Having over a dozen shows to watch each week can make it especially difficult for me to keep up at times, especially when they’re all good shows. I also have the problem of taking on more shows and not really folding them into the regular lineup, but I am reluctant to add more to track and such each week. I dropped Nekogami in favor of Kamisama Dolls, which has worked out well, and I am moving Sacred Seven to hold and putting Yuru Yuri in. Sacred Seven.. it’s not bad, but it’s not good either. I do want to finish it, but probably on off-time or at the end of the season, hence the hold status. Anyway, let’s get to the week in review in order of of the chart.
Kamisama no Memo-Chou 5 continues to star our wayward young lad Narumi as he continues to get into more trouble than he should be, this time helping Souchiro and the gang fulfill a band’s request for new promoters. This lands him square in the middle of a quarrel with a kid who came back to town, and some thugs. Hilarity ensues further as they try to wash Alice’s clothes and animals, only for her to freak out at the idea of Narumi doing it and tries to do it herself, with hilarious results. Always a party for the NEET Detectives.
The showdown between Dai and Rin’s mother finally comes in Usagi Drop 5 with pretty blistering results. It seems due to her work, as some kind of writer or illustrator, she pretty much gave up on Rin not too long after the start, relying on Dai’s grandfather instead. Poor Dai tried to see reason in her, but by the end it became apparent that she did not care at all what happened to her. She asked him at the end to change her name to his family’s surname when she enters Kindergarten. While her intention seemed plausible, that Rin would avoid being teased or questioned for not having the same name as Dai, it just seemed like she was trying to dissolve the last tie she had to her child. Dai did not like the idea of forcing her to change her name and let her decide in the end if she wanted him to adopt her. She refused. Never let it be said that six year olds don’t know what is going on.
This week’s Hanasaku Iroha 18 is like the “All Nako Hour” featuring everyone’s silent but deadly twin-tail showing her true colors outside of the inn, with a rather amusing visual tale of her plight as a mermaid. My heart pretty much exploded on contact with most of this episode, because if there is any character in this show that deserved an episode much less a proper view of herself, it was Nako. The new outfit was also DAT HHNNGGG.
Another episode of Yune’s adventures in Paris in Ikoku Meiro no Croisee 5 as she learns a lesson in the mannerisms of French people, and I found this interesting because it’s always been a stereotype joke that French people are snooty and uptight about things, but the way Japanese animators portrayed it in this episode seemed like you can’t even approach them with a smile. Still, Yune’s reactions are priceless as always and she got lost trying to catch the boy who stole the candle holder. I’m sure we’ll see the kid again.
Okabe continues to attempt to backtrack his D-Mails in Steins;Gate 18, this time working on Ruka’s D-Mail to the past to her mother’s pager to influence the foods she ate in order to have Ruka be a girl instead of a guy. It worked, but it cost Okabe and Co. the IBN 5100, which female-Ruka accidentally dropped and broke when cleaning out the storehouse. This was after undoing Feyris’ D-Mail that brought them back to the world line where her father died, and the IBN ended up at the shrine as was intended in the original line. Ruka’s condition however for giving him the pager number, was to go out on a date with her. They went on a rather awkward date, with Kurisu and Daru tailing them. Finally she confesses that she loves Okabe but that she doesn’t want to see Mayu hurt, and agrees to allow him to undo the D-Mail. Okabe moves back into the previous line, Ruka now a guy again.
Mayo Chiki 5 introduces another piece into Kin’s twisted love affair with a female butler, and that is Masamune Usami, who seems to know his sister and fight just as well. She is also a member of the S4 group after Subaru, and is locked in war with the opposing group, no thanks to Kin’s new friendship with Subaru. She wants him to pretend he is her boyfriend for the festival, much to Subaru’s dismay. Random hilarity ensues of course and by the end, I couldn’t tell her from Kureha really, at all. Eh well.
One of the longest running gags in Baka Test 5 is no doubt Himeji’s cooking, and the black society that hovers around Aki, not to mention the visual gags between him and Yuuji. It seems someone else is doing peeping and snooping besides Voyeur (much to his dismay) and blackmailing the two with it. Trying to avoid a confrontation with the girls they try to investigate, but their female culprit is one step quicker and places devices that pin them to the wall first. Not to be discouraged, they launched an all out attack on the girl’s bath, only to be intercepted by Iron Man and other teachers. Nothing is spared, except Hideyoshi.
A writer murder mystery is up this week in Dantalian no Shoka 4 as Huey and Dalian visit the author of a book series Dalian was reading and waiting for the final book. Isolated in the mountains, they arrive to find a woman who turns them away. Noting some peculiar sights, they return in the evening to find him dead in a cellar with another woman alive. The next day when they are allowed to meet him though, he is very much alive typing on his typewriter. He types for them to find the woman and run. But when they return to the cellar that night, she is dead and he is alive. The other woman possesses a Phantom Book that resurrects a person at the cost of another person, so the two were repeating killed and resurrected, so many times that they fused into one being and killed their opresser before vanishing. The real script for the final book was found, but discarded by Dalian because it didn’t fit her envisioned ending.
Rage continues to be on the menu in Kamisama Dolls 5 as Rage McKyouhei last tried to beat the shit out of Aki before a Seki battle ensued between Utao and what looks like her twin, but is a male. A large fight breaks out among their dolls resulting in townspeople witnessing the fight and damaged property all around. Finally Utao succeeds in bringing the other doll down, but not without incuring damage to her own. They are forced to return to the village to seek repairs, while glasses girl looks to somehow rope Aki into spilling his secrets of the village to her, no matter what.
I’m a bit disappointed with this week’s Loli Jam 6 because it’s bad enough that we have a little girl cast doing things like dressing upin maid outfits and playing basketball, but for Subaru to get pinned in clearly terrible situations is just sliding his character down from it’s first five episode high. Not to mention this scene here with him under Tomoka’s futon, I mean shit, she must like hm enough to let him stay under there. As for the episode, training for the big game, which they won, without the boy. Eh. Still a fun series, but it started out better.
I do enjoy watching Nichijou 18 but you have to admit, once you understand the formula of:
- Yuuko
- Yuuko REACTION FACE
- Helvetica Standard
- Yuuko REACTION FACE
- Short Thoughts
- Static scene that subtly changes meant as a transitional piece
- Yuuko/Mio FIGHTAN/REACTAN/WALKAN
- Professor/Sakamoto/Nano
- Yuuko REACTION FACE
- Things We Love
- ???
- Yuuko REACTION FACE
…your mileage varies.
I have no TLDR for Sacred Seven yet this week because I’ve yet to watch it, but I will have a bit on Yuru Yuri either this week or next. Saimoe 2011 begins this week, so expect sparse updates on this end during the main parts of the tournament. Rank charts will however be updated weekly so never fear there.