What the hell? What is up with raw providers and mahou shoujo? First Sasami Mahou Shoujo Club, and now even Otogi Juushi Akazukin! I honestly believed that this show was taking a small winter-break, just like all other shows around there, but in fact, it just continued. A quick peek into Share also revealed that episode 27 has also been released. I’m downloading that one right now, it should be in soon, though Share isn’t really the fastest download program out there.

Anyway, rants aside, this was an awesome episode yet again. A great parody on the suspicious guy who arrives, and you know is evil, though every character seems to trust him. Throughout the entire episode, I believed this. A random bishounen appeared and seduced Shirayuki, in the town where Cendrion’s minion who took over Shirayuki’s country came from. Of course that’s suspicious, though nobody seems to notice! At least, that is what I thought. ^_^ The climax was brilliant, when it seems that Shirayuki had been acting all along.

Maren (apparently named Marleen, according to TV-Nihon) also is getting more interesting with every mention. This time, we get to see how she formed her army. It’s not something you’d expect, seeing as most anime take this fact for granted. Seeing how Marleen turned the Bell of Hope into the Bell of Darkness makes her story so much more believable. The extra bit of depth added to her character also is greatly appreciated.

Still, the bell got destroyed in the end. You would expect Cendrion to be angry, as her whole town full of minions got converted back. Still, she’s smiling. That means two things:

1. She’s up to something
2. Hansel, Turude and the others did not escape from her power.

Regarding the second point, this must mean that she found another way to manipulate people after using the bell. I’m suspecting that this has something to do with the mirrors. Seeing as there wasn’t any mirror in the town, it must mean that the townsfolk got all of their powers from the bell, while Hansel, Turude and the witch who took over Shirayuki’s country have been manipulated with the mirrors as well.

Regarding the second point, something’s telling me that the next episode will feature a major plot twist. After all, Cendrion’s castle is reached at episode 26 of 39. If I had to guess, this is going to be one of the major turning points of the series, in which Cendrion gets freed and Hansel, Gretel and Randagio turn to Souta’s side. If that’s going to be the case, what will the role of Jedo-sama be? I love speculating about this series. If I can say that about a series, it means that it’s got some great mystery. ^_^

I also love how this series, even though it’s getting more serious, didn’t lose its comical note. In fact, there were lots of random cute moments. Ringo and Baru’s reaction to Dudo’s flirting, for example. Or the reason why Shirayuki bought a couple of earplugs. Oh, and Shirayuki looked so cute in Dark Shirayuki-mode without glasses. Not as cute as chibi-Shirayuki, though.

Also, why did Marleen know about Shirayuki?

Ooh, a great batch this time! These definitely will be some of the best shows this season.

Himawari!! Second Season

Haha! It’s just as I hoped. The second season is going to be even better than the first one. While the first season focused on the development of the main characters, the second season introduces some actual antagonists, and thank god it didn’t lose its comical note. Heck, this episode was probably the funniest one of the entire anime. I mean, how many other anime can make something worthwhile out of someone who uses gum as a weapon? That surely was a great fight, and I’m glad to see that the quirks of the different character are getting funnier and funnier. I’m not sure how the rest of this anime will go, but if it’s going to be the same as this episode, I was right to give this anime a second chance. :)

Master of Epic

What a fun show! This definitely is my favourite show of the winter-season so far, and that with series like Deltora Quest and Himawari!!. Still, I can imagine that everyone else will rant about how they hate this anime, how it’s bad and all, but I don’t care! I love the way this show is directed. It’s basically a collection of clips, which don’t take themselves too seriously. In each of these, something incredibly strange happens. So, what if they’re cheesy, I loved it! This definitely is on my list of blogged shows. ^_^ *fanboys*

Les Miserables - Shoujo Cosette

Ah, the infamous adaptation of Les Miserables. The question, of course, remains: is 52 episodes the right format for such a story? So far, this anime is heading into the right direction, with an excellent first episode. It really took its time to start the story, and tell how Cosette got separated from her mother. She’s quite touching, I like her as a character. Jean Valean, or the major and the boy he gave some bread (Aran, I think his name was) also are a couple of interesting characters to start this first episode with. There’s a very good chance that I’m going to watch this right through to the end of this. I’m not sure whether I’m going to blog this yet, considering the huge spring-season coming up. Ah well, I’ll decide after the second episode.