Interesting. In essence, this episode was just a combination of episode four and five. We have the same play about Hario Genba, in which now the three brainwashed goons attack, instead of Magozou. There’s another ritual, like the one we saw in episode five, we see the same guys, plotting to take Katsu’s brothel hostage, the English appear again, in all of their overconfident glory. Katsu attended the play yet again, along with H. S. Parkes and a few more of his friends (including the two guards we saw in the first episode, being attacked by Soutetsu) and Kanna Sakyou no Suke is yet again the person to save the day.

But there are differences. First of all, the first half of the episode gives some interesting background information. Both about the history of Yokohama, which seems to be quite bloody, as the history of Akizuki’s sword. Nakaiya Juubei also negotiates with Kanna. I’m not sure what he’s up to, though, as he ended up saving the day at the climax of the episode.

This episode also went a bit further than both episode four and five. In episode four, the audience never noticed that someone was trying to kill Yuyama. This time, they did. In episode five, the fighting didn’t reach its climax because of the English and their bagpipes. In this episode, it did. Also in episode five, the English may have made a lot of noises, they never really did anything. In this episode, they did. They killed every single one of the ones who held the people in Katsu’s brothel hostage, and never even tried to prevent the place from burning down to the ground. That’s another one of the differences: Katsu has now lost his main headquarter.

Also, the play was very similar to the play we saw in episode four, with a small exception: the emphasis on Nakaiya Juubei. Kakashi gets dressed up as some kind of weird parody of him. It’s definitely another one of Soutetsu’s statements.

I’m also not sure whether I liked the three brainwashed goons. It’s good that they’re dead now, as they didn’t really have any background. Nakaiya could have sent a bunch of zombies and it still wouldn’t have made any difference. But there’s one thing I do like about them: their entrance. When compared to Magozou, these guys lack any form of subtlety. They were quite funny when they just entered through the front door and their eyes began glowing during their numerous grunts, and not to mention how they appeared on the exact right moment Kakashi summoned them. ^^;

I think that one of the main themes of this anime is the relationship between the Japanese, and the foreigners. I’ve read somewhere that the Japanese are very xenophobic(I think this came from the translation notes of Popolocrois 2003, with Luna being afraid to let others find out her true form), and the way the English acted during the kidnapping puts an emphasis on this. What we’ve got here is two clashing lifestyles, who need to learn to cooperate with each other, but refuse to.

That was such an AWESOME episode! The part in which Honoka held Rona Fauna in her arms was such an amazing moment! Finally Honoka has found someone who’s just like herself: a defective item of The Third. Awesomeness.

It’s also very interesting. The final arc of The Third will also be its shortest: only two episodes! That probably means an insane pacing, which is good for most endings. Especially since a lot has to be revealed in these final two episodes. In one way, I’m really looking forward to it, though in another way, it’s really sad to see this amazing series end. I demand a second season!!!

Honoka also was her typical self again after everything ended. Both Rona Fauna as Joganki were very scared to do her injustice, though she quickly tells them that it was just her job. She did the things she did because she accepted this job. All she wants now is the money, and a repair job on Bogie. ^^;

I wonder what the next arc will be about. Honoka seemed to suggest that she’ll be going on another vacation. Does that also mean that Millie will be returning? And will we also see some cross-references to other arcs? After all, Kanwei is still running along, somewhere in the world, and Gravestone could return as well, perhaps. Ah well, if the final arc is as awesome as this episode was, The Third will really be finishing in an awesome way.

This episode and the previous episode both dealt with a person, unable to make the right decisions, in contrast to the second episode, in which we dealt with a pure victim. The main character is Shuuichi. He’s married to a woman who lies in the hospital. In the past, he did a number of very stupid things: he got involved with a shady owner of a host club, and especially one job ended up wrong, with this owner forcing him to kill an accomplice for money. In the end, he ruined his life because of this, and he never even got the money.

Because he wants his wife to enjoy the best treatment in the hospital, he’s forced to work continuously and borrow money from others, in order to pay for her expensive one-person room. He keeps all this a secret from his wife, for better or for worse. He calls for Jigoku Shoujo, and then it indeed seems that he’s aware of the things he’s done, and he’s actually someone who believes he deserves to go to hell. That’s why he doesn’t have the doubts that all of the other characters in Jigoku Shoujo had. He, however, makes one big mistake in his greed. He decides to blackmail his antagonist, before sending him to hell, in order to get the money in the end. The latter ends up telling Shuuichi’s secret to his wife. Because of this, she’s broken and has some kind of brain attack.

The twist of the episode: Shuuichi obviously sends the guy to hell after he’s seen what happened, and he believes that going to hell and working hard enough to pay back his dept will be enough to attain for the sins he committed. Well, that’s not the only thing: when his wife regains consciousness, she seems to have forgotten him.

Also, what’s up with the little girl? Why is Ai so nice to her? What did Ai’s grandmother mean with “I hope he’s happy”? Why is she such an annoying brat? Where did she come from? How many questions can I ask about her!?

This episode was solely meant to prepare for the unfortunate event at the end. Poor Misao. Because she’s grown up without any friends, she’s become so easy to manipulate. Especially now that her powers are actually needed, the witches decided to abuse this fact, and now she’s taken away to the magical world. If I’m not mistaken, it’ll be there where she’ll get her haircut.

The major part of the episode is spent on cooking. Misao for Monta and Sasami for Amitabu, who seems to be paying a visit later on. We also receive some nice background info about him. My lack of Japanese prevented me from fully understanding it, but it seems that the witches failed to seal off the evil in the past. For that, Amitabu had to be used in a rather violent way in order to help seal this evil. This explains why he was trapped in such thorns, but what about the second Amitabu?

If I had to make a prediction, then I think that there are two major arcs left. The current one, in which the main focus will be retrieving Misao from the magical world, and more importantly, make her see that the witches are actually trying to use her. The second arc will then focus on Sasami and Amitabu, and this evil which has been sealed.

It’s a pity so little people know of this series. It’s brilliant. Most people probably seem to think that it’s a show for kids, meaning that it’s not worth it to check it out. Well, guess what? The fact that it looks like it’s meant for children has nothing to do with whether it’s good or not. Muahaha.

Okay, you know a show is unpopular when even the friggin raws have trouble appearing! Seriously, I actually had to use Share in order to get the file for the fifth episode. (On a side-note: I still have the file, is people are interested, I could put it in a torrent and share it) It’s such a darn shame, as this is probably one of the best shows to air in the fall-season. This episode was no exception. It was awesome!

Last episode ended with Itoki suddenly appearing, and holding the Mahou Shoujo Club and Monta hostage in the school, in order to get them back to the magical world. Misao really started out awesome, as suddenly the witches who were nice to her started to attack her. What follows really is a perfect combination of drama and comedy. Especially Washuu was brilliant as ever. It’s really obvious that she sees herself as an adult who has to protect the children who were entrusted into her care. Still, in the end, she gets chased by a bunch of water dragons. ^^;

She’s forced to send Ryoki in to save Sasami and the others, who, as expected, does a very fine job of preventing Sasami (who’s been separated from the others, along with Monta, looking for Misao who has run off) to be taken away to the magical world. The funny thing is that Itoki has been following her movements from outside all this time, and Washuu, who has no idea what’s happening inside of the building, just can tell by Itoki’s reaction what Ryoki has been up to.

Sasami then finds a crying Misao while Monta gets swept away by another current, only to land to a dam, built by Tsukasa, Anri and Makoto (probably Tsukasa’s idea). They then have to find a way to get to Sasami and the others. The solution: a wind-propelled banana turned into a rubber boat with Anri’s power as navigation system. Washuu, meanwhile, manages to knock out Itoki for a second, but then she gets caught because of her carelessness. Sasami, meanwhile, manages to cheer up Misao a bit. Can it get any better than this? ^^

Then, the climax: Monta and the others find Sasami and Misao, while Itoki find their location again, and sends another of her water dragons after them. The girls’ powers have no effect in stopping them. It heads for Sasami and Misao, Monta tries to protect them and Sasami and Misao both release the same power as in the episode where Washuu almost left. Though it’s not as bad this time, as the light disappears after a while.

The next episode should prove to be very interesting. Remember the other Mahou Shoujo Club from the first couple of episodes from the second season? Well, they’ve been sent to retrieve Sasami and the others. They arrived at Misao’s room, just when she finished to recreate the ring that was broken, causing it to break again. Talk about symbolism. And when exactly will she be cutting her hair?

Kannadzuki no Miko is a mecha-romance anime, with a heavy emphasis on the romance-part. It features a very passionate love relationship between two very good friends. Be sure to expect lots of yuri an shoujo-ai elements.

When Kannadzuki no Miko started, it made a very strong first impression on me. The first episode very cleverly starts with all of the clichés from a standard high-school drama, and ends the episode by offering lots of juicy twists and turns. This anime then tries to continue at the same level, though its element of surprise has subdued a bit. It tries to make up for this by being extremely dramatic, and by putting our main characters in a lot of heavily emotional situations.

And that’s where the major problem with this anime lies. There’s a line between dramatical and overdramatical, and this anime just keeps hopping over it. Some scenes are definitely worth the watch, while others just seem to try too hard. This makes 50% of this anime great to see, while it makes the other 50% laughable.

The characters are pretty interesting. They’re typical characters, developed in a non-typical way. We’ve got the shy girl who can’t do anything, the cool girl who’s incredibly rich and a fangirl-magnet, there’s also a very popular boy who’s the best at sports and has sworn to protect the person he loves, and of course the set of bad guys who come to assault our main characters isn’t missing. Still, at the end of the series, each of these characters has turned into someone unique

Kemonozume is an adult-themed love story with a little dose of action. It’s set in a world in which humans are plagued by creatures known as flesh eaters, human-like beings who can change into monsters and eat anything they see that moves. It follows one of the strongest hunters of these flesh eaters, who falls in love with one of them. The two of them elope, and leave their surroundings to deal with the consequences.

The first thing that strikes the eye when watching this anime is the art. It definitely sets itself apart from all other anime due to the extremely messy art, both character as background. Getting used to this art may take a while, but it fits the mood of this anime perfectly. Especially in combination with the weird themes which come across the screen, you can really say that this anime has a unique style.

Kemonozume start with two introduction-episodes. In my opinion, the first episode starts off well, though episode two was the worst episode of this series. It’s a bit too formulaic and standard. But afterwards, Kemonozume really sets off with a set of very interesting, but in theme very different episodes. One episode can be a very funny comedy-episode while the next you see a naked guy, tied up on a chair with a paper bag over his head, or a normal slice-of-life episode featuring an old couple or an episode dedicated to the history of our characters’ parents. Then, at around episode 9, the climax starts forming with a couple of very dramatic scenes. And with dramatic, I really mean dramatic, a bit too dramatic perhaps. The ending itself was pretty decent. Very strange, but pretty decent.

Also, like I said, this is a show with adult-themes. Bodies get cut in half, arms get ripped off, lots of naked men, women and sex scenes pass the screen, so I’d keep this away from your little brother or sister. Overall, Kemonozume was a very nice watch. It kept a good balance between drama and comedy, but I felt that the great climax in the final episodes tried a bit too hard, therefore losing its effect.

And with this, we start the second half of Otogi Juushi Akazukin. And how better to start it than with an upgrade on our main heroine: Princess Mode. Seriously, she looks sickeningly cute in it. Even more than she already was. This was quite a funny episode, despite its seriousness. This mainly was due to our three musketeers, who couldn’t decide which one of them would be getting this upgrade (I loved how Ibara tried to say something in between the bickering Akazukin and Shirayuki) and therefore had to be calmed with a huge bucket of water and Harmeru, who turned out quite interesting in this episode, even though he had such a minor role.

This was mainly due to the small details. Am I the only one, or was he a bit too eager to save Ringo at the beginning of the episode? I think someone’s falling in love. ^^; Later in the episode, we also see him get annoyed at Kyupi, who decided to use his headgear as some kind of strange chair. I just hope that Akazukin’s transformation sequence will be shortened in the future episodes. It was just a bit too long.

The next episode will be comparable to this one, as another very strong enemy will appear, and Akazukin will probably end up testing the limits of Princess Mode. Which makes you wonder: does that mean that she’s a real princess? Also, what use will Gretel be in the future episodes? And Randagio? With Akazukin now that strong, they’d have to come up with some pretty creative strategies to be of any use in battle. Or will they have a special role in the future episodes?