Today, we start with the third and last part of Ayakashi: Bake Neko (I’m really forcing myself not to misread it as Baka Neko). And again, it feels like we’re in a total different anime. The funny thing is, that the impact is even bigger than with Ten Shu Mono Gatari. And again, Bake Neko has some unique features. Yotsuya Kaidan had the incredible murders, Ten Shu Mono Gatari had its great love story. Bake Neko, however, is just crazy. And that has to say something, especially when compared to Yotsuya Kaidan.

The first thing that comes to the eye is the once more changed character art. Yotsuya Kaidan had ugly characters. Ten Shu Mono Gatari had elegant-looking characters. Bake Neko has hilarious looking characters. Especially the minor characters just look like they had to suffer from the horrors of overbudgetting, ending up with a continuously idiotic look.

That’s not all. Also the dialogue just screams chaos. While Yotsuya Kaidan’s dialogue was based on history, Ten Shu Mono Gatari tried to be as romantic as possible, Bake Neko just uses fast-paced dialogue combined with characters being weird, and combines it to something that actually ends up pretty enjoyable.

Anyway, about the story of Bake Neko: I like it. I really like it. This might be the best of the three. We have this demon, who’s busy assaulting a rich family, consisting of a grandfather, a father, a mother, a daughter, an uncle, two or three bodyguards and a bunch of servants. He already killed the daughter and one of the servants, and if it weren’t for a medicine seller who happens to know exorcism, the entire house would have been demolished.

In order for the medicine seller to be able to kill the demon, three things must be known: Katachi, Makoto and Kotowari: the form the demon takes, what is really going on, and the events that made the demon act the way he did. Katachi is immediately clear: this is a case of Bake Neko (hence the title). The merchant needs the members of the house in order to be able to determine Makoto, after which the episode ends. My guess is that the rest of the episodes will deal with the merchant figuring out what happened, accompanied by a couple of nice deaths. I also like the way that especially the uncle seems to be hiding something, though my favourite character still is the assistant bodyguard. He’s just so ignorant.

We now turn to the series which were kindof ignored by the fansubbers. They’re all fantasy series, in one way or another. Again, some are good, some are bad. Some of them, though, really deserve more credit than they get.

Yume Tsukai

I liked the promo-art when I first saw this. It promises to be an interesting series, with kindof a weak start. If I guess this right, this will be just like series as Jigoku Shoujo and Mushishi: each episode, we get a different case, and each episode is a story on its own. Still, the former two captured me at this moment. Yume Tsukai, however, seems a bit mediocre. I do have confidence, though, that this will turn out to be a great series later in the show. Still, I don’t know whether I’ll be able to witness it, due to the enormous amount of other shows which currently air, and caught my attention more. I’ll try, though.

Ar Tonelico

I secretly hoped for this to be the next Tales of Phantasia. Note to self: NEVER do that again. The story is just generic. The main character is an impulsive, immature, pubescent male. That is so original. Especially when you try to consider that the creators try to make him look like some perfect being. That doesn’t work. The fact that he immediately ends up with a cute girl doesn’t really help, so does the fact that another cute girl happens to be the best engineer ever. Still, despite all this garbage, there’s one thing I really loved. The graphics look totally amazing. Especially the backgrounds were on Mushishi and Tales of Phantasia-level.

Jyu Oh Sei

I have absolutely no idea why this show is neglected this much. It’s brilliant! I urge everyone to check this out, you won’t be disappointed. It’s not the best to come in this season, but this will certainly be a good watch. Another thing: even though the concept is huge, the show only airs eleven episodes. This will either mean great pacing or a rushed ending. Judging from episode one, I’d say its the former. Let’s hope it’ll be able to keep up, because if it will, this will become awesome. Interesting fact: the first thing I thought of when I saw this anime was “Fantastic Children”, which is true, the main characters really look like some upgraded versions of the Children of Befort, which is a very good thing.

One episode left, and we’re in for a grande finale. It promises to be a great drama, after all, Ueki has only 18 chances to finish Anon off. The Ballow team also still has to give out its final trump card, Hideyoshi also didn’t get to stand in the spotlights. I’ll eat my hat if Sano, Rinko and Mori have played their parts in this show, Robert still has to have a few tricks up his sleave, and is Rihou really taken out forever?

Though, I’m wondering… how did Anon manage to beat Robert in the first place? Anon had nothing at that time, no sacred treasures, no power, no nothing. So, how did he do it? Anyway, it’s also glad to see that the creators still haven’t used up all of their creativity at the end of the series. Ueki’s Maoh, and Anon’s trick at the end totally deserve credit. The fact remains, though, the the fight wasn’t as glorious as we’re used to. Unfortunately.

Will the ending be as predicted, will the ending be horrible, or do we still have a few surprises left? The way it is now, this show can go every possible direction.

The episode begins with the members of TaN discussing for a bit, then we switch back to Haseo, who’s busy levelling. These are also the only fights that happen in this episode. It makes me glad to see that this series didn’t focus on the fights after all. Anyway, after killing a bunch of monsters, he walks into three suspicious-looking PC’s, probably after an easy PK. Then we switch to the members of the Twillight Brigade. Shino and Ovan have a little talk with each other, with Ovan being as mysterious as ever.

Back to Haseo, it seems someone has been spreading rumours about him being the legendary Haseo, with superpowers and super-items. The three PC’s from before were begging him to join their party. Haseo tries to flee, but runs into some other guys who heard about him. These, however, are a bunch of PK-ers, only after his money and items. Haseo gets saved by Tawaraya, the big merchant from TaN. Tawaraya, interested in Haseo’s bond with Ovan, is stunned when he founds out that Haseo knows absolutely nothing. He goes back to TaN, and wonders why Ovan was so interested in this kid.

Haseo, meanwhile, gets bothered by Tabby. She’s the only character in the show I have problems with. In combination with other characters, she works pretty well, but her artwork SO does NOT fit with the others. It’s really another art style she’s drawn in. She also was the biggest reason why I feared that .Hack//Roots might be going into the wrong direction. Anyway, she gives Haseo a special card, which makes you able to join a certain guild, in this case, the Twillight Brigade. The two spend a bit of time together, Tabby keeps bothering him, and Haseo decides to lose her the quick and easy way: by logging out.

I’ve noticed before, but now I know for sure: the episodes of .Hack//Roots all start out a bit of mediocre, but as the episode progresses, the scenes become better and better by the minute, and the scenes at the beginning of the episode all get their meaning. The result is awesome, and this episode was no exception. We now get our first taste of supernatural events on the show, and finally it becomes clear why Ovan was so interested in Haseo. For some reason, the screen gets a weird tint, all PC’s and NPC’s disappear, and all Haseo’s able to see is Ovan, who’s walking a distance away from him. Haseo tries to follow him, but the screen turns normal again, and he bumps into Tawaraya. Tawaraya soon understands what happened to him, and finally understands why Ovan was so interested in Haseo. He gives him a special card as well. It also now becomes clear why TaN’s so interested in Ovan. A lot of pieces fall into place this way.

Shino, meanwhile sees where she went wrong, and goes back to Haseo. This time, not to convince him, but just to be with him. That’s what I really liked: two characters, just sitting next to each other, saying just nothing. A lot more anime should attempt this. Haseo leaves, but Shino made a big impression on him. The rest of the episode, we see Haseo thinking about which guild to choose. The result is predictable, but the way the decision is made totally makes up for it. After all, it took Haseo three episodes to make a good decision. Each side was explored, he knew the advantages and disadvantages, and he made a choice. You don’t usually see this in anime either.

Overall, this was another brilliant episode. Haseo’s in the guild now, but I like the way it happened. I wonder what he’ll be doing next.

What we have here, is an example of an anime containing great, but at the same time, horribly wrong comedy, often combined with huge amounts of fanservice. Although the fanservice is bad, the comedy totally makes up for it. Each episode, we get to see our characters do the most stupid things ever. The characters are brilliant when it comes to comedy. This is a typical harem-series, so there naturally is just one male member in the cast, with the rest filled with women. All of course, in love with our main chacrater. Each of these characters has her own different personality, and in combination with each other, they work absolutely great.

The graphics themselves look pretty decent. The character art can be debatable, but it’s good enough to not be bothered by it. The CG looks very nice. Maybe it’s a bit too much copied and pasted, but I’ve seen anime do this worse. The music itself isn’t really special, but it gives a nice mood to the series. The OP is way too cheesy, however. It fits the anime perfectly, though.

Like I said before: this anime really works, I had a great time watching this series. However. This anime only works when it doesn’t take itself seriously. Every time it attempts to introduce a serious scene, it turns into pure and utter garbage. I especially recommend everyone to stop watching after episode ten, as the last three episode were part of the most boring episodes in the history of anime.

Apart from that, though, I really recommend this anime for the people who are in for a few good laughs, and like some horribly wrong comedy.

Final rating: 73/100

Ah, finally Himawari and Domeki play a big role in an episode. Especially Domeki works very well along with Watanuki and Yuuko. The three of them just form a perfect team. The character animation still is as buggy as ever, but the special effects look amazing. This gives a very unique feeling to the show.

The case in this episode involves the school where a friend of Himawari resides. A couple of students have been playing with Angel-San, which seemed to have induced some very strange incidents. I had a bit of trouble figuring out what Angel-San was in the first place, but it appears to be an instrument with which you can call ghosts and make them say a message.

Watanuki and Domeki both arrive at the school, accompanied by the greatest Chobits-pun ever, and indeed, the entire building is infested with spirits. Inside the building, there’s a very strong smell, which only Watanuki can feel. The smell increases as they both go higher, until they reach the roof of the building. There, they see a couple of schoolgirls with an Angel-San which has totally gone berserk, threatening to kill everyone. When Watanuki tries to break them apart, it appears that the schoolgirls were supernatural themselves, as they change into a giant evil spirit. Then a gigantic snake arrives, and eats everything. Especially this part I loved, the choreography was just awesome, not to mention the music included.

We then see a little aftermath, in which Yuuko explains what has happened. That only shows that the dialogue in this anime is top-notch. Everything gets perfectly explained, I like it.

As expected, Ten Shu Mono Gatari ends just as morbid as Yotsuya Kaidan. While the latter ended a bit too predictable, with the rats and all, the former delivers a much better and satisfying ending. The deaths actually make sense this time. We start with Zusho-no-Suke and Tomi Hime standing in the highest room of the castle, and watching the local army stand at the gates. Tomi Hime wants to defend the castle, and the old woman shows her civil side.

What then starts is a horrible bloodbath between the minor forgotten gods and the local army. The local army may have 1000 people at its command, the forgotten gods remain forgotten gods, who have the ability to take out ten men at a time. I guess I don’t have to say that they gladly make use of this. But then again, the forgotten gods have weakened. Not as in, they can only cast a few skills before their MP is up, but as in the fact that once they get hit, they’re dead, just like any other human. They still don’t know how to mask this weakness, so eventually every forgotten god except Tomi Hime ends up killed. It was great to see that the creators showed the scenes from both parties point of view. It gives so much more backgrounds than when just one side is put in the spotlights.

Tomi Hime and Zusho-no-Suke, meanwhile have problems of their own. First, the old woman tries to kill Zusho-no-Suke after all. He gets saved by his ‘wife’, feeling extremely jealous. Then, she finally realizes that Zusho loves Tomi Hime, and not her. She forces him to go with her, and we’re in for a pleasant surprise, as it appears that Zusho has turned into a forgotten god himself, as his face gets a total make-over. In a bad way. By seeing this, the wife runs away. Zusho and Tomi Hime then decide to defend the castle themselves.

When Tomi Hime, however, finds out about the fate of the other residents of the castle, she goes berserk, complete with a number of extra hands and a pair of wings. Every soldier outside gets killed by her, while Susho himself takes care of the soldiers inside the castle. The landlord is the last of the army to perish. It might be a bit morbid and predictable, but I liked the way it was carried out.

Afterwards, when we think that the ending couldn’t have been more obvious, we get to see a great final scene, as the two demons, without much success, try to search for valuable things in the castle, which got burned to the ground during the battle. Then they see three figures flying in the sky. They make some remarks, and leave. I loved this part. Overall, Ten Shu Mono Gatari was a very nice story to see. I still find Yotsuya Kaidan’s craziness better, though. Furthermore, where, exactly, was the ‘horror’ part?

I just love the way that Ergo Proxy takes its time to build up an episode, and then manages to finish it off with some of the most amazing scenes. This episode was certaily no exception.

We start off with Lil, who apparently got sick of the poisonous gasses which float around. All of the ‘villagers’ have had an antidote, and Vincent managed to recover on his own. With only one antidote left, in the possesion of Queen (who isn’t particulary on Lil’s good side), Vincent faces a dilemma.

Then Hude come with the idea of Vincent going back to Romdeau, in which Lil could be saved. Vincent plans to take the aircraft Lil used to get back to Romdeau, in order to accompany her. The other villagers, meanwhile, plan to move away from Romdeau as soon as possible, now that it has become clear that only death awaits them if they stay.

Both parties prepare, Pino says goodbye to Lil and Vincent, and both parties move to their destinations. We switch back to Romdeau, mostly in the long-haired guy’s point of view. He finds out Vincent came back, and he sets off as fast as he can. Only to find a pleasant surprise awaiting him. The death of a certain character afterwards also was amazing to see.

Queen and Pino, meanwhile, have a lot less luck. Along with them, about eight other guys are with them. They ride on some sort of weird boat, apparently named ‘Usagi’. Then they get attacked once more, by nine Romdeau-airplanes. After they get saved by the plan described above, only six people remain on the boat. A ‘certain’ person, Pino and four villagers who managed to not get killed by the gunfires from the Romdeau-airplanes. The deaths were a total surprise to me. I never expected it to go this way. It also shows lots of potential for the next couple of episodes.

Pino was once again, amazing. She now begins to understand the pain of losing someone dear to you. Just like a small child, who just realizes what happened.

Ugh… I guess I had my hopes up too high. I was expecting the side-characters to at least do some damage to Anon. Well, I was wrong. Anon’s still uberpowerful and nothing in this episode changed that. I also hate the cliffhanger in this episode. It was exactly like the OP had been hinting at. Mori falls, Ueki comes just in time to rescue her, accompanied with wings.

This episode also had some awesome moments, though. The first one is when Mori encounters Kilnorton, of all people left behind in the last episode, Kilnorton is the first one to reappear. One down, two to go. Then it appears that he has an actual background, which the creators managed to slip in right at this point in the series. Just as with the other characters, I really enjoyed this. Another thing I really liked is a bit of cheating on the creator’s bit. Both Sano as the two other members from the Ballow-team still have one final attack. We hear their names, but what they look like will forever remain a mystery. Some people may find this dull, I found it brilliant.

We get to see another lazy-creator moment when Kilnorton arrives at the battlefield. Everything is ready for the ultimate-Ballow-attack, with the three members combining their power into one giant attack. Again, we never know what this might be, as Anon knocks Kilnorton out before he has the chance to use his powers. This brings up some interesting issues. Anon KNEW that that attack would be dangerous. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have to stop it in such an extreme way. I hope this gets used in the next episodes.

The thing I really liked about this episode, was right before the ‘climax’, when Anon finishes everyone except Mori off. The look she gets on her face was just brilliantly done. Of course, afterwards, everything just gets predictable as hell. Sigh. Anyway, I hope that the last two episodes will be worthwile. There are just three things left that need to be solved: Why did Anon finish Kilnorton off so quickly? Where’s Ballow? And where’s Hideyoshi?!!

Holy god… when I though Haruhi was strange… This episode made clear that Rena’s ten times stranger and scarier. At least. I might be mistaken, but this could very well be the best anime to come by this season. It depends on Good Witch of the West.

As you may already know, this anime is based on an amateur-created game. It appeared to be the second-most popular among the amateur-created goods, with Tsukihime as number one. Anyway, I can really see why this became so popular. Rena’s scary! Who cares about Haruhi!

That’s the advantage of amateur-created games. They’re able to put in things professionals find too risky. It’s also not true that only professionals can have great ideas. Everyone has great ideas, the professionals just have a bit of structure in them. This structure is good for making the anime a success. It makes sure that everything happens when it should happen, but at the same time, it limits. I’m also an active member of a amateur game-development-community, and I’ve seen some of the greatest ideas arise, which professionals would never try to attempt.

Another powerful aspect of this anime is the cliffhanger. When I believed that last episode’s cliffhanger was awesome, I never could have imagined the cliffhanger the creators put into this episode. It’s also something you SO NOT see coming, until the main character becomes aware of it as well.