That was one hell of a way to shake things up. While the last episode was more of a conclusion to things that were really inevitable given the nature of the few episodes before it, this episode added a lot of things to this show that need to be discussed. First off, and most importantly I might add, were the introduction of Kou and Madoka.

Mizu....something or other. What was her name again

OK. Not really. But still, do you even care what happens to Mizuno and Marino now after you’ve seen these two. I mean there is charm, and then there is “charm”. And Yuri. Unfortunately, I don’t think that these two are going to have any huge impact on the remaining episodes of the show, as they remind of some of the Knights of the Round from Code Geass in that they are there just for the sake of being there.

Anyway, back on topic. It seemed like the crux of this episode, aside from the volleyball scene anyway was about how things are becoming more serious, the consequences for your actions are real, etc, etc. I guess if you wanted to read into it more, you could say that the conversation between Wako and Ruri about choosing a boyfriend already was about the same type of thing.

Other things that seem to give off the general vibe that things are getting more serious is that Head( or Reiji) seems to have a sick friend in the hospital (something tells me that One of Head’s possible motivations for doing everything that he does is to save this friend, in a way similar to how Kanako saved Simone), the transformation scene at the Glittering Crux Meeting (which was awesome), and Mylene’s report to someone in the shadows, probably Kanako’s husband (which was meh).

All that aside, the one thing that seemed the most interesting in this episode was that Takuto seemed to be holding back in his fight with Madoka, as several of the characters commented upon. The only real change that has taken place is that the Glittering Crux is now in the third phase, so something may be fundamentally different. Accordingly, I found it weird that Takuto went to such great lengths to get Madoka out of her Cybody before it exploded. Perhaps, now that only people with real marks can pilot Cybody’s, the consequences for losing become more real. Going back to last episode, Head was almost decapitated when Takuto’s sphere went through his command sphere thing. Furthermore, it looked like Head escaped the blast by leaving the Cybody before it exploded last week.

It makes me think that Takuto did Madoka a favor by removing her from her Cybody this week, as she could have gotten hurt, for realz. One obvious hole in this theory is that Takuto didn’t help Head escape last week, but that could suggest that Takuto either didn’t care if he escaped or knew that Head could do so on his own. Regardless, it appears that as the show moves on, there are less and less safety nets for the Glittering Crux. It now seems that Cybercaskets provided a sort of protection for its users from the harsh realities of zero time, with potentially getting hurt from an explosion being exhibit A (I use harsh reality here, as that’s how I am referring to the real world in my last semester).

Yeah, I looked up the last episode to make my point.

Harsh Reality, Exhibit B, is that someone could become stuck in zero time should the Glittering Crux fail to succeed in their plans for departure, which was the reasoning Head had for keeping Keito’s true identity a secret. Seeing as how the show isn’t going to kill anyone off, having someone stuck in zero time for any considerable length of time would seem to be the ultimate punishment that any character could receive. This possibility, along with the 50/50 chance of failing to reactivate a Cybody shows just how delicate the situation is for the Crux. I mean they are down to like 8 people with real marks, and many of their Cybody’s are broken. Aside from that, I’m getting this strange feeling that Keito is going to wuss out in the end and someone is going to be stuck in zero time because of her actions.

The show definitely needs more Kanako

Still, all this just shows how complex things are getting on the island. Even more to that point is that even though people may be riding high at the moment, that doesn’t mean that they all don’t all have some sort of personal problems or won’t get knocked off their perch in an upcoming episode. I’m sure we’ve all felt on top of the world at one point or another, only to be brought down a few pegs right after. On the flip flop though, I’m sure that we’ve all been knocked off a horse once or twice in our lives and have gotten up. I only bring this up as it seems, at least from the new ending animation, that Takuto might be getting some help from many people he has already defeated.

Surprisingly, there wasn’t some big new revelation or twist for Marino’s disappearance, but that things were exactly what most had been speculating for a few weeks now. That Marino was nothing more than a creation of Mizuno. The only thing this episode did to solve that puzzle was provide us with the details. Now did Mizuno create Marino mainly as a way to avoid dealing being abandoned by her mother or was it to avoid Zero Time. I don’t know, and at this point it doesn’t really matter as there are other questions to answer.

Crazy Old Guy

This episode finally gave us a little background on Takuto’s past, and much to my surprise, Takuto hasn’t always been as galactically pretty as he is now. There was that nice flashback scene with his old friend Natsuo living life to the fullest before he died to illness, but I really don’t understand how Takuto’s recollection of these events led him to the fourth phase. Furthermore, I don’t really understand what Mizuno was doing in Takuto’s flashback, but it did give her a chance to draw parallels between her life and his, and that she needed to face her fears rather than run away from them. Still, I don’t know what it had to do with Takuto beating Head.

Just like always

Don’t get me wrong, that fight between Takuto and Head was really interesting, and by far the best fight scene in the series thus far, but it feels like this show is only maintaining the status quo of having Takuto one phase ahead of the Glittering Cruz because the show doesn’t know what it wants to do. It will be interesting to see what becomes of Head after this fight. All signs point to Head being somehow related to, or being, Takuto’s father, so it would have seemed that if someone was going to beat Takuto, it would have been head. Now I don’t think Takuto knows who Head is yet (even though he was standing next to his father’s painting before he entered Zero Time), so there is still time for a few big twists and turns. Also, what will become of Head in the Glittering Crux now that he has lost? I imagine he will lose some credibility with his peers, but I don’t think he is just going to give up his badge or his leadership position without a fight.

As for Mizuno (and Marino), I really did enjoy their characters, even if there are a few glaring plot holes. I mean was it only Mizuno’s aunt who realized that Marino wasn’t real, or did other people realize it as well and just keep quiet about it, like they do with everything that involves Cybodys. Someone else must have realized that Marino just suddenly appeared one day. Regardless, this was a pretty good arc and I am sad to see Mizuno and Marino leave the show, and we even got a happy ending with their reunion. I suppose you could read into the fact that Mizuno is still able to use her first power abilities after having her seal broken and off the island, but I’ll let it go for now.

Happy Ending

With all that said, it will be interesting to see who the Glittering Crux turns their attention to now. Will they go back after Wako or will they turn on Keito.

Well, it’s the final day of our awards, and after covering the music and characters awards, then the special interest ones, we come the actual meat of them, the genre and medium awards. Here are the shows we considered to be the very best in their respective genres or mediums. The ones that we could point to and say, “This is what other anime should strive to be like.” The ones that we fell in love with. The ones that left us wanting more or overwhelmingly satisfied. In short, these were the best anime of 2010.

Note: due to a dearth of good OVAs this year, we have decided to omit that category and to create a new one, Best TV Show With An OVA-like Release Format. (I’ll give you 12 guesses as to which show won that one).

Best Action: Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance

It’s cliche to say, but Evangelion 2.22 was a jaw dropping tour de force of high octane action with eye popping visuals that kept you on the edge of your seat. Feel free to quote me on any part of that. From Mari’s delightful romp to begin the movie to the desperate last stand to protect NERV by 3 Evas against Zeruel, Evangelion 2.22 was chock full of the most intense, beautiful, and exciting action scenes in any anime, not just last year, but ever. For that reason, it receives Borderline Hikikomori’s Best Action of 2010 award.

Dissenting Opinion: Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
Episodes 1b and 6. Seriously, that’s all the explanation you need. Starting from the introduction of the demon sisters, episode 6 was just a nonstop roller coaster ride, a perfect blend of CG and cartoony action with a nice mix of vehicular chases and crude gun-kata. And all of it had simply perfect cinematic timing. Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt was yet another affirmation that, more than anything, action is Gainax’s main thing, and they’re really, really good at it.
 

Best Comedy: Seitokai Yakuindomo

While I’m not really a fan of shows adapted from 4 komas, this show was an exception in my book. Did a lot of the jokes fall flat? Yeah. Did I understand all of the cultural references? No. But it didn’t matter. Seitokai Yakuindomo was an express train full of jokes, one after the other, and there was bound to be more than enough jokes each episode for anyone over the age of 14 to enjoy. Plus, it’s blatantly perverted, and you can never go wrong with that.

Dissenting Opinion: Working!!
Milder and warmer than Seitokai Yakuindomo, Working!! really hit its stride later on in its run (with the appearances of Yamada and Kotori). Like the winner of this award, the series knew its characters well, using their established quirks to good effect. It was a real treat to watch the staff members of Wagnaria interact, fall in love, wreak havoc and have fun. Here’s hoping for a second season!
 

Best Drama: Rainbow

Drama is what Rainbow does. It starts by following seven young men in a detention facility. This is not just a crash course in survival, not just the fast track to growing up, but also an eye opening example of corruption in those who profess to uphold the law. It continues to follow them afterwards as they struggle to make headway in the world. They seek out their dreams even amidst heartbreaking failures at every turn. Sometimes it does overplay the drama, especially towards the beginning, but overall it tells a very strong story set in 1950s Japan.

Dissenting Opinion: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
Disappearance is a work that succeeds in many genres, such as science fiction or mystery, but what defined the movie was, as expected, the relationship between Kyon and Haruhi. After all, the purpose of the entire premise was to set up Kyon’s quest to find Haruhi after her mysterious disappearance. Though Haruhi was indeed missing for most of the movie, the effects of her relationship with Kyon could be felt throughout. The powerful climax did not concern Yuki or the mystery, but rather came when Kyon finally worked past all the layers of his internal denial and accepted his own feelings with regards to Haruhi. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya was not only a magnificent piece of entertainment, it was also an exceptional work of human drama.
 

Best Thriller: Shiki

Shiki began slowly and fairly quietly, with a tremendously menacing atmosphere and lots of general eeriness. As the weeks went by, these elements were gradually built upon, and things became more and more tense. This all led up to a nerve-fraying, horrifying, relentless, and truly memorable final act. At times brutal and heartbreaking, and often chilling, Shiki‘s strength lay in its exploration of the courses of action its characters took when times turned dark. It sits comfortably among the best works of 2010.

Dissenting Opinion: Durarara!! First Half
The first half of Durarara!! was an impressive accomplishment in narrative, taking us through the maze of the players of Ikebukuro as well as their conflicts, weaving a complicated and multifaceted tale that kept us hooked the whole time. We fell in love with Celty’s unending search for her head, learned to respect Izaya’s detestable sociopathic tendencies, were creeped out by the unhealthy obsessions of the Yagiri siblings. All the while, a remarkable tale about the power of today’s social networks unfolded around these characters, leading to an unforgettable climax as the Dollars finally made their move. Though the second half of this show left plenty to be desired, the first half was an excellent tale on its own that displayed the best of how an anime can tell a thrilling, complex, modern tale.
 

Best Movie: Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance

Come on, it’s Evangelion, in movie form, with less moping, plus it goes in a completely new direction. Sure there is the stellar animation, music, and story, but if you’re reading a site like this, do you really need me to say anything you haven’t already heard about Eva?

Dissenting Opinion: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
For a more complete explanation, you can read my full review of this astounding movie. See, Evangelion 2.22 was a fine movie. But it was building upon a franchise that was already on a roll. Disappearance had the challenge of resurrecting what once used to be a great franchise – possibly the biggest of the decade – from a disastrous 2nd season that had taken it straight from the top all the way to the bottom. And somehow, it did it. It made Haruhi good again. Not only good, it reached levels of greatness that equaled that of 2006′s Melancholy, the one that had started it all. And it used no gimmicks, no tricks, no smoke and mirrors. It just did all the traditional stuff: narrative, pacing, writing, humor, art design, cinematography, music, and did them all exceptionally well, easily up to the standards of any movie, anime or no.
 

Best TV Show With An OVA-Like Release Format: Katanagatari

Over twelve months, Katanagatari presented us with an epic journey driven in equal measure by its plot, its characters, and its dialogue. Banter between Togame and Shichika shed light on their personalities, their thoughts and their feelings, and discussions between them and the antagonists shed light on insecurities, mental states and more. The story itself was also a success; the format would have become dull had it not been for variation between months, but Katanagatari delivered a tremendous amount of that. Indeed, things were consistently made interesting thanks to the colourful cast and storytelling and thanks to author Nisio Isin’s desire to both subvert and embrace all sorts of tropes. Admittedly, though, it was the finale that ended up making the series; it capped off the quest and the personal growth of the characters in a manner that was grand, memorable, and terrifically fitting. It was perfect for the show, and was a wonderful way to finish a wonderful series.

Dissenting Opinion: Katanagatari
Katanagatari has gotten a lot of recognition in this post because it’s done a lot of things right. It tells a story of anti-heroes and anti-villains, all with their unique and memorable characteristics. Few are truly evil are truly good. Instead, everyone is firmly planted in a moral grayness that makes you question who, if anyone, is truly right. Even the ending doesn’t answer the question; it only tempers it. It has a very nice art direction going for it, filled with vibrant and full color pallets and fluid animation. Actually, the style of the series is what first drew me into the series. Much of Katanagatri is fought with a war of words, with excellent voice acting. However, when it finally comes to blows, the short battle sequences are still quite impressive. Even the broadcasting style is a bit unique. It easily tops my list of series watched in 2010, and I wish someone would pick it up for release in the overseas markets.
 

Best TV Show (Traditional): The Tatami Galaxy

With its narrative, The Tatami Galaxy succeeds in doing what most anime don’t even attempt, but which is required for any work of fiction truly to be great: it tells us something meaningful about the human condition. There are many messages that it successfully delivers, most of them banal, about taking personal responsibility, the complexity of humans, appreciating what you have. But the most powerful message of this show ties perfectly with the show’s central Groundhog Day concept, regarding second chances: in real life, there are none, but there is nothing wrong with that, because it is never too late to reach for happiness. In ending the show with the protagonist starting a new life after his wasted 2 years, this is the message that it leaves us with. Of course, The Tatami Galaxy succeeds in all the more typical things as well. It has a wonderfully distinct and expressive art style. The stories it tells with its cast of characters are consistently interesting and entertaining. The writing is funny, aided by the lightning quick delivery of the protagonist. In combining this endlessly fun product with a set of powerful and relevant messages about humanity, life, and the pursuit of happiness, The Tatami Galaxy is deservedly Borderline Hikikomori’s Best TV Show (Traditional) of 2010.

Dissenting Opinion: Angel Beats!
I laughed, I cried, it was better than Cats. Seriously, this show had everything you could have ever possibly wanted in an anime (and if it didn’t, you’re dead inside). From Yui’s antics to Kanade’s quest for Mapo Tofu to GirlsDeMo, it was almost as if the creators used a checklist to make sure that every anime trope was present and accounted for. Was it perfect? No. But then again, isn’t it life’s imperfections that remind you of how great life really is? Sure, there were a lot of things that seemed random and out of place in the show, but I assure you that this was no accident.
In a way, Angel Beats took a path that was remarkably similar to its characters. Perhaps the randomness of it all, the checking off of the standard character types and situations, the confusion, the loudness, and yes, even the infamous love scene, were meant to convey to us what exactly was going on in these character’s minds. And then, it all came to an end rather quickly, much like a lot of things in life.
Alas, I wasn’t able to convince my comrades here at Borderline Hikikomori that Angel Beats deserved to be the best show of the year. In fact, they all seemed to all have some level of contempt for it. But I know better, and now, you do to.
 
 

Well, there you have it. That’s it for our 2010 awards. If you’re keeping score at home, Katanagatari was the big winner, with 4 wins in some of the most important categories: Best Female Character, Best Characters Overall, Best Ending, and Best TV Show (its own category). It also garnered a dissenting opinion, for Best Concept, which it lost to The Tatami Galaxy, which won the Best TV Show (Traditional) category. The Tatami Galaxy also got the nod for its Best Concept and Best ED, while playing second fiddle Best Characters Overall and Best Male Character, which it lost to Durarara!!‘s deserving villain/anti-hero Orihara Izaya. Durarara!! also impressed us with its Best OP, while its impressive 1st half was enough to earn a dissenting opinion for Best Thriller.

Among movies, the two big guns, Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance and The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya were the story. Besides taking the spots in the Best Movie award, they managed to impress with their Art (Disappearance), Action (Eva 2.22), Drama (Disappearance, dissenting), and Music (Eva 2.22). Perhaps overshadowed was Angel Beats! which, despite not winning anything, managed to get a dissenting opinion both for its Music and Best TV Show (Traditional).

Anyway, I write again, 2010 is in the books, and it was a good year for anime, we like to think. Here’s to hoping that this year will be even better!

Yesterday, we kicked off our 2010 awards with the Music and Characters section. We continue today with the special interest awards. This is for all the niche categories, for works that we enjoyed or suffered through in some notable and specific manner. As promised, Biggest Letdown is among them, but to complement it, we also have the Biggest Pleasant Surprise, as well as a bunch of others. But why don’t we start off with what is surely the most obvious of the special interest categories…

Best Fanservice: Highschool of the Dead

For the inventive use of machine guns, aprons, and “I’m Wet,” if nothing else.

Dissenting Opinion: Yosuga no Sora
I admit that Highschool of the Dead had some epic and innovative fanservice. But, come on, Yosuga no Sora had straight-up, on-TV sex. Twin sister servicing you under the table sex. Glasses wearing “onee-sama” having her way with you when you’re 12 sex. It was dirty, crass, blunt, and shameless. And in the end, isn’t that what fanservice is all about?
 

Most Fabulous: Star Driver

It’s overflowing with camp, filled with symbolism and faux-symbolism and an abundance of fanservice of the (mostly) non-sexual kind. The characters interest and amuse, and there are shipteases of the yaoibait, yuribait and hetbait(?) varieties. There’s an immense amount of fun to be had theorising, mulling over, laughing at and laughing with. And there’s fabulousness. So much fabulousness. Even though it’s barely into its second half, surely Star Driver deserves some recognition for that.
 

Best Concept: The Tatami Galaxy

Of course, the concept of a character repeating the same time period over and over again is not a new one. It even has a label: “Groundhog Day,” named after the well known and excellent Bill Murray movie from 1993. But what makes the concept of The Tatami Galaxy so powerful is its own twist that it puts on this well worn formula. At first, each universe is distinct, a separate “what if” story starring the same set of characters with no continuity in between. It’s only when you’ve gotten comfortable with that formula that it pulls the rug out from under you, connecting all these stories together into a strong, cohesive narrative. It was a supremely clever twist to an already great formula, allowing the show to have as much philosophical and emotional impact as it had.

Dissenting Opinion: Katanagatari
12 episodes. 12 months. 12 swords. 12 owners. 12 lands. 12 Maniwanis. The number 12 gets thrown around a lot in Katanagatari. This show really isn’t about the battles, it’s about the journey: a quality played up by the seas of dialogue in every episode. That might push some people away, but it also gives everyone a chance to shine, even the villain of the week. It’s worth noting that 12 signifies organizational completeness. The series doesn’t disappoint in that department, as it’s a complete and sweeping epic in the traditional sense of the word.
 

Best Art: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

While not everything that was wrong with the second season of Haruhi was fixed in Disappearance, the art sure took a big step up. Most importantly, the animators did a good job of setting a mood with the animation that helped us feel more drawn into the story. Plus, the long haired version of Haruhi is just awesome.

Dissenting Opinion: Bungaku Shoujo
Bungaku Shoujo could look absolutely breathtaking at times. Clean character designs stood out against phenomenally beautiful backgrounds, while the use of colour and light was top-notch. Particularly impressive, too, was the amazing attention to detail. All this made for an immersive movie-watching experience… albeit one we felt the need to pause quite a few times (to take in the art, of course).
 

Biggest Letdown: Black Rock Shooter

The pre-release hype surrounding this was overwhelming. Perhaps too overwhelming for an OVA that took its inspiration from the illustrations accompanying a Vocaloid song and one that was animated by a studio producing their debut solo work. But the previews showcased gorgeous art, fluid animation and fantastic action scenes. Fans were preparing for something epic. Instead, we got something much more bland and laid-back, something disjointed and messy. The art was still gorgeous, the animation was still fluid, yes, but Black Rock Shooter was distinctly lacking. One gets the feeling that, even if expectations had been lower all around, it still would have felt that way.

Dissenting Opinion: Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
I’m probably generating some anger for this, but the more I think about it, the more Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu disappointed me. It started off exactly how I wanted. I was really looking forward to the battles, and it delivered. Then they put the battles on a bus to hell and took a right turn on romantic comedy. It degenerated into generic territory. Episode 8 was a ray of brilliance, but it only reminded me of what the show could have been. Then there was the ending, which made me want to punch a baby. It had a fantastic gimmick to exploit. Instead, it completely lacked direction and never rose out of mediocrity. So disappointing.
 

Biggest Pleasant Surprise: Working!!

We really didn’t expect much beyond your typical 4koma fare out of Working!!. Of course, we figured some restaurant related comedy would be a bit amusing. It went beyond our expectations. It utilized all the character’s personalities well and managed to keep the running gags fairly fresh through the entire run. Yes, even Mahiru’s kneejerk reaction to men. It even delivered a coherent and highly relevant romantic subplot that developed naturally. This is one we’re glad we didn’t miss during the Spring season.

Dissenting Opinion: Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
I had no expectations for this series going into it, and I suppose that is where my vote comes from. Some might say that a lot of the jokes were repetitive and that you could see them coming from a mile away, but the show offered something new every week in terms of settings, characters, and well placed references that always got a belly laugh or two out of me.
 

Worst Ending: Black Rock Shooter

Just when Black Rock Shooter looked like it was taking a turn for the better, just when it looked like the various threads of the story were going to be pulled together, just when it looked like we were going to get some pay-off out of all that build-up, things fell short and crumbled. Instead of a powerful conclusion, we got a miserable failure of a denouement, “I am… Black Rock Shooter,” unanswered questions and unaddressed emotions. Thanks, Ordet. (And with this, Black Rock Shooter sweeps the “worst” awards!)

Dissenting Opinion: Amagami SS
Amagami SS didn’t have any one ending as spectacularly bad as Black Rock Shooter‘s. But what it didn’t have in quality, it more than made up for in quantity, with no fewer than SEVEN endings that ranged from downright offensive (Haruka) to just plain bad (Rihoko). Sex Hair‘s and Ai‘s endings could hardly even be called endings, but rather just lazy stops with no conclusion, no climax, no denouement. The only one that could be excused was Sae‘s, and only because her entire arc was a joke. And as for the whole show, Risa’s episode served as an ending to the series that showed off everything about why it sucked.
 

Best Ending: Katanagatari

“[Shichika Yasuri] may have died by the roadside in the middle of his journey, or he may have completed the map of Japan, then sailed to a foreign country and continued his journey. But even after everything was over, after the historical plan connecting man and swords failed, be it for a long or a short period, he certainly lived. That was something everyone surely wanted.

“The ones who failed at revenge, the ones who failed at their goals, the ones who fell before achieving their aspirations, the ones who didn’t succeed, the ones who lost, the ones who stumbled, the ones who rotted, the ones who fought with all their might, sacrificed everything, just to have their work be for naught, yielding fruitless results, who died unfairly, or perhaps illogically, tragically, without face, full of regrets; the story which offers a happy future for them, filled with hopes and dreams, ‘Katanagatari,’ quietly lowers its curtains here.”

-Narrator, closing lines of Katanagatari

There are several reasons to like Katanagatari’s ending. Some people liked listening to Togame’s speech, and some liked to see Shichika finally cut loose without any limitations. To appreciate it, though, takes a bit more time and effort. An incredibly intricate plan is unfolding throughout the series, and all the pieces fall into place starting in episode 10. Even after the finale’s end, it’ll take a while to absorb everything. When you finally do though, you’re not just rewarded with a sense of accomplishment, but a much better understanding of the journey. Few endings have made us think as much as this one. And the beauty of it all made us settle on it as the best.

Dissenting Opinion: Bakemonogatari

“I may meet more oddities in the future. But that’s okay. Now I know. There are dark places in this world, as well as things that inhabit them. For example, even within my own shadow. The culture festival finally starts tomorrow. Our class’s project is… a haunted house.”

-Koyomi Araragi, closing lines of Bakemonogatari

I already wrote a bit on this during our 12 Days of Christmas last year. The 15th episode of Bakemonogatari had the impossible task of providing a worthy ending to 2009′s most popular series nearly a year after the 1st episode had aired on TV. The difficulty was compounded by episode 12, which had provided a stunning and memorable finale to the show’s TV run, as well as by the way the different arcs of the show were separate from each other. Well, it somehow managed to do it. It tied together the different arcs with the central theme of human cynicism and provided closure with a beautiful montage of the show’s high schoolers celebrating Meme Oshino’s memory after his departure. At the same time, Bakemonogatari forgave the cynicism, making its final message one of moving on with hope in life regardless of what troubles might lie ahead. The final scene of Koyomi and Hitagi going on their second date is beautiful and served as a fitting finish to one of the most significant anime of the past 2 years.
 
 
Well, that’s it for all our special interest awards. As you can tell, Black Rock Shooter came out quite the winner (loser) last year, while Nisio Isin showed the anime world how stories should be wrapped up with his double whammy of Katanagatari and Bakemonogatari. Working!! really caught us by surprise, while Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu failed at winning the top spot for either being unexpectedly great or unexpectedly bad.

Come back tomorrow for our Genre and Medium awards, where we’ll list and talk about what really were the best of anime in 2010.

So 2010 is in the books and has been for almost 3 weeks now. And just like last year, we here at Borderline Hikikomori have come together to decide on which works of anime released last year we liked the most – and sometimes the least – and in what ways (Because this is an English language blog run and read primarily by English speakers, we considered works that only became widely available to the English speaking public in 2010 as well, even if they had been released earlier).

In order to properly reflect the variety of opinions of the 4 different bloggers here, each category also has a “dissenting opinion” portion in which one of us who might disagree strongly with our selection makes his case for another one that he deems more or just as worthy (It also helped to prevent us from wanting to tear each other’s eyes out during our discussion).

Unlike last year, due to the sheer number of awards, we’ve decided to split this up into 3 parts. We’re starting today with Music & Character awards, while we’ll present the more niche Special Interest awards tomorrow, and finally finish up with the more classic best-in-class Genre and Medium awards the day after.

So, without further ado, let’s look at our Music and Character category winners for 2010.

Best OP: Uragiri no Yuyake (Theatre Brook, Durarara!!)

You’d expect a good OP from the same people who brought you Baccano!, and Durarara!! did not disappoint. It does an excellent job, not just establishing the boatload of characters you’re going to see throughout the series, but also the world in which they live. In addition, the short summary of the previous episode fit well into the opening. The kicking rock beats of Theatre Brook’s Uragiri no Yuyake back the animation. The title can translate to Sunset of Betrayal, which is apt considering the content of the series.
Dissenting Opinion: God Only Knows (Ontario, The World God Only Knows)

Don’t get me wrong, Durarara!!‘s first opening is good, but I liked it better the first time when I watched Baccano!. I need more than well done transitions between characters. Instead, I vote for The World God only Knows as I think that it had the better song, and the way Keima’s environment shifted was far more appealing.
 

Best ED: Kami-sama no Iutoori (Etsuko Yakushimaru, The Tatami Galaxy)

This ED has the whole package. Etsuko Yakushimaru’s voice is gorgeous and clear, and the synths that act as her backing are precise and strangely lovely. These components of the song merge brilliantly together, with neither overwhelming the other and both sounding fantastic. The accompanying animation, too, is simple but elegant, and it fits the show perfectly.
Dissenting Opinion: Maids Sanjou! (Chiaki Omigawa, Aoi Yuuki, Rieka Yazawa, Ryouko Shiraishi, Yet the Town Keeps Going)

The ED from Yet the Town Keeps Going isn’t very flashy on the visuals, but it really works for the series. I loved how the characters personalities are brought out in the lyrics each one contributes to the song. It’s got a rather unorthodox rock arrangement. The violin is increasingly appearing in this genre, but certainly not the accordion. In addition, this is Rieka Yazawa’s (Futaba Kon) first contribution to an ED, and I feel like she, as the lead vocalist, knocked it out of the park. I’m definitely looking for more from her in the future.
 

Best Music Overall: Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance

On its own, Eva’s music is good, but it isn’t genuinely mind blowing. However, when you combine the music with the stunning visuals and awesome story, you get something amazing. While I could speak to how awesome Today is the Time for Goodbye (played during the dummy plug scene) was or how relaxing the water treatment’s plant theme music was, I am only going to tell you to YouTube the final scene in the movie with the song Give Me Wings (Tsubasa Wo Kudasai), as that will make my point for me. Assuming you have already watched it of course.
Dissenting Opinion: Angel Beats!
The whole premise behind Girls Dead Monster was flimsy at best, and the music isn’t going to rewrite the book on how music should be made. Still, songs like Little Braver, Rain Song, Thousand Enemies, My Soul, Your Beats!, and Crow Song are all good songs that I haven’t even thought about deleting from my YouTube playlist.
 

Best Male Character: Izaya Orihara (Durarara!!)

Izaya garnered love, hate, and everything in between from all corners of the fandom. A manipulative bastard with humour, energy and intelligence, his personality was complemented by a sharp character design by Suzuhito Yasuda. Importantly, Izaya continues to be very memorable over a year after his anime debut; this is perhaps owed to the fact that he seemed near omnipresent around the ‘sphere during Durarara!!‘s run and beyond. In any case, we found every scene he was in to be a joy to watch, and we know many others did as well.
Dissenting Opinion: Ozu (The Tatami Galaxy)
One of the main themes of The Tatami Galaxy was the complexity of humans, and though it had plenty of good candidates, no one exemplified that as well as Ozu. He was depicted for the vast majority of the show as an evil force meant to keep the protagonist from achieving his goal of the “rose-colored” campus life. But during the protagonist’s epiphany, he – and we – learn to appreciate him for who he really is, just another lovestruck fool who was trying his best to enjoy his own life.
 

Best Female Character: Togame (Katanagatari)

As far as Katanagatari goes, some people loved her, and some loved to hate her. We fell into the first camp. She talks big by labeling herself as a “strategian,” and she actually has the skills to back it up. Shichika slowly changes her character over the course of the series, but in the end, she simply can’t shake the shadows of her past. Her speech in episode 12 caps off a very complex and conflicted woman. We’re still not entirely sure where she really stood. Oh, and her constant “Cheerios” were pretty endearing.
Dissenting Opinion: Hotori Arashiyama (Yet the Town Keeps Going)
No other female character had as much character as our favorite blowfish cheeked maid. She was not particularly perceptive, downright dumb at times, and always a whiner, but in everything she did, she gave it her all. And that made watching her really really fun. Her best moments came when she didn’t let logic or rules stand in her way, such as calling out the Egyptian god for his unfair technique of judging humans or giving her math teacher a lateral thinking puzzle as a challenge. Her strong personality built up to the powerful ending, when, as we watched her family and friends mourn that they would never see her again, we realized that we felt the same way. Hotori Arashiyama, you and your thousand reaction faces will be missed.
 

Best Hideyoshi Character: Hideyoshi Kinoshita (Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu)

Perhaps one of the most forced characters in some time. Still, it was responsible for a lot of funny jokes on the show, and a bunch more less funny memes online.
 

Best Characters Overall: Katanagatari

Katanagatari wins this award more for how it used its characters than for its characters themselves (though they were wonderful as well). Throughout the series’ twelve months, we were introduced to a multitude of people, all of whom were made fascinating; characterisation was both strong and memorable. The development of Shichika in particular was a constant, important thread throughout the show, and it culminated in a glorious finale. As well, expectations were subverted and challenged with regards to all those who appeared, making for an excellent watch.

Dissenting Opinion: The Tatami Galaxy
I state again, the complexity of humans was one of the core messages of The Tatami Galaxy, and it couldn’t have delivered it effectively without its strong cast of characters. They at first appeared as mere caricatures, but the show revealed their complex, human sides slowly through various exposures. All this was aided by the unique character designs, showing the ugly and beautiful sides to each person with highly flexible artwork. The protagonist, Ozu, Akashi, Higuchi, even Hanuki and Jougasaki, all were unique, flawed but likable in their own way and served their roles perfectly for the larger narrative. Plus, this show had Johnny as the protagonist’s sex drive, along with the best depiction of masturbation in anime.
 
 

Well, that’s it for all the awards for today. Come back tomorrow for part 2, Special Interest, where we’ll give out the rather niche and quirky awards, including some not so good ones such as Biggest Letdown!

No Cybody fight this week, but this episode did a lot to bring the two big storylines closer to their conclusion. While I know a lot of people have been focusing on the Mizuno’s endless eight like experience, I thought the far more interesting storyline came from the very short segment between Sugata and Head.

First, given that Sugata must have figured out by now that Head was a part of the Glittering Crux, it was only natural for Head to finally offer him the position as the Emperor Squadron leader. While it seemed that Sugata was at first against the idea, his conversation with Takuto later in the episode about fighting for Wako did make me wonder what his motives were for this sudden change. That aside, the big revelation in this scene was that Head signed his painting the same way Takuto’s father did/does.

Now does this mean that Head is Takuto’s father? That would be pretty messed up if that were the case, but I think it is more plausible that Head somehow has access to Takuto’s dad’s memories after he apprivoised. This line of thought would require that Takuto’s dad would have at one point piloted Head’s current Cybody, which I guess isn’t out of the realm of possibility, but who knows. Star Driver does have a way of pulling things out of left field. However given that this show has already used some time/age altering plot devices, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that time passes differently for some characters (I thought that it might be possible that time passes at a different rate on the island than on the mainland, but it seems that Mizuno’s aunt recognized her now returned mother fairly easily, so that theory doesn’t seem to hold any water).

Poor Mizuno

Then there was poor Mizuno. Not only did she have to deal with the news that her mother had returned to the island, but she had to hear the aforementioned conversation between Takuto and Sugata, in which she deduced that Takuto liked Wako, and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It now seems even more likely that Marino doesn’t actually exist than it did last week, especially considering that Mizuno likely created her as some sort of coping mechanism after her mother left. One thing I would like to know is if Marino really is just a figment of Mizuno’s power, does she realize it and does she have her own thought processes.

Regardless, I thought that Groundhog Day sequence was very well done and in such a short time period at that. I didn’t really understand Wako’s explanation for how she figured out what was going on, or why she and her grandmother didn’t keep a better eye on Mizuno after taking her in, but those are minor complaints to an otherwise very good episode.

Looking ahead to next week from the previews it seems like Takuto might finally lose to the Blue Cybody shown, but I wonder it will be interesting to see if this is the true form of Sugata’s Cybody or if it is Head’s. Additionally, it will be interesting to see what Keito and the Glittering Crux do with Mizuno. I find it weird that Keito would tell Mizuno how to leave the island, when it seems that there needs to be some sort of ritual performed, but maybe Keito isn’t all that bad (probably not, I mean did you see the above picture?). Still, all signs point to a lot of things happening in the next episode, so it should be good.

For a show with a rather ridiculous premise, Star Driver sure is expecting a lot out of its viewers. Could you see the revelation that Head knew who Keito really was? Sure, if you wanted to analyze every little piece of information (end of episode 4), you probably could have deduced that Head knew who Keito was, and that the Glittering Crux would inevitably find out that Mizuno was a maiden. But still, it seemed a bit too convenient.

That aside, this episode did give us a few new things to consider, the most perplexing being if Marino is really even a real person. From, the flashback scenes in this episode, it seems like Mizuno was the only one who existed in the past (the new OP seems to suggest this), but then again this could have something to do with Marino’s trauma with her Cybuddy. Still, we don’t exactly know what Mizuno’s first phase power is. I mean can she talk to birds, or is it possible for her to create another person?

We know memories can transfer, but can personalities?

One interesting note is that this episode finally seemed to confirm that people who pilot Cybuddys can access the memories of those Cybuddys. While it certainly seems that Takuto is one of only a few who can fully understand these memories, it is interesting to wonder if the Cybuddys can alter the moods of the Star Drivers. Since it seems pretty clear that Ayingott was evil, you have to wonder if it gave some evil thoughts to Marino, which may have caused her visions of her nonexistent past. On the other hand, if Marino is a creation of Mizuno, maybe she will inherit these evil traits. Either way, it finally seems that there will be some tension between the sisters in the next episode, though there were some hints in this episode that signaled rough waters for our favorite pink haired twins.

There were some other things that also intrigued me in this episode. For such an inconspicuous character, I was a bit surprised to see that Sarina was even shown in the OP. She did play a fairly pivotal role in this episode by choosing Mizuno and Takuto for the kissing scene. I wouldn’t be surprised if she first had to run this by someone more important, as it seemed like she could have easily given those two the part when Mizuno first brought it up.

Then there was what seemed to be the final Head/Sugata interaction for a while as Head left during zero time to return to the Glittering Crux, which pretty much signaled to Sugata that he was indeed part of the Glittering Crux. This does raise a few questions though. How was Head able to stay in black and white view when Zero Time began so that he could initially fool Sugata? From this, it would seem that Head has reached the 3rd phase at the very least, and likely has reached higher stages. Finally, what will Head do with Keito down the line? It appears that he is the only one who knows Keito is a maiden, but it seems like all of the seals will eventually need to be broken (though the pacing of this series suggests that all four seals will not be broken). What will he do when that time comes?

Though still pretty interesting, this episode seemed like kind of a let down after the last arc. It’s not that I don’t like Benio or any of her antics, but as the title suggests, I felt that the episode featured too many of them. With that in mind, this episode provided a few new pieces of insight on the story, even if it felt like we had seen it all before.

For the yearbook.

Seriously, I sometimes wonder if Star Driver is really about Takuto, which is probably a good thing and probably done on purpose. Still, since every episode features an opponent of the week, and more recently Sugata’s interactions with Head, I don’t feel as though we have gotten any plot development on Takuto since episode 8 or so, and the show seems to have completely forgotten about Wako. This reliance on weekly supporting characters is kind of the show’s Achilles’ heel, in that if you don’t really like that week’s character, you aren’t going to like that episode. That’s not really a problem when the story centers around Kanako or Mizuno, but I have found characters like Benio and Keito not as fun to watch.

Though I loved Benio’s collection of awesome faces, more specifically her eyes, there were just too many things about her character that I didn’t like this time around. Her constant flirting with Takuto, for whatever reason, just wore thin with me, and it seemed like her character didn’t have enough to do, considering the scene with that kid confessing to her added nothing. Still, the revelation that her first phase power has lost its effect, though this has been hinted at earlier in the series, was fairly interesting, especially when you consider this week’s conversation between Head and Sugata. In that conversation, Head mentioned that the things people think they’ve lost were never really lost at all , which was in reference to his painting. I tend to get the feeling that Benio hasn’t necessarily lost her first phase ability, but that she may be focusing on other things instead. What this means for Sugata,  I couldn’t say, but it looks like he is losing some of his childhood harem of Wako, Keito, and Benio to Takuto, which probably doesn’t make him too happy. Or is he?

The other big plot line in this episode was that the Glittering Crux Brigade finally succeeded in regenerating a Cybuddy. Seeing as how Benio, and Filament in general, seem to be having a tough time in the Glittering Crux, it does seem like Benio took a big risk in being the test subject for regeneration test, and it also may be the reason she couldn’t use her first phase. Regardless, Filament does really look to be nothing more than a bunch of test subjects for the Crux, so that they don’t take any unnecessary chances with the pilots and Cybuddys that matter. Though it is interesting to see that this is the third episode since his defeat in episode one that has shown George, so I still wouldn’t be too surprised to see him come back eventually.

That is really all that stood out to me in this episode, though I will say it was pretty funny when Benio realized that she would have won if she hadn’t challenged Takuto in the real world before fighting him in Zero Time. You would have to think that sooner or later the Galactic Pretty Boy’s luck is going to run out, if for no other reason than for a change of pace.

As The Legend of the Legendary Heroes ends, I guess that I’m still waiting for this series to still show me why it should be called Legendary. Twenty-Four episodes in and I can see that all of the elements for a great sequel/conclusion to this series are in place. Yet, the evidence already presented suggests that even if there is a sequel, it would not be able to adequately combine those elements into a polished final product for a variety of reasons. That said, LOLH does offer a fairly interesting cast of characters and it occasionally delivers interesting action sequences, which  makes it an above average show, if only barely.

Though he was only in like 3 episodes, Tiir was probably the best developed character in the whole series

First, the good. Some of the characters in this show are genuinely interesting, and furthermore, they actually develop over the course of the series. If you’ve been reading my posts on this series, than you probably know how much I love Ferris, and for good reason. Her development, while a little cliché, from a generally cold and sarcastic character who is scared sh*tless of her brother to a person who seemed to genuinely seemed to care for Ryner, as she continually sought to be by his side. Though the series failed to capture on some of the chemistry it generated between the two early on,  the promise they made later on in the series shows  how close they have become, and it also seemed like a pretty interesting plot point.

Both in comedy and drama, these two were top notch characters.

Unfortunately, every good interaction between these two seemed to be followed up by some side character of the week. In general, these weekly guests, if you will, seemed to take time away from the main story. If you’ve watched the show, do you remember who the hell Fiole, Toale, Salawell, or Arua are? While some of these characters, the ones still living at least, may play some sort of role in the future, do I care? No. Even some of the side characters I did care about and who received some development, like Tiir and Noa, seemed like they only showed up for one or two episodes and then disappeared for months at a time. This lack of continuity from week to week is never a good thing in my opinion.

Then there was Sion Astal. If you want to know how not to develop a character, I would suggest looking no further than this guy. Early on, the series made many interesting comparisons between him and Ryner or Riphal, by showing the differences in their moral character. Then, the series does a complete 180 by dropping what it spent 7 or 8 episodes building up to focus on Sion’s personality crisis. Though the show eventually combined the moral fiber thing with the explanation for his dual personality, this shift was far too sudden and poorly introduced for it to have any real basis in reason.

Sion's strange development almost ruined this show for me

However, the sudden jumps from one topic to another were not limited to the characters. I never really got a good idea about what the focus of this series was, or that matter I never really understood the logic behind the magic and the relics the characters used. Episode one gave the impression that the series would focus on Ryner and Ferris collecting relics and fighting monsters. Then the series seemed to shift to Ryner’s Alpha Stigma and Roland’s politics. Then there was that five or six episode stretch in the middle of the series where the show didn’t really do much at all. I will say that the last eight episodes were pretty entertaining, but the transitions from one episode to another were never handled well, and we only really got one cliffhanger.

Plus, the show never really explained to us what exactly the legendary relics were, how many of them there were, or what kind of past they had. Sure, you could infer some things from events after the fact or from the occasional flashback, but the critical information always seemed to be lacking in the moment.  Same thing applies to the magic used in this series, though to a lesser extent.

Though not mentioned anywhere else in this post, Luke is an awesome character

Perhaps the biggest issue I had with Legendary Heroes was with its pacing. From the material that was included in the series, did Legendary Heroes need to be 24 episodes long? The simple answer is no. Too much time was spent rehashing old points and flashbacks seemed like a common occurrence. During the second half of the series it seemed as though every week featured Sion trying to come to terms with his past decisions and Ferris somehow trying to reunite with Ryner. Since I assume this was a result of following the source material, I’m not really going to fault the show for including it, but did I need week after week of Ferris semi confessing to Ryner, or Sion moping for weeks on end? Again, no.

But on the flip side, this series could have easily been longer had they explained some of the unclear parts in more detail. I mean, how was Clough able to get his arm back after Tiir consumed it? How did Ryner and Ferris end back up in Roland at the beginning of episode 15? Who or what is controlling Sion? What exactly can a rule fragment do? To what lengths did Riphal go to when investigating Kiefer? Ok, that last one probably isn’t that important, but I still wanted to see it. The creators could have easily taken some of the time they devoted to the constant flashbacks and superfluous character development to flesh out these issues, but they didn’t. I’m not going to say they are lazy for doing this, but it does leave you wondering if they are crazy.

Knowing more about Gastark, Rule Fragments, etc. would have been appreciated.

One thing the show did do a better job of over the course of the series was improving its animation. Early on it seemed like Legendary Heroes utilized a lot of blank spaces and had difficulty with lighting. Whether this was on purpose or not I don’t know, but I found it pretty annoying. Over time though, it seemed like there were fewer occurrences of this, and the animation as whole looked a lot sharper, especially in the last eight episodes.

There was also just enough comedy to keep me interested in Legendary Heroes when I might have otherwise dropped the show. Obviously Ryner and Ferris were the source of most of this comedic relief, but a few other characters, like Sion, Noa, and Clough occasionally got in on the act. It did seem that the show pushed the Ryner X Sion jokes a bit too far, especially considering that Legendary Heroes doesn’t seem to be on the viewing list of people who like that sort of stuff, but I’ll let it go.

Best screen cap from this show.

As for the fighting scenes, they were a mixed bag in my opinion. Anything with Tiir was awesome, because let’s face it, he is awesome, but every other scene that featured a large number of combatants never really impressed me. It seemed like both Ryner and Ferris were powered down to meet level of their competition in these situations, and there were multiple occurrences in which the show had poor choreography for its fights, in that some characters disappeared for long stretches of time during fight scenes. That said, fights featuring few combatants were almost always interesting and well done.  Episode four’s fight between Ryner and Ferris, Episode 17′s Clough/Tiir fight, and Episode 24′s fight between Ryner and Sion are prime examples of this. Of course, almost any scene in which someone used a legendary relic was an instant win as well.

So even considering the possibility of a second season and that the source material is supposed to be much better, this anime series on its own didn’t really stand out to me. Sure, it is a far better waste of your time than some generic moe show, but when compared to some of the more “involved” shows that are out there, this one just isn’t up to par. To sum it up, this show is just too inconsistent, but it does have a lot of good points. I’ll probably rate this as an 8 on my MAL list, but in reality this show belongs in 7.5/10 territory.

You know I've never actually had Dango, but this show has made me want to try it. That's something.

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, I’m sure you all have had your fair share of sub par gifts. Sure, you may or may not get the new video game console or the newest version of the I-phone, but there is always one thing you can count on, and that is some lame present that you have no use for what so ever. Usually, these types of gifts come from some sort of third aunt, twice removed or cheapskates who are trying to weasel their way out of their holiday obligations, ala George Costanza. The same basic concept applies to the types of characters  found in anime.

Practically the only thing Simon did the entire series

While the list of characters who had no purpose to the actual story of their anime is too long to list, the biggest and most notable lumps of proverbial coal just this year were Majo from Ookami-san, Simon for Durarara!, and Matsushita from Angel Beats. Not only did these characters do nothing in their respective shows, it seemed like they would have more pivotal roles than they actually did. It is like looking forward to Christmas all year round, and then finding out on Christmas day that there is no Santa. Very disappoint.

While I really didn’t have a problem with Majo or Simon’s lack of screen time in their respective series, the excessive amount of minutes that I put into analyzing Angel Beats, and thinking that Matsushita was the one pulling the strings was a waste of my time. I truly thought that the he was the big bad guy given that he just sort of disappeared for several episodes, but in the end, we got some half @ssed explanation saying he was training in the mountains. What’s up with that?

Then again, all of Angel Beats was half @ssed

Call it being trolled, call it grandma giving you socks for Christmas, call it what you will, but misused and misleading characters are a cornerstone of all anime, just like the sucky present is to Christmas.

Even though there were some segments of this episode that were pretty weird (see anything related to boxing), Kanako always makes Star Driver worth watching. Setting the strangeness of this and other episodes aside, Star Driver has been doing a good job of developing its characters and setting up plot points for later on.

While Kanako losing to Takuto was nothing new and pretty much expected, the events, both before and after the fight were pretty interesting. Mizuno’s seemingly childish response to Kanako, in which she explained why people couldn’t use magic anymore, seemed pretty weird and out of place on its own. However, by combining this scene with what Kanako said about becoming the demon king so that the world can go on does leave some room for imagination. It makes you wonder if Takuto is doing the maidens and everyone really, a disservice by preventing the Crux from reaching new stages.

Perhaps Kanako, who seems to think she is in a position to do good, believes that if she can beat Takuto she will be able to unblock whatever is keeping people from using their magic. Now to say that Takuto is the show’s antagonist wouldn’t be right, but it is pretty selfish of him to prevent the rest of his classmates from reaching the next stage, while he gets to build a harem that will stand the test of time.

A line isn't recycled as long as you use it on someone new

Speaking of his harem, it appears that Takuto tried to consolidate his hold on both Kanako and Simone/Pamela. Kanako’s newfound desire to kiss without the glass after being defeated says volumes about Takuto’s appeal. However, I thought the most interesting interaction this episode was between Takuto and Simone. Though you have to give credit to Takuto for casually working in that beautiful eyes line to Simone, she seemed to realize that he had used that line in the past, and we know that he did on Marino in episode 10. You have to think that this is going to come back and bite in the ass in future episodes, as pulling off the harem is difficult to do, but he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down yet.

Then what would an episode of Star Driver be without Sugata brooding over what his next move should be. That scene with Head was nice in that it showed that Sugata still hasn’t done everything that he wants to, and that his actions in the last episode weren’t his ultimate goal. While I suppose its possible that he didn’t want to help Takuto in this fight due to fairness concerns, its also possible that he wanted to see Takuto lose. On another Sugata related note, I thought it was interesting to see Keito ask so many questions about him at the Brigade meeting. Knowing that she and him have some sort of past, it will be interesting to see what she will do in the future, especially considering that she hasn’t lost the ability to pilot her Cybuddy yet.

Finally, there was that comment of Kanako’s, in which she stated that she would not be able to compete in the Olympics even if she wanted to because of the Crux’s plans for departure. Now I know that these pilots call themselves Star Drivers, but it would be pretty out there, even for this show, for some events to take place in space. However, given the similarities between Zero Time and space, I suppose it wouldn’t be that big of a leap. I mean, the show has taken the time to show that there are a lot of people in the world with a stake in the Crux’s operations, so it would have to be something pretty important for them all to drop a large chunk of change.

Seeing as how I’m about to finish grad school here in another 5 months, one of the main things that has preoccupied my thoughts is how I will be able to get a job. As a result, it seems like society has certain expectations of me when it comes to things like my hygiene, clothes, and appearance in general. Damn you, society. And at one point in time, I thought that even my sanctuary of anime was in cahoots with society to get me to become more presentable. But due to some recent anime, and (more importantly) general life experience, I see that this isn’t the case.

First,  don’t think that I don’t believe in good hygiene. Being semi presentable on a regular basis isn’t a bad thing, and there have been plenty of anime that have depicted this line of thinking over the past few years. One example that quickly comes to mind is the Genshiken OVA episode that found Madarame so out of his element in a fashionable department store. The rest of the episode was, more or less, devoted to the idea that people could have their “weird” hobbies, but could also put effort into their appearance (an idea that was reiterated throughout the rest of that series). Unfortunately, that episode probably didn’t hit home with me as much as it probably should have for a couple of reasons.

First, it aired over three years ago, so I was understandably in a different stage of my college career with a totally different mindset. Secondly, it seemed that the show was, in a way, making me choose between the things I liked, like anime, and things I didn’t want to waste much time or money on. Now while this is obviously not true, I got that feeling when watching Genshiken. That’s why I’m glad that this past year there have been some really good shows that tackled this issue without tackling anime in the process.

One instance of this was in Psychic Detective Yakumo’s sixth episode. Though there wasn’t anything truly unique about this episode, one of its subplots focused on how Haruka needed to better present herself to others if she wanted to get a boyfriend, and its timing with the circumstances in my life made me take note. Now, you could debate that there is a difference between attracting potential boy/girlfriends and potential employers, but there are a lot of similarities, even if the end goal is markedly different.

I’ve gotten to the point in my life where I can come up with these realizations on my own time, but it is still nice to see that some shows, like Yakumo and Kuragehime, do recognize these issues, and attempt to provide real solutions (forgetting about the ghosts and such in Yakumo). Now, did the lack of an anime centric storyline in these series make me take note of these themes? Or, taking the reverse approach, would I have noticed these shows a few years back when my state of mind was completely different from what it is today? I can’t really say for sure, and I suppose that over time I’ll probably reorganize my thoughts on the stuff in this post, but the message nonetheless is clear. We all change, and hopefully we change for the better.

On that note, I’d recommend catching up on Psychic Detective Yakumo if you haven’t been watching, as it’s a well crafted, fast paced story that is definitely worth your time. Of course, if you haven’t seen Genshiken yet, I would be obligated to question your anime watching credentials.

Nice final episode, though I’m even more confused now than when the episode began as to what is wrong with Sion. Obviously, it looks like the plan is for there to be a sequel, and if there is one, it seems like it will have a faster pace than this series. While I’ll give my thoughts about the series as a whole in an upcoming post, there were a few notable things that happened in this episode.

While I’d like to say I knew how the legendary hero back story relates to what is going on in show, I pretty much only get that Lucile is the weaver of all equations and Ryner is the solver of all equations. I had thought at the beginning of the series the Ryner would be the present day legendary hero, but it seems like that role is more befitting of Sion, especially considering his relationship with Lucile and Ryner.

The fight scene from the episode’s opening half was interesting enough, but it was perplexing to see it just end. I mean for floating, possessed Sion just to give up because weird floating woman who came out of Ryner saying that it wasn’t time yet, was as weird as it was disappointing. I guess the point of this fight was so that we could finally know that Sion had finally been taking over by his evil double, but it seemed like that had been the case several times in the past few episodes. I suppose that it is possible that Sion is now cohabitating with his evil double, or whatever, given that Ferris said he was smiling and crying when he told her that he had killed Ryner. I just don’t know, so I’ll let it go for now.

We then got a reunion between Ryner and Ferris (it seems like they have had reunions every two or three episodes in this series), in which we got to see, again, that Ferris really does care for Ryner. However, it seems like there may be a cause for concern for Ferris, because she did look a bit worried when Kiefer helped them escape. Since it seems that Ryner and Ferris are going to be going up against Sion and Roland in the future, I would venture a guess that Ferris and Kiefer will inevitably cross paths again. Now whether Kiefer and Ryner would still have a thing for each other after all of these years is questionable, but it would still make for an interesting encounter.

The rest of the episode was really just one long ending montage scene featuring the various characters the series has introduced thus far, either fighting or standing around ominously. I will give this montage credit, in that I do want to watch more Legendary Heroes after watching it. One of the most interesting things from that montage was that Milk and company still seemed to be fighting on behalf of Roland, even after Milk learned the truth from a couple of episodes ago. Now, given that she would know that Sion’s undead soldiers were a result of human experiments, I wonder what could have possibly kept Milk from conspiring against Sion.

All things considered, this episode did move the series forward, but it seems like the ending montage was far more useful than the actual fight between Ryner and Sion, especially considering that we at least know the show didn’t forget characters like Tiir, Milk, and Miran.

Final Notes:

With this post, I’ve finally completed blogging my first full series, and while LOLH hasn’t been the most exciting series, it was pretty fun to blog. I’ve tried getting away from some of the longer, more analytical posts that I did earlier on, to making shorter, more to the point posts. That said, if you do read my posts with any regularity (I’m also blogging Star Driver), I would appreciate any feedback on my writing and ways that I can make my posts more appealing. Aside from that, I’d like to say thanks to the people who do read my posts, and more specifically foshizzel for commenting on such a regular basis.

I rarely, if ever, read manga.  However, there is one type of genre that forces me to break this unofficial rule of mine, and that is shoujo-ai/yuri. So for this 12 days of Christmas thing, I thought that I would talk about one of my favorites from this genre, Girl Friends, especially considering that it only ended a couple of months ago (There are spoilers, but I tried to avoid talking about anything too specific).

Now I know some of you must of read that introduction, and then your eyes, as if by some unseen force, were drawn to the word yuri with only one thing in mind. Unfortunately, this post isn’t going to do anything to relieve you of your fix, but suffice it to say that some of the chapters in this series probably would. Instead, Girl Friends truly shines by depicting the relationship of Mari and Akko, from its inception to its angst filled middle to its ultimately satisfying end. The one thing that I love about this manga, when compared to many of its counterparts in this genre, is that neither of these characters has much experience with love when the story starts, nor do they have any idea about what their ultimate preference in gender will be.

Thus, the story is able to combine two coming of age/revelation stories into one. Of course, the standard manga romance issues still arise, and the transitioning of their friendship into one of a romantic nature is chock full of misunderstandings, moping, blushing, and near  misses. However, considering that most teenagers have trouble expressing their feelings, and the fact that this duo needed to overcome a pretty big social norm, I don’t really have a problem with what many may perceive as trolling by the mangaka.

That’s not to say it doesn’t have some drawbacks, especially for the male readers among you. While I wouldn’t say that the series relies on an appreciation for women’s fashion and beauty, many of the character’s conversations seemingly end up focusing on, and educating the reader about, the finer points of women’s fashion and the torture that is dieting. Additionally, the manga probably has far too many characters for its own good. It often seemed that the story drifted away from its main purpose to focus on some of these characters, and while they did provide context for what Mari and Akko were going through, it occasionally crossed the line into annoying.

Then there was one of the things that made this series unique, but also endlessly frustrating. The story utilizes train of thought storytelling(or as Keima would say, an inner voice) as a way for us to understand what Mari and Akko are thinking, but the only problem is that we never get to hear both of their thoughts at the same time. While this concept is endearing, in that it lets the reader identify with the character’s feelings, I almost always found my self, especially in the later chapters, only wanting to know what the other was thinking, which was frustrating to say the least.

So if you haven’t put Girl Friends on your list of things to do over the holiday, I’d recommend it. As for the cell phone batteries part, suffice it to say that one was part of a very good and well-rounded, yet understated ending that I won’t forget anytime soon.

Too often, we judge anime by the quality of its epic moments and ignore some of the calmer, but just as interesting parts. This episode of Star Driver didn’t by any means redefine what epic means, as it once again featured a relatively mundane fight. But what it did do is provide a series of notable moments that reminded me how good anime can be on a week to week basis. Whether this is a sign of things to come for Star Driver, or just a fluke, is yet to be determined.

Head must be majoring in psychology, because he mind raped Sugata

First, how could you not love the subtle, but yet not that subtle, that show made to the changes in both Sugata and Marino’s characters. I especially loved that scene with Sugata doing a one man play in middle school, because when combined with his run with Head, the quick trigger he had with his King’s Pillar in Zero Time, I really got the sense that he doesn’t just want to fight alongside Takuto, but that he probably wants to push Takuto aside.

The use of mirrors in this episode was really well done

But Sugata wasn’t the only one acting a bit strange this week, as I’m obligated to mention how Marino is starting to give me the creeps with her newfound stalking hobby. It was nice to see that the show didn’t just forget about the You sisters after the story shifted back to Kanako, but I would have liked to get a clearer understanding as to what Marino’s feelings are. She just doesn’t seem to be able to reconcile her relationship with Mizuno and her feelings with Takuto, but I got the eerie feeling that Mizuno already knows, and is content with the fact, that Marino is ultimately going to do something really stupid.

Its clear now that Glittering Crux members are indeed quick change masters

Now I’m halfway through the post, and I haven’t even mentioned the episode’s main storyline, which featured Simone/Pamela’s relationship with Kanako. This, more than anything, speaks to how well paced this episode was, which is something I always appreciate. Anyway, back on point. While the implications of Simone and Kanako’s (who was awesome this week, as always) relationship may or may not have implications for this series’ end game, as it seems Kanako’s husband may have some SEELE like influence on the goings on of the Glittering Crux Brigade, the conflict did lead to some interesting revelations. Also, seeing Kanako nervous for the first time was pretty interesting, and it seems like its going to cause her to make a move in the next episode.

The Third Phase

It was also pretty interesting to see that Takashi, via Simone, was able to access the third stage on her Cybuddy. Whether or not this is going to be some sort of new trend in the series will be interesting, as it could open up some sort of new dynamic ala Utena, in which the duelists needed a partner to draw their sword for them. While I don’t think this will happen, considering some of the characters who still need to fight, like Kanako and Keito, seem too independent, it was something that crossed my mind.

Aside from all that, this episode was full of WIN, if only for one reason.