Okay, so I’m finally starting to feel a bit better. Due to that cold of mine I just had enough enerty to keep up with the series that I’m blogging, although even there I probably said quite a number of tactless things. In any case the result of that, combined with how busy I’ve been lately left me with a huge backlog of different series that I still have to get through.
Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji – 48
Like expected, the creators really wrap up the tension here and this was an incredibly nerve-wrecking episode, but god dammit, they’re still not done yet?! There still are four episodes of this thing left before either that ball goes in or Kaiji loses? Holy crap!
Rating: ** (Excellent)
Blade – 10
Holy crap! This actually was by far the best episode out of all of the Marvel series combined (and yes, I’ve seen all of them). Out of nowhere, the series came with even more background: that of Deacon Frost, and it was actually really good! With this, it definitely has the best villain out of all the Marvel series, and the last part of this episode also showed that it has the best female sidekick out of them. Heck, just about the only parts where this doesn’t overshadow the others at this point is the animation (X-Men did that better) and the action itself (which was done better in Wolverine and the X-Men again). Aside from that though…. I’m really impressed here. It even turned its cheesy acting into a charm.
Rating: *** (Awesome)
Kamisama Dolls – 09
Solid build-up, but this also showed me (someone who hasn’t read the manga) that the creators don’t intend to close this off at all. The length really is the big problem of this season, with just too many series that are too short. In any case, this episode had fun getting the characters to snark at each other and it was pretty interesting, but that new girl had better have a very good reason to turn Kyouhei into a harem lead!
Rating: * (Good)
Dantalian no Shoka – 08
The characters that Dalian and Huey meet in this episode were… pretty much the least interesting ones so far. For one they remind me too much of the idiots of Gosick, but also the reasoning in their stories is just… strange. Usually in Dantalian no Shoka, it’s the phantom book’s effects that are far-fetched. This time it’s the characters actions that are.
Rating: (Enjoyable)
Sacred Seven – 10
Well, that was corny. Was Ruri’s backstory really worth it spending an entire episode about? It felt like it came from a soap opera. Seriously, the thing with this series is that it’s trying to be something that it isn’t. It thinks it has depth and so tries to act like it takes itself seriously, while the story and characters are completely shallow. For god’s sake, I can understand that you want to keep your series simple but effective and all, but at the very least make it effective. Do something that catches the viewer’s attention! Anything!
Rating: – (Disappointing)
Blade – 09
This is bizarre. Blade just used one of Wolverine’s side characters better than how Wolverine used them. Seriously, I don’t know if there are any other people who are still watching this series, but I’m currently having a blast with it. This episode once again was a really entertaining action episode that is gonna make the perfect conclusion for the Marvel Series. We’re going to Cambodia next? Awesome! Also, you have to give props to the soundtrack guy here: this guy pretty much made four kickass soundtracks without any apparent weaknesses whatsoever, all with their distinct and incredibly engaging tracks.
Rating: ** (Excellent)
Sket Dance – 22
Thankfully this show has recovered from its string of weaker episodes. The first half of this episode was quite hilarious in which they raped the legend of Momotaro (the guy that’s born from a peach), and the second half was simple but heart-warming. It perhaps wasn’t the show’s best episode, but it was fun.
Rating: * (Good)
Nurarihyon no Mago – 35
Here is my question for the rest of this arc: the creators did a good job of making Hagoromo Gitsune incredibly powerful, even up to the point where she can easily take control of Kyoto’s best Omnyouji like it’s nothing. So how the hell is Rikuo gonna be able to make a difference without introducing some serious power level inconsistencies?
Rating: * (Good)
Dantalian no Shoka – 07
A surprisingly charming episode about scents. Its effects still are rather far-fetched, but that’s the entire nature of the phantom books. This episode was well told and had a great conclusion, although Dalian still needs work. Oh, and this show also makes pretty good use of its music. Gainax, start doing 26-episode series again!
Rating: ** (Excellent)
Nurarihyon no Mago – 34
Okay, so that training arc was rather boring, but what really caught my attention in this episode was the surprisingly addictive direction of Hagoromo Gitsune’s quest to conquer Kyoto. Especially the use of that skeleton she dug up in this episode worked well. Also, I’m not sure what it is but in this new season the awesome character designs stand out much more than in the first.
Rating: * (Good)
Usagi Drop – 09
Entire episode dedicated to Kouki, and it just shows the differences between raising a boy and a girl. Although I do think that this series idealizes girls a bit too much. They too have their quirks that are unfortunately a bit glossed over.
Rating: * (Good)
There is a review without heading
I’ve been consistently pleased by Dantalian no Shoka. Maybe it’s not just your type or maybe you’re looking at it differently. Characters like that are normal in a mystery genre, or at least something I’d compare to with Detective Conan. The focus is obviously on the books themselves and how they function to be used and reflect something about people. I like the Book of Equivalence in the episode because of how it was left in the hands of a greedy man. At first I thought, “Oh man that’s bad” but with the Book of Equivalence, how would a greedy man trade anything with all his items he consider to be priceless?
IDK about you but I like the stories of the books rather than make an epic drama of some sort around it.
Isnt there something wrong with this post? Youre reviewing 2 episodes of each, and its supposed to be weekly
Anyway, just wanna comment on Kaiji… The owner dude still has a dirty trick up his sleeve so that easily takes up another episode, and Im guessing they can fill up another one with a sort of “epilogue” (Cant say anything more without spoiling), but 4 episodes? Heh, dont see how thats happening, unless there is a whole episode of reaction faces LOL
Frost: that’s the thing: I’ve been incredibly busy lately, combined with a cold I had for the past week lead me to create a huge back-log. This post was meant for me to catch up to that.
Regarding Usagi Drop (which is the best Slice of Life/Drama this season period) .. i don’t think it idealizes women at all .. Rin’s mother is proof of that … Daikichi’s niece also wasn’t idea at all (in that episode were she stayed over at his house) .. each had their problems and quirks (like Rin’s mother sudden burst of rage in ep8) .. you might want to be specific about young girls only … even then … the daughter of Daikichi’s niece (forgot her name) does have her quirks and was quite annoying in the first few episodes (until she became close friends with Rin).
As for Dantalin no Shoka … i don’t understand your “far-fetched” comments .. in what way is ti far-fetched .. it is a story abot magical books .. of course they will have all sorts of weird/interesting powers … you can’t have it any other way .. and i’m actually glad they really got creative with the book ideas here .. it isn’t the generic boring type of magic here .. more interesting is that each episode is in fact related to real-world books and literature in one way or the other (some times it requires one to be a hardcore book worm to spot that but people on the internet who like books and study literature are getting this done XD) .. it is a great show for book lovers for all the homages it does to real-world books and literature.
To address the issue of people copying your blog post(another blogger reported how your blogs was stolen on your previous posts), go to this following blog:
http://blog.effortlessebookwriting.com/my-blog-content-was-stolen-here-is-an-effective-5-minute-solution-to-that/
I’m not particularity sure if this can help but it must be a pain in the butt to have people copying your blog posts and even the pictures too!On the blog it mention something about a plugin where you can install to prevent people from clicking the right click to copy and paste. And it talks about reporting it to google. I hope this helps in any way.
Usagi Drop is a propaganda show put out by the government to get people to have more children.
Yeah I completely agree about Dantalian 8. The book in the first half was interesting but the conclusion was really lame. Then the second half was even worse cause all of the characters were just annoying. Please no more split episodes like this one! I wish they would have more episodes about the priest and that crazy girl they are way more interesting than the the main characters.