(written March 30th)
This week, the pressure of juggling work, PhD, online courses and learning all of maths causes Karura’s writing ability to reach new lows. Forgive me for the poor quality of this post.
Reviewed this week: Ano Natsu 12, Another 12, Aquarion Evol 13, HxH 24, Mirai Nikki 23, Mouretsu 12, Natsume Yuujinchou 12-13, Symphogear 12
*COMPLETE* Ano Natsu de Matteru 12
Whilst their friends try to draw off the alien pods, Ichika and Kaitou head off to find the place in her memories, the one piece of proof that aliens have been here before. At stake is Ichika’s continued presence on Earth, so everyone’s fighting their hardest – but will it be enough? I have to admit I haven’t rated this series as highly as others overall, but it certainly has had its share of great moments, and this episode is no exception. A well crafted ending that is emotional without being melodramatic, Ano Natsu certainly goes out on a high note.
You think?
“Killing each other is just silly!”
“If it turns out the global economy doesn’t improve after I kill Misaki, then I can probably include that she wasn’t the cause.”
“I don’t see why you have such a problem with me killing someone!”
Now is probably not the time to be making phonecalls.
“Pleasure in the middle of a fire is never recommended.”
Kids, check anyone suspicious at your school…and kill them.
“…but hey, that’s a risk we have to take.”
“You know the whole stabby stab thing, well it was nothing much really.”
“Maybe I could have saved a lot of lives and ended the series sooner, but it hardly seemed worth the effort.”
*COMPLETE* Another 12
It’s stabbity stab stab as the remaining classmates go around hacking each other up, but who exactly is the dead person? Well, I’m not going to give the game away here, but quite frankly the best part of this episode was the unintentional hilarity, which I have showcased in this short parody. There was no question of ever taking it seriously at this point.
Kagura prepares to become the frontman in a new series of Febreze ads.
He still needs to work on his chat up lines.
Aquarion Evol 13
It’s the halfway point of the series, and that means DRAMATIC THINGS are set to happen, as Kagura’s attack on the school requires the intervention of not one but two Aquarions, and Jin must decide where his loyalties truly lie. It’s at times like this that Aquarion scales the dizzy heights it’s capable of, complete with grandiose robot attacks, superb music and enough cheddar to take a prize in the World Cheese Awards (which do exist, incidentally). More of the same, please.
Hunter X Hunter 24
The episode begins with a Flashback Mode explaining Killua and Canary’s friendship (or rather, enforced lack of it) before flashing forward to the present day, where Gon, Kurapica and Leorio are still on the way to rescue their friend from his rather ‘special’ family. Killua’s mother is as nnoying as she ever was, but luckily this part of the story is drawing to a close, so we’ll be getting on with the good stuff soon.
Mirai Nikki 23
Speaking of stabbity stab, Yuno and Yukiteru are now basically alone in the world – but that’s fine with Yuno, since it means she gets her Yuki-kun all to her herself. But there are yet more truths about her to be revealed, and if Yukiteru discovers them, it could be hazardous to his health. I’m glad that my instinctual feeling that Yuno’s backstory was the meatiest part of the series has been proven correct, but with three episodes left, there’s clearly more to come. I look forward to seeing the last few cards that this series has to play.
Mouretsu Pirates 12
We finally get to explore the golden ghost ship as Marika and Gruyère head into its depths, only to find animals and even a newborn baby in stasis. I’m sure other things happen to fill up the 25 minute span, but I wasn’t paying attention. Incidentally, I bought Gruyère cheese recently for some reason and now I can’t remember what I was going to use it for.
*COMPLETE* Natsume Yuujinchou Shi 12-13
The final arc of the season *sob* concludes with these two episodes, as Natsume heads back to see the house he lived in with his dad all those years ago. Before he can go there, though, he has to pick up the key from one of the families that took him in, a place full of sad memories of how their daughter resented him, and also inhabited by a malevolent youkai. Spanning both past and present, these episodes tug on all the heartstrings, and only the most hardened person couldn’t want to give shota Natsume a hug and tell him that things will get better. Season five now, please.
Symphogear 12
Things look bad for all concerned when Hibiki loses it and turns into a Heartless – is it time for the power of friendship to step in and save her from the brink? You’d better hope so, because only a main character can defeat Fine’s phallic tower and save the moon. What logic there ever was is long out of the window by this point, but it’s still highly entertaining.
