Ishuzoku Reviewers
24 May, 2020
SEX!
Got your attention there, didn’t I? Ah yes. Nothing grabs attention and turn heads like sex does. Feeling horny but don’t want to cross the line by watching real porn? Then how about watching an anime that reviews about sex? Wait. What?! Is there such a thing?! As you would have guessed from the name, Ishuzoku Reviewers although is basically a prostitution reviewing anime, it is no sex with the same homo sapiens that we are talking about. Uh huh. Have you ever wanted to know what it is like having to f*ck a monster girl? Or what is like to have sex with a werewolf? Don’t worry, you horny perverts. There are a few brave men out there who are willing to go the distance and f*ck all those different species. After all that is climaxed and done, they’ll give and write their honest opinions and reviews of the intercourse that has taken place. So that we can make a better judgment for ourselves if we really want to go f*ck and get the best pleasure out of this certain species. Oh yeah. Think with your other head! Get ready those pens and notes, here cums the sexy evaluations!
Episode 1
With a city like a melting with so many species, there is bound to be a red light district. Stunk (human) just f*cked an elf and loves it. However his partner, Zel (elf) doesn’t really quite like it because that elf babe is over 500 years old! So what?! She still looks hot! But Zel loves this 50 year old grandma human, Mitsue. So anybody below 100 years old is his taste? So both argue about their weird tastes in women and to settle this, they ask Kanchal (hafling) and Brooz (beastman) to also give their opinions as they frequent the brothels too. Basically, only Stunk is the one who reviewed the elf babe with high marks. One day while out adventuring, they save an angel from a monster. The angel, Crim has a request to help be her bodyguard until her halo heals up so she can return to heaven. Sure. But in return they want to know if there are brothels in heaven! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! F*ck shops in heaven???!!! Stunk and Zel’s life mission is to f*ck every species there is!!! Oh yeah. I guess some of us can only dream of this. But wait. Crim is actually a boy???!!! In actual fact he has both male and female genitals. He can’t say for who knows what they’ll do to him. And because they find out Crim is a virgin, they take him to a brothel to celebrate! OMFG! Angel boy got defiled by a cat girl!!! OMG!!! Is he now considered a fallen angel?! In the bar where Stunk and Zel frequent (and now Crim works at), they post sex reviews too. There is one review from Kanchal whereby he didn’t like the sex with this octopus girl. Yup, he got more than just tentacle raped. Meidri the barmaid isn’t too amused that Stunk and Zel are earning big money just by posting such reviews. Stunk this he can ‘review’ her but gets beaten up. For a fortnight, the trio are gone just to review some harpy babe. When they come back, they have very high ratings for her. Best sex ever! Maybe except Narugami who is a Lamia. I guess birds and snakes don’t mix. Meidri isn’t all too amused at all because she is a harpy. What does this say about her? Stunk tries to get cheeky on her but she slams the barstool on him.
Episode 2
We’re discussing if dick size matters. Then thinking on which species to f*ck next, they notice the next table are tiny fairies. Heh. Heading to the fairy brothel, it’s not what they expect. Yeah, the fairy boss looks more like some gangster. They have to pay upfront a very expensive fee first before having their dicks measured. Hey, fairies are small you know. Stunk who has the biggest dick, unfortunately not all fairies can handle it and only 2 of them. Fat ugly fairy b*tches?! I guess in this case, size isn’t all that matters. Zel’s moderate size has him choose from half the field while Kanchal can get any fairies. Unfortunately, no fairies can handle Crim. OMG. In the end, all put up satisfying reviews except for Crim who felt scammed. This makes everybody wonder how big this angel boy’s junk is! Oh sh*t. With the elections around the corner, currently the Orc Party is the ruling party as it offers the right balance of eat, sleep and fornicate. Stunk and Zel might want to vote for the Succubus Party since all their agenda is f*ck, f*ck and f*ck! After a speech by the Demon Party, Stunk and co are approached by Demon Two (Piccolo?!), the PR for the Demon Party. Because demons are voted as the second most least marriageable species (the undead tops the list), he has read their reviews and noticed that because of that, some species’ popularity has skyrocketed. He hopes their review can also pull up the image of demons. But Demon Two can’t do it himself since this will be seen as election violation of granting favours. So he gives them a name card to a demon’s brothel and hopes they will vote for the Demon Party. So our Ishuzoku Reviewers head to this brothel with a lot of scepticism in mind (except for Crim who naturally wants to stay out). But once they see those huge tits that can only exist in hentai, you bet they’re in. Hence they write decent reviews. So they’re mostly cow girls squirting lots of milk when excited? Stunk and Zel discuss about how the gravity of such huge tits make them gravitate to it. Stunk tries to be funny with Meidri’s tits so she uses the gravity to slam her tray on his head. Science wins. Planet gravity > tits gravity.
Episode 3
Gender swap! After hearing about empathy, our guys decide to test out what it’s like to be a woman. Drinking a gender swap potion, their dicks disappear and their tits enlarge. You bet they’re going to spend some time playing with themselves and exploring their new body parts. As they have to wait till they return to their original self, they think of doing some lesbian stuffs. It is also a way to get a girl to teach them plenty of ways of womanhood. As they look through the catalogue, Crim seems to be ‘interested’ with the male one. You mean this male succubus thingy? The rest explain some gay stuff to him but whatever. Rainbow boys? End boys? Rain-end-boys? Huh? In the end, they suspect Crim might be into that sort of stuff… Each of them pick a girl to get lesbian with. Stunk of course picks a hot elf girl but the rest aren’t so pleased. She’s over 300 years old, you know… But the foreplay is giving him weird sensations that he didn’t like. Meh reviews. Kanchal goes for the same hafling species thinking the same species would know the ropes. Unfortunately, she is a dominatrix and using some sex toy to penetrate him. Ouch. Not a good review. Zel goes for a slime girl. Supposedly to be the easiest for first timers and can reach deep. Yup, the best time of his life. High scores. Finally, Crim went with a hyena girl. Supposedly the toughest and only reserved for more experienced patrons, this makes the rest wonder if Crim picked her because hyena types are said to have the biggest dick. In the end, Crim felt so good that she gave almost perfect scores. This only reinforces the others’ thought that he might be into gay stuffs!
Episode 4
OMFG! Too much sex has killed Stunk, Zel and Brooz! A week later… Everybody is talking about their legendary heroics. Even Meidri feels sad… The end of Ishuzoku Reviewers!!! Just kidding. We go back in time to find out what happened. The gang stumbled upon a very cheap succubus prostitution shop. Thinking it is a scam, what better way to go try it out themselves. Of course their cheap price comes from their bad attitude and they’re all really nymphos just wanting to f*ck! After being told that they must see it through and no help will be given halfway, our brave men step into the den and get ready for some f*cking. Let’s do this… Of course as expected, we see all the succubus swarm over them and they could be dead had not a huge group of orcs arrive for some revenge f*cking. Yeah, you’re supposed to do this in a large group. Hence the succubus throw them those losers out and go for those pigs. Safe to say, their review of it all is definitely no good. It took 3 weeks for them to recover. Rest up. One day, Crim accompanies Stunk and Zel to mine some fire gems. After that, they go eat some meat. Of course there is a catch. They grill their meat using the body of a salamander succubus. Is this what you call sexy meat? Yeah, time for lots of dirty sexual innuendoes as the guys barbeque their meet in certain places and making her look so erotic. But she wants to continue and take it to the other room. If you know what she means! She’ll even give them half price! Don’t leave her hanging! Of course the guys don’t want to get burnt to death. However it seems only Crim can withstand her heat and so they make out. In the end, Crim has a wonderful experience and gives the maximum score. So she tastes like BBQ all over?
Episode 5
Meidri is approached by a hooded person to hand over a request to Stunk and co. It seems the request is to go f*ck cyclop girls and there is already payment made in advance. Alright. Time to go get some f*cking done. Meidri doesn’t want Crim to force himself if he doesn’t want to go but that angel boy has become part of the horny gang so he gives an excuse that he needs a break. The bar patrons applaud?! At the cyclops’ den, the guys want the biggest bust and the receptionist of course has a selection of wide ranges. Wow. I didn’t know there is a K-cup but after seeing this series, Z-cup and beyond could be even possible. So while our guys can’t wait to f*ck those with big tits, they realize that when the receptionist said big, he meant their eyes. Oh damn. So freaky… Yeah, Kanchal got the one with the biggest eyes. Freaky, dude… Stunk and Zel hope for normal sized ones and they’re in luck. These cyclop girls actually have normal sized eyes but they also have the biggest boobs! Just because of their small eyes, their self-confidence takes a hit. In the end, all review high marks except for Kanchal who just rated it below average. Yeah, can’t get over those freakishly huge eyes… After putting up the review, they wonder who the employer was. Turns out to be a cyclop girl who has small eyes. Because of their truthful reviews, she has now gotten the courage to confess to a human she loves. I don’t know if f*cking too much means the guys now want to f*ck men?! So why are they talking about wanting to ‘eat’ mushrooms?! Oh, you mean f*ck a mushroom or fungi woman. Having a fairy, Lulou to guide them deep into the forest, the receptionist is an experienced one. Aside from the sex puns, she can gauge and tell the kind of woman they prefer and prepare the right mushroom girl for them to f*ck. However when it comes to Crim, she is stumped because she cannot determine angels’ preferences. Anyway, she manages to provide one that is right for him. In the end, all rate highly their experience. Best mushroom experience ever without even going into any sort of hallucination effect!
Episode 6
Wow. They’ve been f*cking everything and now they’re thinking on what to f*ck next?! Meidri suggests f*cking the next species that comes in. Of course this is a joke but the guys take it seriously. And the next species? A golem! Yeah, they’re going to a golem brothel. Is that even a thing? They’re not really too enthusiastic about it until the receptionist tells them they can actually make their own girl. So basically, build-a-slut, huh? Yup, they’ve got everything you need. Though you can use one that a previous client made for a cheaper price, it defeats the purpose of coming here to make your dream slut. Kanchal has this great idea as he makes a golem version of Meidri. Stunk and Zel also want one and Crim after thinking about it, also wants one. In the end, all of them rate very high and Kanchal giving the maximum score. But when Meidri finds out… Oh boy, the bar is closed for a beat down of those perverts! Keep those combos coming, lady! Hope they learnt their lesson… With denizens of darkness at the bar, it is sucking the vitality out of Crim. Hence his pals suggest taking him to somewhere with light on his next day off. And that of course means a brothel. So they are going to f*ck light creatures? WTF are light creatures?! Oh. Will o’ wisps. So I see the light conveniently covers their erotic parts. No matter what angle you look, you can’t see them. Oh my, Crim’s dick is one huge pillar of light!!!!! In the end, they review it with just average score. Because sex takes place in the public hall as customers can go in and out freely, making all the sexual activity public. Something about if done in the room, it’ll be too bright to see anything. Only Crim rates it as zero! Because he was so embarrassed the whole time and his angel eyes could see everything clearly. So unless you’re an exhibitionist and into orgies, this niche f*cking is your cup of tea!
Episode 7
Something is wrong with Meidri as she excuses herself. Stunk and Zel believe it is that time. Time for her to lay an egg! They are curious to see how it is done but the last time she beat them up. Don’t worry. There is an egg laying show for all you perverts who love to see girls laying their eggs! Not kidding! It does exist! So they head there and wait for those ladies to answer the call of nature. It seems a lot of Lamia and mermen are interested in this since they get to eat the egg after it is laid. Also, chefs and gourmets are willing to pay a high price for the egg just to cook and eat it. So the first female is up… A lizard woman? Ugh. While everybody else cheers, Stunk, Zel and Crim are cringing at this disgust. Even more so when the next one is a crocodile lady. They want to leave but it seems the next girl is of a penguin species. A bit cuter but still that doesn’t discount the fact that laying eggs now look like something gross. In the end, the trio rate the show with low scores. You mean it’s not zero? Only Narugami rates highly because he loves eating those eggs. Meidri also popped a few herself but is quite disgusted that those guys went to such a show. And as you could expect, she beats them up when they tease her now they know how it is done! But these guys didn’t learn their lesson as they feel hungry and want to go make omelettes from Meidri’s eggs. WTF is wrong with you guys?! Meidri beat down part 2! Wow. No sex this episode but it was surely a weird ‘eye opening’ fetish.
Episode 8
Oh sh*t. WTF is this girl raping scene by the KKK???!!! Turns out that this entire place is some roleplaying fantasy brothel where the babes act out to their roles given. Some of them are good and some of them aren’t. So if you’re like Kanchal who demands perfection all the way in the act, he’s going to be a tough customer. I guess it is no more an act when the girls see Crim’s ‘tower to heaven’! Yeah, they want to get raped by that! In the end, they rate averagely high scores for this idea. Stunk, Zel and Brooz contemplate on a mission that will have them be away for a week but the reward pays very high. Of course they’re going to do it but they have to make ‘preparations’ for such a long journey. Yup. A trip to the brothel. This time a real succubus brothel. The succubi here are able to provide you with all your whims and fancies down to the smallest detail. Then we get to see Crim take the ‘spotlight’. Turning Crim into an angel mayonnaise bottle, we see the succubus playing, licking and sucking it real dry. Must be delicious. In the end, our horny f*ckers rate the succubus sex with high marks. If they always provide the best service then why don’t they come here often? You see, despite being able to provide everything, the succubi will drain your life force and pleasure will start to become strain. Then it will take about a week before you get your usual libido back. No f*cking for a week, huh? I guess they can really concentrate on the mission then.
Episode 9
Hmm… No sex reviews for a week, huh? Yeah, Stunk and co have gone on that faraway special mission. It’s getting too quiet at the bar… So we see the special quest that they are doing is just delivering a casket for this vampire dude, Count Delivel. His castle is so far out so as he could sleep longer. So to thank them for their work, he takes them to the nearest brothel. I guess nobody visits this one not only it is so far away but because they’re all undead! So they’re f*cking zombies this time, huh? So while our Ishuzoku Reviewers give just average score because of the rotting stench during sex (the undead is one of the most unpopular species to f*ck with), only Delivel gives high marks because he f*cked his loyal vampire mistress. Crim has gotten into this f*cking groove too because despite not being on this mission, he went to a brothel himself. This time some slime lotion brothel. I don’t know. Some witch putting magic slime lotion on you and you get orgasm from the tentacle slime rape? Well, Crim rates it very highly so it must be good if you can make an angel feel like that. Thanks to all their f*cking reviews, there a spawns of copycats. Stunk and Zel don’t like their idea being copied but do they have grounds to sue? But they still enjoy reading those reviews. One of them includes a female director who was reviewing and filming lesbian porn. Yeah, I think she climaxed too while filming the juicy yuri shoot. Then they read a review that has a brothel ranked the full perfect score by the reviewers. Unfortunately it is located in the faraway magic city. Don’t worry. Kanchal has prepared their ride there and with their extra money from Delivel’s mission, I’m sure they don’t want to miss this one out. They invite Crim to come along and you can see his eyes lit up. He’s so happy to join them. Meanwhile Meidri realizes she lost a pair of helping hands at the bar. F*ck those perverts!!!
Episode 10
Arriving at the magic city, after paying a hefty upfront fee, it seems everyone gets to do whatever they want with this decoy doll which is a very perfect clone of a mage named Demia, for 3 days. Of course that means only behind closed doors because there was a time when everyone started f*cking her in public, yeah the sight wasn’t pleasant and thus open space f*cking was banned. We see a very shy Crim being serviced real good by the doll. Great bath time moments. Then there is Stunk having a really good time with his but cannot decide whether to give it perfect marks or not. Next morning, she even cooks breakfast for him but he prefers to eat her out, if you know what I mean! So we also see the rest enjoying theirs according to their fetish. Crim relates how she is waiting for his halo to regenerate before he can return to heaven. No need to wait so long. Because she will take him there now!!! We see Demia gladly having angel juice. I guess semen is only for humans… Anyway, she is using it to test it on various elements and hopes she can make a killing out of this research. Though, she would love to get her hands on his halo but luckily it is against company policy to take something from the customers. After 3 days, the dolls say their goodbye and disappear. Our reviewers feel sad to part with them. Yeah, it was definitely a good time to the last drop. Hence all of them give the maximum perfect score! In addition to that, they have the Centaur ladies deliver their reviews to every nook and corner of the land! Wow. Everybody now wants to come here and f*ck! This place is really heaven on earth! Only except Meidri. She’s working like mad nonstop at the bar and it’s hell for her.
Episode 11
By the time our reviewers come back, Meidri is relieved because there is this hot looking succubus guy who has business with them. So apparently he went to all those places that they rated lowly and f*cked those girls again! He thinks they don’t understand women and that is why he filled them with his passion and pleased them all! He gave maximum points to all of them! Of course our reviewers are just giving sarcastic remarks for his reviews. And then suddenly, his girlfriend stabs him in the heart! She accuses of running of with her money to ‘chase his dreams’ and blew all on the prostitutes. The rest restrain her so succubus guy talks some sweet words to make her realize she still loves him. Heh. Women. In the end, they are taken away and they know the succubus guy is going to live because he has a heart near his crotch area. Yeah, stab this one and he’ll die! Later, it seems doesn’t want to visit more prostitutes since he is short on cash. Yeah, Meidri cutting his pay ever since visiting the magic city. Although Stunk pays him in advance for the reviews, Crim still won’t go because visiting such joints still costs a lot. They suggest he take up quests and Crim still insists. Meidri had to put those guys in place and ignore their pervy calls just to get Crim back to work. Then Kanchal comes in. He is loaded with gold. He got it from the guild. Remember those reviewers trying to copy their work? Instead of trying to stop them and make no profit out of it, why not have them pay their share to them and the guild if they want to continue doing this. Yup, those reviewers are going to be their financial investors! Now they have the cash, they bug Crim to go prostitution reviewing but of course Meidri won’t allow them till he finishes his job. By the time he does, they’re already drunk and wasted. But that still didn’t stop them from getting their sex tonight. This time they visit some leprechauns. Thing is, they drink until they pass out only to have sex. I wonder how they can write reviews but they did. Not sure what kind of scores they give but it sure showed they were drunk. Only Crim didn’t get drunk and gave a moderate score. Then they realize they also hit other joints and f*cked. Can’t remember those! Worse, they spent all their money and their reviews are sh*t! Oh no. Time to go make some money. And hence they go adventuring so much that they actually saved the world from a certain impending doom! WTF?! WAS THE WORLD EVER IN DANGER WITH SO MUCH F*CKING AT EVERY CORNER????!!!!
Episode 12
Stunk and Zel review their mementos. Yup. Name cards from all the brothels they have visited. It’s like their badge of honour, f*ck version. Seeing one reminds them of the demon brothel that they never got to visit. They want to call for Crim but he is busy away waiting for some old tree to finish grinding the herbs. Waiting and waiting… I guess angels don’t do well with demons so it’s off to the demon brothels then. The moment they flash this name card, instantly they are given the VIP treatment. After the sex, they are explained why demons view contracts very important hence it is essential that you word them properly or it will turn out differently than you think. Hence our reviewers now understand why they were roped in to help in the review because it is to help give a better perception of demons. And who else better than them Ishuzoku Reviewers who give credible reviews. In the end, our reviewers rate demon sex highly. With these reviews out, Demon Two reads them to her boss who is not pleased that it came too late because the election is over and she lost! But considering the public views have shifted, she may use this to help in her next election. Demia then visits her as they talk about the airplane thingy from another world she saw to be created. It makes transportation easier. Sure. How about funding? Well… When we win the next elections. But upon realizing the other world has no magic whatsoever, she isn’t so eager to trade magic for airplanes now. Meanwhile Crim is still waiting… Is this the face of an angel who waited patiently or the face of one who has not have sex for a week?!
Everyone prays to usher the New Year. As Crim is unfamiliar with this custom, she asks Zel and is told about it. Of course Crim doesn’t think God listens to their prayers because if He does, he would have gone back to heaven! Zel tells him to be careful because that kind of statement will destroy the religion state of this world! Oh sh*t! Taking their minds of this, Stunk talks about f*cking their best f*ck last year so that they will have another good year of f*cking. However, magic city is very far and costly. Okay. Next best f*ck. Stunk goes with some elf girl, Zel with Mitsue, Kanchal the golem sex dolls, Brooz some furry beast and Crim prefers that hyena woman. Better not even think about Meidri because she won’t hesitate to really kill you this time! As they go to get their first f*ck of the year, too bad they are all full! Then the fairy receptionist comes by to thank them because of their reviews, their place is now full and only for reservation. But the reviewers didn’t give them high scores. That’s because there are many who aren’t confident with their junk. Besides, many don’t care about the scores. Just the honest reviews. She then gives them a special place to go that will surely satisfy them. If not, she’ll give them a freebie. Well, it doesn’t make them happy since she’s quite an old hag… So in this place she recommends, all their favourite girls are here. They think they aren’t real and just shape shifting off their memories. But who cares, right? As long as they enjoy their f*ck! And so they enjoy it that they give it almost perfect scores. Here’s to another year of great f*cking. On another day, Stunk and Zel got another great idea for review. Why not do a harem? Yeah. Sex is going to get more intense this year.
The Sex Files: The F*cking Sexperts!
Have penis, will f*ck. Ah, that’s the simple motto that these perverts sex reviewers have. It is also safe to say that the f*ck not for procreation but for recreation. Now that they are going to take their reviews to the next level, it is only a matter of time they may get bored and do some homo stuff! Oh sh*t! I don’t think I want to read those kind of reviews! With so much f*cking to cover, I wonder if they will give us another season? Well… What controversy are we talking about?! Well… Yeah…
This series was too controversial and raunchy that there was this initial hullabaloo surrounding it. The infamous Funimation who streamed the series and after 3 episodes in, they decided to cancel it because they found out it wasn’t part of their standards. Really? After 3 episodes? They didn’t know what they were streaming? Of course they were being thrown brickbats and everything, mocked and ridiculed for their whatever double standards or no standards at all. And when you try to ban something, people want it more. For that current time, this series was already quite popular with viewers and to do something like this (all because one single idiot didn’t like it and complained, causing the ‘righteous’ company to bend its knee) and taking it down from its streaming site was just an insult and a big rip-off. Eventually, other sites streaming it also followed suit. So are we perverts doomed not getting our weekly sex reviews?! Not quite.
Luckily for us, the saviour in the name of AnimeLab decided to carry on so that we can get our weekly fix. And with that, this scandal is soon blown over and quickly forgotten. Nobody is really complaining now at this point, right? Now we fans are happy and at least somebody is making a decent penny from this. I guess it’s true that when you decide to become woke, you get broke. What a joke! Hope you learn your lesson that you can never defeat porn no matter what measures you take!!! As long as there is great demand for it out there, it will surely exist.
Though fanservice and sex galore there are aplenty throughout this series, but honestly in my personal opinion, I didn’t really get stimulated or hard on in all of those scenes. Simply because I’m not a big fan of watching sex or porn of other species! That’s racist! But seriously. Even watching the female monsters having a good time and orgasm makes me feel all weird inside. I mean, really. Think about it. Do you really want to f*ck an octopus girl? I mean, really?! DO YOU?! You have got to be some sort of an ultimate sex maniac to do it with all sorts of creatures. So like our reviewers. As long as their dicks are functioning and the other party has a vagina, it’s all green light and good to go f*ck. Otherwise, my personal view is that watching those sex scenes are just cringe, just to put it in the mildest way that I can say it.
Sure, there are other hot non-human chicks out there that resembles closely to humans such as the elves. But I’m still not totally turned on. One reason in particular is because of the art style. You see, the overall feel of the anime has this cartoonish outlook. Even so, the ‘worse’ part is that many of the female prostitutes are somewhat flabby. I don’t think the word fat is accurate to describe them but I think they’re more of flabby. Even the slim ones seem to have this sort of look. Yeah. I’m so high standards that I prefer slim chicks. So sue me! With the art and animation one kind as well as the plump and chubby looks of the female characters, I hardly ever thought of even fapping at all! Though the art style generally reminds me of another anime series, Hen Zemi, this series isn’t produced by Xebec but rather Passione (Joshikousei No Mudazukai, Citrus and High School DxD Hero).
Seeing that this series relies a lot on such sex scenes for the reviews, as expected, there is the censored version and the glorious uncensored one. I watched the former because my imagination is superior! Also, as I did mention in my previous paragraph, the weird art style was somewhat a turn off so I don’t want to give myself ‘nightmares’ watching the uncensored version. Yeah, I’m so high standards in my beauty taste. Anyway, the censored version in a way may be annoying because censors prop out to cover the necessary parts but sometimes they are big enough to cover almost the entire screen. This is evident when there are multiple naked babes on screen and the blocking of the censors just can’t make you see anything. Perhaps this is a subtle way to go tell the viewers to watch the uncensored version if you don’t want to see such annoyance. Yeah well, my imagination is still superior! You can’t beat that, haha! But certain scenes are too raunchy to be shown and hence the entire screen is blank while the words of advising us to use our imaginations to imagine such scene will be displayed on the screen. Yeah. I guess we still can’t cross the line over to porn. See, what did I tell you of having superior imagination! Sorry to disappoint if you were expecting hentai. If you still can take more, at the end of each episode, a short segment hosted by Mitsue or some dirty old professor (can I call him the Nutty Professor?) to ‘enlighten’ you on some sex techniques or just purely dirty jokes.
I noticed that there are also quite a few sex puns in the conversation. However this is only because of the English subtitle translation that I noticed. Though my Japanese vocabulary isn’t all that good, I can still pick up a few words and their conversation is mostly normal. If not, just slightly raunchy for some puns. But the English subtitles really ramped it up with their creativity with some of the lines really turned into sex puns and sexual innuendoes. You either laugh or cringe. I’m mostly the former, if you want to know. It is befitting if you think about it because lacking all those f*ck words in English considering the kind of show this is, is just unreal. I even wonder if the names of our f*ckers are derived from sex puns. Stunk = junk. Zel = gel. Kanchal = cunt. Brooz = Boobs. Crim = creampie…
Basically there is no character development at all! Hey, this show is about f*cking, why the f*ck do you care about who is getting f*cked or the one f*cking anyway???!!! So essentially, Stunk and Zel as the main characters and the backbone of the Ishuzoku Reviewers, you can call them brave or just sick perverts. They f*ck and review first so that you don’t have to go in and then later regret your actions. While their reviews are ‘helpful’, please bear in mind that this is only based on their personality and preferences. For example, Zel who is an elf is very much age conscious. So he will not f*ck anything that is over 100 years old because apparently it’s like doing in his mom and grandma. But for Stunk, as long as you look like a hot sexy babe, his penis is always ready for action. Although many of their reviews are not very contrasting, it ultimately still boils down to their preferences. So you have to read their reviews with caution and a pinch of salt before you make your judgment. What they say is good may not be good for you. If I should say, what are you sex-pectations? Haha! After all, this is somewhat very similar to movie critics and the mass audience.
And Crim… Can he be considered as a fallen angel now? Yeah, this angel is corrupted by the desires of the flesh now. By the time his halo regenerates and he is allowed to return to heaven, heck, will he be even allowed back beyond the Pearly Gates?! Crim might not be as perverted as Stunk and Zel and he is still very much a shy person when he does his reviews. Does this still make him an angel? Well, until God says so. Which brings the question of heaven into context. With so many brothels and f*cking around, you wonder if anybody in this land would be going to heaven. Perhaps the heaven here isn’t the same definition in what Christians’ heaven would be. So it would really be interesting to see if Crim can really go back to heaven at all. But even in the case he couldn’t, he could continue to stick around and f*ck more prostitutes! Oh yeah. I think he’ll choose the latter. After all, he has got the biggest dick in the mortal land! Those girls are lucky they could f*ck an angel! And don’t despair all of those going to hell. I bet there are brothels there too! Now you can actually f*ck demons instead of eternal suffering! This is so messed up.
With so many types of species and monsters in this world, it just goes to show that sex is everything. It is like an extreme rule of Rule 34. As long as a species exist, there is a possibility to just f*ck them. Hence across the land, there are brothels here, there and everywhere. Every nook and corner of the kingdom. Like as though the entire kingdom itself is a red light district. Maybe it is just superficial as we are not shown the other areas of the kingdom so we assume that everywhere is a f*ck shop. Heh. I don’t think we would even care if there is a pasty chop in the land. We just want to know if there is a prostitution service for this certain kind of species! So every mythical creature you can imagine exists right here to fulfil you carnal desires. Want to f*ck a Cyclops girl? You got it. Hyena woman? Never thought those existed but they do. Slime girls? Your ultimate fantasies come true! Fairy girls? No dick too small to handle! Zombies? Not even death can f*ck us part! Absolutely proves that sex is the universal tune that everyone can agree on. So I bet that even when you die, heaven or hell will even have brothels at your service! I wonder what are the terms and conditions to f*ck with God!!!!!!!!!!! I know I won’t be able to handle Him but if that possibility exists, you bet there are bold ones who wouldn’t even think twice to try!
I suppose to keep the variety of the reviews, the fourth member of Ishuzoku Reviewers is usually one of the minor guys. Be it Kanchal or Brooz and some appearing only once or twice like Narugami or Delivel. It would be boring to just here from the same guys all the time, right? So when is Meidri going to get done in by those guys? Haha! If that ever happens, it will only be on the deepest and darkest porn of the web. So Meidri being the most mature of the pack because she puts up with all the perverted talk those usual reviewers do but she won’t stop them from doing it because it’s none of her business. Also, they patron her bar and bring in a lot of business thanks to their reviews so I guess it’s not all that bad. So really, when will the do a review on Meidri?! Perhaps Queen Meidri doing BDSM seems to likeliest…
The opening theme, Ikouze Paradise by the trio of Stunk, Zel and Crim… Wow, it sounds so much like Village People’s YMCA! Or at least, In The Navy or Go West. I guess these are their better hits than Sex Over The Phone. But anyway, the tune is catchy enough and filled with lots of sexual innuendoes to make you want to sing and dance along. Though, not necessarily getting your libido up or bust a nut because in my case, you already know why. Young man, there’s no need to feel down/ I said young man, just take a look around/ I said young man, pick the best girl in town/ There’s no need to be unhappy! The same trio sing the main ending theme, Hanabira Ondo which sounds like a traditional festival song but infused with more sex innuendoes into its lyrics. Then they ramp up the sexiness with disco, rap and hip hop fusion. Sexy weird?
Overall, this anime is definitely unique and making the conversation for all the right and wrong reasons. If you don’t like sex in your entertainment, definitely you’re going to scream your head till it explode and it’ll be so before you even finish the first episode. Otherwise, this ecchi masterpiece is just for pure entertainment and enlightenment on what it’s like to have sex with everything else that moves under the sun. Or lurks in the shadows. Sure it’s weird but sex itself is weird. We’re all here to have a good time, right? This anime doesn’t disappoint in that sense if you have an open mind (and libido). Though I have to admit that I do have interest in sex but I’m not that sex crazy so I’m going to pass and not even think of f*cking the other species. Because hot sexy human female teens are my only type. That’s racist! Okay. Whatever. As long as I like it. But where can I find those hot singles near my area who wants to hook up with me?! So I give this series a 6 out of 10. Not because of the sex reviews. Rather, the sex puns that I can learn and use for as cheesy pickup lines. Or not. So enough reading reviews already. Get up and go bust a nut today!
Koisuru Asteroid
23 May, 2020
The last time we had an anime that is based on the constellations and the stars was Sora No Manimani. Yeah, that was more than a decade ago. However, that series wasn’t really about cute girls doing cute things. Uh huh. You have some weird high school romance via the theme of constellations and stars in the background. Don’t want all that crap, huh? Then be glad with just the cute girls doing cute things astronomy version in Koisuru Asteroid. Yup. A bunch of cute high school girls rekindling their old promise to find and name an asteroid together. Aww… How cute… If only finding and naming an asteroid was that easy.
Episode 1
When Mira Konohata was young, she was at a town camping trip and met a boy named Ao who was very knowledgeable about the constellations. They became acquainted and promised to find an asteroid to name. That was the last time she saw him, though. Now Mira is a high school girl. But her dreams are dashed as the astronomy club has closed down! Don’t worry. As teacher Yuki Endou puts it, it has combined with the geology club to become earth sciences club. She is the club’s advisor. Along with her friend, Moe “Suzu” Suzuya, they try it out as they see the awkward ‘confrontation’ of the newly merged club. Mari “Monroe” Morino is the president from the astronomy side with first year Ao Manaka while Mikage “Sakura” Sakurai is from the geology side along with Mai “Ino” Inose. Sakura’s attempts to lure Mira to her side with gems fails as Mira is adamant to be on the astronomy side. When Mira tells of her promise, this has all of them realizing that this Ao is that same Ao from Mira’s past. So Ao is actually a girl?! Yes, Ao still remembers Mira. Both get quickly acquainted. Promise back on track. Ao has trouble speaking since she looked tomboyish as a kid and many teased her about it. Suzu is optimistic that they’ll get along fine because she is Mira’s childhood friend. That night they call each other just to point out Mercury and Venus in the sky. Got to start from somewhere. Next day, the girls convene to discuss about club activities. Oh, Suzu won’t be joining since she will be busy with other stuffs. They discuss about the club budget that will also determine what kind of activity they will do for the cultural festival. Because of their difference in expertise, there isn’t a single activity that they can exactly do together. So to attract more people, they think of writing a newsletter. Now the problem is what to call it because both sides of the divide have their own ideas that sound pretty bias to their specialty. Eventually, Ao comes up with the best name: Kirakira. As it means sparkle, both stars and gems share that quality.
Episode 2
Endou organizes a riverside BBQ so they can have a rock hunting activity as well as stargazing later. She also ordered some bread from Suzu’s bakery. Normally Suzu would have left after delivering the bread but after seeing how cute Ino is, she decides to stay for the extra benefits. Sakura guides Mira in picking the rocks. Woah! Almost picked up dog poo there! In the end, she picked up too many rocks that made it impossible for her to carry. Oh well, catch and release. After the sun goes down, Monroe sets up the telescope so that everyone can see Mars and Jupiter. They also talk about the constellations as Ao shows her talent in some asteroid history. Yup, they’ve been naming asteroids long ago and there are about 500,000 named asteroids currently! They also see a few shooting stars. By the time Endou got out of her car (because staying outside was too freezing), the meteor shower show is over. Back at the clubroom, they are discussing on how their first print should be. Mira is in a dilemma to write an article. What if it makes someone interested and that someone soon finds and asteroid and names it before her?! WTF?! Is this what it’s all about?! Mira writes her article but since she has writer’s block, she asks her sister, Misa for advice. She points out what she has written feels bland. Damn, she fell asleep while reading it! Poor Mira felt so insulted and storms off. Though, Suzu points out it was her fault in the first place. How does it feel to work something so hard and then get rejected? With Ao asking for illustrations, Suzu suggests drawing so Mira gets an idea to draw inspiration from Greek mythology. The earth science club’s first print is out. Suddenly there are lots of people who want a copy. You can thank Misa for promoting it. She is after all the student council president. Only then everybody realizes Mira is her little sister. Damn. To celebrate this success, Endou gives them tickets to enjoy themselves at the hotspring. They talk about the different mineral properties in such baths around Japan. After the bath, a couple of old ladies talk to them. It seems they know about Endou as she used to be a regular customer. It was her only way of de-stressing from her stressful teaching job. Mira realizes how hard it is to be a teacher so she buys a souvenir for Endou when she returns as appreciation.
Episode 3
Suzu has to keep tabs on Mira and Ao studying for the remedial tests. Otherwise they’ll be talking about astronomy stuffs. Suzu wants to show Ao the secret manga Mira draws but of course embarrassed girl won’t let her. When Misa enters, Suzu flusters. It seems she admires her for some reason. Misa meets Ao for the first time. Even so, she finds her familiar. Aha. The main protagonist whom Mira based in her secret manga. Not her too! I guess Mira won’t let Ao read that manga. Ever. When Mira gets too close to Ao to see her reaction, it is Suzu who gets jealous and shocked instead. Mira gives Misa a rock as a good luck charm. She proceeds to create a mini altar for it! Mira and Ao help Suzu at her bakery. Maid outfit, I approve! With Suzu’s Spartan training, they’ll get by. Later, Suzu’s little sister, Megu joins in. Man, she’s a bit tall… Growth spurt? Because of her tomboyish traits, she is more suitable in a butler outfit. And you can tell the place is busy and packed with people. At the end of the day, the girls are paid. Mira wonders why there is much more than usual. It’s because Suzu has taken lots of secret photos of them! Megu had to apologize on behalf of her sister… When Mira and Ao are walking in the streets, they see Suzu and Ino together. It seems they are following Ino’s map to somewhere. Eventually the duo are busted. They learn Ino has Suzu accompany her in exploring some enclave based on this map. Because of her love for maps, it’s the reason she joined the geology club. They might be different specialty but they’re still related somewhat. After finding the landmark, they take a break as they learn more on why Ino is so into maps. Apparently a friend introduced it to her and she has been hooked ever since. Mira wants to try treasure hunting too so Ino will draw a proper map for them. No Mira, not on your hand. Back home, Ino tries to do so but hits a dead end. So she calls Sakura for advice. Whatever she draws for them will be their treasure. Next day, she gives Mira and co a treasure map for them to find after school. It leads them to the treasure, a group picture of that landmark they took together that day. Mira and co had fun and Ino is glad she could share this fun with them.
Episode 4
Is everyone so hyped up for summer camp at Endou’s grandma’s house?! Trolled you girls! They can use grandma’s house to save on lodging expenses while they go visit the geology museum and JAXA. At the geology museum, Sakura has a field day looking at all the exhibits. Remember that stone that Mira found at the riverbed? She accidentally split it and she thought there was some fossil in it. They are also here to ascertain that. Unfortunately the experts say it is a pseudo fossil. Yeah, some geological explanations. But not all is lost because if you really look closely, there is some small fish scale there so there is still some fossil in it. The geology girls are happy when then expert gives them a full detail list of the geological map where they found the stone. Next day, they visit JAXA. Even watching the intro video has Mira and Ao crying like babies… Monroe seems to be shy so Sakurai asks the experts on her behalf on certain space things. At the end of the day, returning to grandma’s place, since grandpa is also a fan of space, he sets up telescopes for them to see the moon. Then grandma shows them a recruitment poster of Shining Star Challenge. Endou once participated in it but couldn’t find anything. Too bad this year’s entry is already closed. Endou had a dream to find and name an asteroid too. So why didn’t she know about Mira and Ao’s dream? Well, she was sleeping during their club meeting… No reaching the stars for now so they complete the night playing sparklers. Before going to bed, Sakura commends the astrology side for having dreams. You see, it is Monroe’s dreams of becoming an astronaut. Because she was nervous about it, that’s why she was asking on her behalf. Sakura doesn’t find it embarrassing because it is better than her who doesn’t have any. Ino then realizes she wants to do something so the next day, they take her to the map making centre. You can tell how happy she is when her eyes sparkle like that.
Episode 5
Beach episode! Suzu notices Mira getting close to Ao and hence jealousy? She challenges her to see who could be Mira’s best friend. First challenge: Serving her favourite food. Doesn’t matter, Mira eats them all. Second challenge: Who can swim and reach to her the fastest. Better hurry or the riptide will pull you under. Final challenge: Riding a banana boat? Yeah, everyone falls off. In the end, Ino tells them why not all of them can be best friends. That could work. And that’s it for our beach episode. Bummer. On another day, Mira goes with Sakura to a mineral show. Lots of nice stones but Mira can’t go off by herself since some staffs speak in English and only Sakura can speak Engrish… I’m sure Mira would love to buy all the rocks but budget constraints… Eventually she got a few nice ones. Back to school, the girls see Sayuri “Eve” Ibe hanging outside their clubroom upside down and trying to peek in! Along with Ayano Usami, they are from the newspaper club and Eve’s plan is to find any scandalous material to blackmail clubs! Newspapers not selling well? This girl is more stupid than Mira so you bet Monroe has recorded that self-proclaimed statement she said out loud and proud. Hence Monroe ‘blackmails’ Eve to help them provide an exhibit for the cultural festival. After a few discussions, they decide than a boring (drilling, that is) exhibit would be good. After a mini experiment demonstrated by Endou, everyone else suddenly comes up with cool ideas on how to make this an interesting boring (oxymoron?!) exhibit. But! Sakura pours cold water on it. She is being pessimistic it won’t work and that they can’t ask others to help them. Endou doesn’t mind. Even if it is not the real thing and their mock exhibit will look haphazardly, it would be a waste to just scrap it all completely. Got your positivism and motivation back? Thought so.
Episode 6
Sakura and Ino start their boring activity. As in the drilling. Eve and Usami come check on them and noticing they lack the manpower, they seek the baseball club to come help. With the raw man-power, the boring is done quickly. Endou gets the honours to extract it but some parts ended up broken and out of shape instead of a cylindrical one. Hey, they’re using a cheap makeshift machine, right? Meanwhile our astronomy girls are making planet models. We hear Monroe thanking her grandma as she is the reason she is interested in this. After finishing the models, the best reward is to look at the real moon up in the sky. Oh, I take that back, the best reward is Suzu coming by to give them some nice pastries. Without Sakura here, the girls go ‘out of control’ with Suzu carrying Ao and Monroe snapping away like mad. The festival is here and what is even better than a double of geology and astronomy exhibit? Why, a maid café!!! I approve!!! Looking beautiful in those maid outfit, girls! Endou isn’t their first customer and just to check on them. Also, she tried out all the food on the menu. Yeah, she’ll be back by snack time. As the day goes by, we see several visitors coming in and the girls trying their best to provide the best service and information to them. Even Misa visits but can Suzu stay calm and not resort to bribery or anything? Eventually family members start visiting. Ao’s mom wants to take a picture of her daughter in a maid dress and for the first time everybody hears a high pitch shriek never heard before. At the end of the day, the event is a success and the girls are tired out. But there’s a surprise in store. Monroe and Sakura announce that they would be stepping down as their club roles. Don’t worry, they’ll still be around as normal club members. Hence they pass the leadership to Ino. Yoroshiku ne, buchou. You bet Ino is in shock. No more sleepy, huh?
Episode 6.5
WTF?! Are astronomy and geology so hard a subject that we need to have a recap episode???!!! We better learn our constellations and minerals if we want to see the rest of the season!!!
Episode 7
With Ino as the president, Mira becomes the vice and Ao the treasurer. Yeah. That’s all the members, right? Then there’s the issue of Kirakira being sold out because Misa named the koi in the inner garden? Ino is still sad and nervous of her new position. So as not to be sad forever, the club has a request for astronomy viewing from the neighbourhood kids. It is hard for Ino to get them to be quiet and focus but thanks to Suzu and Megu handing out treats, they become good kids. As the kids are awed with the constellations, Ao notices one of them, Haruka not particularly interested and bored. But after talking to her and giving some motivation, her enthusiasm is back on track. While the event is a success, back at the clubroom, more woes for Ino since all the pictures she took turned out blurry. One day, Ao is sick and didn’t come to school. Mira and Ino are of course worried for her. Suzu then advises on how to cheer her up but it is a trick because Mira realizes too late this pick up line she says before Ao just made her look more like a fool. Embarrassing! In no time, Ao recovers and returns to normal school activities. Monroe helps Ino on the blurry camera picture problem. As she is still having trouble, Monroe gives her some hope that there is software to retouch and tweak it. Of course Ino doesn’t have to force herself to use something totally new and alien if she feels comfortable in using an older and more familiar technology. Sakura comes in with the good news that her application to her first choice university went through. Apparently Monroe also applied for the same university albeit they are taking different majors. They are supposed to wait after the juniors finish their exams so as not to add to their anxiety but I guess it’s too late. Especially when they see Monroe acting strange the day after. So Sakura warns them to act normal and not show their worrywart face before Monroe when she comes by. Ino tries to do things on her own instead of relying on her senpai. Hence she talks to Endou if there is still time to apply for this earth sciences competition.
Episode 8
Ino enters the local earth sciences Olympiad. The winner will represent the nation for its international version. Nervous at first, she meets a fellow participant, Saeki and they become friends. As the test starts, Ino finds some of them easy and some not so easy. I guess Saeki is a genius because she breezed through and used the remainder of her time to sleep. In the aftermath, Ino scored awful but she is glad to have met and learnt from other people outside the club. The girls then prepare for a nabe for Christmas. Only, it is laced with spicy chilly! Only Monroe and Sakura can handle to spiciness. Then they all go up to the roof to watch the stars. Monroe and Sakura then give their juniors a photo album. They compiled all their photos of their time together. Too touched that Ao starts crying?! During New Year, the juniors visit the shrine. It is then Ao reveals that she is moving away because her dad has had a job transfer. It will be during spring break. Mira is most affected as she goes into shock! She’s actually panicking! What about their promise?! Ino tries to calm everybody down and think rationally. Hence she calls for an emergency meeting with her fellow club members and the newspaper duo too. It is to discuss on how to support Mira and Ao’s goal given the current circumstances. You thought Mira being depressed for being a bad friend is bad enough. Why, Suzu is worst! She comes in and kidnaps Ao! Let’s elope!!! She’s serious!!! When that failed, the discussion resumes and Ao wonders why they’re doing so much for her. Oh silly. You should’ve guessed it by now. We’re friends! We love you! And then here comes Misa to give her input. She asks if Ao has ever talked to her parents about not wanting to move. She didn’t because she thought as a child, her opinions don’t matter. Mira suggests putting up a fight and not give up. No, not throwing a tantrum like a child. Because Misa will be going to a faraway university, she suggests Ao propose to her parents to live at her old place with Mira. Wow. That sounds like a (yuri) dream come true!
Episode 9
Ao talks to her mom. Must be all those emotions in her words that mom will talk again with dad tonight. Also, a call from Mira’s family that they too are open for discussion on this. I think we know how it’ll turn out. Sakura sees Suzu so that she could learn how to make Valentine chocolates. She claims it is obligatory chocolates but we know better. This has also Suzu think about her own predicament about giving chocolates to a certain someone. Sakura gives those chocolates to her club members while Suzu finally gets a chance to give hers to Misa. Filled with her feelings. With Monroe giving the good news that she has passed her entrance exam, time for a short reminiscence of Monroe and Sakura first joining this club and they butt heads a lot. The girls take a commemoration photo and exchange presents. Monroe sees their photo album and didn’t realize she was smiling this much. Fact: Nobody has seen their own face with their own eyes except through mirrors or pictures! During spring break, Ao moves into Mira’s house. However because Mira opened a present meant for her without Ao’s permission, they got into a fight. Oh dear. Off to a bad start. And what’s this about their differing theories on how the moon was formed? Oh my. But it doesn’t take long before the girls reconcile because it’s that kind of show. As the new school year starts, Mira and Ao happily try to recruit new club members. Only, Ino tries to stop them because they haven’t got permits for recruitment yet! So uhm, illegal solicitation?!
Episode 10
Suzu spots a new hairstyle. Does this help cope with Misa’s absence? Before Ino starts her plan to recruit more members (because Mira’s true intention: Get more club funding!), suddenly here come a couple of new first years interested to join! So lucky. Meet Chikage “Chika” Sakurai who is Sakura’s little sister and the one Ino met at the local earth sciences Olympiad, and Yuu “Nana” Nanami who attended their school’s cultural festival. Of course there is Megu but Suzu brings her here to check things out. When Nanami notes their last festival wasn’t helpful enough, Nana further explains that she isn’t interested in astronomy or geology but meteorology. She wants to know more about the weather and climate to help others. Mira and Ao also get ready to enter the Shining Star Challenge that has them require to write a short essay. To welcome the new members, the seniors buy food for a BBQ. Too bad on that day it rained… See why meteorology is so important? Thanks to Endou, she managed to find a small open hut so as not to let this BBQ go to waste. Nana also elaborates on her dream to learn meteorology because 3 years ago her relatives got involved in a flooding incident. Though no casualties, the damage was high and she doesn’t want to see that sad looks on their face again. By trying to predict the weather and natural disasters, she hopes to save many. Seeing she is so serious, Chika gives her a stone to help calm her down. So this girl is more of into geomancy than actual geology? This club is getting weirder. Once the rain stops, they see a lovely rare phenomenon. WTF is this circumhorizontal arc?! So it’s a horizontal rainbow, huh? Come night fall, the weather is nice for them to set up a telescope to see the moon. A few days later, good news for Mira as she passed the first test for the Shining Star Challenge! But… Ao failed! Oh my. Bummer. That sure killed the mood. But instead of wallowing in despair, here is a live streaming video of Monroe and Sakura to lecture them on using this to learn and improve. So the gang sees off Mira and Endou at the airport. They’ll be flying to Okinawa where the challenge is. But wait. What’s this?! Ao is also coming?! Did nobody see her and this coming?! Who sponsored her air ticket?!
Episode 11
It seems Ao didn’t do this on a whim. She had help with her friends booking tickets and so as well as gotten permissions from her parents. As per Suzu’s advice, she didn’t tell them because Endou would certainly reject. Ao gets permission to be an observer like Endou once the necessary paper work is done. The Shining Star Challenge group first take a lecture. We are introduced to some of the participants and in particular Asuka “Tomorin” Tomori and Shiho “Makki” Makita. Yeah, because they are the ones who will be getting along with Mira and Ao. After the lecture, the group is taken to tour one of the few large antennas throughout Japan. Some explanations of how this digital telescope works… After that, the group splits into further groups. Our girls are on the optical group and their next tour is the observatory. Because Tomorin is not prepared to take notes, she ropes in Ao to join in. Permission granted. Ao is one lucky girl. More astronomical lessons on how to conduct observations… Then it is time to look for an asteroid using the hi-tech software. Is this what they’ve been waiting for? However as bad weather is looming, they don’t have much time so they start early. As Endou has been here many times, she reminisces about those young days with her friends. One of them is now an astronomer overseas. Endou laments she failed to find an asteroid but instead she found something else more precious: Encounters with other people. We also learn Makki isn’t particularly interested in astronomy. As she wants to be a school counsellor, she wants to expand her horizon and meet many new people. So that answers our question why she is interested in Ao’s ‘brain’. As for Tomorin, she is more interested to meet Neon Amane, a famous idol who is into astronomy in person. With the bad weather persisting, looks like they can’t go on looking. Sad news for Mira and Ao. So instead they practice looking using past photo data. Yo girls, don’t be impatient in trying to find an asteroid so fast. They get the chance the next day as the weather clears up. You can thank you buddies back home for making a bunch of teruterubouzu.
Episode 12
More lessons and the search for their elusive asteroid continues. During that, Tomorin and Makki ask the duo about their dreams and their future beyond that. Mira believes that in the event if they have achieved their dream, they hope to find a new one from there. The asteroid search continues and to cut things short, they didn’t find anything. Maybe next, next, next, next, next time. They present their findings and of course they had a lot of fun and educational experience. With the end of the Shining Star Challenge, our girls return to their respective homes. Of course for Mira and Ao, returning to their earth sciences club and relating their wonderful experience to everybody waiting. Ao takes this chance to thank everybody for making this possible that would be otherwise impossible by herself. With their spirits high, Endou gives them access to the school rooftop so they could watch the stars. What a beautiful night as they could see Jupiter and at least 4 of its moons. And then cue for flashbacks of what they did throughout this series which serves as some mini montage recap or something. Yeah. We’ve come so far, right?
Keep On Rocking: Dream Big, Shine Bright & Sparkle More!
At least they have an excuse to continue staying together because they haven’t fulfil their promise yet. Who knows what new dream they want to achieve after naming their asteroid. Finding another asteroid and naming it after their senpai! Yes! That would be great! But until then, you girls keep on your great efforts while we anime viewers bow out and go watch something else. Heh. We’ll see you again once you get another season. If that actually ever happens! Yeah, I’m starting to think the possibility that they would have a higher chance of finding and naming an asteroid rather than this series getting another season!
Well, I can’t say that I am totally disappointed. Because I already set my expectations so right before I started watching this series. As expected just like any other cute girls doing cute things genre, there isn’t anything much to expect and hope for. It’s not that bad. But the story and plot isn’t anything particularly special. The usual bonding of a small group of friends in a club as they move forward and achieve their goals and dreams. That summarizes up this series as well as other shows of the same genre nicely. So if you’re expecting some plot twist or some amazing storyline here, you’d be very much disappointed. I’m such a veteran in watching so many of such shows in this category for the past few years so I’m quite ‘numb’ to its overall ambiance.
Having said that, I guess the characters play an important role in making the series interesting seeing it lacks a main plot. What else can I say about the ragtag weirdoes of this club? Everyone has their own quirks that make them cute. Their dynamic interaction among each other makes the club and the group livelier and thus enhancing the quirkiness of the group. So lots of cute and funny light hearted moments that would make you grin a little otherwise those not really used to this kind of pacing might find it awfully boring. It’s like they want to create some awareness about astronomy as well as geology but personally I don’t think it is going to make many interested. After all, those are very tough subjects and you can’t just simply get in just because on a whim you became interested after watching this show. It doesn’t work like that. Interest and passion are one thing. Perseverance and hard work are totally another and this is where all the time and effort goes to. So think you still want to find an asteroid or star now?
Sure, this series does have some very basic introductions and explanations about the stuffs, theories, concepts and equipment relating to astronomy and geology but just like I always said, those are just touching the tip of the surface and if you are truly interested to further your interest in such subjects, it is best to go do your own research. Because there is only so much an anime can bring out and introduce you to. The rest is all up to you. So while it is a good thing to see that these young girls here do show interest in their related fields, I fear that some might get the wrong idea that they make it look like very easy. It’s not. Knowledge of the stars and the rocks comes from many years of studies and research and while some of the girls here do possess that sort of knowledge, they make it look like it is so fun and easy. It’s not. Okay, maybe I’m being pessimistic here. After all, when you really love a subject, you definitely put more passion into it and it shows. Something feels wrong if you don’t like a subject and explain it to others half-heartedly. So yeah. Astronomy and geology looks quite the fun subject only because these people are really so into it. And if you really want more explanations on such topics, short ONA episodes were released during the run of this series should enlighten you further. If you missed them, don’t worry, they’ll be included in the BDs and DVDs so you can pay you 2 cents worth to get your cute girls explain those hard stuffs to you ;p.
So interestingly, not all the characters share the same passion and goal. It shows that despite the umbrella theme of astronomy and geology, there exists various branches, subcategories and divisions under them. For instance, Ino’s interest isn’t really about geology and rocks but rather to make maps. Hence the only closest club that could get her close to her dream is this earth sciences club. And then we have Nana who isn’t interested in the stars or asteroids but rather the weather which of course sounds more helpful than looking for bug chunks of stone in space. To each her own. So whatever their dreams may be, they are sure starting off on the right steps and especially it is best when they are still young and have the passion and energy. So suck it up Mira and Ao. You’re in for the long ride to find and name an asteroid. Heh. You don’t think you could just easily find one while you’re both still in high school, eh? Be prepared to painstakingly put in time and effort to look for that UFO in space. You might become grandmas and still not achieve that dream. So are you prepared for that? The answer is obvious, no? And don’t laugh at them wanting an asteroid named after them. It’s not uncommon. There are many animals, theories, concepts named after people, you know…
This also means having myself being confused over the several terms. Yup. I thought I knew what astronomy was. Until I realized that there is a big difference with astrology. Yeah. Now I’m freaking confused! You mean it’s not the same? Never actually thought about it… Then there is astrophysics… And geology with geomancy. Oh dear. Got to revise those definitions again.
Mira and Ao’s relationship feels pretty normal. It’s not like they really spam it in our faces that they are really that close. Sure, lots of moments that they do things together ever since Ao got into this school. This isn’t a yuri anime, no? Wait. Is it? That’s the potential of cute girls doing cute things genre. You might step into that yuri boundary and with Ao and Mira meeting new people and having new members, it feels like their yuri harem is expanding slowly like the universe! HAHAHAHA!!!! Oops… Sorry… Thinking about it, I bet trying to find and name an asteroid is just an excuse for them to stay friends. It could have been anything else. But nope. Something hard like an asteroid to keep their friendship going on for years to come. Will it end once they do? I don’t think so but this reason sometimes feel like a shallow justification for their friendship. Which isn’t. On a second note, Mira loves giving everyone a nickname. I am assuming this means she is friends with them, no? So why is Usami the only one who doesn’t have one? Not friends?
Other non-earth sciences related characters sometimes I feel their characters just play a comical role. Like Suzu who is supposed to bring comical relief to the group. Well, if the earth sciences group isn’t too comical enough for you, here is a bread girl who extremely loves cute things and worships Misa. I wonder how long distance relationship will work out for her. Don’t worry. It’ll work out. Somehow. And then you’ve got the newspaper club duo who often hang out at the earth sciences club just for some scoops but I have this gut feeling that they want to join the club, just that they’re already in one. So there are no other clubs to bug? I suppose there isn’t an interesting mix of a club out there with (cute) weirdoes compared to this one. If you remember, there was a club during the festival that did some death game! I want to know what it was all about and happened to that club!
The art and animation lean towards the cute side. So don’t get too overwhelmed to see cute girls sparkling with all the cuteness. You thought astronomy and geology are pretty dry and hard subjects so they pretty much inject lots of colourful stuffs in here so as not to make it look dull. Wow. If only the subjects were that easy… But still, nice skies and rock formations to look at in certain scenes. Anyway, this anime was produced by Doga Kobo who specializes in lots of cute girls doing cute things anime (or at least anime with lots of cute looking girls) such as YuruYuri, New Game, Gabriel Dropout, Himouto! Umaru-chan, Watashi Ni Tenshi Ga Maiorita, Uchi No Maid Ga Uzasugiru, Anima Yell, Mikakunin De Shinkoukei and Sansha Sanyou. So don’t be surprised to see if some characters look closely like other characters in those aforementioned animes.
Voice acting, didn’t recognize anybody. Not even Nao Touyama as Sakura. Probably wasn’t paying too much attention… Anyway, the casts include Tomoyo Takayanagi as Mira (Mikan in Machikado Mazoku), Megumi Yamaguchi as Ao (Hifumi in New Game), Maria Sashide as Ino (Hana in Watashi Ni Tenshi Ga Maiorita), Sumire Uesaka as Monroe (Sanae in Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai), Reina Ueda as Suzu (Ayado in 3D Kanojo Real Girl), Lynn as Endou (Kirisu in Bokutachi Wa Benkyou Ga Dekinai), Sumire Morohoshi as Nanami (Koyori in W’z), Konomi Kohara as Chika (Kasumi in Asobi Asobase), Mai Fuchigami as Misa (Ocoho in Radiant), Aoi Koga as Eve (titular character in Kaguya-sama Wa Kokurasetai), Megumi Nakajima as Usami (Kaede in Kampfer) and Natsu Yorita as Megu. The opening theme is Aruiteikou by Nao Touyama. Sounds rather okay for an anime pop and quite fitting for this series. It is a pop ballad for the ending theme, Yozora by Minori Suzuki. Somewhat reminds me of Sora No Manimani’s Hoshikuzu No Surround and of course I still prefer the latter.
Overall, if you want a relaxing anime about friendship and moving forward with your dreams, this series could be that motivation to also make you realize that instead of sitting here watching animes and doing nothing, you too can get up and go achieve your dream! Yes, my dream is to watch as many animes as I can so I’m really fine and in the midst of achieving it, thank you. Otherwise, this series is just your another cute girls doing cute things for the season and to some a big yawn fest. The only time when I am consulting the stars is so to predict the lottery number and looking for rocks only in search of gold or precious stones or metals. That’s where the money is! Hey, gotta be a realist too, you know.
Granblue Fantasy The Animation S2: Djeeta-hen
22 May, 2020
Just like the first season, Granblue Fantasy The Animation needs that gender bender episode because what better way than to scream feminism all the way as your entire crew is made up only of females (a certain flying lizard doesn’t count). And hence we have Granblue Fantasy The Animation S2: Djeeta-hen. Just a single episode focusing on the female version of Gran and her crew in some random adventure.
One More Adventure
Djeeta along with Lyria, Vyrn, Zeta and Beatrix are outside some ruins. It is believed this is where the treasure called Wish Egg is located. Of course Djeeta heard this from Siero who told her about this fairytale of a skyfarer who journeyed through adventures till he and his crew came to this place and stumbled upon this treasure. A treasure that is said to fulfil anyone’s wish. As they head into the ruins, a large guardian statue stands before them and tells them to throw away their weapons if they want to proceed with the trial. While everyone agrees to follow this rule, Beatrix isn’t so eager to part with hers. That is when the guardian unleashes an army of undead to attack them. You mean these puny skeletons can put our girls down? These girls kickass! Cliché moment when a moving spike trap approaches them. Run! For more drama, Lyria trips so our girls have to pick and carry her and jump through the door for safety just in time. Phew. But in this room, there is a little girl, Myra. Is she lost? She seems to be possessing a book that gives (vague) hints on how to solve puzzles in this ruins. How convenient. But it’s still no cheat book, though. In the next trial room, from what it looks like and they are told, they must step on the correct plates and open the correct door. Beatrix thinks she can show off but stepped on the wrong one and the floor caves in! Phew. Myra uses the clues from the book to suggest where they step. Then they reach the door, it’s like some form of weird Twister game where everyone has to touch certain plates so that the door could open. When Djeeta opens the door, it seems they are back where they started. The floor collapses. Only Djeeta and Myra didn’t fall through. Not sure if this is another level since Lyria and the rest find themselves in a similar room like this plate one. Since Djeeta and Lyria are connected, they can sense each other alive so nothing to worry about.
Djeeta and Myra take a break as the latter blames herself for this mess up. Djeeta talks to her why she is looking for the Wish Egg. Myra was born with a weak body and can’t do things herself. She dreams to be a skyfarer one day. So she reads books in her bed and got enthralled by fairytales. One day she learnt this place exists and told others about it but they don’t believe her. Hence she came here to prove she could do it. Now it is Djeeta’s turn to tell her dreams of heading towards Estalucia, the island of the Astrals. She considers them both as fairytale buddies and that’s why she can’t give up. Time to get their asses back up and solve this puzzle. They look at the book again from another angle and voila! This time they do it in another sequence and the door opens to another room. This is the treasure room, right? As instructed, they must pull out this obvious sword sticking out like a sore thumb. There. Easy. Once done, a rock beast comes to life and tells them to make a choice with the sword. Use it to fight for the treasure or the key to escape this place. Isn’t it obvious? They’re going to get the treasure! That’s why they came here, right? Djeeta is having trouble fighting it since it regenerates. But don’t worry, here comes Zeta and Beatrix to the rescue. The hint tells them to place the sword in some place so while the combatant ladies fight the monster, the non-combatant ones drag the sword and place it in. The light weakens the monster and allows Djeeta to finally cut through it. In the end, the treasure turns out to be a huge ship. It is an ancient model believed to be from the war. So this is the Wish Egg? Because the guardian says since they have passed the trials, their strength, wisdom and willpower can have them go anywhere they wish! I don’t know about you, I just felt I have been scammed. Djeeta decides to give this ship to Myra. I mean, they already have Grandcypher. Myra promises to fix the ship and study how to fly it so one day she can go on an adventure with them. They’re fairytale buddies, right?
One More Crappy Fairytale…
It just feels weird even if this is just a non-canon OVA. Happy ending for everybody in what seems to be one heck of easy trials. Nobody ever done it before because I am assuming the people on this island don’t have fighting abilities so they don’t bother stirring the hornet’s nest. With these girls having the brawn and brainpower, it just feels a little too easy. So with Myra getting a step closer to her dream, I hope that she won’t take very long to become a skyfarer. Because if she waits too long, Djeeta and her crew could have journeyed very far and Myra might have to take some considerable time to catch up with them. That is, assuming no bad greedy adults decide to take or steal this ship of hers for their own nefarious ends. Fairytales are one thing but reality is another.
I also somewhat noticed that in all of the Djeeta specials that I have watched, why does Djeeta’s crew change? It seems Vyrn and Lyria are the only constant members in her party. The first one had Mary and Rosetta, then the second Halloween special had Ferry and Cagliostro. And now for this castle ruins we have Zeta and Beatrix. Who the f*ck are they?! Well, I tried to briefly search the internet about this Granblue game thingy and I saw lots of characters. A LOT OF THEM. Hence my assumption is that the next time Djeeta gets her special, Zeta and Beatrix will no longer be around and they will feature another couple of characters from their library. So it just begs the question of what happened to Djeeta’s previous crew members. Did they quit? Did they die? Or Djeeta just fired them? Changing crews this often isn’t very good in the long run, you know… Oddly, the opening credits animation they cut out Gran’s character and replace it with Djeeta but they didn’t do so for the other crew. Eugen and Rackam still around. It means those guys still do exist even though they aren’t featured in the OVA. Should have just cut them out and replace them with Zeta and Beatrix just to be convincing. Just saying…
So I guess my only ‘excitement’ is getting to hear Kana Hanazawa as the voice of Zeta and Aya Hirano as Beatrix. Otherwise, this is one crappy OVA that I didn’t really enjoy. It was just cheesy and filled with weirdness just to check the cliché box of what is needed. An all-female crew, check. Some action and fighting sequence, check. Some puzzle solving, check. Some small time cheesy jokes (Beatrix?), check. Some small talk about their dreams, check. Happy ending, check. Third season of this series… Uhm, let’s leave that up in the air now, shall we? But I agree that we are all fairytale buddies because who among us do not dream such grand dreams? Like how I dream of an epic crossover of Gran and Djeeta intersecting with each other in an alternate parallel world! That’s not a fairytale! It’s just crappy lazy fan fiction! Oh wait… Didn’t they somewhat ‘meet’ in the video game title of Granblue Fantasy Versus?! (FYI, f*cking Djeeta character is f*cking DLC!!!!!!!!!).Wow. Some fairytales do come true after all.
Kyokou Suiri
17 May, 2020
Supernatural themed anime. Nah. Not my type. Detective mystery kind of anime. I’ll pass. Not my cup of tea. Even more so when you mix both supernatural and detective genre as an anime, that’s a sign for me to stay way clear. So how the heck did I end up Kyokou Suiri that was screaming with such elements? Number one: I’m a sucker for a pretty face and the promotional poster did well enough to make sure I notice that. Heh. I guess that is enough of a reason but if you need another reason, number two: The partly amusing synopsis that has the main character has a crush on a guy who has supernatural powers like her too. They go around solving supernatural cases in hopes that he will reciprocate her feelings. I don’t think this would be some sort of romcom but I’m hoping to see something of that sort. Oh, who am I kidding?
Episode 1
Kurou Sakuragawa doesn’t remember Kotoko Iwanaga. So she has to refresh his memory that it was in this hospital 2 years ago that she saved him from a bunch of kids. Yup, they were running in the hallways and he accidentally bumped into them, causing him to fall. Had Kotoko not been there to catch him, he could have died. Once he remembers, his cute face has her smitten because it reminds her of a goat. So goats are beautiful? And also linked to the devil… Since he isn’t really amused, she mentions about his recent break up with his girlfriend, Saki Yumihara. Apparently she heard from the nurses he is often here to visit his cousin with a long term illness. I guess the nurses don’t need to worry about privacy policy of non-patients and can gossip away. So Kotoko was pretty jealous he had a girlfriend a year his senior. Now that he is single, Kotoko wants to date him with marriage in mind. Since he laughs it off, she wants to know the reason they broke up. Last year when they went to a trip to Kyoto, while strolling along the river, they spotted a kappa. Naturally they were both afraid. But the kicker was Kurou got afraid and ran off, leaving Saki behind. Since she was going to a different place to work, she took that chance to break up with him. Hence Kurou thinks his cowardice isn’t worthy for her love. However Kotoko smells something amiss. She thinks that it was the kappa who got afraid after seeing Kurou and ran. Thus Saki became afraid of knowing what kind of ‘person’ Kurou was. Kurou dismisses it all as some lie. I mean, why would a guy tell the real reason he broke up to another girl, right? Kotoko then talks about spectres, ghosts and spirits. She is quite knowledgeable about them. When she was 11, she was kidnapped for 2 weeks by spirits who made her the Goddess of Wisdom. She became a mediator to conflicts for low level youkai. If he wants proof, he can refer to an old article whereby a kidnapped girl was found napping at the park with her right eye and left leg missing. She shows proof of those missing parts.
Kotoko then leaves on a bus. A samurai youkai is stalking her. Turns out to be a friendly ghost as he was worried Kurou might do something nasty to her. About that library demon thingy, he hopes she could get rid of it. She doesn’t think it would be difficult if Kurou helps her. Flashback shows how police found her at the park without an eye or leg. The doctor operated on her but found the wound has already closed. A police tried to talk to her what happened but Kotoko seemed to be talking to a little youkai about her eye and leg trade-off in exchange for some godly powers. The next time Kotoko and Kurou meet, he already did his research and although it did mention about her case, there was nothing supernatural. She jokes that it might be a delusion of hers. Just then a tanuki youkai comes pleading to Kotoko for help. The barrier at the library is destroyed. Kotoko seeks his help but he doesn’t want to get involved. Then she guilt trip him that she might die, her body will be featured in tomorrow’s newspaper and he will regret for the rest of his life of letting a girl who confessed to him die like that. Isn’t that blackmail? But it was enough to make him help. In the library, I guess this demon isn’t interested in conversing. Kotoko gets reckless in trying to fight it off. She is shocked when he holds her close. Does he have a thing for getting naughty during danger? His logic is that he won’t let her be reckless again. He lets the demon eat his arm. Of course it regenerates back to normal and the demon chokes and explodes. He notes his meat is poisonous. So who is Kurou actually? When he was 11 years old, he ate 2 different flesh of youkai as much as he could.
Episode 2
Kurou has gotten more famous among the youkai ever since that ‘stint’. He elaborates further about the youkai he eat. While one of them (the mermaid) supposedly granted him eternal youth, the other negated the effects of that youth. Kotoko wants him to accompany her to the mountains to hear out a serpent god’s complaint. He rejects her because he wants to eat his pork miso soup tonight! Of course she tracks down his house and tries to convince him again but once more he rejects her. This time he gives her a jacket (since she’s wearing a lovely one piece dress, I mean, who goes to the mountains all dolled up like that?) and some of his food. You’re on your own. So no choice, she heads to the mountains while pouting about the attitude of her ‘boyfriend’. She meets the serpent god at his dilapidated swamp. Previously he was the water god but with humans gradually forgetting about him and nobody made offerings to his shrine, it has since been in decline. The pressing question he wants Kotoko to answer is why a woman dumped a corpse into his swamp and said she hopes for him to find it. It is bad enough humans pollute and throw rubbish into it. Now a human corpse too? A few days ago, police discovered the body of Hiroo Yoshihara who worked in a construction company. They found a suspect, Aoi Tanio who is his girlfriend. Although she confessed to the crime, they find her story hard to believe. From the police records, Kotoko reads previously she had another boyfriend, Yoshikazu Machii. He too worked in the construction company and was embezzling money. He managed to get a female worker to commit suicide with him to make it look like a lover’s suicide. Aoi became distraught on this and moved back to her home at the base of this mountain and lived as a shut-in for 2 years.
One day, Yoshihara appeared at her doorstep and claimed he was the one who killed Machii and he was the real culprit who embezzled the money. Because Machii and the female colleague found out about it, they threaten to go public so had to kill them and make it look like suicide. Yoshihara is now repenting because recently he has been hit by a spade of misfortune. In her rage, she killed him. Besides dumping his body in the swamp, she also dumped the murder weapon, a knife here. Now, this is all the official recorded statement. Kotoko now deduces what really happened. Yoshihara called Aoi to meet up and because she was suspicious about it, she called Machii’s younger brother. So when Yoshihara came to confess, it was the brother who got enraged and killed Yoshihara. Because the brother still had a future, Aoi agreed to sacrifice herself as the culprit. After all, she has not much to lose compared to him. Dumping the body in the swamp was to give him an alibi as well as to wash off the evidence of the killer. Although Aoi can clean every inch of the house to rid of evidence, what about the evidence outside? Hence her words of hoping him to find the corpse is her way of praying for rain to wash the evidence outside. The serpent is enraged because this is not how an offering should be made! He wants a young girl as sacrifice! Is he joking?! Before he jumps to further conclusions, Kotoko reminds him of 2 ways to wish for rain. The conventional way of praying to a god and there’s the other way of provoking the god and to anger him so as he will rampage and make it rain. The serpent remembers it did rain the next day after the body was dumped. But why did Aoi say those ambiguous words and not specifically for it? Because there might be other humans nearby and they may have heard what she said. Then the police may have looked further into the investigation for an accomplice. Of course Kurou shows himself. He heard everything. So was he worried about her all the while? Good boyfriend. But the serpent is still dissatisfied why Aoi really threw the body into this swamp. Uhm, was he not listening? Wasn’t it to wash off the evidence on the body?
Episode 3
Apparently there’s more to it. Kotoko believes Aoi wanted to retrieve something she dumped here many years prior to the corpse. That was what the whisper of hoping to find it meant. And that thing she is hoping to be found is a foetus from her miscarriage from her ex-boyfriend. She was pregnant with his child when he died and that was when she didn’t know the truth. That was why she dumped the foetus in the swamp. After the truth came to light, she regretted her actions. It’s the same reason she dumped the corpse there so as to let the police investigate and help search. She wants to retrieve it so as to give the foetus a proper burial. Of course that foetus will never be found as the serpent has been directing the little spirits to clean up the swamp from time to time. After 4 years, you think it would not be there let alone not at a decomposed state? Kotoko returns with Kurou as she explains further that her deductions may not be 100% the truth and are based on the most reasonable facts. There was a chance the serpent may have misheard what Aoi said but would such a great guardian ever admit they misheard something? If it was in the slightest chance, this would have destroyed the original premise of the story. Kurou admits this fearsome power of hers but is still worried of putting herself in danger like that. He suggests accompanying her the next time she goes out exterminating youkai. But she takes this as a sign of admission that they’re dating. Gotcha?
Two years later, we see Saki working as a traffic police. Her colleague, Tokunosuke Terada is puzzled about her report. A guy crashed his car after seeing a puppy ran across. However the initial story he heard was different. A faceless woman in a frilly dress and big boobs wielding a giant steel beam was what he saw. So why did Saki change the report? Saki knows that Terada is also looking into the case known as Steel Lady Nanase. She was an idol (mostly popular because of her huge racks) who died in an accident. A steel beam smashed into the hotel she was staying. Ever since, there has been sightings of her but recently there have been reports of her attacking others. As Saki was there at the crash site, she felt something eerie and believed that guy’s statement. Terada thinks somebody is behind this prank and that an organized crime may be behind this. Of course Saki who believes in ghosts knows Nanase is the real deal. Because she is a ghost, the police cannot deal with this anyhow. Saki is forced to relive haunting memories that her ex-boyfriend is one. She knew he was not an ordinary human seeing he had regenerative abilities. But that fateful night when a kappa appeared, it was afraid of Kurou and pointed him out as a monster. This has Saki thought she needed to reconsider how she could stay with him. After breaking up, she could see more supernatural events ever since. On her way home, she stumbles into Kotoko facing off with Nanase! Kotoko tells her to run but Saki is tired of running. She charges at Nanase! Oops. She’s a ghost. Punch doesn’t connect. But Nanase can actually hurt her! This is cheating! Luckily Kotoko is able to touch Nanase and gives her a good kick. Nanase flees. Saki thinks Kotoko is also a ghost but she doesn’t entirely deny and is more of something in between. Kotoko doesn’t want her to get involved anymore but on the contrary Saki is more interested to help and insists she come to the station to record her statement. After showing her badge, Kotoko then realizes this is Kurou’s ex-girlfriend! Feeling awkward? Saki doesn’t remember her until Kotoko proudly points out she is Kurou’s current girlfriend! Oh damn. Saki punches her! Heh. This will be a graver fight than with Nanase!
Episode 4
Saki patches up Kotoko but still can’t believe she is Kurou’s boyfriend. After all, she is sure Kotoko is not his type! Kotoko shows picture proof of their being together. Kurou looks sad and annoyed in all photos. I’m sure that’s not him being shy. Saki mentions about the future she and Kurou plotted out but she never counted him on being not human. Kotoko corrects her that Kurou does look like human although cannot be categorized as such. So that still means he is non-human, right? Kotoko then introduces herself as the Goddess of Wisdom. If that’s the case, pure priestesses can’t be deflowered, right? Dating without making out is going to be hard. Not impossible. Just extremely hard. The ladies get serious talking about Nanase. But it ends up about Kurou because Saki knows Kurou isn’t the kind to leave his girl and do dangerous things. So what happened to him? Kotoko mentions he has been missing for a week. She couldn’t contact him and before he went missing, he left a message telling her not to come look for him. So maybe the guy just hates her? Saki ‘brag’s how Kurou was always there for her and always replied her messages. Since this isn’t going anywhere, Kotoko leaves but advises Saki if she ever sees Nanase again, make sure to run. Saki continues her investigation on Haruko Nanase or more popularly known as her stage name, Karin Nanase. When she was first scouted by the talent agency director himself (those boobs of course), she wasn’t a big hit and wasn’t popular for a year until she landed a late night drama role. Some flamethrower girl with an intriguing opening credits! With her rise to the top, comes misfortune too. Especially that accident that killed her father. Official reports stated he fell down the stairs. But rumours spread that Nanase might be the one who killed him as there were ‘evidence’ of a diary entry of her plotting to kill him. Also, there was a huge insurance amount on him. When this whole thing blew out of proportion, Nanase kept a low profile by staying and hopping from one hotel to another. Until she met her death with steel beams falling onto her. Everything from her neck above was crushed and beyond recognition. But her belongings on her and in her hotel room proved it was her.
Saki talks to Terada about Nanase being a vengeful ghost. He finds it artificial because of the way she dresses and swinging around a steel beam, it is something that the masses would love to hear. There must be something in the shadows behind this other than Nanase’s will. Saki realizes that if Nanase was indeed a vengeful spirit, she wouldn’t be pandering to the masses. There is a possibility that Nanase’s death could be a murder case instead. Kotoko is also doing her online research on Nanase. There is a creepy occult website on her. Even creepier, the image of Nanase is exactly depicted as the real ghost. Like as though the person who saw her personally drew an exact replica of her. She realizes it is actually the opposite and if that’s the case, it would be hard to defeat her. As the info all over the internet is a mess, she needs a reliable source. Like the police. This means going back to Saki and asking for a favour. Oh boy. As Saki continues to look into the files and is perturbed of the statements made by Nanase’s older sister, Hatsumi, she heard a knock on her balcony window. Oh sh*t. Freaking out at this little tree spirit at first, he assures he comes in peace and is only here to deliver a message from Kotoko. She wants her to meet up. While Kotoko is waiting at the diner, a ghost reports to her the sighting of Nanase nearby. So she has the ghost wait for Saki while she goes to find Nanase. Soon enough, she sees Nanase fighting off somebody. Isn’t that Kurou?!
Episode 5
What’s worse than hiding and watching Kurou fight? Why, Saki coming by to yell at Kotoko for abandoning their meeting place and leaving a message to a ghost! But be quiet! The fight is in progress. Saki wants to help him but Kotoko doesn’t want her to bother with that. Kurou is fighting clumsily and gets bloodily clobbered. Of course he regenerates and when he does, it’s like he makes a comeback and starts strangling Nanase. Now the tables are turned? Kotoko believes Kurou has another ability, that is to see the future. This is thanks to the kudan (cow with human head) meat. It all began when his ancestor was obsessed in wanting a premonition ability. To do so, they believed in eating a creature with that ability. Hence the kudan. However many died after eating it. The experiment continued silently until one day Kurou’s grandma had all the kids eat the kudan meat she secretly cooked into their meals. All of them died except Kurou. Grandma was so happy that the wish finally came true and then killed him so as to see if death could give any foreboding abilities. Kurou is then subjected to mortal wounds as experiment to see if he could see the future and being an immortal. So over the years Kurou has grown ‘accustomed’ to the pain that he doesn’t feel anything. Of course it is soon discovered the abilities Kurou got was different of what they wanted. Back to the fight, Kurou snaps Nanase’s neck. Of course ghost girl revives. You can’t kill a ghost like that, right? With Kotoko stepping in, Nanase disappears. Now the true fight begins because Kurou ignores Kotoko to greet Saki. How dare you do this to your current girlfriend?! Although Kurou admits Kotoko is his current girlfriend, he sounds like he is doing her a favour. Kurou makes Kotoko apologize for whatever, whether she is at fault or not. He is sure she would have troubled her in some ways. Kotoko gets jealous thinking he might have some feelings for his ex. Better break up this mood now. Or is breaking up an option?
The trio gather at Saki’s place to talk about Nanase (aside Kurou not batting an eyelid admitting Saki is hotter than Kotoko!). Kurou explains that he was fighting Nanase because the youkai were seeking his help. After observing him being an asset to Kotoko, they don’t find him that scary. Kurou went on to look for Nanase until he stumbled upon her. Strangely, unlike other youkai, Nanase do not fear him. Although Nanase is a ghost, Kotoko believes there is a way to defeat her completely. To put it shortly, the manifestation of Nanase is because she is a monster created out of imagination. People spread rumours about something and that something manifests and solidifies because of the common traits people believe in. Thanks to the power of internet, this is why Nanase is able to manifest and become so powerful in a short span of time. More accurately, there is a site that accurately depicts her, thus spreading the rumours at an alarming rate. It would be strange for a ghost of a rumour to look so precisely as this when there has been no solid eyewitness. Hence it is the opposite. The illustration on the website wasn’t modelled after the ghost but rather because many imagined Nanase as so, therefore the ghost took that form. Everything is backwards. The site wasn’t created because there was a ghost but rather the ghost was born because of the site. So this site is actually the true identity and form of Nanase.
Episode 6
It sounds simple, right? Just create a better story to attract the mass and make them believe in this new story. That is why Kotoko needs details from the police so that she can create a story that will surpass the current rumours. They need to make people believe that Nanase isn’t a ghost and once that happens, Nanase will naturally cease to exist. It doesn’t necessarily be the truth as long as the story they make is more interesting. That’s why Kotoko will use rational fiction to counter Nanase. She needs 2 important factors: Who is the culprit behind this and why the culprit is doing this. Kotoko finds Nanase’s files hidden underneath Saki’s pillows. Since she warned her not to get involved but was stubborn, Saki is now forced to reveal the police’s findings. As we know, she is hiding here to avoid the media after being accused for killing her father. It feels weird that she would be waiting at the construction site at night. While it might seemed that somebody called her to meet, her phone records showed that only her manager was being contacted and nobody else. Hence meeting somebody else was ruled out. There were also evidence of cigarettes around her body and in her pocket. They believed she was smoking while waiting. It couldn’t be from the perpetrator because it was raining heavy that night so I guess the rain washed away any saliva DNA whatsoever. Even more baffling, when the steel beams fell, she died in a way that showed no signs of self-defence. Like as though she wanted to commit suicide. Though a theory surfaced that someone knocked her out beforehand and placed her on where the steel beams fell, it is unlikely since she was running away from the media, it could be that she was in a desperate situation and at that moment she thought death was better for her. After the police ruled her death as accident, there was an unofficial theory that it could have been suicide. Hatsumi had a motive for killing her since she would have gotten all her sister’s inheritance. She was the only one who denied her sister was in a suicidal state. She seemed convinced if Nanase were to die, it wouldn’t be in such a way.
With all those facts from the police that Saki knows, it is time for Kotoko to visit the murder site and ask the ghost who actually witnessed all this! The human ghost confirms that the steel beams fell on Nanase and she did nothing to dodge, hence definitely a suicide. So why wasted time and bothered asking Saki if she can just ask the ghost? She wanted to see what is generally seen as the truth and the conclusions that stemmed from it. So Kotoko is pretty impressed that the police were able to deduce this accurately. Kotoko will use the info she has to create a better story. But it will still remain if the people will accept it. After all, humans aren’t always logical to begin with. They part ways as Kotoko returns with Kurou who explains more about the kudan abilities. He mentions how the future isn’t fixed and it is split into many infinite paths. Because of that, the future is undetermined. But would that make telling the future impossible and contradicting? The kudan doesn’t actually make its predictions by looking into the future. Rather, it makes those infinite paths into a single future and thus the power to determine which future will happen. In exchange for this power, it uses up all its life force and dies. Even so, it can’t determine any kind of future. Therefore it is theorized that those who are about to die can see the future. As for Kurou, despite he can regenerate, he still cannot see very far into the future. That’s why he couldn’t find a solution to defeat Nanase. Too many paths and he couldn’t sort them in time. When he mentions he couldn’t see a future where Saki isn’t involved in this, Kotoko wonders if he would’ve used this power to prevent a future that prevented their breaking up. Well, he would definitely use this power to lead to a break up with Kotoko!!! Seriously, he doesn’t think he can get back with Saki and is sure she feels the same way. Kotoko now thinks hard for a story and hopes there won’t be a victim as it will surely make things harder. So long as nobody confronts Nanase, it’ll be alright. You don’t say because Terada now comes face to face with the faceless Nanase! She attacks and he thinks his judo can stop her. Only, his fist went through her! Then she slams her steel beam on his face! Next day, all over the news that a police officer is found dead with his face crushed.
Episode 7
Saki is interrogated by the police on her whereabouts during the time of Terada’s death. Can’t say she was at the murder site. Instead, she says she was home alone. Later Saki talks to her boss about Terada being on the case of Nanase. Although the media has not caught wind yet, the public is trying to tie Terada’s death to Nanase. Saki gets a call from Kotoko to meet as she needs info. In the hotel, Kotoko and Kurou discuss how the internet is going wild with rumours that Nanase killed Terada. With this spreading nationwide, this is going to be harder to solve. Kotoko believes Rikka must have a hand in this and Kurou hates to agree to this but admits it might be true. When Saki arrives, Kotoko tells her that Terada was indeed killed by Nanase as witnessed first-hand by a youkai. It would have been ideal if the people thought it would be another normal murder and this will naturally tone down the power and influence of Nanase. Kurou then can use his ability to narrow down and seal Nanase’s future. However with the police trying to pursue for real evidence, this will make things more difficult as everything needs to be consistent. With Nanase getting more violent each time, she fears there could be multiple victims as the fantasies expand. With the media trying to cover the story and fanatics even visiting the site to show something, they could stumble into Nanase and become her latest victims. At that point, people’s imagination will further strengthen Nanase and make permanent her existence. As there is no time and to prevent further victims, Kotoko must create a story and a lie and solve this by tonight. But it is harder than it looks. They just can’t come up with a story that somebody has a grudge with Terada since they have to make other factors consistent to this story. And it’s not. They also need to create a culprit that will have everyone believe without actually hurting a real person.
With Kotoko at the end of her wits, Kurou suggests creating not one but several stories. As Nanase wasn’t born yesterday, there must have been lots of trial and errors to get her to turn her into this monster today. There must have been various methods to make sure her popularity didn’t fade. Otherwise, how would she have gotten this popular in a short span of time? Using the hundreds of cooked up fantasies to get closer to the solution they want, until then he will continue to determine the future that’s going to happen. He might die several times but he has resolved himself to do that. Kotoko then thinks hard and has come up of 4 ways. But right now she is tired and wants to sleep. Kurou and Saki leave her to her slumber while they go get something to eat and prepare food for Kotoko when she wakes up. For now, the plan is to have all the youkai alert them whenever Nanase appears. Kurou will then rush down there to keep Nanase at bay to prevent any victims. If she escapes, they’ll track her down and he’ll repeat the same thing. Saki talks to him about how long he has been dating Kotoko. Well, shortly after they broke up but it’s not like he wanted to. She thinks they make a fine couple because he can’t be chasing Rikka forever. Kurou is shocked to hear that name so why mention it? She thought Rikka was his type. Rikka was Kurou’s older cousin and a long term patient in that hospital he often visited her. She died while they were still dating. Flashback when Kurou told Saki about Rikka, she was interested in meeting her. So Kurou brought her to see Rikka and despite being pale and frail, she was quite a beautiful woman.
Episode 8
Call it a woman’s intuition, Saki when she first looked a Rikka, she could tell Kurou was in love with her. His first love. So as not to bother them, she waits at the café below. She notes that Rikka despite being a quiet woman, she has this ability to corrupt those around her. She then heard rumours from others how she often tried to kill herself. Hence Saki thought if Kurou is dating Kotoko just to break free from Rikka, she wouldn’t mind that. Kurou then admits he does love Rikka and might be tied down to her but sometimes he wished she wasn’t around. Saki is surprised because this indicates that Rikka is still alive. Yes, she hasn’t passed away as she assumed. Remember, Rikka is his cousin. You know what that means. When Kotoko wakes up, Saki asks her if she had met Rikka. Of course. Kotoko then spills the beans that Rikka was living at her mansion up until a month ago! At the start of the year, she was forcefully discharged from hospital. As a long term patient, the hospital didn’t know what to do with her and with the change in director and political landscape, they kicked her out. Surprisingly she agreed. Hence the rumours swirled that she died. At first she wanted to stay at Kurou’s place and help him do all the housework. But his fantasies were probably making it all dangerous so he called Kotoko for help. She agreed to let Rikka stay at her place in exchange he would give a spare key to his place. He won’t do that but seeing that he has nightmarish fantasies of Kotoko doing the housework, I suppose he has to choose the lesser of 2 evils. Saki thought Rikka hated Kotoko but Kotoko clarifies the time Kurou first brought her to see Rikka, Rikka did mention she wasn’t a good match for him. Kurou agreed! Rikka felt bad and tried to give some hope that Kotoko wasn’t the worst. In fact, Rikka and Kotoko were like best friends and celebrated each other’s birthdays. Until a month ago she claimed she had found a job and a place to stay and left. However the contacts she gave were fake. They tried to find her and Kurou who seemingly got some info on it, went missing to look for her and told Kotoko to not come look for her. As he was looking for Rikka but stumbled into Nanase instead.
It is safe to say at this point that Rikka created the Nanase urban legend. While staying at Kotoko’s place, she had access to her PC. Kotoko didn’t particularly check as she wasn’t interested, not until she heard about the Nanase case from the youkai. Looking at the webpage, she knew it was Rikka behind it because the illustration of Nanase was definitely Rikka’s unique style of drawing. Rikka might have longed for creating a monster out of imagination and the perfect timing of Nanase’s death may have been all the convenient ingredients for her to get it going. It could be possible that by doing this, she wants to see how far she can go with her ability to decide the future. Talk put on hold when a youkai reports the appearance of Nanase. Meanwhile Rikka slits her own throat to see the future. In no time, she returns back to life. As Kurou goes face off with Rikka, Kotoko enters the site’s forums to post. Saki wonders if Rikka as the admin will delete her posts. Kotoko believes it is not likely because by doing so, she will send a signal that she is trying to hide something and that the ghost might not be real. So since she wants Nanase to exist, she must leave all posts alone. Kotoko explains one of her solutions akin to discussing a bill in parliament. Rikka may have the majority support of the forum for those who believe Nanase exists. But Kotoko believes that there are many others who are just watching this site. If Kotoko can present a plausible story that fits with the facts and win over those support of anonymous people viewing the site, they stand a chance in defeating Nanase. By hiding the real facts and presenting various contradicting ones, they can turn fiction into fact and get away with it.
Episode 9
While Kurou fights Nanase, Kotoko begins her fight on the internet forum! She posts that Nanase is not a real ghost and that it is all an elaborated setup by the killer to hide behind this urban legend and go on a killing spree. While many do not initially believe her and pose several questions, Kotoko is able to come up with plausible theory to support her lies. So for the most part of this episode, we hear Kotoko describe how the killer setup all this just to kill Terada and of course many are still sceptical because why go through all that trouble just to kill a police officer and instead of just using a simpler method like poisoning. It’s because the killer wants to hide his real identity. Kotoko believes the killer is actually a female so by resorting to this killing method that seemed like it required a lot of work and strength, this would distract the police’s investigation from the real culprit. Because the killer knows Terada well, this narrows down the suspect to be a female police officer who works in the same department with him. With some starting to believe Kotoko’s theory, Saki then realizes Kotoko has painted her as the suspect! Hold on! But soon some start to pour cold water on this theory because they still find it impossible for a female police officer to actually do all this elaborated setup by herself just to kill a male colleague. While the change in flow can be attributed to Kurou dying (yeah, he died a few times already) and seeing the future, the same can be said for Rikka. As she possessed the same power, this is why the flow again changes against them. Despite she isn’t censoring any posts and has to maintain this site, she still clearly has a big advantage because of her head start in having many believe in the existence of Nanase. While many in the forum still believe in Nanase the ghost, what Kotoko needs to do is just for part of them to believe it. She will repeat this process so as to chip away the ‘support’ for Nanase. That’s why if she doesn’t get the majority for one theory, she’ll go on to the next one. So on to solution number 2 then…
Episode 10
Kotoko changes her stance that Nanase is now a real ghost. But what is the real reason she had to reappear as a ghost and attack others? To the point where she had to kill a detective? If it is believed her death was by suicide and she did come back as a ghost seeking revenge on society, wouldn’t she have gotten her revenge since she has become popular? Hence she came back as a ghost not for revenge but to tell the truth. Remember, her father was wary that she was out to get him and evidence suspected Nanase of killing him. The one who killed her father is no other than the father himself. Feeling inferior over his daughter’s success, he hatched a plan that would make it look like she killed him although he killed himself. So after Nanase was killed and her soul went to the afterlife, she met her father who told her the truth. Shocked, she started to have regrets and returned to the world as a spirit to tell everyone the truth. She wanted people to know the tragedy that she didn’t kill her father and that’s why she went on a rampage as a ghost and turned evil because of her father’s betrayal. Therefore Kotoko wants everyone to believe in Nanase’s innocence as this will only bring peace to her soul. This solution is almost quite effective as many start to believe this. Nanase is much weaker (though Kurou died many times over!) however Kotoko knows this is not over yet as there are some who still don’t find the theory plausible since Nanase went too far in killing a detective in addition to causing havoc to others.
Now Kotoko moves on to the third solution in which Nanase is a fake ghost created by a living human being. She talks about some inconsistent points that doesn’t match up to her death. Then she brings in Hatsumi’s name who doubted her death as suicide. It is believed that Hatsumi couldn’t accept her sister’s death and so and despite the evidence of her being presented, it could be that Nanase’s body was switched out with a double. I mean, how reliable are all the evidence? While it is extremely hard to replicate the person with the same blood type, possessions, etc, it is not impossible. It could be that Hatsumi doesn’t have a good relationship with her sister. As Hatsumi refused to accept her sister’s death, this started affecting her life and psychology. Hence there is somebody who was concerned about Hatsumi’s state of mind and decided to prove that her sister is dead. Therefore, dressing up and going around as Nanase the ghost to spread the rumours. It can’t be Hatsumi’s boyfriend or a close family member as she would have noticed unusual night time activities. The culprit could be somebody single with deviant tendencies. Unfortunately he almost got caught by Terada and had to kill him. Cornered after going so far as to commit such a murder, he might have wanted to further their relationship by going as far as to harm her. Kotoko wants everyone’s cooperation to help find this pervert. As this solution is more effective and the majority agreeing to Kotoko’s view, however Nanase still isn’t weakening and has killed Kurou a few more times! Because now an anonymous person (Rikka) points out the flaw in Kotoko’s theory. If Hatsumi was afraid of Nanase seeking revenge on her, what the culprit did was only to worsen her sanity. Because Nanase would have been portrayed with a milder persona instead of a violent steel beam killer. Now that Nanase has killed someone, Hatsumi’s fear would be at max and her psyche shred to pieces. Therefore the culprit’s motives doesn’t match up. The internet now switches sides to Rikka.
Episode 11
Kotoko notes that everything she has done as well as Rikka’s actions have all been part of her plan. You see, the reason why Kotoko didn’t just use the 4th solution is because she needs to use the first 3 as the basis and foundation for the fourth which is the actual truth. Though Rikka can destroy any parts aside the conclusion, this would make her stand out more. Hence she is forced to take the simplest solution. So the 4th solution that Kotoko presents to the internet is that Nanase the ghost is created by no other than Nanase herself and this means she is very much alive. Needing to get away from the media spotlight, Nanase somehow met a girl who has the same physique like her. For some reasons, she managed to convince her to be part of her plan. A plan to switch their lives. Of course Nanase set her up to meet at the construction site, caught her off guard by knocking her out and then dropping the steel beams to completely crush her face. Therefore the body found at the site is not the real body of Nanase. After planting evidence, Nanase fled and is now living her new life as that person. At this point, the internet now discusses and reasons by themselves about this conclusion. For instance, why would she go all the way to create a ghost of herself? It is so to convince others that she is dead. That is why the ghost is in her shape and that she is playing the ghost herself. Although Nanase the ghost is weakening against Kurou, Kotoko still needs to deliver the final blow. In order to make this ghost rumour spread fast, this site was created. Hence Kotoko accuses the site admin is actually Nanase herself! Kotoko claims her role wasn’t to prove the existence of the ghost but to expose Nanase herself behind this (which is of course a lie).
Kotoko now explains why Nanase killed Terada. As she was in the city to find out the next place to make a scene, she stumbled into Terada. His detective instincts kicked in as he stopped and questioned her. He thought she looked familiar (are there no other girls in Japan with such humongous boobs?) so when he realized she is Nanase, she panicked and knocked him out. And then she killed him and made it look like the ghost did it. Therefore Nanase’s crime is killing Terada. She is free to refute this but also wants her to prove that she is not Nanase. The internet is now in uproar. Many believe Nanase is still alive and some believe she is the killer and must be arrested. It doesn’t matter if Rikka reveals the real truth because the internet has pretty much believed Nanase the idol still lives. This helps Kurou to pick out the future to defeat the ghost while Rikka herself is stumped as she cannot grasp the future she wants. Kotoko then hopes for everyone to vote in their minds and their conscience of Nanase’s existence. Finally a monster born from lies has been destroyed by lies. Kurou takes the steel beam and smashes it back at Nanase.
Episode 12
Rikka sends an email to Kotoko acknowledging her victory. This time. So I guess she’ll be back, huh? Saki asks why Rikka is doing this. Kotoko skirts around the question as she talks about people having vivid imagination that it is enough to create ghosts. This means there is a possibility of creating a god. Kotoko goes to pick up Kurou. Knowing he is tired from the fight, she lets him eat a banana. Then she makes a cheeky remark that she’ll eat his banana later! I think it’s been a long day… All the youkai pop up to celebrate Kotoko as their saviour and heroine but they have to cut short celebrations and go home because Saki is terrified. Soon, people spoke less about Nanase the ghost as the focus now shifts to finding Nanase the idol. While it could create a whole new legend, we’ll find out when the time comes. As for the Nanase website, Rikka took it down.
Later Saki meets up with Kurou to find out the real truth of why Rikka is doing this. Kurou first explains himself that he has resigned to the fact of having such powers. But noticing that he could age and grow like normally, there is a possibility he can die of old age. Generally he can live a normal life. However this is not the case for Rikka. She is adamant of wanting to become a normal human again and will do what it takes to achieve that. Saki remembers Rikka was once experimented on by a medical team. But because no modern technology could cure her predicament, she decided to grasp the future she wanted herself. Kurou doesn’t know what she is thinking but she is definitely doing abnormal things just to become normal again. While it sounds dreadful that Rikka might create monsters in the future, Kurou assures Kotoko won’t allow it because it goes against the natural order that she is tasked to protect. That is why she gave up her right eye and left leg. Both agree that they cannot get back together again after what happened. That’s why Kurou promises to look after Kotoko as she is more fearless than he is and takes more risks. Initially Kurou didn’t want Kotoko to get involved with this Nanase case and tried to deal with it swiftly. But after Kotoko got involved, Rikka might see Kotoko as her biggest threat and target her. That’s probably why he didn’t tell Kotoko because if he did, she would want to get involved. He promises not to let her die because she deserves happiness.
Kotoko wakes up after sleeping for more than a day. Instantly she regrets this slip up because this means giving Kurou and Saki more time together! Yeah, she’s blaming him for it. Nothing he says can soothe this sulking girl. Even if his points are valid. Yeah, she’s pretty sore about it. After she is discharged, she continues to warn him not to do anything without her knowledge. Then she asks about some Kuebiko legend that contains a princess with a similar name like her. She knows about it but doesn’t take too lightly his smirk comments about it. Because the story was about a princess who was being sent away to be married but only to be returned because she is ugly. And then Kurou reminds her that Kotoko herself is beautiful, that’s why he hasn’t sent her back anywhere. Can you hear Kotoko’s heart melting? She still tries to play the tough girl, though. Then they walk back together hand in hand as Kotoko thinks of introducing him to her parents.
Fiction Is Truth Inside The Lie
Well, that’s all folks. Another mystery solved without much ado. Thanks to the power of the internet, people’s minds and opinions can change like shifting sand. Aren’t we so glad with the advent of high speed internet these days? So until the next big case and mystery, we know what to rely on when that happens. Yeah, technology so modern but human mind set still primitive. That’s why some lore never die out.
If you know me, you could probably tell that I am not really amused by the story and plot. Even more so the supernatural world in which I am totally lost. Not that I have never watched such genres in my life and did so from time to time, but I never really found a liking for it generally (even Jigoku Shoujo was just because of a certain seiyuu). Even if the plot and story of this series is pretty much straightforward, I didn’t really find it engaging. As this is of a detective mystery genre too, there are lots of conversations and works of deduction at play here. I’m not the brightest tool in the shed so trying to understand the deductions at hand is one thing and my limited Japanese vocab as well as their own supernatural folklore is another thing. Both of which, diminishes my overall enjoyment. Just because I had to think to make sense of what they say!!! Yeah, it’s tough being stupid.
So if you ask me, the first few episodes establish what this series is going to be and for the remainder 3/4 of the show, the Nanase mystery is pretty much the main course and feature for this season (you can tell from the opening credits animation anyway). So on one hand it is good that this does not have an episodic feel whereby every episode is a different case to work on, but with the Nanase case occupying a big chunk, it really drags out the story. It’s a unique way to fight a fictional monster and in that sense it is interesting but unfortunately casual viewers like me won’t be totally impressed either. So is this why the official English title for this series is called In/Spectre? As in, inspector, the detective? Okay. Pun well played.
I’m not really a mystery fan so the deductions and theories that Kotoko or other characters come up don’t really feel exciting. I know it doesn’t take a lot of brain power to digest and put together the pieces of the puzzle and I’m just ‘engaged’ and continuing to watch the episode so as just to find out the answer. I mean, I’ve already ‘invested’ my time and ‘interest’ in this series, they better give me an answer that I can understand even if it is not satisfactory! So ultimately Kotoko’s tactic of using fiction to fight fiction isn’t fighting fire against fire. Rather, a lie told often enough becomes the truth. That is what it feels like here. Whoever told the most convincing lie wins. And it was obvious who the better ‘liar’ was here. I hope Kotoko doesn’t use this sly move on Kurou’s heart. There is that possibility she might if she gets desperate enough.
For a detective mystery genre, there is quite a few bloody and violent moments. I am very sure they are not spooky or horror. Just blood and gore. Especially Nanase the ghost starts swinging her steel beam. Like as though this is your mini action moment amidst the deductions. Poor Kurou. How many times he got killed just to find the future he wants. It’s not very often that you get to see a main character get killed and revived so many times. You must be an amateur if you can’t stand seeing Kurou getting split in half or his limbs torn to bits or just bearing the full brunt of the steel beams. Gory indeed. And yes, nothing screams attention and fanservice when you have a very busty ghost as your antagonist. I guess that’s why we got unconsciously attracted to know more about mystery. How the heck did Nanase got bigger boobs than her older sister?! Mystery indeed.
The characters themselves despite being a small set of cast, they aren’t interesting. They quickly establish in the first couple of episodes of the supernatural powers that Kotoko and Kurou have. It feels like it needs more expansion and fleshing out but with the Nanase arc getting in the way, we just have bits and pieces. If the detective mystery becomes too draggy or a bore, sometimes they light the mood up with some short cheesy romcom lines. This is where most of the ‘comedy’ comes from. Funny. At least something I can grasp at first go and bring a smile to my face. Seeing Kotoko trying to get closer to Kurou but that guy always feels so reluctant but she doesn’t give up. One day, just one day… And then with Saki getting dragged in the picture, weird rivalry that isn’t actually a rivalry on the cards. What are the chances Kurou still has feelings for his ex? Ah, that unsettling anxiety that every current girlfriend will always have. But seeing how things ‘ended’ it is safe to say that they won’t be seeing each other anymore. Unless fate…
Sometimes they want to show us that Kotoko-Kurou relationship is more than just this supernatural detective partners thingy because I clearly remember at one point during the midst of the deduction, Kotoko just suddenly telling Kurou that she will be attending the same university as him. Like, how is that relevant in any way? It felt so out of place that it made me go, “Huh? What? What was that all about?”. Like as though she is announcing in advance his path to hell… Hahaha! I’m sure Kurou is tempted to kill himself a few more times to see which future doesn’t have Kotoko in his life! Like they say, opposite attracts as we can see Kotoko and Kurou at polar ends of their character. One is quite outgoing and lively while the other just reserved and emotionless. Maybe that’s why they make a good pair. Or not. So with him sticking around Kotoko, it feels more like an obligation to protect her rather than a romantic one. But who knows? There could be a future that it will truly become one. But for now, their relationship is amusing because of the hot-cold-hot-cold jabbing they give each other. It makes you wonder if all those wisecracks at each other mean they are truly deeply in love or just hate each other’s guts. Give them a few more years, they’ll be acting like a true married couple!
Poor Saki. You would think that after being able to see ghosts and spirits, she’ll get used to it. Unfortunately she still gets spooked by the friendliest of ghost. Don’t laugh. That’s what you call a phobia and I’m sure all of us have our own inner fears that we won’t overcome. Ever since Saki got dragged into this mess, she started seeing more youkai and at this rate, I fear she might go crazy and lose her bat sh*t insanity. Though, I hope not to see this happen to sweet policewoman. Thankfully, Kurou did promise her that he will tell spirits, ghosts and youkai not to appear in front of her anymore. Yeah, that doesn’t mean they’ll not be around her. At least she’ll have goodnight’s sleep. Now she just have to fight the ghosts and demons in her mind about this.
Rikka being the main antagonist and mastermind for this season, I don’t think she is really a bad person. She is one who became so with such a pre-existing condition because of somebody else’s actions. So while wanting to return being normal is pretty normal, perhaps it is the methods that most of us would not agree on and that’s why she looks like the villain. More than often, we do understand and sympathize with the reasons why villains act so but not so much of the methods they employ. Sure, it must suck to be an immortal. I’m not sure what her problem of just living life normally is. It’s not like government agents are out to kidnap her and use her for experiment or weapons, right? And so in her bid to become normal, she caused a lot of problems to the innocent. So that’s where we draw the line. Rikka, bad girl.
It might be just me but I somewhat notice something about Kotoko’s right eye. They don’t seem all that fake to me because at times I noticed that when she moves her eyeballs, both eyes moved! Correct me if I’m wrong but if her right eye is fake, shouldn’t it be stationary and not move? But I see them move in the same direction. Is there some supernatural play at hand? It might be creepy and viewers would start to notice that one eye stayed still so I guess to not bring this up, they just animate her eyes the same way a normal humans would have both eyes intact. Her left leg might not be obvious since she is using a stick to assist in her walking. But the way she walks, still it gives an impression that she has her whole left leg there. She might have gotten used to make it look like she is walking normal since she has been this way for many years so this one isn’t as obvious as the missing eye.
Artwork and animation are pretty okay. A series that is mostly talking and deducing don’t need a lot of animation. So sometimes Kurou’s fight with Nanase feels a bit jerky. But cover it up with blood and gore, nobody is going to notice, right?! And of course it goes without saying, Kotoko being the cutie pie that attracted my attention to watch this series. Rikka too but she has this creepy look the more you stare at her. I feel like she might steal my soul! As for some of the youkai, they look cartoonish like as though they popped out from some children’s cartoon TV. I guess the friendlier ones tend to look like this compared to the ones with malice will lean towards more horror-like. This anime is done by Brain’s Base who did a few supernatural themed animes like Natsume Yuujinchou, Durarara, Amnesia, Servamp and Kamigami No Asobi.
Mamoru Miyano as Kurou feels completely docile here. Perhaps I was expecting something like his Koutarou from Zombie Land Saga, that flamboyant trademark voice that I would love to hear again or even at least those kind of characters. But then as Kurou, this isn’t the first time voiced such characters with no emotion. Remember Fushimi from K? Yup. It won’t be accurate for me to say that his talents are wasted on this monotonous main character but I thought this role could be helmed by just about any other seiyuu in the market. It’s just too easy for him. The other casts are Akari Kitou as Kotoko (Kaho in Blend S), Misato Fukuen as Saki (Yami in To Love-Ru), Mayumi Sako as Rikka (Kai in Dragon Crisis), Kenji Hamada as Terada (Jouji in Paradise Kiss) and Sumire Uesaka as Nanase (Sanae in Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai).
Mononoke In The Fiction by Uso To Chameleon as the opening theme feels weird. Considering the pacing of the series, the hard rock outfit just doesn’t seem suitable at all. It sounds very chaotic and I don’t think I ever got used to hearing it ever. Although the ending theme still feels as out of place as the opener, at least this one sounds more palatable to hear. Last Dance by Mamoru Miyano is quite the catchy jazzy ballroom music it is. After the brain wrecking episode, hearing this song helps me wind down. Ironic to say that Mamoru Miyano does a better job singing than voice acting as his character. Yeah, he put more soul and feeling in this piece. And yeah, Kurou and Kotoko all sharply dressed up and doing their ballroom dance with each other till they tire out. Did they get possessed by some dancing youkai or ayakashi or something? Amusing.
Overall, if you aren’t into supernatural or detective mystery genres, this series may be a big bore and confusing. Remember, this isn’t exactly a horror series so the youkai and even the faceless Nanase isn’t meant to scare you in the first place. Aside all the talking and deduction, it does have its cute moments to break the monotony. Kotoko x Kurou interaction is amusing but they don’t want this to take away the limelight from the detective mystery element in focus. But that’s about it for me. Sadly, there weren’t enough posts in the forums to convince me and change my mind to like this kind of genre so I’ll still be having second thoughts of animes falling under this category in the future. This isn’t a bad anime at all but it failed to captivate me or give me a reason to like it further. Maybe they should write better fiction to change my mind. Hard, right? Yeah, that’s because unlike reality or the stranger truth, fiction has to actually make sense!
Boku No Tonari Ni Ankoku Hakaishin Ga Imasu
16 May, 2020
At first, I wanted to pass up this anime. Because from first looks, Boku No Tonari Ni Ankoku Hakaishin Ga Imasu rings heavily that it might be some shota BL gay sh*t that I’m not really into. Even though it was comedy, I was still wary about it. And then further re-reading the synopsis, I thought that seeing how a normal high school kid’s life getting screwed up by delusional people around him overweighs the shota BL gay sh*t that I was worried about. Yeah, I’m such a sadist. And that was how I become the evil god of sadism and decided to give this anime a try. Heh.
Episode 1
Kabuto Hanadori enters class in his usual chuunibyou fashion. Nobody is impressed. Claiming he saved this cute dog that he took the liberty to name Cerberus, I guess everybody is trying to ignore him. Even more so for Seri Koyuki. Worse, Hanadori tries to confide in him. Who the f*ck is Gestober?! Even worse, Utsugi Tsukimiya seems to be a sadist and trying to egg on Hanadori. When his eye-patch comes off, there is this evil god of destruction called Miguel who will come forth. Luckily Sensei interrupts and order is restored. For now. Later, Koyuki’s friend, Aitsu comes by to rub it in but I guess Koyuki isn’t happy he is trying to show off he has got a girl to bring to the amusement park. Or is that girl his grandma? Subsequently, Koyuki sees a few guys trying to take off Hanadori’s eye-patch. They manage to do so (even Tsukimiya helping in) and is Miguel going to unleash his hell? He smashes the window! His hand is bleeding! And then he cries! Wimp! Because Koyuki goes to chastise him, Hanadori thinks he remembered him. He’s so dead. As they get reprimanded, Hanadori seems like giving Cerberus to stay with him since his place disallows pets. Turns out he was giving it to Tsukimiya. Can this day get any worse? Oh you bet. Sensei has grouped the class for the tests in which the highest scoring group will not have homework while the losers will plan their class trip. Koyuki beats up Sensei?! Why is he paired with Hanadori and Tsukimiya?! After considering the balance of the group, he thinks Koyuki has no other friends. So true… Koyuki tries to make this study group work but they’re already fooling around in the library. Maths equations become insignias and name of historians become whatever long ass name that is. Even Tsukimiya’s notes to memorize things turn out to be some lewd manga. Feeling insulted that Tsukimiya doesn’t want to do this, Koyuki rushes off to play his online game. Yeah. This is the real him. But wait. Tsukimiya and Hanadori also playing this game?! Oh sh*t. When Koyuki is about to destroy Hanadori’s data, some flashback how he worked hard and saved up to get this game. Turns out to be some weird movie Tsukimiya made. Oh, Sensei confiscated their games. In the end, Koyuki is glad he scored 67. Tsukimiya? 100! Hanadori? 85! So now you understand why Sensei put them in his group to boost up his score. ARGH! Koyuki is now officially broken.
Episode 2
Oh dear. Koyuki undergoing counselling from Sensei. But Sensei is more interested in eating than listening… However Sensei drives in a valid point. Hanadori is acting like that since first day of school because he wants to protect something. The same thing can be said about Koyuki because he wants to avoid Hanadori to protect something. This has him remember when Hanadori first talked to him about all that Gestober crap thingy. He tried to tell him off but Hanadori just loved his harsh talking ways. Of course, Koyuki also has to be wary of Tsukimiya since this guy can actually read minds! No kidding! The trio are in charge of doing moral disciplinary duties. They are checking out students coming into school if they are breaking school rules for their uniform. Here’s one. Suzuran Mogami definitely breaks all the rules with her gothic fashion. Koyuki hints to Hanadori to stop her but he feigns ignorance and then runs away! He bumps into this delinquent, Gorio who bullies him. Then when he threatens Cerberus, the last straw is when Hanadori tries to pay him off. Koyuki then beats up Hanadori! And now Koyuki is back into counselling. Regretting what he did in front of everybody? Worse, Tsukimiya rubs it in when Koyuki claims he wants to be normal. Is it because he sees himself as special that is why he wants to be normal? Koyuki so wants to die right now… Later Aitsu tries to show off about some dating sim and hinting about getting a girlfriend during summer vacation. But Koyuki tells him off and what’s this? This girl whom he admires, Kotoko Sumiso asks for his number? Not a dream! Is his fortunes changing? So as he waits, no texts from Sumiso. Only bugging a text from Aitsu and many from Tsukimiya. He tries to bug Koyuki to hang out with them. Koyuki can’t off his handphone. What if Sumiso calls? Can he just block this number? If he had only asked Sumiso’s number. On TV, Koyuki sees a reporter interviewing Hanadori at the new mall. Yeah, he gets shut down for his chuunibyou. With Tsukimiya continuing to bug Koyuki to join them, Koyuki realizes they are getting closer to his place. Oh sh*t. They’re right outside his place now. The doorbell! Mom, don’t get it! Too late! Koyuki rushes out as he tells off the jerks to stop stalking him! Uhm… Sumiso in her cute yukata… She starts crying as she thought she wanted to surprise him. So sorry to bother! Saite. OMFG!!! F*CK!!! FFFFUUUUUU!!!! Koyuki really wants to die now. He calls Tsukimiya. Please hang out with me. Sorry, we going home now. F*CK!!! FFFFUUUUUU!!!!
Episode 3
Hanadori fouls up while painting for the sports day. As he goes to wash it off, he is confronted by junior, Hibiki Kimiya. In short, this is also another weirdo who thinks he has found his Miguel-senpai. Normally, Koyuki doesn’t want to get involve but as he tries to escape, he gets caught up in the blooper. Finding himself at the infirmary, he hears more of that chuunibyou crap. Hibiki wants to reunite with Hanadori for world domination or something. Koyuki agrees because if Hanadori gets a friend, he’ll be free! Unfortunately Hanadori doesn’t know Hibiki and cowers behind Koyuki. Sh*t. Hibiki gets jealous thinking Koyuki is the source. Then we hear Hibiki rant about how bad luck always follows him. That’s why he has no friends. I’m sure he thought himself as different from the rest. It is then Hanadori tells him off to be what he wants. Is he is afraid of people laughing at him, better quit now. So I guess everybody reconciles. Even Tsukimiya pretending to be so he could insult and laugh at all the silliness. However Koyuki realizes that Hanadori was also lecturing him in some ways. Because now he has some motivation to fill in his future career survey form: He wants to be a teacher. When they all return to complete the paint, Hibiki’s entrance means all of them slip up and ruin everything again. Everybody stares at them like they’re garbage. Is this the last time Koyuki will have something to do with them? Well, not quite. Sports day is here as Koyuki witnesses Gorio bullying Hanadori. Or at least he is taking back his jacket. Then there’s the part where boys have to dance with girls. You bet Hanadori and Hibiki are nervous. Hibiki tries to be himself but as he extends his hand, bird poo on it! Oh sh*t. Hanadori summons up his chuunibyou courage but his sweat covered all over the girl’s hand. WTF is this dark god juice? Hibiki tries to cheer him up. Hey, his paired girl even gave him a handkerchief to clean the poo so it’s not so bad. Hanadori just died… Then he just screams. In a twisted fashion of events, he blurts out to the entire school how he will give hell for humanity. Everybody cheers?! Now that everybody is back, they’re egging for Koyuki to join them. All this embarrassing moment was record by Sensei and they’re watching it in Koyuki’s room. Poor guy is sick…
Episode 4
The class is taking a field trip. If only Hanadori can stop being scared sitting on an airplane… Damn, this field trip is to an amusement park?! Anyway, Koyuki’s plan is to talk to Sumiso and clear the misunderstanding. It won’t be easy since her friend, Yae is always with her and Koyuki looks like he is stalking Sumiso. He also needs to ditch Tsukimiya and Hanadori. Unfortunately they feel ‘responsible’ over the last time and want to help him make up. Hmm… So what’s this plan for Koyuki to shout out his heart during the roller coaster ride? Too bad Hanadori was louder all the way! In short, every plan is ruined thanks to Hanadori somewhat coming in between. Had your laugh, Tsukimiya? Then the haunted house. Everybody freaks out! Oh, turns out to be Hanadori. The most scared of them all! So he did this just to find some stone to give one courage to do something? Gee, thanks? This gives Koyuki to courage to tell Sumiso he wants to talk. Finally, in the Ferris Wheel, he tells her what really happened. Though she is relieved, but WTF is Hanadori doing here?! Hanadori now feels so bad that he thinks this is what Koyuki thinks of him. And with those ambiguous words, Sumiso gets the wrong idea thinking they have something gay going on! For the rest of the trip, Hanadori ignores Koyuki and sometimes they get into bad luck. Koyuki even prays to God to send them far away. Soon, Koyuki learns that Hanadori landed in some trouble with the earlier punks. Fearing this would traumatized his trip, he goes to the supposed place where he is being held. Seems Hanadori is being forced against his will by Shikimi Tokimune to… Sing?! So they’ve sung together at some festival and he wants to get together again like in the past? Of course Hanadori declines. Even worse, Koyuki finds out the reason Hanadori sticks to him is because of Tsukimiya. Yup. This guy’s fault. Tokimune is still not convinced why Hanadori is loyal to Koyuki. This is the ‘biggest revelation’. One day, Hanadori heard Koyuki crying. He wanted to have a stronger friend and blamed God for not being fair. And so Hanadori decided to become that. Koyuki then barges in to stop further embarrassment of his past. It seemed Koyuki got mocked just because he mispronounced Chopin’s name as Chopping. And the mother of all comebacks from Tsukimiya to him: God has been granting your wishes all along! Tokimune backs down for now but won’t give up on Hanadori. Speaking of Koyuki, he is the one who got traumatized from this trip. Poor guy…
Episode 5
Koyuki got rammed by a truck and died. The end. No way! This was what happened. Tsukimiya kidnapped him to his place. Koyuki learn that Cerberus escaped because the pet cat, Schrodinger was being mean. And since Hanadori is all sad, I guess they have to go out looking for it. And when Koyuki spotted the pooch, a truck was seen coming. Koyuki rushed to push Cerberus away and the rest is history. So now we see Koyuki having an out of body experience but Tsukimiya can see his soul and tease him. Attempts to bring his soul back fail. Until Tsukimiya notices Hanadori’s tear moved Koyuki’s body a little. So cry your sacred tears on this dude! Man, Koyuki doesn’t want to wake up anymore. Since this didn’t work, Tsukimiya suggests to give a princely kiss. Oh sh*t! Hanadori is close to doing so when Koyuki suddenly wakes up and beats him up! Phew. Saved. It is revealed the truck stopped in time and didn’t collide with him. It was Hanadori who came crashing into him that knocked him out. Koyuki thinks this is the last time he’ll be hanging out with them but seeing Hanadori real sorry and crying unstoppably, I guess he’ll be hanging around for some time. Later Koyuki gets a part time job at the café to earn money to buy Sumiso a present. And as you would’ve guessed it, here comes Hanadori and Tsukimiya as customers! So he dons a weird disguise to hide his identity. And Koyuki has to be a real patient waiter as he puts up with their weirdness. And there’s also Tokimune who is humping the glass barrier in the next seat, talking ambiguously that sounds like gay sex with Hanadori. Yeah, he’s scaring the customers away… Then there’s Hibiki. A young girl points out he is weird so he runs away crying. And Koyuki gets reprimanded by the manager for not being customer friendly? When Hanadori is messing up at the drinks bar, that girl accidentally knocks his coffee over. But Hanadori protects her. However her mom isn’t pleased that he is trying to corrupt her with his chuunibyou crap. She also berates Koyuki for some failed service. Because she’s the kind of b*tch who thinks customers are gods and money rules, here comes Tsukimiya to talk to her as on equal terms as gods. She blames her husband for leaving them but smooth talker Tsukimiya mentions how it is all love instead and in no time that woman gives in to the power of love! Koyuki can’t take this drama anymore… At the end of the day, his disguise fell off but it seems his pals already knew all along. Koyuki felt so insulted that he quit his job. So how is he going to get Sumiso a present? Don’t tell me this precious teddy of his! You bet he isn’t going to. Not after how Tsukimiya teases him.
Episode 6
Koyuki is in charge of the class’ cultural festival when Kimikage Mogami comes up to him and wants to be killed by him?! Oh God. Not another weird transfer student! It seems Mogami knew Koyuki since kindergarten before the latter transferred away. Koyuki doesn’t remember much but Mogami was a weak kid who often got bullied and Koyuki often helped him out. That fateful day that ‘sealed’ their friendship was one whereby they took a urine test. Elementary kids taking urine tests?! For what?! Drugs?! Anyway, Mogami didn’t know how to do it so Koyuki gave his. His own, he used dog pee. Because of that, the results came back weird for Koyuki and of course he felt devastated. Soon after he transfer away and Mogami thought he was mad at him. Clearly Koyuki had forgotten about this until now. Worse, Hanadori and Tsukimiya heard this! Hanadori tries to act tough but when Mogami really wants to kill him, he chickens out. That is when Koyuki jumps in to say he was never mad at him whatsoever. But then it turns out, Mogami wants to be punished more and that he is just some freaking masochist!!! Oh sh*t! Hanadori jealous? The stress is getting to Koyuki as he vows not to even make comebacks. But that damn Mogami keeps stalking him to hurt him. Then Hanadori’s angelic voice during music classic actually vowed everyone. Before he reverts into his chuunibyou mode and ruins everything. That is when Koyuki snaps. He’s had it. He’s going home. Even so, he gets ‘harassed’ by Hibiki sending some skull present and Mogami giving his voodoo doll! Worse, Tsukimiya reading his mind and replying!!! On the verge of breaking down, before he makes the same mistake that his friends are at the door, mom points out with Sumiso. Ah, the goddess… Koyuki calms down as she talks to him. She knows he is exhausted from fighting for something and wants to be his side. You bet that motivates him to work harder. Even more so when she says her class is doing cat ears maid café. I APPROVE!!! I ALSO WANT TO SEE!!! When Koyuki returns to class, everybody seems more cooperative. They apologize for dumping all the work on him and agree to help out. However with Hanadori now taking over as the rep, he has efficiently got a lot of things done. Oh no. Koyuki going to lose it again…
Episode 7
The class isn’t really thrilled for the festival. Until Sensei mentions the class with the highest sales will get extra funds for the after-party. You bet Tsukimiya is going to roll out his plans as he gets Hanadori and Mogami to work with him. So in this haunted café that they’re doing, Hanadori can’t stop sweating while serving girls, Hibiki getting traumatized with the high prices and Tokimune buying everything because Tsukimiya says it is all made by Hanadori. Then they got visit Suzuran’s fortune telling. Of course you can tell that she is the younger twin of Mogami. Tsukimiya ‘fights’ her by saying her fortune telling is fake unlike his eyes of the universe that sees everything. She thinks he wants her to close shop but all he wants is to come to their café. She ignores him so he grabs her hand. Then he opens his eyes and she sees the universe! OMFG! In the end, she went to the café as predicted and this has the class won top prize. Suzuran is now an admirer of Tsukimiya and wants to be with him?! Even Mogami agrees for him to be his brother in law! Koyuki thinks he has the last laugh since he got what’s coming for him. Koyuki didn’t want to attend the after-party karaoke but with Tsukimiya saying he’ll give him videos of Sumiso in a cat outfit, you bet he’s coming. And Suzuran is here? Giving creepy love advice? She wants Tsukimiya but oddly he is nowhere to be seen. Suzuran then forces Koyuki to come with her to look for Tsukimiya. Noticing that a meek Hanadori is tailing, she tells him off that Koyuki finds him a bother. Koyuki thinks she has gone too far but she tells more of the harsh truth how he spoils him despite not liking him. Hence the only person who has mistaken him as a good guy is himself. In that case, Koyuki gets frank with her that she is also bothering him. He leaves her to find Hanadori as his thoughts are jumbled. Why the heck is he doing this despite what Suzuran said is true? Then he finds Hanadori playing with Cerberus. All worried for nothing. But he hears him thank him for various reasons although mostly are just figment of his imagination. Koyuki then gets serious with him that he is not who he think he is. Just call him by his normal name and they can be normal friends. Hanadori sheepishly tries so but comes off as totally weird! So Koyuki punches him and prefers him to be called by as Gestober!!! WTF?! Did he just realize what that means?! And so returning to the after-party bowling, Koyuki regrets all that although Hanadori is a happy guy. They’ll always be together forever, right? Screwed. And Suzuran still thinks Koyuki is a failure as a man and Tsukimiya satisfied Koyuki will dance for him without him having to intervene at all.
Episode 8
So what else is new? Koyuki says he won’t retort anymore but ends up doing so again. Worst, Koyuki and his weirdoes all entered the student council presidency race? Of course Tsukimiya forced him in. Koyuki hides from Hanadori as the latter needs his help. Tsukimiya then tells the through to him that Koyuki doesn’t need his help anyway, breaking his heart. During the presidency speech, Hanadori starts off giving quite a normal speech. Until his chuunibyou kicks in. Because it ultimately ends with voting either one of his split personalities, Koyuki retorts and hits him real hard on the head. Oh dear. Hanadori dead? Oh sh*t. Thankfully, he is just asleep. But when he wakes up, he has no memories of himself or his friends. So he just needs to wear glasses over his eye-patch? Because of his amnesia, he is brutally honest with his ‘friends’. Who is the scary one? Not as scary as Tsukimiya, though? He is slapping him for the ‘insult’. Don’t think that would bring Hanadori back to his senses either. Hanadori then remembers of wanting to become a student council president and goes off to make his preparations. Wow. He looks pretty serious in achieving that. So as Koyuki is experiencing the usual dilemma, he hears a few guys mocking Hanadori. Hanadori doesn’t even mind giving up his eye-patch to them but he can’t understand why he still can’t let it go. The guys then drag Koyuki in and wants an explanation. They’re friends, right? Of course Koyuki tells them off that Hanadori is never his friend. Oh dear. Hanadori crying?! Oh sh*t. When he tries to make up for this, Hanadori then point blank says that Koyuki isn’t his friend either. They just met yesterday and he doesn’t want to be associated with weirdoes like him. Koyuki becomes so mad and beats him up! The ultimate retort. This has Hanadori return to acting like normal. Welcome back? Later Tsukimiya shows Koyuki Hanadori’s roadmap of what to do. So it is mostly some chart that eventually asks Koyuki’s help for everything that he is unsure of? But the last note says Koyuki is a kind person and that if something happens to Koyuki, he wants to help him out. Of course, Koyuki knows better that Hanadori is the source of his bother. Though relieved, he is also disappointed. Because he doesn’t want this Hanadori to just disappear like that. Then Tsukimiya suggests Koyuki losing his memories instead…
Episode 9
Hanadori sulking because Tsukimiya won a seat in the student council body? So basically he’s jealous… When that little girl from that restaurant comes looking for him and wants to tell her more about hell (?), Hanadori is now a lively happy chirpy bird. Apparently the gang are helping out a day care centre. WTF Hanadori is getting jealous towards anybody who does better than him?! Small kids fighting and crying are normal. But the biggest cry-baby is Hanadori. Oh, brother. Tsukimiya again, huh? Until the teacher tells them to be nice, blah, blah, blah, some weird flashback how Hanadori and Tsukimiya first became ‘friends’, oh well… So they make cake for the kids and Hanadori makes a special one for Tsukimiya since this is his birthday month. So they’re friends again? Okay. So tiring… On the way home, Tsukimiya hints that he intends to have a helper for his student council body and someone who got the second highest votes. Koyuki fears this would cause Hanadori to throw a tantrum again and as he is about to stop this, it is actually Hanadori whom Tsukimiya is asking! Hanadori is very happy but is bad at hiding it despite trying to play it off. Of course this pisses off Koyuki as he gives him a beat down. Koyuki is looking forward to the Christmas party because Sumiso is going to be there. But you know what they say about bad luck… There’s a storm raging on and he sees Mogami trying to bug a yakiniku seller for a black Santa outfit for Koyuki. Because Hibiki got his present destroyed to the snow blower, he is forced to give him his. And then seeing Suzuran out in the cold looking for Tsukimiya, Koyuki gives his scarf present meant for Sumiso. Then he gets stuck in a hole on his way to the party. Sighs… Before you can call this a tragedy, here comes a Santa to help him out and give him a present. Koyuki makes it to the party and looks like Sumiso got his present. This is a lovely rosary. Koyuki then realizes that Santa is Hanadori. Sumiso loves it but Koyuki apologizes that this present was meant for him. Sumiso gives it back and walks away without turning back! OMFG! You f*cked up this one yourself, Koyuki!!!! Later he chills outside with Hanadori and thanks him for the present but Sumiso comes to thank Koyuki for the scarf. Suzuran gave it to her after hearing the details. Hibiki gives them a gift voucher at a restaurant and my, they are the lucky 100th customer for today! Things are surely looking up now! Too bad it is Hanadori who takes Koyuki to that dinner! FFFFUUUUU!!!! Merry Christmas, everybody!
Episode 10
We understand why Koyuki won’t go out for the New Year. It’s bad luck to stumble into those weirdoes, right? Then he receives a stack of New Year cards. Does he have many friends? All from Hanadori! Man, the new year and he is already pissed off like that… Of course there are from others but they’re as expected to their typical weirdness. And yes, the biggest saviour of all is the one from Sumiso. Oh yeah. His year is saved. He then goes to the shrine to pray. Look who is there too? Hanadori and Tsukimiya! His year is doomed… With Koyuki wanting to pray to God about this, it’s like they can read his mind and tell him to do something about it himself instead of relying on God! Hanadori sneakily puts an academic charm in Koyuki’s pocket. Turns out it is to hide his own bad luck fortune. Also, Hanadori is acting weird as he is now drunk on amazake. I guess a drunk god is worse… His shenanigans has Gorio rein him in. So this dude lives and works here?! Hanadori tries to fool around to a point where Gorio accidentally smacks the broom in Koyuki’s face. No more nice guy. Koyuki beats him up. If you think that is all, wait till Hanadori vomits all over Koyuki! And for the rest of the winter break, the duo are forced to work at the shrine. Oh Koyuki, your year is just starting to warm up… In school, Koyuki is worried that his failing grades means he might be held back! Oh sh*t. Better get serious on this. But something else is bugging everyone. Hanadori seems to be spacing out and not his usual self. To a point Koyuki has to ask everybody on this and of course a wide range of answers. Especially Suzuran believing he might be transferring away. On the way back, he sees Hanadori sitting alone and crying. Man, this is really serious. So I guess Koyuki is only thinking hard on this issue because Sumiso said he could be the only friend who can help him get over whatever. So yeah, please help him. Next day, Hanadori is not in class. Something feels wrong. Then Koyuki sees a vision on him at the rooftop. Better go get him fast or else… At the rooftop, Hanadori starts crying so Koyuki forces him to just say what’s wrong. It seems… He is disappointed that Koyuki has not taken his studies seriously and is afraid he will be held back a year at this rate. Rubbing it in even further, Hanadori shows all the A’s he got and lectures him about priorities! So his agony was to think of a way to tell him this without hurting his pride. Safe to say… Koyuki loses his sh*t and rips Hanadori’s shirt to pieces!!! OMFG!!!!! DARK GOD GONNA GET RAPED!!!!!!!! In the end, Koyuki uses the study materials from Hanadori (which is surprisingly so easy to understand) and passes. Then he realizes Hanadori taking and passing the entrance exam to all his choice schools… You know what this means… Koyuki’s future, that is…
Episode 11
Koyuki thinks he has gotten taller and good enough to date Sumiso. Until Tsukimiya breaks it to him that there are rumours Sumiso is dating a tall hot guy. Don’t look now but there they are! This scene breaks Koyuki’s heart. Thanks for the closet for him to bang his head… So as he sulks, Tsukimiya advises him to ask her directly. Of course he can’t and cries! The rest try to console him. Yeah, short and ugly people have their role too! Koyuki snaps and beats them up! Then when he really starts hating that guy, Tsukimiya slaps him to his senses for jumping to conclusion. Also, taunting him that he really thinks highly of himself. So the gang congregate to devise a plan to help Koyuki beat that guy. Don’t look now because here Sumiso comes in with that hot guy, Hatsuyuki Masaki! Turns out he is Gorio’s little brother. Turns out he is interested in Hanadori and Koyuki’s alter egos and wants to know his own past life! With Hanadori accepting him, this makes Koyuki snap. Don’t you betray me because there won’t be anybody left! Huh?! WTF?! In the end, Sumiso apologizes for not telling him sooner that she is childhood friend with the brothers and that they’re not dating. Ah, those magic words that Koyuki wants to hear. Happy now? Yeah, but he now has to endure the teasing that he may be in love with Hanadori… So sad… Suddenly! Tsukimiya whisks Koyuki, Hanadori and Mogami for a mock interview. Yeah, need to prepare you for the future, eh? And so Tsukimiya asks the questions, Hanadori and Mogami answer in their usual honest way. Koyuki does so but only gets chided. Heck, they even need to do some special talents. Hanadori and Mogami have. But Koyuki none? Then it dawns to Koyuki that could all this be just to make him realize his weakness and to re-examine his goals? Certainly it looks like Koyuki despite having a dull uneventful life, he less talented than those blokes! And then finally Hanadori makes are really heart-warming speech about changing the world, etc. Again, Koyuki snaps and beats him up for making worry for nothing. The further nail in his coffin is that they assure him that they will always be with him if he flunks, gets no job or drops to the lowest ladder of society… I’m so worried for Koyuki…
Episode 12
Hanadori is late and blames Koyuki for everything? Tsukimiya and Mogami also join in blaming him. So as Koyuki tries to figure this out in the toilet, he overheard the gang talk that all this mean talking is part of their plan to throw him a surprise birthday party. And as you can guess, it has all the elements of stupidity and failure. Koyuki even wonders if they’re taking a jab at him. But seeing they are earnestly trying to hold one for him, I guess he has to play along, huh? So after school in which the surprise party is supposed to be held, Koyuki has to even pretend to play along since those goons are incompetent. Then he arrives too early at the room and sees everyone preparing. Cue for havoc to try and cover up. Yup, Hibiki smashes the cake and claims they are doing some pie eating contest. More helter-skelter as they try to salvage this party by getting on with their planned surprise while Koyuki just watches dumbfounded. You think everyone crying and repenting of this tragedy would earn Koyuki’s sympathy. In fact he smacks them all for having such a sh*t plan in the first place! He is the real victim! This is most embarrassing! Never speak of this day ever again! Well, only Tsukimiya had fun. Laughing his ass all the way… Remember the mock interview they had? Now they’re going to check out a model house in anticipation of the college life they’ll have. Yup, mock college life. Of course Koyuki is dragged into this as they take a look around the house. As expected, from their shenanigans he feels they are making a fool out of him. He really wants to go to a college far away from them but what about Sumiso? Which college will she go to? Then Tsukimiya brings up the question if Koyuki brings home a girl. Hanadori dismisses he’ll never have a girlfriend and they all laugh about it! With more stupid antics, you bet Koyuki is dead tired. So much so he starts fantasizing killing them all! Oh sh*t! But suddenly! Things get serious and heavy when Hanadori talks about how things won’t last. That’s why he wants to enjoy his time with all of them as much as he can. Oh sh*t. Something’s wrong. Is he going away or something? As expected, Koyuki has been trolled for the umpteenth time as this was just a prank. Hanadori not going anywhere! Koyuki so mad that he pushes him down the stairs! OMG! First victim?! Don’t worry, he still lives. Later Koyuki secretly tries to change his college choice but somehow it leaked and everybody got to know it. He resigns to the fact there is nowhere to run from them in this universe. Not even heaven. Sighs…
The Disastrous Life Of Seri Koyuki
That was such a pretty random ending if I should say. More or less the same thing like in every episode and just when you thought it would be different, it all goes back to square one. I wonder if Koyuki is cursed or something since he has to relive this nightmarish life of his over and over again. Poor guy. Well, at least it’s not me in his shoes so I’m outta here! Haha! Good luck, Koyuki. You’re going to need it a lot. The day Koyuki stops rebuking Hanadori and co is the day where real serious sh*t hits the fan like the real dark god of destruction raining death upon the entire world! Holy sh*t! But don’t worry. Seeing this is a comedy genre, it will never become that sort of dark tragedy. I hope.
So never judge a book by its cover. Sometimes even your stereotypical biasness can be wrong. So I’m really glad that I get to watch this series seeing I was laughing my ass off. There were no signs that of me being in danger of turning into some shota BL gay lover. Even the series has very subtle hints, it is so subtle that you have got to be a delusional or strict moral religious nut to even notice. Yeah, hints of BL are just for the funny and comical parts and they work like a charm. Koyuki may not be getting screwed or losing his chastity but he certainly gets screwed in every other aspects!
Sometimes I feel like drawing comparisons of Koyuki’s life with Kusuo Saiki. You know, that psychic dude who wants to live a normal life but surrounded by equally weird weirdoes? Despite the parallel similarities, both are also at polar ends. Koyuki doesn’t have any psychic powers and unlike Saiki, he usually bears the brunt of the pranks from his close friends, uhm, sorry, weirdoes around him. I suppose he has no super psychic powers that can get him out of his predicament. It’s like an alternate version of each other’s life. Because making my conspiracy theory even more suspicious is that note how both Koyuki and Saiki’s name have the same initials?! Hah! And both are facing some sort of disastrous lifestyle thanks to their classmates while dreaming of the ideal normal life that they always wanted!
So yeah, the best funny parts of this anime is ‘unfortunately’ watching Koyuki being played around by all his delusional pals. I fear at this rate, he might grow up to be a psychopath or serial killer! But seeing how sturdy is that Koyuki is, I figure that he could make it out just fine. Or not. Poor Koyuki. This guy has died from his embarrassments and failures so many times that we have lost count. You would notice that each time he ‘dies’, a sketch of a grave (complete with words RIP Koyuki’) will be displayed on screen. Accompanied with a bell ring for the finishing touches. Each time, this increases and by the time the series ends, who knows how many graves and bell rings he has already accumulated. He really gives a new meaning to die over and over again. Literally, a dark god doesn’t just sits next to him. A god of misery too… Watch how they slowly destroy Koyuki’s life…
We have to give credit to his weirdoes who add to his pain and insanity of his daily life. Firstly, Hanadori whom I figure is just playing chuunibyou is only because he wants to be friends with Koyuki (his dark god of destruction title just feels like for show). Yup, all that acting and having some split personality whatsoever is so that Koyuki won’t be a lonely guy! You might think that Hanadori wants the attention and friends. While it might be true but it could also be the other way round. What if Koyuki is actually a depressed and lonely guy and the only way out was to just become friends? And not just any ordinary friends. Get what I mean? So with Hanadori around, Koyuki gets to play the straight man over and over again. Next, Tsukimiya who is supposedly the most ‘dangerous’ among the group. Because it’s like as though he can read your mind! No, wait. He actually does! Like as though he is reading out from the script! This guy is a total sadist and it feels like his existence is to torment and laugh at others (more often Koyuki). Because when he opens his eyes, you know sh*t is going to happen. He is God who sees all future! Nobody gets the better of him. Maybe except Suzuran. Is this the only person he can never win over? They’re never in the same place for long. And it’s like a rock and hard place for Koyuki. Because if Suzuran is around and this makes Tsukimiya ‘disappear’, now he has to follow her whims to go find him. And if she is not around, he has to put up with Tsukimiya’s pranks. There’s no way for Koyuki to win this.
It gets worse when you have a masochist in the name of Mogami who just wants to be tormented in every way. This guy isn’t as bad as Tsukimiya or Hanadori. Okay, maybe he is. Just that he isn’t as much of a main character as that aforementioned duo. He is only tolerable because he doesn’t bug Koyuki 100% all the time. Like as though he is biding his time and patiently waiting for the moment Koyuki snaps and gives him his due punishment. Well, Koyuki does snap a lot. Only, he takes them out mostly on Hanadori. Then there is Hibiki who brings bad luck and you can bet Koyuki is also dragged into this. I guess having a bunch of weirdoes is bad enough, what is having one more? Oh yeah. Even worse, eh? So is Koyuki the one who is attracting bad luck? And then there is Tokimune. Oh God. Please. Not another psycho… And now with Hatsuyuki around, thinks are indeed heating up, no? A further test to Koyuki’s sanity!
So it is with much disappointment that we can all expect not to see Koyuki getting together with Sumiso, the only person who keeps his sanity in check. Ah yes. They want to fool us that Koyuki might have a crush on this girl but there are a few hints that tell us that Koyuki may harbour more feelings for Hanadori than her! True! Remember, this is some mild shot BL gay thingy so no straight romcom between a boy and a girl is ever going to get in the way! So think back at all the times why Koyuki has the chance not to bother himself with Hanadori. And yet at the end of the day, he worries about him and goes to him. Although the end results might not be what he expected but there you have it. Koyuki putting his friendship more than his crush over a girl? If that doesn’t scream mild BL sh*t, I don’t know what is. And you noticed that Sumiso puts up with this because… She may be another weirdo who loves watching BL gay sh*t!!! OMFG! How much do we really know about Sumiso actually?! Just because she looks normal and sweet, but remember, still waters run deep!
Hence I have this conspiracy theory that this school is not an ordinary school but a mental facility! Hear me out. Firstly, you do notice that many of the weirdoes do not dress like other normal students in the school. I mean, why the heck is Hanadori allowed to wear his leather jacket and eye-patch to school? Why does the school even allow this?! You mean to tell me that they give in to his god of darkness threats and would rather play it safe by letting him be? If Hanadori’s dressing wasn’t bad enough, Hibiki and Mogami’s uniform is literally some Halloween garb. I mean, do they really actually allow Hibiki to carry a scythe all over school?! Seeing that these characters do have some sort of personality problem, do the teachers really allow them to continue acting like this? At this age, it could be already a sign of problem because once they graduate and get integrated into society, it is going to pose a lot of problems. So letting these kids do as they please feels something is wrong. Even more so when Koyuki gets ‘bullied’ and he isn’t even taking any counselling! Does nobody care about the sanity of this kid and his future?! And Sensei isn’t really a teacher but a mental patient acting like a teacher! Koyuki only stands out because he is ‘normal’ and tries to act normal. It will soon be, if you can’t beat them, join them. Aitsu is just an imaginary friend of Koyuki! I mean, is that really his real name?! Really?! And Sumiso could be the mental facility caretaker because she is only ‘observing’ everyone… INSANE CONSPIRACY THEORY!!! Anybody care to refute?
Another conspiracy theory of mine is that Koyuki perhaps is the one who is the most problematic and not the rest of his weird comrades. What they are doing, gathering around him is so that to help him out from his depression or whatever problems he is facing (he could be a failed fusion of a human-cat experiment!). It is only because Koyuki looks and acts more normal than the rest, it looks like he is being bullied. Case in point, Koyuki isn’t very good in his studies. Now, it might seem tempting to pinpoint that the shenanigans of Hanadori and Tsukimiya might contribute to him not focusing on his studies. Considering that both are actually smart people and they have proven with their high and perfect marks in exams, their pranks could actually be the reason Koyuki studies and gets decent marks! Without them, he might not even touch his books! See, Hanadori made really easy simple notes for him to understand and pass! Hanging around those weirdoes also helps Koyuki rethink and reconsider about his own life and abilities. So can you see how these pals are helping Koyuki regain his own life?! So his life isn’t going into a downward spiral in actual fact! WE NEED TO TALK MORE OF THIS CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORY!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, those past life of Gestober may not be as fake as we think it might be!
The art and animation are okay. Cute boys at the fore would make you really think this is some shota BL gay sh*t. Everything is bright and colourful to add to all the craziness but not enough to be considered as something like an LSD trippy drug trip. Heh. Perhaps the next episode preview at the end can be considered. Maybe. We see the anime in sketches, keyframes or just still pictures or just a picture of hot babes just because they can’t get it done in time. Weird. Because we see the chaotic narration of the problems in the production room. This anime is done by EMT Squared who did Renai Boukun, Alice Or Alice, Ame-iro Cocoa, Urahara and Fudanshi Koukou Seikatsu. So if you wonder why there are cute looking characters and some potential BL factor, you now know why.
A few recognizable seiyuus lending their talents here including Jun Fukuyama as Koyuki, Takahiro Sakurai as Hanadori, Tsubasa Yonaga as Hibiki and Ai Kayano as Sumiso. The other casts include Ryohei Kimura as Tsukimiya (Kodaka in Boku Wa Tomodachi Ga Sukunai), Shinnosuke Tachibana as Mogami (Tomoe in Kamisama Hajimemashita), Yoshiko Ikuta as Suzuran (Ruby in Ange Vierge), Kousuke Toriumi as Tokimune (Acnologia in Fairy Tail), Takayuki Kondou as Sensei (Oishi in Prince Of Tennis), Takaya Kuroda as Gorio (Dagger Morse in Show By Rock) and even Chinatsu Akasaki doing just yapping little doggy voice as Cerberus (Yasuna in Kill Me Baby).
Oh, the opening theme is so epic. Take Mo’ Chance by All At Once sounds sexy enough and the opener will really make you think that this is indeed some gay BL sh*t! Even more so it wants to make you impersonate Barry White’s low sexy voice and croon along singing, “Yeah…”. Oh yeah. So epic and gay indeed. The ending theme is crazy. Freedom De Muda Ni Muteki by AOP only solidifies that this whole setting is a mental facility. Aside from the crazy sounding song, we see all the crazy things in the animation like as though this is inside of Koyuki’s mind. Spooky or having fun aren’t we, everybody?
Overall, this is purely a funny and entertaining series if you can stomach the fact that you enjoy watching a guy’s normal life being screwed by his psychotic friends (some may refer to this as intriguing characters with unique personalities). And it also teaches you all about friendship! Yeah, you can be close friends with another guy without looking gay! So once again, don’t judge a book by its cover, there aren’t any obvious gay stuffs since you’ll be laughing your ass off with all the chaotic slapstick moments. We’re all like Tsukimiya. As long as it happens to others, we’re okay laughing and having fun. So can we have another season, please? Oh, why do I see and hear another grave and bell ring for Koyuki?
Well, well, well. Can’t get enough of your MILF fanservice, huh? You know what is even better? Beach episode MILF fanservice! YAY! A real proper beach episode that we didn’t get in the TV series. And so that is the basic excuse premise for Tsuujou Kougeki Ga Zentai Kougeki De Nikai Kougeki No Okaasan Wa Suki Desu Ka OVA AKA Okaa-san Online OVA. Is there any other reason to watch this than the obvious?! So what are you waiting for?! More Mamako please!
Do You Love Your Mom On The Shore?
Shirase has our gang have fun at the beach simply because she wants to grant our wishes for a beach fanservice episode. Yeah. Thanks a bunch! After we see the ladies in their swimsuits, Porta tries to blow her inflatable but runs out of breath. Masato tries to continue buy Wise stops him. Then everyone teases her for being worried about this indirect kiss. Her magic causes Masato’s trunks to rip. So Mamako hugs him to hide his privates! She is even willing to let him wear hers since she is not embarrassed! I bet Masato will die of embarrassment a thousand times! Thank goodness for spares… As they go dip in the sea, it seems Masato doesn’t like Mamako being too close to him. He sits out as Mamako feels sad. But so as not let this be all gloomy, the other ladies have fun with her. Then the watermelon splitting event, Porta turns an ordinary stick into a sword?! Masato is of course going to split it as Mamako guides him. Then he hits something soft. Turns out to be Mamako’s boobs! Cheeky mom even makes a cheeky remark he split her melons in 2! Somehow the sword becomes a boomerang and hits back on Masato’s head. He passes out but when he comes to, he is amnesiac. He doesn’t remember anything. Not even himself. So who is Mamako? You know, she could have just avoided all this confusion had she just said she is his mom. Instead, some long winded talk that he is her most precious in the world. Yeah… Masato feels comfortable being with Mamako and her words put his heart as ease. Since helping her cook is one of her many dreams, Masato is willing to make all her dreams come true.
So yeah, we’re playing this Twister game that for obvious reasons Masato won’t play with mommy anymore. You can tell how this is going to end. Best view for Masato, her ass before his face. Next is catching crabs. For obviously stupid reasons, the crab escapes and hides under Mamako’s bikini. Then it gets naughty enough to cut her bikini! Masato quickly hugs her to hide her modesty. So he doesn’t want anybody else to see her naked body. He is the only guy around, you know… With Masato and Mamako having such a swell time together, the other girls need to put an end to this or this will get troublesome. Hence Wise and Medhi try to seduce him to get his guard down so they could whack him on the head. Of course they also have plans to actually seduce him. But Masato can tell their intentions and tells them off. The girls get roasted about their boobs… They’re so dead. Masato and Mamako watch the sunset. More loving words from Mamako. This makes Masato realize as he confesses he loves her. Before he kisses her, a squid tentacle grabs Mamako. Oh right. This is supposed to be a fanservice episode, right? Masato saves her but realizes he called out to her as mom. Then the squid grabs Masato. Don’t tell me this squid is gay… Nobody touches her son. So Mamako uses her swords to defeat that squid. Masato is drowning but remembers flashback of some small beach mishap. Mom was there to console him. OMFG. Mamako becomes Moses as she splits the ocean apart to go get her son! OMFG! Masato has gotten his memories back and realizes mom has always been saving him. Back on the beach, free squid BBQ. Masato doesn’t remember his time while being amnesiac but Mamako isn’t sad because she knows Masato will always need his mom. Yeah, mom knows best, right? And then for some stupid reason, the heat causes the tentacle to jump and hit all the ladies. Now it’s their turn to have amnesia.
Is It Wrong To Pick Up Mama On A Beach?
Oh well. It was pretty much as expected as it would be. But it is still mind boggling to know that Masato actually lost his memories. IN A VIRTUAL GAME! I mean, how the heck could this happen? Is the game so powerful that it could also affect your real life memories? Whatever and however this works, it is just your cheesy reason so as to get some MILF fanservice. Because obviously Masato who is at his usual rebellious phase would never cooperate and do all this cheesy sexy stuff with his mom. So the only way he could do it all as if he is dating is if he lost his memories. Now you see why the perks of Mamako having such a hot sexy onee-sama body and looks? And my guess is that Mamako really wants to do this too because you do not even see her the slightest of being embarrassed that she is being literally seduced by her own son! I fear that when he grows up further, she would want to marry him! Assuming Papasuke is dead or divorced. But you get the point. You see Mamako enjoying herself to the last bit. This is why she didn’t tell an amnesiac Masato that she is her son. That is why she never resisted when Masato was slowly preparing to kiss her! I mean, he is your son! Do you not feel the slight disgust! YOUR SON! Thus she really wants to live this moment when her son who is now a hot hunk to give her that kind of romance. After all, it will be over soon, right? Such a great fleeting dream…
So yeah, Mamako is a real creepy mom if you think about it. And she might be right to know that Masato will always come back to rely on her. Heh… The rest of the other girls didn’t quite make an impact and even if they do, Mamako still steals the spotlight. Too bad Wise and Medhi, looks like we now know that even in Masato’s unconscious state, he’ll most probably choose mommy over you. Better try EVEN harder than that. And Porta still carrying her bag on her head everywhere she goes. Even to the sea. Now that they leave us with this cliff-hanger that it is the ladies’ turn to have memory loss, I am certain that Masato will not go so far as to brainwash mom that they are not close. Or at least keep her distance. I’m sure he is not that kind of son. But sometimes, a kid his age maybe needs his little distancing from mommy. Because at this rate, how can a guy like him spread his wings and fly if mommy keeps sheltering him? Uh huh. It’s like Mamako doesn’t want him to leave the nest at all… Wow. Too deep and dark thoughts for what should have just been an enjoyable mindless MILF fanservice. So thank you Mamako, for all the lovely fanservice for us viewers. I know the only guy in the world who will not enjoy this a single bit is your son but whatever. Millions of guys out there are made happy. And so it is true indeed that mothers really know best! ;p.
Remember before you faced off with the ultimate final boss of a game, you would stock up as much healing potions as you can? Or at least level up like mad before the final fight? And then when you fought the big bad boss, you realize that it wasn’t so bad in the first place and all that potion stocking and levelling up felt like a big waste of time? Yeah. But you can’t always be too sure, right? Because like they say, the best offence is a best defence. Itai No Wa Iya Nano De Bougyoryoku Ni Kyokufuri Shitai To Omoimasu (or Bofuri if that name is too freaking long for you to pronounce and remember) is like the ultimate defence version of Shinchou Yuusha. The main character hates pain so she puts all her points into defence, making her character the most impenetrable and rock solid defence ever. Don’t laugh. Better be safe than sorry.
Episode 1
Kaede Honjou has been pestered by her friend, Risa Shiromine to play this VRMMO game, New World Online (NWO). After putting on this discount NerveGear, she enters NWO and is tasked to enter a name. After inputting Maple, she needs to select a weapon. Not wanting to feel pain, she decides this shield is the best. As for distribution of her stats, she puts it all to defence. Don’t want to feel pain now, do we? Diving into the game, she asks a girl (Frederica) where to level up. In the forest, a cue bunny attacks her. But she feels no pain and gets no damage. After an hour, she seems to have built resistance and hence levelled up. So the next time to bunny continues to attack, it dies!!! WTF?! She levels up and earns more points in which she puts it all to defence. Next, a cute bee attacks. Though, she is not immune from its poison, she notices she can build immunity this way. So she purposely gets poisoned to build up resistance?! WTF?! Then using a simple attack to kill it. More level up, more stats and a special rare item ring. Wow. This game is too easy. Then she just sleeps there in the middle of the road while all the critters attack her. Once done, WTF she has built more resistance and skills???!!! SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS GAME?! Enough for today. Log out. Oh, it’s after midnight! Homework not done! Next day she logs in. Needing for better gear, she talks to this guy, Kuromu who seems to be the same shield wielder with her. He brings her to Iz who is a blacksmith. But since she has not enough money (a million gold is needed!), she is told the dragon’s labyrinth could earn her some treasures. First monsters are cute slimes. Her knife attacks don’t work, so how? She slams them with her shield! OMG! This does more damage?! Of course, new skills and level up achieved. Then she faces off with this poisonous hydra. She is not totally immune from its poison as her HP is decreasing. But each time, she drinks her health potion. So rinse and repeat this cycle. Guess what? She builds immunity to poison!!! WTF???!!! I swear this game is something wrong… But she can’t attack so how? She bites and eats the hydra until it dies!!! OMFG!!! I DON’T BELIEVE THIS!!! And yes, you know the drill. More levelling up in stats (you know where she’ll put it all), receives a really rare armour in which if it is broken, the next one gets stronger. I rest my case… No wonder she so happy and hooked in this game. So technically if I go by this game’s logic, if I die many times, will I build resistance to death and become an immortal???!!!
Episode 2
Wow. Maple is eating more bugs and levelling up… She then participates in NWO’s very first event. It’s not specifically stated what it is but from what I can see it’s like a battle royale. Hence, I’m thinking why is Maple participating in this if she has no intention to fight others? I mean, she’s just idling around and drawing nice pictures. When a guy comes to challenge her, he dies just after hitting her shield!!! OMFG! Soon everybody starts to gang up on her but you know, she’s so untouchable at this point. She’s even got some paralyzing skill to paralyze them all and take them all out in one fell swoop with her poison breath. Amazing. All without even really hitting others! In the end, Maple got third place (first is Payne while Dread in second). It’s no wonder everyone is in shock. Is her shield actually legal or broken? Next time, Risa now manages to log in to play with Kaede. She goes by the name Sally and she doesn’t think of increasing her defence points. Because if she doesn’t get hit, it doesn’t matter, right? Also, there are some weapons that will automatically increase her hit points so she won’t increase that either. Because she wants to be a fast swashbuckler, she puts her stats in agility. As Maple wants to change the colour of her shield, Iz told her that in some underground lake of the southern city has white fish scales. Riding on Sally’s back, they make haste there. They do some fishing but with Maple’s low agility, she cannot swim. Hence Sally does the exploration around the lake. You know you’re near the treasure when some monster fish boss is around. Sally gets into serious mode to fight it until she beats it. And the treasure she got? Hmm… Some cool looking cape? Then the announcement of another event. Because it is in another world, its criteria is for them to clear exclusive dungeons.
Episode 3
Looks like the developers have applied some fixes and updates to the game. This means Maple can now receive some damage and she will have limited times to use he godly moves. Yeah, it’ll be a pain if everyone ends up like her character. But as consolation, all the damage effects coming out will make her feel more invincible. With Maple now a household name, she is met with Dread and Drag. They talk about the next event and next world but since the girls want to explore this world further, they recommend a quest in the north forest to increase speed. But it might be tough for Sally since this is a haunted forest and she is afraid of ghosts! Can she complete this quest? Apparently luck is on their side because they discover a secret underground room. Some tortured guy sitting there. Sally applies her healing until he moves on to the next world. And voila! Here’s the scroll for the super fast skill. Then they enter some pathway that leads them to some nice beach. Picked up some nice red stone that they’ll keep as souvenir. At the entrance to the next world, Maple uses up some of her limited moves already. Sally help tests out some of her skills to fight the monsters. Then they face off with this deer monster boss and of course defeat it. They are now in the new world. Iz is already here and has opened her shop. Just in time for Maple to handover the ingredients and create her new white shield that she names Snow White. Before the next event, Maple and Sally have this romantic dinner under the starry sky. Eating weird tasty food and drink that has their eyes and hair glow in different colours. Sure this game isn’t laced with drugs too? The next event is here. There is some girl, Mii rallying her Flame Emperor group to bring victory. Before the event starts, it is announced it will be a treasure hunt and they are to find silver medals in which collecting 10 of them can be exchanged for a gold medal. As stealing from others is also okay, the top 10 players from the last event will receive a gold medal each at the start. So stay on guard always.
Episode 4
Walking through the endless plains, suddenly Maple falls into a secret cave. A hidden dungeon? Of course a joker monster attacks them. Nothing like a few combo moves to take it out and receive a couple of silver medals. Next day, as they are about to try this snowy dungeon, Kuromu and his team are here. They don’t want to fight or steal medals but it seems others don’t have the same idea. Since they are hard on their luck in finding medals and this dungeon can only allow a single party, kind Maple decides to let them take this one. After they enter and Maple and Sally about to leave, the entrance opens again. They fear they might have been taken out by a powerful monster. What to do but to check it out? Indeed. There is this very powerful ice phoenix. To add to some drama, we see them fight real hard and even Maple is being flung around. Wow. Their attacks did no damage? And then Maple’s shield breaks. Gasp! Oh, but it resurrects. Hope this one is stronger. Finally some mirage move from Sally to trick the bird and then Maple finishing it off with her poisonous hydra. Phew. They’ve earned this victory. They would’ve been goner had not Maple acquired a new skill that saved their asses. After collecting some goodies, they also collect cute monster eggs that will hatch if warmed up enough. Meanwhile, the developers are starting to panic. That bird boss is packed with all the lethal skills impossible for any players to beat. Basically, an evil prank. And it’s that damn Maple who defeated it! Worse, they got off with monster eggs! Oh dear. Time to work harder to fix more bugs… Maple and Sally continue their adventure. Get more medals. Then their eggs hatch. Wow! Cute turtle and fox! Maple names her turtle, Syrup. She really wants to make a pun with Maple Syrup, huh? Sally names her fox, Oboro. Weird, Syrup has faster agility than Maple… So with monster pets at their side, they can help aid in their fights. The duo arrive at the oasis. Waiting there is a samurai girl, Kasumi. She wants Maple’s gold medal.
Episode 5
Sally and Kasumi engage in some super fast fight. But when Maple comes crashing into them, they all fall into some sandpit. Inside this dark underground dungeon, the trio are chained together. It seems if one dies, everyone dies. Convenient plot for them to work together and get out of here, right? They explore the dungeon and then cooperate to escape from unkillable giant slugs. Finally they enter the treasure room. They share the loot of weapons and medals. After getting out, they part ways. Maple and Sally continue their adventure and obtain more medals. They also meet another player, Kanade who isn’t so interested in collecting medals as she is satisfied with this Akashic Records puzzle cube that she got. As a token of their friendship, Kanade gives them a hint book for the event. Of course it is filled with riddles and it is no fun if she tells them the answer. Go discover it yourself. So here they are in some ruins. It teleports them to some underwater ruins whereby they have to fight off (and successfully defeat) a squid monster. And yeah, more medals! Meanwhile, the game developers are tired of hearing of Maple’s achievements. Yeah, they don’t want to face reality anymore! She has gotten more powerful, defeat enemy bosses easily, so much so she has become more of a last boss than the real last boss! With the duo short of 2 medals, Sally decides to go hunt other players as time is running out. She doesn’t want Maple to come as many would recognize her. And so Sally becomes a demon and massacres other players. Wow. She mowed down the whole bunch and that bunch just got 2 medals? I guess they’re all amateurs. But it’s enough. Returning to the cave where Maple is hiding, it seems Kasumi is also here. She too is trying to hide from other players who are now desperate to hunt others with medals now that time is running out. So the trio hide in the cave until the event is over. With the medals exchanged for gold, a gold medal allows a player to choose a skill. And so Maple has Syrup get some mega morphing skill while she herself picks psychokinesis. Now she can shower acid rain while riding on a giant floating turtle! HAHAHA!!! SHE’S SO UNSTOPPABLE!!!
Episode 6
Kaede has been playing the game so much that she is letting her bad habits creep into her school life. Reality doesn’t work like the game. How embarrassing. Time to lay off NWO for a while. And after 3 days, she’s back! Damn. That was fast. And while she was gone, NWO has added a few new features. Damn. That was fast. One of them including purchasing a home. Time to go house hunting. Eventually they settle for this cosy tree house base. Because it looks too big for just the 2 of them, they decide to invite others and at the same time form a guild. Hence you’ve guessed the usual suspects that include Kasumi and Kanade. Since Kuromu and Iz were passing by, they too get invited. Damn. That was fast, the recruiting. They all agree to have Maple as the guild master and in turn she names the guild, Maple Tree. Hey, it’s her guild, right? Of course they got to show us how superb this group is as we see them slash some monsters as training. Maple Tree then conducts its first guild meeting. Talking about the upcoming events and new world, because there are going to be lots of monsters and drop items, there will be competitions among the guilds. Kuromu suggests to invite more people to join their guild to bolster their chances. Maple and Sally go to the bulletin for recruitment. Since many want high level players, Maple is okay in taking in beginners so long as they all have fun. Wow. She really is taking this game thingy as a game seriously, huh? Going back down to the first world, they quickly stumble into a pair of sisters, May and Yui. Maple invites them but they don’t think so and consider themselves as weak. It seems they maxed out their offensive skills but other skills are basically zero. So after talking and ironing things out, I guess they agree to join. So as to have them join them in the next world, they fight that deer monster boss. Uhm, only Maple and Sally do all the action and the sisters just watch? Is this another broken feature of NWO? May and Yui are introduced to the rest of the members. They bow their heads so hard that the table cracked! Sally ‘worries’ if they would end up just like Maple. Oh I bet they will…
Episode 7
Maple now takes May and Yui to do some time trial run. Yup, it’s more challenging to take on monsters in an allocated time. Plus, the faster they do it, the faster they level up. And man, they’re breaking their own time record each time. At this rate, they’ll be faster than Sonic! As expected, the sisters have done well enough to get some devastating offensive abilities of their own. The next scenes show the other members of Maple Tree levelling up like mad. This game is too easy. While Maple is out in town, she stumbles upon an NPC quest. Mother needs to do something for her ailing daughter. What else? You guessed it. Maple is going to take on this side quest. But it seems there is a chain of quests here. Until Maple realizes that it might be some loop. She goes to do some fetch item quest, daughter gets better, but something bad happens that would reset her health back to initially. I don’t know if the developers want other players to take on such quest. I suppose Maple has taken on this quest a few times so there is an extra option which might lead to a different path. Indeed. In addition to saving the child’s life, Maple also gets, wait for it, another ability! And so what’s this ability all about? Well, not only she transforms into an angel, but as long as her comrades are standing within her range, enemies cannot harm them at all! Basically they’re immortal!!! F*ck! Why does this scene of the enemies perpetually trying to beat down Maple Tree but to no effect feels like that Spongebob episode… This overpowering has gone way too far. Meanwhile Payne is quite concerned with the rise of Maple Tree. Along with his other Order of the Holy Sword guild members, Dread, Drag and Frederica, they are going to scout out the enemy for more information.
Episode 8
So we have an event that kills cows to get bells and the more bells you get, the better the reward? Whatever. Iz has made fitting outfits for her comrades for this event. So as Maple Tree get into the groove of murdering bovines, Maple wanders off herself and stumbles into an abandoned church she once visited before. Then she triggers some demonic dark night who attacks her. Before you could say that she’s going to overpower her way out of this again, they make us worry a bit since she is struggling to contain this violent mother*cker. Her defence not working? Heck, she even gets eaten! But of course, she eats her way out! I didn’t know it was this easy to kill a demon. And as expected, she gets a new ability. So besides being an angel, she is now a demon?! Is she even human anymore?! And yeah, the developers aren’t even bothered with Maple anymore. They think she can’t defy anymore logic. THEY HOPE! Why do I feel they’re going to regret everything soon? Maple shows off her new skills. Uhm, she transforms into an armoured alien Godzilla and easily kills off this oversized broccoli monster! Everyone is so in shock and baffled. Just another usual day of Maple getting buffed up. And Maple so happy she can protect everyone better now. She’s basically more perfect than perfect! Maple Tree then heads to the next level which is some machine world. Exploring about, as you can tell, Maple saves an NPC who then triggers a quest for her. This old fart tells some old story about some feud between the first and second generation, blah, blah, blah. Maple makes her way and finds herself in some machine graveyard. Scrapyard? Before her is the supposedly previous king of machines. Because he attacks her and wants to turn everything into junk, cue for Maple to fight back. Another easy win. The machine than gives him her powers so as to defeat somebody. The machine then turns into an even more badass machine boss so to prevent her ass being blown to bits, Maple uses the new power to turn herself into a mecha! Woah! WTF?! Since when did this become a power mecha battle anime???!!! As expected, Maple wins since her blast is more powerful and flashier. Heh. Who’s the scrap now?
Episode 9
Maple shows her team her awesome mecha firepower. At this point, they’re not surprised but still can’t help feel dumbfounded at her latest arsenal entry. While some train, others relax. Sally calls Frederica out as she knows she has been spying on them for a while. She can tell she is scouting other guilds to gauge their capacity. Sally challenges Frederica to a duel in which the loser will reveal info about their own guild. Frederica agrees but will only tell info on the Flame Emperor. So the duo teleport to another arena and duke it out. After putting Sally on the edge and having her reveal some of her secret skills, Frederica surprisingly surrenders. She talks about some of the powerful members in Flame Emperor to be wary off like Markus the trapper, Misery the cleric and Shin the split sword. After Frederica leaves, we see her monologue this was all part of her plan. It was to see Sally’s secret skills. Had Frederica fought longer, she would’ve given away herself too. Also, telling about Flame Emperor is so that Maple Tree could fight and both sides will crush each other. Sally reveals to her comrades about her fake skill. Yeah, she isn’t that stupid either since it was her part to deceive the enemy too. Maple Tree receives news about the upcoming guild war. Basically it is some capture the flag version. Not only you defend your own orb in your own base but you can steal enemy’s orbs to earn more points. Maple Tree divide their roles with Maple, Yui and May at the defence, Sally, Kuromu and Kasumi as the offensive power while Iz stays back at the base. Kanade is the joker card and can be anywhere she wants. After more training, the guild war begins. The event begins and we of course see other dumb guilds becoming Sally’s victims. So dumb that she eggs them to fight and blame each other for stealing their orbs while she secretly steal theirs. Are they even cut out for this game?! Then there’s that short bout between Sally and Dread that didn’t amount to anything much. We see Flame Emperor owning the game. But what’s this? Sally manages to steal one of their orbs?! When she gets away, we see Mii’s true colours. She’s actually a meek player pretending to be strong. She can’t take it anymore and wants to quit being a leader while crying alone! Enemies have discovered Maple Tree’s hideout. No problem, right? Yup. Double grievance for them as they all got owned by Maple the angel. Flawless victory.
Episode 10
Payne is slaying his opponents like nobody’s business. Despite singlehandedly getting like about 20 orbs, this guy is still sceptical about wanting to steal and fight Maple Tree. Good instincts. I can see why this guy is the top. Meanwhile Maple Tree has got like 10 orbs. But they’re still like in 17th place overall. No rest for Sally as she continues to hunt down smaller guilds and take their orbs. The logic is that smaller guilds tend to be wiped out faster so if bigger guilds get them first, it will be hard for Maple Tree to take on those larger guilds. Yeah. Great strategy. So we see the rest of Maple Tree heading out to do the same or put a stop to ambushing guilds trying to steal their orb (it is only right they attract attention since the orbs are gathered at their base). While we see Kasumi taking Shin who was an old comrade (of course in which she would eventually defeat), Sally meets her match when she is outnumbered by skilled players of Holy Sword. Frederica thought she knew all the tricks in Sally’s ability. Until it didn’t work and Sally continues to stand her ground, did Frederica realize that those aren’t Sally’s abilities but her own reflex!!! Hey wait a minute. Can you do that in an online game???!!! Anyway, before Sally gets taken down, here comes Maple just in time. Because Sally messaged her she might die. Nothing like that taboo word to send a friend come flying in. Now the tables are turned. Holy Sword is owned left and right!!! Those guys are f*cked!!! But this is a distraction because with May and Yui left at the base, Dread comes in to steal the orbs. They give him a run for his money before getting killed. Of course Maple and Sally return just in time to kill him before any orbs are stolen. When Maple Tree reunites, they’ve taken their orb tally up to 22. Sally moves on to their next plan. You see, the reason she has been ambushing guilds hard is so that she could map out their base. Now that she’s got the entire map of everybody’s whereabouts, Maple can now go on a robbing spree. So to speak. And hence, it’s like Maple with May and Yui go on a field trip picking souvenirs on a flying turtle. Ah, such easy pickings. Eventually the next target is Flame Emperor. Yeah, Maple isn’t afraid of anybody. You know you’re screwed when all the traps that Markus set, SHE JUST WALKED THROUGH THEM LIKE NOTHING!!! LIKE A BOSS!!! WTF IS SHE ON CHEAT CODE MODE???????!!!!!!!! Before Markus is marked and more misery for Misery, here comes Mii to face off with those cheaters easy goers. Somebody needs to stop them dead in their tracks and make them think twice that they could REALLY DO ANYTHING so easily.
Episode 11
The epic boss fight begins. However with Maple being the strongest defence and Mii being the strongest offence, the fight isn’t going anywhere. Hence Mii wants Misery and Markus to buy her time while she activates her ultimate skill. So eventually Mii unleashes some flaming prison to engulf Maple. It’s looking bad for her since it is depleting Maple’s life bar the more she stays trap. If you think Maple will find a way out of this, you guessed right. Because she transforms into her mecha mode!!! Holy sh*t! Flame Emperor is totally f*cked now. No time to be flabbergasted by her new form. DO SOMETHING!!! Unfortunately, Maple’s awesome firepower means there is nothing they can do! See the crater she leaves in the beam’s wake???!!! Hasta la vista baby!!! Misery suggests escaping and Mii accepts this. However Maple won’t let them go and fully blasts them!!! Wow. Maple is so greedy. Mii is the only one left from the blast so she isn’t going down easily. Thus she tries to take Maple out with her own self-destruct. Boom! Guess what? Mii’s dead but Maple somehow survives!!! WTF???!!! But ‘good news’. Flame Emperor took their orb away so Maple Tree can’t steal them. You mad, Maple? Yui and May suggest raiding other nearby guild bases. Okay. Greedy girls… Meanwhile Mii is crying like a baby, knowing she has been soundly beaten by Maple. To add salt to her wounds, she hear reports that Maple escaped unscathed after the self-destruct. Time to cry harder… Maple Tree has been gathering lots of orbs enough to break into the top 10 but still nowhere near Holy Sword who is sitting comfortably at the top spot. Hence Sally predicts they will come to attack them soon. This turns out true but she only miscalculated one thing: She didn’t expect the top players of Holy Sword to come instead of the whole army. Because with such a big guild, they will move slower and their movements will be noticeable. Holy Sword top players are now at Maple Tree’s base and it is showdown time. Both sides clash heavily and with Maple having used up a lot of her limited skills already, she has to revert to her usual. No angel mode this time. This allows Payne to move in and slash her! OMG! Maple done in for good???!!! I wouldn’t count on it…
Episode 12
Yeah… Maple still lives. Maple Tree gets a taste of what it feels like when they’re cornered when Iz, Kanade and Oboro gets killed! OMG! The beginning of the end?! Maple then fires her awesome big gun and Payne survives. You mean to look this shocked that he did? He is NWO’s top player! I guess fun time is over. So before Payne kills Maple, Maple throws away her shield and turns into her Godzilla mode! So she is invincible now in this mode?! Because she devours Payne! OMG! Payne is killed! And slowly Godzilla Maple smashes the rest of Holy Sword! Wow. F*ck, man. That’s how they won. But strategy time. At this point, Maple Tree has ranked up to 6th place and because the top 10 guilds all get the same reward, there is no point in stealing orbs. Hence the strategy now is to eliminate other smaller guilds and their orbs. Yup, with Maple in Godzilla form, you bet the other smaller guilds are f*cked big time. Why do they look like villains now? Flame Emperors are also having this same idea as the smaller guilds are teaming up to fight them. Mii already has her hands full when she receives report that Maple Tree is coming. Okay. Bring it on! And then she sees Godzilla Maple. WTFFFFFFFF???!!! However Maple doesn’t kill her but helps out in destroying the smaller guilds. As part of the strategy, Flame Emperor’s large guild size can help them in trimming those puny guilds. So it’s the same for Holy Sword too. You thought you’ve seen everything. Until Maple clones her Godzilla mode 7 times!!! OH F*CK!!!! EVERYONE IS SO SCREWED!!! Can the game just end already? So the admins are glad the event is over and only 6 guilds are left. Their goal is to put a highlight video together but most of them are from Maple Tree… As for the question of wanting to downgrade Maple’s abilities, they think it is not the best interest of the game to do so. Because Maple has become the poster girl of NWO and attracting new players to play and fight her! Woah… Everybody such a masochist… The admins are so broken that they are now Maple fans? Yeah, they take a peek on what she’s doing right now… Soon, Maple Tree celebrate their 3rd place finishing. They also invited Holy Sword and Flame Emperor to join the fun. I guess if they’re not competing, there’s no point being enemies, right? Everybody thought they have seen all that Maple has to offer but Sally cautions them she might pick up weirder skills. And when Maple she is just playing normally, everyone scoffs at her. Having fun, aren’t we? See you next season then. Wait. WHAT?!
Bore-freak: The Rising Overpowered Shield Heroine
Wow. They should just give up in balancing the game and rename NWO into Maple Tree World Order. MTWO. A tribute literally in her name. The game is literally all about them now. They’re so unbeatable. Not even bosses from other games can beat her and her small team even if they joined forces. Not even Kirito who broke into Underworld and defeated Administrator/Pontifex by himself. You think you’ve seen everything there is for such a game to offer but you haven’t seen anything yet if you have not encountered Maple. And best of all, she is just playing everything normally without any effort. Genius or extremely lucky? Let’s hope her offline life is keeping up with her online triumphs. She’d better. Before the next season comes about. OMFG!!! Really?! This is getting another season?! For real?!
With the ire and hatred over badly adapted isekai animes spamming the airwaves recently, I have this suspicion that this season they turn it into some virtual MMORPG. Yes, in the same season, we also had Infinite Dendrogram of the virtual MMORPG genre. So this series isn’t actually an isekai category and therefore you can’t technically hate it because it is not an isekai genre! Get it! Too bad being a virtual MMORPG genre, it still is nowhere near the godly tier of Sword Art Online. It is sad to say that whether or not it is isekai or virtual MMORPG, as long as your story is sh*t and the characters are also sh*t, eventually the anime will still turn out sh*t. Period. This is the unfortunate thing that I feel for this series.
One of the craziest things that this series focuses on is levelling up and maxing out Maple’s defence points. Now, this is where my dilemma comes in. Because you see, had this been an isekai genre, Maple levelling up and maxing out her defence would be more plausible, though not necessarily likeable. Because you know, it’s the other alternate fantasy world, there are things that work beyond the comprehension of humans from this world. But now considering that NWO is actually a virtual game created by game developers, this is where it doesn’t make freaking sense. To say the game is broken at its initial stages feels like an understatement. Because it feels like there was a need to turn Maple into one of the most solid defence characters in the game as fast as they can, hence all the mind boggling stuffs that she ‘coincidentally’ and ‘accidentally’ did to just level up her defence points. I am very sure that this is not how things work whether it is in reality or in a game. I mean, come on. Get bitten by poisonous creatures so much and instead of dying, you become immune to poison????!!!! WTF IS THIS LOGIC???!!! YOU CAN’T LITERALLY MAKE UP THIS SH*T!!! While this might be true down the line of millions of years and hundreds or thousands of generations of evolution, it is definitely not so for such a game. Definitely a game breaking bug, if I should say.
Making it all worse are the game developers themselves who turned a blind eye as Maple makes her ascension to becoming God. Sure, they did implement some limits at first. But each time Maple manages to somehow find a loophole and further power up herself. To a point the developers don’t even care and try to find excuses not to even talk about her! I mean, WTF???!!! Did they just give up?! Did Maple drive them crazy to not care anymore?! Maple isn’t really a bad player and it is not her fault that she isn’t breaking any rules. But at this rate she’ll really break the game and will it be fun for others? That’s why I think the developers cannot entirely ban her or even downgrade her character. Because it’s their own fault to begin with to have such faulty features in the first place! And sure, they made it that there won’t be future Maples in the making but one is already bad enough and it is going to get worse if they don’t do something about it. It’s amazing that all those who got their ass handed to them didn’t really complain or feel enraged over her overpowered character. Unless they’re all NPCs… And now that she is the unwitting face of NWO, drawing new players to the game, wow, this world sure doesn’t have toxic gamers to begin with. No wonder they got another season…
Like as though it wasn’t enough that Maple easily gaining abilities in the freakiest of ways possible, they add more salt to the injury to insult our intelligence when they also make Maple have one of the strongest offensive weapons. Like, having the best shield wasn’t suffice. Having the title of the strongest defence wasn’t good enough. So they had to make her have some attacking options too so as to spice things up and shock everybody. Yeah, either you’re a good offence of defence. Not both. Unless you’re Maple. F*ck you, lazy developers!!! Yeah, I just remembered I did mention something about having the best offence means also having a best defence. Right… Now Maple doesn’t have to just defend her comrades, she can also attack and win battles herself. Damn, I want to join her guild! If that isn’t all, the cherry on top the icing is how they gave Maple her own mecha mode. And then the invincible Godzilla mode x 7. That does it. That is the straw that broke the camel’s back. I was like, whatever. Maple is God now. She cannot lose. Seeing her struggle is just part of the drama to make it look like there is still a fighting chance for the opponent when there is actually none. So I’m rooting for Maple because she has become so untouchable. So if she loses, I’m going to lose my sh*t as well.
And now that she has gotten like almost everything, it is ironic that she doesn’t play the defensive role anymore. It’s like she’s now getting cocky and going all out as a very offensive and attacking player. If this was part of the Shinchou Yuusha universe, Seiya would have turned in his grave! I guess Maple being the main character and leader of her small guild, they need to make her do something and not just be the role of defending. That’s why she has to be ‘upgraded’ and taking on such frontal assaulting tasks. Heh. The other irony is that with her defence being so impregnable, it allows her to switch from being defensive to offensive just like that. Well, good for her. Not so for other players, though. So basically Maple has become Jack of all trades, master of all! That is why in the last episode when she seemingly threw away her shield, it is like as though to tell us that the shield was actually a hindrance and if she was to make greater strides, she must toss it away, not rely on it and attack! When you can’t increase your defence points anymore, now it’s the time to put it all into offence points!
Having said all that, you bet that the characters are just so weak that you wouldn’t even care. With the big focus on Maple, the only reason why she is having fun is because of all the perks that she has discovered and gained while playing NWO. Yes, she claims that she is playing because it is fun. Not because for power or fame or supremacy or whatever. Because it’s fun. But of course. How is it NOT FUN when the bugs in the game literally made you a God???!!! I would be having a whale of a time if I was in her shoes too. If there were proper mechanisms, checks and balances in place, I don’t think Maple would have really find this game as much fun as she did. Maybe half of it. There would be some struggles but not as much fun like right now as she bulldozes her way through everything. EVERYTHING! She might get in a pinch once in a while but you bet she’ll find some way to get weirder and buff up more powerful to overturn the tables and also overkill. Yeah. So, f*ck you again, lazy developers!!!
The other characters in Maple Tree are like, I don’t know, they feel irrelevant. Just to show that Maple isn’t a solo player, hence she forms a guild with reasonably skilled players so as to make her look like she’s a team player. Hardly feels so when she steamrolls her way through any sort of competition. And when she finds herself in a bind, you can bet your virtual ass that she’ll somehow find a way to get out of her predicament. So easy. That’s why for the rest of the Maple Tree characters, they’re pretty meh and not really relevant. Just a few players to add some variety to the small guild, that’s all. You don’t know much about their background or even real life persona to even care about them. At least Naofumi from Tate No Yuusha No Nariagari had comrades to help him in the attack area. But not for Maple. She’s all in one. So really, why does she really need friends in her party? All just fun and games, huh? Heck, from time to time we see short clips of Kaede back in reality just to remind us that all we’ve seen is just the game. She still has her real life to live… From the way I see her at this rate, she might turn into a game addict. She’s so happy because she’s having fun (and winning all the way) and it might be inaccurate to gauge how she is doing in real life. After all, we’ve already seen how it affected her reality.
Sally being Maple’s friend is a fast ninja and great strategist. Then we have samurai girl Kasumi and puzzle player Kanade in the mix. Don’t forget blacksmith Iz who can conveniently make weapon upgrades when necessary as well as Kuromu as the only guy in the guild so as not to make it look like an all-female clan and pander to stupid feminist extremism ideology whatsoever. Too bad he isn’t the main character so can’t say this is his harem. Finally there is the loli pair sisters, Yui and May who for some reason choose to wield hammers rather than some ranged weapons seeing they put all their points to max out their strength and offensive stats. I don’t think they’re the melee combat but I thought it would be better if they are weak in other stats, might as well keep their distance and go for ranged weapons like bows and arrows or something. Just saying… Oh, before I forget, every guild like this needs an animal mascot! Even better, 2 of them! Maple really having a field day naming her turtle, Syrup so she could make some team combo pun. At least she didn’t name them after Italian Renaissance artists… Big convenient because Syrup can turn big and provide some floating transport. This guild has got everything so convenient! Can I really join your guild, please?!
And the rest of the other players… I can’t believe they’re still playing this game. After seeing Maple Tree owning other small guilds, it looks like there are a hell lot of players and noobs in this game. Aren’t there other virtual MMORPGs out there? Maybe not. After getting owned by Maple Tree in the latest event, they might want to consider quitting after that small guild continues to dominate. Hey, can’t call them cheaters. Everything they do is in the criteria of the game. Blame those lazy developers! With Maple Tree growing bigger in fame and reputation, you bet there are more small fries out there who want to try their luck and bring them down. I won’t bet on it, though… Holy Sword and Flame Emperor being the best guilds ever also don’t fare any better. It’s only a matter of time before they meet their match in the name of Maple Tree. Like they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. They have some strong players but even so, not so after facing off with Maple. At least they gave Maple Tree a run for their money that they aren’t as dominant as they think but that eventually came to an end once Maple somehow finds a way round to it. Oh well, if everybody say it is a fair fight, then by all means it is.
It’s amazing that despite everything that Maple has levelled up, she is still nowhere near the level of Payne who is NWO’s greatest player. Maybe they need somebody as comparison, huh? If those are the top 2 guilds, I wonder how would it be like for other top guilds below them like Wizard Hideout, Rainbow Wings, Shambala and Thunder Storm to name a few. Sounds pretty ferocious. Until they fight Maple Tree, that is… One thing irks me, though. I noticed that the big guilds, how come all the followers are wearing the same uniform and have almost the same looks? So those players in real life swore their fealty to Mii or Payne and agreed that because they are low level players in a big guild, they don’t really matter and hence dress up the same. Yeah, these guys got no personality then. Don’t tell me they’re NPCs… And at the end of each episode, there is a forum that just spams their opinions about Maple and the likes in NWO. Who are these people anyway? Not that it has any bearing in the story anyway.
The action sequences are mediocre at best and like I’ve said, they’re just there to showcase how awesome and overpowered Maple has become. You’re only stunned and astonished with your mouth wide open not because of the awesome firepower that Maple has obtained, but the absurdity of how she actually obtained it. So once we’re done seeing Maple taking in all the enemy’s attack, time to see her counter back with more lethal firepower. But the one that confused me was during Sally and Frederica’s fake bout. It is believed that Sally’s skills aren’t derived from certain abilities but rather through her own reflex. Please bear in mind that this is an online digital game and not in the real world. Even if you have lightning speed reflex, you are still bound by the whatever cooling period or limitations of that skill you are using. So even if Sally did train herself to become better, so isn’t that still the same levelling up style? Not her reflex? By saying that it is her own natural reflex means that she somehow circumvented the game’s programme or something. It’s like she is living through her avatar! Does not make sense! Oi! Lazy developers, buck up!
Art and animation are rather okay. Everything in this world is so lively and colourful that sometimes you forget it is a virtual MMORPG and more of an isekai. Also, the character designs especially the ladies, they lean more towards the cute department and hence making it sometimes look like cute girls doing cute things virtual MMORPG version. I have a feeling I have seen the character designs from somewhere but at this point I’m too lazy to point out so let me know if a certain character looks like another character from another anime, okay? (Like how Syrup reminds me of a certain turtle from Love Hina). This anime is done by Silver Link so you can see some of their art style trademark in here in their other works like Masamune-kun No Revenge, Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu, Non Non Biyori. Midara Na Ao-chan Wa Benkyou Ga Dekinai and the Fate/Kaleid Liner Pisma Ilya series to name just a few.
In the voice acting department, a few recognizable seiyuus lent their talents like Saori Hayami as Kasumi, Satomi Arai as Kanade, Satomi Satou as Iz, Ayana Taketatsu as Frederica, Rina Satou as Mii, Akira Ishida as Markus, Kappei Yamaguchi as Shin and Noriaki Sugiyama as Kuromu. Unfortunately they can’t save this anime and their limited roles mean they are only limited to what they can do. The rest of the casts that I don’t recognize are Kaede Hondo as Maple (Natsuki in Val x Love), Ruriko Noguchi as Sally (Ailane in Show By Rock S2), Nanaka Suwa as Yui (Kanan in Love Live! Sunshine), Ai Kakuma as May (Julis in Gakusen Toshi Asterisk), Kensho Ono as Payne (Slaine in Aldnoah.Zero), Takumi Yamazaki as Dread (Bansai in Gintama), Nobutoshi Canna as Drag (Lancer in Fate/Stay Night) and Yuko Minaguchi as Misery (Yaone in Saiyuki series).
The opening theme is Kyuukyoku Unbalance by Junjou No Afilia. Sounds like your typical generic lively anime idol song. Sounds okay and fitting if you consider and accept the fact that Maple and her comrades are having a blast playing the game. Play The World by Rico Sasaki as the ending theme also feels like a generic anime pop that is also okay and fitting if you consider and accept the fact that Maple and her comrades are having a blast playing the game. Yeah, nothing special to me. However the one that I really like is the insert song, Good Night by Rico Sasaki. In fact this is the best thing and the only thing that I actually like and look forward to hear in this entire series. This is a very cool song with cool acoustic guitar pickings and has this tropical samba feel to it. Makes me feel like I’m relaxing on a sunshiny tropical sandy beach! Quite catchy and makes me want to get up and dance a little. Screw whatever achievements Maple Tree is doing in the montage of clips because playing this insert song during that flushes away all the disappointment. Until the song ends… Aww, can we have another go at it, please?
Overall, this series is quite a let-down and to think they can cover it all by showing us cute girls doing cute things in an overpowered way, well, they’re wrong. Being an overpowered dark horse is not a good factor to have viewers root and support the character. Even more so, other supporting characters that are just lacking and boring. This is an opposite to everything in Tate No Yuusha No Nariagari. That is why we love and support the main character of that series because of all the hardships and tribulations he went through despite the dark themes of that series. Maple had everything here so easy. Despite being lazy bugs that made her literally overpowered, it doesn’t feel that she actually earned them. But don’t hate the main character just because of the flaws in the game that made her so. Yup, don’t hate the sinner, hate the sin. Don’t hate the anime or the genre. Hate the ones who continue to make this sh*t! No matter how high your defence points are, it will never protect you from badly written animes! You’ll be likely to get hurt and disappointed, dissatisfied and disillusioned in some ways. So instead of putting all your eggs in one basket, try to spread them out more. I think that would be a safer defence tactic. Just saying… So maybe for the time being, I’ll go back to watching the dreaded isekai genre before the next season comes about… *Shrugs and roll eyes*.
Nekopara
9 May, 2020
Do you like maids? OH YES I PRETTY MUCH DO! Do you also like cats? Uhm… Me? Not so much, can we move along- And do you like cat girl maids? Uhm, well, I’m not sure… Because great news if you like that combo as Nekopara has got its own TV series finally. If the adult visual novel wasn’t enough and the family friendly OVA back in 2017 still wasn’t hell adequate, the TV series is going to satiate all your cutie feline needs. Cat lovers and maid lovers are sure going to love these cat girls. You can treat them as a pet cat and at the same time not suspiciously and illegally looking like you’re some sick pervert who owns a bunch of girls. Oh well, maybe you do look like one anyway. Hey, it’s a cat’s paradise, no?
Episode 1
They ask us if we like cute cats. If so, please visit Patisserie La Soleil. Actually, I’m more into the maids than cats… Now we see Chocola and Vanilla having trouble waking up. They shut off the alarm clock. Twice. When they finally do wake up, I guess it is by tickling each other’s stomach. Once done, they go down to help their master, Kashou Minazuki who runs the said patisserie. Kashou remembers how they were just brought in and were so small. Now they are grown up and helping him out. When Kashou first opened the patisserie, Chocola and Vanilla hid in the box so as just to be with him. Meanwhile back home, we see what the other cat girls are doing. Other than Shigure who is Kashou’s little sister, we see Azuki cooking, Coconut trying to cut the fish (yikes!), Maple taking too long in the toilet that Cinnamon can’t hold on… After breakfast, Maple and Cinnamon make their way to La Soleil to help. We hear that cat girls are not allowed outside on their own unless accompanied by their masters. Only those with a bell are allowed so. But they must take a hard test and seeing all our cat girls here have one, they must be real smart, huh? The duo arrive just in time to relief Chocola and Vanilla. Otherwise Chocola would’ve just eaten the customers’ food. Later Chocola is tasked to buy ponzu sauce. Along the way, she stumbles into a bell-less loli cat girl sitting by herself. She tries to be friendly but goes into hiding. Chocola leaves her chocolate behind and believes she’ll be out by the time she comes back. When Chocola is done shopping, she returns and still sees the chocolate treat there. She returns to La Soleil and what do you know? That loil cat girl had tailed her home.
Episode 2
Realizing this loli is masterless, Chocola tries to hide her from Kashou. If only she can stop panicking and profusely sweating. This loli’s case reminds of her of her being abandoned as a kitten. As she tries to hide her in the toilet, she is almost found out by Vanilla. During dinner, Kashou wants to go to the toilet so Chocola tries to stop him from going. Do it anywhere and she’ll clean up after him! Not going to fly! Of course that loli isn’t in the toilet. Chocola thinks she flushed herself down the toilet! Will the plunger do the trick? Oh, she’s hiding in her room now. The loli is now hungry so after Chocola gets her some dried fish, she is busted by Vanilla. Chocola then tells what happened but Vanilla doesn’t think Kashou will keep her. When all the cats helped out and La Soleil and some of them want to stay here, Kashou dismissed that idea. He already has his hands full with the shop what more the pair of Chocola and Vanilla. Vanilla realizes how cute she is and remembering her abandoned beginnings, she believes Kashou will allow her to stay. Unfortunately he disallows it. They have to make sure she is not a lost cat first. Otherwise, Chocola could be charged for kidnapping! Or rather, catnapping! But don’t fear, Kashou calls cat expert Shigure. Her life mission is to help cats 24/7/52/365. While the rest finds out about her owner, Shigure has this loli stay at her place. This loli is in a new environment and is of course shy when the other cats are interested in her. But the scariest is Shigure. She can’t stop taking pictures of this cutie. Shigure than baths the loli. Just need to get used to the water. Thankfully no loli cat rape. Though, Shigure smelling her hair could be considered borderline psycho case… Then bedtime, Shigure thought she would sleep with her but this loli prefers to sleep alone on the cushion. Chocola and Vanilla worry about the loli so they huddle and sleep closely to each other. Cat yuri time?
Episode 3
Next morning, Sugarcane (temporary name for the loli) is nowhere to be found. Then they find her sleeping in the toilet. Did Maple’s bum warm it up?! Chocola is obviously worried about Sugarcane that she’s being clumsy. And Vanilla can’t help worry about Chocola. Sugarcane spends time in Shigure’s house. She doesn’t eat in a civilized manner like the rest. No chopsticks and sitting properly for her. Eating under the table with her hands. When Maple serves her the finest English desserts and tea, Sugarcane prefers the dried fish. When Maple and Cinnamon try to play with her, Sugarcane just sits by herself. Shigure advises them that perhaps she needs more time to herself so leave her alone for now. Shigure gives her a box of old cat toys. Sugarcane picks up what used to be Chocola’s favourite toy. By evening, it seems Sugarcane is nowhere around. They look for her around the house but she is nowhere. Shigure calls La Soleil and of course since she isn’t there too, time for Chocola to press the panic button. But can she just run off like that while the shop is still in business? Don’t worry, Vanilla will cover for her. Chocola looks high and low as she worries what will become of Sugarcane. Finally she finds her at the place they first met. Glad that she is okay, so why did she run off like that? Sugarcane just wants to be with Chocola. They return to La Soleil much to everyone’s relief. Chocola then makes a request for Sugarcane to stay here and she will take all the responsibilities. Vanilla also vouches for her. With Kashou giving the green light, time for all the cats to purr with this happy new beginning. I suppose they can consider Sugarcane as masterless seeing Shigure’s search online didn’t match any lost cats.
Episode 4
Sugarcane getting attached to Chocola? Vanilla jealous? Competition to be with Chocola begins? Anyway, Sugarcane is not a nuisance at La Soleil just because she can get away with her cute antics. And all you have to do is feed her and fawn at how cute she further is. When La Soleil has no customers, Chocola and Vanilla get free time to play with her. More cute kitten antics ensue. Are you dead from kawaii overload? Finally all the cat girls leave for Shigure’s place to get their physical measurements. In their undies. Yeah… I’m sure we’re all interested in their bust size. But it goes without saying that the biggest bust goes to Cinnamon. It is also at this point the girls think up of a proper name for Sugarcane. After all the food names they come up with, they go with Cacao since that is the cake they noticed she liked most when Kashou fed her. And so it is. Cacao! Back to the bust size, our innocent Cacao starts rubbing her paws on the boobs of the girls. The one she finds most comforting is Cinnamon’s. You don’t mean the way she rubs, Cinnamon entering into some sort of orgasmic ecstasy?! Next, they have this visual speed test in which Shigure plays a fast moving picture and they have to guess what it was that zoomed by. The cats are all scared of that serum pic except for Cacao. Shigure trying to teach reality? And then there is one sentence that zoomed by that nobody could guess except for Cacao. It says how much they love Shigure. She loves it so much that she wants Cacao to say it again and again! Don’t tell me this is some sort of masturbation-cum-orgasm for her?! Then they all go to the beach to have fun and talk more about food. Don’t you make me hungry now!
Episode 5
Kashou seems down. Something is wrong. Chocola thinks it is because she has been found out. All the food she stole and the plates she broke… After a good noogie from Vanilla for this confession, Vanilla thinks the shop’s sales is going down. Because that means less food for them! Gotta go help out. That means handing out name cards of La Soleil. Since this isn’t bringing in enough customers, Maple and Cinnamon suggests doing cat photo service for those who come buy cakes. Well, it’s working. Meanwhile Cacao thinks of helping by handing out name cards. However she observes how one puts flyers in the mailboxes and this gives her the idea to do the same. She distributes them as far as she can. Then she bumps into a young girl, Chiyo. Which girl doesn’t find a cute cat girl cute? She offers to help out after offering some food. Thinking she is lost, Chiyo tries to get help but Cacao keeps going off on her own. I bet those name cards are finished otherwise Chiyo would have known she lives here instead of observingly noticed Cacao looking at a confectionary shop and rightly guessing this is where she lives. But to all the patisserie she brings her, it is not La Soleil. And they end up in the wrong part of town. Because a murder of crows starring at them. They see Chiyo’s shiny hairpin and attack! OMG! Holy sh*t! Since when did this turn into some horror movie?! Both run but hit a dead end. Chiyo thought she is done for but Cacao goes into her cat attack stance and scares away the crows. Well, that was easy. Taking a break, Chiyo tells of her own story. She used to live with a cat girl before but had to leave due to her dad transferring away for work. Not too happy about it, Chiyo ran away but got lost. Her cat girl came to find her and brought her home. It is only then Cacao introduces herself? Oh well. Most cats are always sceptical at first. Chiyo hugs her and that’s when the last name card fell out of her place. Kashou realizes what Chocola and Vanilla are doing and tells them not to do this again. This is a patisserie, okay? And he is not worried about sales but coming up with a new creation for summer. I think he’s got it now. When Azuki notes she thought she saw Cacao in the streets, better not jump to conclusions and go home and check. There she is waiting for them back home. Phew. Chiyo brought her home just in time.
Episode 6
Azuki and Coconut are fighting as usual. But this time it looks like their quarrel may be going out of hand. With no solution in sight, Shigure suggests they both fight. The duo are really egging to go. But without violence! Via sports, that is. Cat fight! Literally. So we have on Azuki’s team, Cinnamon and Vanilla while on Coconut’s team, Maple and Chocola. Sit tight as they’re going to play a few games from twister to resisting the temptation of food and even a spoon relay. But I suppose all of the cats are evenly matched and it usually ends in a draw or disqualification. Then the sports we’ve all been waiting for: Butt sumo! Oh yeah. First match: Chocola vs Cinnamon. Logically you would think Cinnamon would win since her ass is thicc. Too bad that remark itself makes Cinnamon horny and she got lost in her thought that ultimately made her lost. Second match: Coconut vs Vanilla. Naturally you would think Coconut will win this one due to her longer limbs but Vanilla’s riddle distracts her and she got ring out. Final match: Maple vs Azuki. Azuki thought of doing some Jack Dempsey boxing style technique (complete with that fake Rocky BGM to boot) but she went too far and got ring out the same way Coconut did. At the end of the day, Azuki and Coconut are still at each other and the heat isn’t settling down. Hence Shigure suggests the final match: A huge obstacle course. Is this American Ninja Warrior, cat version? Both are neck to neck. As Azuki is in the lead, Coconut thinks of taking a short cut. She manages to leap further but loses her footing. Hey, I thought cats don’t need to worry about falling and can land on their feet?! Anyway, Azuki grabs her hand and pulls her up. They reach the top as they reminiscence of their younger days. Still lots of fighting but it is often because they care a lot for each other. And hence they decide to call this a tie. Oh well, time to go home and eat. Cats have it so easy… Azuki and Coconut continue their friendly animosity. Another normal day for them.
Episode 7
A storm is brewing and the cat girls are gathered together. Too bad Kashou is away on a trip but thanks to the intensity of the storm, the train also stops dead in its tracks. Shigure is supposed to join the cat girls but the traffic jam has her stuck in town. Hence our cat girls will be home alone. Oh my. What are they going to do? Suddenly the power goes out. Perfect time for Vanilla to tell a ghost story! Good thing nobody gets scared (except maybe for Maple, just barely hiding her fear). But Vanilla manages to almost pull off a scary prank with a makeup that makes her look like she has no face! The lights come back on so Vanilla has to cut short her 100 ghost stories! She really planning on summoning one?! Chocola then continues telling a happy story. But it’s boring because nothing much happens. Everybody just happy. Thus everybody takes turns to tell their own stories which is of course a twisted mix of classic Japanese tales and folklores. Vanilla trying to hijack and insert her ghost in somewhere… Of course if local folklores aren’t enough, we go international like Aladdin, Gulliver’s Travel, that little match girl and even Snow White. The power gets cut again and they heard footsteps. They thought it is Vanilla trying to prank them again but she’s right here with them. Oh sh*t. Time to be really afraid. Then a ghost girl opens the door! Cats scared out of their daylights! Turns out to be Shigure all drenched. She couldn’t wait and decided to return home via foot. I hope Shigure didn’t start thinking she killed her cats!
Episode 8
It’s morning. Azuki and Coconuts arguing. That’s normal. You know what’s not normal? Shigure spacing out. Hmm… Strange… When she cooks breakfast, she burns her food and puts too much salt. Is she trying to poison the cat girls?! Even while doing house chores, she’s still spacing out! She’s not even responding! They even make high quality food for her but she’s not hungry. Oh well, what a waste not to eat them so… They start thinking that Kashou may be ignoring her and hence she is depressed. So the best way to help cheer her up is to put her in a maid outfit and work at La Soleil? Worst, she’s clumsier than Chocola and it still doesn’t help. At their wit’s end, they have to rope in Kashou himself to help out. He talks to her and it seems Shigure finds it hard to explain this gloomy feeling inside her. Though, she doesn’t blame him or anybody else. After all, her only wish is to see him succeed ever since he moved out of their home. So could this be actually it? She claims she feels better and leaves. The cat girls suspect it is too good to be true and tail her. True enough, this is not the way home. Where is she going? Finally it leads them to a cliff by the sea. Oh dear. Is she going to commit suicide and jump off because of her unrequited love?! Wow. TV drama can teach you a lot. So the cat girls call out to her and eventually spew out all the lovely things they did together. In short, they love her. Then Shigure starts laughing like a maniac. Did that break her further? She loves this too and starts twirling. Enough for everybody to fall off the cliff. I don’t know how they get out of that and return home okay but whatever. Shigure now knows the root of her depression. She was cat deprived because of the heat. You see, during the winter, the cats all gathered and slept with her. With the summer here, the cats slept in other cooler places. Lonely Shigure had no cute cats to fill up her heart and it dried out. WTF… She thanks them for their concern and explains this cliff is where she goes to sort out her thoughts. With everything settled, the cats returned to sleeping with Shigure. Sweet dreams are back…
Episode 9
Flashback shows Cinnamon was a lonely cat. Not until Maple became her friends. Kashou and the cat girls are at the amusement park. Great way to spend their day off. Then there is this live sentai show going on. Cinnamon eagerly volunteers to be the hostage. When the host calls for a singer to sing and save the day, nobody volunteers. Cinnamon then hints Maple to do so. And when she won’t do it, she ‘threatens’ to reveal that embarrassing secret of wetting herself in the haunted house! Oh my. Did Cinnamon turn into a villain?! No choice, Maple does so and astounds the crowd with her singing. The day is saved. After work, Cinnamon notices Maple going somewhere herself. So she tails her friend to what seems to be a shady part of town. Fearing that she would doing some sort of adult stuff, thank goodness she is just working part time at a music store. Talking to Kashou and Shigure about this, it seems Maple’s dream is to become a singer. A step to realizing it is to play a musical instrument. Kashou could give her the money to buy a guitar but Maple insists she has to do this by herself or there would be no meaning. And conveniently, Kashou shows a poster of a singing contest in which the first prize is a white guitar! We see the rest help Maple train hard for this day (fake epic Rocky theme song here). We see the crowded concert hall for this contest. And you thought they could’ve offered a better prize than a guitar! Come on, organizers!!! Cinnamon senses something wrong and goes to look for Maple. Nowhere to be found. Then she finds her exiting the place. I guess she got cold feet. She is scared of embarrassing herself in front of so many people. Time for a reminder slap to come back to her senses. Now it’s Cinnamon’s turn to tell her why she shouldn’t run away (tears must have a lot of dramatic effect too) and the obligatory flashback of how Maple often helped her during their younger years. Uh huh. Remember when Cinnamon said she wanted to help you next time when you’re in trouble? Yup. Now is about the time. So thank goodness for the power of friendship because Maple gets back in time on stage to sing. And wins it!!! OMFG! So convenient. Back home, everyone wants to hear her play a song. You mean she can play this good???!!! OMFG. Plot convenience so convenient. Though, I still can’t believe the ultimate prize for that nice looking grand competition was a cheap looking guitar…
Episode 10
Remember the bell that allows cat girls to walk freely outside in society without a human company? Looks like Chocola and Vanilla’s are up for renewal. Don’t you panic now, Chocola… Cacao wants to get one too but she is deemed too young and will have to wait till she is older. Hence Chocola and Vanilla plead to the other cat girls to help train them. But at first it looks like they’re just doing their household chores… They are! Once busted, they get on to the real training. So we see the other cat girls teaching them the secrets on how to integrate with society and its rules. Pretty simple, right? Just don’t give into your cat instincts… Easier said than done. We wonder if the duo can learn properly because I think if those other cat girls also took the renewal test, they would fail right away! Yeah, they have to brave the feared vaccination one too. Don’t back out now! And so the renewal day is here and the duo go in with confidence armed with all the knowledge they have learnt. And the results? They passed of course. Shigure takes them to town to celebrate their renewal. From praying at the shrine to buying souvenirs (can they carry all that load home?) and visiting various cafes (man, do cats eat that much?). Let’s hope they don’t resort back to bad cat manners after getting their bell renewed. We are a civilized (and moe) country!
Episode 11
Cacao gets permission to stay overnight at Chiyo’s place. So Chocola and Vanilla pack her bags like as though she’s going to be gone for a year. Necessary supplies, eh? Yeah, too heavy for the kitten to carry! So eventually she brings nothing as Shigure accompanies her to Chiyo’s place. So while we see Cacao having fun at Chiyo’s home, Chocola and Vanilla are having Cacao withdrawal symptoms. It’s so obvious. They forget that she’s not around and instinctively act that she’s still here. This is only half a day and we’re worried if they can even make it the entire day through. I suppose they’ve forgotten what life’s like before Cacao came not too long ago, huh? But hey, at least Vanilla has Chocola all to herself during bedtime. The next day when Cacao returns, the first thing she does isn’t to give her onee-sama a hug. Instead, she runs back to her room and hides in the box! Damn. Attempts to get her out, she just shoos them away. Azuki thinks she is in a rebellious phase as Coconuts has gone through this before. In fear that Cacao has forgotten them after 1 night, Chocola and Vanilla devise a plan to smoke her out. I don’t think they took this literally because they are doing open burning of the saury in the room. OPEN BURNING! Thank goodness no cats were suffocated to death. Then they hope Maple’s singing would lure her out but apparently Cacao just comes out to tell them to pipe down before going back. Ouch. What about feeding her the food she loves most that she never misses? She gulps the whole thing down and just returns the bowl. Desperate times means desperate measures. So before the duo can force their way in, Cacao pops out. So what gives? Apparently she wrote a thank you letter to the duo, expressing her heartfelt gratitude of all the times spent together. How cute. And there’s a cute (hideous) picture of them she drew to go along with! She says she likes them and hopes can be together forever. Aww! So sweet. Time for a big emotional group hug! Come here you little kitty.
Episode 12
Did they run out of ideas? Because physical measurements again part 2. Aside from Cinnamon’s boobs growing again and Azuki not growing still, Cacao has grown a bit and at this rate she could be taller than Azuki. Cue for Coconut and Azuki to get it on with today’s quarrel… Then it’s that same eyesight speed test to trap the cat girls into saying they love Shigure… Yeah… Because they will soon be visiting the beach, Shigure takes the cat girls to shop for some swimsuits. Cacao is the model in focus as there are hits and misses on how the swimsuits she wears. Eventually everyone has their pick and Shigure gladly spurges on them because, well, she’s going to get the payback in terms of lots of cute photos… Chocola is probably excited for the beach so she jumps the gun by blowing up Cacao’s inflatable float back home and tires herself out. At least Cacao gets a bolster for tonight. And now for the fun at the beach. Cat girls in beachwear. Meow! I thought cats hate water… Oh, none of them took it to the sea. Anyway, the watermelon smashing event, Cacao seems to target Cinnamon. Yup, she got the real melons! HAHAHA!!! Time for some drama because Cacao is then missing. They soon realize she has drifted out to sea on her float. Who gonna save her? A young girl dives in to secure Cacao. Where’s the freaking lifeguard when you need one?! Grateful for her, they insist on repaying her so she has them come to her family beach house and are treated with some cooking. Because Maple and Cinnamon’s duet is attracting more customers, soon the cat girls and their masters find themselves helping out. It’s getting busy and the queue getting longer. Yeah, La Soleil experience comes in handy, eh? At the end of the day, the family is grateful but worry if they would ever experience another brisk business again. Don’t worry. Shigure has an answer. Next day, we see some cat girls advertising the beach house on TV. Shigure has introduced to them some cat girls who were looking for a home. Life is good with cats, right? I guess dog lovers don’t exist in this anime…
Kawaii Neko Overrun: Caution, Cats At Play!
Wow. Everybody so happy. I guess life is indeed good with cats. Because I’m assuming those kind of cats with serious behavioural problem do not truly exist in this anime. Like you know, pushing things off the edge just for the fun of it and to piss off their masters? Heh. Not to mention scratching the curtains and sofa cushions just to sharpen their claws? No? Oh yeah. So good to be masters of these cat girls in this anime. Cute and obedient. And they also serve you at the café. Life indeed is so good with cats. So why aren’t we getting another season of this catty goodness?
There is really nothing special about the series at all. Not even an actual plot to begin with. Every episode feels like a standalone filler as we see about the cat girls going about in their daily lives. That is about it. I suppose only Nekopara fans can appreciate and love the TV series. Since there are a lot of cute cat girl stuffs going on in between so if you are the kind of would be impressed with whatever cats do are cute, I’m sure you’re going to love these cat girls doing whatever they’re doing because a big majority of the time, their talking and actions are just so darn adorable. Yeah. Cat girls can do no wrong, right? Otherwise it is just plain boring. Good news. No doubt it was boring for my standards, I didn’t fall asleep! So not that bad, huh?
There is nothing much for me to say about the characters seeing once you get to know them, they pretty much stay the same way as they are throughout the series. Chocola and Vanilla re the poster cat girl of the series so it is only right that they occupy a big chunk of the spotlight. Their overwhelming adorableness means it helps pretty cover up their retard. Uh huh. That is what I actually feel about their characters. Chocola being the cheerful and energetic cat girl who acts before she thinks while Vanilla is more taciturn and does not express her emotions much. Obviously Chocola being Chocola, she is more retarded than Vanilla because of her genki outlook. Sometimes Vanilla has to play the straight man (or cat?) for her but Vanilla isn’t immune to being a retard herself with some minor slip ups from time to time. Hate me all you want Nekopara lovers, but that doesn’t mean I despise them because thanks to them being so kawaii, I’m also giving them a free pass to continue doing all their silliness. Carry on being cat girls.
The rest of the other cats add some variety to the already bloated cat family because it is more fun if we have different types of cats, no? Do cats really have partners? Because I thought they usually go it alone. So it is obvious we can see the pairings of Chocola-Vanilla, Maple-Cinnamon as well as Azuki-Coconut. Oh well, best friends keep each other company. We got polar opposites in Azuki and Coconut since it is like their role to just argue with each other whenever they have the chance. Azuki being the shortest and a tsundere while Coconut being the tallest and the coolest (as well as the most mature feminine body). You can’t get anything more interesting than that, can we? Then we have the mature Maple who basically feels like an oujo-sama and the very curious Cinnamon. In the sense that she often gets turned on by the slightest and misinterprets everything in a sexual manner. Is that why she is the only one who wears gloves? Because anything she touches might turn her on? I know the adult visual novel had some erotic elements but the TV series is supposed to be family friendly! Maybe that’s the safest they can do for her without changing the basics of her character. After all, she’s got the biggest bust among the cat girls. If that doesn’t turn you on, her sexual innuendoes might! Beware Cinnamon. It’s like she is eternity in heat… All in all, they too have their weird personalities that make them retards in their own way. Heh.
Finally adding Cacao to the mix doesn’t feel like anything exciting. Just another cat girl for me. Loli version. After all, Cacao is an anime exclusive character and doesn’t appear in the original works. So I guess this is our motivation to watch the TV series? Same taciturn emotionless poker face like Vanilla. Loli version. Do we need overlapping characters? The only 2 main human characters in the series, Kashou and Shigure, I suppose they love cat girls a lot and have the capacity (physically and financially) to support them all. I didn’t play the game or watch the OVA so I’m not sure if their origins are really explained. If they just pick cat girls in the streets out of pity, who knows how many more they’ll pick up in the same way and in no time their household will be some sort of cat girl sanctuary. Better keep working hard as a patissiere. While Kashou looks like your normal responsible big brother, Shigure looks like she has a lot of free time on her hands. She dresses very nicely in a kimono and is a so called cat expert. I don’t know what else she does besides that. If not for the fact the cat girls belong to them, she can be deemed a creepy crazy stalker, the way she obsesses over the cat girls, taking photos like a maniac and such. I read she is supposed to have some brother complex over Kashou (to a point of incestuous feelings) but here she is toned down and is shown her obsession over the cat girls instead.
Because of all the pretty mundane story and characters, my mind drifted and started to think about unnecessary things. Like how the heck do these cat girls really work in this world? I mean, how the heck were they born and what are their roles in society? Because from as far as I can see, they are treated like second class citizens. Heck, in our sorry cases of our cat girls here, they were once abandoned by the roadside and only the kind soul known as Kashou picked them up. They aren’t the smartest creatures around and my guess is that their intellect doesn’t match up to the humans (though thankfully they are pretty much law abiding). That’s why they have this bell and whatever licence so as they could go outside by themselves without their human master. So what happens if they don’t? Will they start killing people? Like in the case of Cacao, how the heck was she in that situation in the first place when Chocola found her? Don’t care. Overwhelming cuteness covers everything.
And these cat girls are most probably not the same species as humans. They just look like cute girls and display some cute cat traits. Like as though they are ordinary human girls cosplaying to the extreme as cats. So what I’m saying is there room for interspecies sexual relations?! Hah. Maybe the adult visual novel have addressed this. A child born out of a cat girl and a human. Totally weird and unsettling. But I’m wondering if there are any illegal cat girl trafficking syndicate because at the same time they look pretty rare. I don’t see other cat girls in town other than those who stay at Kashou’s place. Heck, does this world even have real cats?! Yeah, it would be pretty weird to have both kinds of felines existing here. Real cat vs cat girl… Who would win?! Also, aren’t there other species like dog girls or bird girls or hamster girls or rabbit girls? No? Oh well. Cat girls only then. At least the cat girls still look hot and sexy in their undies. There’s your minimal fanservice if this adaptation has taken away your favourite erotic elements from the game.
And the other mind boggling and ironic part is how cat girls want the company and love of their master. Uhm, aren’t cats selfish creatures? Because might as well have been dog girls but I guess the creators love cats. So anyway, the cats craving for attention and for most of the time abiding the human laws, that isn’t so very cat-like, isn’t it? Like as though these cat girls are girls with some mental issues and think they are cats. Yes, cats want attention too. But not the kind of this level like we see here. Weird.
Art and animation lean towards the moe and cute expect. Everything so colourful and kawaii, it makes you want to own a cat girl. Though, the hue and colouring is a bit light. Well, the maid outfits at La Soleil are just pretty passable. Besides, the cats don’t spend their entire time at La Soleil and it is only when they are working there that they don the outfit. So I guess my maid outfit taste has got pretty high standards, huh? Oh well. Can’t get enough of your kawaii neko onna fix? At the end of every episode, different illustrations from different illustrators to brighten up your day. This anime is done by Felix Film who only so far has done the Nekopara franchise and nothing else.
For the voice acting, I thought Tetsuya Kakihara was behind Kashou’s voice. However he sounded too gay to be him. It wasn’t him. It was Shinnosuke Tachibana (Tomoe in Kamisama Hajimemashita). Yeah, sorry. But I still find his character to sound so gay. As for the other characters, those who lent their voices in the OVA were totally revamped and given new seiyuus to helm the roles. Now it is Yuki Yagi as Chocola (Hanako in Hataage! Kemono Michi), Iori Saeki as Vanilla (Tanpopo in Ore Wo Suki Nano Wa Omae Dake Ka Yo), Miku Itou as Maple (Miku in Gotoubun No Hanayome), Yuri Noguchi as Cinnamon (Goe in Release The Spyce), Shiori Izawa as Azuki (Tanpopo in Witch Craft Works), Marin Mizutani as Coconut (Misaki in Boku No Kanojo Ga Majimesugiru Sho-bitch Na Ken) and Mao Ichimichi as Shigure (Bada in ClassicaLoid). Yuuka Morishima as Cacao (Gripen in Girly Air Force) and Kaede Hondo as Chiyo (titular character in Tejina-senpai) are the only newcomers.
A lot more moe and kawaii cuteness because that is what the opening theme is filled with. Hearing Shiny Happy Days by those cat girl sextet definitely oozes with all the moe and kawaii factor that this anime is abundant with. The ending theme is Hidamari No Kaori and is sung by the duet of Chocola and Vanilla. It is a slow piece and it sounds a lot like a song you play on your graduation day in school. There is also a Cacao version of it and of course it sounds a lot cuter, though a bit bland because we all know how Cacao sounds like, right? A special ending for episode 9, Honto No Kokoro by Maple takes away all that cuteness and sounds more like anime pop with the acoustic guitar strumming pretty obvious in the background. There a couple of easy-going BGMs as well. While not exactly catchy to warrant me to want to hear them over and over again but they’re cute and fun to listen to since they often spam these few. At least, they got stuck in my head for a few days…
Overall, if your weakness are cute stuffs, you might want to stay away from this because all the moe and kawaii elements will suffocate you to death rather than the plain boring story which amounts to nothing in particular. Otherwise it is a pretty much calming and relaxing series of watching this is what it is like if cats were anthropomorphized as humans. In other words, boring. Also, the lack of any sexual content means puritan fans of the series might be furious that their cat girls are downgraded this way. Yeah, what good is it to own a litter of cat girls and not do anything ecchi to them! Atrocious! I guess such erotic content has to be cut out or toned down if you want your anime to be family friendly. Not sure if the producers are trying to bait and lure unsuspecting people to go buy the erotic game itself… Beware, though. This TV series might look like it’s okay but it could be in fact a dead cat bounce… When cat paradise become cat hell… Please, the cat girls deserve better than this. Otherwise we’d go back to watching more cute cat videos on YouTube! Cat-ch you later!
Anime Spinoffs
8 May, 2020
Sometimes we rejoice when a series has a sequel announced. Sometimes it catches us by surprise because we didn’t expect it to have one. Or at least it catches me by surprise since I don’t follow anime news 24/7. Heh. But anyway, sometimes when the sequel comes out, it isn’t what we were totally expecting. Sometimes it deviates a little and sometimes it strays too much that it could be an entirely new anime by itself. And so today’s blog will be about anime series that have sequel spinoff that is somewhat yuri or shoujo ai. Didn’t see that one coming, did you?
Anime: Soul Eater.
Yuri sequel spinoff: Soul Eater NOT!
Yuri sorority: Tsugumi Harudori, Meme Tatane and Anya Hepburn.
Thoughts: An epic action adventure comedy series about a group of students trying to create the greatest scythe for Shinigami is long over. And then surprise! Another group of students trying to control their powers for daily life. Like… What happened?!
Anime: Luck & Logic.
Yuri sequel spinoff: Hina Logi – From Luck & Logic.
Yuri sorority: Liones “Lion” Yelistratova, Nina Alexandrovna and Mahiro Kyoubashi.
Thoughts: The original Luck & Logic was too confusing like simpletons for me to understand a damn thing. And then suddenly… Yuri spinoff because the threat of Foreigners has already been dealt with. Now we have cute girls attending school to be trained as future Logicalists just in case. But in the meantime… What else to do in such peaceful times?
Anime: Hidan No Aria.
Yuri sequel spinoff: Hidan No Aria AA.
Yuri sorority: Akari Mamiya, Shino Sasaki and Urara Takachiho.
Thoughts: If Kinji’s weird sexual condition is too weird for you to handle, furthermore you don’t like him trying it out on Aria, here’s your lesbian fix that yuri-fies everything. Girls with weird yuri fetish are much better than guy with some strange sexual condition, right?
Anime: Fate/Stay Night.
Yuri sequel spinoff: Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Ilya.
Yuri sorority: Illyasviel “Ilya” Von Einzbern, Miyu Edelfelt and Chloe.
Thoughts: How dare they kill off a cute Russian loli in the original Fate series?! Hence, to do justice for her character, hence this magical girl-cum-loli yuri spinoff that makes everything oh so cute. Justice is served? I supposed so. It lasted for 3 seasons and had a movie after that…
Anime: Shingeki No Bahamut.
Yuri sequel spinoff: Manaria Friends.
Yuri sorority: Anne and Grea.
Thoughts: The substantially most dissimilar spinoff ever that has no relation to each other. The original had Gods, demons and dragons in some epic fight between Heaven and Earth and then suddenly… Peaceful times in an academy far, far away. Would not even noticed they would be in the same universe had I not read about it prior to it.
Anime: To Aru Majutsu No Index.
Yuri sequel spinoff: To Aru Kagaku No Railgun.
Yuri sorority: Mikoto Misaka, Kuroko Shirai, Ruiko Saten and Uiharu Kazari.
Thoughts: This was a hard one for me to decide but what the heck! A certain tsundere biri-biri needs more screen time! Yuri level less obvious than the rest on this list because of all the sci-fi drama and shenanigans happening. Otherwise Shirai would have been annoyingly spamming her onee-sama 24/7 and Saten doing more of her yuri pranks on Uiharu.
Anime: Kiddy Grade.
Yuri sequel spinoff: Kiddy Girl –and.
Yuri sorority: Ascoeur, Q-feuille and Di-air.
Thoughts: I didn’t see the original Kiddy Grade so I can’t tell how yuri the original pair was. But my guts tell me this is more yuri thanks to the numerous kissing between the girls. It’s an excuse to give us such yuri scenes in the guise of some power transferring partner resonating thingy whatever.
Because Men Aren’t Just Good Enough…
Apologies if my list isn’t really complete with some omission or if some of that data are inaccurate (blame hazy memories for putting it down wrongly). This list isn’t meant to be exhaustive as there are perhaps a number of yuri sequel spinoffs out there that I didn’t watch simply because I’m not a hardcore yuri fan so I didn’t really pick it up and put it on my watch list. While some in my current list are debatable in terms of the yuri level, some of them I didn’t put down because I was really unsure. For example, is Mai Otome more yuri than Mai-HiME? I didn’t see the former so I can’t judge. That series does have some yuri among some of its female characters but not all of them. I also excluded Usakame because I can only see wackiness for this Teekyuu spinoff instead of yuri tropes. Tantai Opera Milky Holmes have bungling loli detectives so when the more competent pair in Futari Wa Milky Holmes came about, I didn’t feel anything yuri about this pair. Same thing about the Love Live! series and its sequel spinoff, Love Live! Sunshine. Despite the all-girls idol group, it is still hard to consider if the supposedly close knit team members can constitute to yuri. Yeah, there are online debates and discussions about this too. Otome Wa Boku Ni Koi Shiteru: Futari No Elder, the spinoff for Otome Wa Boku Ni Koi Shiteru was also a no go since it is a guy dressing up as a girl and other girls think this he is a she. Saki: Achiga Hen isn’t technically a series I consider a spinoff because they are in the same story setting of Saki. Eventually both sides of the story will meet. To put it shortly overall, as long as men don’t buck up, the ladies will only turn to each other for romance, pleasure, etc. Hmm… I think we guys don’t mind seeing all that girly girl on girl action too.
Darwin’s Game
3 May, 2020
Finally! A survival game that has actually some people die!!!!! Heh. Forgive me if that sounded very cruel but that’s only because I was tricked, trolled and frustrated by the previous survival game anime, Nakanohito Genome [Jikkyouchuu]. Yup. Nobody died in that one and everybody was like happy-happy helping each other to solve puzzles to go onto the next stage. Yeah, that was a bummer. Enough to make me forget that there were so many survival animes in the past that actually had characters dying. Ousama Game, Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku, Juuni Taisen, Btooom and Gantz to name a few. So with a name like Darwin’s Game, I wasn’t putting my hopes up to it until a few episodes in, I realized that death really do happen here. Yay! My bloodthirsty darkness has been satiated! And just like the name suggests, it is a mobile app game in which people kill each other for whatever (and no, it doesn’t take place in a capital city of an Australian state!). Uh huh. The handphones that we are so dependent on nowadays are taking a step further. Instead of just watching ultimate big army fails and future Darwin award recipients on YouTube, let those dumb enough to play, fight and kill each other to the death! That’s the real value of entertainment, my friend!
Episode 1
In this hour-long special, Hamada is out of options. He is running for his life. His only hope left is to call for his friend, Kaname Sudou and hopes he will come in time. Unfortunately time runs out for him as he gets killed. In school, Kaname is looking at the recent news of pixelated body outlines littered throughout the street. Is this some sort of new graffiti? Hiroyuki Kyouda then comes in and is worried about Hamada absent. Kaname didn’t think much about it but shows him an app called Darwin’s Game that Hamada sent to him last night. Before Kyouda could warn him not to launch the app, Kaname’s finger is faster. A snake pops out and bites his neck. Kaname passes out but when he wakes up, he is in the infirmary and feels fine. Though, he wants to go home. Kyouda will talk to him later about this game at home. On his way home, Kaname launches the app again and is puzzled of his avatar and other details. Then the game starts. Kaname vs Banda. This local baseball panda mascot? Well, he is sitting right in front of you now. Banda approaches him and tries to kill him. Kaname runs for his life. He tries to get help from the police but Banda kills the officer! Lucky for Kaname, Kyouda is here to shoot his crossbows into Banda. But Banda uses his Sigil which is invisibility. Which is easily detected by Kyouda’s Sigil, infrared visions. Both wound each other as Kaname takes Kyouda to run and hide. But due to a search app, Banda is able to look for them (although not pinpointing their exact location). Kaname wants to call for help but nothing connects and a girl named Shuka Karino that she might help. Kyouda tells Kaname to run and leave him behind since he is targeted and hence Kyouda can’t be detected. Also, he needs to survive until the time limit is over to win. Kaname does so and will come back for him when this game ends. Kaname taunts Banda and fights him. The surprise attack worked at first but how can you kill someone who is invisible? Thankfully a car bangs into him. Oh sh*t! With time is up, Banda loses since he receives more damage. It is then his body starts disappearing in chunks of blocks, leaving behind a pixelated body outline. When Kaname returns to Kyouda, he is saddened he is already dead. Yup, that pixelated body outline. Kyouda left him a final message to survive. Thanks to his first win, he ranks up and receives a mysterious box delivered to his home. A gun. Wow… Is this game great or what?
Kaname needs to find out more about this game so he agrees to meet up with Shuka at the factory area. He asks how to quit but she already told him then you can’t. The only way is death. She will cooperate with him if he tells her his Sigil. Unfortunately he doesn’t know what that means. It should be something natural but he still doesn’t get it. Even his profile status listed it as error. She wants him to show his bag because if it contains weapons, the deal is off. While Kaname is glad he left the gun back home, inside the bag contains other survival weapons. His hesitant has Shuka irked. She calls off the deal and will kill him. Battle start. Kaname blinds her temporarily with his flashlight to run. But apparently she has control of the lights in the factory and has locked all exits. He runs for his life from her snake-like chain as he laments about this Sigil thingy. As he won’t give up and wishes for a weapon, now a gun materializes in his hand. This allows him to give him some breathing space. He then thinks of how this could be his Sigil and recalls the process of doing this. Shuka returns to hunt him but this time she gets fooled by his decoy. The gun shoots out the electric box and takes out all the lights. Because Kaname’s eyes have been adjusted to the darkness, he barges towards her until he pins her down and materializing another gun to checkmate her. She warns him to kill when he has the chance but he is adamant he has his own way in dealing things. She is now convinced he doesn’t know anything about this game. She cancels the game by admitting surrender. This means surrendering her points to her as well as her obedience. Kaname is so relieved they both get to live that he collapses on her. Just like that? Maybe she took it the wrong way because when he wakes up, he is sleeping in her bed. Naked. She is also naked and all over him. What’s this request? She wants to make a family with him???!!! Is this part of the game?! Since when Darwin’s Game is some dating sim too?!
Episode 2
Shuka has a reason why she sleeps without clothes. Whatever. Thanks for the fanservice. Oh, that family thing? It’s like making a clan. A guild. A team. Hey, don’t blame us for thinking otherwise if she had better chosen her words! Shuka further explains some of the rules that one can avoid being challenge by taking their name off the list by paying points. However this does not exclude a direct confrontation when a challenger does so before the player. Kaname agrees to take up her offer to form a clan. However because of his low rank, he can’t. So why doesn’t Shuka just invite him straight? She wants a man to do the invitation. Sheesh. Work hard and rank up… Since there is going to be a treasure hunting game soon, Shuka has Kaname take her out shopping. Women need to buy clothes and more clothes, you know. Also she explains further players of Darwin’s Game cannot disclose this publically to outsiders. Violation of such rules means ‘ejection’ from the game. You know what that means, right? Meanwhile, Inukai buys info from Rein Kashiwagi about Kaname. He wants to get to him before others. So while Kaname waits for Shuka to finish her shopping spree, Inukai steals his handphone so that they could go talk. Inukai is interested in him because he ‘defeated’ Shuka who is known as the Undefeated Queen. She got to the top A Class without a single loss. So when she lost to him, he wants to ascertain this himself. Inukai instantly challenges him. Promising he won’t use his Sigil, his close quarter combat skills are still enough to take Kaname down. Over already? Meanwhile Shuka gets a call from Rein regarding some player she is searching for. Not much but at least Danjo’s Boxing Club has nothing to do with it. As for Eighth, their leader Wang seems to kill everybody he challenged. Oh, there’s something on Kaname too… Inukai is starting to get disappointed but Kaname fights back and uses his distraction to steal his handphone. The tables are turned. With Shuka coming to aid him, Inukai is forced to surrender. At this point, the treasure hunting game is about to begin. Everyone is teleported randomly throughout Shibuya. The goal is to collect 3 rings. Of course there isn’t enough rings. Those who failed within the allotted time will be game over. Yup, a scramble for survival. Wang likes this and thinks this is up his alley. A girl thinks she can take him out but unfortunately Wang uses his Sigil and before she knows it, she’s dead. One player out. 299 more to go.
Episode 3
More rules are explained that one cannot go out of bounds or it’s game over. One can also use the alternative camera to find the rings although it doesn’t pinpoint its exact location. Kaname is in a hotel room. He finds a ring nearby and the moment he steps out, damn, lots of body art everywhere! Must be his worst day since he encounters this death Nazi guy. This guy got a machine gun! He tries to run but the stairs exits are all covered with plants. I don’t think slamming on the elevator button will make the lift come faster. Confronted by that death Nazi guy, Kaname will give his ring in exchange for his life. However, Kaname is holding a gun and death Nazi guy is still wary. Luckily, his machine gun jams. Kaname points his gun but he is too shaky to pull the trigger. Death Nazi guy finds this match boring and lets him live as he enters the elevator. As Kaname rues this pathetic loss, he is about to take the elevator down when Rein advises him not to. Death Nazi guy is dead with plants all over him. Rein deduces that somebody’s Sigil of producing plants has locked all the players in this hotel. She suggests teaming up to survive. Meanwhile this game is being watched by wealthy influential people. We see Shuka in the lead with 6 rings and Wang right behind her with 5 although his clan has amassed 18 of them. Kaname is cautious about Rein but after she lets him know all the info she knows about him and his winning streak, Kaname feels his last one was pathetic. Rein explains in a battle royale, individual matches don’t count and points of dead players are distributed to survivors. Kaname agrees to team up since both of them have the same strategy of running away. Besides, Rein doesn’t find running away anything shameful. In fact, in this game it is considered artistic and creative. That’s why when a challenged player survives by doing so, he/she is ruled the winner. This is how Rein has been surviving. While Kaname notes his luck has got him this far, Rein points out that it is rather because he never gave up. Their plan is to make their way to the top. As they see more dead bodies, they realize the ones in the elevator didn’t turn into pixelated body outlines. Could it be that the perpetrator only known as the Florist has drugged them under his control? Better run because here they come. Even if they don’t have rings, how does he know where they are? The surveillance cameras. They realize he is in the control room. Are they going to shoot out all the surveillance cameras?
Episode 4
Florist uses some tactic to search door to door on each floor to find them. But some rooms are auto lock and the duo are hiding in one of them. Of course they can’t rely on this trick as Florist will soon realize this. True enough, Florist senses something amiss. He then narrows down where they are hiding from the surveillance cameras they shot out. His zombies barge into the room but nobody is there. A loud explosion is heard. Rein trying to bomb to plants blocking the path but it didn’t work. The next step is a gamble as she runs to the top of the hotel with the zombies chasing her. Man, she can outrun the zombies? Anyway, at the top floor, they start shooting but how can they all miss? We hear her narrate her Sigil. Like that Laplace demon, she has the ability to infinitely process all data from every movements of every miniscule atoms. Florist then realizes something else amiss. Where is Kaname? A loud explosion is heard outside the control room. Kaname using Rein as a diversion has climbed down outside the window to the ground floor where Florist is. Florist comes out of his hiding. He claims he is playing this game for money. He needs the money. Because when someone dies, it helps someone else. Kaname doesn’t like this BS and fights him but his plant armour is hard to penetrate. Also, Florist has seen through Kaname’s Sigil. Although he can replicate any weapons he has seen, it is not unlimited as the more he replicates, the more it takes a toll on his health. Kaname gives all he has got but to no avail. Almost passing out, he hears the soothing sound of a blacksmith forging a sword. Don’t really understand the advice gave Kaname but it made him realize he needs to make adjustments to his machine gun weapon. So in order to make harder bullets, he shortens the lifespan of the machine gun. This time the bullets penetrate Florist’s armour. Florist admits his defeat and wants to die but Kaname won’t allow that. With Rein joining them, he asks Florist AKA Ichiro Hiiragi how many rings there are in this hotel. As she can tell, this treasure hunt is about to end and the strong players will be facing each other off. As Eighth is currently the most powerful clan, they need to form a ragtag clan to fight them. People like them are already exhausted so they have no chance of fighting them on their own. So either they survive by cooperating together or die separately.
Episode 4.5
Seriously?! Really?! REALLY???!!! REEEAAAAAALLLLYYYYYYY??????!!!!!! A RECAP EPISODE????!!!!! This show is going to be the first of the season to get a Darwin award…
Episode 5
Shuka is bored at killing camping snipers so she heads down to the subway. Isn’t that more dangerous? Kaname makes a deal with that death Nazi guy to set him free if he promises not to attack them. He even invites him to join their team but he disagrees because he doesn’t want to team up with Hiiragi who brainwashed him. As he leaves, he heard them formulating a plan to counter Eighth. That is when he changes his mind and wants to join. He’s got a bone to pick with them. Unmasking himself, he introduces himself as Ryuuji Maesaka. They discuss about the oddly valued gems (because some valuable ones seem to rank lower than those that aren’t) and the very vague rules. Meanwhile Shuka faces off with a psychotic kid, Souta. She thought his Sigil is only water but he can also freeze it into ice and this traps her weapons. She thought of running away but he sealed up the place and flooded it. Shuka going to drown? So when Kaname who is waiting for Shuka to rendezvous with them, receives a help message from her, he thought it was a joke. But he soon realizes it can’t be so he decides to go save her. Can’t leave a comrade behind. Ryuuji will also follow him while the rest stay back to hold the hotel as a fort in anticipation of Eighth’s attack. Ryuuji learns Kaname’s Sigil to create things but only simple and small ones. Ryuuji would love to trade his Sigil with his because he finds his own Sigil to detect truth or lie to be useless. The duo then encounter a young girl, Sui. Ryuuji’s Sigil comes in handy as he could tell she isn’t lying that she doesn’t want to fight. She tries to warn them about the subway but Kaname still wants to dive in and swim? Plus, so heroic this guy that he wants Ryuuji to return to the hotel if he isn’t back in 5 minutes and give his rings to Sui. Wow. After he dives in, Ryuuji notes Sui lied on one part and wants her to tell the truth. But she uses her Sigil to distract him and run. Ryuuji can’t kill her since killing kids are bad. Besides, he needs to extract info and so he goes after her.
Episode 6
Souta is hiding from Ryuuji as he is communicating with his twin sister, Sui about killing this dude or else they won’t survive this game. Sui is against any killing but with desperate times, they need to take action. Luring him to a convenience store, Sui then uses her Sigil to turn all the water in the bottles to capture him. Souta still wants to kill him but Sui fights hard to prevent any bloodshed. Kaname has found Shuka lying at the bottom of the underground pool. So CPR is enough to bring her back to life?! Great reward for him because she gives him a proper kiss. I don’t know. I felt like she was just waiting for this moment to happen. Shuka also tells him her reason of playing this game. It is to find her parents’ murderer (a Chinese Freddy Krueger?) and avenge their deaths. Then another game announcement. A new ring pops up and the survivors are to look for it. Shuka hears out Sui and would have killed her had not all this event led to her being close to Kaname. Lucky kid. Sui explains Souta is her twin brother who died in an accident. However when she entered this game, she got her wish and his soul came back although it is inhabiting her body. Okay, we believe you he isn’t an imaginary friend. Rein has replied regarding the numbers on the rings. Hence Kaname tells everyone to toss away all the rings they have now and go for the real big treasure that will end this event. Eighth is starting to assault the hotel. Knowing they are outnumbered, Hiiragi tells Rein to get away while he sacrifices himself to hold them down. Hiiragi can’t throw away the rings as he needs the money for his daughter’s surgery. Rein advises him that if she was his daughter, she will be sad to know her father died in some weird game. Something that is worse than having any sort of disease. Eighth makes their way into the hotel. Led by Sig, he heads in first because he knows very well his fiery Sigil can burn on any plants. After riding up to the top level, the rest are waiting below. That is where Hiiragi comes to slaughter them all. Then he returns back up to fight Sig. Rein has gotten away from the hotel as she narrates about those numbers corresponding to the hardness of the precious stones. Arranging them together, it displays the coordinates which is the centre of Shibuya station.
Episode 7
Rein told Hiiragi of the men he needs to be careful in Eighth other than Wang. Keiichi Katsura whose Sigil allows him to crush others without using his fist and Sig who has fire properties. Thanks to this info, Hiiragi is able to escape death at Sig’s hands. However with Keiichi joining in and helping out, Hiiragi is dealt a fatal blow. But he isn’t going down without a fight so he uses his plants to crumble the entire hotel and take out everyone with him. Rein has reached the station but realizes there are more Eighth members here. She tries to get away but is spotted. As long as she doesn’t get in Wang’s way, she’ll be safe. But surprise! The big bad wolf pops up before her despite she is using her Laplace abilities. He breaks her arm and forces her to reveal info. Luckily she stalls for enough time for Kaname and co to arrive. Kaname wants to negotiate but Wang laughs at this proposal of theirs. You think they are equals? Eighth’s policy is to take and take! Negotiations break down so it’s a mad slaughterhouse. Rein thinks hard and deep and needs to go deep into her Laplace just to find the meaning and answer. So from what she found, the numbers correspond to the date when Charles Darwin published his The Origin of Species. This is where the real treasure is. Ryuuji observes Wang’s Sigil of being able to teleport and slice within 5 metres. As long as he stay out of that range, he is safe. But distractions from other Eighth members allow Wang to close in and rip off Ryuuji’s arm. Wang is going to show off to his men in killing Ryuuji when Kaname pops up and surrenders! WTF?! He claims he has the key to the real treasure and in exchange for this, he wants their lives to be spared. So consider give and take policy now?
Episode 8
Ryuuji can tell Kaname is lying. But will Wang fall for it? He is not like other members who are out for the money. Flashback shows Ryuuji wants revenge on Wang because he killed his brother. Ryuuji continues to hear Kaname lying from one BS to another about the key and the real treasure. Although Wang plays tough, Ryuuji can tell he is also worried. Wang finally agrees but will still kill Ryuuji since he is already halfway through his execution. Kaname doesn’t care. They just formed an alliance out of convenience. Kaname throws him the key and after Wang catches it and realizes something is wrong with it, before he could order his men to kill him, Kaname keys in the code to the locker he is standing next with and it opens. The game is over and Kaname is declared the winner. All the gamblers watching this are thrilled with this unknown Kaname as the winner. But there is one who bet on him and won… Inside this locker is a handphone. Answering it, it is the voice of the host and game master of this game. Naturally Kaname is angry for being dragged into this but the host just explains the points and rewards he will get. But here’s the best part: As the winner of this treasure hunt, he will be granted a special privilege. Of course a privilege must be something the host can grant. So too bad Kaname, can’t quit the game yet. The host then reveals 2 ways to exit this game: Either you complete the game or you kill the host and destroy the game system. Kaname thinks hard for his privilege… The host also gives him a new Sigil called Fire God of Iron. 2 months down the road, the hotel is sealed off and the reports say it was the work of terrorism. Shuka discussing with Sui of buying a house to serve as a base for their clan. Hey, she’s a rich girl. But can’t they just use her own house? Maybe she wants some privacy? Hideaki Kanehira from the insurance company sees Suzune at the hospital to pass her a cheque over her father’s death. She doesn’t take this ‘joke’ likely and kicks him out. Rein is waiting outside and is the one responsible to see Suzune got the money. Hideaki wants to meet Kaname but Rein isn’t his manager or anything. Later Suzune bumps into Rein and they become some sort of friends. But Rein gives her contacts in case she wants to find out the truth about her father. Ryuuji is finally healed by Kaede who is a member of Danjo. Of course he is also friends with the big man, Danjo himself. Inukai has been training Kaname and it seems he is all buffed up and ready! Kaname wants to form an alliance with Danjo but Danjo wants to see if he is worthy of that alliance. So an all-out fight using their Sigil on the cards, right? Meanwhile, Kaname’s friend, Shinozuka tries to look for him at his place but he is not around. But a member of Eighth is… Oh sh*t…
Episode 9
In this no holds barred match, Kaname goes all out against Danjo and despite all the weapons he conjure, he has to keep Danjo at bay or else getting to close means game over. That is all Kaname has done using his Sigil but Danjo has used none of his. Just when Danjo gets close enough, Kaname drops his grenade in an apparent suicide move. But the bomb is a dud and it was enough for Danjo to turn his body into steel as anticipation. Though Danjo acknowledges him, he wants to fight Kaname longer. Unfortunately the match is interrupted when Liu Xuelan (the top Darwin’s Game player) interrupts to kidnap Kaname. Shuka is of course angry to hear this. But it’s not like everyone else just stood there and do nothing. They couldn’t do anything at all. They felt they were killed but once they come to, their bodies are still intact and Kaname gone. It is believed that is not Xuelan’s Sigil but her ancient Chinese energy art. As Kaname is their leader, they’re going to get him back. Xuelan tells Kaname that she comes from a line of assassins. She wants him to work for him. She has observed him and found that his style is very suitable for war. Also, she wants to ensure an heir and doesn’t mind bearing his child. Geez, this is getting weirder! Soon their car is being chased by Shuka’s group. Xuelan wants Kaname to tell his group to back off but instead he tells them to do whatever it takes to stop this car. Then he throws down a challenge to her that if she can beat his clan, Sunset Ravens (?!) without killing anybody, he’ll join her and even be her husband! That’s a promise. Xuelan puts up a formidable fight and even Shuka’s sweating. In the end, it is Kaname who helps out in the distraction for the rest to put the car to a stop. Xuelan doesn’t admit defeat but her driver, Ximing does so. Considering their situation, Sunset Ravens has got the capacity to get away clean unlike them. He advises to make allies than enemies. Xuelan admits defeat but refuses Kaname’s offer to be their ally. However she will join his clan to see for herself if he is worthy to be her man. Everyone objects. Especially Shuka! Kaname accepts and has seen for himself Xuelan keeps her word. No doubt she can betray them anytime but makes a condition for her to join Sunset Ravens: If she is going to betray them, betray him first. Betraying other members is unforgiveable. With that, Xuelan is now part of the clan. Meanwhile Wang and Eighth have tortured Shinozuka and cutting all his fingers! They send a video message to Kaname and wants him to come here or else more misery for his friend.
Episode 10
Rein sees a friend, Kotori to get more info on Eighth. In exchange, she wants to join Sunset Ravens (despite she herself is in a clan of her own). Rein can’t guarantee anything but will pass that message to her boss. Meanwhile Kaname is mad. Please don’t take it out on the wall… Ryuuji calms him down that they can ask Kaede to heal him and at the same time they can kill this Wang piece of sh*t. After he calms down, they devise a strategy to rescue Shinozuka. Based from the video frame, Rein could tell they are in some port warehouse (seagulls!). First they call the police to surround the place. They will be the distraction they need to sneak in to rescue Shinozuka. But only Inukai is available to help them as the rest of his clan members are busy fighting off another clan, Uroboros who is believed to have ties with Eighth. Wang didn’t like the police showing up before his playtime with Kaname so he has Keiichi (yes, this guy survived) blow off one of their heads! Then the rest proceed to slaughter the rest of those useless cops. Meanwhile, Shuka manages to sneak in a handphone to Shinozuka (is her chains not strong enough to carry him away?). Kaname talks to him and wants him to become a participant in Darwin’s Game. Just click the link. It’s going to be hard without fingers… Shinozuka wants to survive so he uses his tongue to become a participant. With that, his Sigil seems to be some sort of telekinesis, shoving things away with great force. Like this new skill, huh? Until he faces off with Wang… Meanwhile Inukai fights off Keiichi so the rest could sneak into the warehouse. Inukai knows all about Keiichi who was a karate sportsman and could have been a great one had he not accidentally killed his opponent during a match. Keiichi elaborates he regretted it since everyone since then viewed him as the enemy. So while he was depressed, Wang came to save him. So to get over his depression, just kill more people!!! OMG. That’s the extreme version of fighting fire with fire. Well, sad to say it worked for Keiichi. Kaname and Ryuuji come face to face with Wang. Kaname will fight him so as to release his friend. But Wang corrects him that he doesn’t to fight him. Just to see his despair face. Because he cut up Shinozuka and put him in the box!!! OH SH*T!!! Kaname now in despair!!! Wang then blames it is all Kaname’s fault that because he tricked him and made a fool out of him, some innocent guy had to die. Wang orders his men to kill them. But you can see Kaname is John Wick dead serious mad. An accurate shot right in the forehead of one of Wang’s men. No more nice guy.
Episode 11
Kaname invokes his special privilege and starts a clan battle. Damn, a perfect headshot into all the Eighth’s goons! When Wang targets him, Kaname lets Shuka fight him while he and Ryuuji dispose the rest of the trash. In a different warehouse, Shuka taunts Wang like hell. But when Wang attacks, he realizes his foot got cut off! He tries again, this time from behind but now his hand is chopped off! With Shuka continuing to taunt him, Wang then realizes the entire place is covered with thin wires. But is that enough to cut off limbs? As Shuka controls them, she can make them vibrate and turn into some mean saw. Wang is now scared and tries his final trump card of switching pace with Shuka (since he is tied up by the wires). However this failed and he loses another feet. Now he is begging for his life and tries teleporting away to escape. Too bad he landed outside before Kaname and Ryuuji. Not wanting to die, Wang surrenders. Sunset Ravens wins but Kaname views the rewards obtained from Eighth not enough. Considering how much Eighth took from them, it’s never going to be enough. Apparently this is Kaname’s privilege. Some winner takes all strategy by betting all his chips and his opponents must bet the same. So if the opponent has less chips, they lose. Hence Kaname can bet as many points he wants at the start of the game to increase his points. Wang realizes his reign as king is over. He accepts his loss and impending death but warns Kaname that he has become just like him and many others will die at his feet. Kaname pumps a few bullets into him before he disappears. Yeah. STFU and just die. Kaname now sets his sights on the game master and will put an end to this game. This is the goal of Sunset Ravens. Meanwhile we see the game master contacting another bloodthirsty killer, Oboro. As the game will move on to the next phase, he warns Oboro not to engage with Kaname yet as he is putting him on special observation. Just like Wang whom he thought would become the eye of the storm, this led to the creation of a more powerful player AKA Kaname. Until the next phase, Oboro must steer clear of Kaname as they will have a big role to play then. We see Sunset Ravens owning anybody trying to be funny. It seems they have invoked a special rule: A ban of Darwin’s Game on their turf. Anybody defying this rule will pay the price. It’s effective quite effective and they’re expanding their territory…
Natural Selection: May The Odds Be In Your Favour
I don’t think it will turn dark but there could be a possibility. What I mean is that Sunset Ravens becoming the new group of villains! You see, some of their members really will stop at nothing to teach non obedient players a lesson (although short of killing them but that itself is still a last resort), they now have a ‘uniform’, all dark and grey garb that makes it look like as though they are attending a funeral, they have a badass clan logo to boot, and they are muscling and expanding their territory like some new yakuza clan on the rise. Don’t they just look like bad guys now? While the possibility is miniscule, the chances are not zero. After all, Kaname might lose sight in his bid to find the game master but I’m confident with his members by his side, they’ll bring him back to the right path.
The overall premise may look like some simple survival game. Kill your opponent to survive or at best make them surrender. As we can see, it goes beyond that and it is a shame that for the time being it doesn’t have further episodes to flesh out the development and other potentials. I’m sure that many of us would be asking who the organizers and host of this game, their intentions of having such a bloodthirsty game. It could be for just entertainment purposes but my guts tell me it is more than that. A hidden agenda. But then again, sometimes my guts could be wrong. But I don’t think so. Maybe. Heh. Even this season’s story of introducing our main character into this death game, showcasing the main event and finally ending with a somewhat clan war outside the game itself, the plot itself is still engaging from start to finish and you can’t help feel wanting more of it or can’t wait for the next episode to roll out. At least, that’s how I felt. This season again like I’ve said may not be much but it does enough to help establish Kaname and his Sunset Ravens as formidable players-cum-survivors, which I feel is the main element of focus. Considering Kaname’s no-kill policy, he might end up recruiting a hell lot of people. Just saying…
Action wise might not be a masterpiece but it is still engaging. After all, this is the main draw of the anime, right? As long as people die, blood spilled and at least limbs are coming off left and right, what is there more to complain? Having the participants possessing a unique Sigil makes the action sequence a bit more exciting and adrenaline pumping. But there are limits using them so they can’t spam us Sigil moves all the way. That’ll be no fun. Otherwise, Kaname could have just materialized tanks and outrageous guns from video games to just blow away the competition. Can’t have our main character to do something so easy if we want to at least support this guy, no? Since this show isn’t some mystery puzzle, I thought the treasure hunt riddle was a let-down. I was expecting something more out of it but the solution turned out pretty meh. Like as though plot convenience was the main key here.
One of the ‘scariest’ things about this series is when a participant dies for good in the game, his/her body would disappear and leave behind a pixelated body outline. For me, the caved in contour of blocks looks pretty scary. I don’t play Minecraft but those blocky leftover blocks also look like they came from that video game.
Though character wise, I feel it is somewhat lacking in this department. I’m not saying it is the worst but it leaves more room for improvement. As I mentioned, this season feels like introducing Kaname’s clan. However we hardly know anything more about the characters in Sunset Ravens than what has been minimally revealed in the anime. Everyone has their own reasons and circumstances to play this game but aside Shuka and Ryuuji wanting revenge and Kaname wanting a total way out as well as burying this game for good, there is nothing deeper about these characters. Maybe in the future they will be fleshed out better but for now, it just seems that they’re part of Kaname’s group because he spared them and also they aren’t the worst sh*t characters in the game and hence share a somewhat common goal to work together and survive this mess.
Kaname is your typical underdog main character. A wuss who gets dragged into something he doesn’t want to get involved but thanks to luck (which I feel it is a big factor) that has him stand out and survive this long. We see his character grow from a puny high school student to become a respectable no-nonsense leader of a small clan. With all his high school friends dead, you bet he isn’t going to take their deaths lightly. His no-kill policy might be a no brainer in a game that commands death from its participants but so far it is working out for him. And for the better. Hey, if something works, it cannot be entirely stupid, can it? Though, his 100% clean record is now shattered because he made his first kill on an Eighth member. So don’t f*ck with this guy now. And especially don’t you dare f*ck with his comrades. Hey, even Batman has killed people despite his no-kill policy. Though of course, this is only applicable to real scumbags but it still sends a message not to mess with them because they really mean business. Sometimes you have got to be cruel to be kind. So if you find Kaname’s serious face now scary, until this crap game is destroyed, no time to take it easy.
The rest of the other members in Sunset Ravens, well, I thought Shuka felt lacking ever since she fought Kaname the first time. Ever since she voluntarily became subservient to him, it’s like she tamed down a lot. Remember how she was almost killed once during the treasure hunt? Yeah, why do my guts tell me it is the feelings of love that got in the way? For now, she is painted as some waifu material for Kaname. If that didn’t convince you, now we have Xuelan joining in to ramp up the rivalry for Kaname’s chastity. Maybe all she wants is to play family and this dysfunctional family in the name of Sunset Ravens is just fine for her as long as Kaname comes home. Food for thought: If Xuelan is the top player in Darwin’s Game, does this mean she is the stupidest player???!!! Oh sh*t! Please don’t cut me!!! Okay, okay, I get it. Xuelan is the top player means she is the best survivalist. Period.
The other survival game we might or might not want to see… This one I feel is going to get bloodier… Then we have a pair of loli girls, Rein the info master and Sui for who knows what. Whatever the latter, I guess her split personality with Kouta comes in handy sometimes for battle purposes. So as not to make this look like a harem, that’s why we have the other guy, Ryuuji. I thought Hiiragi would have been a great edition to the team but I guess if they want to satiate my bloodlust of body count, somebody has to die… Ah well, it wasn’t a big surprise. After all, his character wasn’t part of Kaname’s gang in the opening and ending credits… Big hint… No wonder his character gets the most fleshing out especially something about his hospitalized daughter. Characters who are going to die get the sort of privilege and make peace with whatever before they go permanently.
You got to agree with me in some ways that Wang is one of the most despicable characters ever in all of series villains. I believe they really want to make his character that way and they did a pretty good job in that. This guy could be the devil himself reincarnated as he is merciless, ruthless, cruel and just pure evil. If you are afraid of Eighth, that’s because you are really afraid of only this guy. Because the rest of the punks in Eighth are just pretty meh. Even Keiichi and Sig couldn’t match up to Wang’s cold blooded lust. It’s the reason why Eighth has got a fearsome reputation and I believe it is only thanks to Wang. So when Wang was being tortured and killed in the finale, we didn’t feel any pity for him and just glad he bite the dust. Good riddance. No love lost from us. Live by the sword, die by the sword. He got what he deserved. Eighth could just be a drop in the ocean as it is hinted there are other fearsome clans out there. Uroboros could be the umbrella group for Eighth and other ‘evil’ clans. Well, both clans have a snake eating its own tail as its logo, right? So Eighth is just the tip of the iceberg for Sunset Ravens as there will be other even more psychotic groups out there.
Art and animation are okay but sometimes I feel the overall tone of the visuals is somewhat a little bland. I don’t know, I just feel like the colours are a little dull and blunt. Especially some of the dark scenes. I only want to comment on Wang’s character design, the more I look at him, the more he starts looking like some snakey devil. Honest. Like I’ve said, they want to really paint this guy to be the embodiment of evil so he has got to look the part as well. Don’t stare too long or he might steal your soul! Yikes! And also Danjo… Is his character taken after X-men’s Colossus?! See the obvious similarities: He is Russian and a strong guy who turns into steel! OMG… This anime is produced by Nexus. They don’t produce much anime (average an anime a year) and the other shows they did lean more towards cute girls such as Comic Girls, Granbelm and Wakaba Girl (Shuka, Rein and Sui are cute but not as anime moe cute as these girls). So doing Darwin’s Game as their first serious title may be the reason they want to do something different.
For the voice acting, you got to agree with me that the best one goes to Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Wang. If you think voicing the gruffy scruffy uncouth Inosuke of Kimetsu No Yaiba was his best non-Kirito-like characters, you haven’t seen anything yet. As Wang, he takes the cake trying to really make his character sound very despicable that you would love to hate. Kudos and hats off to a voice acting job well done. The other recognizable seiyuus are Takhito Koyasu as Hiiragi, Ai Kayano as Xuelan and Akira Ishida as Oboro. The rest of the other casts include Yuusuke Kobayashi as Kaname (Shin in Kenja No Mago), Reina Ueda as Shuka (Akane in SSSS.Gridman), Taku Yashiro as Ryuuji (Ebitani in Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa), Nichika Oomori as Rein (Yurine in Jashin-chan Dropkick), Yumiri Hanamori as Sui and Souta (Seth in Radiant), Junya Enoki as Inukai (Hiro in Kuutei Dragons) Shunsuke Takeuchi as Danjo (Seba in W’z), Konomi Kohara as Suzune (Chika in Kaguya-sama Wa Kokurasetai) and Masaya Matsukaze as the game master (Suiryu in One Punch Man S2). The opening and ending themes are rock based, Chain by Asca and Alive by Ayano Mashiro respectively. They suit the pace of the series well but they’re not my cup of tea.
Overall, not the best survival themed anime out there but it is still a lot entertaining and interesting. It just needs another season to develop the story and characters more. And more blood and deaths altogether! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! Oops, sorry. I hope people wise up and learn at least something after watching this anime. Don’t simply click on suspicious app links! But then again, have humans ever learnt throughout the course of evolution? Probably not. That’s why we’ll get more Darwin award recipients in the futures to come. Evolution or devolution, Charles Darwin would certainly turn in his grave. And to think that they would name a death game after him… On second thought, it couldn’t be more of an aptly honour in his name. It’s not how evolution really works, but whatever. Okay people, let’s go for Da-WIN!
Fairy Gone
2 May, 2020
We often think of fairies as those little mythical creatures with some supernatural powers. We also think they are mostly harmless and at most just playful and prankish. But time to shatter all that pleasant stereotypes you have on fairies. Because what if fairies were tools used for war! Ah yes. Damn humans trying to harness the power of others just to kill each other for supremacy and in the name of justice whatever. So if you’re not prepared to have your childhood memories of good little fairies being destroyed, do not watch Fairy Gone at any cost. Well, I don’t think anybody’s general and overall perception of fairies will change. But you’ll never know. See what The Fairly OddParents did?!
Episode 1
As narrated, the Unification War lasted so long. Lots of casualties, lots of damage until the war ended when Eastald was unified under the emperor of Zesskia. Fairy Soldiers who were employed from all sides of the war suddenly find themselves with no place to go. In current year, Marlya Noel is hired as a guard for some auction but she keeps getting awed by the items in the backstage. Hence, Free Underbar who is the head of security for this mafia group, Gui Carlin has to remind her many times to get back to work. I guess it’s cue to introduce some of the basics like fairies and how some special bottle that imprisons them is the only reason why they are able to see them. When the Black Fairy Tome goes on auction, several staffs start to die horrifically. Veronica Thorne is a mercenary and she can summon fairies to do her bidding as she steals the tome. With the crowd panicking and trying to escape, Free and Marlya go suppress the panic but Marlya recognizes Veronica. Seems she is the person she has been looking for all this while. However Veronica claims she isn’t the person she knows. Free who is a Fairy Soldier, uses his fairy to fight with Veronica. When a stray shot breaks a fairy bottle, Marlya grabs it and what do you know? Flashbacks of her younger days. I believe there is more to it. Waking up, she goes to stop Free and Veronica’s fight. Marlya claims she joined Gui Carlin as the quickest way to find her and she has searched her for so long because they are the only survivors of the town they came from, Suna. With Veronica not interested to go back with her, she continues her fight with Free. And Marlya stops it once more, this time summoning her own fairy. While Marlya is in shock, Veronica manages to get away. Free discloses that he is actually from the special illegal fairy regulatory force known as Dorothea. He was doing undercover infiltration mission in Gui Carlin. Under the law, because Marlya has now illegally possessed a fairy, she would be arrested. But to ‘circumvent’ this, I guess now Marlya has to join Dorothea if she wants to continue looking for Veronica. Veronica hands over the tome to Damien Carme but he could immediately recognize this tome is a fake.
Episode 2
Marlya narrates she is an unlucky person because those involved with her get bad luck. In contrast, Free narrates he is a lucky guy. We see him go through some surgery to become a Fairy Soldier. Then in the war, his friends protected and died for him. Yup, that is lucky in the worst sense for him. Free reports to his superior, Nein Auler. Though his infiltration mission failed, she wants him to rewrite his report as she wants to keep Marlya’s mysterious fairy possession to herself. Free and Marlya then go rendezvous with Serge Tova and Klara Kysenaria to expose some illegal artificial fairies by the Arcame mafia group. An illegal transaction is going to happen as they stake out and wait for the relevant parties to arrive. Klara detects one of them as a Fairy Soldier and it looks like he might be on to them. Free and Marlya then head down to take action but it seems the carriages are all gone. Free then clashes swords with Wolfran Row who is a Fairy Soldier he once fought alongside with during the war but is now a member of Arcame. Marlya’s fairy helped save her from a certain fate as Wolfran gets away. Free and Marlya go after him. Wolfran tells his guys to use the artificial fairies to fight. After dispatching them, some of the men try to fight back and one of them got injured. Wolfran silences him. Free and Marlya go after the other carriages but eventually the driver also ends up dead. Wolfran again. Heck, he killed all his men and left no witnesses!
Episode 3
As narrated, during the war, fairies were hunted till near extinction so as to become tools for Fairy Soldiers. It is said there were about 300 Fairy Soldiers and when the war ended, only 17 of them survived. Wolfran being one of the survivors returned home only to find his wife and daughter dead. Wolfran sees Beevee Liscar who is a mercenary leader to sell him some artificial fairies. Because the artificial fairy plant that Free raided is empty (Wolfran cleverly clearing his tracks again), he goes to see Axel Laboo who is an informant to look into Wolfran. Free and Marlya see Marco Bellwood who is the ministry of fairies vice minister. He talks about the history of different coloured fairy tomes as well as the stolen tome was reported to be in possession of a fairy scholar. Hence he wants them to go to Isharat and see Cain Distarol. Arriving there, Free is not happy to see Bitter “Sweetie” Sweet, an associate member of Gui Carlin. With that kind of name… Free knows the kind of troubles this woman brings, the way she shamelessly flirts with him. Apparently she is also here to see Cain. What a coincidence, Axel is also here but he is observing from a far. Cain shows them his fairy imaginals when a fairy sneaks in and wreaks havoc. This has Damien to go check on the safety of the tome. However it is a ploy by Axel to reveal its hiding and then steal it. Axel runs throughout town while Sweetie tenaciously runs after him. Eventually she corners him. The tome or his life. With Free here, she calls him the government’s dog and the likes. When Axel tries to escape, she shoots him. He gives up on the tome and escapes. Think it’s a little too late? Now Free and Sweetie fight over it. Marlya fires a warning shot but Sweetie summons a fairy to restrain her.
Episode 4
Free and his Fairy can’t match Sweetie but Marlya and hers can outlast her? Sweetie retreats and after Marlya retrieves the tome, she passes out. She dreams of her past in Suna with Veronica. That fateful day when soldiers came burning down her village. Veronica left her so she could be a decoy to the soldiers. After nearly a day, Marlya wakes up. Talking to Free about mafia auctions becoming common showpieces today, because Veronica crashed into the Gui Carlin auction to steal a tome, they ask Cain and Damien how they got their hands on the tome. Because this isn’t an official inquiry from Dorothea, they are not telling. Marlya asks if they know of Veronica but apparently they don’t. Later outside, Marlya thinks they are liars but Free reasons they can’t join the ministry of fairies and continued to be private fairy scholars is because they don’t want to be shackled by the government. A strange couple sits next to them, Patricia Pearl and Jonathan Passpiere. They order something but leave before their order arrives. It is then Free realizes the tome has been stolen by those Gui Carlin members. The duo give chase and end up in the underground catacombs of a chapel. With the enemy blindly sniping at them, Free tells Marlya to hide as he moves forward for the hunt. He is puzzled if their goal is the tome, wouldn’t they be better off just escaping? Unless the target is him! Realized a bit too late, here’s Patricia coming to get you! Meanwhile Marlya has to face off with creepy Jonathan who thinks he is some sort of artist. Yeah, this guy can somehow close up on you and loves to give you pain! Pain is a blessing! WTF. Since Marlya can’t use her fairy, she is reduced to running away. When cornered, who is going to save her? Don’t hold your breath. It’s Veronica!
Episode 5
We have some flashback on Veronica’s uber tragic life as a kid. She tried to assassinate the new king of Tsubal, Ray Dawn whom we all know from the looks of it as the guy responsible for destroying Suna (or at least seen from that perspective) but she hesitates after pulling out her gun in public and he owns her with his fairy. Now Veronica jumps in to fight Jonathan. This ‘mad artist’ is no pushover since he can do all sorts of parlour tricks in the name of art. Especially with his fairy as an exploding chicken lizard whatever. Marlya can’t stand being useless and just watch so she manages to finally summon her fairy to distract. Enough for Veronica to take her to safety outside. Meanwhile Free has a hard time with Patricia. But once he got his groove back, Patricia realizes she can’t win so she escapes and leaves behind the tome. What looked like Veronica rekindling with Marlya, mad Jonathan returns so Veronica kills him with her fairy. And then back to cold old Veronica. She doesn’t want Marlya to get involved in her assassination of Ray. Yeah, looks like she still hasn’t given up. So forget about the old Veronica. That Veronica you know is dead. Bye. In the aftermath, Free and Marlya join other Dorothea members in the pub they frequent. I guess Marlya’s welcome party is guised as an excuse to introduce a few more Dorothea members as well as some old farts who were heroes in the last war.
Episode 6
As narrated, after the war ended, Golbarn Helwise surrendered his status as emperor and became a Prime Minister. 5 people who played an important role in the war were granted special positions and were known as the Five Dukes. However they died or were killed in extraordinary fashion. The only ones remain are Schwarz Diese and Ray. In town, an artificial fairy model malfunctions and almost harms a civilian. Free’s fast thinking has the model subdued. The model is then taken to Griff Mercer, the assistant vice minister for the ministry of fairies. He checks and there is nothing wrong with it. Nein then calls up Free and Marlya. Apparently there is news about the real Black Fairy Tome. She sends Marlya and Klara to see the informant, Buz Sebastian but this fatty thinks he can have his way with the ladies. Until all his men get their ass kicked and they pointing their daggers at his throat, now he becomes their b*tches. So he mentions about a recent auction where this tome was put up for sale. The winning bidder is an agent for a well-known circle called Black Four. Marlya and Klara tail that agent, Dice as he boards a train. It seems Sweetie has also caught news of this but she is a second too late and missed the train. Marlya and Klara search the train but they can’t find him. Thinking he might be in the compartment, they will search when the train is at the next stop. In the meantime, cue for Marlya to ask Klara how she joined Dorothea. She lost all her family during the war and after Nein saved her from those rape face bastards. At the next stop, they search the compartment but he is not there. Then they spot him getting off and chase after him. I don’t know where he was hiding that the girls couldn’t find him. Is he a master of disguise or something? Eventually they catch him but he remains tight lipped during interrogation. When Axel pops up before Free just to remind him he still can be useful, Free asks about Dice. Rumours say that this guy works for Gilbert Warlock, a high ranking member of Gui Carlin.
Episode 7
Sweetie is at Gilbert’s place in hopes he could just show her what Dice gave him. However he refuses and shows her the way out. Meanwhile more artificial fairy models go haywire. Nein is supposed to moderate between the meeting of the ministry of fairies and minister of the military who are at each other’s throat, passing the blame for the malfunction and jurisdiction of power. Dorothea is supposed to be neutral but is requested by Schwarz to just side the military. Both the ministry of fairies and the military send their men to the workshop of mechanic Hanns Efmed to find any abnormalities in the model. Free thought he spot Wolfran but could he be just seeing things? No Wolfran but Axel. Seems somebody wants to see him. Nope, not Wolfran but Sweetie. It seems she is offering Dorothea to work together to get into Gilbert’s place again. So Marlya and Klara have to doll up again to please that old guy? Robert Chase exchanges notes with Free about Wolfran manufacturing illegal models for Arcame. He may be here to disrupt the anniversary of the end of the war taking place in a few days. Later Robert remembers about Hanns because he had a man named Eddy Lloyd working under him. However he quit many years ago and hasn’t been heard since. Eddy was the designer of the old Psyden VII artificial fairy model. Though he was put in charge of the fairy maintenance division, he wasn’t pleased with this demotion. After he voluntarily resigned, he went missing. Rumour has it he joined Arcame. Gilbert won’t let young ladies change his decision. He is very well aware of Sweetie’s abilities to memorize everything at first glance. Sweetie continues to talk and ask in a way that has Gilbert admitting he has that stuff, the proof that Dorothea needs. Sweetie then exposes these young ladies are from Dorothea.
Episode 8
Using their fairies to pin down Gilbert, Klara also sends the signal for the rest of Dorothea to storm in. Sweetie then forces Gilbert to lead them to some secret underground room. Cunning Sweetie ditches them after the secret door opens. You mean they can’t open it again? Shouldn’t they just break it down using a fairy? Like how Free did? Yeah, but he broke down some other wall. Did he have the blueprints to the place? Anyway, in this secret room, there lies the Black Fairy Tome. Sweetie has escaped but didn’t take it. Meanwhile Daniel Keys from Security Bureau suspects Hanns tampering with the new models and arrests him. Because of that compromise, the new models that were supposed to be the symbol of unification will not be used for the ceremony. Robert gets permission to investigate more about Eddy. To his surprise that is not stated in the records, he was a workaholic and had a son, Ted Livingstone who is Hanns’ assistant. Talking with Hanns, he admits of not noticing Ted’s feelings that he may want to avenge his father. Oh, what’s this? The old models have this override function?! Hanns pleads for Robert to save Ted whom he has also treated like his own son. During the ceremony, Ted is making preparations to cause havoc. He notes the unification is a farce and Golbarn got rid of those who didn’t obey him. Just like how they did to his father. Using a special whistle to make the old models attack Golbarn, luckily Dorothea manage to stop him in time before any tragedy happens. It is noted that only Schwarz jumped to protect Golbarn but Ray just stood there minding his own business. When Ted is arrested, he is still crying foul about everything. Free tells him that it is okay to not forgive but they have to accept the war is over. It is an era where murderers are judged fairly. This means Golbarn is just a man like all of them. That’s why you don’t kill him.
Episode 9
Thanks to Schwarz’s heroics, he is rewarded with anything he wants. In that case, he wants a fairy weapon. Although he says this is to protect the emperor in case of emergency, some are sceptical. Fairy weapons are those weapons wielded by the Seven Knight and have killed many Fairy Soldiers. As Ray was part of the Seven Knights and of course in possession of one, it is only right Schwarz has one to balance it up. Hence he chooses Fratanil, the fairy weapon that belonged to the late Garlan Battle who was the chief of the Seven Knights. Hence Dorothea will escort it to deliver to Schwarz’s residence. Wolfran passes a message to Liscar. But he won’t join in the fun. That night as the train passes, it comes under heavy attack by Liscar’s mercenary group. Liscar uses his fairy to knock the train off its rails. Thus we get to see Marlya’s flashback of how some lone grandpa took her in, taught her hunting until the day he died. Poor girl buried him and started believing she is a cursed child. Marlya wakes up and Dorothea is engaging in battle with the mercenaries. When Free sees Liscar, he realizes the odds that are against them. Liscar was one of the Seven Knights and you bet he has his fairy weapon with him. Free decides to use Fratanil so Oz Mare goes to cover him by engaging with Liscar. Not good enough to match Liscar. Then Free fights him using Fratanil but he isn’t good at using the fairy weapon. Marlya tries to snipe the mercenaries but Liscar’s assistant, Sophie keeps closing the distance to take her out. Marlya could have died many times had not Oz come to her rescue. Oz takes in a lot of damage from enemy’s fire while protecting Marlya. When he could no longer move, Liscar finds it is a pity that he can’t fight him again and to put him out of his misery, kills him.
Episode 10
Everyone mourns over the death of Oz and other dead Dorothea members. Oh, Fratanil got stolen too. Free feels responsible? Marlya feels responsible? Can we just move on? Marlya is most effected since this plays up her devil being the cursed child. But she still has a job to do. This time, Free leads his team to Kal-O where Ray rules. Their job is to check if the fairy weapon and artificial fairies are within their stipulated parameters. Ray can tell Marlya harbours hatred towards him. He has seen a lot of people with that looks on his face. With an extra day, Marlya goes to see Jingle who is the boss of the mafia group, Biaklay. Unlike Gui Carlin and Arcame, they follow the law? Uhm? What?! Before she came to Dorothea, she was working as him as his bodyguard. He asks her to come back since he considers her as his family. As she is still thinking that she is a cursed person, look on the bright side, nothing happened to him when she was under him, right? Meanwhile we see Fratanil in the hands of Schwarz and he has that smug look on his face. Robert reports to Nein that Ted has been in contact with Wolfran who provided him devices that interrupt the models. Free then comes in to see Jingle. Can’t be here just to say hi, no? Free claims responsibility as the one who convinced Marlya to join Dorothea. This doesn’t impress Jingle because he might took responsibility but doesn’t have the determination to see it through. He won’t accept entrusting Marlya onto his hands. Free claims he has the determination. When it comes down to it, he will risk his life for Marlya. They may not be family but they are comrades. Marlya breaks down as she doesn’t want to be responsible for the death of others. It always comes down to her being protected. Free tells her not to run away. Did she not come to Dorothea to accomplish something? I guess she cries harder this time but it’s a sign that she’s freed from her doubts and ready to move on. Before they depart at the train station, Ray sees them. He wants them to deliver a letter to Golbarn. When he does, appropriate measures will be taken.
Episode 11
An ambassador in Hybranz is rudely awakened as the army storms in to kick him out. It seems Hybranz is declaring sovereignty and will no longer be part of Zesskia. Golbarn receives the news and felt betrayed by Schwarz. Everything has gone according to his plan. Because he has Nein and Dorothea to support the suppressive force, she is given permission to use her fairy weapon. Golbarn then reports to the emperor who himself strips Schwarz’s title and orders him to be defeated. By the time Free and his team return to HQ, they realize that Nein and others have left for war. Only the supporting staffs are left behind. This means Free has to deliver the letter to Golbarn himself. He does so and it seems Ray has got wind about Schwarz’s rebellion. Uhm, a bit too late this warning? But that is not all. The letter also states the war at Hybranz is just a diversion. No wonder Nein is puzzled why those soldiers aren’t putting up any fight and easily surrender. But it’s too late as the enemy is attacking the main palace. Damn, Liscar and his mercenaries just slowly waltzing towards the palace and shoot any dumb soldiers who can’t even shoot straight at them?! WTF?! Schwarz is seen with Wolfran. His plan isn’t to monopolize the fairies and having a free competition, this will give rise to new development and reforms, opening up a new world. Free and his men are the only ones in Dorothea who can counter the enemies attacking the palace. Free has a fairy weapon himself. It belonged to his late friend. He’s good in handling the sword. Did he have practice with it away from our eyes? I thought fairy weapons are sealed? Free finds it odd that the enemies are using attacks as decoys as he tries to figure out their true motive. Liscar and his mercenaries have finally reached the main palace. Even so, those damn soldiers still can’t hit him with their shots as he slowly walks in! They really have Stormtrooper aim!!! No wonder Liscar can whistle all the way while challenging them to shoot him right in the forehead! But playtime is over. Time to get serious in rewriting history.
Episode 12
Liscar and his men waltz in and just massacred all the soldiers. Either they are too good or the soldiers are just bad. Schwarz talks to Wolfran about history. Golbarn was the king of Cidal and launched an invasion of neighbouring Timoon. Garlan took Emperor Castal Harol from the imperial capital of Mazria which was under Ledrad’s control. Order was maintained by Ledrad’s manipulation of the emperor in which Schwarz’s team them was acting as accomplice. When the war was over, Schwarz thought Golbarn would become the emperor but he instead remained loyal. Perhaps the fear of the stigma of being the usurper. Once all this is over and Schwarz has the emperor in his hands, those pretending to be Golbarn’s ally will defect and leave Zesskia en masse. Free finally finds Liscar and they fight. But Free doesn’t intend to defeat Liscar himself. With the help of Marlya and Serge, they push Liscar into a corner. It’s time so Liscar gives the signal for his men to withdraw. Schwarz now storms his way to the emperor’s room. So his excuse is to protect him? After killing all the soldiers? Noticing that Wolfran is missing, he sees Ray. Schwarz thinks Wolfran is also working under him but Ray easily kills him. That was fast. Schwarz is stunned that he is so powerful but still kissed up to Golbarn. Well, Ray never liked Schwarz in the first place. Marlya wants to go after Liscar for revenge but is stopped by Free. He reminds her that they have done their duty as Dorothea. The enemy has retreated from the palace and that they have won.
Episode 13
As the palace undergoes repairs, this episode fleshes out the past of Suna that was peppered throughout the first half. Ray and his brother, Jurgen often visited the forest where the fairies reside. Suna was a place blessed with fairy primordials that it is a fairy village. But fairy villages over the world dwindled due to excessive fairy hunting. Then there are those who worship fairies and consider them as pure and innocent. If that is the case, does it justifies anything they do? It is that pureness that makes them a threat. Ray’s father, Thori was one of the many guardians who protected the fairy forest along with Ivan and Olek. When an Esteemed One was spotted, Ivan tried to distract it but ended up sacrificing himself to appease it. One tragedy after another because it was the same day his daughter, Marlya was born. And that same day, her mom, Tereza who gave birth to her, died soon after. Deira, Suna’s fortune teller wants the ritual conducted to appease the Esteemed One by finding the blessed child. After all, the stars already pointed out the cursed child. Thori was against this ritual because the last time, it sacrificed 4 blessed children and 1 of them was his sister. Hence Thori sacrificed himself by leading the Esteemed One deep into the forest. As Marlya grew up as a cursed child, she was raised by Jurgen and his wife. She became friends with Veronica who was the blessed child as she didn’t care about Marlya being a cursed child. Then one day, Ray marched into Suna with his army. Disregarding Jurgen’s advice, he has his men burn down the place and kill everybody. Because he views fairies having no will of their own, it is foolish to let them run loose. Also, to end this war, he decided to eliminate the fairy village just to control the excessive power that would otherwise make people go astray. Of course Ray killed his own brother as the other villagers get mercilessly slaughtered. Veronica as we have seen vowed revenge and she became the bait to let Marlya get away. Now, Ray is being celebrated as a hero as he returns. Marlya knows revenge won’t change the past but Veronica thinks differently. He’ll get what he deserves.
Episode 14
Dorothea is escorting Ray back to Tsubal. So can Veronica ride her bike and catch up with the train? But wait. The bridge explodes. Gauging from Veronica’s reaction, she isn’t the one who set up the bomb. With Ray saved, they spend the night in a nearby abandoned castle. In a room, he is visited by Wolfran and Michel Conner, a descendent of the Red Fairy Tome. Ray believes those out to kill him are Schwartz sect of the Arcame remnants. Of course the latter’s target is also Wolfran for turning traitor. Deep in the knight, truckloads of artificial fairies are spotted. I bet those pea shooters can’t stop the rampaging trucks. Dorothea goes into formation to maintain order. Wolfran suggests Michel take Ray and escape. Veronica sneaks in hoping to ambush Ray but is met with Wolfran. They both fight and when they draw out their fairies, Wolfran understands Veronica’s situation after knowing she is a Suna survivor. And then Free and Marlya come into the picture. Guys fight with each other but Veronica calls it quits and escape? Marlya follows her. So we get a glimpse of how Veronica was saved by Damien who is a descendent of the author of the Black Fairy Tome. Damien observes Veronica interacting with a fairy in his home and then absorbing it into her heart. Now the girls sit and talk nicely about their past. Until their ideals start to diverge. As you know, Veronica wants to kill Ray and isn’t amused that Marlya is now protecting him. Marlya understands how she feels and even though killing Ray won’t bring back Suna, they both have each other. Sorry folks, no yuri time here but eventually Veronica remains steadfast to her believes and leaves. Marlya vows to always find her even when she gets lost. Meanwhile the guys continue to duke it out. How can Free understand if Wolfran don’t explain anything? Ah well. Both sides taken enough damage. Time to call it a night. Before Wolfran escapes, he asks what Free is fighting for. What is he protecting. What will he have left.
Episode 15
In the final day of the war when Olbany the Ledrad king announced an official surrender, he also took his own life when many of his soldiers were still fighting to protect him in the battlefield. Free failed to stop Wolfran from leaving after the war ended. He realized he didn’t understand a lot about him. Free reports to Nein about the recent incident. It is believed that Wolfran has betrayed Arcame because it left Schwarz dead and Arcame on the verge of being wiped out. This info came from Robert who interrogated an Arcame member, Gail Dope. Dorothea turn their attention to eliminating Arcame. It is not easy task as Arcame doesn’t have a chain of command. So they have to individually wipe out each hideout. Free then ropes in Axel in hopes he could get more info out of Gail. It leads to Dorothea storming into the residence of Christoph Rahn. He is the last son of Olbany but not the son of the queen. They search his place for evidence but nothing so far. It is believed he supported the rebels by disclosing a secret underground pathway into the palace. As a royalty, he knows such route unlike the unified government and hence told it to Schwarz and Arcame. Now that Christoph is not home, they believe he has fled and in hiding. We take a short detour seeing Marlya still having low self-confidence. Still not over Oz’s death? Still consider yourself a cursed child? Leave it to Serge to say how everyone in Dorothea will gladly lay down their life to protect others. So believe in us. Marlya crying like that, I assume she’s over it? News of Christoph has been found in the slums. His body. While it looked like he killed himself, another quick take shows that somebody killed him. As Axel discovered his body first, he is suspected and arrested despite he denied doing anything. But we see a flashback that Axel met Christoph and talked. Seems Christoph wanted to meet Liscar and get his support but Axel disagreed seeing he knows a lot and this would put him in danger. Axel then swiftly killed him.
Episode 16
Griff realizes that part of the many confiscated items from the cargo ship of an island port town is the real Black Fairy Tome. Since this is too much for him to handle, he reports to Bellwood who in turn reports to Golbarn. Hence the sending of Dorothea there to investigate. Damien and Veronica are sneaking into the admin office where the tome is kept but looks like somebody has beaten them to it and left trails of dead guards. That guy is Eajay Daven Thor who is one of the top executives of Gui Carlin. Veronica fights him but is no match for his fairy. Plus, he has a fairy weapon. Damien tells her to escape. We hear Eajay talk about Crucia Albastora who wrote the Black Fairy Tome and believes Damien is his descendant. Eajay’s ancestor, Colen Thor wrote the White Fairy Tome and did a lot of extensive research. He believes that as Albastora was a student of Colen and hence stole many of his teacher’s works, took credit for it to write the Black Fairy Tome. Sweetie and Patricia are also here to steal the tome but seeing Eajay around, this guy is bad news. Hence they go meet Damien and Veronica in hopes of teaming up against Eajay. Thanks to the fire on the admin office, the island is cordoned off and nobody leaves. Damien spots Free and Marlya. He goes talk to them in hopes of extracting some info. Meanwhile the ladies talk about Eajay and here comes this guy looking to pick a fight with them. Sweetie takes Veronica hostage in hopes to strike a deal with him. When that fails, Patricia attacks with her fairy. Too much to handle? Run! Sweetie’s turn. Too hard for her too. Escape! Veronica, your turn. Come on, ladies! This guy too tough for you to beat?! She too flees. It gets complicated when Veronica flees into Marlya. Free takes on Eajay but his sword breaks. Eajay has changed his mind and challenges anybody who can get the tome from him. Of course he isn’t going to play fair and uses a hostage to allow himself to escape. Marlya questions who Damien is because he seems to know Veronica.
Episode 17
Damien is also arrested and brought back to HQ for interrogation. But he will alone speak to Nein alone. Damien reveals he is a descendent of Albastora instead of Carme (the family who created artificial fairy models). Having said so, he knows all the contents written in the Black Fairy Tome. Meanwhile Free and Marlya wait outside as they talk about the fairy tomes divided into 5 pieces: Original, red, blue, white and black. Among them, only black doesn’t exist but 200 years ago, Alan Bach tried to compile all of them but only the black part was removed. It is believed he deliberately split it into 9 parts and encoded them. It could be worth a lot, that’s why many are after it. Damien continues his revelation to Nein that the Albastora clan wanted to deleted the Black Fairy Tome before it got released because those who read it might crave for it even more. Of course Bach secretly retained a copy and now there are some trying to assemble it. Not just Gui Carlin but other groups that are far more dangerous. Nein then sees Bellwood to confirm that Gui Carlin stole that Black Fairy Tome and wants to use this chance to eradicate that mafia group. He gives his permission. Free sees Sweetie and knows she is hiding here as this is the safest from Gui Carlin who is also out for her blood. He wants her to spill everything about Gui Carlin and in exchange, Dorothea will not chase her anymore. Nein then presents a list of those closely connected with Gui Carlin to Golbarn. Some are high ranking ministers and rich businessmen. Even some helping in the unification after the war. Golbarn gives his permission for this operation. But if this sting turns out wrongly identifying the culprits, Nein will take responsibility and resign. Hence we see Dorothea going into full swing to arrest all those people. One night, Free and Marlya secretly take Damien away on Nein’s orders. The manhunt for Eajay is turning out to be the biggest manhunt ever so if some find out Damien is here, they might target and kill him. Marlya wants Damien to stop ordering Veronica to do things. He denies and that she has her own reasons for doing so. Whether or not she wants to go ahead with the revenge, it is up to Veronica herself to decide. Damien thinks everyone is alone and Veronica won’t come back to him now. Marlya disagrees. Veronica still has her.
Episode 18
Nein reports to Bellwood the several high profile arrests including some traitors within the government. Because she also suspects some corruption within the ministry of fairies, Bellwood will thoroughly investigate his staff. Later Nein talks to Damien about Bellwood who is a descendent of Hel S. Bellwood, the first fairy scholar and creator of the Fairy Tome. And also something about an old religious sect called Eins Order. Sweetie and Patricia are in Mazria where Eajay is holing up. Knowing that Dorothea will also be here to take action, they will use this commotion to steal the tome. As Dorothea infiltrates via the secret underground passageways, they stumble into a section where lots of corpses are dumped. They are failed surgical experiments of fairy soldiers that Eajay is trying to do. Eajay talks to his right hand man, Quatoe about the chicken and egg problem: Did God or fairies come first? For fairy scholars, the fairies did as this follows the teachings of the Eins. Eajay doesn’t care as he will use them as he sees fit. Eajay gets word that several men from the lookout posts are dead. Get ready for action. Dorothea has their hands full in dealing with the Gui Carlin mafia but also Quatoe who can summon several fairies. He is one of the few successful cultivated Fairy Soldiers. Nothing like a few trust in your comrades to have Dorothea beat the whole lot of them. Eventually Free sees off Quatoe to have a final showdown with Eajay. Oddly, they fight on a flimsy wooden scaffold. I can see how this is going to end. Eajay getting desperate as he rants about fairies should be set free and not used by anyone. Humans and fairies will live together in harmony. Eh? Wasn’t he trying to take advantage of the fairies? Somehow conveniently, Free makes a nasty slash across Eajay. Eajay wants to take him down with him as he cuts the ropes. Only Eajay falls to his death because Marlya jumps to grab him to safety. Wow. Can she even do that? Is this the power of trusting your comrades? I thought summoning a fairy would be easier, though… Eajay’s death means the end of Gui Carlin. But Veronica is seen taking his fairy weapon. As Dorothea retrieves the Black Fairy Tome and prepare to return to HQ, they are ambushed by Wolfran. Even more shocking, Michel is using the same fairy as Oz.
Episode 19
But the fairy goes berserk and doesn’t listen to his command. Marlya could ‘hear’ the fairy’s voice claiming it doesn’t want to fight. In the end, the fairy leaves Michel’s body and vanishes. When Marlya tries to interrogate him, he claims that the Black Fairy Tome is now complete and their ideal world will begin. No longer will it be ruled by man. Marlya reports this to Nein. From what Michel says, it could mean that the ministry of fairies could be behind this as they have the remaining volumes. So having this last volume means they have the complete set. They realize the twisted system when a Fairy Soldier dies, their fairy organs become the properties of the ministry of fairies so as they could use them again. Marlya then tells of the fairy’s voice she heard. She feels weird about this because she didn’t undergo a fairy organ transplant like Fairy Soldiers. Nein reveals she could be fairy possessed. It is a rare occurrence whereby a fairy possesses a human directly. This is the same for Veronica and Ray. Could it just be a coincidence that they come from Suna? Marlya was never told about the details about this since they were forbidden to enter the fairy forest. Nein thinks Damien can enlighten them about fairy possessed. Meanwhile Wolfran gives the final volume of the tome to Bellwood and he is very pleased. Damien deduces that Bellwood’s goal is to resurrect the Divine Beast said to be equal to God. In the past, it happened before and turned the prosperous ancient kingdom of Tupal into a desert of death. This means Bellwood’s next step is to secure a fusion, a fairy possessed organ. Damien requests to see Golbarn and he will explain everything from the past to what he has done. Golbarn is disappointed that yet again another trusted comrade is a traitor. He asks Free that they were enemies during the war. But why is he now working with the enemy he once fought? Because he doesn’t want to see another war like that ever again. Golbarn gives the directive to arrest Bellwood and all his accomplices and leaves this entirely to Dorothea. That night, all the units surround the building of the ministry of fairies.
Episode 20
As they barge in, they realize the fairy weapons have been taken away. Entering Bellwood’s office, he isn’t here but a suicide bomber! Had Free not acted promptly by using his fairy to throw away the bomb, they could’ve been goners. It is believed that Bellwood is the leader of Eins while Griff and Wolfram are his lieutenants. Knowing their next step is to get a fairy possessed, Marlya informs the rest about her fairy possessed condition. They are surprised at first but make no big deal of it. Marlya is still Marlya. Another one of those unfounded worries blown away. Dorothea spend their time trying to look for Eins. They have no leads until they look at the confiscated records of Bellwood and Griff’s unusual long leave during office. They visited odd places and one of them being Wolfran’s hometown. Free and Marlya go there to ask the locals. An old man reveals Wolfran was devastated to learn his wife and daughter died. He became disillusioned he fought the war for nothing. Though there is a grave for them, it does not contain their bodies. Wolfran was then approached by Bellwood and they talked for a long time. Meanwhile Wolfran visits Michel in prison. The latter telling him someone in Dorothea is fairy possessed. Wolfran gives him a lethal potion to make it look like natural death. Free and Marlya are in the next town to find Olek, someone who is associated with Bellwood. But when that name rings a bell, Marlya returns to Suna to find Olek living as a recluse. He didn’t die then when Ray’s soldiers attack. He talks to them about the balance and bridge between the worlds that the fairies play an important role. Also a brief history of Tupal how man wanted to be superior to fairies and instead of summoning God, the Divine Beast is actually a demon. So those who were going to be used by Tupal as sacrificed, ran away to Suna and hence it is the origins of this land. Marlya is shocked to learn that Veronica was supposed to be the one offered as a sacrifice. Because when you’re giving a gift, you want it to be the best, right? A few years ago, Bellwood did come here. Because Olek was poor, he revealed all the fairy secrets for money. In the end, Bellwood and is men captured the Esteemed One. Free and Marlya hurry back but as they stop for the night, Marlya is out by herself and thinking about things when she is approached by Wolfran. Griff enters Golbarn’s office and kills him with his fairy. So this is how saving the world looks like?
Episode 21
Since Marlya won’t go with Wolfran, time to summon those fairies and fight. Marlya can hear his fairy saying it doesn’t want to fight. She thinks she can save him but he laughs at that idea. It’s not like she knows everything about him. Wolfran flees when Free comes to her aid. When they return to HQ, they hear about Golbarn’s assassination. With Eins knowing Marlya is fairy possessed, Nein wants Marlya off the case. On the contrary, Marlya wants to become the bait to lure Eins out. It is dangerous but her comrades promise to protect her. Ray comes to town to seek an audience with Harol. As he wants to help Zesskia in these trying times, he will relinquish his current position and take Golbarn’s post as Prime Minister. Harol agrees and appoints him. Wolfran reports his failure to capture Marlya. But with Golbarn’s assassination, this has brought all the fairy possessed into the same area. Because where Ray goes, Veronica will be waiting to kill him. Then there is a riot in the prisons. As some prisoners run free, Axel is confronted by Wolfran who wants him to deliver a message. Ray learns that Marlya is a survivor of Suna. So he summons her to talk privately and the moment he does, he calls out his fairy to attack hers. This is to test her ability to hear what the fairy is saying. As he too could hear the fairy’s voice, he tells her not to listen to the fairies. It is the voice of the people that they must listen. This is a world that humans built and the balance the fairies are trying to maintain no longer exists. He reveals the reason he burnt down Suna because he once thought he should be the only person to be fairy possessed. Knowing that Veronica is fairy possessed and wants him dead, they need to find her quickly to keep Eins from using her. Don’t have to tell that to Marlya. And then it’s like Marlya just realized her fairy pet, Chima could be useful after all. Remembering it can probably smell others with fairies, she has it sniff out Veronica’s whereabouts. Gee, never thought of this before, huh? What convenience. And when it sniffs Veronica hiding behind some door, Marlya tries to convince her to come under Dorothea’s protection since Eins is after her. As we expect, Veronica isn’t buying into that and still wants revenge. Veronica is still reeling from the suffering of the fairies and believes humans are to blame. And then Veronica just ‘vanishes’ once more, leaving Marlya behind. Her voice didn’t reach her… Axel sees Liscar and delivers the message that he is needed for the ‘final stage’.
Episode 22
A state funeral is held for Golbarn. Dorothea escorts Ray to the place but of course, enemies attack. With artificial fairy soldiers blocking their paths, Dorothea has got to find alternatives to get Ray to safety. Free once more clashes with Wolfran but this time the latter is using Fratanil. Eventually Ray’s escort comes under attack. He is forced to fight Liscar and Ray is no pushover. Until Ray gets injured, Nein switches with him to fight the war crazy mercenary. He even gives her fairy weapon so as to fight on equal terms. Marlya and Robert reach a secret safe house. After Robert leaves to find medical help, Veronica pops up. I guess now is the time for revenge. Since Marlya can’t shoot her, Veronica goes all out to fight Ray who can only defend himself. The fight takes a breather, allowing Ray to explain what he did was unforgiveable and that he isn’t seeking forgiveness. He believes people like them (the fairy possessed) shouldn’t exist in this world. Also, ancient beings have been misleading people and should be destroyed, thus his destruction of Suna. If man wants to kill, he should do it with his own hands. Marlya thinks he is lying when he says he has no regrets. Because this is not the first time Veronica tried to kill him. She did so before and was arrested but each time he released her. He did so because he regretted his actions. But because of this, she gets to see Veronica. For that she is grateful for him. Ray doesn’t deserve to be thanked. Only hated. Marlya doesn’t intend to forgive him either but hating or killing him won’t make things better. Yeah, Veronica so confused no wonder she’s getting so emotional. Even more so when Ray apologizes from the bottom from his heart. Cue for Marlya and Veronica to get back close together again and give each other some hope. Sorry to ruin this (yuri?) moment because Griff is here to take one of them and kill the rest. Ray protects the ladies with his fairies to let them escape. So he pays the price as Griff drags him back to his base, puts his fairy organ into the Esteemed One. Or is it the Divine Beast? It roars back to life. Beginning of the end.
Episode 23
With the Divine Beast turning everything into sand, Bellwood and his Eins fellow gladly embrace the new era. Yeah, I guess they found their salvation. RIP. Do Marlya and Veronica have enough time talking about escaping and surviving? I mean, Marlya just reunited with Veronica and now she wants her to leave to be safe? Didn’t you promise from now on you’ll be together? We get it. You’re family. No time for such talk. The Divine Beast is rampaging. Nein finally kills Liscar. But he dies a happy man. Nein also took on a near fatal damage from him. Sophie is about to kill her but Dorothea reinforcements are here. It’s like once Liscar is dead, all his men lost their vitality. Yeah, Dorothea so sharp shooting and killing all of them off! Even Sophie! Can’t believe she easily died like that. Back to Free and Wolfran’s fight. We know Wolfran isn’t going to listen to his words about being free and moving forward. He just wants to destroy everything after his family’s supposed death. But Free has the better will. After cutting through Fratanil, he won’t kill Wolfran. He knows nothing will be solved. What good will it do if they kill each other? Only survivors pass on their knowledge and that’s how they get better. And yeah, Free isn’t such a kind person to kill him. Free notices the Divine Beast came out from some cave. He thinks this is where Eins’ base is and heads there to find some answers on how to stop it. However only Griff is there. Looks like he wasn’t stupid enough to sacrifice himself. So he intends to be the one who will create a new world order? Typical megalomaniac but at least he was sneaky enough to use others for his goal. Free fights him and is surprised that he has a fairy weapon too. But Free won’t have to fight him alone. Wolfran joins him. So now Wolfran is also a changed man? Don’t want to die now, huh? As Marlya gets closer to the Divine Beast, she can hear its voice. Seems it doesn’t want to destroy humans but has no other choice, Time for Marlya to be a heroine. She’s going to save and free the Divine Beast.
Episode 24
Eins’ goal was to let the Divine Beast wipe out civilization and let the fairies rebuild the world as they see fit. However Griff knows very well the Divine Beast will not entirely wipe out humanity due to some limitation. I mean, isn’t that why humanity still survived after Tupal’s downfall? Hence Griff’s plan is to become the new leader of the survivors. Yeah, great goal. Only if Wolfran didn’t kill him! Good grief for Griff. Haha! Whoops. Meanwhile Marlya and Veronica realize that their fairy weapons keep them safe from being turned to dust. The plan now is to cut open a hole in it, then summon a fairy to go inside and destroy its fairy organ. So this is how to set free the Divine Beast? Okay. Never try, never know. Of course it is harder than it looks and Veronica gets impaled! Oh no! So kind of the Divine Beast to give the ladies some time to talk it over because you know somebody’s death flag is coming up. So after Veronica telling Marlya to live her part, she pushes her into the hole while she herself gets turned into sand. No time to cry over sand. Veronica’s fairy joins with Marlya’s and now she has a fusion of a badass fairy. At least Veronica now lives inside her, no? With Free coming by, convenient transport to get up close to the Divine Beast. Enough for Free to slash it open and Marlya using her new hybrid fairy to fly inside and destroy the Divine Beast once and for all! Just endure the big sandstorm finale. And then we have Marlya talking about the fairies will be gone with everything else because humans has lost too much. But Free remains optimistic as long as somebody remembers, what they’ve protected will still be there. And so he wants to remember and know more about Veronica? Indeed. Marlya has lots to tell him but first she has to stop her crying. In the aftermath, humans continue to live and rebuild their lives. We see snippets of what happened to other characters like Axel being arrested again, Damien joining the ministry of fairies, Nein still heading Dorothea instead of contemplating Prime Minister post, Wolfran back in his hometown and Sweetie and Patricia travelling the world! You go travel, girls! You’re free! Free and Marlya continue to work hard at Dorothea since there is still the possibility of using fairies as weapons. Well, as long as humans are still around…
Fairly Gone To The Dogs
Oh well, at least the good news now is that Marlya doesn’t have to further chase after Veronica as she can now be easily found at one resting place. HAHAHA!!! Oops, sorry. But you get what I mean. Too bad no potential future yuri. And with quite a few characters dead, it doesn’t seem likely that anybody is going to pose a new threat and become the next megalomaniac to take over the world or repeat the disaster of destroying it. I mean, all those really suspicious guys whom you will suspect to be evil underneath their skin or the potential individuals or organizations to misuse the fairy power have all met their demise. Maybe the king. Maybe the military minister. But they look more like wuss who could get their asses kicked without Dorothea’s protection. Just exaggerating but I can’t dismiss that feeling. So the world is safe for now to give fairies some breathing space to live until mankind rebuilds itself. Well, if history has ever showed us, it has clearly repeated itself here.
Sad to say that the story is all over the place and it is really hard to pinpoint what is actually going on. Firstly, it would be wrong to just blame it all on the producers of this series, P.A. Works. You see, unlike many other studios who adapted stories from sources like manga, light novels or even video games, P.A. Works have been trying to produce original anime series over the years. From the recent (and I mean that by a few years ago) Irozuku Sekai No Ashita Kara and Tenrou: Sirius The Jaeger right back up to their early days producing Angel Beats, Hanasaku Iroha and Tari Tari, Fairy Gone is yet another one of those original works. I agree that creating something new is quite hard and a herculean feat but given their years of experience, I thought they would have improved. Maybe they need more time? I don’t know. Not my place to say. But Fairy Gone isn’t one of their greatest original works if I should say the least.
It’s nice to see them trying to break away from the high school teen drama that I often saw such as Hanasaku Iroha, Irozuku Sekai No Ashita Kara Tari Tari, Nagi No Asakura, Glasslip and Haruchika. But Fairy Gone isn’t their first supernatural series. RDG: Red Data Girl, Another and even Uchouten Kazoku are considered supernatural themed animes they have produced before. With Fairy Gone, they’re trying to incorporate some dark themes and elements into the series and with some action too. Something like Tenrou: Sirius The Jaeger but replacing the vampires with fairies.
It is very unfortunate that instead of learning the lore and setting of the fairies (which I believed at first was going to be the core of the series), instead it dabbled more into human politics. With that kind of title, naturally anyone will be inclined to think that fairies would be the main star and focus of this show. But instead we got politics especially for the first half AKA first season of the series. What’s this about some hidden agenda to disunite a united Zesskia? Bits and pieces of information about the fairies are made known to light later on but considering where we have gone and arrived at, it felt too late. Even so, the fairies still do not amount to anything much. And those fairy scholars, I thought they would be something big but I guess they needed to cook up something for history lessons of fairies. Because it didn’t really matter what colour the tome was and who the original fairy author was, it was just that black one some cult order needed to bring Armageddon. The rest didn’t matter anyway but it needed to be mentioned so as if to make it look ‘meatier’. Hey, at least that’s how I felt.
So aside the human politics, they try to put in several other mini plots in hopes of making it all interesting and then everything just comes together and culminates towards the end. Well, I don’t think went smoothly for me. Because most of the time I felt confused and everything was one big wild goose chase. For instance, Dorothea keep trying to track down and chase that Black Fairy Tome. The contents and whoever wants it are unknown until plot convenience says so. So in the meantime, we have Dorothea chasing down mafia clans like Arcame and Gui Carlin in which both organized crime syndicates got conveniently wiped out as the story progresses. Then there was that assassination attempt on Golbarn and Schwarz obviously having ulterior motives. And oh yes, I almost forgot. Veronica still trying to assassinate Ray. That felt like one of the longest side plots ever. Veronica biding her time and waiting for the right moment to just kill that old dude while every other plots happen in between. It just feels odd. And in the end, Veronica didn’t sully her hands taking that guy’s life and Ray somewhat repented but sometimes when I think about it, the long wait for revenge felt wasted. Ah, a true friend who persistently spams and virtue signals you why you mustn’t kill. Good thing, right?
Another reason why I find this series hard to follow is because of the locations. I know, this is a fantasy world and there are really made up countries and kingdoms. So in the initial episodes where the story is starting to roll and all, I got really confused when they were talking about this certain country to that certain country. Like, where the hell is that? I mean, where the heck is Rondacia?! Kal-O? Where’s that? Which country borders it? Hybranz? Sighs… It gets worse when they start stating places but also state in parenthesis that it was the former region of a former country. So much more confused!!! And they also put the year or something but my brains are too lazy to think if this was 5 years ago or 10 years ago or 50 years ago… You get the idea. I believe there was a map shown of the continent this world is set on but it is very brief and unless you pause and study it, normal lazy viewers like me aren’t going to remember the geography of this world. Making it worse, the newly unified countries of Zesskia all look the same. You know those same boring brick buildings you see here, they’re abundance too in other countries. It’s like they don’t have any landmarks of their own to distinguish one country from another. No wonder I’m so confused.
Incorporating fairies into soldiers means that you’re going to expect some sort of fairy fighting, right? Well, it might look novel at first that humans who are implanted with fairies get to summon them to aid them in battle. However this novelty wears off very fast. Because you realize the fairies don’t actually don’t do much sh*t except rumbling with each other in the background while the humans duke it out with each other (in which this is what the action scenes mostly focus on). Hence summoning fairies to fight sometimes feels redundant and just a mere sideshow to fulfil the criteria of using fairies in a fight. Come to think of it, summoning fairies to fight feels like a creepier and twisted version of Pokemon battles! It is with great misfortune that this is the ‘biggest’ roles the fairies will ever get to play since they won’t usually last long and will be re-summoned back into the human owner after a while. Yeah, didn’t make any headway. So why continue the fight? Besides, it saddens me that the fairies fighting each other are more boring than the humans fighting! Some fairies have their own special abilities but they are hardly used and what we usually see are just fairies roaring, charging and ‘wrestling’ with each other. That’s about it. Though, my favourite fairy still goes to Serge because it is like an arm blaster! Best fairy in terms of firepower.
It feels weird that a Fairy Soldier whenever he/she wants to summon his fairy, he/she has to put his hand over his heart to activate it. Strange, why? Because it feels like they are about to get a heart attack! No, seriously. When they first did this pose, that actually crossed my mind. What the heck is this cardiac arrest pose just to summon their fairy?! So I suppose there could be that one time when Dorothea got trolled because some old guy just got a heart attack and they thought he was summoning his fairy. Psyche! No fairy. Just a normal heart attack. And it must be a safety mechanism that when the fairy owner takes enough damage, the fairy disappears back inside. Because I don’t remember seeing anybody dying with their fairies summoned out so I can’t say that when the fairy dies, the owner also dies.
As for the human characters, well, I already said the story is in a mess. Hence the characters didn’t do any good to make the story interesting. And because of all the human politics, it got messier. Some minor characters just live up to their role sufficient for plot convenience like those mafia guys. For instance, why the heck do we need that Eajay character for? Like as though they needed some final boss fight to truly bring the demise of Gui Carlin. Yup, that mafia clan is done. Can get them out of the way now and let the other real plot surface. And why do we need Liscar in the first place? Some war crazy person who was once part of the Seven Knights just to add to the action sequence? You betcha. Because it was really a no brainer that he and his mercenaries waltz right into the palace while killing all the inept guards. Like, WTF was that all about?! Oh, they also kill him and the rest of his troops so as not to worry about this faction. How convenient.
As for the main characters, they try to flesh out Free and Marlya but with all the convoluted plot in between, sometimes the drama and their character back story feel forced. Like how Marlya at first keeps feeling guilty because of her cursed status and it took quite a while before she accepts her comrade’s trust. Good, because now she gets to go save Veronica. Yeah, spamming that Suna flashback from time to time. Like as though plot convenience once again rearing its ugly head so that Marlya could finally change Veronica’s mind about revenge or something. Speaking of her, being an assassin and biding her time just to get that single revenge, I don’t know if she is serious or not. I mean, how long has she waited for this moment? Perhaps she doesn’t really want to kill Ray as much as she wants to make us think we do. She just needed somebody to convince her to stop. After all, aside plot convenience, isn’t it more than just coincidence that Marlya stumbles into Veronica in so many occasions? Could it be today that Veronica changes over a new leaf? Not yet. Still got a lot more episodes to go. Heh. And Free… Shucks, don’t remember too much about him except his best friend got killed during his soldier days so he’s just trying to move forward and continuing living. To say he is Marlya’s pillar of strength isn’t accurate either. But without him, she might have followed Veronica’s footsteps albeit in a different fashion.
And this Wolfran… You think he is the real baddie but a veteran like me has the guts saying that good looking guys like him aren’t as bad as you think. Sure, the cliché revenge guy who wants to kill everything because his wife and daughter were taken away and he had no more reason to live. Maybe this guy is like Veronica too. He just needs somebody to stop him and he doesn’t want to really destroy everything. Yeah, because letting some monster killing innocent children all over the world who is unrelated to his revenge seems like a big dick move. And so they try to keep you guessing about Wolfran. Once a Fairy Soldier, he is now with Arcame? Nope. Working for Ray. Somewhat. But gotcha! He is really in cohorts with Eins. Haha! Man of no principle he is right. Now he is back fighting alongside Free. Okay. I guess that’s for the best. It is ironic that Veronica and Wolfran atoned their ways one by dying and the other by living. Is it me or am I starting to notice that blonde heads mostly are the troublemakers here?! From Veronica to Wolfran, we also have Griff and Patricia too. Sophie is a minor blonde too. Sweetie and Liscar aren’t but it would be really damning and suspicious if they were blondes…
Art and animation quality, I guess they are pretty okay. Considering this is done by P.A. Works, there are lots of good looking people here. Like I’ve pointed out before, this isn’t their usual high school teen drama so lots of very mature woman here if you’re not into those younger teen type. The fairy designs are, uhm, hideous! Worse, they are made from CGI so their movements are really one kind. I think they want to make fairies look not like your typical Tinkerbell and hence all the vicious monstrous looks. But sometimes it feels like they are Halloween rejects. Really. Like, Marlya’s fairy comes off more than creepy than scary. I mean, what the heck is that maiden supposed to be?! At first I thought this world was going to be steampunk but it is more like some European dystopia. As said, the gloomy atmosphere and architecture is one of the reasons I couldn’t tell apart the countries. I said steampunk because earlier on there was this bizarre vehicle that moves around not on wheels but via artificial legs! It seems so creepy for a vehicle to move like a scurrying spider or something! I really want to know the mechanics of how this actually works and how it gives the passengers a smooth ride. But subsequently this contraption is slowly forgotten because it’s more convenient to just use your ordinary wheels, right? Yeah. Doesn’t take up space and it’s just so much simpler. And some of the character designs, well, I thought Serge looked like a descendent of Beethoven. Really. And Damien… This guy should enter the Jesus Christ look-a-like contest!
Voice acting is rather okay, recognizing a few veteran seiyuus such as Takehito Koyasu as Damein, Kenji Tsuda as Griff, Hochu Ohtsuka as Bellwood, Yuka Iguchi as Patricia and Shizuka Itou as Sophie, Hiroki Yasumoto as Eajay. The other casts are Tomoaki Maeno as Free (Mika in Kuutei Dragons), Kana Ichinose as Marlya (Asagi in Irozuku Sekai No Ashita Kara), Ayaka Fukuhara as Veronica (Lugh in Trinity Seven), Yoshimasa Hosoya as Wolfran (Reiner in Shingeki No Kyojin), Minako Kotobuki as Sweetie (Tsumugi in K-ON!), Eizou Tsuda as Ray (Heinemann in Muv-Luve Alternative: Total Eclipse), Ayaka Suwa as Klara (Chris in KonoSuba), Yoshiki Nakajima as Serge (Nitta in Hinamatsuri), Mie Sonozaki as Nein (Hazuki in Happy Lesson), Kouji Okino as Robert (Tetsutetsu in Boku No Hero Academia), Hisao Egawa as Liscar (Shiranui in Nabari No Ou), Takaya Hashi as Schwarz (Inuarashi in One Piece), Shouto Kashii as Golbarn (Deadwing in The Reflection) and Shinji Kawada as Axel (Shino in Naruto).
All the opening and ending themes are sung by [K]now_Name. I read many viewed the first opening theme, Knock On The Core to be an epic piece. But personally, I think it’s just another rock music. Not the kind to my liking but it does fit the pace and tone of this series. It’s the same for the second opener, Still Standing but adding more dramatic tone to the rock song. Hence I prefer the ending themes like Ash-like Snow (first ending theme) especially the heavily pounded piano accompaniment with the rock music as well as Stay Gold (second ending theme) which is more of a slow rock (I don’t know why, some parts of the song like the electric guitar solo remind me of Joan Osborne’s What If God Was One Of Us).
Overall, I guess it is somewhat true and now that I myself have confirmed it, this series is not as good as Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi E (though this one isn’t all that good either but at least they could transform into their beast mode and fight!). Messy and confusing story plots and less than interesting characters as well as the atrocity of turning fairies into secondary features of the show are the main factors putting many off. Especially the typical human politics of typical evil human nature. Some things never changed. It does have some decent fight scenes but not enough to reverse the train wreck it has become at this point. It really had lots of potential but didn’t quite develop well enough to make things interesting (especially the history and lore of things pertaining to fairies). Maybe it didn’t have enough episodes to flesh things out properly but if it is not well thought out in the first place, no number of episodes is going to do any justice. Just like how no number of fairies killed is going to bring any form of balance or justice. Man can burn down and kill every fairy and the Divine Beast can turn everything into sand in its wake. But nothing can still stop bad animes marching away into our lives! Poor fairies. I think The Fairly OddParents have better treatment of fairies than this!
Heya Camp
1 May, 2020
Yo! Yo! Hey ‘ya! Hey ‘ya! Wassap my brothers and sisters! How ‘ya all doing today? Just kidding. That’s the impression I got when I heard that is the title of the second season of Yuru Camp, Heya Camp. Technically it means room camping. So does this mean we’re through with the outdoors and now they’re trying to do cheaper camps inside buildings? After all, with the coincidental pandemic of the Corona virus, have to take precautions and stay indoors, avoid as many contact with society and most important of all, wash your hands clean. So are we still going camping or what?
Episode 1
Nadeshiko finds a canned tuna in the room. Is it for food? Suddenly a wild boar enters! Today’s lesson: Canned foods can be used as emergencies to distract wild animals. Of course this is all just a figment of her imagination. It is Chiaki and Aoi who come by. Noticing the canned tuna in her hand, they note it can also make good oil lamps. Later when Nadeshiko shows some houtou food she made, Chiaki believes she has completed the Yamanashi Kids’ Stamp Rally. Haven’t? So what are you waiting for? Visiting various hotspots and collecting the stamps earns one a year’s worth of steamed buns! Let’s go, go, go!!!
Episode 2
First stop for the stamp rally is Mt Fuji centre. After that, the girls eat a dish in the shape of Mt Fuji. It seems the more they eat, it becomes the shape of whatever mountain they recognize it to be. Finally it becomes the shape of Europe’s Matterhorn before finally being devoured. As it is cloudy, they can’t see any of Mt Fuji at all. But seeing that they love Mt Fuji so much, they can imagine its outline and still enjoy the ‘view’. Hey! Is this turning into Yama No Susume???!!!
Episode 3
Now they are biking at Kawaguchi lake. They also meet a biking couple who request their help in taking some photos of them. Once done, they show the girls an album of the sceneries they have been on their bike. Hence the trio after getting their stamp, they wonder if they will look back at the stamp rally like this when they’re grown up. Maybe.
Episode 4
Before we forget about Rin, today’s episode focuses on her day in life. Don’t worry. It won’t take long. After getting up and eating breakfast, she goes to work but gets ‘surprised attacked’ by Saitou’s dog. Saitou keeps Rin accompany at the bookstore. She draws a picture of Nadeshiko. Rin doesn’t find it look anything like her and notes it is just simulacrum (the brain perceiving 3 dots as a face). Then she draws one on Rin. Brings back ‘scary’ memories? Going home, she got ‘surprised attacked’ by a pine cone that flew into her face. Mom is making nabe and looks like grandpa has given them salmon. Rin loves this ‘surprise attack’. As she puts the ingredients into the pot, then a simulacrum face pops up. Surprised?
Episode 5
The girls are taking a tram up to Kachikachi mountain. They talk about the local folklore on how it got its name. It seems there was a race between a rabbit, tanuki and turtle. Sounds familiar? Anyway, the rabbit and tanuki tried to outdo each other like the rabbit trying to annoy the tanuki by snapping flintstones (hence the ‘kachikachi’ noise and thus the name). But eventually both failed and the slow and steady turtle won. Kachi! The girls take pictures with the tanuki and rabbit statue. Hmm… Where’s the turtle? Anyway, after getting their stamp, they enjoy the delicious dango while enjoying the picturesque view.
Episode 6
Heading to their next stamp location, Nadeshiko learns that Aoi and Chiaki aren’t really childhood friends and only met each other in middle school. After getting a stamp at a place with sakura trees, Chiaki remembers this was where she came for her first year at middle school. Then at a bridge, Chiaki further remembers during the summer of their second year at middle school, they were having some fire swinging procession. Yeah, looks dangerous. Aoi accidentally flung it and almost hit Chiaki. That was the moment they actually talked to each other and became friends like how it is today. And then at the vending machine, also more memories of how Chiaki won an extra can and shared it with Aoi. But I guess now they can’t replicate that luck. Oh well, drink still enjoyable, though.
Episode 7
Oh no! Taihen da! Nadeshiko lost that stamp rally sheet! They search everywhere, the possible places she could have lost it but to no avail. All that searching makes them hungry so Chiaki brings them home to make houtou. If you don’t know what this dish is, I guess they try explaining it to us. At least the last time the dry houtou they made at Aoi’s place. Last time Chiaki made hers, mom made it free for all and threw random stuffs into it. Even so, today they’re going to have the freedom to make a freestyle houtou as long as they have the right noodles. Of course with Nadeshiko having a big appetite, this cheers her up a lot. Meanwhile an old biker dude (Rin’s grandpa) finds that stamp rally sheet on the roadside. What kind of guy would literally stop just because some little flyer by the side caught his attention?! Oh yeah. This place is so clean that there is barely any litter…
Episode 8
The trio are now soaking their feet at the footbaths. Wondering why this place is called Golden Feet, Aoi tells of a legend how a pair of golden sandals appeared before a farmer. He tried to walk away with it but was too heavy and left it there. Of course it is a blatant lie but the foreigner seems to love it and wants to hear more! Aoi then smoothly adds more lies that includes some feudal shogun hiding his favourite houtou here. Foreigner even more impressed. So lies are okay if you make them smile? Isn’t that what many lies are?! Hope this won’t come back and bite them later that will eventually lead to tarnishing Japan’s image! Later the trio try some hotspring snack. Nadeshiko then tries to pull a fast one that she has gold instead of raisins inside it. Of course Aoi could tell he lie right away because of her fake Kansai accent but notes they often work better because it sounds softer. Really? Nope. Aoi just lied and pulled another fast one on her!
Episode 9
Chiaki spots a Mt Fuji pattern on an item. This prompts her to ask the question from which angle this mountain was drawn. Based on it, it looks like it is from Yamanashi. One win for Yamanashi! Then they stop at a tuna bowl shop. Aoi explains this item is a featured one in Yamanashi despite it doesn’t border the ocean. In fact, it is Japan’s second largest consumer of tuna. The first being Shizuoka whom it neighbours. This prompts Chiaki to ask Nadeshiko whose side she is on. Of course Nadeshiko can’t choose and loves both places. She feels like she is like Mt Fuji, straddled between both prefectures. Yeah, she’s like the bridge to both places! Enough talking. Let’s go get some tuna bowl. Only, they have no money… :’(.
Episode 10
Chiaki suggests making a camp video. From buying food to trekking to the site. However they stumbled upon something scary! A cult worshipping table cloth???!!! Blair Witch Project this isn’t?! Gotcha. Just one of Chiaki’s lies but it was enough to scare the daylights out of Nadeshiko. When the trio visit the cave, Nadeshiko was awed with the surroundings until she realized her pals aren’t with her. Panicking, she runs out into the woods and almost got lost. Thank goodness for Rin nearby. She hands back the stamp rally sheet. Wow. Did they write their name on it? How did she know it belonged to them? Nadeshiko is glad to have it back. She thought she’d never see this again. All those visits not wasted since they stamped on a different paper so now they can cut it out and stick back here. So is it too late for Rin to join in the stamp rally quest?
Episode 11
The trio are on their last leg in getting the final stamps. The last one is at some outdoor public bath. There. Finished! They then soak in the bath and have a pleasant view of Mt Fuji. Then this is the real shocker: Nadeshiko actually knows that this entire stamp rally was a setup by Chiaki and Aoi! Wow. Such an amazing feat how they rush ahead and try to put together the necessary things. No wonder Nadeshiko spotted them during their ‘assembling’. Of course she doesn’t mind because she gets to go places and taste lots of great food with them. Once they leave, Nadeshiko suggests they should go camping. FINALLY! SOMETHING RELATED!!!
Episode 12
They’re finally camping! Albeit just in their school grounds. Nadeshiko asks why they did the stamp rally in the first place. Well, they’ve been camping nonstop since she moved here so they thought it would be nice to help her familiarize with the area as well as introducing places that they love to hang out. Wow. Nadeshiko almost close to tears. Watch out. Don’t overburn the marshmallow! Nadeshiko thanks them for the nice gesture. As they can’t really camp outside for the night, it’s camping back in their crammed clubroom. Next morning, Nadeshiko has created her own stamp rally and wants them to join her exploring her recommended spots. How sweet. Looks like it has lots more places to explore. Only, Nadeshiko printed the stamps backwards. Wait. How the heck can she print them so fast? More importantly, is this going to be a hiking anime from now on?!
Take A (Yuru) Hike!
When I first realized that this season only had 3 minutes per episode, I was totally in shock. How could they have downgraded a laidback camping series from a full TV length to just a few mere minutes? Why, they feel more like shorts and specials worthy to be included in DVD or BD purchases! What atrocity! I thought this was really a downer. Then I realized after watching finished this season that this isn’t actually the second season of Yuru Camp. The REAL AND ACTUAL season will be scheduled and coming in 2021 and this just some side spinoff. Phew. I thought they really tried to troll us because there is no camping whatsoever at all! Not even in a room! They should call this the hiking show or something. But thankfully, it’s good to know at this point that the REAL AND ACTUAL sequel will be coming next year.
So now that I’ve got that out of the way, the negative essence has subsided a lot. Yup. I was going to give a lot of sarcastic comments and opinions about this short because it didn’t really live up to the fun, casual and relaxing first season. It lacked a lot of things so much so I thought they cut things down and produced it just to make a quick cash grab. After all, the first season has its own charm despite not being a mainstream anime.
Essentially this spinoff sees the trio of mainly Nadeshiko, Chiaki and Aoi going around the Yamanashi prefecture and well, collecting stamps. It feels like one big promotional tour of the prefecture as we can see some of the local attractions as well as food being shown here. Is it visit Yamanashi prefecture year? Or did the local tourism board paid the studio to do this blatant advertising so as to bring in tourists and the money? I’m sure those are just my speculation and made up lies but whatever it is, the promotion was decently done and they didn’t really spam it in our faces to really come and see the place. Looks good. Very picturesque. Maybe one day I’ll visit there. When I have the money to travel, that is! :’(.
It is also weird for this series not to have all the main characters together. One will obviously notice that Rin is sorely missing and not part of the Yamanashi mini tour. It’s like they want to leave her out and make us forget about her as she makes cameos worse than background minor characters. While it is fun to see the trio together, it just feels missing without Aoi. Even more so, Saitou. If this was an actual second season, the criticisms would have been harsher. Not to say I’m giving them a free pass either but it would have been a lot more fun had the quartet (or quintet if Saitou is in) are together and doing fun things.
But it is really mind boggling how Chiaki and Aoi go all out their way to set this mini trip up just for Nadeshiko. My point is that, how fast and far must they travel and do all the bothersome things like setting up the table and desk? It’s just not plausible no matter how I think about it. Even assuming Yamanashi is such a peaceful prefecture and no idiot would be curious enough to mess those unmanned stamp desks, this is still too much mind boggling to process. No wonder Nadeshiko found out and just kept quiet. They’re so cute trying their best to set it all up for her. Now that it is Nadeshiko’s turn, I guess no point hiding it and just let the cat out of the bag. They’re so eager to hike, huh? Well, before one can really camp, one must still hike to the camping site. So I guess hiking is part of camping eventually. Hey wait. So is that year’s worth of steamed buns a real reward or not?! Oh well. I’m sure they got something more everlasting than that. Yeah. But still… Steamed buns…
One of the great things this season is the ending theme, The Sunshower by Asaka. It sounds like a great country music and that feeling of wanting to lie down on the grass and just enjoy the rest of the nice weathered day go by. This song definitely makes my day. No opening theme here since this spinoff is so short. Oh yeah. You remember that Jackson 5’s spoof of I Want You Back? Yeah, same singer. Now she’s going for a more calming country style music. Hmm… I have this feeling I heard this tune somewhere but I just can’t place my finger on it… Maybe it is just me thinking too much.
This spinoff doesn’t bring much to the table and it felt like they trolled those who were expecting some sort of camping but instead we got hiking and sightseeing. Yup, no camping tips and tricks here. Even if this feels a lot lacking, it still has its own cute and calming charm that should prepare us when the REAL AND ACTUAL second season finally arrives on our shores. Hey at least the girls got out and experience the natural fresh air and seeing places. Unlike us lazy otakus ‘camping’ in front of our comfy chair and comfy room watching (not necessarily comfy) animes. Is this what true Heya Camp really is?!
Chua Tek Ming~*Anime Power*~ !LiVe FoR AnImE, aNiMe FoR LiFe! 