eventually gets dragged into it, we see snippets of flashbacks of his young past during the course of the series. It could be some sort of tragic child experiment since he eventually became the only one left. Despite his lethargic facial expressions that is even reflected in the way he speaks, he is a very capable and sharp person. Like as though this is a façade to conceal something and his set of extremely high level skills. You know what they say about being clever to hide your cleverness. He has got this great vision and has planned ahead to stay many steps ahead. Because so, I get this feeling that Ayanokouji could be the biggest antagonist of them all. Much darker and more brutal than Ryuuen or Katsuragi. Yup. He may be the bad guy and has taken us all for a ride making us think he is the main character. Who says main characters cannot be villains?

Then there is Horikita whom at first glance many would love to call a b*tch because of her high and prideful attitude. She thinks she is smarter than many others and I can’t blame her if she thinks so. Because if you have inferiority complex, you’ll never get to the top. And it looks like she is in a hurry to get there. So you might think that this is all Horikita has to show but as we have seen, there is a totally different side to her when she faces with her big brother. She admires him but the feeling is not mutual. So until she gets to the top, she’ll do whatever means necessary (legally of course) to get there. It feels like she has this big brother complex too because her rush to the top is so that she could gain Manabu’s acknowledgement. Like that’s her end game.

This dozen of episodes are too short to do justification to the many characters even for the main ones. If Ayanokouji and Horikita already have this much focus but yet we are still clueless about them, imagine the other characters. Like Kushida who isn’t really a nice girl and has a very dark and evil side that unfortunately Ayanokouji had the misfortune to come across. Even there is more than meets the eye for Hirata. He might look like a reliable and nice guy but we saw him at breaking point at one time. Again, it prompts us to ask if he is really all that seems and is there something darker lurking beneath the surface. After all, another saying about still waters run deep rings true for most and possibly all the characters in this school. Sakura is more straightforward as she admits she does not deal well with interacting with others and hence that masking personality, the other face, the internet idol Shizuku whom she pretends to be.

Sudou, Yamauchi and Ike are also more straightforward since they aren’t the brightest and are mostly simpletons. But just because we haven’t come across something that would put their talents to good use doesn’t mean we can write them off as useless. We would never know Ike was good at camping knowledge had this survival test did not come up. I believe one of the most ‘disappointing’ characters in 1-D is Kouenji. Because this vain guy is so full of himself and he cares about no one but himself. He is the least cooperative among the 1-D classmates and he looks more like a sleeping villain biding his time to take centre stage. I thought he would play some sort of a major role or at least something like Ryuuen but Tarzan boy for now is just in a world of his own. Just admiring his good looks, not giving a f*ck about the rest… You’re so vain, you think the song is all about you…

Although Class 1-D gets the main focus and it is unfortunate that we do not get to know the composition of the rest of the class (because again, the dozen episodes are not enough to squeeze everybody in), the other classes of the same grade too are interesting to watch. And it is unfortunate that there is not enough time to flesh out all of them. All we know that 1-C is currently being run by a dictator, there is some sort of secret power struggle between 2 opposing factions in 1-A and perhaps the best and most peaceful class is 1-B but they lack being perfect thanks to their homeroom teacher who is a klutz and drunkard. And that I mean of the cute anime girl kind of klutz and drunkard. I wonder when she’ll start talking about her love problems… She is the only faculty member to look so out of place because even Chabashira is no angel (a devil in disguise?) and a menacing teacher herself and she sounds like she too has an ulterior motive trying to blackmail Ayanokouji to get to 1-A. Even 1-C’s teacher looks like some sort of sneaky evil lawyer kind of person. Serious. Even if 1-B looks great and nice, if this series has taught me something, it is to suspect everyone and trust no one but yourself. They may look nice on the outside but even nice people have their problems. Just that the world doesn’t know. All these characters really look interesting with their different approaches too. It looks like they are heading for a huge collision course but too bad we won’t get to see it this season.

Art and animation looks rather okay but nothing to shout about. I just feel that some of the students here, especially the intimidating looking ones feel a bit out of place. What I mean is that they don’t really look like they are high school students. I know it is bad to judge a book by its cover but this elite school isn’t exactly a delinquent school and yeah, it houses all sorts of students of different shapes and sizes. For example, bald guy Katsuragi looks more like some sort of president’s bodyguard rather than a high school student. It’s like he got into the wrong show. The same for that black American guy, Yamada. Like as though he was hired straight out from America because he really only speaks with that American accent. It makes you question if this guy is really a transfer student. Kouenji looks more like a villain than a high school delinquent if you ask me. Ryuuen looks fit as some sort of a pimp or criminal mastermind ring leader than one too. Sudou isn’t that bad since I thought he looks like that guy from Yuu Yuu Hakusho or that delinquent basketball newbie in Slam Dunk. This series is animated by Lerche who did Ansatsu Kyoushitsu, the Danganronpa series, Kuzu No Honkai, Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku and Monster Musume No Iru Nichijou.

Voice acting is pretty normal too. Because the main character duo of Ayanokouji and Horikita sound so monotonous and deadpan, it feels like they need to talk because they have to. Therefore hearing the very lively Kushida by Yurika Kubo (Hanayo in Love Live) and Sudou by Eiji Takeuchi feels so much better since they bring some emotions to their character. And handful of seiyuus I recognized include Ayana Taketatsu as Karuizawa, Mikako Komatsu as Ibuki, Nao Touyama as Ichinose and Rina Satou as Chabashira. The rest are Shouya Chiba as Ayanokouji (Kotarou in Tsuki Ga Kirei), Akari Kitou as Horikita (Yonaga in Alice To Zoroku), Mao Ichimichi as Sakura (Bada in ClassicaLoid), Ryota Ohsaka as Hirata (Zen in Akagami No Shirayuki-hime), Toshiki Iwasawa as Kouenji, Masaki Mizunaka as Ryuuen, Satoshi Hino as Katsuragi (Saito in Zero No Tsukaima), Rina Hidaka as Sakayanagi (Ririchiyo in Inu x Boku SS), Daiki Abe as Ike, Mutsuki Iwanaka as Yamauchi and Yuichiro Umehara as Manabu (En in Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love).

The opening theme is Cast Room by ZAQ. Surprisingly this is quite a catchy tune incorporating some hip hop elements in it and funky bass line. At least that was the beginning part. Then slowly it turns into some fast beat pop. But overall this song isn’t that entire bad. The ending theme, Beautiful Soldier by Minami plays to a slower beat. Also not too shabby. In the ending credits animation, we get a glimpse of the total points of certain individuals as well as the total class points. Not like it really matters because I don’t see how the class points really play a pivotal role or significant part in this anime. At least not in the current plotline. I mean, so what this guy or 1-A has this much points? It means they can afford almost anything but knowing that doesn’t really change anything.

As long as there is a ranking system, somebody has to be top, somebody has to be bottom. In trying to strive for a perfect world or system, we make it even more imperfect. It shows that all of us aren’t born with equal talents in the first place. It brings for the debate of equality versus equity. Would you rather have everyone have the same starting point (equality) or the same outcome (equity). Sometimes the sad truth is that some who genuine work so hard their entire lives will never end up getting anywhere. It makes us truly ask if humans will ever be equal to each other. Not expecting to be perfectly perfect but do we even come close to that ideal.

This series is interesting that it examines the psychological aspects of human nature. Although if you want to go into deeper and more technical and complex matters, there is a whole subject and books and researches for you to check out on your own. As far as this anime is concerned, it has interesting characters and setting but the pacing might be a little bit slow and ultimately it is too short to resolve anything in a satisfying way. So basically being human is one big contradiction itself because there will always be 2 sides of the coin and the sword will always be double edged. For everything good, there is something bad. Vice versa. So for an elite school that promotes meritocracy and talents for future sustainable generation may be good as it fosters competitiveness and as such brings out the best in people. But it also creates a dog eat dog world and brings out the worst there is just to be at the top or to just survive. You can never be perfect, but you can be better. After all, there is this saying that goes: Mankind makes living contradictory.

Clione No Akari

Bullying seems to be rampant in all parts of the world. This includes the online portion. Japan isn’t excluded as well. Hate to break it to you but the land of the rising sun isn’t all sunshine and roses either. At least not that where we can obviously see. Clione No Akari centres around a girl who is bullied by her classmates. Making matters worse, she has some sort of illness and they are all elementary school kids. My, how unfortunate that even young children ‘naturally’ resorts to this whether it is for power, dominance, pure entertainment or out of peer pressure. A couple of her classmates try to befriend her but things seem to take a turn for the worse when she gets hospitalized and has been absent for months. No news or anything. But one day out of a blue, a mysterious text message was sent to them to meet at the summer festival.

Episode 1
Several guys are badmouthing Minori Amamiya as slow and rumours of her being seen dating older guys in town. Takashi Aoi wants to tell them off but I guess he has no balls to do it. As narrated, Minori has a weak body and spends most of her time in the infirmary. Her parents just passed away and her aunt to her in. Because she has no money and freedom, she became the object of bullying by others. It started with only a handful of people before spreading to the whole school. Even Kyouko Tsukihashi sympathizes with her but she too cannot do much if others gang up on Minori. During the test, Minori forgot her pencil case and nobody lent it to her until Kyouko did. Even so, everybody made fun of her and not heed the teacher’s warning to be quiet. That bad, huh? Later Takashi and Kyouko feel bad and guilty. They know Minori is being bullied and yet they couldn’t do anything to stop it. They feel weak and are cowards fearing something would happen to them if they side with her so all they can do is watch helplessly and worry.

Episode 2
The class is blaming the person on duty for the near death of their class pet goldfish. Guess who? And they’re making a big deal out of it to the teacher. After school, Takashi and Kyouko see Minori trying to console a puffer fish ride. It looks retarded and material for bullying since Minori thought it is a fish who ran away from the shop! When they call her, she responded. It made them happy because they wanted to see her smile. Kyouko says like the fish, all of them are running away from class. The trio start to become friends and hang out together. They try to get each other’s contacts and preferably each other’s mail address because kids are so advanced these days, whoever does outdated stuffs like mailing? Sure. Only a problem. Minori has no handphone whatsoever. She was told she doesn’t need one. So they give theirs first and in the event she manages to get one, please let them know hers. Minori starts crying not because she thought this was some sort of blackmail but rather she is happy they are so nice to her. Kyouko then hands tickets to the aquarium this weekend. Unless Takashi can cook seafood, his ticket is going to a seafood chef. Nah, just kidding. He can come along too.

Episode 3
The girls are wondering why Kyouko is wearing only 1 shoe and even so that shoe is not for indoors. They thought she is still daydreaming and leave her alone. She is actually hiding Minori. However Nanami Yukine sees this so Kyouko hopes she won’t tell anyone about this. Nanami sounds nervous about it but assures she will start supporting them. Kyouko notes that everyone started going with the flow watching Minori get bullied because they fear of being bullied themselves. Hearing what Nanami said give her the courage to do so. However she still feels depressed that although outside school she can call out to Minori easily, in school she is still a coward. It’s like being full of herself and it doesn’t make her feel any better. Takashi also knows that their situation isn’t as simple as giving Minori the courage to stand up to the bullying. They also have to respect Minori’s wish not to cause trouble to anyone or they will end up hurting her. As Minori rests at the infirmary, Nanami comes in to do her duties. She hums a song while drawing some health poster. Nanami becomes embarrassed knowing Minori heard that. But when her handphone rings and it sounds like a plethora of funny animal sounds, they start laughing. Minori confides in the puffer fish ride about causing trouble for Takashi and Kyouko despite their kindness. She starts to feel unwell.

Episode 4
The trio meet at the aquarium as promised. Kyouko makes Takashi the tour guide since his parents are marine biologists. They believe Minori likes puffer fish so that’s where they head first. The rest of the episode sees them really having fun watching the marine life (Takashi being the pro in explaining things) and watching the dolphin shows. If only fun times like this could last forever. Meanwhile Minori’s aunt gets a call to come to the hospital. Something about her niece that needs to be explained in person instead of over the phone about last week’s test.

Episode 5
The aquarium fun continues as the trio watch some mollusc called clione. They have no shells and swim closely to the surface of the water and it makes them look like mini angels. You know fun times won’t last forever because it’s closing time. Yeah, time just flew by that they spent the whole day there and now the souvenir shop is closed, Kyouko can’t buy any gift to commemorate this special day. On their way to the bus stop, they passed by a shrine but don’t remember seeing it on their way earlier. Minori then asks if they like the summer festivals because she hopes they can all go next week. So when it seemed like everything looks okay, Takashi narrates that they might have all just been doing this to ease their guilt of watching Minori getting bullied and saying nothing. Because, what exactly did change? For a while now, Minori stopped coming to school.

Episode 6
With Minori absent, the class is getting paranoid because they don’t know who will become the next victim. And it looks like Nanami because the pet goldfish almost died again and it was on her watch. She can’t take the pressure and starts crying. Kyouko had to console her so the bullying stops for now. Takashi and Kyouko try to ask for information from their teacher if Minori is in hospital or anything but she refuses to give out private information and just tells them to wait for her to tell them personally. If she ever comes back, that is. The duo then hang out at the aquarium. They thought they saw Minori but it is Nanami. She lives nearby and often comes here since none of their other classmates does. If that’s the case, she thought they should hang out with Minori here. We see Minori in hospital. She requests her aunt to give her old handphone. Takashi and Kyouko receive an anonymous mail talking about the festival in the next town. They believe it is Minori as attempts to reach that number resulted in undelivered mail. So when they arrive at the festival grounds, they see Minori waiting. Happy days are here again.

Episode 7
The trio are having fun at the festival. The girls fail their goldfish scooping so Takashi gets a puffer fish plushie for Minori by winning the shooting game. As the trio walk along, they pass by their class bullies who are working at a takoyaki stall. The cringe is strong when the bullies start rapping about them being takoyaki brothers! WTF?! They start mocking Minori looks well and is skipping school. The trio make a run for it but the bullies give chase. In a secluded area, the trio stumble into Nanami as she helps hide them. When the bullies arrive, there are also their other female classmates. They saw what happened so they tease the guys they left their stall unmanned. This means free takoyaki? Plus, they threaten to tell the teacher that they are working since school rules strictly prohibited it. The bullies relent and head back. Minori and co descend the steps to the beach.

Episode 8
Sitting on the dark side of the beach, Takashi notices a lone lighthouse shining in the darkness and equates it like Minori. However Kyouko gets mad at him for saying that. Minori then starts running towards the lighthouse while the duo try to keep up. She shows them the beautiful city lights from this view. Takashi then apologizes what he said and Minori the same too because she just wanted Kyouko to be good friends with him. As she is always getting bullied, watching them being friends made her forget all the bad things she felt. Kyouko is still dissatisfied they never did anything in the first place. But in Minori’s heart, they are like twin clione. Even in the cold icy waters, they could make you feel warm and happy. Kyouko cries and hugs Minori. They then thank her for the text she sent but hopes to leave her number so they could contact her in the future. However Minori claims she never sent it to them. Weird, right? And looks like Minori’s aunt has received the bad news from the doctors. Her hospital bed is empty…

Episode 9
Minori confirms she didn’t send the message but did write a lot of messages to them from her hospital bed. As she doesn’t have a contract as it will burden her aunt, she didn’t and couldn’t send them. When her illness worsened, she realized she cannot be with them like usual. She didn’t want to bother them but didn’t know what to do. So she kept dreaming all the things they would have done based on the unsent messages she wrote. It became her treasure box full of future memories that might happen for them. For some reason, she decided to delete them all except one. As it starts raining, Takashi and Kyouko rush back. For some reason, Minori just stood there and watch their backs. The duo realize she didn’t tag along, turn back to grab her hand as they take shelter back at the beach. Minori would love to watch over them for now and forever so Kyouko corrects her that it should be the 3 of them. Then they look at their shadows that resemble like tetrapods. It means no matter what big wave comes at them, they’ll be fine. Oddly, Takashi and Kyouko could sleep there till morning arrives. By the time the rain has let up and Minori is nowhere to be seen. Just her handphone left behind.

Episode 10
Takashi and Kyouko look around for Minori but she is nowhere to be found. Nice timing when the bullies pop up. However they are not going to give in and force them to help look for Minori. Because if anything happens to her it is their fault! Okay, okay. Kyouko also calls Nanami and the other girls to help search. In the end, a call from their teacher sends shockwaves to them. Minori had passed away shortly in a hospital before dawn. Kyouko is in so much shock she is still in denial and believes Minori is still around. They were just only together last night. Need to go find her. Takashi stops her and lets her know the teacher wants them to call Minori’s aunt as requested. The real story goes that Minori stopped coming to school because she was being passed from hospital to hospital as her illness worsens. She didn’t want to leave town but had to for a bigger hospital. Although she got a handphone, she had not contract so she is unable to contact others. Others thought she was communicating with her imaginary friends. Looking inside her handphone, there are no sent or received messages. Just a draft saying how she hopes to hang out with Takashi and Kyouko someday. Kyouko loses it and starts weeping uncontrollably. Nanami thinks the mystery text that was responded by Takashi and Kyouko was in actual fact they sent it to themselves. They don’t think so.

Episode 11
This episode Minori narrates her entire handphone log AKA diary. It starts from the first day her aunt gave her a handphone. Others include she bought a red and blue clione as a handphone strap as she views Takashi and Kyouko as so. She made friends with a little boy who is excited to go to elementary school and make lots of friends. One night, the nurses were in a commotion. Seems an old man who was kind to Minori had passed away. It made her wonder where people go when they die. Will we meet in heaven or just disappear? Minori also got a notice from her daughter that her stay at the hospital has been extended and it put a damper on her plans to go to the festivals. So she daydreams about having fun at the festivals with her friends and talk a lot about other things. Then she kept watching them till she disappears and nothing but her handphone is left behind. She slowly felt being swept away by the dark ocean. It was her grave. Then she had a dream in the morning whereby she saw an adult version of Takashi and Kyouko. Or at least they curiously look like them. That little girl might be their daughter. They were so happy together. Despite all the bad things that have happened to her, Minori still wants to go back to her town. Most probably her friends are waiting there. She wishes she could fly straight to them.

Episode 12
Everyone is in shock and doesn’t know what to do. They thought of visiting the hospital but she might not even be there. Even if so, how would they face her? Takashi and Kyouko thanks them and allows them to leave. So we hear their thoughts, the girls blaming the bullies for being the worst but they too blame themselves for taking advantage of that and are no better. It hits them hard about life and death. They want to say sorry but it’s too late. She’s gone. Nanami tells us she was a bully victim too. She knows how hard it is. She was terrified to be bullied again and became a coward. Takashi and Kyouko continue to bum around the beach. They still feel awful. They believe her handphone is filled with her memories and promise to keep it close to them. With so much crying and regret, suddenly time stops. Or they go into another dimension. They see a vision of a future Minori happy and smiling. They vow to write long messages and believe Minori is no longer alone. The 3 of them will always be together forever.

Keep Calm And Carry On Being Friends
Yawn… What a boring… Oh wait. The final episode was like trying to stir up emotions with all the friends regretting but at that point I am left confused with just everything. Because who the hell sent them the mystery text? They don’t know. How did her handphone ended up in their hands? Don’t know. Lazy writing. And what is that vision of Minori they have? Is Minori still alive? In the future?! Because I thought she died? And the ‘funniest’ as well as the ‘saddest’ part is that Takashi and Kyouko from my point of view seems to have lost it. They have gone crazy being in denial that Minori will always be around. Sure, in their hearts but from what I can see they are now treating a dead girl as their imaginary friend. If that is how they can carrying on living, well, whatever works for them.

While I appreciate this series trying to tackle the issue of bullying, I feel that this series is still overall boring. What am I expecting? Some sort of God-like intervention and miracle? Not quite. It is basically and mainly a couple of classmates feeling really bad for her and trying to not make her feel so isolated by becoming her friend. A big part of the series is like them trying to befriend and hang out with Minori. Oh, but the plot twist of her being dead and that time spent at the festivals with her could be her spirit or something. Thanks to that foreshadowing before the festival trip, I had expected this sort of twist and therefore it wasn’t a surprise. I mean, something needs to happen otherwise this series is just as boring as f*ck, right? A boy and a girl befriend a bully victim. Have fun together at a local summer festival. They become friends for life. The end. Happy ending. Doesn’t quite cut it, does it? Or maybe this could be all just a big dream… If that was true, worst writing ever!

Even with Minori being out-of-body experience thingy, I still feel that this part is still boring. Perhaps this show was intended for children so we can’t be too heavy on the twist. I mean, the trio have fun together that night and the next morning, Minori is gone without a trace leaving behind only her handphone. Now doesn’t that sound like some cheap horror story to frighten children?

As much as I want to sympathize with Minori, I just can’t. Maybe just a little. Okay, maybe I just don’t feel the connection, the heart strings the series is supposed to pull while showcasing Minori’s case. She might not be showing it upfront but from my perspective she looks to be handling it reasonably well for a girl her age. Of course bullying is bad and I don’t condone it ever.

As for Takashi and Kyouko, scoffing them off won’t be right either because I imagined myself in their shoes and what I would do if I were them. Probably worse. I’d ignore everything, turn a blind eye and pretend I didn’t see it all! Keep calm and keep walking away! So I understand why they sometimes feel like they want to be friends with Minori is for self-satisfaction. Ease some of the guilt for being an observer all this time. Now that they have the courage to at least be her friend, it is some form of atonement. They even admitted to this. At least these kids have some level of conscience. If they had never managed to become her friends and the bullying continued, I am most certain that Minori will return as a ghost and haunt them for the rest of their lives. And then kill them one by one… Yeah, this show will turn out entirely different then. Imagine Minori as the next Carrie… Chilling…

Same can be said for Nanami and some of the other classmates. You can’t blame them for being scared to become the next bully victim so it is only natural they would either join in the taunting or pretend to ignore everything just to save their own skin. It’s just basic human nature. Better somebody else than me. Eventually Nanami’s conscience also creeps up to her because I’m guessing she can’t sleep soundly at night knowing she has had a hand in bullying Minori and wants to atone but doesn’t know how or have the courage to do so. With Takashi and Kyouko bravely taking the first step, at least it was a start.

For the bullies who kept harassing Minori, it is just mind boggling to think what the adults are doing. Do they not know of this? Or they wash their hands off and because it is just kids ‘fooling around’, they don’t give much attention. You know how this would spawn even more bully victims in the future because the traumatized bully victim will grow up to be the next bully. Well, can’t call in the army each time a bully case is mentioned, right? As I understand the other classmates do not want the backlash and hence do not report to the teachers or even parents, do the teachers not see what is going on? You fail as educators! It shivers me to think the kind of upbringing and personality of those bullies’ parents.

Therefore when all of them suddenly have a change in heart in the final episode, I don’t really feel sad for them. Sure I pity them but with all those tears trying to make us change our minds that they still have a conscience, it didn’t quite get it there yet. Because I believe even though they are kids, it is in a way a befitting punishment and fate for them. They will carry on for the rest of their lives having this sort of guilt in their heart. The poor soul whom they tormented is now gone forever and they have no longer any way to make up for it. If it changes them to become better people and advocate against bullying, good. Or they may go crazy later in life. Either way, it stays with them and that is the most important lesson that we learn from this series. Therefore a bully and a bully victim are both cursed. So people, say no to bullying.

If the art and drawing feels a bit low quality, please forgive Studio Drop because this is their first debut anime. That explains why the characters look very plain and sometimes a bit cartoonish, like as though the show is intended for younger audience. Yeah, if they appeared in Pokemon, I think they might blend in nicely. It might be just me but I think Minori looks a bit like a retard. Not sure if her character design was intended to be this way. Oh, doesn’t Minori look like a kid version of Code Geass’ C.C.? No? Must be just me then.

Voice acting just feels average. Nothing special. Minori and Takashi’s seiyuu, Sayuri Matsumura and Shunya Ohira respectively, this is their first anime debut. So forgive them if they sound a bit like amateurs especially Takashi’s seiyuu who sounds a bit more obvious. Others include Natsuko Hara as Kyouko (Tokine in Nazotokine) and Rico Sasaki as Nanami (Kyouko in Bishoujo Yuugi Unit Crane Girls). The opening theme is the same name as this series and sung by Aki. Sounds pretty okay. She also sings the ending theme, Sora Wo Tobu Kaze which is quite a beautiful slow piece and you can’t help feel sad in hearing this song. Even the insert song, Hyakunichi No Hana by Rico Sasaki also has this same feel. I guess these songs are the only parts of the series that made me feel some feels in the heart.

Overall, this anime is just one big drama of kids trying to befriend a bully victim. It lacks content for it to be interesting and that spirit thingy feels like a cheap twist. It is nothing ground breaking or earth shattering in a way that it would change bullying anyhow. At least it sheds some light and could be relatable to some. So be careful who you call ugly or bully during your school years. Because what doesn’t kill them makes them stronger and they will come back in the future with a vengeance. Who will be having the last laugh then? Once the bully is now the bully victim. Uh huh. Just an eternal vicious cycle of bullying. Sometimes I feel we should all just be a clione. Happily floating and shining around in the dark ocean while minding our own business.

Anime Class With Few Students

HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR 2018! And so another year has come and go. What else is there left to do but as always, starting off the year with another blog. It has been a while since I did my last blog entry on some sort of anime variety so for a change of pace of starting off the year with this entry instead of another anime summary-cum-blog.

What are the most effective ways for learning in a classroom? A good teacher? Good students? Good learning materials? A conducive environment? What about class size? Don’t you think that the smaller and less number of students, the concentration rate should be better? Maybe. Having a class with only a handful of students may mean that your class is some sort of special elite or it can just mean that it isn’t as popular. So we take a look at some of the anime classes with only a few students.

Anime: Special A.
School: Hakusen Academy.
Class: A Class AKA Special A (SA).
Number of students: 7.
Members: Kei Takashima, Hikari Hanazono, Tadashi Karino, Akira Toudou, Jun Yamamoto, Megumi Yamamoto and Ryuu Tsuji.
Teacher: Nil.
Qualifications: The top 7 grades only from all grades qualify.
Comment: Perhaps the most famous class with only a handful of students. It pays to be in the top 7 because this class has a huge greenhouse of their own and they can basically do whatever they want. But if they are so smart in the first place, why the need to come to school in the first place? Why aren’t they out there making the world a better place? The eighth highest person must the most frustrated person in missing out…

Anime: Akuma No Riddle.
School: Myoujou Academy.
Class: Black Class.
Number of students: 13.
Members: Tokaku Azuma, Isuke Inukai, Kouko Kaminaga, Hitsugi Kirigaya, Shiena Kenmochi, Haruki Sagae, Suzu Shuutou, Otoya Takechi, Chitaru Namatame, Nio Hashiri, Sumireko Hanabusa, Mahiru Banba and Haru Ichinose.
Teacher: Ataru Mizorogi.
Qualifications: Assassination techniques.
Comment: Twelve assassins, one target. Imagine a classroom that only exists to see who can kill the target first. You only get one chance or you get expelled. Because the reward of getting any wish granted for successfully eliminating the target sounds more tempting than graduating together. Yeah, nobody pays attention to the teacher when you’re much more interested in assassinating the target. His lessons are so irrelevant to their goal… And he should have been suspecting something amiss when the girls keep transferring out one by one…

Anime: Medaka Box.
School: Hakoniwa Academy.
Class: Class 13.
Number of students: As its name suggests, 13.
Members: Myori Unzen, Shigusa Takachiho, Kei Munakata, Itami Koga, Youka Naze, Mizou Yukuhashi, Oudo Miyakonojou, Gunki Itoshima, Otome Yunomae, Hamaya Hyakuchou, Yutori Chikuzen, Yamami Tsurumisaki and Shoko Kamimine.
Principal: Hakama Shiranui.
Qualifications: Abnormalities far more abnormal than any other and must participate in Flask Plan.
Comment: When you have abnormal powers so refined, developed and over-the-top badass, why the heck do you need to attend classes anyway? You’d rather spend time experimenting on your powers further by playing the antagonist. Only can be dealt with if you are way stronger. A freak show that you definitely don’t want to mess with.

Animation: Danganronpa The Animation.
School: Hope Peak Academy.
Class: Not specified.
Number of students: 15 + 1.
Members: Makoto Naegi, Kyouko Kirigiri, Yasuhiro Hagakure, Hifumi Yamada, Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Junko Enoshima, Chihiro Fujisaki, Celestia Ludenberg, Mondo Oowada, Leon Kuwata, Aoi Asahina, Sakura Oogami, Touko Fukawa, Byakuya Togami and Sayaka Maizono. Mukuro Ikusaba is the hidden student.
Principal: Monokuma.
Qualifications: You need to be some sort of super duper high school level talented dude in your related field to be part of this special school.
Comment: A school that gathers the best of everyone for mutual killings? Somebody is going to get sued for that fake advertising of being luckily selected to enrol in this school. Either you live here for the rest of your life or the only way to graduate by murdering your classmates and getting away with it. A perfect crime.

Animation: Kamisama No Inai Nichiyoubi.
School: Gola Academy.
Class: Not specified.
Number of students: 9 + 1.
Members: Volrath, Run, Tanya, Hardy, Gigi, Mimi, Meme and new transfer students Ai Astin and Alis Colour. Momo is the third sister of twins Mimi and Meme and lives within them. So that’s counted, right? I don’t consider Dee Entzie Stratmitos as one since she is a ghost and currently possessing Alis.
Teacher: Magiita Houzento.
Qualifications: As long as you are a child with special abilities.
Comment: I know when God abandoned the world, people stopped dying and children ceased to be born. But who the heck pays a hefty sum for to a school per student? No wonder when you enter this place you can’t leave. Can an 80 year old grandpa still enrol in it? Besides, what are you going to do with all that money in this dead world?

Anime: Grisaia No Kajitsu.
School: Mihama Academy.
Class: Not specified. A plural class.
Number of students: 6.
Members: Yumiko Sakaki, Amane Suou, Michiru Matsushima, Makina Irisu, Sachi Komine and Yuuji Kazami.
Teacher: Chizuru Tachibana. She is also the principal.
Qualifications: For “fruits that have fallen too far from its tree”.
Comment: Not only you have a class with so few students, heck, you have the entire academy to yourself! It’s like a ghost school or something and only these ‘lucky’ few can enjoy all the amenities and facilities offered. Okay, it might just be a prison guise in the form of a high school.

Anime: Ao No Exorcist.
School: True Cross Academy.
Class: Cram Class.
Number of students: 8 minus 1.
Members: Rin Okumura, Shiemi Moriyama, Izumi Kamiki, Ryuji Suguro, Renzo Shima, Konekomaru Miwa and Nemu Takara. Noriko Paku was a former member and quit after thinking she cannot keep up with the studies and not willing to put her life on the line.
Teacher: Yukio Okumura. Shura Kirigakure who disguised herself as a student joins the teaching staff after her identity is revealed.
Qualifications: Having the resolve to fight demons is a good start.
Comment: You need to go to school just to fight demons and ultimately Satan himself? Well, demons aren’t anything like humans so you need to hone all sorts of abilities and exorcist skills to combat these unearthly beings. Nobody is a born genius. Everyone needs to go through proper training with sheer determination, willpower and perseverance.

Anime: Non Non Biyori.
School: Asahigaoka Branch School.
Class: Unspecified.
Number of students: 5.
Members: Hotaru Ichijou, Renge Miyauchi, Natsumi Koshigaya, Komari Koshigaya and Suguru Koshigaya.
Teacher: Kazuho Miyauchi.
Qualifications: What qualifications?
Comment: In the countryside where population is scarce and not densely populated, you can fit an entire school with the same grades into a single class!!! Saves time, saves space, cost effective. Efficient, no? What more, everyone does their own self-study most of the time so why the heck do you need a teacher to supervise them when she herself is mostly napping. Heck, life is so simple there, you don’t need to study all that syllabus and thus doing away with that stressful exam thingy.

Anime: Gen’ei Wo Kakeru Taiyou.
School: Sephiro Fiore Nagataki branch. This is actually more of an organization than a school.
Class: Not known.
Number of students: 4.
Members: Akira Taiyo, Seira Hoshikawa, Luna Tsukuyomi and Ginka Shirokane.
Teachers: Etia Visconti, Ariel Valtiel Westcott, Priscilla Twilight and Meltina Melvis.
Qualifications: Able to wield the power of the Elemental Tarot.
Comment: Hmm… An organization under the guise of a fortune telling school to fight Daemonia? Well, they do act like a normal school when not battling the threats of Daemonia. I suppose a well-balanced life is in need because you’d go crazy fighting Daemonia 24/7. And to put such burden on teenage girls…

Anime: Juuou Mujin No Fafnir.
School: Midgar Academy.
Class: Brynhildr Class.
Number of students: 8.
Members: Mitsuki Mononobe, Iris Freya, Lisa Highwalker, Firill Crest, Ariella Lu, Ren Miyazawa, Yuu Mononobe and Tear Lightning.
Teacher: Haruka Shinomiya.
Qualifications: Able to materialize your dark matter that will be useful in the frontlines of the battlefield. Being a Type D is already a given since you have to be that to be enrolled in this school.
Comment: You isolate a group of Type D people on an island away from any civilization so that horny dragons who want to find their mate can head straight there without having to destroy the precious city. Sure, why not put them on the moon. Or Mars. And if fighting ‘undefeatable’ dragons, why put the responsibility on this handful of students of a small class? Can’t the rest fight?

Anime: Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream.
School: Pretty Top.
Class: Actually, more like the idol unit is named MARs.
Number of students: 3.
Members: Aira Harune, Rhythm Amamiya and Mion Takamine.
Teachers: Pengin sensei and Yamada.
Qualifications: The will to entertain your fans and perform the jump.
Comment: I guess this barely counts. I was in a dilemma to put this in because you know, idol units under the guidance of a mentor do not really count (eg- Wake Up! Girls). But I decided to just put it in because there is an agency-cum-school for idols and from time to time you see the teacher giving lessons but he girls are mainly left to train and practice on their own. I know MARs is their best idol unit but I don’t see any other groups around under this agency. Who needs them when you have MARs always taking top spots in tournaments?

The Chosen Few…
There are a handful of other animes that I didn’t list down because of that perpetual dilemma of mine whether or not it fits this category. For example, the Night Class in Vampire Knight. What we see are the handful of hot and beautiful vampire students of the class. However there are many ‘unimportant’ ones that are not focused, therefore it only seemed like the class may have a few students but actually isn’t. As for Angel Beats and Kamigami No Asobi, the ‘true’ students are only a few but because of the manifestation of NPCs and other spirits respectively, it makes the classroom looks full and thus I decided finally to not include it. Prison School is out too despite the guys being incarcerated separately doesn’t constitute a different class.

It also wasn’t clear cut in Kono Aozora Ni Yakusoku Wo because the setting is about the declining population of an island. Despite the anime focuses on the only characters living in the dorm who attend high school, this does not signify that the classes they attend are short of students. At least, not that I can remember of. Love Live is definitely out because although it started out with the school’s enrolment figures decreasing and proposed to be shut down after all its current students graduate, current year classes still do have the average number of students. I also didn’t include Gakkou Gurashi as it isn’t technically a class but a small group of friends banding together in the wake of the zombie apocalypse.

It is yet to be seen how effective those classes are with only a handful of students. Theoretically it is supposed to. At least you have an easier time remembering the names of your fellow classmates! Easier workload for the teacher because there isn’t going to be much homework to mark. Haha. But what about funding? Because don’t more students mean more income for the school? I noticed that many of these schools have a wealthy sponsor sponsoring so this is not a worrying factor. After all, when you have such an exclusive class like that, money is the least of your problems. And like what they say, quality over quantity.

Top Bishoujos of 2017

You know the drill. It is that time of year again. Uh huh. Time actually flew so fast that I can’t believe 4 seasons worth of anime in 2017 just went by like that. Despite the vast number of animes I have watched in the past year, the number of bishoujo candidates seems to have been reduced slightly. Yeah, just mere 55 of them. I know it is a huge number but when you consider the past few years whereby the numbers were just increasing like inflation, does this mean my taste in beauty has been downgraded over the year? Or does it mean it has gone even more sophisticated that the beauty standard threshold has somewhat slightly increased? Or am I just bored? Nah! So let me now present to you the winners of the Top 10 Bishoujos of 2017. Listed as usual in alphabetical order:

1) Akane Minagawa (Kuzu No Honkai)

2) Alisha Diphda (Tales Of Zestiria The X)

3) Io Yaginuma (Schoolgirl Strikers – Animation Channel)

4) Kae Serinuma (Watashi Ga Motete Dosunda)

5) Mari Fukami (Nana Maru San Batsu)

6) Ou (Cheating Craft)

7) Ririna Sanada (Koi To Uso)

8) Rumi Nishihara (Fudanshi Koukou Seikatsu)

9) Tokine Amino (Nazotokine)

10) Waka Kisaki (Konbini Kareshi)

A very big congratulations to the top 10 winners for 2017. Another round of applause for them. So were some of them too weird for your taste? Probably. It’s my taste anyway so, deal with it ;p. Of course these winners didn’t just automatically pop up. Maybe some of them were. But all had to go through a thorough screen vetting (yeah, it sounded so ‘professional’). Listed below in alphabetical order are the next top 10 of shortlisted candidates that were so close into making the cut but unfortunate they didn’t. At least they’re in the top 20:

Claudia Enfield (Gakusen Toshi Asterisk), Hanabi Yasuraoka (Kuzu No Honkai), Kokomi Teruhashi (Saiki Kusuo No Psi-nan), Koyuki Hinashi (Fuuka), Kyouko Touno (Seiren), Lapis (Isekai Wa Smartphone To Tomo Ni), Mary Kikakujo (Busou Shoujo Machiavellianism), Miharu Mashiki (Konbini Kareshi), Sara Iwami (Fuuka) and Shiho Kamakura (WWW.Working!!).

The list doesn’t end there. Those making up the top 30 are as follows in alphabetical order:

Diana Cavendish (Little Witch Academia), Katalina Alize (Granblue Fantasy The Animation), Kazuha Shibasaki (Girlish Number), Mari Ohara (Love Live! Sunshine!!), Mayuki Hiiragi (Hinako Note), Misaki Takasaki (Koi To Uso), Naho Takamiya (Orange), Rem (Re: Zero Kara Hajimaru Isekai Seikatsu), Tae Hanazono (BanG Dream) and Yumina Ernea Belfast (Isekai Wa Smartphone To Tomo Ni).

Last but not least the remaining 25 who didn’t make it past the first hurdle:

Akane Mizuno (Tsuki Ga Kirei), Aki Adagaki (Masamune-kun No Revenge), Arisa Ichigaya (BanG Dream), Chiaki Nanami (Danganronpa 3), Chisa Yukizome (Danganronpa 3), Elf Yamada AKA Emily (Eromanga-sensei), Haku Ryuu (Cheating Craft), Himari Takanashi (Demi-chan Wa Kataritai), Jinko Sasajima (Nana Maru San Batsu), Kouka (Gintama), Koume (Urara Meirochou), Maihime Tenkawa (Qualidea Code), Mizuki Usami (Kono Bijutsu Ni Wa Mondai Ga Aru), Moka Aoshima (One Room), Natalia Luzu Kimlasca Lanvaldear (Tales Of The Abyss), Neko Fujinomiya (Masamune-kun No Revenge), Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (ClassicaLoid), Rumia Tingel (Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi To Akashic Records), Sayaka Sumino (Aho Girl), Subaru Mitejima (Sousei No Onmyouji), Suzu (Kiitarou Shounen No Youkai Enikki), Tear (Tales Of The Abyss), Tina (Toriko), Yuiri Haba (Strike The Blood II) and Yukana Yame (Hajimeta No Gal).

Oh. We’re at this part already. Don’t think I’ve forgotten them!

And so it comes to a close this segment and another year. Hope you have fun like I did. The same sentiments and hope for the next year. Watch more animes, catch more stunning hot bishoujos. Rinse and repeat. Ah, life is sure simple. Long Live Anime Bishoujos!

New Game S2

More girls making video games? Nah. Just another sequel of cute girls making video games, New Game S2. After that OVA that had our team of girls fully rested at a snowy resort, it is time to get back in creating the next big game. More drama, more bonding relationships, more new characters and more or less the same thing. We’re here for the cute girls doing cute character designing and programming, aren’t we?

Episode 1
It has been a year since Aoba joined Eagle Jump. She is nervously practising her introduction lines since she will be a senior. However Rin tells her they aren’t hiring any new staffs this year. Made a fool out of herself. Well, she isn’t the only one. Her other colleagues too think the same thing with Hajime full of zest while Hifumi is scared the newbie will be a meanie. With that, I guess Aoba will still considered a newbie. At this point of the year, their company isn’t busy so the staffs have some free time before the next project. Kou suggests going for flower viewing tomorrow. Hadzuki catches a glimpse of Hifumi’s smile so she can’t help join in the girls’ conversation and suggests they could help by coming up with some ideas of their own. Nene meets Umiko. It seems she has programmed a game but it is filled with bugs. She is slowly understanding the role of a programmer. Umiko agrees to help in some parts and Nene thinks she has talent. She hopes she could keep this a secret from Aoba. Hadzuki and Rin have a one on one meeting and evaluation with the staffs. Like Aoba who is wondering why the company is all females. Our age old question finally answered because like Hadzuki says, if she hires a man, he might steal Kou away! That’s a joke, right? We hear their wishes like Aoba wanting to make lots more of other types of characters, Hifumi wanting to get over her social anxiety, Umiko threatening not to change anything or she’ll flick the hell out of her forehead, Hajime handing in her own game proposal and Yun being a worrywart comparing herself to others. The ladies enjoy their flower viewing and at the end of it, Hadzuki makes an announcement. The plan for the next project is almost finished so she would like to hold a character design competition. The winner will be the character designer for that game. Aoba is excited to participate.

Episode 2
Aoba begins her character design but lacking ideas, she goes to ‘spy on the enemy’. This means looking to Kou for inspiration. Because Hajime has been watching a show all night long and is sleepy at work, the rest mistook it as overworking. Hifumi gives her some sweets to invigorate her. During the first round competition, participants go upfront to present their character designs. As Kou presents hers, Hadzuki comments the art is good as always. However it is too similar to Fairies Story. They want to create a new world and since she was free to design anything, she was expected to experiment a little more. Too bad, all rejected. When Aoba presents her, there is one design she accidentally slipped in based on a character in a sleeping bag. Hadzuki likes this and hopes she could fix it up by the next competition. Aoba is ecstatic but she notices Kou’s sad face. The next time Aoba goes to Kou for advice, she didn’t mean to say it this way but because she notes she hasn’t had anything done so far, Kou lashes out at her she just had everything rejected and had to design from scratch. Awkward. Aoba feels conflicted about it as Yun tries to cheer her up by saying that she herself is the lamest and hasn’t improved much. Still, Aoba is sad she didn’t want to see that sad face of Kou. Of course Kou also feels bad for that. Rin talks to her about it and they want to believe for what is best for Aoba. So Kou goes to help Aoba with her character design and all the anxiety between them blows away. So when the second round of the competition arrives, Hadzuki is fascinated with Aoba’s design. Though, it is primarily a collaboration between Aoba and Kou. Hadzuki decides to go with this prototype character but the final call will still depend on the art director. This means there will be 2 producers for the next project. Congrats to Aoba and Kou.

Episode 3
Kou checks on Hifumi’s animal character design as she has trouble deciding on the fur texture. She thought of making it more realistic but Yun disagrees saying it will cause a few problems like processing issues. This makes Aoba feel odd. It’s a character she designed and yet she can’t help out with the suggestions. Hifumi notices this and talks to her. Aoba shouldn’t be worried since she is inexperienced in 3D modelling. Well, that sure hit a nerve but it’s a fact. Nene and Umiko are respectively having programming issues. However, nothing like a few debugging to solve it. When Hadzuki talks to Umiko about accepting one’s failures, I guess this is her subtle way to plead that she wants to make some feature changes. I hope she hasn’t forgotten the promise whereby Umiko will flick her forehead. After taking ‘damage’, Umiko tells her the reason for doing so wasn’t about changing features but her heart for making excuses. If she had acted more apologetically like Kou, the flicks would be gentler. For real? I guess she didn’t learn. The girls bought bento for everyone to share. Kou comments how it might taste better than Rin’s so she gets annoyed while eating it. Hadzuki tries to feed Umiko. When she eats it without much hesitation or reaction, everyone is left surprised because they’d never think she would do it or at least be embarrassed. She has been working so long here and knows of Hadzuki’s antics. She would have gotten used to it. Also, ‘training’ by Nene previously… Speaking of her, she invites Umiko to her college to help continue with her debugging advices. It still has its problems but Nene has to continue to work hard and not be a lazy bum if she doesn’t want Umiko to walk out on this entirely. Umiko then tells her about Aoba. Thus Nene calls to congratulate her.

Episode 4
Hajime is in the toilet trying to buy online the tickets for the events to Moon Ranger. I guess the competition is so hot that the website crashed! And when it is back online, it is all sold out. Poor Hajime. This is found out by Yun who chastises her about ditching work for this. Later Hifumi heard about it. It seems she has managed to buy one and offers to give it to her. But Hajime can’t accept it so easily since Hifumi was the one who did all the hard work buying it. Subsequently Yun has an extra ticket for Hajime. Her father was supposed to go with her and her younger siblings but he isn’t interested. So guess who the lucky girl is? Hajime and Yun’s siblings are so hyped. They’re really like children. So I guess that makes Yun the adult, huh? Hifumi also attends the event but a different time slot, she bumps into Aoba and Nene who are also there for the event. Back at the office, Hifumi catches Kou smiling. So they begin an odd conversation about it and Kou ends up fooling about with her. Rin sees this and gets jealous with this misinterpretation. Hifumi can sense Rin’s resentful aura so she tries to steer the conversation that would make Kou support Rin. Like the beef stew she made, Rin would make it better. Unfortunately Kou likes Hifumi’s so much that it can’t get out of her mind. Oh no… Hifumi thought she could do some peace offering by giving the recipe to Rin. Accepted but she still wants to know what they were talking. Hadzuki wants Kou and Hifumi to meet her shortly. After a while, Umiko is angrily looking for Hadzuki. Looks like she made more changes. In the meeting, Hadzuki suggests Hifumi take over Kou as the character team leader. As expected, nervous, low self-confidence, the fear of disappointing everyone but with the support and words of encouragement, she accepts. Now here comes Umiko to bring Hadzuki away for another meeting. Hifumi fears this is what she’ll have to face. Especially Umiko’s wrath. Heard Hadzuki’s scream there. Oh sh*t… The results of the prototype is soon announced by Christina Wako Yamato who is the producer from the publisher. In other words, the highest ranking person around. With the positive feedback, they will continue making the game into an alpha version.

Episode 5
Hifumi has to go around checking the progress of others. It’s going to be scary… For her, that is. Since she is quite lenient, they better work hard not to miss the deadline themselves. One day Yun is a bit late to work due to some family issues. Feeling guilty, she wants Hifumi to scold her! Hifumi acts out one of her cosplay characters. Is this yuri? Aoba certainly had the wrong idea when she sees this before the embarrassed duo pull away. Hajime is stuck and the ideas aren’t flowing. She talks to Hadzuki about her general idea so she suggests asking Aoba and Yun since they handle the character and monster designs. At first she didn’t want to because of her pride. But when she puts that aside, her friends have a lot of ideas flowing. Now she is bragging it to Hadzuki. Let’s hope she won’t too full of herself. Aoba is trying to design the final boss of the game which is an adult queen. She seeks Kou’s advice but is told to think for herself since she would just copy what she will say. Then talking to Hadzuki about it, her idea for the queen is an ill little girl who is mean to others because of her loneliness. It gives Aoba some ideas. When she finishes and shows Kou, it looks great but Kou’s looks better. Aoba feels she’s bullying her… Aoba is happy to receive a message that her high school friend, Hotaru Hoshikawa has returned from studying abroad at France. She shows Rin some of the photos of their time together. And then there is one where they kissed! OMG! Not French kiss and just on the cheek. It’s a French greeting. So Aoba and Nene meet up with Hotaru as they hang out at the hotspring inn. Hotaru must have gotten so used to this greeting that she nonchalantly does it to her friends. Maybe she just wants to harass them? This evokes Aoba’s inner demons as she uses her perverted excuse to grope boobs as her form of greeting. It’s chaotic…

Episode 6
As Aoba is in charge of key visuals, Kou teases and scares her that her art will be the main face of the series. This means she will be tied directly to the sales figure of the game. Pressure… It has been 6 months and Nene has finished her game. She calls Hotaru and Aoba to meet up and surprises them with this. The surprised look on Aoba’s face was priceless and worth it for all her hard work. Now to play the game. Hmm… Graphics look cheap… But the girls had fun playing it. Aoba can tell she put a lot of effort into it. It makes her remember her own key visual job. Pressure… Aoba sits in the meeting with the rest. As Yamato reveals, the publisher is having high hopes for this new game, PECO. Being a new IP, they want to start securing sales and promote it as soon as the alpha version passes inspection. This means Aoba has to start on her key visuals. But there is one catch. Aoba will not be doing the key visuals. They want Kou to do it. Kou protests against this but Yamato says the credits will not be changed. Rin gets madder when Aoba meekly agrees if this is what they want. If Kou won’t draw, they’ll hire a famous illustrator to draw it. Aoba finally speaks her mind and hopes she gets a chance. Hadzuki approves her competition again with Kou for the key visual but the outcome will still be fixed even if she draws better than her. This is so they would feel better. Aoba goes into serious focusing mode as her friends are ‘scared’ to talk to her. She stays late to finish her work. Kou wonders had she not helped her during the competition, she would not be in this situation. Aoba doesn’t want to be treated like a child and besides, she requested for this. If things get bitter (like this black coffee she’s drinking?), she can handle it. When Kou shows her work, Aoba is awed at how magnificent Kou’s key visual is. So great that she starts crying?! Is this a sign that she has lost? Well, not sure if I can say she handled that well. Of course in the end, Kou’s art gets featured on the back cover of a magazine. We see Aoba’s not-too-bad visual too as it sits on her personal board.

Episode 7
Aoba isn’t sure why she needs to come with Umiko for an interview to hire a new programmer. That’s because the applicant is Nene! The friends are surprised to see each other. It might be awkward for Nene but Aoba is trying to control her snickering because it’s rare to see Nene on her good behaviour. Aoba asks a few questions like why she decided to work here (her part timer job as a debugger had her impressed with the company’s atmosphere and all). Once she has no questions left, Aoba is excused. So is it worse for Nene to be alone with Umiko? She’s overthinking. Because Umiko passes her for handling it well. As she is still studying, she will be offered a part time contract for 3 months. Umiko tells her that her programming skills aren’t up to standard yet but she negotiated with the company president to let her in. So do your best. She has high expectations. Is it okay for Nene to cry now? I mean, nobody really had expectations of her. Yamato talks to Kou to hand her requests from various companies. It increases her workload but it is also her job to promote the game. Mozuku then ‘attacks’ Yamato. Seems she had catnip in the charm that Hadzuki gave her. When Aoba tries to help her up, she screams not to touch her! Everyone is confused so Yamato explains she is not good with handling people close to her. Aoba tries to break the ice by talking about her French ancestry but that greeting kiss topic makes it awkward. Aoba is excited that new interns will come to work here. This means some of their places will be shuffled. Hifumi requests to sit next to Kou. Aoba is excited when she sees the new interns at the company’s doorstep. While Tsubame “Naru” Narumi is lively and friendly, Momiji Mochizuki is a bit unfriendly. Overlapping with Hifumi’s character? Naru will be under programming and Momiji under character design. When Momiji meets Kou for the first time, she nervously lets her know she admires her work and all. Overlapping with Aoba’s character? Momiji thought Aoba’s desk is where Kou sits seeing all the PECO designs there. But Kou clears the misinterpretation about the misleading advertising. It is Aoba who is the main character design. Momiji then connects the dots and realizes why certain art of PECO seems silly. Realizing Aoba is the same age and her and has done some amazing work, Momiji is fired up. But why does she look like she’s trying to challenge her? Well, if she could only get Aoba’s name right. She becomes embarrassed after Aoba corrects her.

Episode 8
The girls need to think of a place for a welcoming party. Better think fast before Hadzuki gives her own ideas. Oh, too late. She has the girls dress up in cat maid outfits and practice. Yeah, she can’t stop pressing the shutter button. Hifumi who is showing Momiji around sees this. That disgusted stare means she doesn’t want any part of this sh*t. Hadzuki manages to make Momiji dress as one (was she being baited she could take on this challenge?) before Umiko comes in to drag her away. Eventually Kou randomly chooses some burger and steak stall in which Aoba’s face lights up. She really wants to eat here. Umiko, Nene and Naru’s side are getting along well. But at Kou’s side… Everyone’s so stiff! Anyway they manage to break the ice talking about nicknames. Momiji doesn’t join the others for lunch and usually brings her own big onigiri. Aoba feels it is a bit difficult to get close to her since she is still reserved. Hadzuki points out Kou was like this so Aoba fears Momiji would turn into another Kou by sleeping in her panties! Hifumi talks to Momiji. She manages to break the ice by showing her pictures of Soujirou. Pets always do the trick. On another day, Momiji brings a smaller onigiri for lunch. She reveals her goal to earn more money so she could buy and eat more meat. Hence her lunches are often brought from home as she fears she would spend them all. Currently she is sharing a rented space with Naru. They come from Hokkaido. Later, Momiji is trying to hint to Aoba that she is a talented top grade genius like her. However Aoba isn’t cowed and could accept her challenge not to lose confidently. This isn’t how Momiji pictured how it should be. She starts feeling strange. Could it be love? Back at her office space, Momiji is glaring at Aoba’s work. Damn it’s good. Is that the look of dissatisfaction or jealousy? Why so serious?

Episode 9
Hajime is at a hero show with Yun’s siblings. Her old high school friend, Akki happen to be here so they catch up a little bit. When asked what Hajime is doing, she replies a designer. Well, not technically a lie but not accurate either. Later Hajime talks to Yun how she was an otaku in high school and tried to hide it. Yun feels a bit jealous that back then Hajime looked quite feminine and had some decent knowledge of fashion. Yun then shows her own photo of her during high school. Promise don’t laugh. She looks like a nerd. When Hajime decides to reveal her true otaku self to Akki, it seems she already knows it for a long time. Yun is surprised to hear Hajime cut her own hair short. Yun thought of wearing those glasses again so Hajime also copies her. Don’t they look smart? Momiji shows a game she did in school and it is pretty impressive. Maybe she just wants to be praised. The newbies are given some work to do. Naru learns how Nene became a programmer and from what she told, it looked like she got in here via connections. This doesn’t sit well with Naru as she vows to get in on he own skills. This makes Nene feel bad but now Naru hates her?! Momiji might look serious at work but back home she is a bit loose. She sounds like she loves eating. While Naru takes a bath, she hears Momiji’s scream. Looks like there is a black bug lurking around. Oh no. It’s hiding and making those scuttling sounds. Any moment now going into panic. Because they have no insecticide or magazines to whack it. Basically, no weapons and defenceless! So how are they going to handle this ‘threat’? Instantly, Naru takes Momiji’s bowl and covers on it! Now it’s Momiji’s chance to run out to buy insecticide. Hurry! Because of that, the next day Naru takes off since she has gotten a cold. Momiji arrives at work wearing her pyjamas top. She doesn’t mind it when Aoba points it out until she draws attention to her unkempt hair.

Episode 10
Naru creates a daruma mini game inside PECO. Hajime tests it but feels something is not right. Till Aoba points out the need to add other NPC players. She makes the changes and although it is better, this time Momiji points out how the NPCs could identify the player as the imposter from such angle. Time to rework it again. Because it will take time and hence deadline of importance, Naru wonders who will be responsible if the game is not delivered on time. Hajime might be a full time staff but Naru is still on probation and this affects her evaluation. Umiko learns of Hajime’s constant request change and advises Naru to blow off stress. A chance to introduce her to the world of airsoft? The final change is made and they show it to Hadzuki who loves it. She even suggests a few more features. More changes, I guess? Nene has finished her ball maze game. It has some bug in the end but she thinks it’s okay. Since Umiko and her debuggers are busy, she goes to bug Aoba. Too bad she is busy too. Returning to her place, she spots Naru having glitches. She can’t say because Naru also knows about her glitch and advises her to finish it properly if she is a pro. Nene thought she could weasel her way out by adding more special effects but it is going to be easier said than done. Eventually she finishes it and Umiko tests it. The easy mode seems pretty okay but the hard mode crashes since she has trouble incorporating those random special effects. Umiko passes her since she did complete the main project within the stipulated time. With the deadline looming, Umiko will have Nene use her debugging skills like last year. Get ready for more work! On the way home, Aoba and Nene talk about how they have improved. Aoba can’t forever depend on Kou. Rin talks to Kou who stays back late to finish her work. They talk about the changes that have been for everyone. Kou gives Rin a watch as a thank you present since nowadays she is hardly at her desk and always out. But Rin starts getting mad since Kou plans to sleep over in office and strips right away. That part of her has never changed.

Episode 11
Naru finishes her task fast and this earns Umiko’s praise. That smirk at Nene… However Nene spots some bugs so Naru tries to quickly fix it and ‘warns’ Nene not to tell Umiko. Nene takes the break at the cafeteria. Since Momiji is there, she asks about Naru. Sounds like a hardworking and reliable girl. Till she learns Naru’s parents were against her going into the game industry and wanted her to take over their inn. Therefore Naru had to work hard and finance her own living just to prove she can make it. If she cannot secure a job at Eagle Jump, it’s game over. Nene also talks about Aoba. She was playing around until her senior high school years till Hotaru came along and sparked an interest in the arts. Umiko calls Nene not because she is slacking but rather there are many bugs found in Naru’s programme. That’s why she managed to finish so fast and did not check. Naru feels bad. She thought this is the end of the road. Surprisingly Nene encourages her to fight on. As they have a deadline to follow, they have to work to patch things up and depending on how fast they can do, the mini games will be cut if they can’t fix it fast enough. Naru wonders why Nene is helping her. Doesn’t she hate her? At first she did but after hearing her family story, she wants to support her. Naru apologizes for being jealous and stubborn. So everyone puts in the effort and works overtime. Those energy drinks sure come in handy. In the end, it is all fixed and Umiko passes Naru and offers her a renewed contract to work here. Meanwhile Rin overhears a conversation between Kou and Yamato. Kou is going to leave Eagle Jump to work somewhere else. Oh no… With the game completed, the girls test PECO. Seems pretty fun and good. Everyone is having a good time. Except Rin. She’s really fidgeting and feeling uneasy…

Episode 12
Everyone is here for the pre-release event of PECO. Momiji finally learns the truth that Aoba was the one who designed the key visual but the higher ups wanted Kou for promotional purposes. She realizes Aoba went through a rougher patch than her. As Kou takes centre stage to introduce the game, she improvises and credits Aoba on the design of most of the characters. Later at backstage, Kou drops the bomb that she is quitting to go to France to hone her skills. This obviously leaves Hadzuki and the young ones in shock. She told Rin a bit earlier so she’s able to ‘handle’ it. Hadzuki tells her to come back when she’s done. But don’t take too long till she gets old! Nice one. Aoba is also reeling from the shock and forces herself to accept this. During the party to celebrate the event’s success which also serves as a farewell party, Umiko is also interested to work for another company that Yamato’s sister works. Yamato is even getting ready her contacts but Hadzuki stops her. She isn’t going to lose more of her precious paradise! After the party, everyone sees the face of Rin they have never seen before. She starts crying that she doesn’t want Kou to go. All Kou has to say is to hope she keeps watching over her or else she won’t be able to leave with a smile. A week later as Aoba arrives for work, she thought Kou is still around when she should be catching her flight today. Nope. False alarm. Just Mozuku. Momiji then walks in and sees her close to tears. She is going to bring her to say her real goodbye to Kou. Because it looks like she still has regrets over it. During the train trip, they talk about Kou like Aoba’s first impression of her when seeing her sleeping in the office in her panties. Pretty much the same irresponsible person then. Arriving at the departure hall, they see Rin in the midst of giving her a farewell lecture? With Aoba starting to get emotional, Kou hugs her as she thanks her for making her realize she needs to get better. After watching her work so hard, she realized she has gotten complacent. That’s why she is going overseas to learn more so that she can move further up. In gaming terms, that is like upgrade, right? They both promise to become better. By now, the whole gang has also skipped work to come say goodbye. After the plane takes off, Momiji realizes after Naru reminds her about her internship results. Oops. Looks like Kou forgot to evaluate her and left. Don’t worry, Rin says she passed. Another week later, PECO goes on sale and out girls go buy them. Hotaru being kiasu and buying all versions and editions? Aoba hopes to work harder so that everyone can work together again making great games.

Same Game, Next Level
Well, looks like it is Aoba and Momiji to be the next Kou. Life is just like a game. You can’t stay in that same level and do the same things all over and over again. You have to level up and move on. So even though it is sad that Kou is no longer at Eagle Jump, I’m sure as part of the game developing community, everyone will still be connected. Things may change again in the future. Kou may or may not come back and Aoba may or may not stay on. But we’ll cross the bridge when we get to it. For now, things are looking good for the company and the future of the young ones seeing the initial success of PECO. I mean, they are already dreaming of making the next game based on what they really want it to have.

The character development this season is fairly decent. While there is nothing too deep, I feel that because they have to spread the focus on some of the characters, some of them feel like they have shorter screen time. For instance, Hifumi. Ever since she got promoted, we hear very much less of her. This is compounded by the fact that Hifumi herself is a quiet girl herself so you don’t hear much of her originally and even so in her meek form. Even much lesser when Eagle Jump hires a bunch of newbies and the focus then shifts to them.

Even Rin seems to be featured less ever since she has gone corporate. It’s like she is sticking around because of Kou. But then that dramatic heart-breaking news of Kou quitting and hence no more yuri time? When everything seems to be going so well and easy at Eagle Jump, this kind of news that an employee is hopping ship and even Kou lashing out at Aoba seems like something serious. It provides the much needed drama for our characters to grow and to tug our heartstrings. So like I’ve said, there are some character development but it is just minimal. It just shows that after a year, there have been some changes to the positions of the characters and their job roles and how they moved forward. Otherwise, their overall character remains pretty much the same. I mean, you can’t expect the girls to remain in the same position doing the same thing again, right? Might as well go watch last season again.

The introduction of new interns and a ‘veteran’ newbie halfway through this season brings a refreshing direction to the series. Each has their own reasons and goals for coming to Eagle Jump. Like Momiji who looks up to Kou like how Aoba once was and her seemingly unfriendly outlook overlaps with Hifumi. In some ways I thought she was Hifumi’s character replacement since the latter now has less appearance, do not fear all those who love poker face girls because here is Momiji to substitute her in her absence. Something like that. I’m sure competitiveness is in their blood since right away Momiji and Naru begin making ‘enemies’ out of Aoba and Nene respectively. Considering their background and how they came about and ended up here, maybe that is why they need to prove their worth if they want to stay in this company. But once they get to know each other, it’s just another day at work. After all, everyone is working on the same project.

Nene is still my favourite character because of all the ‘troubles’ she brings in addition to that very cute squeaky voice that spells mischief. Surprisingly, she took on the challenge and became quite a decent programmer and is considered a pro veteran debugger. It feels like she was bitten by the debugging bug (no pun intended) last season and hence she decided to hone her skills and becoming one. Therefore I also feel that perhaps she is such a subtle masochist and loves getting scolded by Umiko, she came to apply for a job at Eagle Jump. Well, if she was that scary in the first place, she wouldn’t have done so. So rather she came here for that instead of to be with Aoba.

Umiko also seems to be less in trying to ‘recruit’ people to play airsoft. With so much programming to go, maybe there is no time to play her favourite outdoor activity. With her guiding Nene, I guess this eats up some of her time. She might play it at other times when we don’t see her but we don’t see her trying to bug others to accompany her playing the game.

Lastly, the pet mascots of the series, the cat and the hedgehog. Mozuku still hangs and bums about in the office like a cat boss. Hardly anything and just for some furry relief. Otherwise it is the most carefree character ever in the company. In fact, I think it is also the most bored seeing everyone is mostly too busy to give it some attention all the time. But from time to time when it crosses your path, it’ll surely make your day and relief some stress because who can’t resist petting a fat cat or play with its paws? Too bad Soujirou feels like it made even less appearance this season because I remember Hifumi often confides in her pet about her troubles at work but the hedgehog just don’t give a damn and all it cares is just to be fed. Why not? Hedgehogs can’t talk!

Mentioning how carefree Mozuku is prompted me to notice how easy going the employees at Eagle Jump are. I have not worked in a game company or seen one in action but the way they portray the girls doing their job seems like they are stressful. I know we don’t see everyone in every department but as for those we can see, it’s like there is no real stress to it. Everything looks like in order and is going well. Even during times when they rush, they don’t look all that stressful. Maybe women can handle stress better than men? I’m not saying the characters have it easy. There are tough times too but the way they portray it feels like as though making games looks like such an easy thing. Well, when you have bosses like Hadzuki who has free time to come mess with the girls, I guess everything is not that bad and under control. Well, at least everybody is dedicated and hardworking. Also, looks like my question to last season on why the company hires only women is somewhat answered. Workplace romance is going to affect productivity. But lesbian pairing is better than straight pairings? Whatever. Just make a good game.

Fourfolium (basically the quartet of Aoba, Hifumi, Hajime and Yun) who sang all the themes last season, return again to sing all of them. This season’s opener Step By Step Up has that same energetic and lively feel like in the previous season’s opener. This season we have 2 ending themes. The first one being Jumpin’ Jump Up which is also another genki piece and the second one being Yumeiro Compass which is a moderate rock pop. Adding to the existing casts are Arisa Suzuki as Momiji, Hitomi Oowada as Naru (Sana in Alice To Zoroku), Kaori Nazuka as Yamato (Nunnally in Code Geass series) and Manaka Iwami as Hotaru (Chiaki in Gamers).

Overall, if you enjoyed the first season, this season feels like an extension that adds a few new things but hardly changes the main core nor are there any major shakeups. Also, for those who can’t get enough of cute girls doing cute things, making video games version, this season will be very much up your alley with all the bright and vivid colours as well as the overly cute girls working in a company (thank Hadzuki for that – and his paradise is likely to go on as long as she can stop them from leaving). Hence this second season feels like something equivalent to cosmetic extra content rather than mandatory paid DLC or microtransactions that are needed to complete the game. Let’s hope this series doesn’t cut out content that should have been in it originally just to make an extra quick buck. Oh wait. Isn’t that what OVAs are for?

Isekai Wa Smartphone To Tomo Ni

We are getting too attached and dependent on out Smartphones these days. Here is more bad news for you if you can’t leave a minute without bringing your Smartphone along wherever you go: You can’t bring your device along with you when you die! Shock! Horror! Oh no! How can this be?! Well, unless you are this lucky guy in Isekai Wa Smartphone To Tomo Ni. He basically died. How unfortunate. But his death was a mistake and untimely so guess what? God felt bad about it and since He can’t ‘disrupt’ the order of reality (yeah, because bringing back people to life in the real world is much too shocking), He is going to resurrect you in another world. Sounds rather okay but not as farfetched with that fact that he is allowed to bring over his Smartphone! WTF?! I want to go to this world!

Episode 1
Touya Mochizuki. Is dead. God even apologizes for this accident. Say what?! However Touya is not mad thanks to his grandpa’s upbringing of not harbouring hate. Sure, imagine if you start hating God… Anyway God can resurrect him but not in his original world but another world. Because rules. What rules?! In this new magical world, he is able to take his Smartphone with him. Although he cannot interact with his old world, he can still read news feeds from it. Huh? Wow. He’s now got God as his personal contact. Hey… I hope this isn’t some rip-off from KonoSuba… Making his way to town, a man in a carriage stops and wants him to sell his high school clothes! He’ll pay gold coins for that! After doing so, he stumbles into a commotion at an alley. Twin sisters Elze and Linze Silhoueska are being hoodwinked by a couple of ruffians trying to cheat them of a delivered good. Touya wants to buy it at a cheaper price. Elze agrees. Touya then breaks it. The ruffians attack. Previously, God has given him super abilities so he easily defeats them. The sisters thank him and he mentions he is trying to look for Silver Moon Inn. Oh, that’s where they are staying too. As thanks for saving them, the sister help Touya look for a job at a guild. He can’t read and has no weapon. So after registering him and getting him a weapon, they take on several wolves as part of the request. Later, Touya hopes they can teach him magic too. So they explain the importance of aptitudes otherwise magic cannot be used at all. They demonstrate a spell using spell stones. When Touya tries, the magic is overflowing! Thank God, right? They also let him try other spells and it seems he can easily do all of them with ease. They are awed that he can use all elements but Elze remains sceptical because nobody can use all elements. I know. Thank God, right? Innkeeper Mika introduces them to Aer who is having trouble adding new dish to her menu. Believing Touya is a travel and has some ideas, he uses his smartphone to teach them how to make ice cream. Wait. This world has no ice cream?!

Episode 2
Their next job is to deliver a letter to the royal capital. They see a commotion in the streets. Ruffians ganging up on lone girl, Yae Kokonoe. Though she can defend herself, the trio help her before it gets overwhelming. Yae introduces herself and Touya thought she comes from a place that sounds familiar to feudal Japan. She is on a journey to test her strength to become a better warrior. They let her join their mission as Touya continues to learn all kinds of magic. Don’t have any naughty thoughts of stealing underwear with this drawing spell. Along the way, they stumble upon lizardmen being summoned by an evil mage. After defeating them, they hear cries from a carriage. Sushie “Sue” Urnea Ortlinde is devastated her butler, Reim has taken an arrow to his chest. Touya comes up with a solution that nobody seems to think. He uses his magic to draw out the arrow and then heal him! So easy! Reim introduces himself as a butler who serves Duke Alfred. The other girls kneel and Touya learns dukes are the highest noble title belonging to the family. This means Sue is the niece of the current king of Belfast Kingdom and Alfred is his younger brother. Grateful Sue brings them back to her palace and her father is so darn happy she is okay that he bows before Touya! They discuss that Alfred may have enemies who want him out and they were probably trying to kidnap his daughter for blackmail. Had they not have this letter mission, Sue would have been kidnapped or dead. Alfred would love to introduce him to his wife, Ellen but she is blind from an illness. Sue was on a trip to learn her late grandpa’s special magic that might heal it. If only someone had capable null magic… Why are all the girls looking at Touya with glee? Before Ellen, Touya uses his magic… And now Ellen can see! Woah! Too easy! Thank God, right? Alfred rewards handsomely Touya with 40 platinum coins as well as giving them family medals. This allows them to pass through any checkpoints with ease and to use any facilities only nobles could. After delivering the letter, Yae admires Touya’s strength and humility and decides to follow them for her training. Yeah, why not? The harem is just getting started. Oops, I mean their very own guild party.

Episode 3
Back in town, Touya finds a lost animal girl, Alma. Thanks to this smartphone’s GPS, he manages to return her to her sister, Origa. Touya buys a new coat the increases his magic resistance and properties he possesses. It seems a couple of store owners are now hooked on this shogi game Touya introduced them. Even Alfred is hooked on it and wants to keep playing with Touya despite it’s already night time. No more shogi for him… It’ll be a traumatic nightmare… The gang is trying to take on a new quest. The girls oppose vehemently about this slime one. Yeah, melts clothes… So they take on this dullahan one and after defeating it, they thought they could find some hidden treasure in the ruins nearby since this was where the old capital was. Underground, there is a large relief with writing that is unrecognizable. Nothing like the smartphone could do and snap a few photos. Trekking deeper underground, they stumble upon a strange glass statue. They realize too late their light is being absorbed by it as it activates. Touya uses his gate to escape to the surface but this high-tech magical beast that moves at super speed attacks them. They thought they had destroyed it but it regenerates. Elze is caught off guard and gets injured. While the rest deal with it, Touya heals her. Then it occurred to him about some shogi move. So Touya uses his magic to draw out its core for Elze to destroy it. It crumbles for good. They report this to Alfred and he will conduct an official investigation. Touya shows the relief so Alfred notes it could be a clue as to why the capital was relocated. There were no records whatsoever of why it was so. On another day Touya visits the palace, Alfred looks like he is in a hurry. He thinks Touya is God sent at such a crucial time. It seems his brother has been poisoned.

Episode 4
Alfred suspects the kingdom of Mismede because his brother tried to form an alliance with the newly established beastmen country. If the king is gone, his eldest daughter, Yumina would take over and he can sense there is someone trying to gain power through political marriage. He wants Touya to heal his brother like he did with Ellen. And as easy as always, the king is healed like as though he woke up from a bad dream. Wow. The young girls in the room are starting to fall for Touya. Like Yumina and Charlotte the royal family’s mage. Maybe she’s just interested in his magic. As they discuss who the culprit is, the ambassador of Mismede is summoned because it is believed the wine she brought is poisoned. Touya is surprised the ambassador is Origa. Touya requests to investigate the hall where the poisoning took place since it was left untouched. After scanning it, he calls everyone. He says the wine has been cleared of poison and has some of the men drink it. But Count Balsa seems reluctant. So when he is forced to drink, he starts screaming he is dying of poison. Touya reveals he already wiped the poison off the glass. Balsa tries to run away but slips from Touya’s magic. Yumina is totally in love with him and can’t stop staring! She finally decides she wants to marry him! Father agrees. So fast? Because Yumina has mystic eyes, she can tell a person’s personality. If she acknowledges him, he isn’t a bad man. Touya tries to play that legal age card. Well, since Touya is 2 more years to reach legal age, this means Yumina has 2 years trying to win his heart! The hole in the ground is getting deeper… Heck, even God calls him to congratulate and assure polygamy is okay in this world. Speaking of which, how would his harem fare when they learn about his future wife? Shock of course. Plus, Yumina is going to live with them as part of her training. This means joining a guild and their party and going on missions. Yumina shows what she’s got as the gang easily defeat a pack of wolves and monkeys. But Touya can’t keep sighing because of his harem, people are staring with jealousy. The girls don’t get it and blush when Touya explains they are cute. He just dug his grave even deeper… Later Touya summons a beast to make a pact with. A white tiger pops up and Yumina recognizes it as the White Emperor. It is a heavenly beast. Unless Touya can prove his magical superiority, the white tiger will not follow him. I guess he got drained by Touya’s awesome power. Now it offers to become his familiar, Touya names him Kohaku. He wants to be by his side always but since it would scare off others, how about this chibi form? So cute! Yumina can’t stop hugging him! Now all the other girls take turns to squeeze it to death. Not even Touya can help. How low the heavenly beast has fallen?

Episode 5
The girls are not happy for this next mission. They are to investigate an abandoned castle filled with slimes. Yeah… They find research documents belonging to the researcher. As they trek deeper,, they encounter never-seen-before slimes that seem to take on a more pervy nature. But each of such slime is labelled failure by the researcher. So when they find the researcher’s corpse, the ultimate successful slime is one that turns into a harem of naked girls! Without a doubt, the girls burn down the entire castle in the name of purification. Never again shall such monstrosity arise. In town, Touya spots Yae trying to help a crying girl find his lost mom. Touya’s magic search has limited range. So use his smartphone! Because of that, Yae requests him to look for her brother whom she has never since she left on her journey. She describes him as close as possible and he is resembling more and more like Touya. Yae gets embarrassed and dismisses the thoughts that she likes Touya or anything. Next, Linze requests his help to read some spell with ancient words. He creates some magic glass that enables her to fluidly read everything. Then she tries to learn a new spell with it to the point she exhausts herself. But she doesn’t give up and eventually masters her water bubble bomb. With the bashing of tough creatures, Elze’s gauntlet begins to crack. After getting a replacement, she sees a lovely dress being displayed at a store. Touya believes she will look cute in it and as expect she denies (I doubt it is low self-confidence). So he has her try the dress and despite she doesn’t think of it as cute, Touya does and buys it. Now the other girls want him to buy them theirs… Yumina receives a letter from her family that she and Touya are to return to the royal palace for Touya’s knighthood as reward for that incident. He would like to decline it but he needs to state his reason publicly so either way he has to go back.

Episode 6
So even declining the knighthood, Touya still gets a huge mansion in exchange?! Wow. This guy can never lose! The girls are shocked when Touya allows all of them to live here because it’s too big by himself. I’m sure it’s not the part whereby the king gave this gift to him that is the problem. And this guy is so dense not understanding the implication of what he says when he mentions he likes all 4 of them equally! Yumina isn’t jealous since she has no intention of monopolizing him. And he still doesn’t get it?! The mansion will have a few staffs. Namely the head butler Raim and maids Lapis and Cecil. Is it me or do the security personnel look like thugs? Anyway, Raim is the older brother of Reim and he intends to serve Touya for saving his brother as well this is his ‘retirement’ after serving the king for many years. Alfred and Sue drop by to congratulate on Touya’s marriage. They also mull over the idea of marrying both royal princesses. Remember, polygamy is acceptable here. On to business, Alfred informs the kingdom has decided to form an alliance with Mismede. This means a venue is needed for both kings to talk. Since travelling is dangerous, this is where Touya comes in as they need his gate. Since he can only open gates to places where he has been, yup, he has to travel there. Don’t worry, an entourage will travel with him. They include, Origa, Alma, Garen the commander of Mismede’s troops and Lion Blitz of the first knight squad.

After journeying for a day, they make camp. They detect several bandits surrounding them. Touya uses his smartphone to detect how many and even paralyzes them all at the same time. While apprehending them all, everyone could see Lion is smitten with Origa. This prompts Touya’s harem to hint a certain someone is dense. Still don’t get it? No wonder Touya doesn’t understand why he is being lectured. In town, they see Lion trying to get something for Origa. With Alma’s help on what her sister likes, Lion is able to pick with ease. Yumina hints she would have wanted one too but she’ll prefer a ring on her left finger. Hint, hint. While camping for the night, they spot a dragon flying over. Although dragons don’t leave their sanctuary, some do so to go rampaging. As they feared, the red dragon burns down the village. Touya distracts the dragon to an open area where Kohaku finds out it was doing this for its own amusement. Touya and his harem cooperate to take down the dragon. Even cutting its wings, it can still breathe deadly fire. So fighting fire with fire because using a huge magnifying glass to burn it? A black dragon then pops up. He is here to retrieve a renegade dragon. Learning Kohaku serves a human, the black dragon apologizes for his rudeness. OMG. If a dragon can respect a mere human like Touya, is Touya God?! Everyone returns to help the village. Touya’s hard work is paid off as he finds himself sleeping on Yumina’s lap pillow. The other girls look on jealously. No hard feelings because rock-scissors-paper decided the outcome. Women’s battles are so fearsome…

Episode 7
Not only Touya and his harem help heal the villagers, they also donated useful parts of the dragon to them. Wah. So noble. As reward, the village head hands Touya a dragon fang as reward. They also return him a knife plucked out from the dragon’s eye but Touya doesn’t recognize it is from one of them. At Berge, the royal capital of Mismede, they have an audience with the king, Jamukha. He is impressed that Touya had slain a dragon. Because he likes to challenge strong people, he wants Touya to fight him. His subordinates don’t like this habit of his and hopes Touya will beat the crap out of him! Touya easily wins using his slipping magic but Jamukha won’t recognize it and wants a rematch. Without the use of that spell. Touya fights him fair and square as well with a good amount of magic to keep up with his speed and attacks. In the end, Jamukha admits defeat. During the party, Touya shows Jamukha his Smartphone that could take pictures instantly. While wandering in the hallways, Touya stumbles into a teddy bear, Paula who brings him to its master, Leen. She is 612 years old from the fairy folk. Paula isn’t her familiar but is animated using her magic. After demonstrating it, Touya tries it out and does it better. She wants him to be her apprentice but since she doesn’t like forcing others, she leaves her door open in case he changes his mind. Touya uses the fang to create a gun with bullets. Wow. He makes and masters it so easily. He even creates one for Yumina and Linze. Touya makes a few improvements to his gun as it can also doubles as a sword. He names it Brunhild. On the way back, Kohaku senses somebody watching them. So Touya traces and confronts them. They escape but thanks to GPS he manages to track them. They try to escape again but he shoots them! Don’t worry. Rubber bullets. As they won’t talk, he body searches them for weapons. Boobs?! Turns out they are Lapis and Cecil. They are spies working for the king to protect Yumina secretly. This means Raim is also on this. The knife is from them. They hope he won’t tell Yumina otherwise it’ll defeat the purpose. Also, she won’t stop b*tching about it. Touya opens the gate for Jamukha to meet Belfast’s king. This prompts Leen to ponder about visiting her apprentice, Charlotte who is there.

Episode 8
What a long tiring day as Touya returns to his mansion. After sleeping, he enters a room where he sees all his girls changing! At the same time? Of course time for him to get lectured. Touya is making bicycles. The girls are trying to outdo each other for Touya’s praise. Wow. It’s like they suddenly get better at cycling. As Alfred requests more bicycles, Touya heads to town to get more materials. In the alley, he spots a girl, Renne being attacked for pickpocketing. He saves and even feeds her. When he learns she is homeless and has no family, he takes her home and has her become one of his maids. Touya and co spot Alma. Then they see Origa and Lion out together. Lion seems shy to hold her hand so Yumina is also hinting something at Touya about the same. What’s this got to do? They tail them and using Touya’s Smartphone, they get to see and listen what they’re talking. They bump into Jamukha in disguise. When trouble occurs nearby and the victim is being ganged up, Touya and Jamukha don weird masks to defeat them. Lion could instantly recognize Touya from his coat and voice. Origa could identify her king but he quickly escapes. Too slow for Touya. He’s got some explaining to do. Touya quickly deflects the ‘blame’ to Lion. He asks him if he would like to date Origa and such, in which he answers yes. There you have it. Now the duo are an item. Returning to his mansion, Leen and Charlotte are here. They want to discuss about the mechanical beast they defeated. She has been investigating this case. A village to the west of Mismede said a crack in the sky was discovered a few days ago. She went to check but the village was destroyed. It is believed such creatures are demons called Fraze and have translucent bodies. They once tried to destroy the world. Knowing that Touya can use the gate, she wants to head to the far east of Eashen, Yae’s hometown. As Touya can only open gates to places he has seen, Leen tells of a spell that could transfer memories and hence jump to that places of memories he read. Yae is embarrassed to let her thoughts be read. She can be selective of those. But they have to be in contact for the memory transfer. Like kissing. Just kidding. So they hold hands and put their foreheads together (other girls looking jealous). With that, Touya is able to open a gate to Eashen.

Episode 9
Eashen is so like Japan but of course. Even the names of certain people are suspiciously familiar to history. Yae takes the gang to see her family but only her mom is in. It looks like father and brother have gone off to help their shogun Ieyahsu to fight the Takeda clan’s invasion. They’re not faring well. Looks like it is up to Touya to save the day. Opening the gate to the fortress, they see lots of samurai zombies swarming the place. Touya meets Jutarou (Yae’s brother) as he uses his app to heal the injured. Learning the zombies will only stop in their tracks when their mask is cut off, Leen believes it must be powerful relics of ancient civilizations. No problem. His app can zap all the masks with accuracy! Then they meet Ieyahsu and Yae’s father who are grateful for their help. They believe the Takeda clan will attack again once they regroup. They heard their clan head, Schingen recently died and their strategist, Kansukay Yamamoto has taken control. He is likely holed up in his main camp. Ieyahsu is about to show them the way when Tsubaki, a ninja for one of the main generals of Takeda drop in to deliver a letter. It is a plea to help save the Takeda clan as all the generals but Tsubaki’s have been thrown into prison. Tsubaki’s master pretended to be on Kansukay’s side. Ieyahsu has no obligation to save them but this might cause trouble for his people. Well Touya, looks like you’re up to the task again. He has Tsubaki envision her camp since he needs to open a gate there. Piercing stares from his harem… Only Leen and Tsubaki follow him since too many might attract unwanted attention. In a harem sense? Leen uses invisibility on them and then starts groping Tsubaki’s boobs and blaming it on Touya. We’re in the middle of a mission! Touya heads to free the generals and then confronts Kansukay. However nobody can lay a finger on him as Kansukay uses Schingen to attack them. They can’t attack their lord even if he is dead. What is Touya to do? Just break Schingen’s mask! And since Kansukay is bragging about this immortal gem that has magic properties, Touya snatches it! Leen can tell its cursed properties and lets Touya destroys it. Kansukay crumbles into dust. The day is saved. With Yae bidding farewell to her family, the rest continue their journey to the ruins after receiving its specific whereabouts. They arrive at the beach and the girls are ecstatic to see the ocean. Oh no. Don’t turn this into a sexy beach episode…

Episode 10
I guess investigation of the ruins have to wait because it’s beach episode! Time for fun in the sun and sand. Not to mention swimsuit fanservice! So it isn’t going to be just Touya and his harem because they also bring the entire royal family here! This Eashen beach is starting to look like some private royal beach. Aside all the big boobs and flat boobs fanservice, time for Touya and Leen to get to work. As Touya dives in, he sees the underground ruin but of course he cannot hold his breath and has to resurface. Shockingly his app can’t make some scuba apparatus so Kohaku suggests making a pact with the Black Emperor. It’s a snake and turtle combo. While the turtle sounds condescending, why does snakey sound so gay?! Touya needs to challenge and beat them. Again he uses his slipping app to make them slip and turn turtle infinitely until they give up. That is how you get heavenly beasts under your thumb! With them acknowledging Touya as their master, he names them Kokuyou (the snake) and Sango (the turtle). Looks like the investigation of the ruins have to be put on hold further because Leen tells him to go have fun with the rest of the harem or else they’ll start suspecting he is spending too much time with her. Speaking of which, they are. So they’re asking who has the best swimsuit. Touya thinks he chose the safest answer by calling Sue’s but this only makes it worse since they think he is a lolicon. Making it worse is his Smartphone falling out and a picture of Sue and Renne being displayed. For memories, you say? I’m sure they’ll forgive him if he plays with them. Not in a hentai sense, that is. After Touya fulfils that, it’s time to investigate the ruins. I guess it is only for a single person since Kokuyou and Sango can only allow Touya to breathe and walk underwater like as though he is doing so on land. Inside the ruins, he activates a strange device and this leads him to a beautiful greenhouse. Francesca the android girl greets him. She is the terminal that controls this Aerial Garden of Babylon. The shocking thing Touya first notices about her is that she is wearing no pantsu!

Episode 11
After covering up herself, Francesca explains this garden has been floating in the sky for 5,092 years and was created by Professor Regina Babylon. The garden remained beautiful and everything still worked fine due to reinforced magic. You mean it can last forever? Francesca was also built by her as this garden’s control terminal. She isn’t 100% machine and contains several biological parts. Cue for her to make a scandalous statement that she can’t have children but still can have sex. And she is hinting he can do so to her any time! But gentleman Touya would never violate her, right? And it is a good thing too because this was all part of the test to see if he is deemed worthy to be this garden’s next master. Had he assaulted or allowed her to walk around pantless, she would have kicked him out. And she still has the guts to flirt and tease him… Meanwhile Touya’s harem seems to be ‘divided’ based on their boobs size. Just in time for Touya to open a gate to bring them to the garden. First thing they notice is the other woman. It does not help with Francesca putting it in an awful way she showed Touya her body and he is now her ‘master’. It looks like Linze has a big problem with this. She scolds him like as though looking at their swimsuits wasn’t enough. Wow. She’s really making a big deal out of this. Till Leen ‘stops’ her lest she makes her stance clear with him. This goes the same for the other girls. So stop b*tching about being a moral police unless you are officially his wife! Later, Yumina talks to Elze, Linze and Yae about their talk earlier in the mansion. She pointed out all of them loves Touya and as expected all turned red and giving excuses why they are not. However Yumina is okay with Touya having a harem because she cannot support him by himself. She cannot be selfish with the trivialities of wanting him all for herself. Sharing is caring! Let’s all be his bride! Wow. So inclusive! And now she reminds them have they made up their mind on their feelings yet. Still flushed with embarrassment and more excuses on the thought of marriage.

Back to the discussion on the garden, Francesca reveals there are actually more gardens floating. Each have their own unique facilities like the library, lab and workshop and are managed by her other sisters. Originally there are 9 of them but over the years, the parts may have broken up into more. Combined, they complete the Garden of Babylon. As each garden is protected by magic, it is not visible from the outside. Also, connection is severed so Francesca cannot contact her other sisters. Hey, why don’t we use the Smartphone? Great idea! None detected. First failure?! Hence the only way to get to other gardens just like this one is to find a teleport circle. I bet they are scattered all over the world. Francesca would like to complete the transfer of this garden’s ownership to Touya. How? By kissing him! French kiss! Wet French kiss!!! OMG!!! The other girls must be so dead. Yumina is most mad because she hasn’t kissed him yet. So much about the harem policy. Francesca’s ‘excuse’ is that this is the fastest way to take his DNA sample. Oh, is Linze going to be a moral police again? Touya is prepared for hellfire but surprise! Linze confesses she loves him and kisses him! I believe the true battle is going to begin and it’s going to get messy.

Episode 12
Touya brings Francesca back to the mansion. I guess she also works here now, huh? But now comes his biggest trial yet. Because Yumina sees him and she is mad. Oh boy. She is mad because he kissed others and not her first. She doesn’t care if he has 10 or 20 wives but the fact he didn’t kiss her. Yup. That’s the biggest problem. She’ll forgive him if he kisses her. And because he is the one who initiated the kiss, this means she is the first to be kissed by him. Technically. So all is forgiven. Phew. It’s really hard to please a woman. She then asks about Linze. He doesn’t hate her or anything and likes her. Yumina then calls out to Linze who has an invisible spell cast on her. She heard everything. Since Touya didn’t revert to her, she thought he hated her. After reconciling, Yumina suggests he takes her as his wife too. Polygamy is okay. They end with a goodnight kiss each. On the forehead. If you think that settles it, wait till next morning when he gets a rude awakening by Elze. Yup, another mad woman. She and Yae challenge him to a duel. Apparently they’re not happy he took Linze as his wife. If they win, he must listen to their request. To cut it short, they do and it seems they want him to put them as the same position as Linze. You mean be his wives? So why are you all flustering now? Yumina would love him to accept them too because they have discussed this before. However Touya can’t decide. He needs more time to think. Yeah, don’t go pressuring the main guy of a harem. So he is thinking in the garden as Francesca has a message from Regina. Conveniently the USB fits his Smartphone and does it have hologram feature?! Whatever. What is this BS he can converse with Regina in the past?! Oh, she has some tool that allows her to see and interact with the future? Load of crap… Anyway, after teasing him with her seductive ways, she gets down to business talking about Fraze. Her device allowed her to see the future until the Fraze appeared. She couldn’t see anything. She believes Fraze altered the future of her timeline. However the Fraze too one day disappeared and she could see the future again. She had fun watching Touya and his harem. Wow. Looks who is the peeping tom from centuries ago. So in exchange for watching this fun, she entrusts him her garden? I bet it was way damn fun…

Touya goes to see God of his problem. So he doesn’t have a consulting app? When you have to see God, you’re screwed. Heck, God himself isn’t sure so he calls for someone else! She is the God of Love!!! So can she solve his harem problem? From what I understand, she too isn’t really sure but what is important is to cherish them and don’t lie to himself. So it is okay for him to be selfish because it isn’t love if only one side is happy. All sides must be happy! Harem lovers rejoice this answer! And now he has found his answer, he calls the quartet. He tells them he isn’t marrying. Now, before you all jump the gun, hear him out properly first. What he meant is he isn’t getting married now. He will keep his promise to marry all of them if they aren’t against it. For now, he can’t shoulder that kind of responsibility. Excuse to delay responsibility or let their love grow? I suppose everyone is okay with it because imagine the only guy rejecting you because you’re being a forceful b*tch. Yeah, might as well take it slow. With this settled, Yumina suggests they all kiss him. Elze is first but she gets embarrassed and punches him in the gut. Well, there goes today’s kiss. Leen, Francesca and Charlotte are watching over this. Fun, right? Francesca calculates he will amass 9 wives at this rate. She wonders if Leen is part of it. From that group picture, yes. And a host of unknown ladies too! Well Touya, go find them. In the aftermath, he calls God to update about his resolved harem. He then helps a guy named Ende when he got the wrong currency to pay for his food. Touya finds his oddly shaped coin interesting but Ende finds his Smartphone even more interesting.

Jack Of All Trades, Master Of ‘Em All!
Well, I should have expected this. I mean, I should have seen this coming from a mile that this is what it all boils down to. Just some cheesy harem anime that everything and anything goes for plot convenience and to make the main character look good and hence harem lovers feel good. Because hey, why not? So who the f*ck is that Ende guy doesn’t really mean a thing because I believe it is meant to troll us all and throw us off our balance. He could be the future antagonist or the alternate timeline of Touya because of what Regina said about that Fraze thingy or could be just one random guy. Heck, in worst case scenario, he could be even Touya’s future partner!!! Whoever said his future wives and mistresses must be all females?! We must be inclusive! Be the first gay partner!

The entire anime is pretty cheesy and mediocre. The Smartphone is supposed to be the main draw but instead it became some sort of convenient tool whenever it is needed to solve something or a plot device, if I should go so far as to call it that. The rest of this series revolves around Touya and his harem going around in their mini adventure and basically, this is just another harem anime. Yup, look at how good and kind-hearted Touya is amassing his girls from the first episode right up till the end. In short, almost every girl he meets will end up ‘following’ him. And I don’t mean that by following one on social media because there is none in this world.

The plot itself feels a little lost because aside the random adventure of amassing his own harem, there is this ‘side quest’ of trying to find out more about the ancient threat of Fraze. Then it got side-lined into this Garden of Babylon thingy and hence more ruins to find. Or should I say, more girls to find. So what the heck are these Fraze and why they suddenly disappeared? Heck, who the hell cares?! As long as Touya is amassing his wives that’s all we ever want to know. Because at this point I’ll just do a conspiracy theory that the Fraze appeared and disappeared so as to allow Touya to have his harem. It is all possible thanks to Fraze. Yeah, f*ck it. They are the closest to being the series’ main antagonist in which it is seriously lacking. Yae’s Eashen home is just one-off. Dragons aren’t that bad and the rogue ones can be controlled by the wiser ones. The beastmen aren’t that all bad either and now they have established relations, heck there are literally no big bad guys here save for a few small time bandits. Nothing like Touya and co could fix up in no time. No wonder this world is peaceful enough for Touya to amass this much girls in his harem. Now wonder it is so interesting for the rest to watch it. I suppose they don’t have football matches in this world…

The characters are pretty cliché and mediocre themselves too. Like everything was a plot to setup whatever it is needed for a harem anime with no serious character development whatsoever. I should have expected it ever since I saw the promotional poster with Touya sitting on a king’s throne and all his girls flanking him. But I didn’t think it would be this bad. Pfft. Okay, I must be kidding and lying to myself. Because you see, the more girls Touya gets to his harem, the less significant they become because you know, the share of screen time is divided and this dilutes their worth. Like the sisters who are the first in his harem, you can feel that they slowly become less relevant as the series goes by and more girls popping up. Of course they are still relevant but it is not to a point that you would see them as main contenders or anything. Just lurking in the background and mingling with the rest till something convenient for them is needed pops up.

I don’t know if I should label Touya as one of the worst main characters ever because deep down inside me, I also want to be him. I want to have a Smartphone that does everything conveniently which also serves as a chick magnet. Touya is actually a weak character and has no real actual abilities or skills by himself. He is only made ‘strong’ because of his Smartphone that can miraculously do almost everything and anything. Hence, he is now somewhat an ‘overpowered’ character. There is nothing his Smartphone cannot do! There is an app for literally anything and only limited to his mind’s creativity. Somehow it works in this world where there is magic. Oh, how convenient! I bet his Smartphone and apps are going to worth billions in our world. The most coveted Smartphone ever! Oh wait. I just praised his Smartphone and not Touya himself. See, that says a lot, right? But damn you Touya for having a harem!

As for the rest of his other girls in his main harem, I guess like everybody else, they stick to him because he is such a kind and considerate guy. Not to say that Touya is a pervert and at times it is only natural to catch him starring at girls’ boobs but he isn’t a jerk kind of pervert in nature and that is why the girls stick to him. Also because he has a cool Smartphone that impresses. Because you already know, it can do anything and everything. Really, with just a click of a finger and all your wishes and solutions are granted. It feels like technology trumps magic in this world and that the girls here are like country bumpkins attracted to him mainly because of his cool never-seen-before gadget. I wonder what would be of him if his Smartphone dies out. No replacement! Can he ask God to buy the latest Apple iPhone?! We know one just recently came out, right? You see, I have a theory why he doesn’t duplicate another Smartphone for others. Not even his girls. He knows this Smartphone gives him the power. The authority. His trump card. Imagine if there is another one that rivals him. No competition, the better, right? Touya you sneaky bastard… Assuming if this is true of course.

So I don’t know what else to comment on them besides trying to fill up the harem trope as much as possible. You got the sisters, then you got the traditional eastern girl (because, which Japanese anime would be complete without at least one Japanese-like girl, past or modern), then you got the royalty princess, her little loli sister, a fairy and now he has got an android to the mix. How lovely. And those are the main ones. This is not counting the maids at his home which comprised of Yumina’s secret service agents and the random kid whom Touya picked up on the street. Let’s also not forget about furries like Alma and the magical assistant, Charlotte. It is only a matter of time and question when Touya will hit on MILF. Oh… The king’s wife… Off with his head!!! And what are the chances of Touya amassing more girls in his harem assuming he comes into contact with Francesca’s other sisters? Oh you bet he can do it! You bet he can make connections between all gardens working and easier again! All hail Touya! All hail his Smartphone! Heh. I didn’t even mention a bevy of beauties in that final episode scene. Just how many more wives and mistresses can Touya have?! That’s the question that I would love to find out. Can his app do a calculation on that?

So those in his harem that made an ‘impact’ are those who are bolder in their love for Touya, especially those who like to tease him like Leen and Francesca. Because if you have an entire harem who just blushes and gives excuses why they want to be with him (I sometimes feel the excuse of Touya being unreliable and hence they need to be next to him feels legit in a way), it would be just plain boring. With these girls, they get to stoke and fan the fire and push the harem in ways most cliché as possible. Hey, it’s already cheesy, mediocre and cliché, why not go all the way? Make these girls tell ero jokes whenever they have a chance! I mean, girls can get away with it if they talk dirty, right? And Yumina… She sounded magnanimous of wanting everyone to be Touya’s bride. But what she didn’t say and I feel is that she didn’t make that statement clear enough. I believe she meant that herself as his main and number one bride and the rest be his concubine. Hence, they rank lower in the pecking order. See where this is going? Eventually, it’s not wrong for Yumina to want Touya for herself since she is a woman too but assuming this is what she meant, she shouldn’t be this deceptive. Oh, women can be deceptive when it comes to the matters of the heart.

I also believe Kohaku, Sango and Kokuyou only exist to give some moe in the form of animal mascot. Ever since they ‘lost’ to Touya (I would like to attribute their lost to his Smartphone actually), they have become docile and it feels like an insult that they have to be in their chibi form so as not to scare off other people while tagging their master around. Seems legit, I guess. Like Touya’s harem, they hardly do anything worthy except tagging along. For instance, Kohaku may have just fought the rampaging dragon once but that was for a short while and he didn’t even show his true extent of his power. What a waste. Same can be said for Paula because I don’t see the purpose of Leen needing to use her magic to automate a teddy bear except for some animal mascot cuteness which is otherwise redundant. So if you’re not into girls, at least the animal mascot should satiate you. Heck, you shouldn’t be watching this series then, you gay furry faggot!

One of my biggest questions is if Touya dies in this world, will he get another chance to reincarnate in another world? And if so, is he able to bring his Smartphone along? Even if he can, will it be further upgrade? If that is the case, then Touya would be an immortal, don’t you think? Because for God to single him out as the special one who gets to survive in another world just because of one stupid mistake He made in his original world, then if you think about it, it wouldn’t be fair to a lot of other people in the real world who have untimely died. God should have brought them to this world then but clearly Touya is the first because had they been here, his Smartphone wouldn’t have been such a novelty. Maybe they died without carrying their Smartphone? Who doesn’t carry their Smartphone 24/7 wherever they go these days???!!! That’s insane! So yeah, the Smartphone is some sort of a free pass for the convenience of the plot and whatever that feels necessary.

Art and animation also feels mediocre. Well, it isn’t technically that bad but with my sentiments of this anime is already so, the visuals too are affected. They’re just standard and nothing close to a masterpiece. My only ‘complaint’ is how Touya’s design makes him look like Kirito from Sword Art Online. That generic look as well as his coat. Just replace his sword with a Smartphone. Feels like they are drawing some sort of parallel tribute to him because the latter too has his own sort of harem and is quite powerful in his own right. And doesn’t Leen look a bit like SukaSuka’s Nephren? Oh, does Regina look like the grownup version of To-Love Ru’s Yami or that Tearju woman? Production Reed animated this series and upon checking, they have been dormant for a while seeing they have only been producing 1 or 2 animes per year since 2010 with their most recent works like Nijiro Days and Onsen Yousei Hakone-chan. Back in their heydays, they made Ultra Maniac, Sousei No Aquarion, F-Zero: Falcon Densetsu and a host of other retro animes.

For the voice acting, I only recognize Kikuko Inoue as Origa is because she quipped and parodied her trademark line of always 17 years old somewhere in the series once. Here is another fact I discovered: Honoka Inoue who voiced Alma is actually her daughter!!! I supposed with mother being always eternally a teen, that’s why they are sisters in this anime? I hope it doesn’t get confusing in real life. But the other thing that shocked me is the cameo of Yui Horie as the God of Love! Oh God, it’s nice to hear her sweet voice again. For a while now she had been ‘missing’ so I was worried if she quit voice acting. But let’s hope she was just taking a break because looks like she is back and there are a handful of animes this season I noticed she made short cameo appearances. Slow but surely. Welcome back?

The other recognized seiyuu is Jouji Nakata as Belfast’s king. The rest of the casts include Katsumi Fukuhara as Touya, Maaya Uchida as Elze (Rikka in Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai), Yui Fukuo as Linze (Rika Hayase in Time Travel Shoujo), Chinatsu Akasaki as Yae (Yasuna in Kill Me Baby), Marina Kouno as Yumina (Niwaka in Akiba’s Trip The Animation), Sumire Uesaka as Leen (Sanae in Chuunibyou Demo koi Ga Shitai), Rumi Ookubo as Francesca (Aguri in Gamers), Nanami Yamashita as Sue (Nanami in Wake Up Girls), Yuki Kaida as Kohaku (Homura in Sekirei), Taiten Kusonoki as Alfred (Rock Bison in Tiger & Bunny), Yuuki Kuwahara as Charlotte (Konoha in Gamers), Himekawa Akaneya as Lapis (Honoka in ReLIFE), Madoka Yonezawa as Cecil (Ui in K-ON!), Yoshino Aoyama as Renne (Guri in Renai Boukun), Tetsu Inada as Jamukha (Sawatari in Linebarrels Of Iron) and Fumihiko Tachiki as God (Zaraki in Bleach).

The opening theme, Another World by AOP sounds generic. Lots of flashy synthesizer and sound effects that could have been mistaken for a dance song. Not really to my liking. Junou Emotional is a rock piece and there are different versions of it. Actually, depending on which of Touya’s harem is singing. Hence there are 6 of them. Namely Elze, Linze, Yae, Yumina, Sue and Leen. So I’m taking this are his official girls in his harem. Too bad Francesca. I guess you’re not in. Yet.

Overall, not entirely a bad anime and I won’t go so far as to call it as crappy because even though it is mediocre, I still somewhat enjoy this series since this kind of genre is one of my favourites. Mediocre characters and paper thin plots only to be overwhelmed by the harem factor and the overpowered use of the Smartphone sometimes make you feel that such shows exist because there needs to be at least one per season. It might give a misconception of how girls flock to you because of your cool and hip trendy Smartphone as well as how dumb we are because we rely totally on the Smartphone for everything. Hence its name. No questions asked. All hail and accept this God-given but manmade miracle! My only question now is with Touya’s expanding harem, I wonder how he will fit everyone into the picture if he decides to take a selfie. Well, clearly for Touya, his Smartphone isn’t his only friend in this other world.

Nora To Oujo To Noraneko Heart

The synopsis had it all. A potential series of finding hope and what is lost. The setting of Nora To Oujo To Noraneko Heart tells of a boy who just lost his parents and the other characters who live with him in their daily normal lives. Till he meets a princess of the underworld who came to Earth to destroy it only to be ‘defeated’ by him because of his ‘stronger energy’. He is then accidentally turned into a cat by her as she seeks the mysteries of life. And what’s this ero book found in the park that is part of the mysteries of life? Is this their punch line?

Episode 1
As narrated, Nora Handa who is a normal student was turned into a magic cat by Princess Patricia who lives in the netherworld. Now, the few girls who are taking care of him have their own ulterior motives of wanting him to be turned back. Like Michi Kuroki who wants him turned back so she could ‘practice her confession’. Or Yuuki Asuhara so she could get back the money she lent. Shachi Yuuri suggests finding the person who turned him into a cat but nobody knows where Patricia is now. Oh, Shachi says she is at her home eating right now! And somehow everybody joins eating the meal instead before getting back on track what they’re supposed to do. So how do you turn Nora back? You kiss him on the mouth. Yuuki has no qualms about that just to get back her money but Michi disagrees. Cats’ mouth are dirty! Don’t worry. Use disinfectant! A big struggle ensues and it ends up burning the entire house down. I guess the disinfectant was too strong…

Episode 2
Patricia and Nora head to school. She thinks it is a wonderful place but Nobuchina Takada vehemently disagrees. Yeah, she thinks it is a very bad place and how teachers like to fail you! Maybe you’re not studying enough? Her friend, Tanaka hopes she won’t upset Patricia too much. She is after all the princess of the dead. But Nobuchina is sceptical about this new transfer student and believes her as dangerous. As proof, Patricia summons an undead skeleton to attack Ida, the school’s delinquent. After learning a girl’s kiss will turn Nora back, Nobuchina had to point out and to make sure if the anatomical model, that undead skeleton and even Ida himself aren’t good substitutes to kiss him. By the way, Tanaka’s super sleuth has deduced the skeleton is a man! Patricia wonders if Nora is okay being kissed by a man. Looks like he doesn’t and runs away. Nobuchina calls him a pervert. How come that sounds so politically correct?

Episode 3
Patricia’s elder sister, Lucia barges in. She accuses Nora of deceiving her sister, the reason why she hasn’t returned to the netherworld. In her attempts to kill him, she accidentally steps on Patricia’s tummy! Lucia fears for her future but is glad Patricia is still sleeping. Nothing to worry about. She returns to kill Nora but this time accidentally stepping on Patricia’s face. Another critical hit. Don’t worry. She’s still asleep. Youngest sister, Eurasia barges in because she wants to play too and is bored staying at home. Lucia disagrees and when they struggle, Lucia is falling and realizes she is going to elbow Patricia. Then her life flashes before her. But she claims those visions are their future? So she is going to protect it and her sisters as she proclaims, “Patricia I love you!” before dropping a painful elbow drop on her guts. I’m sure this scene is up to us to interpret because it’s like this Godzilla has burnt down the entire city…

Episode 4
Beach episode! The girls are there with Nora but what is Nobuchina b*tching about? Ah, I see she is flat. She is offended and insulted especially by those of Lucia and Patricia. Therefore we see Nobuchina and Eurasia forming some sort of flat alliance to ‘defeat the rich’ and ‘redistribute wealth’. Down with the monopolists! Tanaka has just fixing the tank as per requested as the flat chest duo go all out to target the twin towers! They’re going to start a cup world revolution! Lucia and Patricia’s magic easily takes out their shells. So the flatties fire Nora who then accidentally rip off Patricia’s top. The ‘revolutionists’ are pleased with Patricia’s embarrassed reaction and then blame it on Nora for being a pervert.

Episode 5
Patricia hosts a quiz show whereby the winner gets a nice view of the gallows as well as the side prize of a million yen. She asks the first question in which the answer is Natsume Souseki. I believe because Michi is the smartest, her buzzer is rigged because no matter how many times she pressed, it just wouldn’t buzz. Thus giving dumb chicks like Yuuki, Nobuchina and Eurasia to give dumb stupid answers. Even when Patricia gives the most obvious hint (like part of the answer), they still give a variant of that dumb stupid answer. When Michi’s buzzer finally works, she answers wrongly because she has been retorting those dumb answers in her head. Feeling stupid? Say milk 10 times. What does a cow drink? Yeah… Psychology… But it is Nora who wins with the correct answer. And all he did was say “Nyaa~”. I’ll give Patricia the benefit of the doubt she understands cat language.

Episode 6
WTF?! ARE THEY TROLLING US?! What the hell is this entire episode just on real goats grazing on the grasses?! It feels like they failed to do any animation last week and hence they just took some boring random clip and turn it into an episode! Anyway, not too sure if the girls are adlibbing as goats are they actually turned into them. From what I hear, it sounds like the latter. Nom, nom… Hey, at least they don’t have to go to school and get yelled by the teacher. No exams or competition at all. Absolute freedom! Then they realize how hard it is being an animal and this is what Nora must have felt like. So how do they all turn back to humans? Patricia says we all know the answer. Well, I certainly don’t! Oh heck, I’m not even a goat so I wouldn’t know. Personally, I think this was a baa-d episode…

Episode 7
What’s this?! The girls are now sentai warriors trying to defeat a giant monster destroying a city?! Nora leads the girls to transform. Because Yuuki gets distracted thinking if they are getting hourly paid by this, they transform into a lame robot. Yeah, its ‘special weapon’ is to say sorry. No wonder it got defeated quickly. So Nora warns them one last time her magic can only save the world one last time. So here we go. Too bad again Yuuki gets distracted thinking about the long queues at phone stores. Now we have a female version of that lame robot! So what is its ‘special weapon’? To serve tea. I don’t think monster dude is appreciative. Then it comes charging with a handphone?! Must be a dissatisfied customer. Lucia gives hint to give good customer service. This means the robot prostrates itself to apologize. The monster instantly explodes! And so the day is saved! Come back again next time?

Episode 8
Everyone is at the beach at night playing sparklers. However there is a reason for them being here. It is the death anniversary of Nora’s mom. As Patricia learns, she was always drinking, kind but strict, helped them with their studies, cook delicious meals, drink a lot more and fall asleep. Patricia talks to Nora if remembering the dead makes him sad. As she is from the world of the dead, she doesn’t understand what it means to die. She wonders if it will be less painful to forget someone dear who died if you could never see them again. Shachi believes to more dear that person is, the more you want to remember them. This prompts Patricia to wonder if Nora will remember her if she returns to the netherworld. I think his meow says yes. Because everybody won’t either.

Episode 9
Panty shots episode! It could have been the best fanservice ever had it not for those damn paw censors!!!! GRRRR!!!! I guess Nora being a cat now has its perks because of his low angle view up the girls’ skirts. Who cares about the girls talking about skipping class, eating snacks or relationships when you can enjoy the best views from underneath! DAMN YOU PAW CENSORS!!! I guess our fun time ends when we also have a ‘pantsu shot’ of Ida. Why the heck is he pantless???!!! MYE EYES!!! ARGH!!! MY EYES!!!!!!!!!

Episode 10
A murder mystery game simulation! Patricia is the detective investigating the bloody death of Lucia inside a mansion. She seeks Nora’s help in solving the case. So we viewers are looking from Nora’s point of view as he tries to examine and ask questions. However we get silly answers that stray from the topic. What is it about your gamelan, Ida?! Eventually when the other characters mention they always hear a cat cry coming from this room, eventually Nora confesses. Nora killed Lucia?! The truth is shown that Lucia blamed Nora that Patricia won’t come home anymore. She tried to get him but Nora escaped. This caused a jar to fall over Lucia’s head. With all the shock and sadness, Nora is arrested as well as Patricia. Yeah, looks like she isn’t dead. So should not there be any murder case?

Episode 11
Patricia is dumping old grimoires she doesn’t read anymore into a magic circle. Yeah, literally she hoarded her entire collection in Nora’s room that seems to be bursting any moment. The magic circle then gets clogged like a toilet. Since using an ordinary plunger won’t do, Patricia uses Nora instead! Putting the cat to good use for the first time? Not really. However Nora gets sucked into it. Patricia enters to go look for Nora but finds a woman hanging clothes. Asking her about her lost cat, she points out to Nora nearby. However the woman notes that the cat’s name is similar to her son’s. It’s not unusual but because this woman is Nora’s mother! Nora is tempted to go to her but Patricia warns him not to. This is not the past. This is his memories. She warns the living cannot interact with the dead or else he will be stuck here. Nora doesn’t listen and is still tempted. However mom tells him to go on and take care. Sad Nora returns to the living world with Patricia who notes his name is a treasure given by his mom.

Episode 12
Suddenly Patricia collapses! Is this the end of her? Patricia. The end. Forgive the pun. In hospital as everyone sits around her, suddenly she gets up! But her heart isn’t beating. Well, if you remember she is the princess of the underworld and not having a beating heart is normal. She will be ‘dead’ if she is alive. Confused?! So once that happens, she is no longer the princess and can no longer use her magic. This means she can’t turn Nora back. Hence he must kiss her while she is dead. Nora instantly runs away! That bad? Or just embarrassed. Surprisingly, Ida comes to give him magazines about kissing and talks to him about life. Especially it would be disrespectful that his mom gave birth to a human and not a cat. Wow. You’d never expect such from this character. So here comes Patricia. Quick, kiss her! However her heart starts beating again so Lucia pounds it back till it dies! Patricia and Nora manage to kiss and he is now back to human form. However he is naked and the girls can’t stand him. So Patricia kisses him back so as to put some girly clothes on him and then change him back. Well, there is only so much a cat can take as he runs away. And hence the happy ending of how Nora forever changes back and forth from a human to a cat.

Stray Cat, Stray Plot
First things first. THE SERIES IS SO MUCH DIFFERENT FROM THE SYNOPSIS AND PLOT THAT WE WERE TOLD!!! Did they troll us? Like the synopsis that I have briefly said in my opening paragraph, none of that ever happened here!!! Well, this series was adapted from a game and I can see where the stories and setting come from. But if I do not read the synopsis in the first place I believe it still doesn’t matter and you will not lose much. In fact, reading it now makes me confused and ‘disappointed’ because all we got are very random episodes that has nothing to do with that plot whatsoever. It is like anything goes. Like as though that synopsis was the setting that already was and everything we have seen here is the aftermath of it. Are they trying to pull off something like Teekyuu? No tennis but only a black cat.

So much so, that live goat episode was the one that killed it. I felt a mix of emotions watching that episode. It was so refreshing and different. It is both good and bad. Good because, well, goats! Nom! Nom! Nom! Epic badass?! Cat life and now goat life? Bad because it looked like the producers were lazy and instead of animating our cute girls, they just put in some life footage and adlib some voices over the goats grazing green grasses. Alliteration intended. When you have episodes like this one and other random ones such as a detective simulation game, a beach episode and a quiz show, it summarizes how random and f*cked up fun this series is going to get. No wonder I sensed something amiss when the episodes are only 5 minutes long and it is labelled as ecchi. Hmm… Not that it is entirely a bad thing. I love the crazy randomness but like I’ve said, I wished they didn’t deceive us with that synopsis. But if they don’t, what would they have put up then? A boy who turned into cat and experiences chaotic hijinks in his everyday life. Yeah, maybe…

The characters are as crazy as this series. The crazier they are, the more lovable they seem. So like Lucia who adores and dotes on her sisters very much becomes the idiot of the series. Nobuchina and Eurasia also feel the same and Yuuki too but to a lesser degree. Others like Michi and Shachi don’t appear too much and they aren’t as big as idiots as those aforementioned. Tanaka feels like she has been stereotyped into some sort of handywoman or henchwoman since if you need some fixing done, you get her to do it.

Nora (whose name itself could mean stray) as the main character himself doesn’t feel like a main character since the rest of the girls are hogging the limelight. He feels like a side character animal mascot. There is that penultimate episode of him ‘reuniting’ with his late mother to stir up some feels but it was too fast and too late. Not too sure if everyone is interested in turning Nora back into a human because everyone seems to be okay living their lives and Nora too looks like he doesn’t mind. Hey, when you are a cat, you are adored! You are God! So I see no reason why he would want to turn back this instant when the fact that he can look up girls’ skirt and get away with it despite the girls know very much this black cat is Nora.

Thus it boggles my mind why Patricia doesn’t turn him back to human form easily when she can easily do so at any time. Just a kiss, right? Don’t give me that naked human form bullsh*t. I suppose with Nora as a cat, he would forever be her slave. Besides, cats are cuter to look at than a human boy, right? Yeah, an excuse never to draw how he looks like. So is Nora happy living his life as a cat and sometimes a human? Only he knows the answer…

Oddly, the next episode preview isn’t much of one. Just like how they trolled us with the synopsis, they also trolled us here by naming this part as A Cat’s Thoughts. Except that it isn’t what Nora is thinking because a cat can’t really talk, right? Even by the fact it is absurd that a guy can be turned into a cat but not a talking cat. I mean, look at that American series, Sabrina The Teenage Witch. It had a talking cat, right?! So anyway, what we hear are random thoughts and opinions of the girls that have nothing to do with what happened in that episode or the next episode (they also troll what comes in the next episode, which of course doesn’t happen). Just random chatter. Maybe this is what Nora thinks about them of what they think?

Art and animation lean towards the moe and kawaii side. Because when you have sisters of the netherworld to look this cute, I believe everything else in the world of the dead will also be looking this cute than anything scary. The colours and hue are quite bright and vivid that you might think it is a show for kids but some of the episodes have very mild fanservice so definitely not for kids. This series is jointly animated by a new studio, DMM.futureworks and W-Toon Studio who so far made that chibi Yuuki Yuuna Wa Yuusha-bu movie and Animegataris.

Didn’t recognize any of the seiyuu. Surprisingly but not, Nora even has a seiyuu and must be the easiest lines. This isn’t the only anime that has a dedicated seiyuu voiced an animal voice throughout the entire series but with such a short series having its own seiyuu for a cat that doesn’t talk and only purrs? Whatever. Handa is voiced by Ayaka Asai (Mio in Shinmai Maou No Testament). The other casts are Natsu Takamori as Patricia (Azusa in Orange), Atsumi Tanezaki as Yuuki (Mizore in Hibike! Euphonium), Eri Sendai as Michi (Yukari in Rocket Girls), Yuu Asakawa as Shachi (Motoko in Love Hina), Yuri Yamaoka as Nobuchina (Yuuko in Hibike! Euphonium), You Taichi as Lucia (Anzu in Prison School), Ayuru Oohashi as Eurasia (Ayumu in Hoshizora E Kakaru Hashi), Juri Kimura as Tanaka (Kyouko in Seiren) and Takeaki Masuyama as Ida. The opening theme, Ne! Ko! by the voices behind Patricia, Yuuki, Michi and Shachi sounds like your typical genki anime pop.

Overall, this short anime is both good and bad. It is short and randomly funny that people like me would forgive the trolling storyline and the non-existent plot. If you were expecting something more than this, then too bad you will certainly be very disappointed. Hence, not for people who cannot stand being lied to. Told something but shown something different altogether. So if you really want to know if Nora gets turned back into his human form, it’s best to play the game. Or if cats aren’t your style, then you can try Goat Simulator. That actually exists. Otherwise, why disrupt the peaceful status quo when you can give an excuse to be by a cat’s side instead of sounding like some love bitten b*tch that you want to be by a boy’s side. I think in this sense Nora is pretty smart to remain as a cat because the girls will start hounding his ass as a boy. Now they have to adore him because he is a cat!