Archive for October, 2007
Darker than BLACK ep. 25 [END] + Review ~ 89/100
[ Episode 25: Are dreams of the Shinigami a darkness darker than black? ]
It took me quite a while to watch this episode but I finally did. At the very end of it though despite feeling satisfied in some way I had a hard time trying to think of what I want to say about this final episode and the series as a whole. So this will probably be a short review compared to others.
For some reason a part of this episode didn’t feel “final” for me. Though, I loved the scenes where Hei saw his sister, Xing/Pai, Amber and the rest of the dearly departed and the following scenes of Yin reaching out to save Hei (I really felt her sincerity in her voice asking him not to leave her behind) and him saving Misaki. I smiled at how Misaki knew that he was Li, though I wonder for how long she knew. In the end though, the finale was quite open-ended. There wasn’t enough closure for things such as the status of both Hei and Yin, the identity of the Syndicate, who the Stargazer is, and why the Gates came to be in the first place, among other things. No matter though, since I do feel that the end of the episode conveyed the final message pretty clearly and that is that Contractors and Humans will have to learn to coexist with each other as time progresses and I think that was put across quite while with Hei being both a human and a Contractor and the relationship/interactions he shared with Misaki as Li.
[ Final Thoughts ]
In a way I’m really sad to see this series end. I felt the same way when Reideen ended because I felt so attached to the characters and seeing them each week. Darker than BLACK started off with a lot of potential in the beginning and ended using up most of that potential but I still feel that a bit more could have been done. There were lots of interesting characters, plenty of exciting moments and more than enough thought-provoking plot points involving the Contractors and Dolls. I feel that this series can go on even if just for a short while in some format whether it be a second season or OVA. Speaking of which, an OVA is scheduled for release with the final DVD release some time next year. It’s going to be quite a wait but I don’t mind, it’ll be interesting to see what it contains and whether it wraps up some of the loose-ends and shows us how Hei and Yin are doing.
[Overall series review: 89/100]
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Bamboo Blade ep. 2
NARUTO: Shippuuden ep. 31
[ Episode 31: Thing to be Inherited ]
So, Chiyo died and Gaara was revived. I liked how they emphasized the scene with the appropriate music and reactions from the characters, especially Sakura, Naruto, and Gaara. I found it interesting how they managed to squeeze in Gaara’s fangirls, particularly the one from the last filler arc in the original Naruto series. Next week doesn’t seem to kick off the new arc but I’m guessing episodes 33 or 34 will. The new OP and ED songs were awesome. The OP sequence was excellently done which included Sai and Yamato. The ED sequence was a bit too…how shall I say…”metro” with Sai’s poses though the book stuff is funny and we even got to see the butterfly from the very first Naruto ED, Wind.
4 commentsPrism Ark ~ First Impressions
I had my eye on this show for quite some time before it aired and it ended up being more or less what I had expected. At least with the very first episode. It was quite intense with the switching between the battle between the main character’s and the antagonist, Sister Hell, and what is apparently a story of the past. Some things don’t quite add up right now but it is quite early in the show to be worrying about such things. The characters introduced so far seem to be more than interesting enough to care about, especially Hyaweh, Priecia, and Sister Hell. I’m guessing more plot will appear in the next episode or two since they only touched on some issues in the first episode, and well, this is a 12 episode series so I don’t think they’ll waste time.
I’ll be following this and will probably make entries about my thoughts when I feel I should. While Prism Ark isn’t the best show of the season it has the potential to be one of the best with a decent set of characters lined up, a cool male lead who isn’t a wuss and knows how to treat the ladies, and a badass female villain who doesn’t waste time with trying to eliminate the heroes. Well, there are a few more reasons as well but those should be more or less apparent. 
Hayate no Gotoku! ep. 29
[ Episode 29: Marriage Meeting ]
This episode was HILARIOUS. I was wondering where the whole Saki wanting a marriage meeting angle was going but it ended up for the better. Hayate reading lips wrongly, Maria getting cut off from singing her song, and Yukiji being the one who kidnapped Kaoru-sensei and confirmed to be even stronger than Tama…it was all a good mix of enjoyable stuff. I also absolutely loved the Yugioh and Sailor Moon references. That butler at the very end got totally defeated by Sailor Moon’s Heartattack technique! I’m not sure if they’ll be doing a Butler Battle every week but it sure seems like a good idea if they can make them as exciting and funny as this one was.
Hayate no Gotoku! ep. 28
[ Episode 28: Black Hayate ]
What a nice and Hayate-like end to such a good arc. Kuzuha was hilarious as expected and even had her character in clothes similar to Revy from Black Lagoon (they do share the same seiyuu after all). Hayate managed to win the tournament through constant forfeitures and his only real battles were with Hinagiku and Shion. The latter of which ended as quickly as it started. I never expected Shion to be such a small girl, lol. I don’t know what to expect from this League of Mysterious Dark Butlers but I can hardly wait until they expand on that storyline. All I know is that it practically came out of no where but, come on, this is Hayate no Gotoku after all.
Hayate no Gotoku! ep. 27
[ Episode 27: Hayate Rises Upon the Earth ]
The new OP is awesome! Kuzuha has also skyrocketed into place as one of my favorite characters in the series right now. She is absolutely made of WIN. I loved the whole Butler Battle Tournament setup to bits. Hinagiku’s entry to her first match was absolutely legendary! This is easily one of the best episodes of the series for me so far. I enjoyed it all from beginning to end. I particularly laughed at scenes like when Hayate was defeated by Shion by her simply blowing into his ear. Dear lord, how does one come up with the insane stuff in HnG? I can’t wait for more of the “Shine! Butler Battle Tournament!” in the next episode.
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