So, since Kureha was the only one who has yet to get an episode of her own, it’s good to see that this episode focused on her. It’s not as good as the Felicia-arc, but definitely adds to her character. The story between her and Claus, who she decided to admire after the loss of her father made this episode quite worthwhile.

Regarding the main story: I’m surprised that the princess is actually dead. There’s an interesting twist, and probably explains why Rio looked back to her with a sense of nostalgia.

In any case, four episodes left, and this episode just finished all of the preparations that this series needed to do. After this, it’s just a matter of this series closing off well, using the stuff that it’s built up for in the past nine episodes. My biggest fear here is Rio: in this episode she may have been a bit too angsty for her own good. If she was trying to make a difficult decision that we don’t know about, then okay, I can understand that. But please don’t tell me that she was angsting like a teenaged girl who hates her father and who is trying to make her do things she doesn’t want to.
Rating: * (Good)

Well, so this is why, at the start of this contest, I only limited the series that you could force me to blog to 14 episodes: so that I wouldn’t be stuck with 60 unblogged episodes of Monster, in the case that it turned out to be a bad idea. I really apologize: with my current schedule, I just can’t watch and blog older series at a consistent pace, like I do with the currently airing series. Because of that, I just ended up marathoning the rest of this series, and here are my impressions on the entire series.

Seikai no Monshou is yet another one of the series that reinforces my beliefs that the Sunrise of around ten years ago rocked beyond belief: they consistently brought out interesting, daring, exciting and innovative science-fiction mecha series with great premises. Seikai no Monshou at first sight is another science fiction series, but it sets itself apart by its imaginative and especially very detailed execution.

The central focus is the chemistry between the two lead characters. Coming from two completely different backgrounds, this series shows both of their backgrounds, and tells in great detail about the history of the universe they’re set in, especially on the race called the Abh. The gem of this series lies in its dialogue: the dialogue between the two lead characters is direct, straight to the point it forces you to confront difficult issues, rather than jumping around them. The difference in their upbringing is shown subtly but powerfully throughout this dialogue.

The battles in this series are also often very down to earth, and focused more at skill rather than just going over the top with explosions. Unfortunately, there are times at which this series does forget that and turns into an action flick. The final episode, instead of closing off with a powerful climax instead just opts for the kind of battle in which the enemy soldiers (both well-trained police and military officers) conveniently miss every shot they fire, yet get killed off instantly when the lead characters shoot at them.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t ruin the rest of the series that leads up to it, which is an exceptionally written science fiction story that puts a lot of emphasis on the characterization and dialogue between the two lead characters.

Well, thankfully the sister is gone now, and we’re back to what matters: the kindergarten itself. This episode completely lacked originality and it used stories that have become staples of regular romance series, but the characters were nice enough to watch. Especially Anzu has gotten a lot less annoying than what she once was.

However, I’m noticing a disturbing trend. A considerable amount of this episode was also focused on drama. Why? This show is just not good at it.

I can understand the need for conflict, but during the drama part this show abandons all that is enjoyable about it. Up till the arrival of the sister, the drama was always quick and light-hearted, but in this episode the drama hang over the cast like some angry raincloud. If the story around it was good or creative, then okay, I might understand it. But the drama was completely shallow: in the first half we have a random kid we’ve never seen before as she wants to work in her parents’ shop. In the second half we have a rich girl who gets added to Tsuchida’s harem but decides not to marry him but love him from afar because she’s no match for the main love rival.

What I’m missing in this series is creativity. The first five episodes did this so well… but after the sister’s appearance it’s just been one predictable and overused story after the other. I have no idea why. The creators aren’t idiots: they just could have picked out the best chapters of the manga and have fun with it, and instead they chose the most predictable ones for the past three episodes.
Rating: (Enjoyable)