Before I continue, I have some announcements to make. This will probably be the last post I’ll make, as tomorrow, I’ll be entering a short hiatus. I’ll be off to Britain, in order to enjoy some vacation. I’m not planning to make use of internet, so I’ll be gone for the next week. I should be back at July 24. By then, I’ll probably face a huge ordeal in trying to catch up with the week of anime that I lost. Ah well, back to the episode, and it was a great one. :)

Another character gets introduced: the Fire Seirei. Pinon, Luna and Marco head back to Popolocrois Castle. Marco tagged along, as he’d like to see some royal sweets. In any case, things are incredibly hot, which probably means that the fire-seirei has been captured. Then, they notice a shop on fire. Pinon messes up, and has to be saved by others, while Luna and Marco save the shopkeeper, who was trapped inside with the fire.

This really keeps gnawing in Pietoro. He really can’t see the great things that he’s done, as he keeps focusing on his own failures. This episode, was mainly meant for Pinon to realize that he’s got friends who can help him. It’s interesting that the episode wasn’t focused at Marco at all, while he did get his own Seirei. The Fire Seirei, by the way, is just too cute. It’s a strange combination between a chicken and a red pengiun, who can breathe fire. It seems that he took a liking in Marco.

I still don’t know what’s up with Papu. It seems that all of the Seirei are scared of him, though he quickly tells them not to be. In any case the episode itself featured events which succeeded each other in high pace. Especialy Marco was great. (*note to self: when writing an entry, write it right after seeing the episode, do not take a break. Ohterwise, you get garbage posts like this one*)

Memorable Moment: Pietoro mistaking a headless mannequin for the real shopkeeper.

Yup, the third and final main character gets introduced this episode: Marco. He’s a pretty interesting and funny guy. His voice-acting also works really well. His mother (Leona) also seems to be a good friend of Pietoro, and he could be the son of Shirokishi as well, though that’s not sure yet. Still, I like the way that he’s got no sense of direction at all. ^^

Anyway, a lot of interesting things happened. The most important one was Pinon, who still struggles with the fact that everyone sees him as Pietoro’s son, and always expects things of him. Marco really helps him see this, as Pinon is in his eyes just a weak little wimp. After all, at their first meeting, Pinon hides behind Luna. While this is extremely cute, it does show that Pinon lacks any form of confidence. He even gets to the point at whishing he never made friends with Luna, as making friends is just the same as fighting with each other. This really shows that Pinon is horribly shy and locked up. I like these sorts of main characters. They’re so much better than the impulsive little brats.

Punpun and Kotoro also were quite interesting. While they didn’t contribute to the main story at all, I just couldn’t help but love the situations they get thrown in. While they aren’t as awesome as their father, these situations did make them very enjoyable. The mushroom also was awesome. Even though their inventions lack a visual trademark, it still was hilarious to see a huge mushroom in the middle of a forest like that. I also liked the running gag of the dried fish which was included. Marco was on an errand to bring his mother some dried fish. He loses them, and they drop in the river, near Punpun and Kotaro. While Kotaro’s fishing, he gets extremely surprised when he catches a bunch of dried fish, of all things. Later, it seems that the creators haven’t forgotten this fish, as Kotaro actually attempts to roast the fish. The fish eventually end up as the lunch for a hungry griffin. (^^) It was interesting to see Kotaro running around with these dried fish on a stick.

Overall, this was a very nice episode. I’m beginning to like this anime more and more. I’ve still got two issues: Pinon’s voice-actor and the three little kids that keep bugging Pinon. Though the latter do make Pinon depressed, so I guess they’re okay. I’m also wondering what happened to Ulala. We haven’t seen a clue from her ever since the first episode. In any case, I’m liking Pietoro and Luna. The two of them look really cute together. ^^

Memorable Moment: Seeing Punpun and Kotoro emerge from the giant mushroom.

We now turn to some more heavily anticipated anime, and one show which seems to have been lost in the shadows. I was fairly surprised when I saw the latter of the three appear on Tokyo Toshokan. In any case, all of the main characters in these shows are interested in some way in a character who stands or stood high above them.

NHK ni Youkoso

This show is about a NEET, or Not in Employment, Education or Training. Ever since his first day at college, he ran to his apartment, and stayed there for more than three years. When you stay for three years inside a single apartment, it does very strange things to you. And indeed, the main character gets some very interesting theories. About how the NHK (actually a Japanese broadcast company) is actually the source of all evil. Another major plus of this series is the music. It really works along with all of the scenes. Overall, this seems like a very interesting series. I like the main character and his theories, though the girl has to have some very good reason to come to him.

Le Chevalier d’Eon

Another very anticipated show. I have to say, that so far, it lived up to its hype. The most notable aspect of this anime is the incredibly fast pacing. You really can’t afford to miss even five seconds, otherwise you’ll have no idea what’s going on. Though if you do manage to follow it, the effect it gives is great. Still, I wonder where this anime is going. It’s only been the first episode, and they already killed off half of the cast before the end of it. Still, this anime will probably become very interesting.

Kirarin Revolution

This still is from the spring season. Yes, spring season. It actually took more than three months before this show got its first subs. It’s a shoujo-anime. It’s got a lot of annoying elements, though I have to say that I enjoyed it in the end. We have this incredibly energetic young girl (Kirarin), who falls in love with an idol while she doesn’t know that the guy is an idol. In the eyes of the idol, Kirarin, is just one of his many fans. I think the anime will follow Kirarin, trying to win the idol’s respect. her first step: becoming an idol herself. Even though she knows nothing about singing. This anime reminded me a lot of Full Moon wa Sagashite, so I decided to give it another chance. Kirarin’s voice-actor is incredibly annoying, and she may be a bit too energetic at times. The idol’s costume looks totally ridiculous. But the few serious moments in the first episode were really convincing. Let’s hope that this anime doesn’t ruin itself.