GOD DAMMIT!!

That’s got to be the worst cliff-hanger EVER! How can the creators expect me to wait for an ENTIRE WEEK FOR THE NEXT EPISODE?!?!

Agh, this is going to be a short entry, because I refuse to spoil what happens, but let me tell you this: THIS QUITE POSSIBLY WAS THE BEST EPISODE OF DEATH NOTE YET! It’s been a long time since an episode had so much tension as this one. If you excuse me now, I need to relieve my frustration on some unfortunate object.

Bokura no continues to impress me like no other series this season. Even though the past few episodes haven’t really introduced new elements, and they’ve just been focusing on the children whose backgrounds could be told in just one episode, I still love this series. Heck, it’s exactly what I want, seeing different people react to the same fate, when they have to say goodbye to their daily lives.

It’s interesting, the first few episodes killed off the weakest characters (especially Masaru and Isao), and the past few episodes have been eliminating the stronger ones, the ones who put other’s lives above themselves (especially Daichi and Moji, who we get to see in this episode). While this episode wasn’t as excellent as Daichi’s, it still was a really good one. In this episode, we get to see why he’s been so calm, when compared to the others. Just like Daichi, he had to be strong for someone else. In this case: a childhood friend with heart problems. For a change, this friend is male, instead of the sick female that other anime often stereotype.

What makes this case so interesting is that Moji wants to have his heart put in his friend (Nagi was his name, by the way), so that he could get better. Through especially the first half of the episode, we see Nagi get more depressed by the minute, thinking that he’ll be dying while Moji and his other friend, will live, while Moji in fact knows that it’s going to be the opposite.

I’m fearing for Kanji in the next episode, as he seems to be the strongest of the current cast, with his laid-back attitude. (If you didn’t guess already, I tend to always skip the next episode-previews due to possible spoilers.) Of course, it’ll be also interesting to see one of the two adults in the pilot’s seat.

Regarding the other children, it seems that the girls have developed a strong bond through the episodes. Jun also causes some trouble again with his whining.

And there’s only one episode left! The semi-final episode has two purposes: to give some last-minute fleshing out for the final two important characters who have yet to receive sufficient development: the princes of Wellber and Sangatras, and to put the chess-pieces in the right position for the finale.

Especially the bits of new information on Guernia were really appreciated, as up till now, we haven’t really seen what’s in his mind. This episode, however, revealed the reason why he was interested in Rita in the first place. After all, Rita won’t become queen once her father dies, so it wouldn’t make any sense for Guernia to marry her with the eye on world conquest. The reason he went after her was because she resembles his mother.

This perfectly explains why he tried to kill her, back in episode one if you take his twisted mind in account. He killed his own mother, and I can imagine how he’s planning to do the same thing for Rita. During this episode, he didn’t make any suspicious move on her yet, but I suspect that he first wants to make her his, before making his move.

Rita’s brother (forgot his name, sorry) also turned out to be quite interesting for the plot. It seems that he finally got fed up with how his father never does anything to counter Sangatras’s attack, and when a group of rebels, fighting against the war delivers him some blueprints for the battleship that will be forming the core of Sangatras’s army, he decides to ignore his father and sabotage it. The plan works quite well to stop the war, though it’s less unfortunate for Rita, who had been captured by Guernia earlier, as it seemed to have sped up Guernia’s moves on her.

Overall, Wellber no Monogatari turned into a fine anime. It’s not anything ground-breaking, but it sure does know how to tell a story. The only two screw-ups this anime made was the weird horse-movement and the fact that Rita just walks around a bit too much in the open for someone who’s being hunted (especially considering the talking tank that accompanies her, which indeed was quite rare). Still, those are just minor issues. It’s got some interesting characters with quite a bit of development for a 13-episode series. It wasn’t rushed, and no actions really feel that forced when compared to other 13-episode series of its kind. Overall, it’s a real recommendation if you want something light to watch. If the subs ever finish, that is.

Still, it’s now time again to ask the question: will this anime be able to end well? So far, it has compelling characters, but you really need to do something extra in order to prevent your ending from screwing up. I don’t want to, but I fear that the ending will be just a standard one with nothing added. Guernia is going to die, probably by the hands of Galahad. The only thing that can probably save it is the mysterious killer of Tina’s parents. We still have no clue who the heck he might be, which means that the creators saved this guy for last. Let’s hope that the phrase “saving the best for last” applies for this. Oh, and Rita’s brother seems to be hiding a secret from Rita as well. That can prove to add something too.