Archive for the ‘Sea Slugs!’ Category

Once we have RAWR pose, we'll be all set to be the new Gaijin 4koma

Momo-chan-senpai is welcome anytime to the Zaku Zero G (DD) Space Colony

Summary:

Ryoko, Ryoshi and Ringo are enlisted to assist shouta heir Chuutarou Nezumi to find a bride. They work through most of the female cast (including minor characters) but the boy’s faithful butler Hammel ends up antagonizing each and everyone of them by pointing out why they are unsuitable in the most untactful and outrageous ways. After an extended exposition on boobs as a criterion, which manages to antagonize both the well-endowed and the less well-endowed, Chuutarou rediscovers his true love – the loli stalker Uika. Liszt is forced to buy a lot of expensive cakes to soothe the hurt feelings of the girls.

Sandwiching this is a movie about the same trio against three stinky pigs – who are eventually defeated by evil loli yuri. Go Ringo go!

What happened to the serious business back story and dramatic developments?

As time goes by (A kiss is just a kiss)

Reaction:

JC Staff was clearly having fun with the Mahoromatic, ToraDora and Railgun references and while I was indeed amused, this episode at this point in time was not the best timed – I had just come around to accepting Ryoko x Ryoshi vs Shiro as the main plot driver and would have liked to see them build on the information introduced thus far and to continue to create momentum for a strong ending. But it looks like I will have to moderate my expectations (i.e. reset them back close to zero) for more randomness and then a rushed and inconclusive (or even worse WTF) ending.

I half suspected that Hammel was deliberately sabotaging the entire bridal search (not because he was a fan of childhood friends but) because he actually desired Chuutarou-sama (in a dress) for himself. I blame Takai from Arakawa Under The Bridge for having this thought. His takedown of Momo-chan-senpai was incredible though – verily it’s hard to trump the Life Experience card. It was also nice to see (and hear) Momo-chan-senpai again though it would be even better if she had used her whip or hit on Ryoko again. Speaking of the latter, kudoes to Ringo stealing that kiss from Ryoko – full-on lip lock and tongue FTW. If Ringo keeps this (and her evil aura) up, she might just get my vote for Best Girl.

©2010 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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More effective to have your apartment burn down (bottom right) to do some seriously daring things with your crush (rather than just humping his pillow)

HELL NO! I know you've been using that handkerchief for!

Summary:

Ryoko and Ryoshi go on a double date with silent chara-type baseball star and a stalker whose flag he triggered when he lent her his umbrella. Ryoko loses her memories of her current school life after a fall while rescuing a cat which was stuck in a tree. Ryoshi is shocked and delighted by how shy and cute Ryoko is and promises to always be there for her. But when he becomes absorbed in discussion with Ringo about how to solve the current predicament, Ryoko takes off on her own.

Things take an ugly turn when they run into Shiro who reveals provocative and tantalising tidbits about his shared past with Ryoko – juxtaposing her claim of him assaulting her against his of intimacy and then claiming that he ate her but subsequently claiming that the claim was a lie. Ryoshi tells Shiro that he will hunt him down and (Wolf in) Sheep(‘s clothing)-kun looks forward to the challenge. Later in hospital Ryoko recovers her memories but claims not to remember what happened during her episode of amnesia. Which Ringo sees through and forces her to wear animal ears to school. Meanwhile Silent and Stalker have settled into contented domestic life.

All lolis are pure evil – you just have to know how to bring it all out

Reaction:

I thought that what Ryoshi liked about Ryoko was the gap between her public tsun and private dere – the latter which the amnesiac personality completely lacks. Still, the confrontation scene between him and Shiro went some way towards making me accept Ryoshi as Ryoko’s companion, support and future lover. He said all the right things like not caring about Ryoko’s past and thus undoing the potential impact of most of Shiro’s trolling – the only thing I found obvious fault with was how he attempted to use a ranged weapon in a melee situation. Which, in turn, allowed Shiro to show that he’s no pushover, smoothly slicing through the sling and coolly reprimanding Ryoshi for interrupting his trashtalking.

I’m still catching up so I don’t know if the following will play out in the coming episodes: Shiro’s claim that he was lying about having eaten Ryoko reminded me of the title of the second episode which described Ryoko as The Lying Ookamisan and Liar’s Paradox. I got a distinctly Rashomon vibe for a brief moment; there might be a possibility that the shy Ryoko had misunderstood and over-reacted to Shiro who had meant no real harm but had certainly been over-aggressive. And that he has pursued her this far to try to recover what was lost. Or it could be that he is really as unpleasant as Ryoko has made him out to be and that she needs to overcome that dark part of her life which she had fled (and which has now caught up with her) as part of the process of learning to be honest with her feelings once again, to live the life of her own choosing without the fear of interdependence.

©2010 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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I wonder why everyone keeps coming for check-ups even though they're 100% healthy??

Awww Yoshika and Lynne can be so cute… like us, ufufu~

Summary:

After witnessing Mio’s Reppuzan training, Yoshika begs her mentor to teach her the ancient Fuso ultimate technique so that she can save more people by helping to end the war earlier but Mio flat out refuses. At breakfast, Yoshika is noticeably dejected and becomes even more distraught when her flying agility dips, allowing Perrine to beat her three out of three times in training. But there’s nothing wrong with her Striker Unit, physical health or output of raw magical power – a sternly worried Trude then revokes her combat flight status until they can get to the bottom of things.

Minna receives an emergency call from the approaching Fuso fleet; there has been an explosion onboard the flagship Yamato and a medic is requested. Yoshika sets off with Lynette and patches up the ten injured crew just in time for a Neuroi to attack the fleet. Lynette flies out alone to shield the fleet while it escapes – Yoshika is unable to get her Striker started but, as her tears flow down, her father’s voice unveils a new Striker unit which she mounts and charges out to save Lynette, defeating the Neuroi single-handedly. Later Minna and Mio discuss how Yoshika’s power had grown too great for her old Striker to handle and that the new Magnificient Lightning unit will allow her to reach her full potential.

Mmmm…. D!

Pew pew pew!

Reaction:

Well, I was completely fooled into thinking that Yoshika’s funk was due to Mio’s rejection and that she would rediscover her mojo by the need to save Lynette from Certain Doom. Her father speaking to her in the hanger and the Magnificent Lightning appearing so dramatically was incredibly cheesy and did not make any sense but, in this context, I actually like (blue) cheese and have long since stopped attempting to make sense of things as long as all the girls continue being awesome. And Yoshika was certainly awesome in the way that the new hardware allowed her to go all out LIMITER RELEASE, launching like a Gundam with the foot docking clamps, catapult, sea surface skimming charge, complete with battle cry.

Of course, I also enjoyed the humorous moments – like Yoshika being so chirpy about the one thing she was really proud of, i.e. never falling sick. To which my reaction was twofold: I thought only idiots didn’t catch colds? And I thought the one thing you were really proud of was the size and strength of your shield?

Regular readers will know of my dislike of Perrine but even I had to admit that she was really lovely in this episode – she had noticed immediately that something was off about Yoshika and was completely sincere in reporting her concern to Mio without delay. This was further reinforced with how she (with Lynette) was spying on Yoshika during her physical checkup and then again (on her own) while she attempted broom training secretly at night – and got hit by Eila’s bucket missile for her pains. Certainly has softened me up enough to look forward to the Perrine-centric next episode.

As always, I loved the battle scenes between the conventional forces and the Neuroi. The Fuso Empire’s fleet looked really impressive, especially with its escort carriers, air cover and 46″ cannons though sometimes I wonder what’s the point of sending all the men and materiel into a war where they, like the Venezia 1st Battle Fleet, have to be constantly rescued by pantless girls with animal ears and tails. The Fuso fleet deciding that discretion is the better part of valour also was a dead give-away that the Strike Witches universe is an alternate history; methinks the Imperial Japanese Navy would have rather gone down with all hands rather than sensibly accede to Lynette’s plea to run away, run away! *clip clop clip clop clip clop* It was also somewhat strange how none of the men have made any lolicon-type comments… but I suppose it’s like the way no one, in the show, comments on the Witches’ lack of pants.

©2010 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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I’m actually fully caught up on this series (sorry Kabitzin, I’m just really busy this summer!), so I hope I don’t screw up my review by adding in details from future episodes…

Hey you there. How did you get your hair so messy? Let's trade hair tips!

Summary:

Natsuno makes girls cry, what a jerk. Oh wait she just killed his best friend…. snap.

The episode starts off with a budget saving feature innovative scene of playing the same scene forwards and backwards as we see Natsuno rip up Megumi’s summer greeting card and her vampire self crying over it. Meanwhile at the doctor’s office, yet another elderly man showing similar symptoms presents to the clinic as his wife tells Toshio that she was giving him herbal medicine which did not work. Toshio proceeds to completely lose his cool to the wife berating her for not going to the doctor’s sooner.

"UURRRAAAGH!! Toshio mad! Toshio kick stuffs! OW FOOT HURT BAD!"

Meanwhile Seishin reports his latest research to Toshio as he tells him that all of the victims neatly cleared off their affairs or even left the town before they died making it seem like a lot less people had died in the official statistics. Toshio doesn’t care and loses it on his friend as well. We soon learn the root of Toshio’s anger originally stems from his father who was Sotoba’s previous doctor and whom had told his son that he must be the new doctor and never let anyone under his care die… ever.

During this time, Natsuno has been doing some research of his own after suspecting that Megumi is back from the dead. As he watches various vampire movies, he broadens his research to the library only to discover that Seishin has taken out all of the vampire books in the village.

The women of this town are deadly… one second they are hot and well endowed, then they age and look like this

The next day an elderly woman presents to the Ozaki clinic with anemia yet again. Toshio decides to treat her with his standard regimen of ‘iron supplements, vitamins and antibiotics’, but this time also decides to add a blood transfusion as well. To his astonishment when he follows up with her the next day she actually looks a bit better, but as she refuses to go back in the clinic, eventually her condition declines yet again. Frustrated and with no leads an angry Toshio is met by Natsuno who asks him if someone could come back from the dead which finally triggers the word vampires in Toshio’s mind as he finally connects the dots. The episode ends with Megumi’s friend Kaori and her little brother seeing one of the ‘dead’ villagers enter the Kanamasa residence as wolverine hair guy looks on.

Reaction:

Wow! Finally! It’s been OVER A MONTH and a ton of deaths since this began and the good doctor finally decides to treat anemia with… a blood transfusion. While the viewers of this show may not have the most uptodate medical knowledge I think it’s pretty obvious to anyone that if you see someone with so little blood that they will die, the best idea would be to… give them blood!

Here’s an analogy:

• Toshio: “Hmm, I have not filled my gas tank for a month and I’ve driven my car a lot. The fuel gauge reads ‘E’ and the red light’s been on for a while. The car stopped working today and won’t turn on. What should I do? I know… I will refill the windshield washer fluid, change the oil, replace the engine, do an emissions inspection on the tailpipe, rotate the tires, and wash the car. Let’s see if that will work”
• 4 weeks later
• Toshio: “Okay so I think I will try adding $2 of gas”
• 5 minutes later
• Toshio: “Wow! I can’t believe adding gas was all it took to make this work! Anyway, let’s not add anymore gas and see what happens”
• Next day the car dies yet again.
• Toshio: “DAMMIT WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!”

I also find the whole story of his father being the previous doctor and telling his son to not let anyone die to be quite amusing. First of all, we find out how such an incompetent guy is the local doctor… because nespotism is alive and well in Japan even in medicine. Secondly the entire idea of ‘not letting anyone die’ is ridiculous. In a town of 2,000 people with an average life expectancy of roughly 80 years, simple math tells us that in any given year 25 people (or 2 a month) will die of all causes. People die all the time, and you’d think a doctor would know that.

The more interesting part of this episode was Natsuno’s little investigation into vampires. Looks like he’s already clued in to what it may be even if he doesn’t fully accepted it yet. Also his realization that Seishin has been reading up as well on vampires may allow him to know that Seishin can be a valuable ally in the future.

The episode ends in a bit of a cliffhanger. Will those two kids be the next victims or not?

©2010 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Sketchy, old-fashioned hotel? Count me in!

Summary:

The class prepares for a school trip, and Yamada prepares to bring Kosuda down, along with his virginity. Their time together, however, is virtually nonexistant, as they travel in groups and never really get the chance to be alone together. Moreover, Kosuda doesn’t seem to pay attention to Yamada, even though he secretly wants to, which makes Yamada jealous and bitter.

I love how racial/ethnic association with the size of the male phallus carries over into various cultures.

And still, no matter how hard Yamada tries, nothing seems to work for those three days. Then finally, on the last day, both she and Kosuda are left behind on the boat trip down the river. Thus, they must travel together, alone–and yet, nothing happens between them. Yamada, of course, finishes the trip disappointed, yet right when she’s about to leave the train station, Kosuda confesses to her (with his head stuck in the door of the train, might I add). Finally, Yamada’s received her confession; but she has no idea how to respond. Alas, she avoids Kosuda, and she escapes when he tries to get an answer.

Reaction:

Here, ladies and gentlemen, we have the typical school trip episode–or what seems like the typical school trip episode, at least. Couples are made, stories told, historical monuments visited: what’s there not to like about the trip? Yet what we expect to actually happen on the trip–that is, for both of them to make progress as a couple–never happens. The reality is that they have absolutely no time together; as such, the show takes on a much more realistic approach.

Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream…

Moreover, the whole episode revealed Yamada’s inexperience and innocence not only in the matter of sex but also in dating. I’m guessing that she had never dated anyone in her life before, and she did not know how to handle the situation in general. The perfect example was the boat scene: both had their worries and did not initiate anything, thus making the atmosphere awkward and forced. In addition, Yamada had no idea how to respond to Kosuda. Though she may have had many confessions, she had never actually “liked” someone before; and for that person to express his feelings so clearly while she cannot scares her. She is uncertain; she is afraid.

Such an episode was thus definitely different from the norm, and it’s safe to say that this was a departure from the increased focus on the “bawdiness” that we have known B Gata H Kei for. Sure, you have those sex jokes–but the latter half of the episode took on a very serious tone about relationships. It’s interesting to see how this will play out; and for now, I can’t really judge whether or not I like the shift in focus. The next few episodes (that is, the last ones) will truly determine how effective this change will be.

I rest my case.

Siddartha has returned!

©2010 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Wished his would go up / But he had shorted early: / Stock situation.

Summary Recall of the Dead:

Merlon grab okayed, / But she won't kiss him 'till he's / Popped some battle mints.

Our apologies, but the planned segment on the Zombie Chute 5000 has been preempted so that we may bring you breaking news of a widespread product recall. We turn you over to Mr. Igot U. R. Cash IV, President of Zombay Enterprises, who will read a prepared statement.

Dear consumer,

It has come to our attention that one of the items you may have recently purchased is part of a group of products that we are voluntarily recalling. While we are still waiting for government testing to confirm our findings, which we reported almost immediately after TMZ aired their “Zombay Expose,” we felt that it was appropriate to take action immediately to protect the safety of you, our loyal customer, and the public at large.

Though we have a top-ranked quality system in place (ISO 9001 certified), and all of our products are extensively safety tested by an independent laboratory, we occasionally have defects that make their way into our product line through some of our overseas partners. While we are working to certify all of our suppliers to our rigorous safety and quality standards, effective immediately, we are recalling all products in the Zombuddy Zuper Action®* line, which includes all variations of the Rampaging Rex®, Troglodyte Tina®, Fearsome Fred®, and The Wally®.

Recent tests have concluded that some of the zombies that were used may have been exposed to equipment that is also used to process peanuts and other tree nuts. Even though this does not affect zombie performance in any measurable fashion, it is quite possible that someone could have an allergic reaction while handling or being mauled by one of our zombies, a situation that we find to be unacceptable. Who wants puffy-faced zombies created from a peanut-tainted seed unit? You sure don’t, and neither do we.

The chance of a reaction may be slight, but we are committed to delivering only the finest products to our valuable customers. If you own one of the products affected by the recall, please bring your unit(s) to your local Zombay Expo location for immediate inspection and replacement, or a complete refund. Here at Zombay Enterprises, your satisfaction is our priority one. Thank you for your time, and for your continued support.

*Please note that Farmer Jed® (with authentic pitchfork action) and Embalmed Elaine® from the Zombuddy Friends® line are not affected by the recall.

We now return you to the infomercial in progress.

… just listen to what Adam K., another satisfied customer, had to say:

“Before I got the Zombie Chute 5000® from Aww Chute!, my attempts to launch my zombies were absolute bombs. I ended up cratering several of my best shamblers, and the property damage was astronomical. Thank God for insurance! Anyway, once I picked up the Zombie Chute 5000, those worries became things of the past. Now, I can safely land tangle-free terror from 30,000 feet! I can’t wait for the tandem version!”

Order today and get a free Chutie plushie! And when it comes time to deploy your undead, remember to say “Aww, Chute!” or you’ll be saying “Oh, SHI-”

Thirty Second Spot Version:
The gang crosses the river and commemorates the event by getting dressed. They then head toward Saya’s house, and it appears that the area is relatively free of the undead until they run into (literally and figuratively) a mass of zombies that have been corralled by wires strung across the road. Rei, who had been riding atop the HumVee, is thrown to the ground and Takashi and the rest of the group leave the stalled vehicle to assist her. Things look dire until Saya’s mother arrives and helps them retreat, but despite the assist Takashi and Saeko end up separated from the main group.

Singing lullabies / Best to avoid Tchaikovsky: / Real life nutcracker.

Reaction:

Even though we got a lot of action in this episode, it wasn’t exactly encouraging. Rather than take a moment to formulate a plan, everyone reacted on impulse and ended up wasting a lot of ammo and endangering themselves and one another. Kohta was really the one keeping it all together by providing accurate cover fire and helping the others with their weapons, but in doing so he also failed to see the bigger picture. It wasn’t until nearly the end of the fight that Takashi and Saeko left off their hopeless frontal attack and tried to draw the main zombie mob away from the others, but by then it was too late. If Saya’s mom hadn’t shown up to save them all, this probably would have been the end of their short journey, but on the other hand, if Takashi had had enough sense to enlist some help in dragging Rei back up onto the HumVee there wouldn’t have been much of a fight, or an excuse for Madhouse’s Creative Breast Physics team to show their stuff.

Where the fanservice has been amped up the last few episodes, this time they went plaid cranked it up to ludicrous levels. I didn’t have as many laugh out loud moments this week, especially compared to episode seven’s ridiculous posing, but part of my quiet may have derived from the awe I felt from all the bullet time love that Rei and Saeko’s assets received. Rei truly had more jiggle than a ton of Jello, and the way Saeko’s breasts dodged Takashi’s errant rounds, they must have independent microprocessors. Add to that the suggestive changing scene (did anyone else notice that even though Shizuka gets totally naked during the changing scene, she’s wearing the same thing she was last time? Or was it just me?) and all the random boob and butt shots, and this episode has clearly topped everything we’ve seen so far from the series. What are they going to pull next?

I can’t wrap this up without mentioning how thoroughly disappointed I was with Takashi’s actions this time. No, not for letting Rei go flying off the HumVee, or for dropping all his shells, or for being a terrible shot. No, it’s because he completely failed as a harem lead. Suggesting that the girls go put some clothes on? Seriously? And then not peeping? Hasn’t he been watching Amagami SS? I mean, he could’ve at least let Saeko know that stockings go great with aprons. Kids these days. Even though he completely failed in his duties, it’s obvious that Rei is becoming even more possessive of him, and Saya wanted to make sure that he knew that she’d be waiting at home for him. Will Shizuka make another move? Or will Saya’s mom get in on the action? There’s no telling for now, but next time it looks like Saeko is going to get her crack at Takashi, and after Rei’s extremely pointed glances in this episode, I’m dying to see what Rei pulls when the two of them rejoin the main group. Until then.

©2010 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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This vagina-shaped coin purse is so soft!

Summary:

I love what you've done with your hair, Miya

Timid new freshman, Nakata Sae, spots Junichi bumping into Haruka, but before she can tell him about his dropped tarako coin purse, he runs off.  Masayoshi is stuck doing physics homework during lunch, so Junichi offers to buy his buddy bread, but then realizes that he lost his purse.  Sae returns it to Junichi, but then shyly runs away before he can thank her.  Fortunately, Miya easily identifies the timid, twin-tailed, busty little girl immediately and introduces the two formally.  Miya also mentions, rubbing Sae’s chest may bring good luck.

Later when Junichi helps the terrified Sae cross past a small puppy behind a gate, the two end up visiting the cafe that Kaoru works at.  Sae loves the uniforms there, but isn’t sure she’d be able to carry food and talk to customers.  Naturally, Junichi volunteers to help her.  The initial going is rough, with Junichi getting his crotch scalded, but it’s all balanced by the fact that he gets to feel up her tummy for vocal exercises and feel her chest and thighs after losing in piggyback janken (with Sae winning by gratin, of course).

Reaction:

Yes, you shall bring great fortune to the Tachibana family

There are several parts of this episode that did not make sense.  First off, if Sae is so new that she just got her uniform, how is it that she is so familiar with Miya (unless they went to the same middle school)?  Why would they brew scalding coffee for that carrying exercise, when they could have just used water?  Why didn’t they get Narrator-san if they needed an annoying, fourth wall breaker?  Why wouldn’t Junichi just let Masayoshi copy his homework?

I didn’t love this episode, as it seemed rather different from the other episodes, and the production values took a noticeable dip.  Sae was alright, and I can see how it will be heart-warming to watch Junichi raise up her confidence.  Poor Miya, though.  She thought frightened little Sae could never capture Junichi’s heart, but I could see the panic on Miya’s face as she realized that all Tachibanas love large meat buns.

©2010 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Nooooo, right in the fish balls!

Summary:

I don't want to eat lunch with you nerds

Kisame’s sneaky blast is designed to hijack all energy blasts in the way making it an excellent counter, but unfortunately Afternoon Tiger is simply an adorned blast of air formed by a super speedy punch.  Guy’s blast goes right through and detonates on Kisame, and then Guy knocks Kisame unconscious.  With that it’s interrogation time, and we see how Kisame was assigned to watch over his teammates and kill them to prevent Mist codes from falling into the wrong hands.

Crappy Ikea furniture!!!!

After killing his whole team to avoid Leaf capture, Kisame also kills his tiger-mouse boss to gain Samehada.  From there we find that he was following the fourth Mizukage’s orders, except that the Mizukage (the three-tails jinchuuriki) was under Madara’s mind control.  As Kisame remembers how he wanted to live in a world of truth instead of a world of lies, he bites his tongue to escape the interrogation and flexes his way out of Yamato’s crappy particle board stocks.

Reaction:

Wait, I’m confused.  So all the seals for Afternoon Tiger were for… appearances?  I suppose that would make sense, to satisfy Guy’s ego and to trick opponents.  And all the time we thought he was powering up he was just sweating a lot?  Weird…  This chapter was kinda anti-climactic as even the flashback gave very little new information.  Kisame always seemed like a loyal guy, which just makes his defection that much more ironic.  They keep hiding Madara’s face even though we saw it when Madara was tending Sasuke, so perhaps his face looked different back then.  You know, before the nose job.

©2010 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Engrish vs Hair

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

The team talked it over, and we thought we’d try a new feature with regular polls.  This was blatantly stolen from TMZ.

Halfadeckshort:

• While Haruka appears to be quite the kinky one at first blush, she’s actually fairly conservative as she likes to keep her “private activities” private (in front of Hibiki doesn’t count). Kaoru, on the other hand, is the kind of girl who doesn’t mind getting a little “crab gratin” on her in public, if you know what I mean. Advantage: Kaoru
• Haruka does have the apparel advantage in the pool (swimming) versus pool (shooting) match-up, but much like the “Santa Special” she only busts out the swim wear on certain occasions. Kaoru works the skirt and stocking combo every day. Advantage: zettai ryouiki er, Kaoru.
• Sometimes, after a long hard day, you just want to get some sleep. Haruka seems like the kind of girl who would wake you up in the middle of the night just to talk, which could get old fast. Kaoru seems like the kind of girl who knows that it’s important to get a good night’s rest before engaging in strenuous activities, like bareback riding. Advantage: Kaoru.
• Summary: while Haruka is undeniably cute, I just don’t think she measures up to Kaoru except possibly in terms of their three sizes in the ways that really count. Kaoru is the clear winner for me.

Hellomotto :

• I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that, as a couple, Kaoru and Junichi are better by far. They seem much more natural and a lot closer, and the scene at the top of the building was a cute (though a tad forced). To put it one step further, they weren’t automatically married at the end; they remained a natural couple. Round goes to: Kaoru
• However, that doesn’t count as much as what I myself actually prefer; and I have a general idea what I’m looking for. For me, I like someone who isn’t forceful, remains cute, yet doesn’t necessarily sacrifice intelligence. At the same time, I’d rather not be awkward with her. The latter criteria fits Karou perfectly, yet the former fits Haruka to the dot. In general, since the awkwardness would clear up afterwards, I’d prefer Haruka, who’s a bit more outgoing yet has her reservations. Round goes to: Haruka
• As for the arc itself, there’s no comparison: Haruka’s arc is more consistent and develops better and at an excellent pace. Moreover, Haruka was fleshed out much, much more: she became a three-dimensional character, full of realistic doubts (for the most part) and desirable qualities. Round goes to: Haruka
• Thus, my upshot consists of the following: 1) Kaoru and Junichi fit better as a couple, but 2) taking the arc as a whole, Haruka’s was much better, and overall I’d say that Haruka fits my type of girl more than Kaoru. Combining these, I’d say that, even though Kaoru and Junichi are a much better couple by far, Haruka wins by being “cuter,” less tsundere, and overall a better choice for me personally. Match Win goes to: Haruka

Zyl:

• For me, Haruka wins knees down for being the channel of so many facets of Shizuka Itou awesomeness: Hinagiku pluckiness x Banjo no Carmel-san Wilhelmina wackiness x Akiha insecurity. If there was a missing spice I could add, it would be Tama-nee tsun tsun mode but Haruka has already surpassed all my expectations. Rina Satou did a great job as Kaoru but just not as excellent as Biri Biri.

Epi:

• Haruka Positives:
  1. Wooooow!
  2. Super fun girl who likes doing fun crazy things.
  3. Public exhibitionist and not scared of it
  4. Rich (hey it never hurts!)
  5. Engrish speaker
  6. Ridiculous body and not afraid to show it off
  7. Super dedicated to her man even though she’s outta his league
  8. Lotta hot friends everywhere (and probably doesn’t care/mind when you ogle her swim club buddies)
  9. Every day is an adventure with Haruka
  10. Puts out… and how! (very important, especially since she’s a keeper!)

• Haruka Negatives:
  1. So hot someone richer/more powerful/better looking may steal her away

• Kaoru Positives:
  1. SEX HAIR
  2. Employable
  3. Down to Earth
  4. Liked her voice, but is no woooow!
  5. Mini-skirt buffet

• Kaoru Negatives:
  1. Issues with her family
  2. Falls asleep instead of making out, that can’t bode well for the future…
  3. Boring, safe choice. If even the perverted best friend doesn’t lust for her in the anime world then in the “real life” version, she must be really plain and/or ugly
  4. Violent, and her punches actually hurt

• I think it’s obvious who I’m supporting. Winner: HARUKA

Kabitzin:

• Haruka appears to be the high-maintenance, high reward girl.  However, note that in 10 years you will not be getting that much role-playing and you won’t have any kids.  I can put 2 and 2 together (the answer, BTW, is foursome).
• You will never quite be sure what you are supposed to do to prevent Haruka from breaking down into crazy girl tears.  At least if Kaoru’s bummed, it’s probably because she just found out about her mom’s super-hot night life.
• I just want to point out that (if you are into that kind of thing) Kaoru’s situation represents a real chance to get with both the mom and the daughter for Jerry Springer-esque results.
• While Haruka’s arc was definitely better than Kaoru’s, I think Haruka would annoy me pretty quickly.  Kaoru, I choose you!

©2010 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Maya is in an abusive relationship with the Occult

Summary:

This is what happens when you mess with the Occult

Ami’s dad spots Maya bringing home some tea and ramen, and invites her over for a scary story.  When Maya blows him off, he asks Ami if she’s alright and the next day Ami invites Maya and Kozue over to hang out.  After some gigantic onigiri and insights into how occult-crazed young Maya was, a news report comes up detailing a mysterious crop circle.  Although Maya tries to sneak out to investigate the circle, everyone ends up coming along for the pre-party and stake-out.

Incredibly a UFO shows up, as the group is investigating a cow that’s been drained of blood.  The group gives chase, and it’s just like old times when Ami’s dad would recklessly drive the snow sled.  When they finally corner the alien, however, it turns out to be a fake.  In fact, Ami’s dad hired JK and Smile to make the crop circle and stage the UFO hoax to rekindle Maya’s love of the occult (even though this didn’t work on Kozue either).  Maya is pretty upset that Ami’s dad wasted her time, but Ami slaps Maya hard for being mean to her dad.  This somehow leads to Ami’s dad slapping Ami for slapping Maya.  I wonder what parenting is like in 2012…

Reaction:

Whoa, whoa, wait, how can that helicopter lift that huge light?

This episode was a total tease.  First they made it look like Kozue was gonna go flying off the truck bed, then everyone was getting slapped and I kept hoping that Smile would join in and slap Kozue.  And yet, nothing happened to Kozue!  Damn that annoying girl, there is no justice in this world!  As for Maya, I’m surprised she doesn’t really hate the Occult yet.  She’s constantly getting beaten because of the Occult but she keeps coming back.  It’s unhealthy.  Someone needs to stage an intervention.

I found it interesting that Smile feared Ami’s dad, or that Smile and JK would end up working a part-time job together.  The whole plot was extremely predictable from the moment the mud was shown on their shoes, which makes me suspect that this was a setup episode where real aliens will show up and bring Ami and Maya back together.  The camera phone from the future was quite a hoot as well.  I was saddened that future camera phones do not have sensitive enough sensors to bump the ISO up high enough to not need a flash.  At least the future is good to JK, who will have three little mini-goth sons.

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