Minnie: Because I have a party to attend to tomorrow, chances are I will not be updating this blog like always with the exception of maybe Hakushaku to Yousei when I get home because I simply adore that anime thus far. For all you Hakushaku fans, chances are it will be released on Saturday or Sunday (if Halloween delays). Actually, I might not be updating often at all!

Minnie: In any case, I have a lot of writing to do and with National Novel Writing Month starting tomorrow, I will concentrate most of my efforts on that. Ric will also be participating. We’re hoping to bribe Koala with candy into doing it as well. Oh! And I bought a new video game today too. In conclusion, due to lots of writing and video gaming, I might delay a lot of reviews. However, I guarantee that I will try to keep up as usual, at least more than someone.

Garrick: … I don’t know if you want me to LIST all the things that I was stuck with. It’s more than 50,000 words a month. That’s all I know. *glares*

Minnie: *glares back* I’ll give this a week to see how busy I might become thanks to this writing contest/event, my own writing, video games, and a couple of other things to do. Anyways, since Koala gave us his priority list, I might as well list mine. The following are the animes I’m watching in order of priority:

Hakushaku to Yousei (My most prioritized anime and I will surely not miss a review on this)

Tales of the Abyss (My top anime this season. Even though it’s a team review, I will keep up on this)

Vampire Knight Guilty (Although not my favorite anime this season, it is by far one of the more popular anime I’m watching and reviewing. I will not disappoint my readers)

Skip Beat (This is another one of my solos. Because I am the only one responsible for solos, I try to put more priority in watching and reviewing them)

Kuroshitsuji (Because this anime is at the bottom of Koala’s priority list, I will make it up by having at least one opinion)

Ga-Rei Zero (Yet, another solo. Out of all my solos, this is the lowest on my priority list but I will get it done in time I hope)

Nodame Cantabile Paris (Because I love Nodame, I will try to leave time for her)

Hyakko/~ef~ a tale of melodies (Both of these are low on my priority list because Koala will surely cover them even if I don’t)

Toradora (Yes, I like Toradora. The only problem is I have two reliable reviewers who will take care of this anime for me. If one is lazy, the other one better make up for it. If not, I shoot them both with arrows)

Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka (Because both Koala and I decide to drop this, it’s obvious why it’s the lowest on my list. The only reason I’m watching it is for Minato)

-Minnie, Rose-Wisteria

Minnie: Hyakko is updated very fast this week! I am impressed! I should really pay more attention to dates. I want to compare update dates each week for different animes to see which ones are out faster than the others. Isn’t that fun? Or is it I have no life whatsoever? Moving on, judging from the title and the beginning, this episode is probably about food, the cafeteria, and a bit more on the other minor characters. Like I said last episode, they are very colorful characters and I enjoy meeting those female characters again. If the story revolves only the main four, I don’t think I’ll be too excited, no offense to the main four especially my love Torako. I want to see if I’m right or wrong…

Garrick: Actually, that’s a ratehr good idea. I’m wondering if there’s a trend in release time for subs. Anyhow… I don’t even know how you could ever think that the anime would be soley around the main four. With the semi-introduction of other characters in the last episode, I’d feel ripped off if they didn’t use them in the story. And I would agree, having a story based just around those four could be repetitive, but I’m sure I’d enjoy it.

Minnie: I must admit. Although Hyakko isn’t the most exciting anime I’m watching this season, it’s very cute and it delivers what it is good at- portraying the lifestyles of students on campus in an exaggerated, humorous manner. This episode up to where I watch to so far focuses on the cafeteria. After Torako decides that she must eat in the ladies’ dining room after seeing all those bentos, she manages to bring Ayu with her. Suzume just tags along. In any case, they meet Tatsuki there who again is not delighted at all at Torako. Before they order, they buy it through vouchers. I must say that is a pretty efficient method. And with that extra combo size too! If I weren’t on a diet, I would eat 1.5x the amount too. The menu is nice too. I want to go to that school. XD In the end, everyone ends up with the combo size except for Tatsuki. I’m betting anything that Suzume and Torako actually wanted the combo size and clicked the button themselves. Ayu is at the receiving ends of Torako’s tactics again. Tatsuki saves herself in time.

Garrick: Oh, I’m seeing time and time again, Haruhi Suzumiya in Torako. The way she whimsically presses the “Large Portion” button for Ayu made me laugh. But, even more Torako-like is the way she presses it for herself, yet knows she can’t finish it. The way she instinctively presses it (and everything else she does) makes her such a hilarious character. Oh, and did I mention that Ayu is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE? The wat she gets stressed out over having too much food is adorable! Of course, I know Minnie probably wouldn’t agree with me.

Minnie: The point the next scene is trying to make I believe is to show the differences among the girls in regards to food. Torako and Suzume eat like… starved children. Ayu eats in a ladylike and very cute manner. We don’t get to see Tatsuki eat but we know she prefers Western food over Japanese food (I think?). Oh, and we also learn that Ayu and Torako are average eaters while Suzume has a bottomless stomach. No surprise there. Not only do we know about their tolerance for food, we know about their figures too. Suzume and Torako look flat-chested. Ayu and Tatsuki look more full in that department. In any case, it’s ‘fat’ and Suzume wants some of that. XD I guess she didn’t think the fat Ayu was thinking about was elsewhere…

Garrick: Oh, wow. This scene made me laugh, but in a way, this type of scene is like… EVERY comedy anime. But, well, it was cute. Suzume’s awesome just the way she is.

Minnie: Art class continues with this concept of figures. I guess we get to know more about the girls’ figure as well as their artistic abilities? We are introduced to Komi or previously known as Ms. Smiles by me. She takes pictures and seems to always be smiling. Since they are one person short in the class, Komi joins Torako and Ayu. Tatsuki and Suzume are the other pair if anyone’s wondering. There’s one thing I really really like about this anime and it is the character designs. All the characters are very colorful, almost as much as their personalities. We get to see that very well right now with Bi-chan and others. The poor, cute character Ayu from this point forward, I will declare you as the… “Mikuru” of the show. Komi and Torako are totally exposing her with photos and sexy poses. A never ending torture for the cute characters… Oh and Suzume is being Suzume. Care to take a guess what pose she did?

Garrick: I. LOVE. AYUMI. As… well… torturing to her this is… I must say I enjoyed that. Although, I must say that she’d look much better with long hair. Long hair > Short hair. Always. But, yeah. That was cute. Obviously, though, Komi’s using that to sell to people.

Minnie: Yay. It’s time to switch places. Enough of Ayu already! I think all of us can agree at this point that the Torako group has totally forgotten their assignments because I mean Torako is doing sexy poses for the camera now. XD With her hair down! O_O I am ashame to say it got my attention since Torako is indeed prettier that way. And Bi-chan agrees with me since she literally jumps Torako. Yup, the camera’s flashing. What a scoop. I must admit when Bi-chan appears and sees Torako, it got a laugh out of me because she’s so bi. I’m amazed that the teacher doesn’t care and yet, Tatsuki does. Hehe. I really enjoy seeing Tatsuki taking lead. It amuses me. The scene with the two elementary school student seems pointless… as of now. It might actually mean something later on.

Garrick: Oh, look at that. My statement PROVEN. Torako with hair down >> Torako with hair tied. So much. GAH. Just thinking about it is like… WOW. And, Minnie, why would you be ashamed. It’s a huge difference, and anyone would be surprised. Just ask Andou.

Minnie: The ending is predictable in my opinion. Torako draws Tatsuki like a devil. Komi laughs about it. They both get beat up by Tatsuki later. After Ayu looks through the collection of photos on the camera, she ponders about growing her hair long. I hope everyone figure out by now that Komi is selling those photos for profit but who is this customer? Bi-chan? Oh Bi-chan! I’ll vote for you for president any day! Overall, it is a pretty entertaining episode. It has a lot of character development and the more amusing bits at the end. Even though I am not as impressed with this one as the last one, i have to give it to the creators. This is a very solid anime. It’s not fantastic, but it’s not average or terrible. It knows how to pace itself and it knows how to stick with its material. Ms. Delinquent is here next episode! I want to see her again.

Garrick: I have really only one hope for this anime. KEEP TORAKO’S HAIR DOWN!!!!! PLEASE!!! I will seriously cry if the anime starts next episode with her hair up.

Minnie’s Overall Rating for Episode: 7/10

Garrick’s Rating for Episode Four: 9/10

Minnie’s Anticipation for Next Episode: 7/10

Garrick’s Anticipation Scale: 10/10

            -Minnie and Garrick

Minnie: Hi peeps! Skip Beat is updated at last after a long, long wait. I’ve been dying to know what happens next so I’m pleasantly surprised to see that it’s up today. In my head, I thought all fansub groups drop it, which would be a shame because it’s one heck of a shoujo show so far. So far, I am a fan of Kyoko. I think she is funny, charming, determined, and scary all at the same time. What more can I ask from a shoujo heroine? Why can’t there be more characters like Kyoko? In any case, my intro paragraph is getting too long now so I must go on with my summary and opinions!

In the first minutes of the episode, we learn that Kyoko is now working instead of sulking over her defeat. Good girl. Or not. The real reason why she’s now washing cars is because she gave up on her goal to enter show biz. Since Kyoko failed at the audition, she lacks all motivation to seek her revenge against Sho. She knows it’s not fair but this is how it has to be. The couple she is staying with- the wife is worried that Kyoko has given up all hope but the husband is confident she will stand on her two feet once more. Meanwhile, Kyoko is sad and well, rethinking why she chooses to enter such an industry in the first place. LME is the name if I remember correctly. But of course, the reason is it’s against Sho’s company. This is when Kyoko rethinks her course of action and enter the show biz in a different way. Nope. Not a good idea either.

Back to work, she is on break when a commercial pops up about Sho and some kind of cosmetic product. I admit that Sho is very pretty for a bastard of course. He is gleaming in the sunlight and everything in the commercial. The other workers are swooning over Sho. As for Kyoko, she lost her willpower to stand up out of hatred and anger. But to everyone else, they mistakes this for her undying love for her. The coincidence is that he is right outside the building, standing against his van and waiting for the van to be refilled with gas. Even though Kyoko fantasizes about beating him up in her head, she cannot actually do this because he will simply laugh at her for giving up and working at such a place. Instead, she avoids him as much as possible.

In anime, this never works and it sort of doesn’t in this case either. Even though Kyoko avoids Sho, her co-worker who is asking for his autograph points Kyoko out about how she lost her will to stand at the sight of Sho on television. In Kyoko’s mind, she screams out that it’s due to her hatred for him but instead, she says pretty words to praise him out loud. He loves it of course. In any case, her co-worker ruins it for her again. Her co-worker asks Sho to shake Kyoko’s hand and almost says her first name when Kyoko stops her co-worker in time. Despite Sho and Kyoko making eye contact, Sho merely smiles at her and shakes her hand. He even sees her whole face and hair color and everything but still, no recognition. Gaping, she watches as the van drives away soon after.

You know what sucks? When you hate someone and think about that person every day of your life, and yet, to that person, you are nothing. This is how it must be for Kyoko. To her, Sho doesn’t even care about her at all. He can’t even recognize her with her new hairstyle and hair color. In reality, in the van, he is a bit intrigued by that fan since she knows what words to flatter him like Kyoko used to. He supposedly thinks there are a lot of fans with that hair color so doesn’t give it much thought. In any case, Kyoko is in her room, sulking. Her mind’s stuck in a maze with no way out. She’s been running around in circles. Thanks to the husband who encourages her, Kyoko decides to re-enter the industry. If there’s a wall blocking her way, she will have to crush it down!

At LME the next day, Sawara is a bit sad that Kyoko hasn’t shown her face yet. The president Lory is waiting for as well. Sawara is spending some time talking to Ren about Kyoko again. Both of them know her true motivation of seeking revenge against Sho. Ren doesn’t hate or like her. What an odd guy. He just thinks her goal is stupid and yeah, that’s it. Kyoko is actually assigned to a new section call “Love Me” that both Sawara and Lory thought of. The purpose of the section is to get stamps from people who appreciates the work they do. Once they receive enough stamps or “love”, these people are allowed a grand debut for her their hard work. It’s funny how Kyoko is doing her part of the job without even knowing it by helping an actress carry her luggage. Ren is there to explain everything as well as show her the consequences of allowing him to help her with the luggage. How evil yet so awesome. <3

In conclusion, I am okay with this episode. I like it because it’s interesting and picks up where the plot leaves off. The plot is getting more interesting with every new episode. I like that a lot. But as for the episode itself, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the last one. The only memorable scene in the entire episode is the one in which Sho and Kyoko see each other again, in which case Sho doesn’t even recognize her. Sigh. It’s kind of ironic, sad, and very dramatic. I have a feeling I will love the next episode but this one is just a setting up episode so yeah. Nothing more to say except that I like Ren despite how evil he might seem. To me, he appears to be helping her in his own way. I can’t wait for next episode!

Minnie’s Overall Rating for Episode: 7/10

Minnie’s Anticipation for Next Episode: 9/10

Minnie: Hello everybody! Like always, I am the first one to post because well, I have a hard time reviewing/summarizing the episode if I wait a day after I watch the episode. Most of you who follow my posts know that I type up the summary while I watch the episode. This is the case with ToraDora as well. Just in case you guys haven’t heard, Ric will be joining Koala and I on reviewing ToraDora. Yes, it’s a three-way review. More opinions the better right? In any case, I, myself, have been anticipating this episode for a while now because Ami makes her appearance! Yay! I’m probably the only member of my trio who has been looking forward to Ami the most since I’ve seen her in the OP and ED. In any case, on with the review!

Garrick: Ah, yes. Officially, our first triple review. How fun.

Minnie: The episode starts off with breakfast. Like always, poor Ryuuji who has to deal with both Taiga and his own mother. Sometimes, while I watch scenes like this in which Ryuuji is the responsible one, I feel like he’s probably my favorite character in ToraDora thus far (besides that one blue-haired male student in class). Plus, I find his obsessive cleaning behavior charming. In any case, Ryuuji is sad now because Minori is not working at Johnny’s that day. Last day of holidays and all. After Taiga splashes into Ryuuji’s eyes, she goes kawaii at a picture of a model. But the thing she wants is the bag. Then, she actually wants Ryuuji to see the model because guess what? That same model just entered the restaurant. Her name is Kawashimi Ami. In any case, can you say “spy time”? Taiga and Ryuuji are now watching her and drinking water in a similar fashion. They also spat the water out in unison when their friend/classmate/crush Kitamura walks in and greets Ami. The two of course get spotted by Kitamura who comments on how close they are. Then, he makes a formal introduction- Ami is his childhood friend. This is going to get very interesting.

Garrick: It’s rather amazing that Ryuuji can support the people he does; Taiga and Yasuko both rely on him. And rather ironically, he’s the best at doing tasks like cooking and cleaning in the whole cast. I’ll probably have to agree, that Ryuuji is one of my favorite characters. Of course, I love Minorin; that will never change. But Ryuuji is coming close, just in the say he’s so responsible. Anyhow… the synchronized water spit was rather funny. Just goes to show how connected the two are.

Minnie: Ami is acting very innocent, cute, and modest at the moment when Ryuuji points out her picture in the magazine. She is glancing away, moving her feet around, etc. This is not what I expect of Ami. Moving along, Kitamura suggest the four of them have a “chat”. The only one who seems enthusiastic about this idea is Ami. When this “chat” begins, Ami and Kitamura are the only ones talking. Ami pulls off a pity act with her “People always say I’m clumsy and air-headed” when she accidentally (or purposely) pours some sugar into Ryuuji’s coffee. I believe that whatever her purpose is, Ami is doing very well. Ryuuji’s blushing. Taiga’s quiet (not good!). And Kitamura… just left for the bathroom. Awkward. Real awkward. Very awkward. Ryuuji can’t take it anymore and makes the same excuse.

Garrick: I’ll be honest, when I first saw Ami’s “personality”, it seemed too… well… stereotypical for it to be her real personality. That is what I actually thought. While, quite honestly, if I found myself in a situation like that in real life… I’d be confused and nervous like Ryuuji. And, really, I do like her personality… at least, her fake one. But, I’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t… maybe.

Minnie: Spy time is back again! Except this time, we have Kitamura and Ryuuji team-up to watch Ami and Taiga. And already, at the first chance of showing her true self, Ami doesn’t disappoint. Kitamura describes her as “spoiled, selfish, and rude” and she fits the description to a par. I mean already, she suggests to Taiga that she will steal Ryuuji from her, using her pretty face. That is saying something! Anyways, I can’t tell if Ami is provoking Taiga on purpose or she is being her usual self. I am leaning on both, with her being her usual self, which inevitably means irritating others around her. Ami goes on about height now… and… SLAP! Ami receives a slap from Taiga. A well-deserved one at that. And yeah, end of that scene.

Garrick: Hah! HAH! HAHHHHH! Go Taiga!!! I’m going to agree. Ami did deserve it. But, really, Taiga was just awesome in this scene. Despite her usual self, Taiga didn’t show her emotions. She didn’t get rattled by Ami’s constant insults… and just sat there ignoring her. That shows pure mental control right there. I’d have cracked… maybe, if I was in her position. But either way, going onto height was… well… as you could guess by Taiga’s reaction… overdoing it.

Minnie: At home, Taiga is eating a lot again. She complains about Ami in front of Ryuuji. At least, we know that she is honest wtih Ryuuji enough to tell him about her feelings. Good old Taiga. She picks Ryuuji apart by pointing out that a certain someone was lovestruck over her a few hours ago. Haha! So true! Anyways, the rant is obviously pointed at Ami and Taiga says that at least the two of them won’t be seeing her again. As the audience, we can laugh at how ironic this is. Let’s just see how their second meeting goes shall we? Oh! And it’s so soon too! Ami transfers to their school and into their class. My favorite character jumps up and shouts out “An angel has decended!”. The rest of the class have similar reactions, except for the three we know personally of course. Taiga is not going to like her time at school very much is she?

Minnie: Of all the times, they choose P.E. for the next scene. Not only is Ami cute and stands out in a crowd, she wears a light blue jersey that is quite flashy to make herself more noticeable. Her airheaded and modest act from before comes into play with the other students. Everyone is smitten by her. Minori is funny in that she can clearly see that Ami is cute and has a nice sense of fashion, but her rador can’t detect it. XD That’s hilarious. Kitamura and Ryuuji who already know her true nature has a conversation on how good she is with people and that Kitamura didn’t tell Ryuuji ahead of time that she’s transferring because he wants Ryuuji to see her for who she really is. To Kitamura, he doesn’t hate her true self and he wants other people to know about it too and accept her for who she truly is. Kitamura is a really kind guy. I am beginning to like him better because of this.

Garrick: *sigh* I really wish they’d kept that other personality of Ami’s. In a way, at least. Somehow, I just love characters like that. But, anyway, Minorin is absolutely adorable. Her little “Cute Girl Radar” doesn’t react? At least we know why.

Minnie: The vending machine is up next. This scene is very ironic when you watch it because as viewers, we know that Ryuuji knows about her true self but Ami herself doesn’t know that Ryuuji knows so she’s playing her part flawlessly to Ryuuji. First, she buys him a drink for free. Second, she goes on to explain what “really” happen between her and Taiga at the restaurant. She places all the blame on herself and insists that none of it were Taiga’s fault. It really isn’t in the first place. But still. Third, she requests that Ryuuji keep the events of the restaurant a secret. He knows her too well and simply tells her to head back to class since the bell rung already. For now, Ami thinks she’s safe but truthfully, she’s far from safe. Too bad she doesn’t know that. The classroom scene is cleverly done. Both Taiga and Minori pass Ryuuji notes. I love Minori’s note- she threatens Ryuuji if he dares to dump Taiga. XD Haha. What a good friend. Ryuuji sure knows who to pick to pass notes back- Minori but not Taiga. He asks her what she thinks of someone who acknowledges themselves as air-headed. Minori’s expression when she stands up to answer is priceless. XD

Garrick: *sigh* That makes two scenes in a row that I absolutely love Minorin. You wouldn’t believe how hard I laughed when she stood up during class. Haruhi Suzumiya reminiscent. But funnier.

Minnie: That’s his name! Haruka! <3 My favorite minor character. In any case, Ryuuji proceeds to cleaning Taiga’s messy locker while she waits for him in the classroom all by herself. I can hear that Jaw’s theme song in my ear for some reason. Yup. There’s a reason. Ami visits Ryuuji in the classroom, and not with a friendly prupose either. The two are at it again and I must say, I am enjoying this a lot. Why? Because to Taiga and Ami, they have no idea that Kitamura and Ryuuji know about Ami’s real nature. They both assume they don’t. Ami uses this advantage to get both Ryuuji and Kitamura on her side. In other words, to Taiga, Kitamura probably hates her for catching her slapping Ami in the restaurant and Ami asserts this once again. Taiga is deadly silent once again. Ryuuji re-enters the classroom after Ami leaves it.

Minnie: Poor Taiga. She really thinks Kitamura hates her. For dinner, she’s not over to eat with Ryuuji as usual so Ryuuji goes over to her apartment to find her sulking under her blanket. Thankfully, the kindhearted Ryuuji explains the situation to her. Kitamura in fact does know about her true nature and everything else that’s been going on with Taiga and Ami. At last, Taiga shows her true feelings to Ryuuji by jumping, shouting, and throwing her usual tantrums. Apparently, she also hates how short she is. I can relate to you Taiga. I’m short too. But in any case, Ryuuji’s mother interrupts by being her useless self again. They need sauce for fried pork chops. Instead of buying it herself, Ryuuji does it, bringing Taiga along. Taiga reads in a magazine that Ami is taking a break from work for studies. Then, on their way back home, they see Ami wearing odd clothes and a hat to hide herself from the public eye. She’s also carrying snacks. As observant as ever, Taiga spots something about her but of course, we don’t know because it’s a cliffhanger!

Garrick: Poor Taiga is understating it. Ami is evil for doing that to her. (yet, I don’t really dislike her) But, I’m glad it was all sorted out. And… I’m totally curious as to what Ami wearing sunglasses and buying snacks could mean. *nod*

Minnie: This is an awesome ToraDora episode, one of the best I’ve seen in a while. Even though it’s not as funny as the last one, it’s still pretty good in that it brings a new character in and portrays her very well. I like Taiga’s personality in this episode a lot better as well and her interactions with Ryuuji are getting better too. The two are finally coming to more of an understanding. I must say that Ami’s not my favorite character after this episode. She is bitchy and two-face but I like her. I find her unique. Her character is very pretty as well. I know for a fact the other two will probably disagree with me already on Ami but then again, Ami’s the type of character I like- the one that pulls the story along. And so far, she has done so. My favorite characters are still Ryuuji and Haruka. I can’t wait until the next episode! More Taiga vs Ami! Revenge is sweet~

Garrick: Minorin > all. How’s that for a concluding paragraph?

Minnie’s Overall Rating for Episode: 9/10 (This whole episode might not be as funny but it’s so well-executed)

Garrick’s Rating for Episode Five: 8/10

Ric’s Overall Rating for Episode Five: 8/10

Minnie’s Anticipation for Next Episode: 10/10

Garrick’s Anticipation Scale: 9/10

Ric’s Anticipation for Episode Six: 8/10

Ric: Visual Novels seem to be getting everywhere this season, Clannad, Akasaka, and now the even Higurashi~esque Chaos; Head pops up for an anime adaptation.

First off, I have to say that the series is very confusing at times, with Takumi’s delusions at some points being very hard to discern from reality. Chances are though that this was intentional and I’m just being a bit silly. Other than that, the series is doing a good job of building up a nice balance of mystery and suspense.

The first episode begins with a dream sequence, in which Takumi is lying in a ditch, a ruined city around him. A then unnamed woman with pink hair (Rimi) walks over to him, apologising and materialising some sort of bizarre chakram thing out of nowhere. Looking up, Takumi believes she is an angel. Rimi kneels down, placing the blade to Takumi’s chest and kisses him, the dream leading into the OP after his final bit of dialogue.

Before I continue with the episode, I have to say that I really love the OP, it fits the series really well and even sounds somewhat similar to that of the original game. It also showed me the crazy hobo character that I’m looking forward to seeing.

Anyway, back onto the episode. After the OP ends, Takumi is woken up by one of his delusions, his favourite anime heroine Seira; she then tells him that he has to attend school today, claiming that he’s weird because he charted the minimum amount of time he needs to spend there to still gain enough credits to graduate. The delusion ends as soon as she says this, leaving Takumi lying on the floor; a feeling of being watched leading to him saying what has become the show’s most used line.

“Those eyes, whose eyes are they?”

Takumi is then shown entering his classroom, looking at the girls in his class; he mentions how he finds “three-dimensional” girls to be even more disgusting than he believes they see him. Before we can go further down Takumi’s crazy train, his friend Misumi pops up from seemingly nowhere, saying that Takumi has a depressing face again. He then says what I consider to be a pretty hilarious line.

I know it sounds a bit silly, but I couldn’t help but laugh at this line. It sounded like he’d been playing some sort of bizarre real-life Pikmin clone.

Realising that Takumi has no real interest in the girls in the class, Misumi brings up the subject of the “New Gen”, a series of murders that have been taking place in Shibuya recently. He mentions that witnesses say that the murderer is a beautiful girl, leading onto him wondering if he’ll get chance to meet her (I like him, he’s fun.), he then asks if Takumi would like to visit the murder scene with him, something that Takumi seems to choose not to do.

The next part takes place inside Takumi’s ‘apartment’ with Takumi playing an mmorpg, Seira watching him in awe. Shortly after killing what I would assume to be a boss monster, an online friend of his, Grim contacts him and again brings up the New Gen murders, leaving Takumi a link to a site that has information about it when he finds out Takumi’s lack of knowledge on the subject.

According to the link, the first ‘murder’ was when five high school students jumped off of a tower, an event known as the Group Dive. The second murder being more bizarre involved a foetus being discovered inside a male corpse, this murder being known as the pregnant man. Before anything more about the murders can be revealed, Takumi’s sister; Nanami pops by to check up on him and cue the siscon! As soon as she walks in, his delusions start up again. She says she came to get him to buy a cellphone so she and the rest of their family can keep in contact. Of course, he again chooses not to, making her leave and going back to his mmo.

After Nanami leaves, Takumi sits down in his chair, immediately jumping at the feeling of being watched, uttering the same line from earlier; “Those eyes, whose are they?”

Looking back onto his computer, he sees another user log into the chat room he’s on. Immediately, this user pastes a link, Takumi thinking it’s some kind of virus; he’s sceptical and asks what it is. The user; Shogun then leaves the message “The world changes if you click it.” Scared, Takumi asks why he’s trying to scare him. They talk more and it’s revealed that Shogun is also talking from Shibuya.

Takumi mentions that a lot of strange incidents have been happening, in reference to New Gen, Shogun then leaves the ominous message that more are soon to come, leaving Takumi shocked. Shogun then begins to spam a link to a rather gruesome image, depicting a corpse pinned to a wall by small crucifixes.

Contrasting all of this, the scene then jumps to a school setting, showing Nanami playing tennis, she manages to hit it out of the court, the ball rolling near the incredibly moe Yua who can’t throw the ball forward.

Takumi is shown later at an internet café, not being able to feel calm at home due to Shogun. As he leaves he sees a computer that was left on, information about New-Gen on screen. Remembering the image from the night before, he remarks on how seeing the computer ruined his mood and leaves the café.

This is the point at which the line between reality and delusion becomes unclear, as he is walking home; he gets worried, wondering if what he is seeing is really Shibuya. Hearing a clanging noise nearby, he goes to check it out. Turning the corner he sees the scene from Shogun’s picture last night, the man hung up against the wall by crosses. He also sees the pink haired girl from his dream in the beginning, covered in blood and holding the small silver crosses in her hands.

She begins to walk towards him and in his fear, Takumi runs away, scared that he’ll be killed next.

When he gets back to his home, he realises that he had been carrying one of the crosses the whole time. He tosses it away and cowers in fear, Seira ironically trying to calm him down by saying it was just a delusion. The scene then skips to an image of Fes singing on a bridge, but that won’t make much sense now, so I won’t go into that.

The next day, while Takumi is on his way into school, he has a feeling of being watched yet again, fearing that it is the girl from the previous night. He turns around when he gets near to school, only for him to see Yua walking right behind him, she says a quick good morning and then carries on towards school. He spends the rest of his day in school lamenting what has happened before yet again running into Yua on his way home, triggering another one of his delusions, in which Yua begins to laugh in an evil manner, dropping crucifixes from her skirt and looking well…evil.

He runs away again, only to crash into a nearby motorbike. Yua comes along to ask if he’s okay and he continues to cower in fear, only for Yua to confess to having been interested in him since she first saw him. Takumi simply takes this as something that can’t possibly be true and tells her to stay away and not follow him. Seeing that he hurt his leg, Yua helps him to get home, despite Takumi’s protesting the matter.

When they get to Takumi’s home, Yua thinks it’s cool that he’s “living like an outlaw”, causing a pretty fun reaction from Takumi. Shortly after they enter, Yua notices Takumi’s Seira figures, mentioning that she’s a big fan of her and that she collects the figures as well. The next few scenes are just the two of them bonding somewhat over their mutual love of the figurines. Even Takumi thinks she’s moe at this point, triggering another delusion, this time a typical eroge style one involving Yua in a skimpy outfit.

Takumi hears a crash, knocking him out of his delusion, only to discover that Yua had knocked down a stack of CD’s. While she cleans them up, she notices the silver crucifix lying discarded on the ground. Something she declines to mention, instead making the excuse that she was surprised at a Seira doujinshi she found lying around.

She then asks Takumi if he would like to reserve the latest Seira figurine with her tomorrow, saying that she had never been in anime shop before and that she enjoyed talking to Takumi. With her magical moe-ness, Takumi finds himself unable to refuse, even though he wants to. Yua then leaves, happy that Takumi decided to go with her. Takumi consoling himself that Seira is his number one.

The next day, Takumi goes into school only to look at a new classmate sitting next to him, the girl who he saw at the murder, flashbacks of the murder appear and then the episode ends.

Anyway, this review has become so long that I think it would be good to split it, so tommorow I’ll tell you all the tale of episodes two and three, until then, goodnight and keep watching the stars!

Ric’s overall rating for episode 1: 7/10

Minnie: Just in case all you people miss Jun’s (Lelouch’s VA) character in Kuroshitsuji in Episode 2, he comes back once again! Yes, he’s voicing Greil, the incompetent butler under Madame Red! Ciel makes a bit mistake in accepting Greil into his household to become Sebastian’s apprentice since he’s inconveniencing everyone else as well. The Greil/Sebastian conversation is so amusing. I love it! As you can tell, Jun is using his Aidou from VK/Luca from Macross Frontier voice for Greil. Greil is funny in that he finds all the cynical words of Sebastian as “kindness”. XD And then, the OP starts. ^^

Minnie: Ciel and Sebastian is off to town to collect a finely made cane. Anyways, we get a bit of background on the Phantom company, or in other words, the one Ciel is in charge of. We also get to meet “the real Tanaka” as he talks about the grand mansion. The mansion they are living under is an exact replica. The original one was burned down three years ago. Wow. Ciel’s parents were lost due to that tragic event (reminds me of the Roupeez’s, right Koala?). After Tanaka is done, he goes back to chibi mode. If he stays in his real mode for more than three minutes, he has to nap and regain that energy. Cute little man. XP In any case, the humor is back in that Greil accidentally shapes all the trees into skulls! Hahaha. He wants to commit suicide… again! Lmao!

Garrick: Man… the whole “Real Tanaka” thing was rather funny. Interesting to see something like that in an anime. Anyhow… the whole story behind the fire and Ciel’s loss of his parents seems… AS OF NOW, rather cliched. Of course, I forsee it becoming… not so much. Yeah. Greil is pathetic in a hilarious way.

Minnie: In any case, once Ciel and Sebastian arrive home, the whole house is well… decorated… in colors and my brain hurts. My eyes bleed as well. So girly and cute and childish! The culprit is none other than the blonde-haired Elizabeth, who immediately makes her appearance by tackling Ciel into a hug. She even calls Tanaka “Antoinette”! Oh the horror! Then she gives Sebastian a present. Words cannot describe how I feel… only an image can… be warned…

Minnie: I admit it. I laughed too hard for comfort. Poor Sebastian though! I’m sorry for laughing! The other servants laugh as well. Good. I’m not the only one. Anyways, I can’t stop laughing when I see Sebastian like this. I don’t think I can take the dialogue seriously if Sebastian continues looking like this. In any case, Lizzy snuck out on Auntie to meet Ciel because he’s so cute and she loves him very much. Lady Elizabeth is the Earl’s daughter and well, she’s Ciel’s fiancee. Oh boy! Once they get married, the house will look like this every day! I can’t wait! Did anyone note my sarcasm? *tumbleweed rolls by* In any case, Lizzy wants a dance party, refuses to listen to Ciel’s protests, and drags Greil around to make him cuter. This is troubling indeed and yet, I’m loving it. Sebastian not only sides with Elizabeth on the dance party idea but he’s making threats toward Ciel if he doesn’t attend and dance well too. I love Sebastian+Loli indirect team-up. In any case, Sebastian is going to be Ciel’s dance tutor. Muahahahaha!

Garrick: That whole dance teaching thing… just reeks of shounen-ai. I’m sorry, it does. For those of you that believe it won’t be… that one scene changed my mind. It MIGHT.

Minnie: Sebastian is teaching Ciel how to dance but to be frank, Ciel just sucks. Sebastian notices this and mentions in his Sebastian-polite yet creepy way. At one point, he even proceeds to squeeze Ciel’s cheek to force the boy to smile because it’s rude to show a sour face to a lady. In any case, Ciel goes emo and says he has long forgotten how to smile. The next scene is crack: Greil is dressed in a white wedding-like dress! Yay to crossdressing so early on! He is really upset about this because… he would rather wear a red one with a low cut! Hahahaha! And no one cares about his threats of suicide anymore. XD

Garrick: What kind of adjective for a totally crazy, idiotic, and messed up scene is “crack”? Well… come to think of it, it makes sense now. Oh well. Greil… still pathetic. But nobody cares… which just made me laugh. Hard.

Minnie: In any case, moving on, Ciel arrives in this expensive blue outfit WITHOUT the ring Lizzy bought for him. Oh no! She steals the precious ring from him! Ciel’s not too happy. No, he’s so upset to the point that he reverts back to calling her “Elizabeth” instead of “Lizzy”. Uh-oh. This can’t be good. Yup. Nothing good comes out of situations like this. Lizzy is so upset that he cares about the ring more than anything that she throws and breaks the ring in front of Ciel. Ciel is about to strike her when Sebastian saves the day. In any case, the ring is passed down in his family and yeah, it’s a precious family heirloom. Of course, Lizzy knows she has done wrong and proceeds to apologize but Ciel suddenly throws the ring out the window and declares himself the rightful heir to the Phantomhives whether or not he has the ring.

Garrick: I’m sorry. That whole ring scene was dumb. I mean… even I… an idiot compared to the genius of Ciel Phantomhive (I mean, what twelve year old can lead a company?) saw that coming. If it’s a heirloom, keep better care of the damn thing, will ya?

Minnie: Ciel and Lizzy make up like good young children and Sebastian can also play the violin?! Is there anything he can’t do? In any case, Greil proves himself useful for once by singing along with the violin. And there you have- Jun’s deep, Lelouch voice! Ciel asks Lizzy to dance. Awww. How cute. And then, they dance. Ciel’s smiling and well, dancing quite well now. Good job Sebastian? In any case, Lizzy is quite content and the dance party ends. And wow. They are actually going to leave the responsibility of taking Lizzy home to Greil… wow… their faith in him must be either increasing or their brains are growing smaller. In any case, Greil rants on about how he learned much from Sebastian today and yeah. Good luck Greil. I hope to see you back soon! The episode ends with Sebastian returning the ring to Ciel because he’s fabulous like that. Ciel talks about the ring some more about its history with his grandfather and father. In any case, Ciel falls asleep and requests Sebastian to stay by his side. That’s it.

Garrick: Well, he can do something. Go Greil.

Minnie: I really question how exactly do they end an anime like this? An anime where Sebastian says that he will stay by Ciel’s side forever… I can’t gasp a storyline or an ending to this anime at all. Is that good or bad? In any case, I really really laugh a lot during this episode thanks to Greil and Sebastian and Loli Lizzy. Unfortunately, despite the many hilarious scene, there is something odd about the ring scene that doesn’t strike too well with me. I don’t know why. It’s awesome and at the same time, it’s not so awesome. I don’t get it. In any case, this episode is enjoyable despite the lack of action scenes. Sebastian is perfect. The other characters are funny. Lizzy is interesting… Madame Red is love! Greil is hilarious! Yeah. The characters are amazing but the storyline? I still can’t really sense it. Nice episode nevertheless.

Garrick: It’s such a contrast to Episode 2. Mister killing rampage guy Sebastian now wears a pink bonnet adorned with white flowers. While I normally love cute little girls… this episode really did not do much in the form of entertaining me. I was expecting more with the crossdressing scenes, where Lizzy dressed the Phantomhive butlers in dresses… Minus a few laughs… I honestly couldn’t really say what happened in the episode. While the filling in on the past of the Phantomhive family was interesting, and like I said before, rather cliched… yeah. Not great.

Minnie’s Overall Rating for Episode: 9/10

Garrick’s Rating for Episode Three: 6/10

Minnie’s Anticipation for Next Episode: 7/10

Garrick’s Anticipation Scale: 6/10

Ric: Hello everyone, and welcome to my magical debut! Today, for your reading pleasure we have Casshern Sins, Tatsunoko’s newest addition to the Casshern franchise and one of my favourite animes this season.

Anyway, the story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world in which human children are not being born and robots are slowly falling to pieces. The cause of this being the ‘ruin’. What the ruin is exactly hasn’t been expanded on that much, all that has been revealed is that it started after the death of Luna, a guardian being known as “The Sun that was named the Moon” at the hands of Casshern.

Of course, Casshern has no memory of the event, or even his own past for that matter! Even worse, he’s being stalked by Robots that believe that by devouring him they’ll be saved from their impending death. Though I must say, the way the writers used that rumour in episode two was simply astounding.

As would be expected, the first episode is used primarily to set the tone for things to come, beginning with one of the show’s brilliantly animated fight scenes, leading to the introduction of Ringo, a robot ‘child’ who initially befriends Casshern, having met him while collecting seashells. Good LORD, she is so cute! She looks and acts exactly how a small child would and it is just downright adorable.

Later in the episode, Ringo gets captured by a robot that looks something like a fat Gutsman with no hands, resulting in Casshern coming to her rescue. Of course, during the fight Casshern’s “auto-defence mode” activates, causing him to go into a berserker like state, resulting in him ripping his opponent to pieces, terrifying poor Ringo to the point of tears. Before Casshern can go to her to calm her down, her caretaker picks her up, telling Casshern to leave.

The next episode starts by showing two new characters, Root and Wrench, two robots in love who have decided that they would fall into ruin together. This was just…wow. Robots in love was something I haven’t seen often and alongside the community they lived in, a group of robots that have accepted ruin made them seem so human, in that the fear and the suffering they felt was so powerful.

During the course of the episode, we get to see the way the ruin has affected everyone in different ways, be it the powerful resolve of Root and Wrench, or the fear and desperation of all the robots Casshern has previously come across. Unfortunately, towards the end it seems that even the most strongest of people can still succumb to the basic instinct of self-preservation shown by the robots when the rumour of Casshern granting immortality through fine dining was brought to attention. Unfortunately, all this lead to was their tragic death at the hands of Casshern’s auto-defence program.

This episode also re-invented classic Casshern character ‘Friender’ as a robotic dog seemingly unaffected by the ruin, living alongside Root and Wrench. I’m wondering whether he can still breathe fire and turn into a jet personally.

It isn’t until episode three that we actually see any characters that are truly human and I can safely say that the one they brought in was magnificent. Akoes was an amazing character who managed to get Casshern to, even if just a little bit, shake off the feeling that he kills everyone around him just by existing. Akoes also shed a little light as to how the humans are doing with the ruin, that while they are diminishing in number, they aren’t extinct.

Friender also made his reappearance in this episode, attempting to take revenge on Casshern for the deaths of Root and Wrench in the previous episode, only to stop when Casshern offered up his life.

Anyway, onto the fourth episode, my personal favourite and the one that spawned my favourite pairing for the show. I can safely say that I absolutely ADORE Sophita, from her design, to her personality; she made this episode the best by far.

The contrast between Casshern’s personality and hers is made very apparent when they first meet, his refusal to fight her deeply upsetting her due to her incredible love of fighting, something that Casshern at that point could not understand at all.

Later on, during a fight between her and many robots that look like they just popped straight out of a Megaman game, more light is shed upon her, that she feels truly alive only when fighting. Partway through this fight, Casshern comes in to assist her, her opponent deciding (Quite wisely) to leave upon realising who he was up against.

After the fight, Casshern and Sophita talk more, Casshern’s true inability to die becoming apparent to Sophita. Declaring that she loves him, Sophita attacks Casshern, asking to fight as she believes it’s the only way she can show her feelings. While fighting, Casshern begs her to stop, afraid that his auto-defence system will force him to kill her. Casshern eventually stands still, allowing Sophita to stab him through the chest. Sophita then steps back, thinking she fulfilled Casshern’s wish to be ruined.

Casshern however simply remains standing, glad that he didn’t kill her, assuming that it was because she didn’t really intend to kill him. Later Sophita mentions that she didn’t get excited during her fight with Casshern, saying that she has “only ever grown close to others at the range of her sabre”. Casshern mentions on how she tried to save him while she fought. Clearly affected by this, Sophita asks for Casshern’s name, claiming she has never before asked an opponent their name before. Hearing his name, she says that it’s a wonderful name. She then leaves, saying that he shouldn’t be sad that he can’t die and that he should live and look forward to meeting her again. She leaves, Casshern standing upon a Cliffside, thinking over that he “found a life that continues to live”.

Throughout the entire episode, my inner fanboy was drowning in his own drool, this was amazing and if Casshern continues at this standard I can safely say that it will be the best anime of 2008.

The only thing that bothered me was that, for some reason Friender had disappeared into thin air after having joined Casshern the previous episode, but other than that, I have no complaints and I look forward to next week’s instalment.

Ric’s Overall Rating for Episode 1: 8/10

Ric’s Overall Rating for Episode 2: 9/10

Ric’s Overall Rating for Episode 3: 9/10

Ric’s Overall Rating for Episode 4: 10/10

Ric’s Anticipation Rating for Next Episode: 10/10

Minnie: First of all, please don’t kill WordPress Ric. XD Second of all, did you just blow my VK post out of the water? Lmao! Good job and good job to me for lengthening your post.

Minnie: I’m in love. The fan sub group for VK are one day ahead of schedule. In other words, Episode 4 is out on Wednesday instead of Thursday! This makes this fangirl very happy! And you know what makes me even more happy? The episode starts off with my favorite character Shiki Senri! From this episode on, his role in this whole series will grow in importance and I cannot wait for that. Anyways, Shiki meets up with his Uncle who finally reveals a huge secret that has been kept from him until this moment. I guess Shiki is man enough to face this now eh? Anyways, we get a quick shot of Ichiru, the bastard. XD Shiki and his uncle head underground to find a body of a man in a coffin sustained by blood. It is none other than… his father?!

Minnie: Okay. So his father is dead but not really because he’s reborn into a child- the same one that kissed Yuuki a few episodes ago I must remind you. Anyways, Shiki’s father returns to his original body and asks Shiki to lend him power forcibly. The next scene has Ichijou and Rima playing cards. Of course, as Shiki’s girlfriend (not really but it should happen already), Rima ponders on how Shiki is doing. I laugh when Ichijou mentions that Rima would win the card game if Shiki were there. SO cute. Anyways, Kaname knows that someone has awaken and sends the rest of the students to their dorms. Something big is going to happen! Meanwhile, Yuuki is resting in her room. Now, she realizes that she said such horrible things to Zero last episode. A little late like always Yuuki. She further thinks about her origins- who is she? Who are her parents? Did they abandon her? She arrives at the kitchen where the Chairman and Zero are cooking. They recommend she takes a bath and she does so.

Minnie: Basically Yuuki wants to remember her past so she can understands Zero better and not hurt him anymore. Zero knocks on the door and asks if she has any problems since she’s taking an awfully long time in the tub. Yuuki says she’s fine when suddenly, she sees herself in a tub full of blood. Yes, that would scare the shit out of me too! Zero is now banging on the door. Yuuki insists she’s all right so Zero proceeds to leave when she opens the door and grabs onto his sleeve. Then, Yuuki goes on to explain that she’s been trying to remember her past in the tub. Zero comes with an idea- the Association’s reports. She might remember her past if she looks through them. Of course she’s going to go through with this. Who doesn’t want to remember their past?

Minnie: Yuuki, Zero, Chairman, and Yagari arrive at the Hunter Associations Headquarters. Yagari leaves soon after Yuuki identifies that this place gives off a bad feeling. Anyways, Zero gets bullied a bit at this place because well, he is sort of a vampire in a Hunter’s place. But in any case, he is recognized nevertheless since he’s part of the famous Kiryuu family. The Association President greets the group him/herself and allows them to see the library because it is under the Chairman’s request. It seems like Yuuki has no idea who her adopted father really is. In any case, Yuuki is now busy with books of reports from ten years ago and Zero is busy with the President in a room stank with blood. And yeah, Yuuki soon discovers her father is indeed a former Vampire Hunter.

Minnie: The conversation between the President and Zero is indeed interesting because the President seems to know about Zero’s pain and that he must drink a pureblood’s blood to sustain his human form. In this case, it all aims at Kaname. The President goes on further by suggesting that Zero must gain power to take this blood for himself because Zero is part of the Cursed Twins. Anyways, before this conversation can go on any further, Yuuki screams and Zero comes to her rescue. Apparently, a page about what happen 10 years ago went up in flames. Huh. Anyways, Yuuki freaks out some more (we all know how that goes) and yeah, Zero talks about this Cursed Twin thing to Chairman. From Yagari, we finally learn that it’s not possible for twins to be born into a hunter family because one twin would have absorbed the other one. And yet, here we are with Zero and Ichiru. Nevertheless, this just means that well, Zero and Ichiru are cursed. I’m really surprised by this information because they revealed it much sooner in the anime than the manga.

Minnie: Next scene, Zero checks up on Yuuki, who is stressed over what happened at the Association. Dumb Yuuki. She tries to lie to Zero about it but he sees right through her. He’s so cute because he has this worried face on for her the entire time while she thinks about Kaname and that it might be possible he’s the reason for her erased memories. In other words, she need to question him when he’s back. In any case, it’s a really nice Zero/Yuuki scene because it shows they both have a mutual understanding. Then, in the middle of this, Zero grabs her. No, he doesn’t pull her down and makes love to her even if the scene really suggests it. The only thing you’ll ever get to an erotic scene in this anime is of course… blood sucking! Yay! And that’s exactly what happen- Zero living on thanks to Yuuki’s blood.

Minnie: Right after the romantic blood scene, Zero lectures Yuuki about how he has the right to worry about her because his life is dependent on her. By the way, it’s a good lecture too. Show that Yuuki up Zero! XD Of course, at the end of this, Yuuki doesn’t go hating on Zero. That’s not right. Instead, she clutches onto his shirt and cries about being afraid. Yuuki is very human as you can see. This scene ends with Yuuki crying against a very sad Zero. And now, we get to see more of the beautiful Kaname. He and his group are back at school with Ichijou leaving because he has to meet up with his grandfather. In any case, Zero and Yuuki are there to greet them home. Kaname gives Yuuki a present- a rose that blooms every ten years. The number ten comes up a lot doesn’t it? In any case, Yuuki says she wants to discuss something with Kaname tonight… alone. Wink wink. Poor Ruka. That’s probably on her mind (and mine…). In any case, Yuuki thanks Zero for allowing her to cry a whole night.

Minnie: The last scene is between Kaname and Aidou. Remember how Aidou stayed behind? Well, Kaname soon discovers that he’s been in Kaname’s room and Kaname’s not too happy about little, sneaky vampires being his precious room. ^^;; In any case, Aidou is one curious fellow so he speaks up to Kaname, trying very hard to understand the complicated fellow better. The thing is the complicated pure blood doesn’t want anyone to know more than they need to know. But he does reveal one important fact to Aidou- his parents did not commit suicide. They were murdered. I bet a lot of us saw this coming from last episode. But in any case, Kaname is happy for one reason and that is Aidou wants to support him and does not suspect him of killing his own parents. The last scene is epic: Ichijou’s grandfather wants him to meet someone and it turns out to be? Cliffhanger! Nice end! XP

Minnie: There’s not much to say except that this episode has its highlights and its down points. A lot of explanations. A lot of foreshadowing. A lot of Yuuki/Zero. A lot of angst in other words. But it pretty much builds up to a lot of exciting episodes from here on out. Again, I can’t give this episode 10/10 because there are parts of the episode that are not that exciting for me. Nevertheless the pacing is excellent, I’ll give it that. And Zero’s VA is perfect like always. A worthy episode indeed. Last note- I went back to my Minnie thingy for VK at least because it works better that way. See everyone next week!

Minnie’s Overall Rating for Episode: 8/10

Minnie’s Anticipation Rating for Next Episode: 10/10

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Minnie: Hello everybody! This is Minnie here and I just decided to pick up this anime this evening! I have to say that I am pretty much interested in the comedy/romance/action type of anime so I want to watch this and give it a try. Much to my surprise, the first three episodes are very hooking and I am now on Episode 4 already! Aren’t you guys glad that I can give my review on the same day I decide to review this? Haha!

Episode 1 and 2 probably scare most people off from this anime, but why? Is it because the main characters (or so you think) are killed off at the end of Episode 1? Then, another group of main characters including a girl name Kagura is introduced and then Kagura is killed off at the end of Episode 2? May I remind you people that unlike Episode 1 where it’s obvious everyone is massacred, in Episode 2, we never directly see Kagura die. I am thinking that she really did NOT die yet. Then, of course, Episode 3 goes backwards to show the younger days of Kagura and her supposedly killer now under the name of Yomi. They are like sisters back then with Yomi declaring that she will protect Kagura. I especially love Yomi’s character so far- she’s a mass murderer in episode 1 and 2 but in episode 3, she becomes a playful and charming sister. Are you people as confused as I am? Or is it simply Yomi has drastically changed her personality due to some event of the past? What could have happened to drive the life-loving, playful Yomi to become a heartless killer? I hope Episode 4 will hold more answers. By the way, this is the first episode with an OP.

Already, in Episode 4, you know the personalities of the characters very well and to be frank, I love all of them. The gay old man Iwahata who drives the car makes me laugh for example with his homo pervertedness. Michael Kohara who makes the sword for Kagura is funny in a similar way. Maybe because he walks around naked? And gets arrested a couple of times? Noriyuki is a handsome fellow with a cute, white, ferret-like creature on his shoulder. He has a pretty spunky, rebellious personality as well. Oh the Nabuu twins are hilarious as well. XD But as of yet, my favorite is still Yomi who is flirty toward Kagura to the point that she might be deemed bisexual and has a will of iron. She is also strong and determined. Kagura is still bleh for me so far but I can see her getting a lot of character development.

There’s quite a lot of character development and explanation in this episode. For example, they explain what Category C and Category D’s are. They explain the beast that works aside Yomi. They explain how Noriyuki is engaged to Yomi even though it seems like Yomi is only interested in Kagura. There’s a lot of good character development on Kagura’s part. She is seen as the newbie in the group and is forced to back Yomi up. However, we are seen that Kagura has a power of her own and uses her weapon in a very reliable manner. In one scene, Kagura has to help Yomi kill the Category D’s who are once humans. However, Kagura hesitates and refuses to kill them, leading to her father and his sealed Byakuei, a white dragon, to help her.

That battle is amazing but after it, we get to see Tsuchimiya-dono or her father discipline Kagura for showing weakness at the moment. He hits her hands twice but tells her to grow stronger. This is how the episode ends. A lot of moments are priceless in this episode like Kagura and Yomi kissing in the beginning and the scenes that really foreshadows Kagura’s later development as a character. I am still curious about Yomi though. How can she change her personality so drastically? A complete 180 degree? What happen to her? I’ll probably keep watching this anime just for the sake of answering that question. All in all, this anime knows how to deliver the comedy scenes as well as the action scenes. I especially enjoy all the characters thus far and want to know more about them. It’s not too gruesome/bloody and has a nice mix of comedy to blend it out. Kagura is a bleh character but I know she will grow throughout the series.

Pros so far: Fantastic music throughout the episodes, enjoyable characters, lots of action and comedy, and a strong heroine whose past readers want to know about. Cons so far: The action scenes are a bit boring and repetitive at times and the other important characters seem to be outshined by Yomi. Still, good episode and anime thus far.

Minnie’s Overall Rating for Episode: 9/10

Minnie’s Anticipation for Next Episode: 8/10

Minnie: I am happy to announce that a new blogger will be joining Garrick and I under the name of Ric. Yes, Garrick and I found him in the outskirts of Malkuth and roped him in. Kidding! Or am I? Anyways, he will be joining us in co-reviewing Hakushaku to Yousei or The Earl and the Fairy as well as Clannad: After Story. It is still undecided if he wants to three-way review with Toradora and Tales of the Abyss but that’ll be great! By the way, Ric, you are Anise up there. I call Natalia so Garrick must be stuck with Tear (which suits him since he’s so stoic and responsible but likes cute things… please don’t kill me… ^^;; ).

Garrick: Hey, I’m fine with Tear. Anyway, I hope you all welcome Ric, okay? Three is better than two. I think. Or should that have been “The more the merrier”?

Minnie: Another important change that a lot of you guys might have noticed is that both Garrick and I have agreed to drop Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka. And since Ric hasn’t said anything about it, I can assume he will not be blogging it either. Again, I am sorry for those who are following our reviews on AkaSaka but I simply have too many animes on my hands and I am willing to drop those I don’t want to waste an hour blogging for. Actually, there are a lot of animes I want to review for but don’t have time for thanks to AkaSaka. Now, I can make way for those.

Minnie: Another important change for myself is that I will be co-reviewing ~ef~ tales of melodies along with Koala Bear- I mean Garrick. Even though I admit that I haven’t watched ~ef~ tales of memories I understand the storyline enough to review it with no high expecations. I might not type the best reviews but I can help with a supporting opinion and a second rating, especially for those who haven’t watched season 1.

Garrick: Yeah. I’m still mad at you for that. You DROPPED “a tale of memories”. At the first episode! *sighs*

Minnie: The last important change is that I will be picking up Ga-Rei: Zero. I know four episodes have been out so I’m willing to continue blogging from Episode 4 and onwards with a couple of references back to the first three episodes. If either Garrick or Ric want to review this anime with me, please let me know and I will change this solo to a team review. I might pick up TYTANIA later since it intrigues me with its political storyline. As for Shugo Chara, I will probably watch it but not blog it. Haha, that’s all!

Garrick: Well, for me… as you all should know my now… I have a LOT of work, but, I may as well say that I may… very slightly may… pick up Kyou no Go no Ni. The anime that I’m not TOO fond of may take a lot longer to review than it would otherwise. Unlike the first week or so of the reviewing, I could take up to a week to review something. I’ll give a list, just so you all know.

Clannad After Story: 1-2 days
Kuroshitsuji: 1-5 days
Nodame: 1-3 days
~ef~ a tale of melodies: As soon as I darn can
Hyakko: 1-2 days
ToraDora: 1-4 days
ToA: 1-2 days
Yozakura: 1-3 days
To Aru Majutsu no Index: 1-2 days

In Summary:

Minnie and Garrick: Kuroshitsuji, Nodame Cantabile Paris, ~ef~ tales of melodies, and Hyakko

Minnie and Ric: Hakushaku To Yousei

Garrick and Ric: Clannad: After Story

Possible Minnie, Garrick, and Ric: ToraDora! and Tales of the Abyss

Minnie: Vampire Knight Guilty, Skip Beat!, and Ga-Rei: Zero

Garrick: Yozakura Quartet and To Aru Majutsu no Index

Ric: Linebarrels of Iron, Casshern Sins, Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens, Gundam 00 Season 2, and Chaos;Head