Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

If you know me, you know I’m a huge Lucky☆Star fanatic. From April 8, I spent twenty-four Sundays drawn to Kyoto Animation’s next big thing. Unfortunately, it was a bit too great for me that I neglected to even blog it so my goal for this coming October is to finally express in about six or so entries my impressions on the series episode by episode. Of course being a huge ‘tard I also have to listen to the CDs, read the 4koma, etc. For now though, I’d like to review the first 8 Character CDs featuring the girls of Lucky☆Star! Read more

And thus, another season of anime is upon us. It’s during this time I really start to get excited about the new shows and start to see which ones I’d take to from summaries, trailers, and images available. As always my sources come from the usual suspects: Pukiwiki, ANN, AniDB, AnimeSuki Forums, MOON PHASE and others. So many thanks to those sites for the abundance of information.

I’m not entirely sure how many shows I’ll be blogging this time around since he new semester has already started (even though I only have one class) and there are such things as job opportunities and the like that will require my immediate attention. So for now I’ll probably say I’ll be picking up at least 4-5 new shows (lol I’m sure you know, with me, it’ll be more) for blogging while the rest remain as strictly watching. I suppose it’ll depend on who’s doing what in the rest of the blogosphere (such as what series is getting tons of attention and which is getting very little) but I usually don’t care about such things if I really want to share my opinions on the show..

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[ Episode 24: Meteor Shower ]

Wow. There were quite a few casualties in this episode. Huang died leading away the Syndicate from Hei, Yin and Mao. Wei is dead after fighting Hei. Amagiri is dead after being roasted by Mai! Holy crap, I suppose one of my dreams came true when I mentioned at the end of her arc that I wanted to see her again before the series ended. Lastly, it seems that Mao, at least his human consciousness, is dead as well. It was pretty sad to see both Huang and Mao go after being around so long and I really did enjoy seeing Mao’s crazy facial expressions. Along with them are the deaths of numerous other Contractors as well.

I really didn’t expect the time-jump with Amagiri and Britta but it was very nice. I think because of that and maybe a few other uses of her power, Amber has now reverted to the appearance of somewhere around 5 years old. At this point though I’m not sure what to expect with the final episode. I really want Hei to survive at the very least so that he and Yin can live together but who knows what can happen to him especially since he still has issues with Amber and his sister. Misaki seems to be in a uncomfortable position inside of Pandora and while her well-being is in question I think she’ll survive to the very end.

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[ Episode 29-30: Blast Him Into the Next Dimension! Naruto Shippuuden Special. ]

Finally we get to see the Mangekyou Sharingan in action! After who knows how many episodes of preparing for it Kakashi used his brand new technique on Deidara and managed to take out his right arm and later on sucked up an explosion that Deidara created as a result of a self-destruction technique. Also, we finally get to see Naruto in his Kyuubi-mode since the battle at VotA with Sasuke. This time, however, he has two tails and is pretty much berserk. After destroying some things though Kakashi manages to bring him back to normal by using a “suppress” seal. At the end Gaara is still dead and everyone knows it, Naruto is in mourning especially because he is also a Jinchuuriki. That’s some pretty emotional stuff there at the end. Naruto has a point about how Jinchuuriki are treated and labeled as weapons and/or demons. I think that the end was done nicely as well with Chiyo starting her resurrection technique. Hopefully next episode will be the end of this arc and episode 32 the start of the next. We’ll have to wait until October 18th anyways. >.<

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[ Episode 23: God is in His Heaven ]

We’re entering the final stretch and things are getting intense. Hei is directly connected in some way with the disappearance of the Gate in South America. Because of this Amber wants him so that the same thing can happen in Tokyo. Of course, the Syndicate doesn’t want this to happen and tried to eliminate him as well as Yin, Mao, and Huang. They receive unexpected help though from Wei. I guess he can be a rather helpful bastard when he’s on the same side as you if only temporarily. We also get to see more of Bai in this episode. I’m not sure what her powers were but they are no doubt deadly as she killed a lot of Contractors in the flashback which was indicated by all of the stars falling as well. Hei seemed to want to help end her suffering as a Contractor for a moment but it’s hard to say what he was going to do with her when he placed his hand around her neck. I’m expecting to see what happened to his sister either in the next episode or the final one.

The other part of this episode I enjoyed was the all of the Misaki and Hei scenes. These two look like the perfect couple and seeing them interact is always a joy to behold. Too bad that a relationship between them will probably never happen though since the end right now doesn’t seem too bright for most of the cast.

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[ Episode 22: The Worn Road is Wet with Tears...(Part 2) ]

LOL. THe start of this episode was absolutely hilarious. While having a monologue, Mao showed some of his best facial expressions and to top it all off he tried to play himself off as a regular cat with a less than enthusiastic “meow”. From there on the episode unfolds as, in my opinion, one of the best of these last episodes. We find out that Amber’s organization is fighting against the Syndicate who plans on wiping Contractors off of the face of the Earth! I knew there was something rotten within the Syndicate for quite some time but I never figured it would be of this proportions. Sadly, November 11 also dies in this episode after taking out his boss and a large number of bodyguards. After Amber told him he was going to die it seems like he was very much prepared for it. Amber predicting the future is very interesting. Is there a limit, I wonder? Does she already know the result of this battle she is fighting already? And how much younger is she going to get?

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[ Episode 21: The Worn Road is Wet with Tears...(Part 1) ]

This was a very good episode. So much start is starting up that the final episodes of DtB are bound to be entertaining to the very end. One of the most interesting things, aside from the totally hot Britta, is that November 11 showed hints of joining Amber’s side. Though, I wonder how genuine his loyalties with be if that’s the case? He seemed to warn Misaki in advance by telling her that there are no allies or enemies at this point but rather she should trust her own instincts. I’m quite concerned that she was arrested by the Pandora special police. As for Amber, I really can’t look at her as a antagonist. Even now she seems to be fighting for something that should be done even if some of the methods are questionable. In my eyes, the Syndicate and Pandora are more ambiguous this far into the series.

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[ Episode 12: School Days ]

School Days has finally ended and Makoto is DEAD. I mean, holy shit, this ending transcends any of the game endings. This episode is so straight to the point that it hardly requires a detailed summary. The events basically play out like this: With Kotonoha now regaining her sanity she and Makoto get back together. Meanwhile, Sekai had finished cooking dinner for Makoto at his place only to find out that he was eating with Kotonoha at some expensive restaurant. Eventually the three meet, Sekai slaps Kotonoha and she tells Sekai about how she betrayed her first and reveals Setsuna’s feelings for Makoto as well. After a devastated Sekai leaves after seeing Kotonoha and Makoto make out everything spirals out of control from there. After receiving a message from Makoto to get an abortion for the baby Sekai goes to meet Makoto at his home. Much silence is present between the two and eventually Makoto gets a message on his cellphone. He’s surprised to see it’s from Sekai and as he turns around, he gets repeatedly stabbed by Sekai to death. I can only imagine how many people are celebrating that! XD

From there Kotonoha discovers the body and immediately goes to meet Sekai. After some words about who was Makoto’s girlfriend and Sekai puking after seeing Makoto’s severed head, the girls start to fight. Kotonoha pulls out her saw while Sekai tries to defend herself with the knife she killed Makoto with but gets it knocked away and Kotonoha ends it all by slices her neck. OH SHI-! Kotonoha then cuts Sekai open and basically says “Just as I thought! There wasn’t any baby in here!”. Best. Line. EVER. And yup, Kotonoha freaking lost it. Cut to a yacht sailing towards the sunset where Kotonoha is Makoto’s head and saying “We’re finally together Makoto-kun!”. Thus ends School Days after some monologue by the now deceased Makoto. Some seriously f*cked up shit, ya?!

So, with seeing this episode I can say that the stations were right in pulling this episode from their schedules. Why? It’s obvious, this episode was just too damn bloody and it would have been inappropriate to air it after the tragic incident last week. About Sekai’s death…I can’t really say she deserved that harsh of a punishment even if she did betray Kotonoha first but who am I to second guess Kotonoha-sama’s judgment? That aside I only have one thing to say for this episode: LOL MAKOTO IS DEAD!

[ Final Thoughts ]

School Days was a rather uncomfortable and, at times, hilarious series to sit down and watch. It did a great job at creating drama. That much is evident because all the characters had some sort of strain on their relationships with each other. Though they did that the majority of the characters weren’t really that likable nor where they developed as much. The only ones that really stood out were Setsuna, Kotonoha, Sekai, and Makoto. Well, it does make sense since they are the main characters of the show but things were only interesting when those four interacted with each other. The one other thing this show excelled at was making you hate the characters. Each person has a character they hate but I’m sure everyone who watched this has one in common. Yes, I’m talking about he who is scum: Makoto. Along with Setsuna, Kotonoha, and Sekai, he is one of the most realistic characters in the show. That is by no means a good thing necessarily. Why? There are many assholes like him in real life who treat girls just as bad if not worse. There are a lot of Kotonoha’s as well who let their friends and boyfriends walk all over them until it becomes too much to bear and eventually breaks down. The Sekai’s out there, while not usually setting up their friends with someone else and then sleeping with them, do betray their friends and while feeling guilty about it they eventually push it aside and fully indulge in their selfish desires. Setsuna…is a rather special case. She did grate on my nerves by interfering with Kotonoha and Makoto, not because I liked them together but really because she had no right in doing so whether it was for Sekai or not and came off as a bitch. Though the main reason is because I didn’t want her to get involved in that love triangle and, well, end up dead. That said, she was and still one of my favorite characters in this show. The other being Kotonoha.

In the end though, the charm of this show was most likely seeing how badly things would be messed up among the characters and anticipating who would finally put Makoto out of his misery. That chosen one was Sekai but the chosen one was immediately taken out by Kotonoha who, by the end of the final episode, had already lost her mind. Seriously, her hugging that head is creepy and the music just made it so even more. So, the question now is, would I recommend this to show to others? It depends really. I would if the person wants to see something new, have a good laugh, see the dark sides of humans, and learn to hate a character with a passion (read: Makoto), then yes I would. However, if they are looking for a school romance with relationships that don’t feel forced and with characters that have genuine feelings for each other then I wouldn’t. There are shows out there that are much better and more appropriate like KGNE or I”s Pure. School Days is in a genre of it’s own and, whether you love it or hate it, makes a mark in anime history as one of the most hyped series of its time. I wouldn’t call the series amazing or great but it was very entertaining. The rating I gave this probably wouldn’t have been so high if it wasn’t for Kotonoha delivering the best line anime history or using shunpo on Sekai. So for her sake I bumped it up a little. Honestly, if you take this show too seriously you may end up giving yourself a headache but it still teaches a valuable lesson even if you were like many others who had a good laugh each episode and that is to not f*ck around with more than one girl. Otherwise, karma will bite you in the ass in one way or another. Either way, I’m certainly not going to forget about School Days any time soon.

[Overall series review: 77/100]

[ Episode 10: Breast Massage? ]

Hilarious to the max. Yup, this episode really delivered the funny with lots of Amuro being, well, Amuro and tons of boob grabbing involving Maaya, Makio, and Shizuoka. Good lord, I laughed so hard at the scene where Shizuoka revealed her breasts. It’s like she can blind everyone within at least a mile radius! There was also a rather popular song that played as she was displaying them to Maaya and Makio. That had me rolling that they’d use an orchestra piece in that situation. The whole watermelon contest was nice as well. I never really thought about eating so many watermelons before that it could cause you to pass out like Amuro’s father did. The ending with the geeks of the swim team was gold. From trying to pick up a little girl to the Nanyou swim team girls and eventually being taken away by a policeman for questioning about the former incident…I was reeling in my chair.

[ Episode 325: The Most Evil Ability! Blackbeard's Darkness Attacks Ace. ]

Holy shit. This episode was flawlessly awesome! When I first saw the preview for this episode I was pretty hyped but not even that prepared me for what happened here. As always, One Piece takes the pages of an already brilliantly written manga and further enhances it with crystal clear and clean animation along with a soundtrack from Movie 7 and pieces from the series itself. Simply put, the fight between Ace and Blackbeard was perfectly done and translates well from paper and ink to the colored screen. Ace and Blackbeard’s respective techniques were not robbed of any excellently crafted animation and I especially loved the last scene with both of them rushing at each other with what seems to be their trump cards. Screens can’t do this episode any just so it must be watched!