[Summer 2015] Season of Adventure

[Zeldafan2]

Wow . . . That was some surprisingly decent English from that overseas terrorist dude.
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: : In all seriousness, though, wow . . . This episode got really intense. I'll admit, I'm still a bit peeved the series is so linear in its portrayal of super-human and human interactions. I mean . . . Not everybody would try to kidnap them in this way, or torture them for "Research". Some people would find super-powered teens cool; many would use them to help their own organizations; this disturbing broad/vague view of what people with power (whether criminal syndicates or research labs) would do once they found out about something like this is painfully linear. I mean, this kind of thing needs an unbiased viewpoint to be compelling; the rather over-the-top viewpoint this series takes (confirmed when they reference back to witch trials from the 1600s) confirms how silly this is. Where are the humans who like super-powered beings; the ones who treat them like decent people? This perspective Maeda has decided to use on this series is way too ham-fisted.
Meanwhile, Yuu acted pretty ridiculously in this episode. I know he's a teen who hasn't killed anyone before, but he's driven by a desire to save his love interest and his brother's best friend. Yet, instead of sending these thug dudes sprawling to their deaths, he CHECKS THEM FOR WEAPONS!! He doesn't even try to have them punch each other! Considering the number of powers he has, this confrontation was totally contrived; there were so many better ways he could have solved this confrontation. I know they threatened him, but even so, he did NOT use the plethora of powers he's acquired well at all.
This is the biggest thing that made this whole thing feel overblown and unnecessary. For an idea like this that Jun Maeda wasn't cut short on (as far as I can tell, this was always 13 episodes), that he has a lot of creative freedom to work on, unlike Angel Beats, this seems surprisingly predictable and without meaningful thematic commentary.
Edit: I was wrong about the animators forgetting she lost her clothes. They did remember.

[skreyola]

Sore ga Seiyuu! ep. 9 - This was a neat episode. Lots of funny bits. I was expecting a recap, but alothough it showed the timeframe of episodes already seen, there was very little reused footage, and we got a story from the manager's side of things. Loved the "Leave me!" scene. 5/5

[MangaRocks!]

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, a.k.a. Snow White With The Red Hair, episode 10:

Ah yes, I always enjoyed the whole bit with the birds SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (as well as the clever legal loophole Shirayuki and Zen found so that they could indeed protect them and Shirayuki's triumph despite the lord's attempted cheating)... and, of course, even more so because of what it leads to! <3 ...Though, one thing I do have to note adaptation-wise is that they somehow missed actually drawing in the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: underwater broken branch that gives Shirayuki that cut on her arm, but oh well. (Also: In case you might be wondering, there is actually a pretty good reason why a number of the lords {including the ones in those flashbacks with Izana and the one in this ep.} were getting a bit full of themselves {it involves the royal family, as you might imagine}, but if I am correctly recalling where that explanation is, it's going to be at *least* next season before they get to it... ) Anyway, this was another great ep. (for multiple reasons! ), and I am greatly looking forward to the adaptation of the aftermath chapter next week! <3



Castle Town Dandelion episode 9:

LOL at the guy's confused reaction when he was about to say "Princess Akane" and she was all like, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "...SCARLET BLOOM!!!" Indeed, it was pretty amusing to see how everyone know exactly who she is (as they most certainly would, of course, for all of the obvious reasons!), but just pretend (or get forced to pretend ) to not know that it's her for her sake (even on the news broadcasts). (Shun's reaction in particular was great, too, as was the reaction of the fanclub-head-guy. ) Also, I couldn't stop laughing when it got to the part with the whale. And the tiny bit of Misaki and Haruka focus (before all of the Aoi stuff) in the second part was nice, too.



Charlotte episode 11:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: ...I'm still a bit peeved the series is so linear in its portrayal of super-human and human interactions. I mean . . . Not everybody would try to kidnap them in this way, or torture them for "Research". Some people would find super-powered teens cool; many would use them to help their own organizations; this disturbing broad/vague view of what people with power (whether criminal syndicates or research labs) would do once they found out about something like this is painfully linear. I mean, this kind of thing needs an unbiased viewpoint to be compelling; the rather over-the-top viewpoint this series takes (confirmed when they reference back to witch trials from the 1600s) confirms how silly this is. Where are the humans who like super-powered beings; the ones who treat them like decent people?...

^ The problem isn't that non-power-using people who like, support, and help power-users don't exist in that world (because they do-- for example, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: back in the introduction episode for the idol girl, the guys around her are totally fine with it, and help her as much as they can; also see the {apparently} good older scientist dude + his current colleagues; etc. etc.). The problem is that the people who have evil (or, at the very least, completely amoral) intentions (such as a number of the other scientists, the baddies in this ep., etc.) are way more invested in and dedicated to their 'research'/plans/etc., and have been for many years-- so, currently, they have the most 'power'/influence over the situation (socially/economically/informationally/governmentally/even criminally/etc.). The only reason SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Shunsuke had gotten as far as he finally had SPOILER: Highlight text to read: in his last loop through was because he used his powers to get boatloads of money, which he then used to literally *buy* just enough 'power'/influence/etc. for the task at hand (namely, the whole thing with the 'safe-haven' schools, the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: future vaccine, and etc.). Right from the very start of the series, it was always a race for SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Shunsuke and Kumagami and the 'student councils' of all the respective 'safe-haven' schools to get to power-users first before the baddies did, simply because the baddies are just that invested/dedicated.

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: ...Yuu acted pretty ridiculously in this episode. I know he's a teen who hasn't killed anyone before, but he's driven by a desire to save his love interest and his brother's best friend. Yet, instead of sending these thug dudes sprawling to their deaths, he CHECKS THEM FOR WEAPONS!! He doesn't even try to have them punch each other! Considering the number of powers he has, this confrontation was totally contrived; there were so many better ways he could have solved this confrontation. I know they threatened him, but even so, he did NOT use the plethora of powers he's acquired well at all...

^ As for Yuu: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Really now, aside from his power(s), he's a (mostly) normal/average kid, with average at best intelligence, with no self-defense/power training whatsoever (and who {in this timeline} didn't even know about his now-many other available powers until the previous day, so he didn't even have the benefit of experience in their use), who also has a number of latent mental/emotional issues (of which he is fully aware)-- and once he recovered from that extremely destructive downward spiral a while ago, he never wanted anything to do with even going near that sort of mindset again (and he also became significantly kinder and more empathetic after that, too). I mean, he didn't even think of trying to kill the baddies in the original 'bad end' timeline, and that's before all of the personal growth he's had now. There's no possible way that he could intentionally kill someone at this point, so that was never going to be an option. The real reason the plan went to heck was because the baddies were *very* well-prepared (thanks to their aforementioned previous dedication and plans to countermeasure time-traveling {likely thanks to their own power-users} + their information extraction from poor Kumagami ), and then once Yuu got slashed in the eye he (quite understandably) started reacting/lashing out on pure instinct (hence the random telekinesis)-- after which was the collapse due to that power being automatically triggered once the user gets too agitated/freaked out/afraid. Now, sure, I'd agree that some of the scenes/events/plans/etc. could have been shown/explained/whatever in a better way; but, plot-wise, once the driver guy got blackmailed (which happened to be so far back in the timeline that having Yuu try to go back to stop *that* would've been basically impossible without messing everything up) there was really no way for the characters' situation to end well at all regardless.

Charlotte has always been a series where close attention is important while watching, because there are some things that are just mentioned once/seemingly in passing that end up becoming explanations for other things later on (or sometimes even just *imply* the explanations/details, which you then have to infer via context on your own), and this episode was no exception. *However,* I will agree that everything happened so fast in this ep. that not only was it easy to miss some of those details, but they did indeed end up rushing some of the writing as well (for example, the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: criminal cabal or whatever should have been foreshadowed before their sudden mention + reveal in this ep., and I'm pretty sure they weren't ; etc. etc.). In that, I think things could certainly have been shown/explained better than they were. Still, though, even that wouldn't have made much of difference in terms of the plot points overall; it'd just make those plot points easier to understand/accept.

...Now, all that said, here's my personal comments on this episode: ...HOLY......!!! SPOILER: Highlight text to read: ...*Takes deep breath*... Okay, I knew they were building up for something else bad to happen, but that wasn't just bad, it was downright catastrophic. Before I get to the major seriousness that was this ep. , though, I thought that the explanation of how the powers came to be was actually pretty brilliant (and finally explains the name of the show, among other things)-- and weaving in the RL-historical witch hunts was also a pretty nice touch, IMO. Also, it seems like I was mostly correct in my assumptions about Kumagami's powers (in terms of range, etc.), it's just that his cost (revealed in this ep.) is that it's 'random'-- the awareness of it just comes to him whenever it comes; he can't consciously make the awareness activate (which makes that race to find the power-users all the more urgent). As for the really serious stuff: Holy crap-- that was absolutely brutal. I was *not* expecting to see full-on torture in this. Even though they didn't show much of it while it was actually happening (which I'm really thankful for, because given what it showed that they *had* done to him once they were through I definitely couldn't have stomached watching through all of that onscreen ), it was still difficult to watch. Especially since the poor guy had already chosen to sacrifice himself for the blackmailed guy's family... but then still ended up betraying his closest companion in the process (even though he at first tried not to). And oh man, Kumagami then *truly* sacrificing himself at the end to try to make up for the harm caused by the info that was forced out of him + save Nao was just devastating, especially with Shunsuke's reactions (the two of them were even closer than I first thought). I was literally shaking as the credits rolled. And I have no idea where this is going to go from here...



Classroom☆Crisis episode 11:
OH MY GOODNESS THIS EPISODE. Actually, minus a few rather minor quibbles here and there, this series has been unexpectedly good-- and IMO this episode just further cemented that status. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: That talk between (male-)Nagisa and the oldest brother was quite intriguing (and dangerous). And it turns out that he knew almost everything-- including knowing the entire time that (male-)Nagisa was actually a stand-in (although it *seems* that he at least doesn't know about the *real* Nagisa surviving... I mean, not that I really trust that, but for now that seems like something that could be used to {male-}Nagisa's advantage later on). Interestingly enough, though, while he knew all that, he didn't actually care-- he's such a hardcore business guy that the only thing he cares about is the benefit to the company (expansion + profits + shareholders being happy + etc.), and actually by that very line of reasoning very nearly won (male-)Nagisa over to his side even after devastating him. Also: Whoa-- I mean, I was hoping there'd be some real romantic developments in this, especially since (male-)Nagisa clearly did rather like Mizuki, and of course Mizuki freely admitted her love for him in the previous ep.; however, I wasn't actually *expecting* even so much as one kiss onscreen, no less three (!!!), no less *that entire scene* (which was natural/realistic and cathartic and romantic as heck)! <3 SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (Along with that really adorable scene with Kaito afterwards, too. ) Consider me impressed. ...Holy *crap,* though, that ending...! I had lowered my score rating for this show by a point a few ep.'s back due to the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: gun silliness in that one ep. , etc; but at this point I don't even care about that anymore-- this ep. just made me raise it right back up again. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (Male-)Nagisa had just better not die. *shakes fist* I mean, given the tone of the series so far, at this point I really doubt they'd actually go through with that; if they did, though, I'm not sure whether I'd rage or be really impressed. (Probably both... but mostly rage, LOL. ) Bring on next week!



Gakkou Gurashi! (a.k.a. SCHOOL-LIVE!) episode 10:

OH CRAP... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Ah, so that's why there's more zombies around now. Holy crap, though, both Taroumaru and Kurumi get bitten, Yuki's delusions are crumbling, and to top it all off, the zombies have broken the barricade?! Everything sure went to heck there real fast... (Also: Whoa, so there *IS* an antidote! )



Gatchaman Crowds Insight episode 10:

Man, it was so creepy to see Gelsadra have no feelings whatsoever about SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the poor kid and her dad... Also, LOL at the public only just figuring out that Gelsadra's a dictator now... uh, yeah, that should've been obvious ages ago, guys... Tsubasa's whole conversation with her grandfather was excellent, though-- including the very powerful "The most terrifying thing in this world is atmosphere" line, and the whole parallel with the atmosphere surrounding the war (props to the writers for not holding back there! ). Also: Heh, Hajime finally got Gelsadra to *think* for himself (something he's never done before... which is also why he never had a bubble above himself before, LOL!). And Rui's finally back to himself, too!



Rokka: Braves Of The Six Flowers episode 11:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: The first half of this was intense. I didn't expect Adlet to get hurt that badly, nor let himself get stabbed again to escape... (His kick to Nashetania's face was quite appreciated, though. ) And aha, it looks like Hans got the idea I'd been suspecting he might-- since Chamot was only supposed to 'watch' him, she'd get pretty darn bored pretty darn quickly; so I'm guessing he might have suggested that both of them-- with her still 'watching' him, of course , since that was all she was supposed to do-- take a stroll over to where all the action was since that'd certainly be more 'fun'...? Also: Yep, Adlet's theory was right on the 'what,' it just took him a little while longer to work out the 'how.' (And that was a *really* good how, BTW. The way the clues were scattered in very early on {things such as the temperature, details about the Private and the King, the missing Sun Saint-- who I had honestly completely forgotten about, LOL! -- etc. etc.) was pretty darn ingenious, because you wouldn't really be thinking anything of those kind of comments back then. ) Science FTW! And of course there was more Adlet x Flamie goodness <3 , and Hans actually being... gentle (and, again, awesome ), and that extremely satisfying apology getting dragged out of Maura, etc. As for the ending: I literally laughed out loud, because as soon as Adlet paused, I *knew* that'd be the cliffhanger. (Also LOL at the next episode's straightforward title. ) Although, by now it's honestly dead obvious who it is; all there is left to explain is the character's reasoning. Can't wait for the finale next week! <3



And Durarara!!x2 Ten episode 10:

Comments on this are in the dedicated DRRR!! watch thread!

[Zeldafan2]

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, a.k.a. Snow White With The Red Hair, episode 10:

Ah yes, I always enjoyed the whole bit with the birds SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (as well as the clever legal loophole Shirayuki and Zen found so that they could indeed protect them and Shirayuki's triumph despite the lord's attempted cheating)... and, of course, even more so because of what it leads to! <3 ...Though, one thing I do have to note adaptation-wise is that they somehow missed actually drawing in the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: underwater broken branch that gives Shirayuki that cut on her arm, but oh well. (Also: In case you might be wondering, there is actually a pretty good reason why a number of the lords {including the ones in those flashbacks with Izana and the one in this ep.} were getting a bit full of themselves {it involves the royal family, as you might imagine}, but if I am correctly recalling where that explanation is, it's going to be at *least* next season before they get to it... ) Anyway, this was another great ep. (for multiple reasons! ), and I am greatly looking forward to the adaptation of the aftermath chapter next week! <3



Castle Town Dandelion episode 9:

LOL at the guy's confused reaction when he was about to say "Princess Akane" and she was all like, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "...SCARLET BLOOM!!!" Indeed, it was pretty amusing to see how everyone know exactly who she is (as they most certainly would, of course, for all of the obvious reasons!), but just pretend (or get forced to pretend ) to not know that it's her for her sake (even on the news broadcasts). (Shun's reaction in particular was great, too, as was the reaction of the fanclub-head-guy. ) Also, I couldn't stop laughing when it got to the part with the whale. And the tiny bit of Misaki and Haruka focus (before all of the Aoi stuff) in the second part was nice, too.



Charlotte episode 11:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: ...I'm still a bit peeved the series is so linear in its portrayal of super-human and human interactions. I mean . . . Not everybody would try to kidnap them in this way, or torture them for "Research". Some people would find super-powered teens cool; many would use them to help their own organizations; this disturbing broad/vague view of what people with power (whether criminal syndicates or research labs) would do once they found out about something like this is painfully linear. I mean, this kind of thing needs an unbiased viewpoint to be compelling; the rather over-the-top viewpoint this series takes (confirmed when they reference back to witch trials from the 1600s) confirms how silly this is. Where are the humans who like super-powered beings; the ones who treat them like decent people?...

^ The problem isn't that non-power-using people who like, support, and help power-users don't exist in that world (because they do-- for example, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: back in the introduction episode for the idol girl, the guys around her are totally fine with it, and help her as much as they can; also see the {apparently} good older scientist dude + his current colleagues; etc. etc.). The problem is that the people who have evil (or, at the very least, completely amoral) intentions (such as a number of the other scientists, the baddies in this ep., etc.) are way more invested in and dedicated to their 'research'/plans/etc., and have been for many years-- so, currently, they have the most 'power'/influence over the situation (socially/economically/informationally/governmentally/even criminally/etc.). The only reason SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Shunsuke had gotten as far as he finally had SPOILER: Highlight text to read: in his last loop through was because he used his powers to get boatloads of money, which he then used to literally *buy* just enough 'power'/influence/etc. for the task at hand (namely, the whole thing with the 'safe-haven' schools, the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: future vaccine, and etc.). Right from the very start of the series, it was always a race for SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Shunsuke and Kumagami and the 'student councils' of all the respective 'safe-haven' schools to get to power-users first before the baddies did, simply because the baddies are just that invested/dedicated.

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: ...Yuu acted pretty ridiculously in this episode. I know he's a teen who hasn't killed anyone before, but he's driven by a desire to save his love interest and his brother's best friend. Yet, instead of sending these thug dudes sprawling to their deaths, he CHECKS THEM FOR WEAPONS!! He doesn't even try to have them punch each other! Considering the number of powers he has, this confrontation was totally contrived; there were so many better ways he could have solved this confrontation. I know they threatened him, but even so, he did NOT use the plethora of powers he's acquired well at all...

^ As for Yuu: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Really now, aside from his power(s), he's a (mostly) normal/average kid, with average at best intelligence, with no self-defense/power training whatsoever (and who {in this timeline} didn't even know about his now-many other available powers until the previous day, so he didn't even have the benefit of experience in their use), who also has a number of latent mental/emotional issues (of which he is fully aware)-- and once he recovered from that extremely destructive downward spiral a while ago, he never wanted anything to do with even going near that sort of mindset again (and he also became significantly kinder and more empathetic after that, too). I mean, he didn't even think of trying to kill the baddies in the original 'bad end' timeline, and that's before all of the personal growth he's had now. There's no possible way that he could intentionally kill someone at this point, so that was never going to be an option. The real reason the plan went to heck was because the baddies were *very* well-prepared (thanks to their aforementioned previous dedication and plans to countermeasure time-traveling {likely thanks to their own power-users} + their information extraction from poor Kumagami ), and then once Yuu got slashed in the eye he (quite understandably) started reacting/lashing out on pure instinct (hence the random telekinesis)-- after which was the collapse due to that power being automatically triggered once the user gets too agitated/freaked out/afraid. Now, sure, I'd agree that some of the scenes/events/plans/etc. could have been shown/explained/whatever in a better way; but, plot-wise, once the driver guy got blackmailed (which happened to be so far back in the timeline that having Yuu try to go back to stop *that* would've been basically impossible without messing everything up) there was really no way for the characters' situation to end well at all regardless.

Charlotte has always been a series where close attention is important while watching, because there are some things that are just mentioned once/seemingly in passing that end up becoming explanations for other things later on (or sometimes even just *imply* the explanations/details, which you then have to infer via context on your own), and this episode was no exception. *However,* I will agree that everything happened so fast in this ep. that not only was it easy to miss some of those details, but they did indeed end up rushing some of the writing as well (for example, the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: criminal cabal or whatever should have been foreshadowed before their sudden mention + reveal in this ep., and I'm pretty sure they weren't ; etc. etc.). In that, I think things could certainly have been shown/explained better than they were. Still, though, even that wouldn't have made much of difference in terms of the plot points overall; it'd just make those plot points easier to understand/accept.

...Now, all that said, here's my personal comments on this episode: ...HOLY......!!! SPOILER: Highlight text to read: ...*Takes deep breath*... Okay, I knew they were building up for something else bad to happen, but that wasn't just bad, it was downright catastrophic. Before I get to the major seriousness that was this ep. , though, I thought that the explanation of how the powers came to be was actually pretty brilliant (and finally explains the name of the show, among other things)-- and weaving in the RL-historical witch hunts was also a pretty nice touch, IMO. Also, it seems like I was mostly correct in my assumptions about Kumagami's powers (in terms of range, etc.), it's just that his cost (revealed in this ep.) is that it's 'random'-- the awareness of it just comes to him whenever it comes; he can't consciously make the awareness activate (which makes that race to find the power-users all the more urgent). As for the really serious stuff: Holy crap-- that was absolutely brutal. I was *not* expecting to see full-on torture in this. Even though they didn't show much of it while it was actually happening (which I'm really thankful for, because given what it showed that they *had* done to him once they were through I definitely couldn't have stomached watching through all of that onscreen ), it was still difficult to watch. Especially since the poor guy had already chosen to sacrifice himself for the blackmailed guy's family... but then still ended up betraying his closest companion in the process (even though he at first tried not to). And oh man, Kumagami then *truly* sacrificing himself at the end to try to make up for the harm caused by the info that was forced out of him + save Nao was just devastating, especially with Shunsuke's reactions (the two of them were even closer than I first thought). I was literally shaking as the credits rolled. And I have no idea where this is going to go from here...



Classroom☆Crisis episode 11:
OH MY GOODNESS THIS EPISODE. Actually, minus a few rather minor quibbles here and there, this series has been unexpectedly good-- and IMO this episode just further cemented that status. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: That talk between (male-)Nagisa and the oldest brother was quite intriguing (and dangerous). And it turns out that he knew almost everything-- including knowing the entire time that (male-)Nagisa was actually a stand-in (although it *seems* that he at least doesn't know about the *real* Nagisa surviving... I mean, not that I really trust that, but for now that seems like something that could be used to {male-}Nagisa's advantage later on). Interestingly enough, though, while he knew all that, he didn't actually care-- he's such a hardcore business guy that the only thing he cares about is the benefit to the company (expansion + profits + shareholders being happy + etc.), and actually by that very line of reasoning very nearly won (male-)Nagisa over to his side even after devastating him. Also: Whoa-- I mean, I was hoping there'd be some real romantic developments in this, especially since (male-)Nagisa clearly did rather like Mizuki, and of course Mizuki freely admitted her love for him in the previous ep.; however, I wasn't actually *expecting* even so much as one kiss onscreen, no less three (!!!), no less *that entire scene* (which was natural/realistic and cathartic and romantic as heck)! <3 SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (Along with that really adorable scene with Kaito afterwards, too. ) Consider me impressed. ...Holy *crap,* though, that ending...! I had lowered my score rating for this show by a point a few ep.'s back due to the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: gun silliness in that one ep. , etc; but at this point I don't even care about that anymore-- this ep. just made me raise it right back up again. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (Male-)Nagisa had just better not die. *shakes fist* I mean, given the tone of the series so far, at this point I really doubt they'd actually go through with that; if they did, though, I'm not sure whether I'd rage or be really impressed. (Probably both... but mostly rage, LOL. ) Bring on next week!



Gakkou Gurashi! (a.k.a. SCHOOL-LIVE!) episode 10:

OH CRAP... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Ah, so that's why there's more zombies around now. Holy crap, though, both Taroumaru and Kurumi get bitten, Yuki's delusions are crumbling, and to top it all off, the zombies have broken the barricade?! Everything sure went to heck there real fast... (Also: Whoa, so there *IS* an antidote! )



Gatchaman Crowds Insight episode 10:

Man, it was so creepy to see Gelsadra have no feelings whatsoever about SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the poor kid and her dad... Also, LOL at the public only just figuring out that Gelsadra's a dictator now... uh, yeah, that should've been obvious ages ago, guys... Tsubasa's whole conversation with her grandfather was excellent, though-- including the very powerful "The most terrifying thing in this world is atmosphere" line, and the whole parallel with the atmosphere surrounding the war (props to the writers for not holding back there! ). Also: Heh, Hajime finally got Gelsadra to *think* for himself (something he's never done before... which is also why he never had a bubble above himself before, LOL!). And Rui's finally back to himself, too!



Rokka: Braves Of The Six Flowers episode 11:

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: The first half of this was intense. I didn't expect Adlet to get hurt that badly, nor let himself get stabbed again to escape... (His kick to Nashetania's face was quite appreciated, though. ) And aha, it looks like Hans got the idea I'd been suspecting he might-- since Chamot was only supposed to 'watch' him, she'd get pretty darn bored pretty darn quickly; so I'm guessing he might have suggested that both of them-- with her still 'watching' him, of course , since that was all she was supposed to do-- take a stroll over to where all the action was since that'd certainly be more 'fun'...? Also: Yep, Adlet's theory was right on the 'what,' it just took him a little while longer to work out the 'how.' (And that was a *really* good how, BTW. The way the clues were scattered in very early on {things such as the temperature, details about the Private and the King, the missing Sun Saint-- who I had honestly completely forgotten about, LOL! -- etc. etc.) was pretty darn ingenious, because you wouldn't really be thinking anything of those kind of comments back then. ) Science FTW! And of course there was more Adlet x Flamie goodness <3 , and Hans actually being... gentle (and, again, awesome ), and that extremely satisfying apology getting dragged out of Maura, etc. As for the ending: I literally laughed out loud, because as soon as Adlet paused, I *knew* that'd be the cliffhanger. (Also LOL at the next episode's straightforward title. ) Although, by now it's honestly dead obvious who it is; all there is left to explain is the character's reasoning. Can't wait for the finale next week! <3



And Durarara!!x2 Ten episode 10:

Comments on this are in the dedicated DRRR!! watch thread!

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: The problem is, just because organizations such as these are extremely dedicated to this type of research, doesn't mean they would gain so much power, influence, and economy from these shady dealings that no one would blow the whistle on the fact they're kidnapping teenagers and using them for research until they burn out so they can experiment on someone else. Somebody is sure to do that, and once law enforcement is informed of the situation, this becomes a lot more complicated than the show likes to argue it would be. Second, this is not ordinary behavior for organizations like this. What is so important about finding about these teens' super powers that you would kidnap them and experiment on them like this? Most scientists are not sadistic sociopaths; this bears further elaboration. Also, why are they the first to find out about this sort of thing, thereby gaining the most influence anyways? Where are the corporations who would make money on these people getting fame for their abilities by being mascots for the company? Economics states that people must have something to gain from wanting what other people have; how could the scientists possibly gain any money from this costly, unprofitable research? They aren't selling the kids to criminal groups, they aren't making any money out of this; so, what's the point of resorting to these out of their way, immoral schemes? Again, corporations, the film industry, heck, even local/national gangs would have more reason to recruit these kids (and successfully do so without coercion) to their respective fields because of the self-interest (money in the first two, power in the third) without having to go through this super-evil business the research groups get on to. Furthermore, because they something have to gain from involving themselves in these super-powered lives, THEY would be the ones who ultimately be more influential figures in the social affairs of super-powered beings. Money makes the world go 'round; to have influence and power over matters such as this, you need money.

As for Yuu, he may be book dumb thanks to his chronic cheating, but the matter in which he uses his power to rig high school life in his favor requires a great deal of intelligence and skill with indie ploys. Cheating isn't easy without getting caught. Yes, Yuu has a gimmick that no one would suspect. That does not change the fact that outside of multiple choice and mathematics, copied answers raise red flags. In the space of five seconds he memorizes a person's answer, rewords it to make it less suspicious and writes it down showing incredible short term memory retention and decent ability to interpret answers by the seat of his pants. He may not give the knowledge he acquires much thought after he uses it but the very fact that he is able to do all of this in such a quick and effective manner speaks greatly for his natural intelligence and quick thinking. Furthermore consider the cunning with which he is able to study people and evaluate their usefulness to him. He seeks out the best students to cheat off of by examining their progress at cram schools, he boosts his own popularity by clever use of his powers to create just the right circumstances to increase people's esteem of him and again, does detailed and accurate research on people showing not only thought but methodical thought, which brings me to the next thing that should be apparent when one really looks closely at Yuu; not only is he an intelligent competent schemer, he's also a bit morally... different. This is apparent in the first episode. His scheme to win the heart of the school's most popular girl is played by Maeda in such a way to deliberately show how uncaring and sociopathic he is towards people he doesn't care about. His plan involves split second timing in which he pushes her out of the way of a truck JUST IN TIME as the driver crashes into the wall behind them. Whether this guy died or not from the incident isn't something he was worried about in the least; he's just glad the girl was impressed by his gesture. This teen's idea of base morality is FAR off from your average joe. In addition, this shows how cocky and confident he is in his own abilities; he risked the life of three people, including himself, because he was THAT sure his ingenious plan would work. If that doesn't display how skilled he believes he is with his powers, I don't know what does. This comes up again in episode 7; when he goes through his BSOD, sinking deeper and deeper into self-destructive behavior, one of the big moral wrongs he commits is messing with people who have nothing to do with him just for the fun of it. He gleefully stabs one of the thugs in the leg with a pair of chopsticks and causes horrible pain to a load of others for no reason but to satiate the hole in his heart. During his time with the club, he's grown into a nicer individual, but ONLY because he's grown bonds with the people around him. He has little to no understanding (as is shown in the episodic conflicts in episodes 2-5) of people's internal angst around him, and can ONLY relate to those he's grown to know and care about (Yusa, Takajou, and ESPECIALLY Nao). Whem Nao convicts him of losing his humanity when he's about to take drugs, would he really have listened if ANYONE else had given this speech to him? No; it's because it's the girl he cares about/ loves who's telling him this that he listens; that he would be inhuman if he resorted to taking drugs. It would hurt himself, and it would hurt the people around him, including Nao; that's why he stops. It's not because he hurt those dudes that makes him guilty, it's that it would hurt his friends. So, in episodes 8 and onward, the lesson he learns is not that he shouldn't have beat up random people, it's that he shouldn't ruin his life when he has people who care about him. Therefore, his hesitance to kill in episode 11 doesn't really make sense because A., he doesn't instinctively care about people he doesn't know, and B., no one close to him has really successfully convicted him TO care. The couple times Nao addresses this early on were only enough to get him to participate, and even then, he did so reluctantly. Worse, NAO, the character integral to all of his positive growth, is the one whose life is now on the line. Without her, he would be a wreck as a person, plain and simple. He knows what happens when he loses someone close to him (Ayumi): he's not going to let fumbling about stop him from saving her at all costs. If anything, he'd delve somewhat into his own blood-lust; ultimately, he cares a lot more about Nao than these thugs who he doesn't know, and honestly, couldn't care less about.

[MangaRocks!]

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: The problem is, just because organizations such as these are extremely dedicated to this type of research, doesn't mean they would gain so much power, influence, and economy from these shady dealings that no one would blow the whistle on the fact they're kidnapping teenagers and using them for research until they burn out so they can experiment on someone else. Somebody is sure to do that, and once law enforcement is informed of the situation, this becomes a lot more complicated than the show likes to argue it would be. Second, this is not ordinary behavior for organizations like this. What is so important about finding about these teens' super powers that you would kidnap them and experiment on them like this? Most scientists are not sadistic sociopaths; this bears further elaboration. Also, why are they the first to find out about this sort of thing, thereby gaining the most influence anyways? Where are the corporations who would make money on these people getting fame for their abilities by being mascots for the company? Economics states that people must have something to gain from wanting what other people have; how could the scientists possibly gain any money from this costly, unprofitable research? They aren't selling the kids to criminal groups, they aren't making any money out of this; so, what's the point of resorting to these out of their way, immoral schemes? Again, corporations, the film industry, heck, even local/national gangs would have more reason to recruit these kids (and successfully do so without coercion) to their respective fields because of the self-interest (money in the first two, power in the third) without having to go through this super-evil business the research groups get on to. Furthermore, because they something have to gain from involving themselves in these super-powered lives, THEY would be the ones who ultimately be more influential figures in the social affairs of super-powered beings. Money makes the world go 'round; to have influence and power over matters such as this, you need money.

^ Ah, sorry, I should have worded that part of my response more clearly: There is obviously government involvement/funding/etc. going on with the research stuff in particular. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: A sudden superpower-awakening crisis happens worldwide-- logically, at that point, the government would immediately want to: #1, clamp down on any possible fallout to itself or the other citizens; #2, try to 'understand' the powers; and #3, see if they can utilize them for their own protection/gain (militarily, etc.), especially since there is the possibility of danger from other countries doing the same. (Also, note the military guards at the facilities.) That's one of the have-to-infer-from-context details I was talking about. (I suppose they could've written it out more explicitly for better understanding, though...)

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: As for Yuu, he may be book dumb thanks to his chronic cheating, but the matter in which he uses his power to rig high school life in his favor requires a great deal of intelligence and skill with indie ploys. Cheating isn't easy without getting caught. Yes, Yuu has a gimmick that no one would suspect. That does not change the fact that outside of multiple choice and mathematics, copied answers raise red flags. In the space of five seconds he memorizes a person's answer, rewords it to make it less suspicious and writes it down showing incredible short term memory retention and decent ability to interpret answers by the seat of his pants. He may not give the knowledge he acquires much thought after he uses it but the very fact that he is able to do all of this in such a quick and effective manner speaks greatly for his natural intelligence and quick thinking. Furthermore consider the cunning with which he is able to study people and evaluate their usefulness to him. He seeks out the best students to cheat off of by examining their progress at cram schools, he boosts his own popularity by clever use of his powers to create just the right circumstances to increase people's esteem of him and again, does detailed and accurate research on people showing not only thought but methodical thought, which brings me to the next thing that should be apparent when one really looks closely at Yuu; not only is he an intelligent competent schemer, he's also a bit morally... different. This is apparent in the first episode. His scheme to win the heart of the school's most popular girl is played by Maeda in such a way to deliberately show how uncaring and sociopathic he is towards people he doesn't care about. His plan involves split second timing in which he pushes her out of the way of a truck JUST IN TIME as the driver crashes into the wall behind them. Whether this guy died or not from the incident isn't something he was worried about in the least; he's just glad the girl was impressed by his gesture. This teen's idea of base morality is FAR off from your average joe. In addition, this shows how cocky and confident he is in his own abilities; he risked the life of three people, including himself, because he was THAT sure his ingenious plan would work. If that doesn't display how skilled he believes he is with his powers, I don't know what does. This comes up again in episode 7; when he goes through his BSOD, sinking deeper and deeper into self-destructive behavior, one of the big moral wrongs he commits is messing with people who have nothing to do with him just for the fun of it. He gleefully stabs one of the thugs in the leg with a pair of chopsticks and causes horrible pain to a load of others for no reason but to satiate the hole in his heart. During his time with the club, he's grown into a nicer individual, but ONLY because he's grown bonds with the people around him. He has little to no understanding (as is shown in the episodic conflicts in episodes 2-5) of people's internal angst around him, and can ONLY relate to those he's grown to know and care about (Yusa, Takajou, and ESPECIALLY Nao). Whem Nao convicts him of losing his humanity when he's about to take drugs, would he really have listened if ANYONE else had given this speech to him? No; it's because it's the girl he cares about/ loves who's telling him this that he listens; that he would be inhuman if he resorted to taking drugs. It would hurt himself, and it would hurt the people around him, including Nao; that's why he stops. It's not because he hurt those dudes that makes him guilty, it's that it would hurt his friends. So, in episodes 8 and onward, the lesson he learns is not that he shouldn't have beat up random people, it's that he shouldn't ruin his life when he has people who care about him. Therefore, his hesitance to kill in episode 11 doesn't really make sense because A., he doesn't instinctively care about people he doesn't know, and B., no one close to him has really successfully convicted him TO care. The couple times Nao addresses this early on were only enough to get him to participate, and even then, he did so reluctantly. Worse, NAO, the character integral to all of his positive growth, is the one whose life is now on the line. Without her, he would be a wreck as a person, plain and simple. He knows what happens when he loses someone close to him (Ayumi): he's not going to let fumbling about stop him from saving her at all costs. If anything, he'd delve somewhat into his own blood-lust; ultimately, he cares a lot more about Nao than these thugs who he doesn't know, and honestly, couldn't care less about.

^ Um... I did mention/explain some of that. Yes, he *WAS* SPOILER: Highlight text to read: rather sociopathic in the first half of the show (as I said, mental/emotional issues); but he changed (especially after his recovery from his downward spiral). It was clear to me that he had finally learned some empathy and kindness, and had realized how selfish and messed up he'd been (as, indeed, he actually directly confessed about himself right in this very episode). His attitude after recovering was completely different from what it had been before. For a few specific examples: He'd not only connected to Nao and the other student council members, he even finally felt a connection to the rest of the school itself; he was very kind to and made a genuine connection with the lead singer of ZHIEND despite not knowing her at all; and when Nao's brother is (partially) healed by the song, Yuu is genuinely moved-- not only because he'd done something momentous for the girl he loved, but also because he was happy and relieved for the guy himself; etc. His attitude change made it clear that he was never going to even go near the dark path ever again (that momentary insanity/blood-lust is gone, and there's no way he'd ever do something like that truck trick again). (Also, again, Yuu didn't even try to kill the baddies in the original timeline after they had murdered his friends and did horrific things to his own sister; after all his personal growth in this timeline, intentionally killing someone when Nao's not even dead yet would have been impossible for him. Even his rescue of his sister in this last timeline was extremely careful.) Yes, he loves Nao, but given all of the factors going into this I cannot see him intentionally killing those guys. (Well, *maybe* I could see it if she had died before he couldn't go back in time or something; but even then I'm not sure.)

As for his powers, sure SPOILER: Highlight text to read: he had 'mastered' the strategic use of the power he *thought* that he had-- the five-second takeover bit-- but he developed that over time. In this timeline, he had literally one day's worth of knowledge/experience in the use of all the powers he *actually* has, and he had very little time to process everything before it all went to bits. Plus all of the emotional stuff and all of the other things going on with that situation, etc. It's no wonder he was nervous/freaked out a bit.


Please note that I'm not necessarily defending all the writing in the most recent ep.-- as I agreed before, some of it was definitely a bit rushed, and not explained as well as it could/should have been-- however, IMO there were also still some other details and factors in play that need to be taken into consideration when looking at it.

[skreyola]

Non Non Biyori Repeat ep. 9 - That was hilarious. I just knew something would happen SPOILER: Highlight text to read: to that watch the moment she said she was loaning it to her. Nii-san the eco-warrior was kind of funny (though I think the third one was just about right). Makeover ep! Moon watching. 5/5

This season, through ep. 9:
1. Sore ga Seiyuu - 44
2. Non Non Biyori Repeat - 39

[skreyola]

Non Non Biyori Repeat ep. 10 - That was really cute. I guess in Japan, they don't put the training wheels up a little farther before taking them off completely. Renge is amazing with her math. 5/5

Sore ga Seiyuu ep. 10 - I was kind of surprised by the choice she made at the end. But I am also surprised there are so many people who don't like Rin. If anything, she faces a bigger hurdle than the others in her career because, having made such a splash as a child actress, she will face harsher criticisms during dry spells than the others will. Anyway, it was a good, solid episode, and the ED pushed it up to 5/5. I love the ED so much. I always end up dancing in my seat when it comes on.

So, the results for the season through episode 10 are:
1. Sore ga Seiyuu - 49
2. Non No Biyori Repeat - 44

The season's almost over.
What are your rankings for the shows you've watched?

[Fantasia]

I watched episodes 2 through 10 of Non Non Biyori Repeat over the last couple days. This anime has everything I want from a slice of life show. Beautiful scenery, likeable characters, and a great balance of humor and peaceful moments. It even managed to have less problematic content than the first season.

I wish there were more anime like this one.

[skreyola]

I wish there were more anime like this one.

Watashimo.

[MangaRocks!]

@skreyola: Will post my final rankings once everything's done.



Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, a.k.a. Snow White With The Red Hair, episode 11:
What can I say? This was funny, beautiful, significant, romantic, and sweet. <3 <3



Castle Town Dandelion:

(Couldn't watch the ep. this week for some strange reason, but whatever. *shrug*)



Charlotte episode 12:

...Okay, this is the first time I'm saying this about the show: I don't really know what to think of this episode. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Before I get to that, though, ROTFL at Takajou feeding that curry to Yuu. Also: Aw, the thing with Misa and her parents was nicely moving. And man, that fallout from Kumagami's death... ('Similar standing,' indeed. Poor Shunsuke... ) As for the main part of the ep.: Uh, so he's going to travel around the whole world and take everyone's powers? (Did this just turn into an RPG or something? ) I mean, I actually did have a sort-of back-of-the-mind suspicion that might happen even before the whole blowup with Kumagami (once Yuu had finally learned/understood the gravity of that power as well as his use of it), so it's not really a surprise, per se. And with the eventual vaccine and such for the people who don't have powers, that means that there will never be another crisis like this ever again, even in the future when the comet passes through once more. So that seems like a very tidy solution indeed. (BTW, someone translated the lyrics of the OP song and they make perfect sense with this, too.) It also showcases the end result of Yuu's character growth-- from the ultimate selfish person to the ultimate selfless person, willing to essentially sacrifice his own body (and possibly even sanity and life itself!) to basically save every power-user in existence. ...That said, the problem with this plan is that it is seriously daunting to the point of near-impossibility because of the sheer size of the planet... and the number of people that must have powers right now... and the fact that he's only got like 2 years' time left at most to do this in before his abilities disappear... and there are still plenty of baddies out there... and etc. Now, I mean, given the rest of the show, I know that this is probably not the most logical point in time for my suspension of disbelief to finally wear thin, but for some reason those factors did it-- hence my mixed feelings about the ep. (On another note, though, that confession-and-response sequence was one of the most amusingly unromantic ones I've seen in recent memory, but that was actually completely in character for the two of them, so I liked it anyway. <3 ) Also, this really did pretty much feel like a conclusion, to be honest; so I'm quite curious as to what the actual finale holds next week... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (Maybe the couple-of-years-later reunion? Although, it's not like that needs an entire episode...? {Not that I'd complain, though... }) So, yeah... not entirely sure what to think of/feel about this ep., but... I guess I'll just wait to see what the finale is like before I decide...?



Classroom☆Crisis episode 12:

...Well, that was both predictable as well as a bit OTT in presentation (Yuuji has always been quite a scene-chewing villain, after all ), but it was effective nonetheless. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: And oh my gosh, (male-)Nagisa was so sweet it broke my heart. </3 The content of the next episode is already predictable, too, of course; however, I'm sure it'll still be just as effective as well.



Gakkou Gurashi! (a.k.a. SCHOOL-LIVE!) episode 11:

This episode was amazing-- dark, emotional, and moving. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: First things first: Holy crap, that entire opening scene gave me goosebumps... As for the rest of it: I rather expected Miki to take on Kurumi's role (and she did so quite well), but I was surprised that the crumbling of (most of) Yuki's delusions actually led her to do something rational and productive and even a little Kurumi-like herself (instead of just going nuts and then getting slaughtered or something, I mean -- although I'm very glad she didn't, of course!!). Also: Ah, Kurumi's guilt when she pondered whether the zombies might still be somewhat 'aware...' And I'm not gonna lie, I was definitely tearing up over the last few minutes...



Gatchaman Crowds Insight episode 11:

"How are they even filming this," ROTFL! ...Seriously, though: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Oh... crap...... She used Berg-Katze's powers to impersonate Gelsadra and sacrifice herself instead. That was brutal. (And effective. But, wow. ) This show is pretty amazing at digging into some very pointed social commentary, and I have been consistently impressed by it. (Basically, all of this.)



Rokka: Braves Of The Six Flowers episode 12 (end):

It should be no secret to anyone reading this that Rokka... was my favorite show of the season (also providing me with one of my favorite characters of all time now in Adlet, and the awareness of the excellent source novels, besides! <3 ), and this episode is just a great finale to that. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: First things first: Hee, the interaction between Hans and Chamot was both adorable and amusing. ...Anyway: Yep, it was indeed precisely who I had decided it was. Interesting reasoning for her becoming the Seventh, though. (I mean, it was completely and utterly crazy, of course-- plus, an 'extremely small number of victims,' indeed -- but still interesting. ) Also interesting was the fact that she had apparently received some fiend powers in exchange for her 'services' as the Seventh. This episode also featured even more Adlet x Flamie sweetness~ <3 (Flamie's jealousy was cute, too <3 ) and Adlet/Hans broness. Oh yeah, and Adlet brazenly telling a king to do as he says, the king being totally cool with doing so, and then Adlet taking charge of all the Braves on top of that like the total boss that he is ... oh Adlet, how I adore you. <3 <3 As for the ending: Heh, I'd actually already been (accidentally) spoiled about SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the new girl, so all I did is laugh. I mean, Adlet did mention an SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Eighth a few times, after all, and the other side has had a *very* long time to prepare and perfect their SPOILER: Highlight text to read: anti-Brave plans/countermeasures, so even if you weren't spoiled about that little twist it really should not be that much of a surprise. Indeed, between the hints SPOILER: Highlight text to read: about that mini-boss fiend and etc. as well as the quality of the story overall so far, plus what I've heard from others who have already read the novels about the actual significance of this twist and some other details (including the fact that, as fantastic as this truly was, it's still merely the setup to a much larger tale), I've no doubt whatsoever that it's only going to get even better from here, and can't wait to see it for myself! (***EDIT:*** Actually, right after I typed up all these comments for this post on Saturday, I immediately started reading the novels-- and as of today, mid-way through book #3, I can definitively say that OH MY GOODNESS, not only did this anime do an *extremely* faithful {and excellent!! } job of adapting of the first book, that finale twist does *not* turn out how you think it might *at all* {and that is a very good thing! }. The story actually takes a turn in a very different {and even better!!} direction; and it also delves into certain characters' inside information, backgrounds, and relationships {and, consequently, a nice little bit of world-building about a few other things, such as SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the Saints, the Kyouma, and even a few details about the fake crest; etc.}-- and, to top it all off, it also greatly improves two characters'... well, characterization , plus perfectly clears up the issues I originally had with another character's behavior in the first arc {it makes complete sense now, and is pretty darn ingenious, to boot!}. Suffice it to say, I heartily recommend both the anime and the novels, and if another season of the anime is ever made {and I dearly hope it will}, it's going to be epic! )



And Durarara!!x2 Ten episode 11:

Comments on this are in the dedicated DRRR!! watch thread, as always!

[skreyola]

Sore ga Seiyuu ep. 11 - Another great episode. You have to take care of yourself so you don't get burned out. Looks like next week will be Ichigo perhaps SPOILER: Highlight text to read: finally letting the others support her... 5/5

Non Non Biyori ep. 11 - Renge is a force of nature. Am I the only one who thought of Cross Game when Hotaru wore that 4-leaf clover shirt? 4/5

[Mullet Death]

Started watching School-Live. I'm not sure I can emotionally handle this, but at the same time I can't stop watching.

I'll say one definitive thing about it-- if you're going to watch it, don't read anything at all about it beforehand. Even knowing the premise will partially ruin it I'm sure. Just watch the first episode and see if you can't stop. No seriously, some of you are gonna read something like that, go off and Google it, thinking, "What's this all about then?" just because I told you not to. But don't do that. Just dive in. I warned you. -\_(ツ)_/-

[Rusty Claymore]

I watched episodes 2 through 10 of Non Non Biyori Repeat over the last couple days. This anime has everything I want from a slice of life show. Beautiful scenery, likeable characters, and a great balance of humor and peaceful moments. It even managed to have less problematic content than the first season.

I wish there were more anime like this one.

If Yotsuba&! was an anime...

Anyways, I agree. It instantly made my "buy it" list, and I have even been purchasing the manga, which is rare for me to buy manga at all. ...I suppose rare is a relative term. *looks at manga dedicated shelf*

Last monday I went to NonNonByori on my queue, needing that extra little happiness to get the week started. And then I remembered it was over. This has been the worst week this season. >_<

[skreyola]

Last monday I went to NonNonByori on my queue, needing that extra little happiness to get the week started. And then I remembered it was over. This has been the worst week this season. >_<

Time to start rewatching ssn 1?

Alternately, you could put the ARIA series in your queue.

[Fantasia]

Last monday I went to NonNonByori on my queue, needing that extra little happiness to get the week started. And then I remembered it was over. This has been the worst week this season. >_<

Time to start rewatching ssn 1?

Alternately, you could put the ARIA series in your queue.

I second the recommendation of ARIA. It's a great slice of life show, and it left quite an impression on me. I think it feels a bit more idealized than Non Non Biyori, but ARIA's heartwarming stories and positive outlook on life are something that any anime fan should experience.

I'll also sneak in a recommendation for the recently-licensed Sketchbook ~full color's~ and Tamayura: Hitotose.

[MangaRocks!]

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, a.k.a. Snow White With The Red Hair, episode 12 (end, for now):
Sweet, cute, amusing, a little serious, and finally just beautiful-- this was the perfect way to end this cour. <3 I'm really looking forward to the second season, too!



Castle Town Dandelion episodes 10-11:

As for the first of these two episodes: Aw, I liked the fact that the other idol girl actually completely understood , and oh my gosh the second half with Kanade and Shuu was actually extremely sweet! <3 As for the second of the two: Here there's finally an explanation for why Akane has such a phobia of being out in public, as well as some nice character growth on her part (finally!). Really, these last few ep.'s were surprisingly good in comparison to some of the show's other installments...



Charlotte episode 13 (end):

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Oh wow, so they *did* end up showing Yuu's whole journey. I'm actually glad that they did, though. First: LOL, that mix of decent-enough-English (on the foreigners' part) + horribly-mangled-Engrish (on Yuu's) was pretty amusing. Also, OH MY GOSH THAT'S BASICALLY A MARAUDER'S MAP-- that's awesome! (As is the ability to instantly translate. Oh how I'd like that one in RL... ) Obviously, that (along with every other power he began to collect) also made it several thousand times easier to accomplish his goal. I mean, it's still a bit suspension-of-disbelief-stretching, of course, but it's much easier to swallow now than it was before. (I also kinda appreciated the fact that, devastating as it was, he decided not to try and save Kumagami, because that would've just created a whole new slate of problems, among other things.) And along the way, Yuu working towards using his huge, ever-growing slate of abilities to the fullest (even when deathly afraid) was pretty great, too. And then... the side-effects of all of that began to kick in, and he broke again... Not quite as badly as before-- there was an underlying core of 'things he must do' and 'things he must not do' for his psyche this time, triggered by his keepsake from Nao <3 -- but it was still sad to watch. Aw, though, the interaction with the 'last power user' was sweet. <3 And oh man, that entire final sequence with Nao and Yuu was so touching (and far more romantic than their scene in the previous ep. ). While this episode wasn't perfect (there are certainly a couple of things I could nitpick if I wanted to), it did basically redeem the issues I had with the previous ep. while at the same time wrapping everything up quite beautifully SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (even including calming Nao's brother again in this newest timeline, too, which I almost thought had been forgotten, LOL ), so overall I am very satisfied. I'll be looking forward to the OVA/special, too, whenever it's released.



Classroom☆Crisis episode 13 (end):

Yep, this was exactly as predicted (...well, minus what they'd use as the casing, LOL! ), but it was also just as well-executed as I'd hoped SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (and that stick-it to the CEO was brilliant ). Also, ROTFL at (male-)Nagisa's little 'problem...' And in the end, they left certain things open enough for a second season to be possible, yet concluded enough for it to feel quite satisfying even if that never occurs; so what more can I ask?



Gakkou Gurashi! (a.k.a. SCHOOL-LIVE!) episode 12 (end):

...Welp, this made me cry. Even though I knew from the start precisely how they'd manipulate my emotions, it still absolutely worked, darn it. (That's a compliment, though. ) SPOILER: Highlight text to read: So, in the end it's basically confirmed that the zombies are indeed still somewhat aware, however it seems that even the vaccine cannot help those who've been turned for over a day or two (in that, extrapolating from what happened with Taroumaru, the vaccine *will* still revert them, but they'll just be too nutrient-/water-/etc.-deprived + internally damaged to continue living ). That ending, though-- holy crap, was that Kei? I mean, I expected that she had been turned, unfortunately, but... Also: Whoa, what was up with the second dog (the other puppy, I guess?) and the person who picked up their message? ...Guess it's off to the manga to find out! Anyway, the whole bit with SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Yuki's personal growth and broadcasted message was beautiful and moving, and while quite open-ended (obviously, since SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the manga's still ongoing and them leaving the school is apparently just the beginning), it was a very good ending to the anime.



Gatchaman Crowds Insight episode 12 (end):

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: And now we see that whole thing from Hajime + Berg-Katze's side. That was even more brutal and difficult to watch than the 'outside' view last week , but just as excellent, of course. Tsubasa finally understanding and trying to get everyone to think was quite satisfying, too-- as was pretty much everything else. I mean, sure, it could've done with a bit more closure on SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Mr.-VAPE-guy; but otherwise this was a perfect ending to a really great show.



And Durarara!!x2 Ten episode 12 (end, for now):

Comments on this are in the dedicated DRRR!! watch thread. Looking forward to the final cour!




...Oh, and while there's still one more episode of one show to go, I think I'm safe now in posting my final rankings for the season for everything that I didn't drop (listed in order from best to least favorite + separated by rating {indicated by the breaks}):

#1: Rokka: Braves Of The Six Flowers
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#2: Durarara!!x2 Ten
#3: Akagami no Shirayuki-hime (a.k.a. Snow White With The Red Hair)
#4: Gatchaman Crowds Insight
#5: Charlotte
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#6: Gakkou Gurashi! (a.k.a. SCHOOL-LIVE!)
#7: Classroom☆Crisis
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#8: Castle Town Dandelion

[GeneD]

Season Ranking:

1. Gatchaman Crowds Insight
2. Akagami no Shirayuki-hime
3. Durarara!!x2 Ten
4. Gangsta
4. Rokka no Yuusha
5. Charlotte
5. God Eater
6. Aoharu x Kikanjuu

Dropped: Ranpo Kitan, Chaos Dragon and School-Live!, although I put the latter back on my to-watch list after hearing good things here and other places.

Starting with the lowest first:

Aoharu x Kikanjuu: Enjoyable enough with some good funny moments, but I wasn’t overly fond of any of the characters and Hotaru remained kinda annoying throughout. Overall average and a bit forgettable.

God Eater: A week gap every now and again isn’t helping the show and I thought the part where SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Lenka and Alisa are stuck out on their own in the “wilderness” dragged on for about an episode too long. I was also confused SPOILER: Highlight text to read: by the fact that Lenka didn’t die from getting freaking impaled and who knows what else by that creepy smiling Aragami. They mentioned afterwards that the link with the God Arc also provides some sort of healing ability (I think) but at the time I assumed it was just plain protagonist power or something. The background info on the apocalypse has been interesting SPOILER: Highlight text to read: although it happened more abruptly than I’d expected and I still like the characters, but we’re not delving into their personalities as much as I’d hoped, which also makes the meandering pace kinda frustrating. Unlike everything else there’s still a few episodes left, which is only airing in the Winter season, so I’ll have to just wait and see where it goes.

Charlotte: Well that was all over the place. I really liked Nao and Yuu wasn’t so bad himself, though he got bludgeoned by the plot, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: becoming the deus ex machina of his own show (except, except he still can’t go back to save Kumagami because viewers need their tragedy feels and also Kumagami was too pretty to live.)
I think one of the biggest problems is that the mysterious evil organisation/government was so mysterious that they didn’t really feel like a factor, so it was hard to take them seriously when they eventually showed up. They also seemed to be just as powerful and intimidating as the writers needed them to be, ready to be packed away afterwards into the background they occupied most of the show. They were seemingly able to curb-stomp the main characters with ease any time they wanted to (remember Yuu could not jump back far enough to a time when they didn’t have the driver’s family as hostages), but they’ve been allowing the ability users to run free all this time for no apparent reason. Maybe if we’d seem them actively working against the student council in those beginning episodes, they’d be more believable.
The same applies a bit to Yuu, he is alternatively extremely street-savvy, smart and gutsy or reckless and prone to panicking. Yes these qualities could obviously be acceptable in one person because of complex human nature, but in this case it feels like his actions and personality are being written in whatever way will make the plot work at that specific point.
So anyway, the first and second half feel like 2 different shows but it was a fun ride when I wasn’t thinking about it too hard.

Rokka no Yuusha: T_T SPOILER: Highlight text to read: That ending, whyyyyyy random cowgirl whyyyyy? I know because: ongoing light novel, but man it makes for an annoying ending “twist”. Seriously that made me face-palm so hard and feel kinda cheated.
I don’t agree with the statement that the only one they can now be sure is a real Brave is Adlet. As proven by the existence of Flemie (sp? forever) the fiends have different factions and schemes running at the same time, so technically the fake Braves (however many there actually are, clearly there could be an unending supply of them) could all be from different factions and not know who the others are. So just because he outed one fake doesn’t mean he couldn’t be one himself, in fact, considering he was the prime suspect, outing someone else would be the best way to clear his name, until another fake showed up, putting us back at literally square one. I was seriously expecting a fog barrier to spring up again.
Despite that, I enjoyed the show for most of the season, though I’d have liked the mystery to have more clues for viewers to go on. As fun as it was to speculate, it basically came down to who was the most in opposition to Adlet this episode, they must be the 7th. Adlet, Flemie and Hans were great, the fights were especially fun to watch and it’s a bit sad there wasn’t more of those. I’m still interested in the novels, or a second season if they make one, but the end was a bit of a blow to my overall enjoyment.

Post to be continued, when I have time to write up my thoughts on the rest.

[MangaRocks!]

Rokka no Yuusha: T_T SPOILER: Highlight text to read: That ending, whyyyyyy random cowgirl whyyyyy? I know because: ongoing light novel, but man it makes for an annoying ending “twist”. Seriously that made me face-palm so hard and feel kinda cheated.
I don’t agree with the statement that the only one they can now be sure is a real Brave is Adlet. As proven by the existence of Flemie (sp? forever) the fiends have different factions and schemes running at the same time, so technically the fake Braves (however many there actually are, clearly there could be an unending supply of them) could all be from different factions and not know who the others are. So just because he outed one fake doesn’t mean he couldn’t be one himself, in fact, considering he was the prime suspect, outing someone else would be the best way to clear his name, until another fake showed up, putting us back at literally square one. I was seriously expecting a fog barrier to spring up again.
Despite that, I enjoyed the show for most of the season, though I’d have liked the mystery to have more clues for viewers to go on. As fun as it was to speculate, it basically came down to who was the most in opposition to Adlet this episode, they must be the 7th. Adlet, Flemie and Hans were great, the fights were especially fun to watch and it’s a bit sad there wasn’t more of those. I’m still interested in the novels, or a second season if they make one, but the end was a bit of a blow to my overall enjoyment.

Just to reiterate, since I've now read all 4 novel translations that are currently available (out of the 7 or so books out so far in Japan), and am now even more in love with the series as a whole:

... that finale twist does *not* turn out how you think it might *at all* {and that is a very good thing! }. The story actually takes a turn in a very different {and even better!!} direction; and it also delves into certain characters' inside information, backgrounds, and relationships {and, consequently, a nice little bit of world-building about a few other things, such as SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the Saints, the Kyouma, and even a few details about the fake crest; etc.}-- and, to top it all off, it also greatly improves two characters'... well, characterization , plus perfectly clears up the issues I originally had with another character's behavior in the first arc {it makes complete sense now, and is pretty darn ingenious, to boot!}. ...

^ And to add to that (since I wrote that when I was in the middle of book #3 ), there is also a heck of a lot more going on than first appears-- the plots in play by SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the enemies are very long-game, quite complex, and take some turns that you won't be expecting, and the main baddie is fascinating-- as is all of the backstory/insight into different characters' thoughts/etc., among other things. (Oh yeah, and there's more fighting, too , as well as SPOILER: Highlight text to read: progress with the actual overall quest.)

To sum it up, while the anime/first book is excellent, it's still basically just the intro to the bigger tale, and the rest of that tale so far has been *awesome* , so I highly recommend checking out the novels ASAP.

[skreyola]

Sore ga Seiyuu ep. 12 - Not as thrilled with this as with previous episodes, both because it was mostly about the concert and because I didn't get to hear the ED. Still, it was a pretty solid episode. 4/5

[Edit: fixed episode number, added:]
Non Non Biyori Repeat ep. 12 (final) - That was a nice ending for the season. I loved all the callbacks. Unfortunately, I probably should have watched S1.12 before this one, as it seemed pretty final with the ending. Sadly, no Nyanpasu spotted this episode, but still made me smile and laugh a lot. 5/5

So, for the season, through episode 11:
1. Sore ga Seiyuu - 58
2. Non Non Biyori Repeat - 53

[MangaRocks!]

And finally, Castle Town Dandelion episode 12 (end):

Well, while the thing with SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the airship was a bit contrived , Aoi's decision was precisely as expected (although the results of the election were not; but I was glad about that -- SPOILER: Highlight text to read: logically, after Aoi, Shuu was definitely the best choice), and all of the character/etc. wrap-ups were nice, so I'm satisfied with this as the close to a (mostly ) decent series.

[skreyola]

Sore ga Seiyuu ep. 13 - Pretty good, seemed realistic. No Earphones ED made me sad. 4/5 show overall: 10/10
Non-Non Biyori Repeat gets a 9.7 for the season.

[MomentOfInertia]

So very late.

I watched:

also Drrrrr!! was Drrrr!! - 4/5 because cliffhanger.


Ushio to Tora (ongoing) 4/5
Boy finds monster and spear in basement. They fight other monsters. It's good action stuff. Very appropriate OP.
Effectively no fanservice.

Working!!! - 3/5 quite silly.
Story of a kid who works at a restaurant full of crazy people. ... and that one girl who is so obsessed with being the normal one that it's her crazy thing. In this the third and final season we tie off the two main subplots and allllllllllllmost resolve the romance plot. (there's supposed to be a special finale coming)

Overlord 3/5
I'm a skeleton. I'm a build an empire.
Needs an AMV set to this

[skreyola]

re: Ushio to Tora - Is that true of the whole series, or the episode/OP specifically?

[MomentOfInertia]

re: Ushio to Tora - Is that true of the whole series, or the episode/OP specifically?

Up though ep 18. There is a very brief hot spring encounter in ep 10 in which both parties blunder into each other and one of them goes "meep!" an vanishes into the distance almost immediately. That's all I can remember.

Also quote the part you're asking about next time you had me confused for a minute there.

[skreyola]

Thanks. Sorry.

[MomentOfInertia]

Not a problem.

--
Ushio to Tora 19
Serious episode, delving into the backstory. With a cliffhanger ... of course.

[MomentOfInertia]

Ushio to Tora #20
Man this arc got dark. ... Actually the last one was dark too but it was also cheesy.