Author: psgels

Hyouge Mono – 21

by psgels, posted in Hyouge Mono



Next in line of brilliant tactics: Hashiba Hideyoshi’s plans of this episode. Build the front face of a huge house in order to intimidate the enemy. It’s hiariuos, but very cleverly found and it fits this series to a T. Always thinking outside of the box.

Now, I do wonder when this series is planning to shake things up again. We’ve now had quite a few amount of episodes of relative stability, where Hashiba Hideyoshi was pretty much allowed to do as he pleased (aside from that one episode where Sennou Soueki pushed him perhaps a little too much, which indeed was one heck of a highlight). Something is about to happen. If my limited Japanese understood correctly, he is about to bet his hands on the third of those legendary pots, in the current hands of the Akizuki clan. My gut says that something major will happen to it. Either Sasuke will get his hands on it, or it will spell the start of his decline.

The characterization was again as rock-solid as ever, far beyond all of the other stuff this season. I still love those scenes where the creators try to make their frames as smooth as possible; this episode did that especially to people changing facial expressions. The highlight though… was without a doubt Tokugawa. What a quirky way to portray a man falling in love.

Oh, and I also love those little details that nobody seems to even mention. I mean, why did Hashiba Hideyoshi forget his left mustache at the beginning of this episode? (That line is probably going to sound really weird for anyone who hasn’t seen this series)
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Blood-C – 09

by psgels, posted in Blood-C



Once again Blood-C delivers an absolutely stunning episode. As if the previous episode wasn’t bad enough already, this episode goes even further.

Usually when a large amount of people need to die, you often just see one big explosion or otherwise very destructive thing, followed by a heap of dead bodies. That latest episode of Number 6 is a good example of that. This however was much, much more nerve wrecking as an entire classroom gets murdered out, and we actually see the monster maul each of his victims separately. This creature just kept chipping away everyone until there were just two people left. Now that was incredibly intense. With this I’m also sure: this series has the best fight choreography of the entire season. It’s a shame that the animation couldn’t remain as good as the first episode, but each action scene still is incredibly well crafted.

The thing with Blood-C is indeed that its cast lacks complexity. But dear god, for me it throws around more and more things that just completely make up for that lack. I mean, i like character development and all, but it’s not as black and white that I only like characters with character-development, and hate the ones who don’t. I’m growing more and more fond of Saya, and the biggest reason for that is how the mystery uses her. This really is one of the few series of the Summer Season that isn’t rushed, aside from Penguin Drum and Natsume Yuujinchou, and BY GOD it shows. Heck, I’d even argue that out of all of the series that are going to end this month, this one is the one I’m looking forward to the most aside from Steins;Gate.

The second half of the episode again had me on the edge of my seat because of this. The horror here too was very effective in just building up tension, and using the build-up of the entire season. Bit by bit throughout the series, Saya remembered a bit more and we’ve now reached the point where the inconsistencies really start to show, and she’s finally starting to think for herself.
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Mawaru Penguin Drum – 09

by psgels, posted in Mawaru Penguin Drum



I loved this episode! It’s the kind of episode that goes for something completely different, and I really love these gimmicky episodes like this. It’s been a huge while since one appeared, especially in series that have a continuous plot. Those complaining that Himari was a mary sue? Hah, this episode is there to prove you wrong. In 20 minutes this show gave a heap of depth to her, after strangely ignoring her for so many episodes.

This was both in the obvious, and in the subtle ways. For example, amongst the books that she returned in the library, one was about learning to earn ten times more. Apart from that we never see this confirmed, but she too is well aware of the money problems that the siblings have. I have no idea why she was interested in “Sputnik Weirdo”, though.

The direction also was just fantastic. Even better than usual. This episode didn’t have any action whatsoever, but the camera angles and plot twists alone just completely made up for it. Everything just seemed to fit, not to mention the wonderful music. This series really can get me excited unlike any other series this season (even Steins;Gate), and this episode only increased this.

After a bit of research, I found out that this episode was storyboarded and directed (both the episode and animation direction) by just one guy: Nobuyuki Takeuchi, and I can see the influences. Probably his most notable works are as one of the chief animators of the Utena Movies, and as the visual director of Bakemonogatari and Moonphase. It’s especially amazing what he can do when working together with an actually good director (Kunihiko Ikura was the one who wrote this episode). This episode felt like everything that Shaft should have been: strong direction, no wasted time on random blabber, no repetition of the same scenarios over and over and gone is the poor build-up.

Also, I applaud the use of the two friends. That was very clever use of symbolism. I think everyone thought that the two girls at the ED were supposed to be female versions of the two lead brothers as some sort of weird joke. Instead it’s all about Himari and her two friends. And the subway signs. I’ve seen Utena, so I really should have known that there was more behind them than just that. On top of that the story of Himari’s past too was just wonderful. It gave her depth, flaws, personality, and I really like how the creators used the first episodes to show little of her on purpose, rather focusing Shouma. Saving the best for last, eh?

Also, I have to praise this show for using the pink-haired guy. The thing is that whenever series introduce characters halfway through, they almost always forget that they also appear in the OP, so they just start with these random shots that just show the characters, that don’t really say anything other than: “I’m about to appear”. This episode really pulled his introduction out of the blue. We know that he’s important due to that OP, and this episode made great use of that.
Rating: *** (Awesome)

No.6 – 10

by psgels, posted in No.6



Seriously, ignore the huge holes that will be left in the plot next week, and this was another amazing penultimate episode. Heck, even though it in no way closes off the series, this looks to be an amazing climax. This episode was chock full of strong emotions and bold revelations.

The best of which was the thing that Nezumi warned about, at the end of the previous episode. I mean, we knew by now that Number Six had to be kidnap a huge amount of people: you have doubts and are of a lower class, then you’re out. That had to happen often. Instead of taking the time of burning these dead bodies, they just dump everyone on one huge pile and stop worrying about them. It was disturbing to see to say the least, but what really made that scene was that it indeed changed Shion’s character significantly. It was really well portrayed, and happened before he knew it.

This lead to a really emotional climax at the end when Shion actually kills another human, while Nezumi stands by with shock of how he lost his innocence. Oh, and some excellent animation also helped here. And that wasn’t even the only character development in this episode. Inukashi also got quite an interesting role when that baby suddenly got dumped on her. I think the reason why nobody doubted her gender had a lot to do with that flashback they showed of Nezumi when his tribe got murdered: there he also looked like a girl and nobody found it strange.It probably has a lot to do with cultural values and how women usually dress in these slums.

As for the next episode, I wonder how big of a disaster it’ll be. Knowing Seishi Minakami, it’ll probably just end. We get a nice climax between Safu and learn how overly powerful she has become, combined with a huge hook to a second season that will never arrive. This unfortunately had it coming ever since this show got announced.
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Steins;Gate – 23

by psgels, posted in Steins;Gate



OMG! WTF!

Right from the start I knew that this would be the point that I had been looking forward to the most: the explanation of what the heck happened during that first episode. And yeah. It pretty much was my favourite episode of Steins;Gate yet. But for the love of God, that plot twist in which Christina’s killer is revealed was awesome!

This episode really was amazing. Everything came together wonderfully. The twists that the plot took here were brilliant, and I even loved the characters. Okarin’s future self’s message was awesome in how well his past version understood what he had to do.

I really thought that Moeka, FB and CERN were the central villains: that they too were somehow involved with the third world war somehow. Instead though, they are just vital for Mayuri’s death, and they only come in action when they actually intercept that D-Mail. They probably participated in the arms race for building the time machine, but without Kurisu they actually didn’t get the upper hand.

And holy crap this thing only has 24 episodes. It’ll be over next week! Okabe is going to have to save Kurisu in one single episode. It actually is possible if the creators play their cards right. I’ve said many times before that an ending can make a huge difference on how I view a series, and out of all the series that are going to end this season, this one has the best papers for it. The most important thing: do not rush too much!

Also, who put the OP through a blender?
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Natsume Yuujin-Chou – 36

by psgels, posted in Natsume Yuujin-Chou



Here’s an interesting one: this is another two-episode arc, but this time it is not connected to the plot of youkai politics or anything. Instead, it again is about Natsume and his friends. Once again, this season is really dedicated to character development, character development, and more character development.

The thing also is, that it’s been entirely dedicated to Natsume. Every single episode was focused on him. If an episode happened to develop a different character at the same time, then this always was in order to also give extra depth to Natsume himself. This lead to the strange effect that Nyanko-Sensei is rather left behind: he really feels like a side-character now, and not the second main character that he was in the first two seasons. He’s still pretty fun to watch, but that’s pretty much it. There’s nothing of the charming stories like that time when he walked around as a giant cat for a while.

Beyond the obvious things as his friendship and finally getting the confidence to confide in the people he trusts, I also love how the creators portray Natsume’s worries. He still has them, though they’re completely different from what they used to be. At this point, most of the youkai who want their names back have already gotten them. Instead though, the huge amount of hostile youkai have made a great impact on him, to the point where he unconsciously tries to blame everything on them. If Tanuma would have caught a real cold, he probably would have thought the same.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Ikoku Meiro no Croisée – 10

by psgels, posted in Ikoku Meiro no Croisée



Now, this was just heart-warming. This entire episode felt just like a warm blanket in the middle of winter and it was incredibly charming. It basically showed two parts right through each other: Claude’s father, and Oscar entertaining first Yune and Alice, and then the whole neighborhood. They meshed together wonderfully.

There really seem to be a lot of hints that Claude is as cold as he is thanks to his father. In those flashbacks, he actually hardly ever talked to Claud. I actually felt that Claude also grew a tiny bit in this episode, especially after how fast he calmed down after he got offended after being compared to his father by that customer of his. It’s subtle, but he would not have been that diligent at the beginning of the series.

What has also surprised me about this series is Satelight’s animation quality, and how consistent it turned out to be. Two years ago, especially when they were working on both Guin Saga and Basquash at the same time, they really had this trouble to keep their faces consistent and keep their art crisp. Heck, even Macross Frontier had a lot of strangely drawn faces and inconsistencies. Nothing of that shows here: nearly every part of this show is detailed.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Hana-Saku Iroha – 23

by psgels, posted in Hana-Saku Iroha



Bravo, Hana-Saku Iroha! Well done! Awesome episode! This is what I’ve been waiting for!

Seriously, this is the thing that sets Hana-Saku Iroha apart from the other slice of life dramas: when it wants to deliver drama, it really delivers it well, with terrific acting and imaginative set-ups. This episode brought all sorts of events from the series together, and the great thing is that the creators really put in effort to give this episode an as interesting premise as possible while still never tugging at the viewer’s suspense of disbelief. Sure, there are some coincidences, but their timing is used wonderfully, so who cares?

I mean, the creators could have just settled for showing how everyone would move on after the closure of the Kissuiso. Then however, they didn’t just bring in the director again, they actually also showed the test footage he made during his arc, and the creators show it to Kou of all people. There was a ton of character development because of that, and Ohana and Kou only met at the end of this episode.

To think that, in three weeks there finally won’t be any Mari Okada series airing. Ever since 2008, there have only been two seasons in which she DIDN’T write something: Summer 2008, Spring 2009. Apart from that she hasn’t just been churning out one series after the other, but she wrote many of my favourites with only rare moments of weaknesses (really, only Fractale really went wrong, along with perhaps that Kodomo no Jikan OVA; Vampire Knight apparently was a very good adaptation of an unfortunately cheesy manga, and perhaps Kuroshitsuji I was a bit too long for its own sake). My favourite has to be the work she did on adapting the Armed Librarians, with a close second the amazing original script that she wrote for Ano Hana.

As for Hana-Saku Iroha, I remember comparing it to True Tears, noting how it completely lacked its subtlety. After 23 episodes, this still remains the case, but True Tears was the kind of series that really turned its subtlety and ambiguity into its main selling point: you could never tell what the characters were really thinking. Hana-Saku Iroha meanwhile is a lot more blatant, but it has a big knack for creating interesting situations and genuine drama. Overall, if I had to compare the two then I think I’d still prefer True Tears, but that’s mostly because it really had amazing acting, whereas the characters of Hana-Saku Iroha do tend to try a bit too hard at times. I still consider this to be an excellent series though: it took its hiccups, and didn’t just make up for them, but actually used them and made them a core part of the series.
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Ao no Exorcist – 21

by psgels, posted in Ao no Exorcist



I’m not sure what happened here. These are just those points in a series that completely do something against my expectations. I’m not really sure what happened here, but the plot suddenly got really, really good.

The bizarre thing here is that I had completely given up on the plot, and here this episode comes and does just about everything right to bring it back to life. Yukio’s angst was largely going nowhere, so here this episode comes and throws in his grandfather. The teacher was boring, and here this episode give s him an actually engaging back-story. Shiemi had been reduced in importance, and here she actually stands up against Rin, proving that she’s much, much more than just another token female.

This episode was really excellent, but in the context of this series, it’s much more than that: it really managed to save this series, and brought it back out of its slump. The thing with the previous episodes was that they had been building up the wrong things: Yukio and Rin’s grandfather should have appeared much earlier, the Vatican should have taken up its villain role much earlier, instead of just returning over and over to an angsty Yukio. Either way though, this episode was better than even most of the episodes that DID come from the manga material. There was just so much packed into it.

As for the ending: the satan problem will still remain. At the very least though, the creators are trying to make it very action-packed, with the entire Vatican declaring a war on the demons. It’s a bit sudden, but heck, I can buy it at this point. Will it make up though for Satan’s complete and utter lack of development? Well, let’s find out!
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Tiger & Bunny – 23

by psgels, posted in Tiger & Bunny



Now, this episode was build-up, so it was not as impressive as the previous episodes. That pay-off had better be worth it, because a show as awesome as this one deserves an awesome finale.

And yeah, I applaud the creators for avoiding the cheese when getting Barnaby out of Maverick’s memory control. Tiger’s attempts to get through to him had a great emotional response, and yet it was a simple insult that did the trick. That really was a great anti-climax, and at the same time it was a great conclusion to the bond between Kotetsu and Barnaby.

But Christ, we’ll already be ending in two weeks! This really strikes me as the show that’s gonna end with a one-episode epilogue (or at least an epilogue that will take a significant amount of time of the final episode for that epilogue), so we’re going to get the meat of the ending of this series next week!

The big potential pitfall I think will be that the ending is going to get too mundane: at this point, all of the mysteries are solved, and the struggles between the main cast are gone. It’s entirely about trying to defeat Maverick and that Robot now. This is really something where the creators are going to have to go over the top.

That ending is going to matter a lot, whether I’m going to rate this 90/100 or 87,5/100. These numbers may seem random, but let me put it this way: this series still has the potential to become my favourite Sunrise series of the past ten years. If that ending is good, it will probably stand on top of my current top 3 of Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto, Zone of the Enders and The Big O (Gintama unfortunately doesn’t count because of its second half). If the ending is mundane, it probably won’t make that top 3, so I’m really eager to see whether this series will be able to do it.
Rating: ** (Excellent)