May21
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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You shall not pass
New version of CPR
Something rare this season of Samurai Brides: two good episodes in a row! I don’t think it can be attributed to the two episodes basically following the same plot, since that would usually be a downside (and it kind of was for this one), but as the previous episode, this was a lot more in the vein of the first season. After the reveal that Yagyuu Juubei has been revived, but that she can’t control her qi enough to relax and transform back, everyone goes into training to try to figure out how to both be a better Master Samurai and to help Juubei get back to normal, else she’ll die.
But this time, instead of Maeda posing as Kanetsugu and screwing everyone up, we get real Kanetsugu screwing up stuff for herself. I don’t actually know why Kanetsugu and Sasuke weren’t training, since aren’t they both Master Samurai, and don’t they both need to know how to master their qi? But I guess she can’t be the stupid comic relief if she’s actually trying to train. Apart from that, tho, the episode was pretty interesting.
And now that Yagyuu Juubei has been back, the Dark Samurai come calling, only to be turned away at the last minute after Maeda stalls them enough for Muneakira, Sen, and Yukimura to help Juubei turn back to normal. Successfully putting off the final confrontation, we have more time for the dojo girls to up their game.
For all you naked apron lovers
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Photo Kano – 07
Recursive picture taking
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They really throw in some pretty shots in this series.
Finally a smile from Hikari
This week we get Sanehara Hikari’s arc. Perhaps the most enigmatic of the cast so far, we’ve only seen Sanehara off by herself, taking pictures of vistas or flowers or objects. And every time Kazuya has come up to talk to her, she’s been pretty short with him, before finishing what she’s doing and leaving. It’s rumored she never smiles or takes pictures of people, but noone knows why.
“Cause this is Thrillnyaaaaaaaaa….”
So it almost seemed a little unfair that she only gets one episode of character development and romantic development with Kazuya. And because there’s a long distance to go in a short time, it feels really compressed and a bit disjointed. But through persistence and some silly stunts (with some complicity from Uchida, who seems just as intent on sabatoging Itta’s and Takashi’s attempts at upskirt and downblouse shots as Kazuya was with Haruka), Hikari is drawn out and fills us in on her reasons for being so separate and closed. No, being turned into the outcast and bullied in middle school isn’t the most original plot device, but for me it works because it’s something that happens. I did like the way it was characterized, however, in that she realized she was being made the low person on the totem pole and stopped hanging out with them. And that it went all the way to framing her for stealing someone’s wallet is pretty crappy. So she’s unable to trust the smiles from anyone, and doesn’t want to see fake smiles through her camera’s viewfinder. Thankfully, she learns to trust Kazuya’s smile, and even though we don’t get a formal confession, the wishes they exchange while talking under the stars are certainly promises for the future.
This may be the way the show goes from now on, with one episode for each of the remaining girls. I think I might have preferred some of them get left out to go more in depth with the ones we do see, but we’ll see. Hikari was definitely the biggest challenge given that we knew almost nothing about her from the first four episodes of the show. I’ll definitely be comparing it to next week’s with Aki, as we know quite a bit about her, and we’ve had a lot of interaction between her and Kazuya… and not all of it good.
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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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Sometimes, the sight is worth giving yourself away. This is one of those times.
I love that Tsukiko was calmly eating her rice throughout the whole ordeal.
Valuable lesson learned by Youto: keep your porn backed up. Preferably in the cloud, out of the jealous reaches of any girl.
This show is playing its fantasy aspect much more heavily than I expected, and I really like it! We were given a hint at the end of the previous episode, but now we know for sure that the stony cat in the shed had magically moved Youto’s home into the shed. I loved the moment when all doubt was removed, with Azusa suddenly popping in, cliche awkward positioned boy girl falling and all. How creepy was the hypnotized bellybutton almost rape/reverse rape scene? That music was so dark and somber, hitting us with the weight of a pretty horrifying event playing out before our eyes. And with some evil laughter ending the episode, is the show pivoting from typical anime magic realism to full on fantasy? Probably not.
There was plenty of room for the fanservice too, mainly of Tsukushi who produced the most ridiculous and exaggerated grunts while doing sit ups that I’ve had the pleasure of laying ears on. Seriously, I was right there with Youto when he commented that he had barely followed anything she said about the cat statue. Her seduction attempts could have been done better, but most of the physical comedy was well directed and animated, like last week. Good job by JC Staff showing Azusa freaking out in a couple situations. With the story picking up and the overly indulgent light novel humor hitting the right notes, Henneko is at a pretty good place halfway through.
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We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Henneko: My favorite show this season. They put so much in this episode. I think the underlying theme of this one is that lots of guys only think of girls as “pure and innocent” without a scrap of perversion to them. But we get three instances of the girls thinking “naughty” things, and the outcomes. Well played JC.
I wish Tsukiko would have just confessed to love wearing his shirt. The Steel King asking “what comes next” and I cheered for Asuza when she took back her wish.
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Over-wrought Samurai Qi-channeling Fiasco.: Yeah, that is all…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Hmm, maybe it’s because you watched the (better in just about every way) first season very recently, but I didn’t think this was much of a fiasco outside of the way the series usually is. I didn’t even really mind the plot reuse from the immediately prior episode, as I thought it provided enough contrast with Kanetsugu’s idiocy.
Part of me does wish that Kanetsugu would become a more serious character, tho, and I thought they could do that by incorporating her into the training. So I’m disappointed that they didn’t.
Another thing that’s kind of bugged me this season is that Matabei has completely become scenery. She’s the one who has suffered the most from the cast member explosion.
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Grumble Grumble. Yeah, OK.
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
I think the reason why Kanetsugu has stayed as she is as a character is because of this. (My memory is real good for being able to remember she was ranked #1.) So why do something different with her character like, make her more serious, when she’s already loved for who she is? But… she is now a master samurai, so she’s bound to have her one moment of glory.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I’d argue that they’re not even doing anything with her character this season. So far she’s lost to Sasuke, she became a Master Samurai for all of 3 minutes, and has since spent most of her time off screen. She won’t stay most popular without doing anything.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 95 comments
Tsukiko going commando.
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…yes. The simple things in life are quite beautiful…
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Samurai Bride: I’m sad at the lack of Sasuke and Kanetsugu doing actual training too. Sasuke has hardly ever been in Master Samurai form at all. Why did they bother to bring her in if she’s not going to do anything? Overall it was a pretty intense episode though!
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All I can think is comic relief counterpart to Kanetsugu. Which diminishes both Kanetsugu’s role and Sasuke’s to almost nothing.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride – 07: The group got away by the skin of their teeth. They were lucky the Dark Samurais had the decency to let them off to regain their power instead of taking advantage of the situation to wipe them out.
Maeda’s sudden departure didn’t sit too well with me because she just got introduced and we were getting to know her. Though androphobic, she was a very competant teacher and reliable ally and did temporarily break her code of conduct helping Muneakira for Juubei’s sake.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Photo Kano – 07: Kazuya is pretty invested in helping Sanehara get out of her shell and after what she went through, I don’t blame her for going in the first. People can be so cruel sometimes. The romantic development between them is all well and fine but I hope for his sake that he hasn’t forgotten his loyalty to Haruka to whom he made a promise. On a side note: With her appearing and disappearing, I’m beginning to ask if Yuuko is even human. Her stealth is putting ninjas to shame.
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I do wonder if you’re misunderstanding that they’re basically resetting the show now and giving each girl their own end. We’ve seen Haruka’s and Hikari’s now, and Aki will be next.
And no, Yuuko is not human, she’s just vanishy.
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The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat – 06: That stone cat is litterally imposing on the “be careful what you wish for” saying. I’d lock that thing up somewhere. The supposed benefits aren’t worth the risks and consequences.
The work out session in the gym proves that girls and boys are on the same level regarding perversion. The things that came out of that girl’s mouth had me so dumbstruck that I couldn’t speak. That was merely speech so imagine what goes on in her mind. Tsukushi’s moaning was too well done. I won’t be surprised if I hear her seiyuu sometimes voices hentai roles. That sort of thing has happened before.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yeah, I loved how its shifted from dat “seduction” to a maniacal villain laughing cat god. That had shades of the Cthulhu Mythos written all over it. Like that cat’s just been waiting for someone to want for and wish for the Apocalypse. The Siscon Apocalypse.
And Yukari Tamura is a long time fav of mine, having voiced Remon (Ano Natsu), Rika Furude (Higurashi) Nahona, Kanako/Meruru (Oreimo),and Masuza (Oreshura), I would hope to find her hetaii as well.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
With so many seiyuus like Eri Kitamura playing perverted roles in certain animes (C3’s bondage scene, Nisemonogatari’s toothbrush scene), it shouldn’t be shocking if some decided to do some hentai work. Sanae Kobayashi, known for playing Accel World’s Seiji Noumi, Durarara!!’s Namie, Lupin the Third: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna’s Aisha, Shinsekai Yori’s Okano and Zettai Karen Children: The Unlimited – Hyoubu Kyousuke’s Patty voiced the lead girl in a hentai titled “Moonlight Lady (Kao no nai Tsuki)”.
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The only one I know of is Tanaka Ryouko, who played Kurugaya from Little Busters! and Yahiro from Yosuga no Sora (ironically one of the non-sex roles in the show) among others. Disappointingly, she doesn’t seem to use the same voice she used for Kurugaya (at least not in the ones I’ve seen).
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
Photo Kano – 07 – Hey, finally I can feel and say something else about the show other than, “it’s crap, but I watch because I watch.” A legit good episode of Photo Kano that has me hopefuly for Muroto’s ep and the other girls. It was a pretty charming episode. Maeda_x_Canon didn’t feel like the main pairing, which I think helped my enjoyment.
Sidenote: There’s one moment where he totally looked like Keima from TWGOK, the scene where he was with his photography club people.
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
Henneko – 06 – Man, the fanservice in this ep was cups full of moaning, lots of skin revealed and some wonderful situations Yokodera finds himself in. I really enjoyed watching Yokodera turn Tsukushi around from destroying him to somehow convincing her to seduce him; they’ve played around with Tsukushi’s dumbness of that situation pretty funnily.
The fantasy aspect has been pretty crazy, and I’m just in the show’s flow right now, willing to go wherever it wants to take me.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Fanservice: I find myself in love with Tsukiko dancing about in her Sempai’s shirt far more HNNNNNNNG worthy than the belly button scene. Which had a ton of hnnnnnng worth.
And then, the sumo wrestler play. I find her manner of guarded affection to be more watchable that Asuza’s.
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Ok.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
The thing that might bug me most about the show is Tsukushi’s dumbness. I mean, she’s about 3 suits short of a full deck. I do like how Tsukiko is willing to exploit it, but I’m getting a little tired of the ‘twin brother’ thing.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I finally got around to seeing HenNeko (this weekend really sucked) and it’s certainly not worried about being conventional or anything, is it? And that everyone in the show pretty calmly accepts all the things that happen is just way out there.
I wish Tsukiko was a little more forward with expressing her feelings toward Youto (Azusa could be too), but then we wouldn’t have a show would we. It just strikes me that Tsukiko is the one who’s got her eyes on the prize, and is constantly moving towards that, even if Youto doesn’t get it.
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Thinking about this more, I think it’s more that Tsukiko has been very close to coming right out and telling Youto, but there are two things stopping her: First, her wish that Youto would recognize her from two years before and second, I almost think she’s looking for a sign that he’s actually interested in her. Like he peeked on purpose, or enjoyed getting in some ero situation with her. Because every time he’s had a chance to show interest, it’s always been walked back to ‘as friends’ and ‘an accident’.
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Those silly teenage boasts cannot be relied on. They are in the midst of learning that lesson.
RomCom’s are always about “walking it back”. With as much refusal to risk, it’s a wonder any formal courtships can happen.
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That’s what usually bugs me about shoujo as well. And that’s one reason I like Sukitte ii na yo so much. The spinning out happened *as* a couple, not before.
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Yeah, we both loved Sukitte, I only wished it had a smidgen more pace.
I don’t think that sort of scenario is likely in Henneko; unless it was Asuza that won, as I don’t see Tsukiko giving up easily. The other way around? Yes, Asuza would fold like a deck chair.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Then there are the shows that seem to go a bit too fast. Thinking of Mashiro-iro Symphony here: confession, first date on Christmas with nobody home, Miu:”motto!”
I think you’re right. It would take a fait accompli to deter Tsukiko here, as in “Youto is now married to and living with Azusa Akari.” I think you’re right about Azusa, tho,