Some people just can’t handle the bishounen sparkles

I’m slowly making my way through Utena finally. I can see a lot of Penguindrum in there (or maybe since Utena came first, I should be saying that I see the Utena in Penguindrum now). …But that has next to nothing to do with Dansai Bunri, so let’s talk about murderers now~

Well, Gossip seems to be both better and worse than expected. On one hand, they’re not out to kill Iwai with their bare hands, but at the same time, their er, gossip isn’t doing wonders for Iwai’s self esteem. As she expected, she’s being treated as a freak again. It does seem like it’s the high class social club that it was said to be though, so I really wonder if they’re all there because they have far too much money and spare times on their hands, or if there’s some other profound reason why they all look forward to the murder of an underage girl. Sure, a lot of them seem to be there exactly because the novelty of Authors is exciting, but is that all Gossip exists for? And since some of the people at the party seemed new, who exactly runs the organization?

The play definitely seems like an important part to the plot, but I’m pretty sure they left a bit out in the anime. I remember the manga having more to it, and the queen (the bitchy one who was jealous of the girl’s hair) was actually cursed by the girl. What was the curse? The queen suddenly had beautiful hair that couldn’t be cut and all of her descendants inherited the hair too. There was also some note about the queen’s child dying in the womb due to being strangled by it’s own hair. Huh, sounds familiar (…the uncuttable hair, not the still birth and being strangled with your own hair). At the same time too, everyone tried to kill the girl with the beautiful hair. So after that, I want to believe that Iwai is related to the bitchy queen from the story and while Iwai herself is innocent, her ancestors might not be. …Or maybe she might be a descendant to the persecuted girl, since it was never specified if her hair was uncuttable or not (plus there’s the fact that everyone was trying to kill her for whatever reason), but having Iwai related to the queen would be a great twist in there. Maybe her ancestors really did have death coming to them. …Though the girl’s hair looked the most similar to Iwai’s. Anyways, an interesting look into the lore of the Hair Queen. …Whichever one she is. …If the story was even real. I figure they left out a lot of the story in the anime due to time constraints and also because they probably don’t intend on opening up questions that they can’t answer in the time this anime has left.

Anyways, on to Seiji. …I’m still not entirely sure why he’s so hung up on Kiri when there’s an entire room of rich people who all like the idea of murder for fun to judge, but I assume this is what Kouzakura was talking about when she said Seiji was going to take things too far one day. He’s stuck on the idea that Kiri needs to be judged. Also, he also mentioned something about killing someone equal to him, so I’d imagine that Seiji’s obsession with that factors into things. The action scene here felt… really long for some reason though. Maybe because Kiri was being strangled for what seemed like 10 minutes while everyone just kind of sat there and watched. It felt like Kiri should have collapsed much sooner instead of struggling for however long he did. Though I guess it’s good that he didn’t go down without a fight.

Maybe Seiji was on to something though since even when Iwai said Kiri was okay because he was protecting her, Kiri himself never said so. Maybe he feels like Seiji’s words had some truth to them? He obviously doesn’t want to die, but it seems odd that he wouldn’t say something about his actions all being for Iwai. Maybe there is some guilt in there about the people Kiri injured. …Or maybe he was just preoccupied with the fact that he couldn’t breathe.

If you bothered watching after the ED credits, you’ll know that right after Kiri stopped struggling, someone attacked Seiji. Is Kiri actually dead? Was that enough to stop Seiji? Until next week I guess. (Though if you watched up until the next episode preview, it pretty much gives you the answer anyways, thus making the cliffhanger kind of pointless.)

Killing off the main character seems like a popular plot device this season. …Though it’s not really clear if Kiri is actually dead or not yet (plus… things happened in the other show that did this a couple weeks earlier), so maybe I should change that last sentence to: Making it look like the main character is killed off in a large cliffhanger ending seems like a popular plot device this season. So yeah, between a better look into Gossip and Kiri losing, things turned out interesting this episode. Though the play they had this episode felt so much more important in the manga and I didn’t expect the fight with Seiji and Kiri to take so long. I guess I really should have seen how great of  cliffhanger the set up would have made.It doesn’t get more exciting than killing the main character off (or at least leaving it up in the air whether the main character is dead or not). Oh well, I guess next week should be the part where the rest of the important things happen.

In any case, it involves Iwai getting herself together. …And going against a few things she said only a few episodes earlier.

Togame somehow responsible for the most entertaining action scene of the episode.

We discussed the middle third of the first half of the show with Natasha a couple weeks ago, and this time we have another special guest, Amuro of Anivision, to talk about the conclusion of the first half. You might have heard Amuro before on some of our Notes on Robotics;Notes or maybe on the Anivision podcast of which our own Jrow is also a part. Amuro is also partially responsible for making this series of podcasts possible, as you’ll hear.

The Crew:

With Guest:

00:36: Intro
04:30: Episode 5
19:35: Episode 6
37:54: Final Thoughts

Music
You can hear various tracks from the show soundtrack throughout the podcast. We open with supercell‘s new opening theme for the show, “Hakushu Kassai Uta Awase,” and close with Piko‘s new ending theme, “Koto No Ha.”

Good thing we got to see Togame’s wondrously long hair in its frozen glory before the next episode!

If you’ve already seen the show or if you are watching it for the first time and are interested in coming on as a guest, please let us know in the comments, or shoot me an email at q.lvlln@gmail.com. At least one of you posted in the comments of the last episode about coming on, but I couldn’t find your email address, so please make sure to contact me directly!

Living with Nyarlko can tire you out.

No episode of Nyarlko this week, but we have Episode 6 from last week to talk about! Last we discussed, Kuuko is trying to convince Kuune that she is engaged to Mahiro, much to the unhappiness of, well, everyone. So come with me and Fosh and see how that’s turning out!

Welcome back to more Haiyore! Nyaruko-san on Metanorn with me and Highway! Soooo what is going on this time in this hilarious series lately? It seems to be more of the same lately for me, but thankfully with the addition of Kuko’s cousin joining the cast which seems to have added some much needed excitement to the series for me! Anyway I hope you enjoy the review.

Unbelievable

It’s like they don’t trust them…

Mahiro and Kuuko can’t catch a break. While their act isn’t enough to convince Kuune that they’re lovers, it’s more than Nyarlko can take, and we end up following everyone on a date to prove that they are really engaged. The only one who’s taking it at face value is Mahiro’s mom, and she spends the whole episode reminiscing to Hastur and Shanta about her engagement to Mahiro’s dad. And I have to give Kuuko credit, she’s actually pretty cute on this date. It really seems like her feelings that were exposed at the end of the last episode are building, that she ‘doesn’t dislike the boy’.

Complete Breakdown

Crying Nyarlko is so moe

Nyarlko just can’t handle it, tho. First she tries to get Mahiro to stop pretending on his date with Kuuko, and when that doesn’t work, she confronts him in his room. She’s even losing her confidence that she can even win Mahiro, even though she loves him (and is the main heroine, so she’s supposed to win). And even though her sadness moves Mahiro to be nice to her, he still doesn’t know how he really feels about her. The biggest problem is still the same one: She doesn’t have a variable control. She’s all on or all off. And even the littlest bit of capitulation on Mahiro’s part, saying that he doesn’t hate her, brings her back to declaring that he’s acknowledged her love. If she’d only tone it down just the littlest bit!

Nyarlko Reference Corner

Somebody’s not getting what they want

I think I sound like a broken record when I say “this series is lacking in the anime references department” because it is TRUE! Lately it seems to be a mixture of both Kamen Rider and Cthulu based stories (thanks NyaruReferences again) I almost feel like the producers are trying to move away from the use of anime references, but I love that quick scene with Cthune randomly wearing an eye patch while shouting the line about “Synapse, burst open!” from the popular Chu2koi series! Besides that one we had stuff from Index, Death Note, Space Battleship Yamato and of course more Jojo’s bizarre adventures. So there you have it for episode six and you can kind of see what I mean with the lack of anime references, but I just hope I have stuff to write about as we inch closer to the end.

More Fun with Nyarlko-san!

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Not a bad episode this week even though I want more comedic moments and anime references to watch out for; however I think the series is shifting gears and heading for romance developing between Mahiro and Nyarlko and recently a surprise love triangle has appeared that is hinting towards Kuko and Mahiro? Personally I don’t really care all that much for the love aspect of Nyarlko-san because I will always see season one and this current season as comedy instead of romance, but I will say it is a lot of fun watching Mahiro and Nyarlko together, I just want SOMETHING to happen between them soon.

So close and yet so far. While I like the idea that Nyarlko and Mahiro might get together, Nyarlko’s stubbornness in realizing what Mahiro wants – not craziness – is something that’s as likely to push him into Kuuko’s arms as anything else. Meanwhile, Kuuko’s starting to get more and more of those happy smiles, something we’ve never really seen before now. Is she really falling for Mahiro? And what would that do to Nyarlko if she were to openly declare her love for him after Kuune leaves and she doesn’t need to pretend anymore? And I guess that we’re not going to get any more of Tamao after all? There doesn’t really seem to be much room for her in Mahiro’s life, but the only way for there to be would be for her to make the room. Seems like a lot of choices that Mahiro doesn’t want to make.

Peekaboo~

Unfortunately I’ll be a bit late posting for SnK and RDG next week because I’ll be spending all weekend at Anime North. I’ll be doing some coverage of the event when it’s over so stay tuned for tons of photos. If any of you guys happen to be going just drop me a line (twitter, e-mail, the comments section, whatever) and we can meet up!

Mikasa’s reaction to hearing about Eren’s death was a little bit surprising. I suppose I was expecting a more flashy breakdown from her instead of just shutting off her emotions and numbly pressing forward. I like how they drew out Armin’s confession about Eren’s death as long as possible and refused to show us Mikasa’s face as she reacted to the news. When we did get to see what face matched that calm voice, it became clear that something wasn’t quite right. She sounded like her usual level-headed self, but the spark in her eyes was extinguished. It still makes a lot of sense for her character, yet it caught me off guard.
This show is just too good at surprising me.

Without Eren, her life has essentially lost all meaning, and she needs to find another reason to live. Instead of finding a new source of hope, she decides to still cling to the image of Eren as what keeps her going. She could have decided to live for Armin, her squad mates, or even to get revenge – yet she chooses someone who is dead as her source of inspiration out of all of these options. Eren will always be her everything. I’m a bit hazy on exactly why her body sprung into action and saved her from the Titan though. Was it her memory of Eren pushing her body into fight or flight mode, or were the sudden shots of red cells hinting at something in her genes giving her impeccable battle instincts? The latter would explain why she’s so damn good at killing Titans. Perhaps it was something Eren’s dad injected in her as well.

About to become Mikasandwich

For what it’s worth, I have a wild guess at what those injections Eren’s dad gave him were. I’m going to guess he gave that shot to Eren so that in the event of being eaten by a Titan, he would be able to take over that Titan. I think this new Titan-killing Titan might actually be Eren taking over the one that ate him. It looks nothing like the Santa-Titan, but I’m assuming that taking over a Titan could mean that your luscious hair could take over as well. Whatever this new beast is, it adds a whole new player to the game. There are endless possibilities! If more Titans like this show up, then the humans can be saved. This could be the ace up their sleeves!

…Unfortunately, this is Attack on Titan and things are rarely so simple. He seems like a great guy now, but it’s hard to trust a guy taller than your house with an extra set of teeth, isn’t it? I’m really excited about how this new Titan will spice up the story and help/hinder/confuse the soldiers. Aside from Mikasa and Armin wanting to kill themselves, this was one of the best parts of the episode. I’m all for character growth and drama (even Armin kinda had a spine this week!) but sometimes you just want two giant, muscular men to kill each other.

The fact I think he’s kinda good-looking for a Titan worries me.

I was mostly stunned into silence this week so I don’t have a whole lot to add that wasn’t already there. It was yet another brilliant episode filled with drama, fighting, and Potato Girl being Potato Girl. My one complaint is that we didn’t need the extra sulking at the beginning. I think we get how demotivated everyone is just by looking at them, there’s no need to show us people killing themselves with guns and moping around rooftops for too long. As much I love watching people being tormented, after a while it can get excessive. Yes, even for me. Will next week be another lesson in “don’t get your hopes up because everyone you love will die” or will the soldiers make it out relatively unscathed? Only the pomegranate knows.

Oh holy pomegranate, tell me your secrets

Preview: Time to break in and get some gas to recharge! This should be an intense battle where the humans will have to be wily little buggers to find a way around close-quarter combat. On the bright side, the Titans they’re facing are (relatively) short. That’s not to say they’ll get out scot free though…

I hope she’s just crying because the meat’s gone.

The god of music has spoken.

…Okay then UtaPri, forget about Tokiya. I hope they have something special planned for his character in later episodes, otherwise it looks like he’s been ditched for yet another development with Cecil.

In any case, WHOA THEY’RE ALIVE

What?! Where have the senpai been this entire time?! They way they disappeared and were never mentioned again, I figured they were doing something important. …But from how nonchalant they were acting, I guess not. It’s funny how they haven’t done much of anything during the run of the anime, and yet, they have to be there on this one trip in order to supervise. I’m just going to assume that Shining finally told them to do their damn jobs. Oh well, at least Camus has achieved something since Cecil has finally become serious about things. I kind of wish we had seen more of them before this if they weren’t doing anything important, but I guess the relationship developments between Haruka and her harem were just as good.

Yes, the moment we’ve seen coming ever since he actually appeared. Cecil is now an idol. I guess I had forgotten about how the guys all sang that one time and managed to undo a spell. And at the same time of his big decision, he sidelined any and all romantic involvements with Haruka by saying how it’s not just her that he wants to make smile. Which is good and all, but there’s still part of me holding on to the possibility of an actual couple coming out of here somewhere, so having him announce this was kind of frustrating. I suppose it could happen, but Cecil seems to have shifted to a guy dedicated to Haruka to… well, where everyone else is.

Does… does this count as an orgy?

Ooooof course what STARISH was missing was Cecil. It’s a good thing his magically appearing lyrics told him so, or else he might not have been shoved into joining. Man, you’d think that being a professional, Haruka would have noticed that what she was missing an extra voice. Oh well, everyone is fabulous and a team now, so I guess that’s the important part. …Haruka felt really shafted this episode since she was there for everyone else’s problems, but when it came to her own struggles, leaving her alone was the action of choice. They did leave her flowers and such, but still. It really looked like they left Haruka to work on her own while they went off to have a bromance day. At least they seemed to have reaffirmed that the whole team idea is important at the end (even Ren and Tokiya were part of that). …Which I’m going to take as a sign that Haruka probably won’t be shoved out if the director decides to take the BL vibes further to please the yaoi fangirls. Or at least not completely.

Anyways, despite my dreams slowly being crushed, this was still kind of satisfying since this is what the UtaPri plot has been building up to this entire season. Or at least, what little of a plot this series has. And now Cecil seems to have run off and causing everyone unnecessary drama right after everything looked like it was going to be okay. You’d think they could wait an episode or two before going into this. I mean, where are they going to fit in Tokiya’s part now?

So what can I say? Cecil finally joined the rest of the group officially and while I first thought it might have been a bit early, there’s now trouble with the fact that he’s a literal prince. So Cecil has basically taken over where Tokiya was last season (since last time, he was the one causing the group multiple episode problems), but I’m wondering where exactly they’re going to fit in a Tokiya centric episode with all of this going on. And if they do manage to solve Cecil’s problems in episode 9 or so, then what on earth will the plot do for the rest of the episodes? Yes, there’s still the Uta Pri award topic, but unlike the graduation audition, there don’t seem to be any major hurdles or conflicts for the characters to get over. I mean, Haruka has everything she needs to write a great song and the guys… don’t really do much other than generic idol things. Maybe there will be a last minute concert for the Uta Pri award or something, but I can’t see much happening. I guess we’ll just have too see how much of the plot Cecil decides to take up. Though you have to question his resolve if he makes his decision, and then decides to go back on it in the same episode.

…The god of music also has the exact same handwriting as everyone else on the show apparently.

Let’s all play the piano together!

SHOW NOTES

0:22 – Welcoming w/ Jrow

• BlazBlue: Alter Memory anime announcement

5:33 – Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo

• Spoiler-free and spoiler-filled discussion

43:17 – MetaASK w/ Foshizzel

• Guest: Kyokai

1:13:41 – Signing off

Intro: “Sakura Nagashi” by Utada Hikaru from Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXukmIpzQzU

Segment A: Music from the Evangelion 3.0 OST

Insert: “Seventh Heaven” by Kalafina from Kara no Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfHYmEnocx0

Segment B: Music from Kara no Kyoukai OST - Ongakushuu

Outro: “Rebellion” from BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger OST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhqFu-d8tuY

“Look at my unibrow. LOOK AT IT.”

Well, I was busy getting ready for an anime convention over the past week, so I didn’t have a chance to get around to Aku no Hana. So yeah, a double post this time. …I had no idea that the Aku no Hana manga was licensed, but since I saw it being sold, obviously it is.

Okay, so the threat of the truth coming out is still lingering over Kasuga, but you have to admit, his relationship with Saeki turned out pretty cute.  … In an extremely awkward way. The immaturity of their class aside, the two blushing and admitting that they were going out seemed like exactly the type of platonic relationship Kasuga wanted. He’s even saying that the uniform thing shouldn’t matter anymore since he wants to become a person worthy of Saeki. He’s still putting Saeki on a pedestal and practically worshipping her, but really, she’s still acting like a saint at every given opportunity. It’s nice to see him try to become a better person for her. …Even if he wasn’t that bad of a person in the first place. Maybe taking the uniform wasn’t the greatest idea ever, but Nakamura seems to make Kasuga seem like a bigger pervert than he actually acts.

Kasuga’s life continues to get better… and then get worse again. Okay, maybe it’s not too bad since the last I checked, having sex was considered normal in a relationship. Though I guess it is middle school students, which seems a bit young and makes the idea a bit more out there, but then again, shit happens. Anyways, long story short, Nakamura suggesting that Saeki would even think of sex seems to have thrown Kasuga off completely. Of course, it completely conflicts with Kasuga’s idea of a purely platonic relationship with Saeki, which is why he was so against the idea. It also forcibly reminds him the Saeki is human and completely capable of thinking things like that. Of course, this is coming from Nakamura, which leaves a lot of room for doubt, but the very thought seems to make Kasuga extremely uncomfortable. Because hormones. Not that wanting to have sex is a terrible thing, but this kind of brings up the question if Kusuga would be able to accept the fact that Saeki is human and capable of making mistakes.

But before we didn’t even get a look into that since Saeki went straight into voicing her concerns about their relationship (…since Nakamura makes life difficult for Kasuga, even in ways that she doesn’t try to).  We did get an interesting moment with Kasuga almost telling Saeki about everything though. …But of course he doesn’t. He can’t seem to even imagine that Saeki might not be perfect, so of course he feels pressured in that she might not accept him. …Though that brings up the fact that she would probably still accept him, even if he wasn’t perfect, so maybe deep down on some level that he doesn’t fully acknowledge, Kasuga does feel like Saeki isn’t a perfect girl. Long story short, maybe if they had a heartfelt conversation when the topic arrived, Kasuga might not have felt so cornered.

Of all of the people he could ask for help, he goes to Nakamura. I get it. I mean, telling Saeki himself would have been hard. But at the same time, the conversation in her house would have been the perfect place for Kasuga to finally tell the truth. I imagine it would be even harder to admit to stealing her uniform after firmly denying that he had any secrets and her admitting that she’s not a strong person. Not that she was doing anything wrong either, but Saeki herself kind of made the situation worse for Kasuga by being so nice. Telling him that he was great for confessing probably made him feel guilty enough, let alone her believing him immediately.

And then this happened. If only Kasuga had this kind of courage half an episode ago.

Kasuga finally snapped and the scene was actually really glorious. Sure, Kasuga wants to be a good person, and I don’t doubt him in that, but Nakamura finally managed to push him far enough into a corner. Plus, as that flashback about the town going nowhere, Kasuga obviously felt trapped just living there. In Nakamura, he found an escape. …Maybe a rather destructive escape, but an escape nonetheless. Which seems like kind of a bad idea since Nakamura was partially the one to get him there, but since she knows his entire secret, I can see why he’d feel better sharing the burden with her. Kasuga isn’t that bad of a guy, but he certainly feels like he is one. So this was the point where he just decided to screw it all and run with it. Nakamura is kind of sharing her problems with Kasuga as well. …Er, maybe it’s more forcing her problems instead of sharing, but she definitely looked like she was enjoying herself when Kasuga broke down. In a way, the two of them have formed a kind of symbiotic relationship. …Unfortunately for everyone else though, this means trouble. Where will this new path take Kasuga? Well, it can’t be anywhere good, but you can bet it will be interesting.

Wow, they really upped the animation towards the ending of episode 7. The ending with the slow motion, blue lighting and song was just an amazing combination. The expressions the actors used too were just perfect as well. Really, it was one of the best scenes I’ve seen in an anime in a while.  Now that this scene has come, the slower episodes at the beginning of the series seem more fitting in a way since you saw just how trapped Kasuga was in life, thus making his decision here make more sense. Anyways, it’s been fun watching Kasuga break and I’m looking forward to seeing the aftermath of the classroom incident.

Your weekly reminder that Nakamura is always watching.

Red is determined to hug the hell out of every giant whalesquid he finds!

On a whim, I started Fairy Tail this weekend. 8 eps later, I just had to drop the damn thing, cause that animation was crap. And no, I’m not gonna read the manga… anyways, indeed, we’re here to talk about a difference of opinion between Red and the Gargantia fleet.

Sad but true Jrow you are probably better off without Fairy tail! I wish it was better, but anyway welcome back listeners to more Gargantia here on Metanorn! I am really excited to find out more about the whalesquid that was mentioned last time, but I just want something to happen besides random moments of fanservice…this time Sumairii joins us on our mini talk!

Extra Gargantia fun 

Whalesquid-”LET ME GO YOU KRACKEN FOOL! De geso!” 

Angry Amy is kind of cute <3

I support this so damn much.

Amy x Red cause moe heart attacks.

EXTRA SERVICE

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Preview

Great ending artwork

More hnnnggg attacks next week?

“TENGUS, ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?”

Poor Miyuki – getting attacked by sweaty cosplayers from Mayura’s fan club. It’s like being at an anime convention, except instead of demanding ‘free hugs’ they try to pulverize you. Speaking of cons, I’ll be at Anime North this weekend! Hmm, I’d better get my costume ready to become a sweaty cosplayer myself then.

I was ever so looking forward to seeing Miyuki get knocked down a few notches from a hard battle. I was on edge for the entire fight, but felt disappointed once it had ended. Couldn’t he have gotten at least a little roughed up to really show how weak he is? The kid hardly had any dirt on him let alone cuts, bruises, or any other injuries. I know in the back of my mind that intense battles don’t have a big place in a show like this, but I just really like gritty fights. Watching Attack on Titan before this probably didn’t help. Fortunately, Miyuki and the thriplets clear up their misunderstanding from the battle, so it still serves an important purpose. Now almost everyone knows Miyuki is a weakling who would rather have a job at Starbucks than be involved in this spiritual bodyguard nonsense.

I find it interesting how Miyuki is still attached to the notion of a normal life, yet he still protects Izumiko out of his own free will. I think over the next few episodes he’s going to start deciding which of the two lives he really wants and choose it instead of waffling. He seems to think once this is all over he can go back to a normal life, so he’s not committed to improving his exorcism abilities. Once he realizes that Izumiko is essentially a full time job and he has to pick either her or living a normal life, he can do a better job focusing at that one thing without distractions.

“BITCH, I WILL CUT YOU”

There’s some interesting stuff about what Izumiko thinks about Miyuki because of his seemingly unwilling personality. She wants to rely on him, but that’s hard when he’s weaker than her and pricklier than a hedgehog. He’s not exactly the warm, care-giving type, you know? Still, most girls love having a guy to call their prince in shining armour – or just someone to lean on when they need support. Izumiko knows that her relationship with Miyuki is pretty rocky, and doesn’t want to disappoint herself by placing hope in him. I really like the conversations Izumiko has with Masumi because she speaks very frankly to him about her feelings instead of hiding her true intentions. Masumi also knows a lot about her, which makes things easier. I’m glad the whole episode wasn’t Izumiko getting lost, but I really liked how they made her linger behind in the other plane for a bit to chat with Masumi.

The bad news is…Masumi might not be here forever. Or even next week. I initially found it extremely amusing that Manatsu ditched everyone for a horse and made everyone worry. Even better – when he said Tabi was his number one priority. Ouch! Tabi’s even higher up than his own twin! Is she even number two on that list or is she underneath things like katsudon, sleeping in, and comic books? That’s just who he is, but it came off as unintentionally funny for me. I had the same gigglefit when he ditched everyone for a magical spirit horse. Mayura got ditched for a horse and a dead horse within the same day.

On a more serious note, I did enjoy seeing some new sides to Mayura and Manatsu as they dealt with the death of Tabi. His death was a catalyst for Manatsu finally acting on something he’d been feeling for a while. Both him and Masumi realize they can’t spend their entire lives together as a happy family. Perhaps they’re the only ones to realize it because they’re more connected and their feelings balance each other out. Mayura is like the odd one out. I found it odd when she said she’d never have time for a boyfriend because she has to spend all her time with Masumi and Manatsu. It turns out that sort of relationship is not normal, and Manatsu was looking for a way to tell her.

Feel free to call me wrong, but I don’t think riding off into the sunset on a ghost horse is the proper way to gently explain things to anyone. I really like Manatsu’s character, but he really slipped up by just running off and doing his own thing. It’s hard to really blame him though. When you’re at an emotional breaking point, thinking rationally isn’t very easy, and Manatsu was way past that point when he had to euthanize Tabi. So now Mayura doesn’t get the benefit of a more calm conversation to explain things, but instead has to deal with the abruptness of their separation. Furthermore, Manatsu’s recklessness is not just running away, but “becoming the same thing as Masumi.” Masumi is dead so it looks like Manatsu wants to kill himself…

I did not expect such an extreme, reckless reaction from him. I thought maybe he’d just have Tabi as his new spirit familiar and either leave Masumi with Mayura, or make him disappear by no longer trying to maintain his shiki form. I thought Masumi couldn’t exist without the two of them picturing him and using their energy to keep him going. However, it seems like Manatsu’s plan is to become a shiki so Mayura will have two ghost siblings. She won’t be a thriplet, she’ll just be a daughter. I’m really eager to see how they’re going to stop him in time and how Manatsu plans to become a shiki. Is it as simple as suicide, or is there some kind of ritual? Or am I completely off the mark with the meaning behind his text to Mayura? Next week will be a crazy episode, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone (probably Masumi) disappears forever.

It’s a shame these two are fighting against each other so much when they obviously care so much. Manatsu says he cares about Mayura the most, yet he can’t stand the way she feels the same. The fact she leaves the trip instead of staying with Masumi makes him really mad. I thought the whole issue was that they were too attached to a dead sibling and needed to stop it. Maybe the issue runs a little deeper than that, and the two of them rely on each other so much that Manatsu felt it couldn’t last forever. It’s easier to end something yourself instead of waiting sometimes. I think that lesson about actively putting an end to something rather than just letting fate run its course will be important not just for the thriplets, but for Izumiko and Miyuki. Izumiko has a goddess inside her that will one day take her over. That’s fate. Will she try to defy fate and be her own woman? Will she actively put an end to the goddess inside her? I like hearing from the thriplets, but I’m sure all this will have a big impact on Miyuki and Izumiko somehow. I just don’t know how quite yet.

Preview: Mayura desperately chases after Manatsu. Izumiko and Miyuki probably try to help somehow using their spiritual abilities. Miyuki has wings, because why not?

 He turns into a magical bishounen more and more every week

Another week of photographers and samurai and the perverts who love them.

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride – 07

Let’s get ready to rumble!

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Photo Kano – 07

Recursive picture taking

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The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat – 06

This happens in most harem anime, but they’re usually not separated by hundreds of kilometers moments before!

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D’awww

…So the part with Ruka and Romio seems to have resolved itself relatively peacefully. Which is kind of sad since they’re my favourite Author and Instead couple thus far and I’d really like to see more of them. Oh well, on to more of Iwai and Kiri.

This episode was kind of a break from all of the action (which is probably for the best, since some really important things are coming up). We’ve already had the plot make Yamane look less like a psycho, so now it’s Houko’s turn. Well, her first impression wasn’t outstanding, but this episode pretty much told us that Houko is just your average teenage girl who has to deal with a lot of crap. With looking at her character in greather depth though, I think it’s safe to say that Houko doesn’t hate Yamane, it’s just awkward to be around her. I imagine Houko wouldn’t have felt guilty about leaving Yamane if she completely hated her. The two of them just live very… dramatic lives between Yamane occasionally freaking out and Houko needing to “die” all the time. The look into their relationship seems a bit weird coming now instead of back when Yamane’s character was more relevant.  But I guess at the same time, it does make sense coming out now since Yamane seems more like a reasonable human being.

I can’t think that Houko really hates Iwai either. She might have acted that way to distance herself since she had it in her head that Iwai was going to have to die some day for Yamane, but Houko even said this episode that she couldn’t stop caring about Iwai. So yeah, she’s not so much of a cold hearted bitch as much as she just tries to hide her feelings all the time. Will she attempt to kill Iwai in the future again? I think the chances of that lessened quite a bit this episode, but I imagine if Houko was driven far enough into a corner, she might. It would be hard on her though. Yay friendship. Iwai’s feelings about how she liked Houko and Yamane because they were the only people she had contact with felt like a really stereotypical heroine reaction to that scenario, but then again, pretty much all of Iwai’s reactions to things are stereotypical heroine actions. Plus the ending scene with the tears did manage to be touching.

Aaaand then we move on from Houko to Kiri. The fact that he was a complete creep to Kashiko was both a bit surprising and then, unsurprising. I would have thought that he had his hair cutting urges were more under control from the way he acted in the first episode. But then at the same time, he’s already proven his hair obsession to be a little over the top. I feel like Kashiko was officially friendzoned since Kiri specifically made a comment about never trying to creepily cut her hair again (and we all know cutting hair=life for Kiri) this episode, but at the same time, I don’t know if she’ll let it go that easily. I mean, why bring up their first meeting again if the plot isn’t going to go anywhere with it? Since Kashiko feels like Kiri is drifting away from her, then I can see her doing or agreeing to something drastic in order to join his little world or whatever.

Kaede continues to be a really odd character (especially for this show), in that he didn’t seem that involved with the party Gossip is throwing. Plus he was saying something about Kiri becoming like him, which leads me to believe that he has a lot more to do with Iwai’s family then just being a lolicon. Maybe he’s looking after Iwai because he had something to do with the other Hair Queens. …Or maybe something else happened between him an an Author, but still. It’s an interesting direction for his character and I’m glad they’re doing more with it rather than leaving him as the creepy guy who likes dramatic murder.

…I’m not sure if having Kiri and Iwai go visit the organization that’s trying to have Iwai killed is a good idea, but whatever. I guess it’s time to learn a bit more about Gossip. There are quite a few important things coming up (plus actual death!), so this was a nice break in between all of that. A nice thing about this series is that all of the characters (minus nameless sledgehammer guy) all have fairly interesting back stories and relationships between them. Hell, Iwai is starting to look a little bland now since as far as we know, she sat in a house her whole life until Kiri showed up (but hey, on the other hand, it makes her social naivety a bit more believable) . Kiri at least, is a bit more interesting with this new thing with Kashiko. I don’t know how important that particular flashback is since the translations stop shortly ever the next event, but I’m kind of wondering how many girls (or maybe guys) Kiri has accidentally creeped on because of their hair. Maybe Crime Edge has had more control over Kiri than the plot has let on.

Hey look, it’s everyone’s favourite dental abomination~

Yoshino is ready for a vacation.

 Time for another double post/video review for Date A Live and yes I have not forgotten about this series because it is entertaining to watch, I just found episode six to be quite dull  for the most part, but episode seven was really great thanks to a new character joining the cast! I hope you enjoy my weekly video review as well~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxRAzYkbyG8

Extra fun with Date A Live

Now I want some ramen for dinner.

That is some good advice.

Not sure if want…

Totally a great idea!

Preview

See you next time~

Beware of evil yandere girls!

Shizuka-sensei is scary…

This week’s SNAFU takes us on a trip to the mountains, where the Volunteers club deals with troubled kids and Hayato’s posse. The show has recently taken a focus on more serious social matters, and I’m liking this direction.

Bullying and Exclusion

First up we have the troubled elementary school girl, Tsurumi Rumi. At first glance, she just appears to be a loner shunned by her classmates, but the ugly truth is soon revealed. The situation results from an innocent yet malicious practice amongst the elementary schoolers of excluding a targeted classmate just for fun. I say “innocent yet malicious” because I want to believe that the elementary schoolers are too young to fully understand what exactly it is that they are doing.¹ But I’m sure subconsciously they have an inkling that what they’re doing is wrong and just choose to ignore it, just as Rumi did before she became the next victim. Actually, the whole situation is reminiscent of a one shot manga I had read recently, Koe no Katachi. The fall from bully to bullied is present just the same, but in Koe no Katachi the initial bullying was instigated because of a disability as opposed to on a whim. Which makes SNAFU’s case all the more sour. Now that’s not to say that bullying because of disabilities is any more acceptable. But just the thought that the elementary schoolers here move from one victim to another like a pack of wolves strikes me as far worse than the kids in Koe no Katachi settling upon a victim because of a certain characteristic. At least the latter seems to have marginally more “logic” to it, in spite of the fact that any bullying for any reason is just as unacceptable.

But I’m not here to talk about Koe no Katachi, so let’s get back to SNAFU. Bullying is a tough topic to address as it is more pervasive than we would like to think, and I have to give props to SNAFU for tackling it. Understandably, this is just an extension of the usual “loner” spiel we’ve been getting about Hachiman and the Volunteers club. But it is a logical next step in the theme of social troubles and group psychology. Isolation, misunderstanding, conflict; it’s all there. And watching Hayato repeatedly try and fail to correct the problem only reminds us of the bitter truth that oftentimes bullying goes unresolved because outsiders tasked with breaking it up don’t understand what they should do. Directly confronting the bullies might have the reverse effect of aggravating their treatment of the victim when they blame him/her for getting them in trouble. From my own experiences and as Rumi herself mentions, it usually takes the bullies themselves deciding to move for the bullying to end. Otherwise, the only way to end it prematurely is to simply remove the source of the problem by moving away. And that’s not so much a real solution as it is giving up. As an analogy, consider how declaring bankruptcy is not simply a get out of jail free card; there will be a black mark on your credit history.

So just what can Hachiman and co. do fix the problem? The bullies are unlikely to listen, and Rumi herself is not welcoming any help out of a sense of guilt. Honestly, I don’t know. It’s a good thing I’m an engineer and not a counselor. We know this much: trying to reintegrate Rumi by forcefully pushing her in with the group isn’t going to work. Yui suggests that maybe they all really want to get along, but they’re being forced to play out the roles they’ve placed upon themselves of the bullies and the bullied. This being the case, I hazard that it might just be possible to get them back together with a bit of group activities and some strategic nudging, but the preview for next episode alluded to this much. Maybe some of you more discerning readers have a better idea of what needs to be done, but I’m afraid I myself fall into Hayato’s position. I’d want to help the girl out, but I just wouldn’t know what to do. If this were a shounen, the answer would obviously be to beat up all the bad girls, but SNAFU isn’t that kind of show.

Some Usual Programming

Rumi’s predicament aside, we have yet more development on the part of Yukino. Near the end of the episode, Hachiman comes across a pensive Yukino gazing at the stars. In spite of his attempt to make a strategic retreat, he is spotted and the two engage in a rather interesting conversation. Yukino mentions that Rumi might be similar to Yui in that the latter probably went through a similar experience. We know that Yui has had trouble fitting in, but at least she isn’t outright ignored like Rumi is. But that’s just an ancillary observation. The exact form of treatment the two received is irrelevant; what matters is they aren’t being accepted. And as Yui has provided the most useful insight on Rumi’s situation so far, I’m guessing she will play a pivotal role in fixing things next episode, despite her bird-brained nature. Moving on, Yukino proceeds to casually inform us that she and Hayato are childhood friends and their families are longtime friends and business partners. The immediate and cliche complication of this is that SNAFU might pull some arranged marriage drama somewhere down the line. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Finally, there’s very brief mention of Haruno. It was clear from last time that Yukino doesn’t exactly like her sister, and here the reason is made apparent: she feels like she lives in Haruno’s shadow. In her own words, she’s just a substitute for her larger than life older sister.

Extras

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In spite of the strong language and word fencing between Hachiman and Yukino, I really get the impression that the two bonded a lot during their brief conversation.² And to be fair, they also did spend the majority of the episode observing Hayato’s failures and making snarky remarks about the situation. While Yukino may not have directly gained any “romantic points”, I’m sure the exchange helped close the distance between the two outwardly hostile teens. And if I may be allowed to indulge in a bit of shipping, it’s almost as if Yukino’s outspoken and unapologetic nature complements Hachiman’s nonconfrontational and evasive personality. The two would certainly make for an entertaining couple.

¹i.e. bullying.
²The whole thing lasted just over 2 minutes, with plenty of silence in between.

All they ever do is have parties!

This season of OreImo’s been up and down, but the last few episodes have definitely been on an uptrend for me, and last episode ended off with a big move, with Kuroneko asking Kyousuke to go out with her! So what will happen this week? Let’s find out!

The thought of being rejected brings her to tears. Kyousuke, you awful boy!

Yes, Kuroneko finally outright asks Kyousuke to go out with her, but like a doof he just kinda stammered without knowing how to answer. She’s definitely uncomfortable as well, slipping into the cover of her talking about ‘curses’ and countercurses. And her being on the verge of tears when he dithers and doesn’t answer her shows to me that this isn’t any sort of game for her, even if she does end up bargaining with him about lunches and cosplaying. But eventually, it gets through Kyousuke’s head that this isn’t a joke, and while I thought that maybe she went a little far with describing how much she loves him, we are talking about teenagers here.

Everyone gets involved

The idea of Kuroneko and Kyousuke being together is apparently not a new one, and who knows how much Kuroneko has let on to Kirino, since Kirino’s uses her “one thing that Kyousuke will do for her” to make sure he considers a cherished girl’s confession seriously, because she really does love him. Of course, the way this show is, it’s possible that that girl she’s talking about is Kirino herself. But given the way she reacted to him just before, thinking his feelings for her are gross, it’s still more likely she’s talking about Kuroneko. Manami gets in on the action as well, letting him know that there are already rumors about them at school. But given the amount of feelings for Kyousuke that are going around from all these girls, I think it’s really nice that their advice to him is still basically to be himself and sincere.

What, you weren’t already dating?

I really liked the depiction of both of them after they made it official. Those excited feelings that make you wonder what you should do, but can’t really contain them. The trepidation about how to interact with the person. You think you should do things differently, but how differently? And what if they don’t like it? What are they expecting? You don’t want to screw it up by acting too pushy, but you don’t want to seem disinterested, and you want to see the person. This was just a really authentic feel.

What do you mean you weren’t?

But for everyone else, it’s a surprise that they aren’t already dating (well, except for Kouki, who thought that Kyousuke was asking him when it’s ok to grope his sister’s chest). I think this points to one of those situations where the people involved are just the last ones to figure it out. And while Kyousuke thought he was thinking about it the most, he learns quickly that Ruri has been way ahead of him, filling out a notebook with all the things she wants to do with him. No… all the things that she will do with him to realize her desire. I think every guy would love for his girlfriend to come up with a list of things they want to do. It’s certainly a lot easier than planning dates, and sounds less pathetic than asking “Soooo, what do you want to do?” each time.

Kuroneko moves fast, from beach date to wedding night.

This was another episode I really liked. Of course, it’s easy to like an episode that’s so focused on Kuroneko, but the way it dealt with her emotions, and the realistic reactions of both of them to a first love situation was a lot of fun to watch. There was a little bit of siscon confusion going on, about normal for the show, but I still think the fact that he is so excited and interested in going out with Kuroneko is just more evidence that he’s not interested in Kirino like that, even if he says he would cry if she found a real boyfriend. So will next week focus more on their dates, or even beyond that? How far do you think they’ll go?

Bonus Kuroneko time!

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Saten-”EHHHHH! What do you mean I don’t get my own arc?!”

Time for more Railgun S here on Metanorn! When we left off last week Misaka finally met her clone codenamed MISAKA 9982 and the two of them seemed to hit it off just like real siblings for a while until meeting up with Accelerator! Now we have to find out how Misaka deals with this overpowered villain this week.

Misaka’s rage

You made Misaka angry? You are doomed!

Accelerator-”Hmmm you were saying something about my doom? You can’t win!”

After witnessing the death of MISAKA 9982 it was easy to see how angry that scene left Misaka! I mean can you imagine how you would feel after you saw yourself get killed before your own eyes? You also have to feel bad for Misaka because she can’t even get revenge thanks to Accelerator’s ability that practically makes it impossible for her to fight him in a one on one battle. Speaking of his powers for a moment I forgot how quickly Accelerator adapts to fighting you, it just takes him seeing your attack once or twice before he figures out how it works, but against someone like Touma who has to get in your face it creates issues for Accelerator later on. I have heard the argument that someone like Kuroko (this is a great post on Team Sea Slugs) with her ability to teleport items into your body would kick ass! Just imagine if she reached into your skull and teleported your brain out or replaced it with a grenade? I guess thinking about it sounds so damn CREEPY huh? Anyway back to the topic at hand, I thought it was great that the other clones came out of nowhere to save Misaka because if they did not show up I think Accelerator would have easily two shot the original without breaking a sweat.

Extra fun with Railgun S

I love how the goggles glow!

Accelerator’s whispers cause nightmares.

Technically she was “with” a guy, but he wasn’t very nice.

This was so damn creepy!

End thoughts

Well damn this episode gave us a short peek into Misaka’s mind and all the physiological stress related to seeing the death of MISAKA 9982 and the frustration of not being able to take Accelerator on? Course most series would go the route of training to become stronger, but sadly that is tough for Misaka who is already a powerful level five and yeah I suppose she could learn new ways to use her abilities? While that does sound cool I would rather see the story progress instead. Besides the stuff with Misaka and Accelerator it was nice to see the familiar faces of Kuroko, Uiharu, Erii and of course Saten who quickly changed the subject before Misaka’s had a breakdown, but at the same time I think most of us would love to see her reveal the pain she has been going through this entire time? However I don’t think Misaka would want to involve her friends in something dangerous especially if Accelerator gets involved? Yeah that would suck!

Preview

Saten is training the next generation of money sniffers.

Time for something completely different?

It’s like power thirst, but better!

This week in Hataraku Maou-sama!: energy drinks! Yes that’s right. Even heroes need a shot or two of liquid energy to keep them going throughout the day. The moral of the story? Drink energy drinks and you can have super powers too! Chuunibyous rejoice!

Meet the Inquisitor

But first, let’s talk about the mysterious inquisitor. This week, she is introduced as Suzuno Kamazuki. This is a marked departure from the other names of the Ente Isla folk so far. Either she wasn’t creative enough to invent a Japanese-sounding version of her real name or she’s actually taking her job very seriously and using an alias to hide her identity. Or perhaps she doesn’t even have her own name and just goes by a multitude of aliases as a part of her job? Either way, her entrance into the fray is rather interesting. We see that she’s rather capable,¹ despite being a little clumsy. I’m not sure if her little fall last time was merely a goof up or a calculated move to bring her closer to Maou, but she certainly lets her guard down around Yusa. From her brief conversation with the hero, it’s clear that she believes Yusa has seen through her disguise and is aware that she is an agent of the church. She also believes that Yusa is still intent on taking Maou’s life, a misunderstanding that will no doubt have major ramifications down the line. There’s no explicit language used in this exchange, but we’re lead to believe that she’s after Maou’s life herself. And as for why she hasn’t already taken action against the demons,² I can only guess it’s because she’s spent her time cautiously appraising the situation.

So now we have an amusing recipe for disaster. Suzuno believes that Yusa knows what she’s here for and is intent on superceding her by ending Maou’s life herself. On the other hand, Yusa believes that Suzuno is just another girl head over heels for Maou who needs to be warned of his malicious nature. One day these two girls will sit down for a chat and realize that they’ve had a different interpretation of “after him” all along, and then things will go sour. Or more likely Suzuno will keep waiting for Yusa to make her move, and when nothing happens for long enough, realize that Yusa doesn’t intend to kill Maou at all. This is ironic, of course, considering Yusa’s constant threats towards the demon lord. The best part of the whole exchange between Yusa and Suzuno, however, has to be the former sizing up the latter with very obvious concerns on her mind. “Just like me, huh?” Oh Yusa. You so silly. Ok, that was pretty bad. I’m ashamed I even tried to make that funny, but let’s move on.

Holy Vitamin Beta

Getting back to energy drinks, this week’s Maou-sama! brings us phony energy drinks courtesy of Emerada. Her super chill attitude while describing the effects and recommended dosage of the Holy Vitamin Beta was very oddly amusing. Almost makes her sound like a stoner, if you will excuse my language. I don’t remember her being so nonchalant in her speech before, but she’s only had very few spoken lines before now. In any case, the concept of taking a shot of sacred power to restore one’s powers sounds like a game-changer for me. All this time, the stranded Ente Isla folk have been looking for a way to recharge their powers. Holy Vitamin Beta provides just that. But of course, I’m sure there are some limitations beyond the maximum recommended daily dosage. The most obvious one is that Holy Vitamin Beta only provides sacred power. Call me crazy, but that doesn’t sound like something Maou can use, what with him being a demon. Surely it takes someone from the holy faction to be able to utilize sacred energy. And on that note, we should discuss the new, mysterious assailant.

Ah, who am I kidding. It’s so very obviously Lucifer again. I mean, the last time we had a mystery man firing magic bullets at our heroes, he was responsible. And I know only one character with purple eyes. You aren’t fooling anyone with your disguise, Lucifer. What we should be wondering, however, is how he got so much power back. And it is this question that points all the more to Lucifer, if you ask me. Being a fallen angel, he has had past association with the holy faction, so I would say he is probably in a position to use Holy Vitamin Beta as a sort of technicality. And if you consider how Yusa left her bag with the energy drinks on the table beside him, he could have very easily swiped a bottle for himself, despite claiming not to have touched her stuff. Which is how he’s now able to fire lasers from his eyes ala Evangelion. I guess all angels have to have an eye beam or two whether they’re fallen or not, eh?

Extras

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In terms of comedy, we have Yusa finally realizing that she’s essentially a stalker. At least now she’s conscious of how questionable and obsessive her own behavior is. We also have Chi-chan overreacting hilariously to Suzuno’s “loving” double-decker lunchbox with a heart drawn on the rice. This, from a girl who lives next to Maou to boot. But don’t worry, Chi-chan. You’re still the one with the best shot at winning over Maou’s heart. Yusa’s too busy annoying him and being a bother in general, and Suzuno probably seriously wants his head for the inquisition. So rest easy. You’ve got this one in the bag.

¹The scene with the welcome gift implies she has tremendous strength. But seeing as Maou was in his “weak”, human form, it may not mean much.
²A point which Yusa herself ponders before reaching the wrong conclusion.

Are you ready for Valvrave the musical part two!?

Welcome back readers! Yes Sumairii is back to join for your weekly review of Valvrave on Metanorn! So last week finally revealed that there are indeed more giant robots hidden under the school which left me thinking how they would choose the new pilots, but anyway enough chat let us start the review.

After a brief hiatus, I’m back with Fosh for another week of Valvrave! The show hinted last time that this episode would be all about Saki, but I didn’t think it was really going to be all about Saki. We get even more awesome space vampire mecha action mixed in with typical Valvrave PLOT developments as a result though, so it’s all good.

Saki green with envy

Saki-”I will become the best mecha piloting idol of all time!”

When we first met Saki I think most of us had her set as the second love interest for Haruto especially after she kissed him in the previous episode; however things have changed for Saki this week when she quickly decided to sell her soul to the green Valvrave because she was jealous of Haruto’s fame and popularity after he saved everyone with the red Valvrave! So what do you think of Saki’s choice for becoming a Valvrave pilot? Was it the right thing to do? Personally I have to say HELL NO! Because she just wants to use her new pilot status to gain more fame? I mean I could see Saki realizing that becoming famous through the use of a Valvrave is not the right way to go and maybe she will turn into a hero just like her song? Sadly I am somewhat disappointed that Saki gained space vampire powers just like Haruto. I wanted each machine to have a different curse, but whatever when you really think about it the “powers” granted from the Valvrave machines they really are lame. I did laugh that Saki basically jumped into Haruto’s body just to stir up some random school drama and she had full access his massive space twitter account? After those scenes I don’t think the shipping of Haruto and Saki works anymore because I don’t think she even likes him in any romantic way thanks to lines like “who cares about Haruto anyway?”

Space Vampire Idol Mecha Pilots

Saki has the lust for main character blood this week~

Extra Valvrave fun

Saki discovers that being a guy is a lot of fun!

Probably because L-elf lives in the air vents of the school?

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER

All hail the mighty space twitter!

End thoughts

Interesting episode this week for Saki fans or was it? I kind of hated how she did a complete 360 in terms of personality because she went from possible love interest for Haruto all the way to “I just want to become famous” and she hates humans? WHAT? Oh wait I almost forgot she also has a tragic past with her parents which pushed her to become an Idol? That story will probably be explored later on to build up some drama! Speaking of drama what is going on with Shoko lately? What is her role? I guess she is the motivator character? I hope SOMETHING happens with her soon. Besides all the stuff going on with Saki, I loved the mecha battle with the green Valvrave because the buzz saw like weapons were AMAZING and if I had my own giant robot I would totally run Twitter through mine just like Saki. I also like how each Valvrave has a different back designs like Saki’s comes with extra legs while Haruto’s comes with wings? I can’t wait to see the other machines! So who else should get a Valvrave? I think they could do a PreCure thing aka matching people based on hair color like orange for Raizou, Purple for Shoko (I know she doesn’t have purple hair) and possibly blue for either L-elf or Yuusuke? Anyway let me know who you think should get which color Valvrave.

I should probably elaborate upon Saki’s character development here as the whole episode was about her after all. But honestly, I don’t know what to make of her now. Previously, she seemed like a mysterious but reliable partner for Haruto. Now, she seems much less striking than she used to be. Sure, she’s got her horrible past and her desire to overcome it by becoming famous. And she also has the upper hand on Shouko for Haruto’s attention after that highly publicized stunt she pulled. But I’m not sure if Valvrave “liberating” her has done her good. Her more reserved facade seemed to be more capable of taking control of situations than her new, gung ho nature. Leave the gung ho to Shouko and her stripping please.

Preview

You mad bro.jpeg

L-elf versus A-drei

The fanfics are basically writing themselves at this point.

As I figured, they’re leaving Tokiya for last and it’s Natsuki/Satsuki’s turn for an episode. Surprisingly though, there weren’t as many wacky antics as I was expecting.

Like I said, this episode was way more serious than I expected. I mean, it’s centred around Natsuki, the guy who is obsessed with some chicken thing and who’s absolute favourite past time is ignoring Syo’s personal space. I was expecting a lot of bromance to be honest. However, they brought in a lot of stuff from the games and so much so that it feels like they’ve taken more out of the games for this episode than any other one. For one thing, they fully explained the backstory about Satsuki and how Natsuki’s teacher pretty much ripped off a small child and made his life miserable. Also, they kind of added his insecurities about how everyone (most Syo) seems to be progressing without him (which I vaguely remember being a large part of Debut). The only major plot point they didn’t seem to have is Natsuki accepting Satsuki, but I imagine that’s just in case if there’s UtaPri 3000% or more in the future. Taking away the Natsuki/Satsuki thing is basically taking away him being interesting as a character.

“Er, Shinomiya-san, your dazzling aura is making it really difficult to take pictures”

So overall though, this kind of seriousness worked. Natsuki seem to always be portrayed as a comic relief character, so this showed a different side to him. When he’s not hugging cute things or attracting the local wildlife, he does have his own insecurities about becoming stronger. Which makes sense if you think about how tough Satsuki acts whenever he appears. Also, this episode also proved that Natsuki can be as eye catching as the other guys. I mean, just look at Cecil’s reaction. …Though that seems to be Cecil’s facial reaction to all of the guys when they preform. I’m not entirely sure why Natsuki felt the need to sing during the lipstick commercial (…and it took me a while to realize that it wasn’t trying to sell lipstick for men OTL), but whatever works I guess.

Haruka also felt a bit more involved than usual in this. …Though maybe that’s because she was risking her fingers (which are important for her to play piano/compose) where normally she either trips herself into danger or provides moral support. She went out on a limb for Natsuki and I guess that was what won Satsuki over. …To be honest, it didn’t feel that convincing to me, but I’ll take it since it was Haruka being competent for once. I think she probably could have counted on Satsuki to do the job on his own though since he was doing it to protect Natsuki. Unless the director tried to make a move on him, I doubt Satsuki would have thrown around the set in a blind rage or anything like that. Though I guess giving himself a different image for once was good for Natsuki to grow on his own. Plus Satsuki kind of sort of trusts Haruka now, so that’s progress.

…I always feel like I say the same 2 things about Cecil, but then I realized that he does the exact same thing in pretty much every episode. He walks in, talks to whoever’s episode it is, learns something and then we see a little bit of growth. At this point, this is pretty much the only thing we have to remind us that this show actually has a plot I guess. Plus with him always around, we also get to see Camus. Though he has his own song now, so I imagine we’ll see an accumulation of this growth at some point in the form of a music number. Will they give us 2 insert songs? That’s some favouritism if they do since Otoya’s two songs don’t really count since one of them was taken from the games. Though Cecil obviously has favouritism already since he’s actually doing things every episode where all of the other guys don’t do much unless it’s their episode.

What else can I say? This felt a bit light with the reasoning behind things (“you refused to let me close a door! I guess I’ll trust you” and sunglasses solve everything), but it was quite a good character development episode. For Natsuki at least, because we all know that Cecil isn’t going to do much until it’s absolutely necessary, Haruka is just there to fix plot problems, and nobody else does much except for hanging around outside their episode. Seeing what will come after Tokiya’s episode should be interesting though. In 1000%, Tokiya’s problems took up like, 3 episodes, but I don’t think he’s having the same kind of issues now, so I wonder how they’ll spend all of that extra time.

I swear, 90% of the special effects budget goes towards sparkles.

Hooray! Now they have meat to feed everyone for the next month!

I’ve been a bit busy getting shots and blood tests so I can volunteer at the hospital. I just got my last set on pin pricks yesterday so I’m chock full of antibodies for almost any disease that tries to get inside my body. I’M INVINCIBLE. More importantly for you (I suppose) is that I finally have time to blog today because I’m done being a human pin cushion. Onto the Titans!

Eren is still gone, leaving behind Armin and Mikasa to pick up the slack. We still have yet to see who will be the one to fill in for him. Although there’s still the remote possibility Eren somehow busted out of that Titan while Armin blacked out, I’m going to just assume he’s dead for now. If he’s dead, then one of the survivors needs to step up and take control. Our two choices seem to be more doomed without Eren’s leadership than I initially thought.

“I’ve seen some shit.”

Take Armin, for starters. He’s been doing a fair job of trying to steel his nerves and keep up with the other recruits. So far, his sharp intellect has done him nothing but bad, as it has made him painfully aware of his own weaknesses. The more he reflects on himself, the more he sinks into despair. Now he’s completely fixated on that weakness, because he sees it as the cause of Eren’s death. If Eren didn’t feel the need to constantly protect Armin, he wouldn’t have saved him. If he was strong enough, he could have escaped on his own. Armin doesn’t realize that Eren is the kind of guy who would fling himself into danger – and even death – even for someone he’s never met before. We see this later with Mikasa’s flashback.

Armin hasn’t learned to be strong like Eren yet. With his only role model gone, it’s hard to say if he can muster up the strength to take his place. He’s a complete mess for the entire episode, and seeing more of his comrades dying around him doesn’t really help make anything better. The big difference between Armin and his two friends is that the latter were scarred a lot earlier in their lives. Mikasa and Eren were hardened quickly by coming face to face with death as children. That’s why they wear completely different expressions on their faces compared to Armin, and that’s why they don’t flinch at the Titans. I wouldn’t say they don’t fear death, but they are at the point where risking their lives for something they want seems natural. They almost died once before, so this is almost “borrowed time” for them.

She must not have passed the “stop performing CPR if they have no lower body” stage of CPR training.

Then we have Mikasa – who has been promising in every single category (except personality). She’s calm, strong, and doesn’t balk from a fight. She’s like a more level-headed version of Eren who prioritizes survival over self-sacrifice. The only problem is that this week we learn that Eren is probably the only thing keeping her traumatic past from driving her bonkers. I’m worried that when she learns Eren is dead, she will collapse. Although she constantly looked after Eren when he stuck his nose into trouble as a kid, she needed him just as much as he needed her. Her needs were just more on the emotional side.

She’s a strong character so I can see her pushing through the pain to keep killing Titans, but I feel like it will change who she is permanently. Eren represents a big turning point in her life, and taking away her last attachment to anything remotely resembling a family is just cruel. I’m sure everyone (aside from the manga readers) are dying to see how she’ll react to the bad news. What do you guys expect from her? An eerie calmness? A breakdown? With someone as strong yet deeply tortured as Mikasa, it’s hard to tell. I think she’ll have to man up at some point though since Armin isn’t the best main character for now.

As for the episode itself, they hit it out of the park once again. I loved this episode even more than the last one. Everything just came together perfectly in a mix of flashbacks and Armin’s current thoughts as he fumbles through the city. I’ve been vaguely aware that the music has been suiting for this series, but it was only this week that I really found that it stood out (in the best of ways). In particular, the music that played as Mikasa worked up the courage to stab her abductor was perfect. The violins started to swell at the perfect moment – just as she was about to drive the knife into his back.

That whole flashback of Eren and Mikasa meeting for the first time was just wonderful. It explains a hell of a lot about the two without too much time spent on tedious explanations. Eren simply witnesses a bloodbath for the first time in his life…and runs off to save someone he’s never met. That pretty much sums up his entire character. Then you have Mikasa, who is taught by Eren how to survive these horrible things than are happening her. She watches her parents die, gets kidnapped, then has to kill a full-grown man all within a few hours of the same day. Although surviving all this is ultimately up to how strong her will is, having a nice boy coming to save you really helps with the recovery process. Although she loses her old family, she gains a new one. That doesn’t make her situation any less horrible, but at least it helps her recover from it faster.

Aside from what we learn about Eren and Mikasa, there’s also a big “AND THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS…” message. For me, that message was that the world is shit. Absolute shit. If it’s not Titans messing things up, it’s people. 300 years from now the Titans could all be dead, but you’d still have to lock your doors and be afraid of going out at night because there’s always something that’s there to prey on you. The cycle of the strong preying upon the weak is everywhere. Mikasa learns that as a child…Armin learns it as a teenager when he sees Eren die. It’s better to learn this lesson early if you’re forced to learn it, because it has allowed Eren and Mikasa to cope with these things a lot better than the uninitiated recruits.

I had forgotten that people could die due to something other than getting trampled or swallowed by a Titan. This was a nice, harsh reminder that humanity is still pretty deadly as well. If they’re not actively trying to slit your throat or sell you to people for being a rare Japanese girl then they’re just being wretched human beings and blocking up the only exit. It’s amazing how people are either one of two things during a crisis: 1) a total asshole 2) a saint. If we see any more of those rich fat cats in the city wall, I’m sure we’ll see more of #1 as well. As the chaos unfolds, each episode just gets better and better. I can’t even fathom how next week will top this.

Preview: Mikasa hears some things she doesn’t really wanna hear. Sasha gets upset because she thinks Armin is about to say they’re out of potatoes.

We are officially old but how much wiser? We shall see!

I feel like I typed a similar post few days ago but here we are with another year gone past. This time we are on a very important milestone for any aniblog out there: the Big Five Year Anniversary. What does that bode for us? Only good things I hope! A lot of things have happened while we have been churning out posts but before all, I have to applaud the Metanorn Team, who have incessantly kept you, dear readers and lurkers, all entertained with posts. So, three cheers to Overcooled, Foshizzel, Hoshi, Jrow, Ness, anaaga, Karakuri, lvlln, Miyu, Highway, Sumairii, Will and our alumni, who setup a high bar for every team member who joined our ranks. We gather here today to look back the year past and celebrate with our much loved community. Let’s hear it from the team!

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From Metan♥rn Team, with L♥ve

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They say most blogs tend to fizzle out around the two year mark, but Metanorn has gotten over that hill and continues to go strong. The site has been chugging along for 5 years now. I hopped on board a few years after it was created because above all, Metanorn looked like a fun place. It was welcoming. On some blogs you feel terrified on even stating your opinion because you know someone will find a way to put you down. Even if that’s just paranoia, giving off that kind of atmosphere is not a good thing. I think a big reason why Metanorn has thrived for 5 years is that everyone has worked hard to make this blog a big community. These are not one-sided blog posts where the almighty bloggers lay down the law and you just absorb it. The writers posts so we can have discussions, compare viewpoints, and just enjoy each others company. After all, Metanorn would not be where it is today without a loyal following. Thank you to the readers (even you lurkers!), the writers, the mysterious creators of Metanorn I’ve never met, and our current leader Kyokai who has taught us everything we need to know about blogging. I’m highly biased but I have to say…Metanorn is pretty damn awesome.

Woooooooooooo! Has it really been 5 whole years at Metanorn? I swear it feels just like yesterday that I started writing about anime and chatting it up on podcasts with Jrow and everyone else, but most of all we wouldn’t have gone as far without the support of all the amazing commenters and followers, because your comments continue to motivate us to keep working hard every day! So, thanks again!

Uwah, five years of Metanorn has truly happened~ To think I’ve been able to be apart of Metanorn for about two of those years make me feel proud, but at the same time frustrated at myself for not contributing much lately, both as a writer and commenter. As for everyone on the team, who are able to juggle college life, work, etc. almost effortlessly along with aniblogging, I truly commend you. You are all amazing people who do even more amazing work, and I’m glad to have met you all and be a part of this team with you. Thank you for putting your skills, efforts, and hard work into Metanorn~ And of course, thank you to all the readers, lurkers, and commenters who have come across Metanorn and helped make it the fun, interesting place that it is today. Congratulations Metanorn on five years of aniblogging awesomeness! May we, both writers and commenters, all be here happily doing what we do best for another five years~

Well damn Metanorn, 5 years of existence… quite a few people have walked in and out the doors of the Metanorn staff, but like a good sports team, management has been able to keep the core together and can bring in new folks that only add to the blog’s fun for both readers and commenters alike. To every site visitor that’s actually giving up precious useful time to read my thoughts, it means a lot to have you as a reader, commenter and/or listener. We’re building it, and we’re glad that you came.

Happy 5th birthday Metanorn~! I… honestly can’t even remember what I was doing 5 years ago, but 5 years for this blog is quite an achievement. Writing here has been a really great experience so far, and I’m really grateful to absolutely everyone here. Commenters, writers and lurkers, thanks for making this site such an awesome place in the past and now~. Here’s for year 5, and I hope the upcoming year is just as fun and exciting!

Metanorn, 誕生日おめでとーう! ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆ 5 years! When I think about it, it’s really been a long time since I first chanced upon this lovely place a few years ago. I’m glad I did though, because I’ve had an amazing time here with an awesome team and equally awesome commenters and readers. I’ve had a chance to write about something I (we) love for people I love *being extra cheesy* and I’m really thankful for all you commenters, readers and even lurkers out there who continue to give us motivation to write! And of course, thank you team, for making the one and a half years I’ve been writing so enjoyable <3 One thing I can promise you guys is that Metanorn will always stay the same Metanorn that you’ve grown to love, no matter how much bigger (and better) we may grow in the future, so thanks for sticking around, and I’m looking forward for the many years to come! :3

Congratulations to Metanorn on reaching its 5-year anniversary! It’s one of those times that feels both long and short, but that’s a lot of accomplishment. I’m proud to have contributed to the site for the past year, first as a commenter and now as a writer (and still commenter). Thanks to all the writers who have contributed through these past five years to get to here and to all the readers and commenters who make this a great community to be a part of. I hope to be a part of it for quite a long time!

Join in the PAAAAAAAAAARTY~