Short Synopsis: Most of the episode centres around Jean Valean, as he’s forced to reveal his secret. Cosette, meanwhile writes a letter to her mother.
Good: Jean was very interesting; How long must Thenardier keep interfering with Fantine and Cosette?!
Bad: It took so long for Cosette to write a letter?
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
Ah, so that’s why Jean Valjean was so worried. It wasn’t just that Javel thought that he was Jean Valjean, it’s that someone else had been arrested under the name of Jean Valjean. This means that this poor person was about to be judged for the sins that the real Jean Valjean committed. Because of this, Jean’s problems may be over, but the fact remains that he dedicated himself to building an upright life. Heck, he tries to throw away the chandelier that he “got” from the priest, but even that is impossible for him. He just can’t let an innocent person be judged because of the things he did, which is why he reveals his real identity in the end.
The results of this revelation will have to wait till the next episode, when Javert will probably find out. Jean managed to walk away in the end, but there’s no way he’s not going to be judged. I wonder what Aran’s role will be in this. He’s been rather absent after he warned Jean about Fantine. Speaking of Fantine, I’m really hoping for Cosette to get at least a chance of meeting Fantine before she dies. Right now, the happy times at the Thenardiers seem to be completely over, with the things Cosette did to annoy them in the past episodes. She’s especially lost the support of Gavroche, and it seems that even the priest is going to be moving away towards Paris.]]>
Author: psgels
Master of Epic – 10
Short Synopsis: The fishing scene returns, just as the main character-clone of the first episode and our two brave adventurers.
Good: Lots of Bukotsu and Chuu; Funnier than usual; An actual serious scene that works out well!
Bad: The creators were SO mean with that serious scene!
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10
You know what, Master of Epic has been getting better and better for the past few episodes. Mostly because it’s been reusing more and more characters from previous episodes. I don’t know, usually when shows of this nature do this, it feels cheap, because they couldn’t just come up with some new characters. But with Master of Epic, I’m actually very glad that these characters return, as we get to know them better and better, which makes sure of some very funny results. I’ll keep quiet about the main character, though. I’m content for now because her clone had a major role in this episode.
Sketch 1: The Introduction. This time, the two hosts talk about something called Nashi. I had no idea what this was, so I looked it up a bit in an online dictionary. It seems they were either talking about a Japanese pear, or the word “without”. Seeing as the reporters were awfully quiet when they found out about this, I’d put my money on the second option.
And CURSE that second sketch! Finally we have a serious and really touching sketch, and what do the creators do? They decide to go old-tv style by making the dialogue show up on the screen, instead of through voice actors. Okay, I can understand a bit of Japanese speech, but how am I supposed to decipher that much kanji?! The scenes looked amazing, and I LOVED the ending, but I would so have liked to know what the characters talked about. Dammit. Still, ranting aside, this sketch rocked. Big time.
Sketch 3 abandons the seriousness again when it comes with the news. The fishing scene returns again, as the reporter interviews the female Pandemos who’s been fishing on some random docks. He doesn’t get much out of her, and she demands him to be quiet, though. ^^;
Sketch 4: Bukotsu and Chuu again. This time they deviate from the usual formula when it’s not Chuu, but a random bear who does something cute. Still, you can’t deny that their reaction wasn’t cute in a strange way. 😛
Sketch 5: The news, 6 hours later. The Pandemos seems to have caught something and almost explodes out of anger when her line snaps. XD
Sketch 6: Our two “brave” heroes return again. Of course, I’m talking about the courageous duo of Phillipe and Syozo. This time, Syozo tries out ways to calm ferocious animals, or in this case a hungry wolf: tempting it with a steak. Okay, it attracts a few more wolves, but it does work, doesn’t it? I mean, the wolves stayed quiet, okay… for a little while perhaps. ^^;
Sketch 7: another fishing scene. This time it features Chuu and Bukotsu. If you wondered where their usual antics were, well, it’s in this sketch, when Chuu has fun with masks. XD
Sketch 8: the news yet again, this time the next day. The Pandemos is still fishing at the same spot, and it seems that the reporter stayed up all this time, watching her catch a pile of sharks. Chuu then comes and fishes up the treasure chest the Pandemos has been searching for all along. The anchor, meanwhile, falls asleep. (^^)
Sketch 9: Waragecha V. When things couldn’t get any weirder for the Waragecha five, the huge black mecha arrives with a fake anticlimax. Yup, a fake one. First she acts like an overly emotional parents towards her child, only to reveal that she actually is on the producer’s side. The Waragecha meanwhile break up their new shiny robot, in order to transform back into it again in order to make sure that this episode also features a transformation-scene. Heh, talk about efficiency. 😛
Sketch 10 closes the episode with Bukotsu, who is about to fight the copy of the main character, who is being coached by her boyfriend. I guess she didn’t slay him after all, too bad actually. In any case, Chuu is coaching Bukotsu. do I still have to mention how this ends?
By the way, this episode actually featured a couple of very nice background tunes. I like where this is going. And yes, I’m crazy for liking a show like this.]]>
Flag Review – 90/100
Okay, so I just finished watching the second season of FLAG (thanks to w for pointing out that it already was released). I have to say that it looked much more like an anime, with multiple climaxes, a small break, and a bit more focus at the different characters, but still retaining its original style and narrative. Even though I missed a few points here and there, I have to say that the second season was even better than the first. Mostly due to a few very strong episodes, a great climax and a charming aftermath.
For those who haven’t seen its first season, not only is FLAG a unique anime who knows no equal, it also is probably one of the most realistic mecha and war-based anime out there. It’s a war-based documentary-anime, featuring a civil war in a fictional country, somewhere in Asia. Its main character, Shirasu is a photographer, who managed to take a picture of a flag, which became the symbol of peace for the country. Peace is finally about to be formed when this flag gets stolen by rebels. Shirasu has now been asked to report and record the mission of a military team, which has been assigned to retrieve the flag.
Among others, this anime sets itself apart from all other anime through its narrative style. The entire anime is seen through camera lenses. It’s basically one huge collection of movies and pictures. Heck, we hardly ever see Shirasu, because she’s behind the camera. The camera-movements are extremely realistic. You can really see that the Shirasu’s camera is controlled by a human, instead of a machine.
But that’s not the only thing that’s realistic in this anime. We get treated to a nice dose of politics and we get to see a number of investigational reporters doing their job. Also, the military has possession of a few mechas, which finally make an attempt to deviate from the stereotype that each mecha can just be piloted by a bunch of kids. Especially the first season of Flag shows that you need an entire team behind these mechas to make them do their job properly.
The animation also is gorgeous, like mentioned before. The only small remark I have is that the creators didn’t synchronize mouth-movement with the voice-acting, but this is a minor detail. The character design also has been done in a style which bothers to differentiate from the usual, giving some very interesting effects, and the background art is just absolutely beautiful. It’s needless to say that the pictures we see flashing on the screen were very interesting to see. In terms of the musical department, this anime also delivers. Most of the anime doesn’t have a background sound, but when it does (mostly during the climax), it comes with a near-perfect soundtrack for an anime like this.
If you managed to sit through the first season, then I definitely recommend you to check out the second season once it gets subbed. I’m hoping for this to happen soon, as this anime definitely deserves some attentions because of all the new things it tried out. Still, one of the few downfalls in this anime is that at times, it spends a bit too much time preparing and building up. Especially the first three episode are just one big introduction.]]>
Jigoku Shoujo – 48
Short Synopsis: It’s time for the final number of cases. This is actually the first to feature the same main character as a previous episode: Takuma.
Good: Very nice twist. Episode 40 may have been disappointing, seeing it continued in this episode was great!
Bad: A bit too much based on coincidence.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
I believe that this episode introduced the beginning of the end. Kikuri has been more annoying than ever, and if I had to guess, then the next episode will be featuring the final case, after which episodes 24, 25 and 26 close off the series, explaining what the heck Kikuri actually is, and why she’s so annoying. Still, could this really make a good ending for Jigoku Shoujo? Or am I smelling a third season? 😛
In any case, it was great to see Takuma, who had to live alone for three months, with the experience of seeing his mother get killed, his father get stabbed, and being the centre of all gossip. All around, people talk about how he killed his mother and nearly his father, and how it’s strange for him to get released. It’s not strange, therefore, for him to get ignored by everyone. Still, he proved to be quite a strong boy, ignoring everything that has been thrown at him, waiting for his father to get out of his coma.
The girl meeting up with Takuma may have been a bit too coincidental, but it had some great results. Her original house was taken away because of the destruction of a station, which in the end was cancelled. It seems that she lost her parents afterwards somewhere, not sure how, though. In any case, she’s planning to leave her hometown to somewhere else. For that, she needs money, which she blackmails off the one who initiated the building of the station.
Then it seems that Takuma’s father really was right when he said that if you do bad things, they only come back at you. It’s the same for the girl, Seri, as she’s now got the angry wife of the guy who she blackmailed with a doll in her hand after her. Poor Takuma, first his mother dies, then his father gets put in a coma, then he makes his neighbour disappear, and now, the only girl that acted normally towards him gets sent to hell as well. I wish there were more cases like this in Jigoku Shoujo. It’s actually pretty interesting.]]>
Deltora Quest – 04
Short Synopsis: Lief, Barda and Jasmine run into one of Tegan’s guards. Surprisingly, he uses riddles.
Good: Kree; Great to see enemies actually using riddles in a show of this nature.
Bad: Rather incompetent fansubbers; the guardian could have used a bit more background.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10
With this episode, I think it’ll be obvious why I decided to switch to the subbed versions. Seriously, I can follow what’s going on on the screen decently, but when an enemy actually uses word games and riddles, then it’s a definite sign for me that this isn’t an anime that I can watch raw. This anime also makes use of a number of very specific explanations, and without full understanding of what’s going on, it’s going to be hard to enjoy this anime to its fullest.
It’s just too bad that the fansubbers seem to either have insufficient English knowledge, or they just don’t know enough Japanese, as the translations are far from accurate. I wouldn’t be surprised if the lack of background from the guardian is because they missed a few details. Either that, or there’s some explanation about how he suddenly changed back to normal later in the anime. But ah well, you’ve at least to give them credit for trying, and subbing this anime in the first place. 😉
Anyway, I liked Kree’s back-story in this. The reason Jasmine was so reluctant to go to the lake was because of Tegan. The witch used to kill its entire family in her web (suggesting that she’s some kind of spider), and certain events in the episode suggested that she has no respect for animals whatsoever. Because of this, she sends him back to the forest. I still find her reason to join Lief and Barda a bit weak, though.]]>
Saiunkoku Monogatari – 34
Short Synopsis: The new head of the Sa Clan has been chosen. Seiran, meanwhile shows how determined he is to get Sakujun out of the way.
Good: The game between Seiran and Sakujun.
Bad: To be honest, I expected Kokujun’s craziness to have a larger impact.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
The major part of the episode focused on the new head of the Sa-clan. Ensei and Eigetsu attend the meeting, while Shunki and Shuurei free Kokujun. It’s a pity he didn’t really turn crazy and followed Enjun’s example. In the end, Shunki talked him out of it by forcing him to take up the position of head of the Sa-Clan. Him, in combination with Shunki and Eiki will prove to be a good head of the clan, while the other stuffed-up bastards who have been causing so many troubles to the Sa-Province have been pushed back.
Still, the really interesting part of the episode came with Seiran and Sakujun. In the end, Seiran desperately wants to put an end to Sakujun. We still don’t really know what caused all his grief in the period he spent with the Satsujinzoku, but he’s seeing Sakujun as a huge threat to Shuurei because of it. He’s even willing to wage his own life to mere luck, in order to get rid of him. And then still it’s a matter of 50% chance of success. The next episode will probably focus on this little game of them, which really makes me look forward to it.
It’s interesting, with this, there are still five episodes left of the first season. I wonder what kind of ending the creators are having in mind. For only five episodes remaining, just having Sakujun as an antagonist probably won’t be enough to provide a challenge to Shuurei. There will probably be time devoted for Shuurei to get used to her position of the governor of the Sa Clan, but that’s not what you’d consider a climax, would you?]]>
Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto – 22
Short Synopsis: Kakunojou finally performs in a play again. Akizuki meanwhile catches up with Enomoto and Soutetsu carries on with his own plans.
Good: Great climax, excellent episode.
Bad: The episode started a bit slow, perhaps.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
Ah, you could call this episode the beginning of the ending. First of all, Akizuki manages to return, in an attempt to cut down the head once again, instead of sealing it. Soutetsu brings Kakunojou to the scene of fighting, and she once again protects Enomoto from being harmed by Akizuki. With this, Soutetsu hoped that he could show her that she needs to guide Akizuki, in order for his mission to succeed. After Akizuki retreated, he tells her this in person. I’m still not sure what he’s after. Apparently, he wants something to happen between Akizuki’s sword and the lord’s head. but what woould be worth going through so much trouble, just for that?
The supporters of the new government (at least, I assume it was them) also arrived in Hakodate during this episode. Their first attack failed, due to the clash between Akizuki and Kakunojou, but they’ll probably be back for a second attempts. I wonder what they’ve still got to add to the storyline. The Englishmen, by the way, also returned at the end of the episode. They’re probably assigned to stop the Lord’s Head at all costs, but I suspect that there’s also a great desire of revenge in them, for what happened with Rook. Especially Queen should have quite a grudge.
Tetsunosuke (that was his name, wasn’t it), meanwhile, start to develop feelings for Kakunojou. I’m not sure why the creators suddenly decided to introduce another love rival for her at this point of the anime. I mean, they’ve already got a huge story, why introduce yet another love-triangle which will probably end up either useless or forced?
Anyway, I really liked Kakunojou’s play. I’m not yet sure what it was meant to symbolize, but it definitely made her think about her mission.]]>
FREEDOM – 02
Short Synopsis: Earth has become completely uninhabitable due to the fall of a huge space station down the atmosphere. At least, that’s what people want the citizens of Eden to believe.
Good: The ending of the episode.
Bad: Okay, it wasn’t too realistic, though.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
Ah, why not. I’m going to blog this OVA. It’s only coming out once a season, and it could definitely use a bit of extra attention, as the setting is really interesting so far. I like how this anime uses the technique of cell-shading. It definitely works as an art style, though the creators still haven’t figured out how to synchronize mouth movement properly apparently.
This anime basically tells two stories: that of Takeru and his surroundings, his friends and his rivals, and his search for the mysterious girl in the picture. The first part may be nice and all, but what really caught my interest was the second part, ever since the ending of the previous episode. Me likes the mystery. This episode basically shows Takeru, trying to find the girl on the picture, and eventually discovering that she’s from earth. For some reason, however, the authorities of Eden are determined to keep this a secret from their citizens.
I loved the ending of this episode. Okay, it’s a bit overglorified, only when Takeru climbs a not-so-large mountain, he sees the earth very clearly, instead of on the horizon, and he just happens to run into the messages from earth, but I’m willing to forgive this to the creators. It seems this anime is going to focus on Takeru, as he tries to go against the government of Eden and return to earth. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the end. So far, there are a lot of bad OVA’s around here, but FREEDOM definitely is worth watching.]]>
Red Garden – 19
Short Synopsis: This episode develops lots of relationships: the one between Kate and Paula, Rose and her father, Claire and her brother and Rachel and Luke.
Good: Kate.
Bad: No bad points this time.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10
Whoa! The next paragraph will be a major spoiler for the next episode, so if you haven’t seen it yet, close this window NOW, if you don’t want to be spoiled. I accidentally noticed Impz talking about it in IRC, and I just have to confirm whether it’s true or not.
I was lurking a bit in #animeblogger, and then I noticed Impz mentioning that the creators of Red Garden aren’t afraid to kill off a major character for the progression of the story. Afterwards, I tried to forget it, but OMG, are the creators really planning to kill of Kate!? Seriously, she could have been considered the main character of this show. Of all the four girls, she got involved with the main storyline the fastest, and it was her that Hervé started dating. And now she’s just going to die like that? Okay, I don’t know if it’s really true, but the ending of the episode sent some really big hints. O_o
Regarding deaths, Neil also died! To make things even sadder, this makes his only reason in this anime to be killing off Kate. To make things even more complicated, the head-officer died so that Neil could die, so that Kate could die. It’s like a domino-effect! Are the creators going to keep this up until they kill off every single character of the cast? It would be disturbing, but seeing that there are still 7 episodes left, I’m feeling that lots of characters are going to die in the next couple of episodes. O_o
Also, regarding the main part of the episode, that one was meant to develop the different girls even more than they already were. And guess what, the predictions I made in the first half of the series for both Rachel and Kate were way off. Luke comes back, and even after dating Amanda he still loves Rachel. It’s not Luke who dumps Rachel, it’s Rachel who dumps Luke. Paula also was never in trouble because of Rachel’s bad attendance. She was in trouble because she kept worrying about Kate. She knew everything, and she even loved her (at least I had that part correct). The scene between Paula and Kate was too sad, by the way.
Claire was just adorable. She’s become rather spaced-out, after the previous episode. On top of that, she finds out that her father has actually been helping her brother. Rose, meanwhile, develops a cold during the episode. Fairly predictable, but right now, she’s getting even closer to her father.]]>
Death Note – 21
Short Synopsis: A Misa-episode. See what happens when the other idiot acts on her own.
Good: Finally the plot moves along a bit faster. And finally Misa gets a bit useful again.
Bad: Still, Misa remains annoying. Just as Light and the non-Kira members of the Yotsuba-group.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10
Finally we see Rem again. The mystery of the third Death Note also has been solved with this. Instead of a third Death God descending down to earth, we have Rem, who went to the Yotsuba-group. In there, she told the current holder of the Death Note about Misa being the second Kira, though this person appeared to be a complete bastard with the same intentions of Kira-Light: kill Misa after using her. This time, however, she can’t blackmail him for some strange reason. Most probably, this reason is Light.
In the end, everything is one big scheme, thought out by Light. Right now, he’s fooling L completely. He sent Rem to the Yotsuba-group, and right now he’s just waiting for the right opportuned moment in which he’ll regain his memory, and probably kill L at the same time. I wish that moment would hurry up.
Misa also made one annoyingly huge mistake when she showed the conversation of her with Higuchi: taking L lightly. From the outside, wouldn’t it have been strange for Misa to just know and pick out the right Kira? After all, if she would have chosen the wrong Kira, he would have reported it to the others. Also, how is she going to cover up for the death of that important CEO-guy? I mean, L can check this right away, and from this point, it’ll be easy to figure out the rest.
On a side-note, I like how Mochi finally got a personality this episode. He’s always been staying in the shadows, but now that Misa needs another manager, it looks like he’s finally getting some scenes of his own. Actually, in comparison to Matsuda, I kindof like him. He’s not as air-headed as Matsuda, he isn’t really good at acting, but still he wants to do his best. The result was pretty funny. ^^;]]>