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.

The fall season of anime has already started, which means that the summer season has come to a close. Of course, most of us watch more shows than we could – or care to – write about, and here are our brief thoughts about what we watched this past season.

High School of the Dead

Things started strong, with an engaging set-up, good action and a great sense of fun. Later, the series showed that while it could definitely be dark at times, it also revelled in the ridiculous; what went on wasn’t always to my taste but kept me laughing and coming back to see what would happen next. The downsides? I didn’t feel as though I connected much with any of the characters. More than that, the series felt directionless and incomplete, and, in the end, unsatisfying.
It was a fun ride, but man, was the ending bad. I know, story hardly matters to this show, but I did get invested in these characters and hoped things would go somewhere. Some crazy action and most Jello-like boobs ever, but overall left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Saeko wearing an apron, and only an apron, was the only noteworthy moment of this show.

Seikimatsu Occult Academy (End of the Century Occult Academy)

I wanted so much for this series to turn what seemed like an obvious conclusion right on its head.  It didn’t do that, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the series.  Great characters, and shoot, great facial expressions.  It used the character art style really well to assist the comedy.  Then we’ve got Smile and his wrench, who need one of those 3-5 minute anime shorts time slots.
The last few episodes aside, I felt this series continually put me to sleep. While Maya’s begrudging acceptance of the occult provided for some interesting moments with Fumiaki and her friends, it seemed as if these character developments had no connection to the three episodes that actually focused on the main plot.
Anime no Chikara finally delivers! It started off hilarious but got mired in side stories in the middle, before the main story returned with a bang. The last 3 episodes were just wild, good fun. The ending came as a genuine surprise and delivered a powerful, heartfelt message.
To say the least, this was a wild, crazy ride. The series was continually hilarious, though, and it generally struck an excellent balance of silliness and seriousness. The main leads were also developed very well, and, while the first and last few episodes of the series were filled with much more energy than the middle ones were, I was always engaged and looked forward to the new installment each week. The ending, too, was probably the most satisfying of the season.

Giant Killing

The one show I consistently looked forward to week after week.  It might not be the best anime to ever air, or even the best sports anime, but it kept me consistently entertained.  I don’t think I’ve sat on the edge of my seat so much for a game where I knew how it had to end.  It had a lot of really good characters too, even the minor characters on the opposing teams.  I want a second season of this, and I want it soon.  I need to see them go all the way. (Editor’s note: Rakuen blogged/is blogging the entirety of this show)

Seitokai Yakuindomo (Student Council Officers)

Good raunchy fun. The hectic, ADD style of filling each episode with short gags worked very well, in the tradition of other 4-koma adaptations like Azumanga Daioh. The story heavy episodes were nice asides as well, connecting the random gags with a common theme. Suzu and Yokoshima-sensei are awesome, and Kotomi is the best imouto ever.
I really wasn’t keen on this at first, but I’m so glad I stuck with it. A week rarely went by without a few good laughs out of the series; its rapid-fire jokes weren’t always hits, but there were always at least a couple or so that were fantastic. It took a little while to get used to the show’s sense of humour but I’ll really miss it and its characters, who had awesome chemistry with one another. This was a lot of fun.

Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~

This season of the series focused on developing relationships between Sekirei and their Ashikabi. This was done well. Otherwise, there wasn’t much going for the show, with things seeming geared almost solely towards setting up a third season. There was a serious lack of forward momentum and, in addition, pretty much all of the characters lacked depth. I was hoping for a larger focus on battles (what few took place were excellently choreographed and animated) but they rarely eventuated, and antagonists tended to run away instead of finishing fights. Frustrating.

Strike Witches 2

Best show of the season! I write that without a hint of irony – for me, it was either this one or Seitokai Yakuindomo. I actually watched both seasons of the show this past summer, and couldn’t be happier that I did. It successfully told a heartwarming story of personal triumph and friendship, and the second season had some of the best directed action scenes I’ve seen in non movie anime in recent years.
This was actually a pretty good show. I was a bit upset that they pretty much went away from the plot of the first season, of which there was little, from the get go, but that is a minor complaint. I am hoping for a season three.

Shiki

Frankly, there are a lot of reasons why this show should really suck. From the stubbornness of the villagers, most notably Ozaki, who seems incapable of asking for outside assistance to the ridiculousness of practically every character’s hair style, though I admit I have a thing for Ritsuko. However, the last few episodes have provided an ever increasing level of tension which has made this my favorite show of the summer season.
The highlight of the season. There’s a fascinating and constantly shifting cast of characters, a tension-filled storyline that keeps you wondering, and some utterly amazing atmosphere. Not much is black and white, and things are constantly kept interesting. I was initially concerned about the unusual art style, but Daume have shown that they know how to make it work. I can’t wait for the show’s hiatus to end, and I’m very curious to see how things continue. (Editor’s note: Raph blogged the first 3 episodes of this series)

Rainbow

This whole series has been a love hate relationship for me.  I know a lot of people thought the first half of the season was far stronger than the second half.  I disagree.  I always had the feeling the characters were constantly getting hit in the head by the idiot ball while in the detention center.  The camaraderie was good, but some of the decisions just left me scratching my head.  I liked it a lot better once they got out and tried to find their own place in the world.  I’d say they matured up nicely.  Well, maybe not Cabbage, but he’s the lovable big guy, what can you do? (Editor’s note: Rakuen blogged the first 4 episodes of this show when it started in Spring)

Ookami-san and Seven Companions

Mediocre is the word. The show had a lot of potential, and when it had fun with its flexible premise, I had fun too. Unfortunately, it consistently disappointed at big moments, almost always managing to squander build-up or suspense – the ending in particular was a massive anticlimax. Similarly, the characters could have been the series’s saving grace, but most remained undeveloped. All that said, though, the show shone in its less serious moments, held my attention for the right reasons, and was a mostly enjoyable addition to my week.
The biggest issue I had with this series is that it never knew what it wanted to be. Almost from the get go, it seemed as though every episode attempted to form a weak, half assed link to a fairy tale for its plot to its detriment. In my opinion, if the show continually employed a lighter tone that focused on character development and helping people via the bank, things may have gone better.
As much as I enjoyed watching the series, I have to agree it was pretty mediocre.  It never pushed itself far enough in any one direction.  It seemed like it could do one thing well for an episode, but it would fall flat in other areas.  It leads to this roulette situation where you never quite know what you’re going to get, and that’s bad.  I think the cast could have used a little more work too.  Really, I think a lot of things, and I’m not terribly sure which would improve it because it’s just so middle of the road.
This is the one show I blogged every week, if you’ll recall. The word that I keep turning to is “disappointing.” It started off with promise, introduced some interesting ideas, then squandered everything it had. You can read my final thoughts on my last post.

Legend of the Legendary Heroes

You would think that after blogging this show for almost three months I would have formed some sort of a definite opinion, but I haven’t. For a non comedy (though it does have some comedic portions), this show does have the somewhat surprising ability to keep me fully entertained for 22 minutes and it has enough of a story for me to blog about. On the flip side, I feel as though this show spends a lot of time going nowhere and there are some animation cincerns. That said, all signs point to the pace picking up in the second half.

Sengoku Basara 2

Yeah, I started off covering this series… and it kind of fell off for me.  I loved the first season for the consistently over the top characters and battles. The second season had more of that, but it also attempted to tell more of a story to go with it.  I thought it might be something I wanted.  After all, strong characters with a strong(er) story must be a win-win, right?  I don’t think it was.  I guess sometimes all you want is to see a bunch of larger than life characters beating the tar out of each other.

Amagami SS

I dropped this show after the second episode of Sae’s arc. While I understand that many people need to exercise their knee kissing, feet sucking, or furry fetishes satisfied, I have better things to with my life.
Comeback story of the season; you can read my full thoughts in my posts. In short, started off hilariously bad, then got painfully bad before turning it all around at Sae’s arc. Ai’s arc looks to be a return to normalcy and complacency, unfortunately. There’s news of a possible imouto arc, too.

Asobi ni Iku yo! (Let’s Go Play!)

Probably one of the biggest surprises of the season, this really didn’t take itself seriously and managed to deliver something fun, humorous and self-aware. The series seemed to really enjoy both making fun of and embracing the cliches that come with harem/magical girlfriend comedies. It also knew exactly what it wanted to do, and it did that well. Things were bizarre and entertaining, and my low expectations were very much exceeded.

Mitsudomoe

In my opinion, this show just keeps getting better and I am looking forward to season 2. Though the comedy is by no means high brow, funny is funny. The only problem is that a few of the jokes fail to hit the mark. The show’s success, as many have pointed out is due to its misunderstandings, which why some of the scenes that dealt with bodily fluids seemed out of place and unneeded.

Digimon Xros Wars

Ah, my childhood.  Yes, I watched both Pokemon and Digimon, and I liked them for different reasons.  Pokemon had that constant adventure, while Digimon had an actual storyline week over week.  Watching Xros Wars is like going back to those days, in a way.  Yeah, it’s definitely nothing to write home about, but it just has that ridiculous (and stupid) fun factor.  I do kind of wish they could come up with something more creative for their digivolutions, besides tacking on a new number after Shoutmon’s name…

Phew! That’s quite a lot of shows we watched these past 3 months. And we even had time to write each week about some of them! We’re still deciding on our fall lineups, but I’m currently committed to Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru – Yet the Town Keeps Going (Shaft show starring Chiaki Omigawa with music by Round Table and OP by Maaya Sakamoto? Yes please!), so look for that next week.

After the “ending” of the main plot provided in the previous episode, I was expecting one final side story to take advantage of this show’s premise. Turns out, I was hoping for too much, as another main plot thread returned before taking several steps back. It was a somehow fitting way to end this series, which kept raising expectations, only to spend the rest of the time crushing them.

As a stand alone episode, this one had its moments. I took a liking to Machiko Himura, the poor girl with a paper delivery route, right away. Instead of being frail like the character from the original story, she was energetic and someone who took initiative for changing her fortune. By marrying into money, obviously. She was great fun when she was attempting to seduce Ryoushi, being the only one oblivious to how crazy she was acting and how much attention she was was drawing. It’s easy to like a character who is so delightfully delusional.

Unfortunately, things turned too quickly from, “I’ll engineer a situation to make you fall in love” to “Marry me, because you’re rich.” And with that came back to focus the Ryouko/Ryoushi romance story, which was handled shockingly poorly. It was, in a word, typical. That is to say, it was so much like every other tsudere/spineless loser relationship out there that I was surprised, if that makes any sense.

"I don't dislike him." Really, Ryouko? After all this time, is that all you have to say?

There was plenty of blame to go around. There was Ryoushi, who just let Machiko drag him along, instead of declaring the truth, which is that he already had someone else. There was Ryouko, who just let that happen and, in the end, simply had, “I don’t dislike him” to say about Ryoushi. I thought we had pushed past this phase in the last episode, that Ryouko had come to terms with being the person for Ryoushi. But no, I guess J.C. Staff couldn’t resist spending a full episode showing Ryouko as tsuntsun – that’s what the fans seem to like, after all, character development be damned.

His girlish moaning was insufferable in this scene. I thought Mr. Cat had given you Courage last episode?

All I wanted was a simple atomic episode to provide some laughs before the door finally shut on this series. But if episode 11 failed to provide closure, this one took a door that was nearly closed and forced it back wide open. My guess? The producers want this franchise to go places and to keep the fans coming back, and you don’t do that by providing an ending when the show, you know, ends. Oh, what the heck, the cynic in me knows that’s exactly why this show ended the way it did.

Series End

So another show comes to a close. I think I’ve written enough this week and last to show my distaste for the way things ended. The ending is, of course, the most important part of a story, though its failings can be excused if the quality of the ride leading up to it was good enough. Ookami-san and Seven Companions is not an example of such a piece of work.

To be sure, the ride had some fun moments. That first episode that had originally filled me with such hope was excellent, primarily thanks to its unique adaptation of the Cinderella story. Along the way, the show shone brightest during such adaptations, and episodes 3, 8, and 9 – ones whose primary content were straight up adaptations of fairy tales were my favorites. Other highlights include the Hansel and Gretel appearances, Ringo’s Three Little Pigs movie, and the Puss in Boots character and his speech impediment.

Big fan of this repeating gag. The 128-size font sells it.

But in between these flashes of brilliance was content that I would best describe as lacking. Episode 5 introduced a couple of intriguing plot threads: the social engineering experiment formed by the Otogi and Onigashima high schools and Ryoushi’s dark past involving Onigashima’s own president, Shirou Hitsujikai. The former was dropped and not touched upon again, while the latter just fizzled out after a couple of episodes were devoted to building it up while still showing almost nothing of it. As for the romance story between the two main characters, I would have said that they made a cute couple had everything ended in episode 11, but episode 12 brought them back to being just another one of those tsudere-girl-can-never-be-honest couples.

In short, the storytelling was just messy. Which wouldn’t have been a problem had the main plot not supplanted the more entertaining fairy tale adaptation portions of the show.

That said, I did like the final scene of the show. Something about the fire in Ryoushi's eyes.

I would be remiss not to mention the narrator to some extent. In short, she became annoying after about episode 3. Not because her act got old or tired, but because her act changed. Instead of providing the incisive, sarcastic, and occasionally witty nudge-and-a-wink type of commentary from the first episodes, she got relegated to the namesake of her role: she simply narrated what was literally happening, often speaking over the characters in the process. She had no personality anymore, or what she had was forced into hiding.

Ookami-san and Seven Companions was a show with a unique premise, one that carried the promise of something more than the typical high school romantic comedy. And when it embraced this difference and ran with it, it was a great show that did deliver on that promise. Unfortunately, it too often seemed afraid to do so, falling back to using typical genre staples and letting the more interesting, ambitious bits fall by the wayside. I looked forward to a new episode each week, hoping, “This will be the episode which finally brings everything together. This will be when the show finally starts.” I’m still waiting.

Was anyone else reminded of Black Rock Shooter's Mato Kuroi in the opening scene?

The word of the week is anticlimactic. After last week, I was expecting the story to continue all the through to the end of the series, but it all came to an end in this episode. It even omitted the OP, as is common with final episodes. That’s not to say that this one provided closure. No, it seems that J.C. Staff is gunning for a 2nd season, and doing a poor job of it. Hopefully the final episode can provide some lulz before this mediocre series closes out.

By the end of the first half, it became clear that this story was likely to end by this episode. Everyone except Ryouko had been saved, through means that were not made clear. Liszt and Majo somehow magically found their targets, Alice and Otsu respectively, without any explanation. Tarou’s story was more interesting, with him resisting an army of bikini clad lasses to beat down the punks who brought him to Otohime. That and the cosplay obsessed captors of Otsu provided someone laughs.

Product placement? In my anime? Wait, that actually happens a lot. Even Saten had an iPhone in J.C. Staff's A Certain Scientific Railgun. An iPhone that took over her mind. Hey, subtle social commentary?

The second half was essentially episode 5 redux, following the same structure of Ryoushi and company storming the Onigashima High School, aiming for Shirou’s office. Even Momoko was there, along with her posse plus the three pigs from episode 8, speech impediments and all.

To be fair, the fighting animation was the best in the show yet, and it remained consistent throughout the episode, from Tarou’s fight with the punks to the battle in front of the school, all the way to the final boss. I was especially impressed by scenes featuring Neko-san, whose fights involved some classic, fast martial arts choreography.

But Ryoushi’s showdown against Shirou was the anticlimax of the episode. It was just Shirou beating on Ryoushi – beautifully animated, mind you, somewhat reminiscent of agent Smith’s beatdown of Neo in the subway in The Matrix – until Liszt and Ringo showed up and told him to stop. Okay, Ryoushi managed to get a punch in, a la episode 2 against the mid-boss. And the flashbacks – to moments ranging from a day ago to a minute ago – were just tacky. Maybe if Ryoushi had received training from Neko-san throughout the show, it would have worked. In the end, they just left, exactly like in episode 5.

This makes it something like Ryoushi 1, Shirou 143. But at least he made him bleed!

Where was the ending? Where was the conclusion? It was as if every story got its closure except for the main one. You know, the most important one, the one everyone is supposed to care about? Otohime and Usami made up. Tarou showed his monogamous love for Otohime. Even Neko-san redeemed himself for his inaction 3 years ago, a plot thread that was literally introduced halfway into this episode. Shirou? He’s still at large, in charge of Onigashima High School, able to strike at will. And Ryoushi is still as fearful as ever at being seen, which ruined a perfectly good moment between him and Ryouko at the end.

The one positive from this is that it leaves room for an episode about Majo, still my favorite of the cast (at least, looks-wise. Otohime is probably my favorite for her back story, something with which I empathize). But with the preview shot for and the title of the next episode – The Girl Who Didn’t Sell Matches But Was Still Poor – doesn’t make it seem like she’ll be the star. Then again, who knows; if nothing else, Ookami-san and Seven Companions has done a good job mixing various fairy tales together.

I really like the composition in this shot. Even these two got back together in the end.

I wrote last week that I felt more positive about this show than at any other point in the series. I had a feeling, given J.C. Staff’s track record, I might end up eating those words. But I had no idea it would be this bad. This was literally a swing from the zenith to the bottom in the course of one episode. I don’t know what the show could do at this point to salvage what’s left of itself – maybe have the narrator be the only voice for the entire episode? – so we might as well close the books on this one. Ookami-san and Seven Companions was a pedestrian show that showed flashes of brilliance when it emphasized its unique setting, but was far too comfortable with being plain old conventional.

This was the most serious episode yet, presenting us with what is clearly the beginning of the final arc. We got to see some of our heroes being put in real danger by being manipulated by Shirou, and we also got to see Ryoushi finally take some steps to strengthen himself, in order to prepare for the inevitable showdown for Ryouko that he still doesn’t realize will be coming. The episode even managed to stick in a couple fairy tale analogies, adding a fun new character, even as several of the old ones came back to play important roles. This was a strong episode, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this show will close out.

As foreshadowed by the image of Shirou’s girl from last week’s preview, we’re back to super serious mode now. Someone’s been spreading nasty rumors about the Otogi Bank, and to counter that, Alice and Liszt decide to run a 30% off promotion (the show itself acknowledges that the 30% is meaningless because the payment is through favors), which predictably increases demand, meaning that Ookami-san and her Seven Companions have to work overtime to fulfill the favors. It seems that this was all part of our main baddie Shirou’s master plan, as he seizes this opportunity to kidnap some of our heroes, including Otsu, Ryouko and Tarou (with Otohime a possibility), with a little help from his girl Reiko who successfully infiltrated the Ryouko household.

I loved Nekomiya Saburo, the stand in for Puss in Boots, with his styling hat, vertical eye slits, cat-ear hair, and metal studded chaps. He fit his role quite well, helping to give Ryoushi that much needed backbone in order to catch Ryouko. I took a liking to him right away, and not just because he’s a narrator-proclaimed bishonen with cat ears. The way he kept ending his sentences with “nya,” only to correct himself was charming, and the way he reversed the stalker role on Ryoushi was priceless. I haven’t been able to find his voice actor, though he sounded a lot like Mamoru Miyano, the voice of Masaomi Kida from Durarara!!.

Mr. Neko shows off his cat-like agility.

Then there was Reiko, who I suppose was the wolf in sheep’s clothing. I’ll be honest here: I was naive enough to think that she might actually have been telling the truth. Of course, given what we saw of her back in episode 5, I knew that it was highly likely that she was working for Shirou. But given the type of person as which Shirou has been presented, I thought it made sense that he would be that abusive to her. Plus, those injuries on her looked real enough. Instead, it was all a part of a long con. Silly me.

She looks so innocent and helpless here!

With Shirou’s plan coming together and our heroes finding themselves in duress, the entire last half of the episode proved to be excellent. I loved the hectic storytelling as the show switched from member to member, letting us see how each fell into Shirou’s master plan. It felt very 24ish, especially with all the hostage situations and the distraction phone call to Ringo. I mean that in the best way possible, because 24 was an amazing show, at least for the the first two seasons (don’t remind me of the god awful series conclusion earlier this year). The build up in tension was palpable, and there was a distinct sense of urgency as the episode ended with a “to be continued.”

One thing I am suspicious of is Otohime’s whereabouts, though. She was never shown to be kidnapped, and Tarou went along with the thugs based solely on seeing her purse. I could easily see this being a switch, with Otohime, never having been captured, coming to help save the day along with Ryoushi, Liszt, and Majo. Speaking of whom, I doubt we’ll ever get an intro episode for our witch at this point. I don’t know what her deal is, but I feel like I could have easily traded Otsu’s back story for hers.

I maintain that she's the hottest out of all the main characters. But is she supposed to be just a generic witch, or one from a specific story? I guess this show won't reveal that.

As they say, shit’s getting real, and we’ve clearly entered the final story arc of the series. Things will play out predictably, with Ryoushi using the training from Neko-san to save the day and get the girl, who will then punch him in the face for making her feel embarrassed/feminine. Of course, the devil is in the details, and Shirou’s motivations and master plan are still shrouded in mystery. I’m looking forward to finding out.

I’m feeling very positive about Ookami-san now, more than at any other point in the series. Going in, I never thought that there would be a central plot or that one would get as much attention, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well the serious parts have been handled. Furthermore, instead of the fairy tale analogies being atomic as I had expected, they are tied to the main plot and characters, returning to play crucial roles, such as Usami and Shirayuki in this one. I wrote before that Ookami-san and Seven Companions failed to meet my expectations, but perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing. We’ll find out in just 2 weeks.

All this scene needed was a clock counting up to the next hour, with a "paching!" going off with each second.

I like the return to the episodic structure, where each episode has a clear and pretty much atomic story based on some fairy tale. This week’s episode was a very obvious Snow White parody, and though the story was too overdramatic, the twist of how Ringo entered the story and the good visuals and aurals more than made up for it.

By the aurals, I mean Yukari Fukui. I can’t get enough of her voice. She was Himeno Shirayuki, the stand in for Snow White. If the 7 little siblings didn’t tip you off – male quadruplets and female triplets apparently – that her name is shortened to “Hime” – Japanese for princess – by her siblings should have. Anyway, Shirayuki was portrayed as being little miss perfect, which works out, because Yukari Fukui has played perfect characters before.

Maybe I’m guilty of fetishizing actors’ voices too much. But with Fukui, I do it with no shame or reservation. The soft lisp that defines her voice is always a pleasure to hear, regardless of her actual acting skills (which I, not knowing Japanese, would be unqualified to write about, anyway). She alone made memorable for me the very minor side character Junko Miyaji from FLCL. I’ll admit that it was odd hearing her as a very young Shirayuki, because her voice, while innocent, still feels too feminine to belong to a young child.

The actual story – and the drama it tried to instill with Ringo’s back story – was ho hum. Everything went exactly as expected, down to the near downing sequence which showed the Mermaid Pool to be criminally understaffed when it comes to life guards. What I did like was how seamlessly Ringo was integrated into this story.

Snow White indeed. Even her clothes and hair are pretty much white.

For those who don’t know, Ringo’s full name – Akai Ringo – means “red apple” in Japanese, the same type that poisoned Snow White in her story. The red apple is not a conscious being, of course, and it’s Snow White’s evil stepmother who uses the apple. In this case, that was Ringo’s mother, using her to steal away Shirayuki’s life for Ringo. Sure, it was out of left field that she had a half sister (or rather, at least 4 half sisters and 4 half brothers), but I like the dynamic created by having Ringo unwittingly being the poisoned apple that stole Shirayuki’s life and the overwhelming guilt that that burdens her with. Again, the way things actually played out was very plain – Shirayuki, perfect to the end, forgave Ringo and told her she was happy with her life – but it was nevertheless a creative way of inserting Little Red Riding Hood into the Snow White story.

On the visuals side, I mean the fanservice, of course. This was a swimsuit episode, after all, and Shirayuki was the winner to that pageant in episode 3. There was plenty to oggle at here, including our crazy witch Majolica, who remains as much a mystery as ever. I was also a fan of Ryouko’s sports type swimsuit, which reflected her minimalist, efficient attitude as an athlete. The continued use of the “You fell on me, so I’ll punch you!” trope was uninspiring, though.

I think Majo was by far the hottest out of everyone in this episode. I hope she doesn't get gypped out of an intro episode, though it's starting to look likely.

But the real fanservice was in the seven “dwarves.” They were adorable. Not in the loli or trap kind of way, but just as little kids. No wonder Shirayuki was happy to be with them. I haven’t written much about the art and character design in this show, but that’s one aspect that I feel has been consistently solid throughout this show’s ups and downs. There is a sense of palpable softness in the characters thanks to the roundness with which all their angles are drawn (with the notable exception of Alice). It translates to some very cute children when they’re around.

Don't you just want to take them home and spoil them? Of course, a set of triplets and one of quadruplets would be hell in real life.

You might notice I haven’t mentioned the narrator at all. That’s because there was nothing notable about her yet again, except being almost absent for the last half. At least, that’s how it felt. With 3 episodes to go, she better do something epic lest she end up as the single greatest disappointment from the early episodes.

This was a solid, fun episode, and I tried my best to ignore the melodrama. This and the previous one were exactly the sorts of things I was hoping for when this show began (except, again, the disappointing narrator). But with time running out, I’m guessing it’s time for the real melodrama to come in. Though we’ve had more than a glimpse at Ryouko’s somber past, a lot remains to be revealed. The preview image for the next episode featured that girl we last saw hanging out with our main bad guy Shirou in episode 5, so hopefully the show is ready to dive in to the serious business and get it done.

Hey, it's what's-her-face from a third of the season back when it looked like things were starting to get serious.

Now this was the type of episode I was expecting from this show when it started. The Otogi bank helping out another poor soul with humorous consequences, bookended by a hilariously twisted version of the Three Little Pigs. That gag and the rest of the episode was chock full of self referential humor. The only disappointment was the narrator who, again, did little more than speak the obvious over everyone else’s lines.

The movie within the show of the Three Little Pigs was excellent. It was amusing to see the roles in the story being reversed because our heroine is the wolf, after all. The setting of the dirty and smelly high school was a bit disturbing at times, and that twister challenge had me creeped out instead of laughing. That the had me hoping that the entire episode would consist of that movie within the show, a la the 12 Dark Despair Girls episode from Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Alas, that was not to be.

However, it did produce this wonderful service shot.

The main portion of the episode was just a straight up telling of the Otogi bank helping someone out. Some rich kid named Chuutarou and his butler Hammel approach the bank, asking them to find him a fiance before his 12th birthday. They grow up so fast, don’t they? The episode was then a series of the girls from previous episodes appearing, then each being insulted by Hammel.

My favorite gags by far were the references to other anime. Otsuu’s opinion on perverted things (they’re bad) almost brought a tear in my eye. How could I have missed that the resident maid’s voice actor was Ayako Kawasumi, the voice of the best maid ever, Saber Mahoro? Then there was the quick cut to characters from Toradora and A Certain Scientific Railgun, both also J.C. Staff productions.

One of these is not like the other. One of these is actually from this show.

I loved how the characters were properly shown and named, and it was a shame that A. more shows weren’t referenced, and B. the references were so short. It would have been a lot of fun to have these characters criticized by Hammel and/or the narrator. Especially Kuroko, for obvious reasons.

Speaking of which, the narrator has been getting worse and worse lately. She was pretty much a non-factor in this episode, basically agreeing with Hammel and talking over others as she has been doing so much of recently. Gone are the energy and dry wit that had characterized her in the first few episodes. She just seems tired and bored, which makes me feel the same way. She needs to get snarky again.

The narrator needs to be more like Hammel was in this episode. His comment about sagging boobs was classic. And reminded me of High School of the Dead for some odd reason.

Like with the last few episodes, I couldn’t tell what story adaptation was being shown here. The title called Chuutarou a mouse, and he was visually designed to strongly resemble one, with the circles of his hair and the noticeably huge front teeth. But I just don’t know of a story involving a mouse searching for a mate. I could easily imagine that such a fairy tale might exist, though. Previously, I had used other blogs such as Tenka Seiha or Random Curiosity to fill in such gaps in my knowledge, but no luck this time.

Almost stepping on the toes of the American stereotype of Chinese with those teeth. What story does this mouse come from?

The kid’s story was just an excuse to show the female cast of the show – and to mess with them a bit. Which was just fine by me, even if I would have preferred a more straight up parody like the Cinderella story in the first episode. This proved to be a very entertaining and light hearted episode, and I hope the show continues in that direction. There are still 4 episodes left, more than enough time to cover the rest of Ryouko’s dark back story. Let’s have some fun while we’re at it.

Even though it lacked an obvious fairy tale analogy yet again, I somewhat enjoyed this episode. Yes, amnesia is the laziest trick in the book. But that’s the kind of thing I’ve come to expect from this show. At least they brought Ryouko to a hospital instead of hitting her on the head again to fix her like in 30 Rock.

This was sort of a continuation of the previous episode, with Ryouko reverting back to her middle school mode for a while. At first, I had assumed that it had brought her back to before her encounter with Shirou, but that thought was wiped out by their encounter in the rain at the end of the episode. That scene served as further confirmation of their past together; Shirou sexually abused her, and no one believed Ryouko regarding that.

Now, Shirou’s comment that it was Ryouko’s fault is likely one of those, “She tempted me into it!” bullshit rationalizations, but what if it wasn’t? That would be a twist I would enjoy tremendously. What if Ryouko isn’t as innocent as she lets on, and her reason for running away was not just to get away from being bullied, but to leave her dark self behind and to start anew? How would that change Ryoushi’s view of her?

Did they even need to be there? Is there some metaphor I'm missing here?

Once again, I’m left asking questions that I didn’t expect to ask when the series began. That said, I’d still be shocked if any of my musings pan out. So far, the show has done a wonderful job of doing things by the book. To its detriment, because, again, its unique gimmick is its strength.

The whole crush on the baseball team captain was a total red herring. I was hoping that it would turn into another fairy tale story like the Cinderella story from episode 1, but no, it ended up being nothing, just an excuse to make Ryoushi and Ryouko go on a date. It’s nice to want things.

Seriously, good job, Ringo.

Well, at least the whole date was pretty enjoyable. There was the usual gamut of movie, then arcade, then aquarium, then walk in the park, then picnic. Seriously, it ran through every cliche in the book within a few minutes. But it was a lot of fun to watch. Ringo completely made up for that horrible armor outfit from a couple episodes ago with Ryouko’s date outfit in this one. And Ryouko acting deredere provided entertaining fanservice. Even if it further locked down her character into being a typical tsundere. Kinda like that girl that everyone said sorta looks like her before the show bagan.

I feel that I’m still waiting for the fulfillment of the promise seen in the first episode. This episode was all too generic, even if it did the generic thing well. With the show now over half over, I’m afraid I’ll still be left waiting when the final ED curtain falls.

She was pretty cute, even if somewhat/extremely creepy. Similar design as Otohime. But she appeared so little that I don't even remember her name!

Like episode 3, this one featured flashbacks to the characters’ middle school days, though in this one, they were the meat of the episode. The closest thing to a fairy tale analogy I could find was in Ringo, the Little Red Riding Hood, visiting the home of Ookami, the Wolf, to give her her schoolwork and finding her in bed, just like in that tale. The similarities stopped there, though. The result was a pretty bland episode that didn’t really take advantage of the time it had to flesh out the characters’ back stories.

The flashbacks were shown from the perspectives of Ringo, Ryouko, then Ryoushi, though they did maintain chronology as we got to see Ringo and Ryouko become friends in middle school, get to live together, and then Ryoushi stalk Ryouko in high school.

To be honest, there was not a whole lot to speak of. The story of Ringo and Ryouko’s friendship is all too typical in this medium. In predictable fashion, Ryouko had no problem with Ringo barging in on her home and eventually living there, and Ringo pretty much immediately took a liking to Ryouko and wanted to help her out. I’m liking the trainer, at least. It was fun to watch him and his buddies laugh as they watched Ryoushi confess to Ryouko once again. Like the narrator, they were very aware of this ultimately petty story of youth. I’m much more interested in that flashback at which the episode had provided an extended look.

This is not how you normally visit a sick classmate. Except in anime.

I mentioned last week that I felt that the show was going a much darker and more serious direction than I had originally expected. This episode continues down that path, showing more of that flashbacks that had been shown at the end of the previous episode. There weren’t any new shots, just sound over the old ones that revealed a little more about what was going on in those scenes.

The combination of the extended flashback and the rest of the flashbacks solidify the idea that Ryouko had been either raped or sexually abused by Shirou in the past, after having been romantically involved with him. The female classmates’ doubt at the veracity of Ryouko’s story resulted in Ryouko learning to trust only herself. I’m betting boxing – and the desire to become stronger as soon as possible, at any cost – also came from that. The coach was pretty cool here, too, with a nice little speech about the futility of building strength quickly. As an athlete myself, I understand all too well. I also sympathize with Ryouko’s thoughts of wanting that strength quickly no matter what the cost – it is a foolish youthful thought that you can somehow overcome these boundaries that everyone before you have been unable to cross. It’s often one of those things you have to learn for yourself.

This guy's pretty cool. I don't know if it's the eye patch or the practice sword that's always on his shoulder.

Overall, this was a pretty ho-hum episode. I’ve said it before, but this show is pretty bland when it’s not using its main gimmick of fairy tales. Or if the narrator isn’t doing her thing, as was the case in this episode. I did immensely enjoy that one sequence that showed Ryoushi stalking Ryouko all around the school, leading all the way up to the beginning of the 1st episode. That kind of joke of repetition – seen recently also in the latest episode of Seikimatsu Occult Academy, with Kozue following the black cat – just gets to me.

Here’s to hoping this show gets back on track next episode. I don’t mind that it’s taking a more serious, story-focused approach, it’s just that it’s not doing it very well. But it has proven that it can do the fairy tale comedy well, and that’s more of what I want to see.

This shot is pretty creepy when taken out of context. Oh what the hell, it's creepy IN context as well.

This episode sees the main plot, introduced in episode 2 but ignored since, return in a big way. Like the previous episode, the humor fell flat most of the time, and the fairy tale adaptation wasn’t anything to write home about either. At the same time, it introduces a couple interesting plot points that make me pause and rethink what I was expecting out of this show.

So I had to read the post on Tenka Seiha to learn it, but this was loosely based on the Japanese story of Momotaro. Not being familiar with the story, I wasn’t able to appreciate it that much. But based on the Wikipedia article on the story, the show laid the analogy pretty thick this time as well, what with the 3 sidekicks named after the 3 animals, “Momoko” being the obvious feminine version of “Momotaro,” and the invasion of “Onigashima” High School, literally the name of the island Momotaro had invaded in the tale.

But Momoko was just a side character in this one, unlike the other fairy tale protagonists who actually were the protagonists of their respective episodes. She definitely got her moment in the sun, mind you, getting to try to seduce both Ryouko and Ryoushi, and having the bouncing of her bosoms accentuated with cartoony sound effects (a lot of people might roll their eyes at this gag, but I like its ironic humor). And her costume design is my favorite in this show so far. Certainly beats the hideous outfit Ringo designed for Ryouko in this episode.

I'm also a big fan of the asymmetrical thigh high sock design. Reminds me of Rita from Tales of Vesperia.

But moreso than Momoko, this episode was focused with the story of the main characters, specifically the past of Ryouko as well as the role of Otogi High School in the city. Ryouko’s story is still very vague and looks to be darker than what I would have expected from this show. Just based on the brief flashback clips, I’m guessing that it involves some sort of sexual abuse from Shirou. Of course, it would have to tie into why she became so dedicated to boxing and acquired that stoic, manly personality that Ryoushi admires so much. It’s a huge contrast in tone from the whimsical and carefree nature of the rest of the show as well as both the OP and ED sequences.

Just what happened between these 2? Something far darker than what I expected out of this show, I hope.

I’m also interested in the bigger picture regarding the roles played by Otogi High School, Onigashima High School, and Otogibana City. This is also darker than what I was expecting out of this show. Like Ryouko’s back story, nothing’s really clear yet, but according to what Liszt said to convince everyone to fight, it seems that the two schools are designed as some sort of grand social engineering experiment. Otogi school is designed to succeed, and Onigashima school is designed to fail in order to help achieve that.

It’s very reminiscent of the Misaka sisters story from A Certain Magical Index, another production by J.C. Staff that was adapted from a light novel series. And just like in that story, it all feels very cruel. The Onigashima students have to play the bad guys so that the good guys can beat them. It’s a self aware look at the roles good and bad guys are forced into in order to produce fairy tales. In A Certain Magical Index, the Misaka sisters were infants, innocent victims of a mad science experiment gone too far. The Onigashima students are gangsters and delinquents, not worthy of our sympathy, but I end up wondering, was this due to any fault of their own, or were they forced into this just so that they can play that role?

Unfortunately, her Christmas tree hair made me think of Amagami SS...

Again, these are thoughts I never expected would be prompted by this show. In fact, thus far, Ookami-san and Seven Companions has not at all met the expectations I had for it after watching the first episode. In that one, the Cinderella story was largely separated from that of the protagonists and stood on its own as a ridiculous adaptation. Since then, all the fairy tale adaptations have managed to weave in the main characters and have the relationship between Ryouko and Ryoushi develop in some way, whether it be as light as the sole vote that Ryouko got during the contest in episode 3 or as heavy as the Ryouko’s past coming back to haunt her in this one. In that sense, the storytelling has leapfrogged my expectation of this being a light, episodic title.

On the other hand, those light and amusing aspects have not been up to snuff. That Cinderella story was a hilarious, twisted take on the old fairy tale. The adaptations since then have varied from amusing, like the tortoise and the hare story of episode 3, to banal, like the hentai-inspired maid set up in episode 4, to being just straight up with no interesting twist, like Momo-chan and her 3 companions in this one. Even the narrator hasn’t been as good since the first episode, as she spends less time making catty remarks and more just explaining the obvious, speaking over someone else in the scene.

I still enjoy the running flat-chest joke. It's banal, but Satomi Arai's delivery is always on the mark.

That said, there’s something nice about having the unexpected. The show had successfully fooled me into thinking that I had a handle on it after a couple of episodes, but now I feel lost, unable to predict what will come. Who knows, maybe the show will return to being a wacky slapstick parody-oriented comedy next episode. Or maybe it will dig deeper into the plot points mentioned above, exploring the ability to tell a coherent central story while using fairy tale metaphors as vehicles. I don’t know which it’ll be, and I don’t know which I would prefer. Feels good man.

Note:

• In a post in Girl Cartoons, JarenL also notes the more serious themes introduced in this episode and explores the way gender roles are played around with in the show.

Like last week’s episode, this one was about one of the seven companions, the maid Otsu Tsuruyaga in this case. That’s about all it had it common with that episode, though, or with the rest of the series, for that matter. Without a clear fairytale analogy to latch onto, it was an episode that could’ve been a part of any other show. Unfortunately, when this show isn’t standing out thanks to its gimmick, it’s downright plain and… boring.

OK, it was nice seeing Ryouko in this.

The premise was pretty ridiculous. So much so that it was funny, I’ll admit. If only it didn’t remind me of a bazillion other anime out there. It was just the classic “girl falls into main character’s lap” story rolled up into an episode instead of an entire series. Actually, it was lifted wholesale from some eroge if anything.

Then things continued to get more ridiculous, but not in a good way. It started with Otsu’s back story, which felt like it belonged in another type of show altogether. That it was out of place didn’t bother me as much as just how played out a story it was. The “pushed out of the way of an oncoming truck” plot element has been used to death, especially in anime, and it leaves me feeling nothing, if it ever did at one point. It’s uninteresting.

Sorry kid, your role was only to die so that our heroine can have a sad back story.

The last third of the episode was without humor. Even the narrator, who had saved some scenes earlier in the series didn’t feel all-there. She could’ve had a field day with the craziness of the set up, but she was restrained, doing only enough to remind us that she was still around. The way the story turned out was sappy and difficult to tolerate, especially during the big all-maids scene.

I did like getting to see Ryoushi’s home life. It’s an unusual set up, and Yukime was a fun character. I suppose her conversation with Ryouko and Ringo was part of developing the main romance story. And the gag involving Hansel and Gretel was amusing, if predictable. Though showing us that brother sister love reminded us again of how eroge based this episode’s plot was.

Will they return, or were around just to be the punchline of one joke? I'm hoping for the former, thinking the latter.

That’s all I have to say about this one. The show needs to get back in track with what made it so appealing in the first place, what made it stand out from other shows of the same vein. Because it depends on its unique elements to stand out from a sea of shows that is identical to this one. Instead of this moe fanservice, let’s see more fairy tale adaptations. Which one is Otsu based off of, anyway?

This was a fun little episode that went deeper into the past of a couple of the main characters, namely Otohime and Tarou. It’s told as a tortoise and the hare story, as Otohime and rival Mimi Usami – played fittingly by Rie Kugimiya – fought it out for Tarou’s heart. And though not emphasized as heavily, there was a touch of The Ugly Duckling in there as well.

I really liked this shot. They looked pretty cute, too.

Otohime’s story was pretty sweet, even if completely superficial. Plus, she wasn’t all that fat to begin with! Well, maybe by Japanese standards… But seeing Tarou be so nice to her in the past showed us why she’s so madly in love with him. And also that he isn’t such a bad guy, or at least not too superficial – as long as it’s a girl, it’s fine with him, no matter what the shape or size.

Of course, the heart of the episode was in watching Otohime and Mimi duke it out to win the contest. They laid the tortoise vs. hare metaphor pretty thick, especially with calling Mimi “Usa-chan,” an obvious pun on the Japanese word for rabbit, “usagi.” I was a bit surprised that the story ended up being so long term, starting all the way back from when they were all in elementary school. It was actually a much more direct metaphor than the Cinderella one in the first episode, with the beauty contest taking the place for the race, though it ended with a bit of a twist. As for the similarities to The Ugly Duckling, they didn’t play that up at all, but the metaphor is pretty obvious.

Yeah, not all that subtle about it...

The comedy was strong for the most part. I especially enjoyed the cynicism of the main group deciding that sabotaging Mimi was the best way to win… and then finding out that Mimi had the exact same thought! And the reference to Zero’s Familiar – another J.C. Staff production – took me a few seconds to get, but it was a nice in-joke.

The narrator got her chance to shine in that scene as she bleeped out parts of the argument. I’ve heard animal noises used for that, but I’m not sure I’ve seen the narrator being used that way before. I also loved the constant references to how Ringo and Usami overlapped in their loli-ness, which got on Ringo’s nerves. Anyway, I’m repeating myself, but Satomi Arai continues to be a pleasure to listen to as the narrator.

He kinda reminds me of Teddy from Persona 4. That one starred Rie Kugimiya and Yui Horie as well!

I also liked how Liszt’s cross-dressing was handled. It was just there, and only Ryoushi seemed to make a big deal about it, just from the initial surprise.

It was a little surprising that they collectively got 1 vote, from Tarou, though I expected them not to rank. I liked seeing them be the losers like that. Really, after all that fighting, it was downright pathetic! How arrogant of them to assume that one of them would take the top prize!

One thing I didn’t like so much was Mimi’s character being so flat. No, not like that. She was just a mean narcissist, plain and simple. I guess those people aren’t actually uncommon, especially in high school, but they’re not very interesting to watch. I really felt no sympathy for her at the end.

Again, a nice shot.

So despite the narrator not taking control like in the last episode, this was a pretty fun one. I had written in the previous post that the show didn’t seem as entertaining when focusing on the main characters, but this one was a damned fun episode. Otohime and Tarou were pretty cute together. I’m looking forward to seeing the adaptations they’ll be doing in coming episodes, and how they’ll involve some of the 7 companions.

I wrote briefly about this show in my first impressions post, but I’ve decided to start posting on it in earnest. I was skeptical of its high school romantic comedy aspects, and indeed, both episodes so far have felt weakest when focusing on the 2 main protagonists. Fortunately, the show has been about much more than them, and it has excelled in other aspects, not the least of which is the wonderful narrator.

It's a little odd to see Little Red Riding Hood being best friends with the Wolf.

This one spent more time developing Ryouko and Ryoushi. Unfortunately, that was not such a good thing. For one, Ryoushi’s crippling fear of being seen isn’t all that interesting. It made for a couple okay gags, and I do admit that it plays nicely with his role as the sniper behind the scenes. But, come on, really? Perhaps the problem is that we’ve only seen Ryoushi as a collection of his character traits, not as a complete human being.

I can't be the only one who thinks Ryoushi is the spitting image of Koyomi Araragi.

Same can be said about Ryouko and her character type of being tough on the outside to cover up her scared inside. It’s been done to death in all mediums, but especially in anime. Come on, just because she looks like Taiga doesn’t mean that she has to be a tsundere like her too. Hearing her fearful thoughts when she was tied up at the end just pushed it over the top for me. It’s okay that she’s like a dozen other heroines out there, but I’d rather that fact not get forced into my face. It’s more fun to see her kicking ass.

The other characters were also pretty meh. Really, it’s only 2 episodes in, so we can’t expect to know too much about everyone, but so far they seem like nothing more than warm bodies to fill the cast. Fortunately, the one without the body, the narrator, has been excellent. In fact, she’s pretty much stolen the show.

Ookami-san loves cute animals, you see.

I wrote it before, but Satomi Arai’s peculiar voice just works so well for the dry sarcastic narrator she plays. And you can tell that she’s enjoying it. She was even more out there in this episode, giving us some really wacky voices at times. She was omnipresent, going over the top to tell us the obvious, but in a very ironic way. I loved it. I can’t help but picture Kuroko from the Raildex series when I hear her voice, but that’s a good thing.

As for the story in this episode, it seems to be the start of something bigger, what with the boss mentioning a bigger boss and the man in the shadows at the end. I hope it builds into a real violent gang war, because the action was pretty good at times. That 1st fight wasn’t particularly well animated, but the one at the climax was a lot of fun to watch. That said, it was not very well directed. Using the OP this early on in the show is just tacky. Give us some time to associate it with the show, to get a Pavlovian reaction out of it before using it in a dramatic scene.

And Ryoushi managing to beat the boss just doesn’t make sense. There’s something to be said for suspense of disbelief, but given that he was presented as being a wuss the whole time, I think it’s reasonable to expect that, given what we saw him do earlier, then Ryoushi stands no chance.

Biri Biri

I’m hoping for more fairy tale interpretations are in the coming episodes, because that’s where the show shone. This episode didn’t have such a one, as far as I could tell, and it was saved by the narrator and a well animated fight scene. I’m willing to give more time to let the main characters develop, but what I’ve seen out of Ryouko and Ryoushi haven’t been inspiring. Let’s hope that J.C. Staff realizes this and either fixes that or moves the focus away from it all together.

Notes

• I’ve noticed that in this show and others, people say “jiiiii~” when they stare at someone. Anyone know where that started? The 1st instance of that I know of is Stalker-tan from Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.
• Shizuka Itou’s character in Amagami SS also seems to have a thing for dogs.
• Speaking of which, I’ll continue to blog Amagami SS, but only every 4 episodes, following each heroine’s arc. Given the pacing and style of that show, I feel that writing after each individual episode would be overkill.
• J.C. Staff has officially Anglicized the title as Okamisan and Seven Companions.
• The OP and ED were both shown for the first time this episode. I thought the OP song was just okay, very typical for this type of show. The OP animation reminded me a lot of that of A Certain Scientific Railgun, what with the jumping at the end. I enjoyed the ED a lot more, with its catchy chorus and childish mood set both by the lyrics and the animation.