Hahaha~ this episode was awesome! After the first few episodes, the summoned beasts kinda disappeared…they were around in about every episode so far, but I missed their fighting and going head to head against each other. We haven’t seen much of that. :( There was so much hilarity and summoned battles that it made up [...]

Last week on Durarara!!, we explored Shizuo’s background, and in the process learned how four of the main characters in the series met.  This week, the show explores the idea of searching, using Celty and her head as a framework.  I hope this episode has what you’re looking for.

Everyone in this episode is looking for something, and they’re all at different magnitudes of importance.  I’ll list them by probable level of importance.  Simon needs to find ingredients for sushi because his normal supplier is sick today.  Erika needs to find Walker, who can’t be contacted because he needs to find his cell phone.  Someone steals Anri’s shoes, and while she looks for them Kida runs off to search for the culprit.  Shizuo wants to remember what used to sit in an empty lot, and it turns out that it used to have a store selling his cigarettes.  Dotachin wants answers from Yagiri Pharmaceuticals, obviously a dangerous undertaking that he won’t realize yet.  Celty is looking for her head, which you all already knew.  Shinra, her roommate, is looking for love, specifically from her.  And Mikado?  Well, we’ll get back to him later.

Throughout this, we see how Celty struggles to cope with her current lot in life.  She desperately wants to find her head, but that desire wars with a growing humanity within her.  Since she finally has a day off, she decides to cook for Shinra.  However, she fears she can’t cook so much that she ends up destroying the meal before he can finish.  It’s when she’s with Shizuo that she realizes that making friends and keeping a job means she’s steadily becoming more human.  Once she finally returns home, Shinra has left, and she feels an all-consuming need to race out and find him.  As she says at the beginning, she feels like she might love the guy, and the way she acts around him backs that up that statement.  Celty is no longer some mythical fairy, the experiences over the past decades have grown her into a fine, though somewhat bizarre, woman.

Unfortunately, we finally find out about Shinra and his job.  A guy with fireworks strapped to his body tries to break into Yagiri Pharmaceuticals and gets badly beaten by security.  A man comes to Shinra’s apartment and takes him to treat the man and mess with his memories.  So, Shinra works for Yagiri, they know that he has the dullahan, and he knows full well who has the head.  If you hadn’t somehow figured it out yet, Seiji has Celty’s head, and they bring that point home with Celty’s dream.  What we don’t know is why Shinra works for them.  He looks summarily unhappy with the thought of unnecessarily displacing the attacker, and also frowns when his cohort talks about Celty.  I suppose we’ll just have to wait to see his motivations.  We might get that sooner than you think.  If I’m pegging the voice correctly, it seems that the next episode will focus on Namie Yagiri and her corporation.

WARNING: After the image, there’s speculation that might be a spoiler.  You’ve been warned.

WARNING: Again, speculation. Last chance to turn back.

Perhaps the most important point in this episode, though, has to do with the Lost and Found woman in the first image.  She spends the day asking people to write what they need to find.  When Mikado finds her, he looks through the book, and then makes his own addition.  At the end, the woman looks at the book, likely open to the page he wrote.  He’s searching for Connections.

Now really consider something for a minute.  The Dollars are a decentralized organization that is only unified in their connection to a person who recruited them, and the central website.  Mikado almost definitely must be part of the Dollars.  Perhaps even the anonymous leader?  The group would fulfill his desire to make connections.  Also, keep in mind that the series goes out of its way to point out Mikado is absolutely everywhere and constantly crosses all the character’s paths.

In any case, it seems his current project is Anri.  She talks a little bit about her childhood to him while they search for her shoes, but quickly quiets herself and runs away.  Mikado continues to look for her shoes and finds them down on the school grounds.  He goes out of his way to return them, and all she does is offer a soft thank you before shutting the door in his face.  She trusts Mikado to some extent, but she doesn’t want to let anyone get too close to her.  As for Mikado, I don’t know if there’s any grander purpose beyond simply liking her, but with his passively enigmatic exterior, we’ll have to wait and see.

Last week on Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, Yuuji and Shouko spent a day at the amusement park defining their relationship.  This week, the battle aspect of the series finally returns in force as the ESB system goes haywire.  Hope you still have the NERV to watch this series.

Some delinquent tries to hack into the school’s computer system, and when it catches him, he trips a power line in the server room.  This causes an ESB field across the campus, and makes everyone’s summons go crazy.  First, they show idealized versions of the characters as adults, and much fanservice ensues.  Then they go stark raving mad.  Yoshii is the only one unaffected, since he has direct control over his chibi.  Thus, the school has to depend on him to save the day.  The other Class F students and the principal assist from the sidelines while Yoshii has to overcome everyone else’s avatars and reconnect the power line.  He finally succeeds, but at the expense of everyone having to attend remedial lessons since they all died.

As you can see from some of the screenshots, and probably every other blog post about this episode, BakaTest gives a massive salute to Evangelion in this episode.  I hope you’ve watched it, or most of these jokes will be lost on you.  You’re also going to get hit with several classic Nintendo references.  BakaTest should have made this kind of episode all season long.  It has a wealth of good parody, the battle system commands the center stage, and the characters are *gasp* useful!  While the students lack the individual brightness of the A class members, they can still achieve greatness when they put their minds together.  Yoshii most embodies this when his quick, off-the-wall thinking manages to save the day.  The principal herself appreciates this quality, and it’s why she depended on them to solve the problem.  While this episode was promising, the series only has four episodes remaining and the next episode will likely focus on the love triangle.  Oh well, the ESB was nice while it lasted.

WOAH WOAH WOAH WHOA!!!! What is this!? Akiharu is feeling up Flameheart! AKIHARU! The guy who hasn’t shown interest in ANY girl so far!!! Something’s wrong, this episode is just beginning so let’s see what led up to this… So much for the generous Flameheart. She gave Akiharu a card because of the promise from the [...]

Last week on Sora no Woto, we stared down the cold, hard pain of war through Filicia’s eyes.  This week attempts to cure the mood whiplash by going back to a lighthearted, episodic entry.  However, this isn’t to say that nothing happens at all, and there’s a bit of information to gleam from it.

The episode starts with Kanata sitting in a cute dress, in front of the phone, needing to go to the bathroom.  The show then jumps back to show you how this happened.  The military intends to test the phone line, and since Kanata is eager to please, she volunteers to sit with the phone all day.  Noël and Filicia leave to deliver some papers.  Naomi comes bearing cider and to tell Rio that the townspeople wish to see her, so she leaves.  Since Noël can’t be found, this leaves Kanata all alone.  The priest shows up with Mishio and Seiya, and shenanigans ensue, resulting in Yumina coming to punish them all and replacing the soldier’s soiled clothing with a dress.  Finally, we reach the point the episode started at, Rio comes to relieve her quite literally, and she ends up answering the phone.  Oh, and Kanata doesn’t make it.

If this all sounds like filler material to you, you’re right, but you can still gleam a few things from this episode.  First, Naomi mentions that the townspeople worry about the peace talks.  Rio says that they always go far too slowly, and she’s absolutely correct.  For example, take the Korean War, where talks started in July of 1951 and didn’t conclude until two years later in July of ’53, with the war raging throughout.  What perhaps makes Sora no Woto’s talks more striking is that we know the seas are dead, and the world is dying.  Yet, instead of trying to find a solution, the nations squabble over territory and money.  I suppose greed never dies.

The second point pertains to Rio.  Remember last episode that the priest recognized her from somewhere.  This week, Rio gives Kanata a trumpet book, and on the cover it says that it belonged to Iliya Arkadia.  If you recall, Filicia addressed her savior by that name.  The priest sees the signature, and assumes that the book must have belonged to Rio.  Kanata’s answer confirms his suspicions.  There’s been theorizing that Rio and Iliya might be related (see chart), and the priest definitely knows something we don’t, but we need a third bit of information.

At the end of the episode, Rio answers the phone, and recognizes the gruff and aged voice that responds.  The man knew she was stationed here, and used the phone test as excuse to contact her.  Rio doesn’t trust him over some event that happened in the past.  Yet, she humors him, and he asks her to save Helvetia.  Consider that we know Rio has a relationship with Princess Iliya and that of all the people in the world, she apparently has to save the country.  I submit that the theorizing is accurate, that they are sisters, and that this man is Rio’s father.  I suppose we’ll have to wait to see if it holds water.

One more aspect is a possible plot hole.  When Naomi comes, Kanata reveals that she knows they’re producing and selling alcohol.  When questioned how she found out, she simply states that if she has the time, she’ll talk about it.  Part of me wants to say the writers somehow wrote themselves into a corner and just had to plot hole it, because the thought amuses me.  In reality, I have a feeling this has to do with one of the extra insert episodes from the DVD release.

I realize some people might be disappointed with this episode, but I think it’s something we needed.  Last week went down the incredibly dark and depressing path with Filicia’s flashbacks, and this lightens up the mood a little bit.  Fortunately, you can see that the story isn’t completely suspended, and it still manages to dish out some morsels to build up for the next episode.  On that note, the next episode appears to involve typhoons and reflection.  I suggest you bring your thinking caps and an industrial strength umbrella.

“Just let me check!” I never thought possible but, Nayu ups the fanservice of the anime tenfold!!! XD

With CJ on hiatus, I’ll take over the Durarara posts for the next few weeks.  Last week focused on Kyohei and his friends that form one of the local Dollars sects in Ikebukuro.  This week makes Shizuo the narrator, who talks about his past and explaining the source of his violent strength.

Shizuo has had anger issues, and one time his anger finally snapped and he attempted to throw a refrigerator at his brother.  He managed to lift it, but it broke several bones in his body.  Since that day, when he gets too angry, he grabs the nearest large object and uses it to pummel the source of his agitation.  As time passed, he started to give up controlling himself, until one day he tried to protect a young woman who helped him.  He ended up hurting her instead.  At that point, he realized his power could be dangerous.

The story fast-forwards, and Shizuo reveals he attended the same high school as Shinra.  We also see Kyohei in the background of the classroom.  Shinra introduced him to Selty who he immediately recognized as abnormal.  Unfortunately, Shinra also introduced Izaya, who Shizuo immediately disliked.  He tried to fight him and lost.  Since that time, Izaya has manipulated him into fights, and even into losing his job.  Shizuo now puts his strength to use to protect a debt collector.

Throughout this episode, Shizuo only shows a measure of attachment to two people.  The first is his brother, Kasuka.  He appreciates that Kasuka doesn’t show any fear of his immense power, even in the first demonstration when he was the target of Shizuo’s anger.  Just knowing his brother is okay puts his mind at ease.  He also immediately goes into a rage when some goons soil the clothes his brother gave him.  The other is Selty, who serves as the muse for his monologue.  Normally, he avoids talking to others, but he feels a sort of kinship with the fairy and can talk about himself a bit more freely.  In addition, Kyohei apparently sees him as a friend, since he addresses Shizuo as he passes.  Shizuo returns the greeting on the way back from venting to Selty

While anger as a source of strength isn’t a surprise, what I noticed most was how passively he treats his anger.  He humors people for a long time.  You can tell his anger level steadily increases by the furrowed brow, and from popping a cigarette into his mouth.  When we’re in his head, we also know he’s mentally asking for the offender to stop.  He never says anything, though, he just lets it continue until his anger overwhelms him.  Then he picks up the largest nearby object to hit the person.  This, coupled with his lack of motivation to talk with anyone, makes me think he deals with communication issues as well.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode.  Shizuo got fleshed out almost as you would expect, but we also got a look into how all many of the main characters met.  Then there’s the sheer entertainment value from watching the strongman pick up large objects and hit people.  However, you have to consider that he could put his power to better use.  Perhaps he could break into a high security science facility.  We’ll just have to see how events progress.  It appears Selty will narrate the next episode, which I eagerly await.

Title says it all! CJ’s facing scholarship and other college-related drama over the next two or three weeks, so she won’t be doing Durarara!! posts, Manga Monday or any of the Catch-Up posts she’s been trying to do. Sorry guys! Luckily it’s gonna be a short-term break just to get stuff back on track, and it wouldn’t even have come to this if my work schedule weren’t so nuts…

The good news is that we’re accepting applications for new writers~! It’s nothing serious; just send a review/news article sample to CJ’s email (cjblackwing -at- gmail -dot- com~) with a bit of info about yourself, what series you like, etc. We’re not picky about writing skills, as long as you’re coherent and quasi-committed to this whole blogging thing (help with Season Preview posts, Shameless Shipping and 12 Days of Christmas series as needed; besides that, do whatever you want~)

Anyway, CJ will hopefully survive the scholarship crap (Please be kind to me, WUSTL~!) and manage to get back to new writers within 2-3 days after they email her, so you don’t have to worry about her leaving you hanging for 2 weeks. Don’t be scared; let us know if you want to join us~!

Awww~ how cute~<3 And we know very well Yuuji loves the abuse! XD

Back in April 2009, my friend, AMV producer nsomniacartist, and one of her friends went through their CD collections to find some good material for new AMVs.  After a few months of initial development, she approached me with one of the projects that spawned from that session.  She had been working on combining Cowboy Bebop with the song Tribute by Tenacious D.  I think both of these things are awesome, so I immediately agreed to help in any way I could.  I don’t have the artistic skills to really produce anything, outside of my ability to write, but I do have an eye for quality.  Fortunately, she had all the video and sound editing skills more than covered; that’s why she’s the artist and I’m the guy writing this post.  After watching the original, very rough draft, we started kicking around ideas, clips, and effects.  It took us six long months, working around computer meltdowns and finagling with Adobe’s silly software.  She showed me her final release candidate, I gave it my seal of approval, and she submitted the video for this past Ohayocon.  The result?  She took home the award for Best Comedy, and there was much rejoicing!

Enough about the story, I’m sure you’d much rather have entertainment.  I know that Youtube embedding doesn’t play always play well with browsers, so click after the break to see the final product.

Punch Buggy Productions presents Cowboy Bebop – Tribute

Last week on Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, we had the obligatory swimsuit and bath episode.  This week we finally put those tickets earned from the school orientation event to good use.  Today’s episode focuses solely on Yuuji and Shouko, their relationship, and the efforts of Class F to ship them as hard as humanly possible.

The episode starts in Yuuji’s bedroom.  It turns out Yoshii gave the tickets they won to Shouko so the two of them could go to the amusement park together.  Yuuji initially protests, but he quickly consigns himself to his fate.  After all, the girl simply won’t take no for an answer.  Class F somehow took over the park for the day, and put them through a photo session, haunted house, and mock wedding to get them together.  Like last week, I’m going to go with images and captions for the episode, so let the cavalcade of pictures commence!

Bottom line, the mock wedding fell through due to two jerky characters, and Yuuji dished out their punishment shortly afterwards.  He then went to try to console Shouko a bit.  They’ve known each other since grade school, and all of this is the result of a promise he made seven years ago.  He did it because he felt a sense of responsibility to her, but now, he wanted her to go her own way.  It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon.  I’m curious about that event from the past, but I have a feeling that it will stay buried there in the anime.  Perhaps there’s some expansion in the manga or light novels.  In any case, the next episode has to do with a rampage and a maze.  I’m not really sure what that means, but this was yet another enjoyable and humorous episode, so I have high hopes.

Last week on Sora no Woto, we saw how the girls have turned to the black market to survive, due to lack of help from the army.  We also saw how the ties of family aren’t necessarily bound in blood.  This week, the time for another festival has come, but this somber occasion is far from the joyous affair that characterized the series’ first episode.  There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started.

First, you can see how the cultures have mixed in the aftermath of the war.  The town is celebrating Obon, a Buddhist festival that honors the souls of the deceased.  However, the townsfolk refer to it as Fiesta de Lumieres, a Spanish rendition of a festival from France.  All three cultures have come together to form an entirely new one.  Even the church has accepted the tradition, contrary to what the central diocese would wish.  Sometimes, it’s more important to come together as a people than to preserve your own ideology.

This festival for the dead sets a framework for a flashback episode that focuses on Filicia.  Her cheerful exterior masks a world of tremendous inner pain.  She fought in the last war as part of an armored tank division.  She provided covering fire as their bugler called for help, but an enemy tank blindsided them.  The blast knocked Filicia free, who watched in horror as her comrades crawled out of the tank, on fire, before it exploded and killed them.  The bugler fell a few meters away, crushed by wreckage.  This alone would destroy most people, but Filicia still suffered more.

She fell to the ground within a tank’s sights.  The blast dropped her into an underground passage, where she stumbled upon a long dead soldier.  Whether a trick of Filicia’s damaged mind or a true supernatural occurrence, the soldier talked about the past.  We see a rather large city, perhaps No Man’s Land, devastated by a massive explosion.  They lost the war.  A horn suddenly starts playing the ever-familiar Amazing Grace, and the same woman from Kanata and Rio’s pasts appears.  It can’t be a coincidence that she appeared before all three of them.  You must wonder if and how this woman influenced Kureha and Noël as well, especially since Filicia refers to her as a princess.

This all calls into question why Filicia has stayed in the army.  In fact, her former comrade, the dead soldier, and even Rio all question her.  If the world is going to hell, why fight?  Look at Filicia.  She passes out when she accidentally cuts herself, so it’s likely she developed hemophobia from the experience.  She could have easily buried herself in a mountain of guilt, fear, and despair.  Her answer is eloquent and powerful:

There can’t possibly be any meaning in this world.  But isn’t that wonderful in its own right?  Because if there isn’t any, we can find our own.  And I found mine.  My meaning in being alive.  I don’t want them to suffer the way I did.

Filicia pulled herself out of the darkness and used it to bring light to her little part of the world.  She looks after the girls under her command as if they were her own children, not only guiding them through life but also trying to protect them from the horrors of war.  As they embrace her, you can tell that Filicia has a profound influence on their lives.

Yet, in this episode, we also get a glimpse of the other side of the coin.  In between flashbacks, the girls talk about trying to comfort Filicia.  Noël leaves the room, simply stating that she was there at the battle.  She offers no real explanation here, but it colors her comments in episode 4, where she talked about her fear of humans using machines to hurt others.  It’s clear now that this isn’t just a concept to her.  Noël has first hand experience in the devastation machines can cause.  In the same episode, she also said that she trusts machines because they can’t betray you.  I’m curious not only of her experience in the battle, but also of which side she fought.  I hope that the show will explore that soon.

I finally dove more thoroughly into VIZ’s Ikki online manga “magazine” this past week after sort of ignoring it for a few months. The first series on my reading list was Kumiko Suekane Afterschool Charisma, which I had heard a lot about in various places on the net. After plowing through all 7 chapters posted, I found myself craving more, because it is an extremely interesting series so far. It has its unbelievable moments (“Almighty Dolly?!” Please tell me that’s just a poor translation!) but its unique setting and fascinating plot are keeping me hooked.

The only problems? The lack of professionalism by the site’s staff. In addition to not posting a mature content warning regarding the naked boobs in AC chapter 2, the site’s serialization efforts went on an unannounced hiatus for the “holiday season”… and still has not returned from break. According to my poking around, the manga were last updated on December 24th (for some of the series; a few were earlier than that) and don’t seem to have been touched since. It’s February 15th. The “holiday season” ended over a month ago, guys. Additionally, the blog post acknowledging the hiatus is dated January 16th. (Insert snarky commentary here.)

I only bring this up because I hate getting into series that have serialization issues (a la D.Gray-man)… and had I known that VIZ was having issues, I would have held off on starting the series. (Especially with the occasional nipples. I’m a minor, guys!) There doesn’t even seem to be any scanlation efforts out there, though it’s possible one escaped my research. Normally I wouldn’t worry much, but this unannounced hiatus could indicate licensing issues or some other conflict that could affect future publication of all the site’s series. Consider this a warning to anyone looking to get into the series, especially those of you who hate when a manga ends up unfinished.

Anyway, onto the actual review…

Afterschool Charisma’s premise is simple: in the near future, there’s a boarding school full of clones of famous historical figures. Queen Elizabeth I, Marie Curie, Florence Nightingale, Napoleon Bonaparte, Sigmund Freud, Mozart, even Adolf Hitler… The clones all exist for research purposes, as well as to perhaps make the world a better place. One boy, Shiro Kamiya, is only there because his father runs the school. He’s not even a clone! So how does he fit in with everyone there… and what will he do when a mysterious organization suddenly announces their intent to slaughter the clones?

Okay, so maybe that’s not particularly simple. There’s assassinations, fathers who may not be all that they seem, clones who rebel against their predecessors, quasi-cults that obsess over Dolly the sheep (yes, for srs,) Freud analyzing the crap out of people…  You get the point. Despite its strengths, the concept alone isn’t enough to carry this manga; the series’ attention to detail and originality are what make it an okay read.

It has all the potential to be an annoying, pretentious sci-fi romp full of wangst and fail, but it’s somehow not. It’s dark, and has a few minor futuristic technology bits, but it’s actually entertaining at times. It’s serious, but isn’t afraid to have a few shameless fanservice moments (usually involving boobs.) The educational bits are nice as well, especially if you’re into history (or Hetalia, perhaps~)

My favorite character so far has to be Florence, because she’s a cute, fun female lead who’s actually believable and not pure fanservice bait. Her emotions are fairly well-executed, even she is being fanservice bait. Shiro’s not the most annoying lead character out there, and even has his moments of real likability. Freud and Hitler fascinate me the most, though, partly because of my history geek side and partly because of their… how do I phrase this… uniqueness.

Of course, there are some major believability issues in other areas. Take Joan of Arc, for example; why on earth would she of all people worship Dolly the sheep?! She’s as Catholic as it gets! The whole Dolly thing is really bizarre and unrealistic, but considering the fascinating direction it pushes the plot in, it’s almost a worthwhile ploy by the author. The morbid turn of events after Mozart’s rejection of Dolly makes me wonder if that “cult” will continue to influence things for a while.

Though there’s not enough good things about Afterschool Charisma to make it a must-read, it’s certainly an interesting “what if?” sort of story. The characters and plot twists are enough to keep me hooked despite the major believability issues at some parts. Hopefully it’ll keep up its solid execution of a mildly lame premise. Of course, all this might not matter if SigIkki effs up its serialization if the manga; let’s just hope VIZ gets its act together and maintains its release of all the SigIkki series.

CJ’s Rating: 7.5 out of 10 California rolls

Who would have though an imouto acting pony tailed Q-Feuille would be so god damn annoying!? I absolutely love the pony tail and her new clothes, but god damn, the way she speaks and is all over Gaeckter annoyed the hell outta me. It’s was just another Luteucia! >_< GRRRRRRR!!! >:( But in awesomer news, FINALLY, [...]

Oh wow, Isuzu has been taken over by her lust for Hiroshi! There was also a nice action sequence with Nemuru and Isuzu. Isuzu has been practicing her DUAL BLADE wielding skillz! But she’s no match for Nemuru in GOD MODE, so it’s Isuzu’s lost. We all know wolf and the moon go together, but does it [...]