Mai-Undine: Aria X Mai-Otome
We’ve considered this crossover before, but now is the time for the Mai franchise to take another step towards world domination with Mai-Undine! In Neo Venezia, aspiring Undines must learn to harness their gondola power in order to defend their respective companies from attack. Complete with fat cats, transformation sequences and those infamous gondola battles, Mai-Undine is the one to watch this summer!
Tsubasa Chronicle OVA1
“Well, I’ll break that promise as and when the plot demands.”
“Seeing as you’re so useless when you’re awake and all.”
“Is it a Zhuge Liang?”
“Better get our Swords out just in case.”
“The only thing that’s large and powerful around here is in my trousers.”
“If it’s HARD GAY you’re after, we’re CLAMP bishies, so expect plenty of it.”
“Well, that’s our evening sorted, then.”
“Some people have wanted her to sleep for the whole series.”
“Time for more Sword!”
“To interfere would be to spoil the plot- and anyway Fei Wong is going to kill me off shortly.”
Is this a hint that the Infinity Arc will be animated?
The Jintarou Kyle Show
Kyle: Welcome back to the Jintarou Kyle show! Before the break, we spoke to Tenma and Yakumo, two sisters living on their without their parents. Now we turn to a new family in the same situation- the Minami sisters! Everyone, please welcome Haruka onto the show!
Haruka enters.
Kyle: Your sisters are backstage, Haruka, but before we hear from them, we’d like to talk to you. Is it true that you’ve been put in the position of head of the family, even though you’re still in high school yourself?
Haruka: That’s right. I have to do all the cooking and cleaning for the family- I even gave up a chance to go abroad because I knew I had to stay and look after them.
Kyle: And where do you get your money from?
Haruka: Our parents did leave us some money in the bank, but it’s running low now- if they don’t come back soon, I’ll probably have to start looking for a job.
Kyle: Hasn’t it always been your dream to finish high school and go onto college?
Haruka: Yes…
Haruka starts crying.
Kyle: Now, let’s welcome Kana and Chiaki on the show.
Kana and Chiaki enter.
Kyle: You’ve just heard everything Haruka had to say backstage. What do you think of the situation?
Chiaki: Haruka-neesama, I’ll do everything I can to help you. I don’t want to be a burden. You’ll help too, won’t you, Kana?
Kana: Yeah, maybe.
Chiaki hits Kana.
Chiaki: Idiot!
Kyle: I think the situation in anime Japan is shameful! Parents leaving their children home alone for months and years at a time! But here at the Jintarou Kyle show, we’re here to right all the wrongs of the world, one family at a time! Haruka, we’ll do what we can to track down your parents, and help you realise your dream of going to college.
The audience cheers.
Kyle: Join us next time on the Jintarou Kyle show for “Forced to Pilot a Giant Robot- even though I’m only in junior high!”
This Week in Anime
Will the Harvest Moon nightmare never end?
Melons!
Oranges!
“…No…”
Fat cats on a diet? Has the world gone mad?
Bananas!
Apples evolve to the next level.
Aika is caught staring at Al’s bum.
As the devil’s fruit, it’s no wonder apples can lure people to hell.
Note the apples on the left hand side.
To be fair, I haven’t learned the lambada, but something seems a little wrong here.
Could this be the world’s Zhugest Liang, recreated in bread?
If this doesn’t look dodgy, I don’t know what does.
“He’d give me all types of Pleasure, no matter how kinky.”
“I may prefer peaches, but an apple a day keeps Doctor You away.”
“I’m sick of this all apple diet!”
“Sorry, but there are more apples in the fridge.”
“Who keeps fruit in the fridge?”
Classic PC games: Jazz Jackrabbit
Basically a Sonic clone for PC (complete with 3D bonus levels), Jazz Jackrabbit was a fun platformer that was actually somewhat easier than the game that inspired it. Unlike Sonic, Jazz could take multiple hits and came armed with some of the most powerful weapons a hare has ever wielded, from rapid fire missiles to rubber explosives- all necessary for his multi-planet crusade to defeat the evil turtles and rescue the hare princess.
Unfortunately, like so many games of its era, the shareware first episode was easy and enjoyable, but the levels in the full version were much harder and less satisfying. Even so, I will go back and finish them some day- perhaps.
Mini-editorial: Perfection vs. enjoyment
All anime viewers are searching for that holy grail- the perfect series that can make the likes of Aria and Dennou Coil look merely adequate. Along the way, however, we tend to watch a lot of incidental titles (crap, if you will), and sometimes the question must occur to us- isn’t it okay to watch a poorer series just for the entertainment factor? Must we always be highbrow and only watch those series with true merit, or is it okay to indulge in the guilty pleasure of a poorer series that nonetheless makes us smile? Should we hide the fact that we actually quite liked at least parts of Inukami, Dirty Pair Flash, MagiPoka and so forth? Will it make our anime habit less shameful if we pretend we’re only in it to appreciate high art? Then again, who care what we do with our spare time?
In Your Reflection
Too lazy for pictures; to be edited in later.
It’s time for the first head-to-head in a while, as we compare Slayers’ Amelia with Disgaea’s Flonne. Both operate as part of an eclectic bunch of ‘heroes’, and each has an obsession with justice and righteousness, with specialty skills in white magic.
