Fruits Basket Manga Volume 23 (finale)

Fruits Basket Volume 23 <--Buy From Amazon!

Coming to the final volume of the manga, it is a time for goodbyes and that is what this volume is full of. It is also a time for new beginnings. To start this off, we have the final gathering of the Sohma family where Akito reveals the truth that she is a woman and not a man. I have to say that even though I don't like Takaya-sensei's current character designs, I do like that she made Akito look like a lovely woman. That helps for the start of the renewed romance between Akito and Shigure.

There were many nice moments in this manga including getting to see all of the zodiac members. We got to see how different couples were going planning to go in the near future, which is cool. It seems that most people have a partner except for Momiji, who pines for Tohru, and Kagura, who pines for Kyo. I kinda feel bad for the two of them, especially Kagura. Momiji has had lots of girls interested in him but Kagura has only been tied to Kyo and shows no sign of moving along. Oh well.

It is humorous that Hana appears to be in a relationship with Kazuma, Kyo's adoptive father. Talk about an age difference. Wow. Kazuma scores, eh? ^_^; Actually, so does Kureno. Get the girls as soon as they emerge from high school after marking them their 3rd year. *lol*

Speaking of Hana and humor, the part with Hana and Uo tagging along on Kyo's and Tohru's first date is pretty fun and humorous. Not only that, but way back when, both girls had vowed to crash Tohru's first date and they basically kept that promise. I loved how Hana teased Kyo and read his mind. Of course there was some seriousness about losing one of her best friends to Kyo, but she can continue to have fun with Kyo by marrying Kazuma. *lol*

The strangest and darkest part of the volume is one of Kyoko immediately after the accident that takes her life. As such, we get to see her final thoughts as she dies and are allowed to see that in death, she didn't say she hated Kyo but rather wanted Kyo to take over her role in protecting Tohru. So even though he doesn't know this, Kyo ends up carrying out Kyoko's wish and that's sweet. Also sweet is seeing Kyoko and Katsuya meeting in the afterlife.

Going to the TokyoPop piece of the manga, I still hate this cheap paper that's being used. These limp manga volumes just feel so wrong. That said, TokyoPop at least gave us a color image from Takaya-sensei of Tohru, the rat, and the cat which is very nice. Also, it has a note from Takaya-sensei and I like that.

I'll write a piece to cover my thoughts for the entire manga series but to wrap up the series, I thought that volume 23 does a nice job of things. We get closure for all the characters with only two really getting the short end of the stick. As such, I don't think Furuba fans will be disappointed at what they read.

Hayate no Gotoku!! - 17

Hayate the Combat Butler "2nd Season" Ep. 17
ハヤテのごとく！！Episode 17

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: With the alien Maya having crashed into Nagi's room, Nagi keeps Hayate from coming in and seeing the frighted girl, who's looking for her lost spaceship. Nagi agrees to help her find it, figuring she'll then obtain some Pipilma technology to make Hayate notice her with a new, sexy body.

Meanwhile, Hina is in an onsen struggling over how to tell Ayumu that she has fallen in love with Hayate. To her astonishment, Ayumu arrives and Hina is forced to deal with the situation faster than expected. However, Ayumu is gushing over Hina's hair and skin, preventing Hina from saying anything. When Ayumu leaves the onsen to scrub up to make her own skin as soft as Hina's, Hina ends up passing out due to the heat. She's rescued by Ayumu and upon waking up, finds herself using Ayumu's lap as a pillow and dressed in a yukata. Ayumu confesses that while drying Hina off, she actually found herself a little aroused by it, which embarrasses Hina. Hina asks about Hayate, so Ayumu says that maybe she's stepped toward a non-traditional relationship (implied with both Hayate and Hina). Hina again thinks she needs to tell Ayumu about he feelings for Hayate, but suddenly there's a crowd.

Nagi and Maya find the UFO, which has been "acquired" by the Saginomiya family. Nagi spots Hayate entering the grounds of the Saginomiya property and immediately assumes that Hayate is having an affair with Isumi. Hayate is there to keep his end of the bargain with Ginka, but Isumi wants no part of that. When Hayate attempts to leave, Ginka attacks him, causing him to bleed. She wants Isumi to drink the blood, but Isumi refuses as it wouldn't make her happy. Ginka leaves in a huff but Kotetsu arrives to score with Hayate. Nagi comes in to find Kotetsu attempting to have his way with Hayate and assumes the worst again.

Nagi flees to the UFO and tells Maya she wants to leave. Nagi gets on board but an attack from Ginka prevents Maya from getting on board. The ship takes off with Nagi trapped on board. Understanding the situation, Isumi kisses the blood-soaked face of Hayate and her powers are restored. She summons "Gibson Jr," a gaijn baseball player in Japan, who uses his bat to send both Hayate and Maya to the UFO.

Nagi is relieved to see Hayate and they rush to the bridge to find out what launched the spaceship. There, they discover a very drunk Katsura-sensei, who decided that since her family was coming here on a trip, she'd hold supplemental classes here as well (for Izumi, Miki, and Risa). Maya arrives to take control of the ship and as everyone is being returned to Earth, Hayate meets Nagi's mother, Yukariko, who has been watching over Nagi. Hayate and Nagi come to at Yukariko's grave and soon all of Nagi's friends are there (courtesy of Yukariko) and a hanami party breaks out. When it is all over, Hayate promises Nagi's mother to protect Nagi forever and hearing this, Nagi emerges and formally introduced Hayate to Yukariko.

Thoughts/Review: This episode had both humor and a nice, touching story with Nagi's mother. First to the humor.

Anyone know who "Gibson Jr." is? I did a Google search but I'm not sure this guy is the same as the one in the anime. Regardless, his method for sending both Hayate and Maya to the UFO was expected and still funny. Really good humor is like that.

(As an aside, I wonder why Ginka had that UFO at all.)

Kotetsu finally returns but the impact of his scene is lessened because he just randomly shows up rather than having been set up in the skipped chapter as being in Shimoda pursuing Hayate. Still, the moment was amusing, though fairly cliched.

What is up with the sudden yuri push between Ayumu and Hina? That was rather unexpected. I suppose that in the manga, Hata-sensei wanted to spice up the whole love-triangle thing (assuming this aspect is in the manga, which I would guess it would be). Heck, this pretty much paves the way for a harem ending.

As to the serious side of the story, I wonder if Isumi's story was done in greater detail in the manga. I kind of hope so because that would add richness to the story as a whole. Regardless, "Yukariko-neesama" has been explained and I liked it that Nagi's mother spoke with Hayate before they returned to Earth. I also liked what Hayate spoke at the graveside. Very touching.

So a fun and touching episode wrapped into one.

xxxHOLiC Manga Chapter 184 Review

xxxHOLiC Manga Chapter 184

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Doumeki talks with Mokona about the special egg he carries while Watanuki heads to the treasure room and holds Yuuko-san's kimono. As Doumeki considers what he must do, he sees two Syaoran's with the eye he shares with Watanuki. Seeing this, Doumeki hurries off to find Watanuki while Monoka ponders the choices everyone has made and how this will surely lead to everyone's happiness. Meanwhile, Doumeki finds Watnuki in the treasure room as Watanuki has found his glasses with Yuuko-san's clothing.

Thoughts/Review: CLAMP has combined strange, intrigue, confusion, and even a bit of nothing in this chapter. It still feels like it is marking time, then tagging along, while Tsubasa presses forward with the actual story. This egg thing feels like it might get stretched out for quite a few chapters but we'll see.

So, I wonder why Doumeki saw two Syaoran's. Watanuki must have seen them as well. Not having read the current Tsubasa chapter, I don't know what the smeg is currently happening over there.

Why did Watanuki find his glasses where he did? I can't remember when Watanuki dropped or lost his glasses but I suppose it could have been in the dream world.

Well, naught to do but press forward with this manga until the very end.

Tenchi Muyo! OVA Blu-ray Release...if you don't mind importing it.

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of the canon Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki franchise. As such, I get lots of questions about things Tenchi to include asking about the possibility of FUNimation or other company bringing back the Geneon USA-licensed titles such as the canon Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki OVA's (OVA 1, Night Before Carnival, OVA 2, which Pioneer/Geneon USA called "Tenchi Muyo!"), the Tenchi movies, Tenchi Universe, Pretty Sammy, etc. When FUNimation began to distribute titles for Geneon and even completely take over some of Geneon's titles, I had high hopes we'd see all the old Tenchi titles make a return to the U.S. Now, I'm not so hopeful.


Since Japan and the U.S. are now in the same Blu-ray region code (we are still in different DVD region codes though), Geneon Japan appears to want to bypass a U.S. distributor completely. I say this because first Geneon Japan released the three Tenchi movies on Blu-ray and included on that release are the original English dubs and English subtitles. Now, they are releasing the first 13 canon OVA episodes on Blu-ray with the same deal -- English dubs and English subs! There's a catch though -- it will cost you ¥30,660 *(~$327 as of this writing) plus shipping which won't be cheap.

So, if they are going to release the BD version with the English dub and subtitles on their own, they aren't going to allow FUNimation or any other U.S. distributor to license the series or distribute it on Blu-ray since the U.S. companies would sell the same set for considerably less (I'd say well under $100). If Geneon Japan allowed this to happen, it would be cheaper for Japanese fans to simply reverse-import the U.S. Blu-ray's and come out ahead of the game. Instead, Geneon Japan feels that if you are a true Tenchi fan, you'll pay their outrageous prices and import the Blu-ray's for yourself. I guess I'm not a true Tenchi fan 'cause I'm not paying that ridiculous price for 13 anime episodes with subtitles desperately in need of a fresh translation.

That still leaves the DVD sets, right? Well, maybe but with Blu-ray being the growing market, companies like FUNimation are trying to obtain all of the distribution rights, to include DVD, Blu-ray, and various forms of digital distribution. Now that I own an HDTV and a Blu-ray player, I'd rather have a BD version since I already own a DVD version. Further, I have the feeling that Geneon Japan wouldn't mind trying to cut out the middle man for the DVD market and attempt to sell R1 DVD's themselves.

Still, if you'd like to pre-order (releases on September 26, 2009) the Blu-ray set from Japan, Amazon Japan has it on sale at the moment for ¥22,688 plus shipping. If anyone does get this, I'd love to hear from you on what all is on the BD set. ^_^

Clannad After Story - Another World: Kyou Chapter

クラナド アフターストーリー もうひとつの世界 杏編
Clannad ~After Story~ "Episode 25" (OVA)

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: As a depressed Kyou sits alone in a classroom, Ryou makes a confession to Tomoya and he accepts. Thus, Ryou and Tomoya begin dating. One day, Tomoya sees Kyou in town looking depressed. She puts on a happy face and they sit on a park bench and talk. Upon learning that Tomoya and Ryou have never kissed, Kyou asks if Tomoya would like to practice on her since the experience should be the similar to kissing Ryou as they are twins. Tomoya goes in for the kiss but at the last second, Kyou backs down and leaves.

Rumors spring up at school about Kyou kissing Tomoya at the park and even Youhei knows about it. When Tomoya denies it and says he's dating Ryou, Youhei is surprised since the two don't match up well. Kyou drags Youhei off and when Ryou comes to talk to Tomoya, he makes an excuse and leaves. Tomoya discovers Kyou attempting to kiss Youhei outside and hides. Youhei stops Kyou because he realizes she's not serious and that she loves Tomoya. Tomoya emerges and Kyou is ashamed that he heard that. Kyou tries to play it off and Ryou senses the distance coming between herself and Tomoya.

On a date, Ryou calls Tomoya "Tomoya-kun" instead of "Okazaki-kun" for the first time and asks that he call her "Ryou" instead of "Fujibayashi." He agrees but there is awkwardness between them that lasts until she eventually goes home. Tomoya is feeling down and walking home in the rain, he finds Botan out. He then discovers Kyou is there but she doesn't want him near, begging him to only think of Ryou. He doesn't stay away and she ends up telling the truth about her feelings and the mess of things she and Ryou are going through.

At school the next day, Tomoya and Youhei are on the roof talking when Youhei gives Tomoya a frank statement that no matter what Tomoya does, either Kyou or Ryou will be hurt. To do nothing will only make both of them hurt more. Tomoya meets with Ryou after school in the classroom and breaks it off with Ryou. She admits that she knew that Kyou liked Tomoya but she went for Tomoya just the same. She says she can become more like Kyou and begs him to give her a chance but he refuses as that's not what he wants. Ryou races forward, kisses Tomoya, then flees the classroom.

The next day, Ryou is absent and Tomoya is depressed. Youhei ends up leaving him after class when Tomoya begins speaking aloud and addresses what he thinks is Ryou. He tells her that he's been unkind to her in that he had been thinking of Kyou while dating her and that it is Kyou he loves. The girl races forward and Tomoya realizes this is Kyou, who's cut her hair like Ryou's. Ryou got angry with Kyou for not going for Tomoya and now it is Kyou's turn to confess. Thus Kyou and Tomoya become a couple and Ryou and Tomoya are friends. Kyou and Ryou have their sisterly bonds renewed and all is well.

Thoughts/Review: I knew this was going to be a tough one to watch from the moment Kyou looked depressed and Ryou was all happy that Tomoya started dating her. I can't imagine what twins who fall in love with the same guy might go through when one is chosen and the other is rejected. Of course, one would feel worse for Ryou considering she's the shy type and doesn't seem like she'd handle rejection that well. It was different in the main anime because Nagisa and Tomoya were so meant to be together, the others didn't really have a chance. That's why, as in the Tomoyo Route OVA, Nagisa is MIA. She has to be otherwise these other girls wouldn't work.

The bad thing is that the title of this OVA gives away the store by saying this is Kyou's chapter, so we know Ryou is getting screwed from the start. The anime writers make Ryou a bit tougher and accepting than one would expect though, but I suppose they had to in order to allow there to be a happy end of sorts. The only thing is, I never could stop feeling bad for Ryou no matter how much effort the production team attempted to put into her moving on with her life and restoring her relationship with Kyou.

Anyway, it was not only strange to see Kyou with Ryou's hair style, but it was also strange seeing her so lovey-dovey with Tomoya after they became a couple. I can believe Kyou would be this way but considering how she was throughout both main anime series, it just seems odd.

Youhei, who's so often just the cannon fodder for jokes, comes off mature and sensible in this episode. Shocking, I know but first he doesn't take advantage of Kyou's attempts to replace Tomoya with Youhei. Next, he actually offers some sage advice to Tomoya in laying it out there that no matter what Tomoya does, either Ryou of Kyou will be hurt. I actually think that the Youhei stuff may have been the highlight of the episode.

I guess this now finally wraps of the Clannad franchise as I don't believe there are any more romantic routes for Tomoya to take and be exploited into a one-episode spinoff. Either way, this is not an episode that I could watch again simply because I hate that Ryou gets hurt.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - 16

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi - Fullmetal Alchemist Ep. 16
鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Episode 16

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Arriving in Central City, Ed, Al, and Winry head into town while Fu and Fan look for their missing master, Ling. Ling is observing the city and feels something wrong with it. However, when he attempts to pull off his free meal scam, he's arrested as an illegal immigrant. Meanwhile, Ed and Al decide to pay a visit to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes at his work while Winry decides to head to his house to pay Gracia and Elicia-chan a visit, stopping to pick up a basket of apples to bring as a gift.

Sheska has to cover to keep people out of the research room, where Colonel Mustang has been doing research on Hughes's murder. Sheska wakes Roy up and he takes off to get ready for a meeting. Lt. Focker shows up and inquires about Mustang being there, understanding that Sheska is in a bad situation and promising not to tell anyone what he saw. Sheska lets Focker know what Hughes is doing and as Focker walks down the hall, another Focker comes the other way forcing the first Focker, who's actually Envy, to change guises.

Colonel Mustang is getting ready in the bathroom when Major Armstrong emerges from a stall. Mustang and Armstrong have a little chat where Mustang reveals he knows more than he did the last time they met. Armstrong reveals that he has not let Ed and Al know the truth about Hughes being murdered. A little later, Roy and Riza encounter Ed and Al and Roy finds he cannot tell them the truth either, so he makes up a story that Hughes and family were sent to the country. However, when Ed and Al meet Lt. Ross a little later, she ends up letting them know the truth, not realizing they've been shielded from the truth.

Ed and Al race over to Hughes's place where Winry already is and has already discovered the truth. Ed tells Al that he'll take responsibility for Hughes's death since it was their investigation of the Philosopher's Stone that caused it, but Al has decided to go with Ed no matter what. Upon letting both Winry and Gracia know the truth, Gracia tells them that Hughes would give up his life to help others and that they should not give up their search as it would make Hughes's sacrifice a vain one. With that, Ed, Al, and Winry head to a hotel where all three grieve in their own way.

In a room full of caged chimeras, Envy reports to Lust about Mustang's research progress. Lust decides that maybe she should get her new boyfriend to talk a bit more to try to learn more. Envy has a plan in mind to handle Mustang. With that, Lust (as "Solaris") goes to meet her new boyfriend -- Jean Havoc from Colonel Mustang's staff.

Meanwhile, Military Police come to Lt. Ross and arrest her for the murder of Lt. Col. Hughes. Riza reports this to Mustang, who immediately orders her to secretly investigate this further.

Thoughts/Review: The whole thing with Ling disappearing and his bodyguards looking for him wasn't that amusing to me but I did find it interesting that he sensed something wrong with the city. I'm guessing that would be the homunculi.

The one moment of comic relief came from the scene with Vato Falman being charged with watching Barry the Chopper. Barry's dark comedy remarks about wanting to turn everything into a chopping session were pretty funny in spite of the ugliness of what he wanted to do. Of course if he were allowed to chop Jean's girlfriend, that would be interesting, though there's no way I see someone like Barry the Chopper getting close to Lust. Anyway, I did think, "How does Vato sleep with a homicidal maniac who needs neither food nor sleep there with him?" Surely, Vato has to have some means of restraining Barry if needed.

The one thing missing in this episode was Ed and Al questioning why Roy and Riza had lied to them. I could understand the moment Lt. Ross accidentally let them know the truth that they'd take off to see Gracia. However, at the hotel, I would have thought that Ed and Al would be questioning why Roy and Riza (and Armstrong for that matter) had felt the need to lie about the situation. That may still come but we'll see.

I wonder what is so important about Roy Mustang that the homonculi need him alive. When Hughes got too close to uncovering the truth, they killed him. Mustang is about there as well and they aren't trying to kill him. Instead, they are shifting the blame to Lt. Ross for some reason. I'll be interested to see why this is.

So, a good episode all around as we continue to forge ahead into new territories.

Negima! Manga Volume 23 -- What Happened With The Cover?

Negima!: Magister Negi Magi, Manga Vol. 23<-- BUY FROM AMAZON!

For detailed chapter summaries with review, those can be found here.

• Chapter 205
• Chapter 206
• Chapter 207
• Chapter 208
• Chapter 209
• Chapter 210
• Chapter 211
• Chapter 212
• Chapter 213

Story-wise, there are a lot of great things about this volume of the manga. For starters, Akamatsu-sensei took the time to look in on all the other girls, both in the Magic World and on Earth. When reading the volumes as a whole, it doesn't seem like they were apart that long, but when you read a chapter a week and then Akamatsu-sensei takes a week off to catch up every four weeks (or so), it felt like we hadn't seen these other characters in ages.

Regardless, even if brief, it was excellent seeing how Kaede took on a dragon while blind folded. Of course the real winner was Konoka who may turn out to be a beast master before the series is over when she calmly touched the dragon and told it to behave. ^_^ Too bad that dragon had to die at the hands of Fate though. Of course, that was done to show that even though Kaede has become strong, she wasn't exaggerating when she said she needed more training.

Nodoka's teaming up with a group of treasure hunters was way to short for my tastes, but Akamatsu-sensei couldn't get too bogged down with that. Still, we got to learn that Nodoka has "leveled up" and with her new artifacts combined with her pactio artifact, she's a more useful member of Ala Alba. Maybe one day Akamatsu-sensei will do a side story to chronicle Nodoka's adventures but considering how the manga keeps him so busy, I don't think that's in the cards.

While I liked all the little side stories in this volume (loved Eva playing dress up at Mahora and the ever mysterious Zazie getting some face time), obviously Yue's story was the best and longest. When I read Yue's sub-arc, her stock went WAY up with me. I'd never had anything negative against the character before now, but here, she just kicked butt and took names. Further, Akamatsu-sensei did it in a way that was believable. Yue has always been gifted but on Earth, she was always not really interested in learning what was required of her (which is why she's a Baka Ranger). Now, her natural hunger to learn other things combined with her subconscious desire to be a mage like Negi (and remember, before the trip she'd mastered things faster than Negi expected), she has turned into a cool character for me. ^_^

The Negi training is not bad to me at all, especially now that we have a piece of Eva in the scroll. Of course, this is all table setting for what needs to be done in the tournament. ^_^ Slightly more of interest there is Chisame's dilemma when it came to Negi's safety.

Now to the Del Rey stuff. I like learning that the "Sword of Conviction" is actually called "Ensis Exsequens." I did not like that Alethea and Athena went with "Mistress" when it came to Chachamaru-type android on Earth addressing Eva. I guess I should ask them about this but considering the Japanese use the English term "Master" for Eva's servants to address her, in my mind, that's how she should be addressed in the English adaptation. They have Negi call her "Master" so why not the others.

Initially, I was bothered by seeing Sayo address Ku Fei as "Kufy-san." One of the nice things about owning all the tankoubons is that I can see how things were in the original Japanese. To denote her accent, Akamatsu-sensei has Sayo speak Ku's name as "Kuuhe-san" and written in Hiragana rather than Kanji or Katakana. So it appears that Alethea and Athena were trying to capture Sayo's accent a bit with the "Kufy-san" whereas fans simply have Sayo say, "Ku Fei-san." Personally, I would have preferred "Kuuhe-san" but oh well.

Beyond that, I saw no translation issues.

What I do see is a problem with the cover art -- it has been edited. *_*

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we need to see Eva's 10-year old body scantily clad on the cover like that. I understand the concern Del Rey would have about that. When they edited volume 16's cover (corrected link) to give Ayaka's breast some cover, I approved of that because inside, we received a completely unedited and text-free color cover art (not that I needed to see a more ecchi picture of Ayaka but it is the principality of the matter, Smoky). This time however, we do not get that cover art. So that you have an easier time of comparing, I have scanned my regular edition volume 23 cover.


Also disappointing is the fact that the limited edition (LE) cover art was not included. So, I have that scan as well (the entire cover, which was passed to me and forgive me for forgetting your name ^_^;) and am sharing it here.


As you can see, the LE edition is much, MUCH more ecchi. ^_^;

Why didn't we get the two color images? One thought is costs, though considering Negima! is a cash cow for Del Rey Manga, one would think they'd be more keen on treating it right. That said, it is also possible that Del Rey could not get the license for the LE cover. I've been thinking about the whole OAD scheme in Japan (where one gets an exclusive OVA DVD with the purchase of a limited edition manga tankoubon) and I've begun to suspect that not only might the Japanese not license out the OAD's, but they might not license the LE cover art either, much as they will not license the pactio cards. I'm guessing that as far as Kodansha is concerned, that cover is for those who sprang for the LE tankoubon only and everyone else can get stuffed. I hope I end up being proven wrong and that in some future volume, Del Rey published all three of the LE covers.

In the end, volume 23 is full of good character and story stuff as well as fun, fluffy stuff. Outside of the "Master/Mistress" issue, the translations are very good, which helps a lot. The cover issue is the most annoying thing here. However, don't let that dissuade you from picking up this manga if you've been collecting it to date.

More Negima! Chapter 259 SPOILER Images!

Here is the second batch of spoiler images from Negima! chapter 259. You can find the first batch --> HERE.


Beast girl unleashed? ^_~

Negima! Chapter 259 SPOILER Images

Negima! 259 SPOILER Images
魔法先生 ネギま！Chapter 259 (Images)

Here's what I know many of you have been waiting for (and they are REAL early this week) -- the original-sized, sneak-peek images for Mahou Sensei Negima! Chapter 259 SPOILER Images as brought to you buy anonymous Japanese fans (click pic to make bigger, y'all).


I'm guessing there will be more later tonight/early tomorrow morning. Thanks to everyone who pinged me with a heads up! ^_^

Update: Second batch --> HERE!

Suzumiya Haruhi no Zangai

Ever since Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (aka: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) came out in anime form, I was convinced that KyoAni had developed a marketing gimmick by which they developed a great deal of buzz and generated more ratings by doing something unthinkable -- playing the episodes of their anime in non-chronological order. It is a risky ploy to come up with such a marketing scheme but it worked brilliantly on the part of KyoAni. In fact, I dare say it may have worked too well as there is so much controversy online about the new season at the moment with fans feeling like their chain (or tie) is being jerked.


Fans not only bought into this "scramble the episodes" scheme of the first season, but so many people elevated watching this anime into some sort of religious experience. While I didn't find the anime bad, I didn't find it great in either the TV episode order nor the DVD chronological order (sans the first episode, which in both versions is shown first even though it comes later chronologically). Basically, I was told by fans in no uncertain terms that this was no marketing scheme on the part of KyoAni but rather pure genius the likes of which we've never seen before and as such, should Haruhi be worshiped. Why even Muslim children saw the brilliance of Haruhi as this widely circulated picture of a Palestinian protest in early 2007 showed.


Haruhi fans -- remember how you were back in February 2009 when the mere rumor of a new Haruhi series/season was circulating around the Internet? You were orgasmic at the thought of this prospect, then depressed when KyoAni said, "Nope, its not true" (as part of their new marketing scheme) but then they gave you what you wanted -- new episodes...or rather, the same episode over and over and over and over again with minor changes each time.

Back in February, I predicted what could happen when it came to a new season/series of Haruhi being created.

...this kind of over-reaction to an anime (or indeed to any sequel be it TV, movies, books, manga, etc.) can only lead to one place -- disappointment-ville, anger-ville (or rage-ville), or some other similar place.

I have been proven right.

I have to say that the rage I'm seeing all over the Internet, fueled further by the apology video from Japan, amuses me to no end. I would not be so amused were this franchise truly a brilliant masterpiece instead of a huge marketing scheme. The Haruhi anime is not brilliant. It certainly is interesting on several levels and enjoyable on others, but this anime is far from brilliant or a work of genius. However, since Haruhi fans believed it to be better than sex, I am amused at how KyoAni continues to use that against you and generate more publicity for themselves (and there's a saying about publicity, you know ^_~).


Still, has KyoAni crossed the line?

Well, that remains to be seen. Certainly, KyoAni had a high hurdle to cross after the astonishing success with Haruhi out of the starting gate. They psyched everyone up with the fake "no new season" lie while teasing you with the Haruhi-chan series. Then they came out with this "Endless Eight" arc where they are apparently going to play the same episode eight times. There's no doubt in my mind that the executives at KyoAni thought, "If these bastards thought that airing the first season on TV out of order was brilliant, they'll certainly think that airing the same episode eight times will be sheer brilliance." At the moment, you guys aren't buying that but KyoAni could turn this around depending on how they end the season, thus restoring themselves as marketing kings internally and gods of brilliance to the fans.

Now I'm glad that as I did for the first season, I decided to hold off on watching this second season until it had run its course on TV. ^_^

Negima! Manga Vol 28 Ch 258 Review

魔法先生 ネギま！Volume 28 Chapter 258 (manga)
Mahou Sensei Negima! Manga Chapter 258

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: The news that the Magic World is in fact Mars has everyone in shock and even disbelieving. Nodoka tells the what is commonly known on the Magic World about it being on an alternate plane of existence. She sites some examples of this and then states how she and Yue had wondered where such a large alternate plane could exist since it needs a physical body to exist. Mars is the answer to their question.

Hearing this, Negi realizes that the Magic World being Mars explains a great deal, though he's still missing some pieces. He asks Setsuna if "Mars" reminds her of anything and she remembers Chao. Negi feels that everything about this world is related to his father, Ala Rubra, and even Chao.

That night, Negi and company arrive outside the ball with Shiori-Asuna and Negi reminding Jack of Arika and Nagi. Chisame, still in her "loli" body, says that she has a bad feeling about things and that the results of his choice to continue down this path may well result in him not returning to Mahora. Negi thanks her but says that this path he's on is so they can return home. Further, he has an opportunity to learn of his mother and father's fight on this world and if he managed to leave the Magic World without taking advantage of that opportunity, he'd regret it.

Jack attacks Negi, but Negi avoids the attack with little problem. Jack congratulates him and notes how much Negi has grown in power. He figures Negi is OK for another three or so good fights but tells Negi to see Eva as soon as he returns to Earth. With this, Jack Rakan has nothing else to teach Negi and leaves Negi with some words for a real man -- protect his women and save the world.

Jack excuses himself to go to the bathroom but as he leaves, he tells Negi that Arika is his mother, no doubt. Jack admits to falling for Arika himself. Jack tells Negi that the Governor-General knows way more than he does and with that, he says he has to take a crap and leaves.

A short distance away, an older-looking Fate drops down and is met by Jack. Fate didn't expect to see him, especially since Jack had always acted like he didn't care what happened to the world. Jack acknowledges this, but says that a girl caused him to see that we all have to wipe our own butts.

Thoughts/Review: Jack's dead. However, I can't help but wonder if his death will be something that delays Negi and Fate confronting each other again in the Magic World. We'll see. (We'll also see if Jack really dies or not.)

The explanation about Mars being the Magic World makes sense and I believe had mostly been figured out by those of us in the west. How many Japanese fans had figured this out, I couldn't say. However, this did allow Akamatsu-sensei to bring back Chao as a flashback and show that way back when, he was laying down markers to establish this revelation. It is things like this that make me a fan of Akamatsu-sensei's writing style. He has a well-planned scheme of things and even manages to put in clues in what might be dismissed as a bit of comedy (Chao's claims of being from Mars).

Arika. Jack's sudden, "Yep, she's your mother and don't doubt it" remark struck me as odd. On the surface, it would seem to end all doubt as to who is Negi's mother. However, she's been officially dead for 18-years. So, for eight years, she stayed out of sight while Nagi continued to be an active member of Ala Rubra and did all sorts of things, including travel around with Eva for a time until 15-years ago, he put the kabash on her. Circumstantial evidence suggests that Nagi may have been the one to trap Al on Mahora to make sure he delivered a message to a son who's not born. Then Nagi goes to Istanbul and "dies," only to not show up again for a few years until he saves a young, parentless Negi who's apparently living alone.

So, what we have here is either Akamatsu-sensei saying, "Arika is Negi's mother" (the simple explanation), or there's more going on here, which is what I suspect. I haven't 100% given up on the Negi=Nagi theory of mine, but I do admit that the waters have been muddied there. ^_~

Interesting that Akamatsu-sensei would make a point of comparing the relationship between Negi and Asuna to Nagi and Arika. One wonders if there is meaning behind this, knowing Akamatsu-sensei's love to drop markers and set the table well in advance of some revelation.

Well, there's no doubt that Akamatsu-sensei knows how to weave a tale. Big fun does seem to be on the horizon. ^_^

Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari - 02

Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari OVA Ep. 02
異世界の聖機師物語 OAV Episode 02 (Blu-ray/DVD version)

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: As Queen Lashara of Straiou's flying castle and grounds (know as the Swan) continues to its destination, Lashara has a conversation with Chiaia about Kenshi and his being a Seikishi -- one who can pilot the Seiki-jin units. Lashara has decided that officially, Kenshi will be her servant when it comes to the public. They make their way to where Kenshi is as he attempts to flee naked from the women trying to give him a bath. This results in his running into Chiaia, who's not happy about the situation at all. Kenshi is subdued and returned to the bath, leading Lashara to be curious to see more but the older woman in charge puts an end to that.

Lashara tells Kenshi of her offer to officially make him her servant and he ends up accepting the offer. Lashara, Chiaia, and Kenshi get into an elevator to the grounds of the Swan where Kenshi is awed by all the ships that are flying to the holy land, the final destination of the Swan and where they will be attending school. Upon entering the gates of the holy land and arriving at their destination, Lashara is annoyed to see the ship from the country of Havonia there already. Kenshi is still awed by everything, forcing Chiaia to get him to straighten up as he's supposed to be Lashara's servant and is being observed by the students.

A male and female student come out to greet Lashara. The male, Dagmyer Mest, expresses concern about the attack on the Swan and Lashara assures him everything is fine now, even requesting he relay the message to his father, Babaren. Chiaia observes her childhood friend and has a brief thought he might be involved in the attack but then sweeps it aside. Kenshi notices that she appears to have feelings for Dagmyer. With their departure, Lashara and Chiaia show Kenshi around a bit, taking time to look down at the Seibukai -- an arena for Seikishi to train in. Kenshi takes the opportunity to congratulate Chiaia on officially becoming a Seikishi along with Wahanly.

Inside one of the buildings, Lashara is not happy to see Maria, who's the same age as she in addition to being Lashara's cousin and the Queen of Havonia. Maria is there with her female servant Yukine. Soon, Lashara and Maria are verbally going back and forth and flipping each others skirts until they demand that Kenshi tell them which slip he likes best. He doesn't want to pick but when Yukine quietly includes herself into the mix, Kenshi quickly picks her. After going back outside, Kenshi explains that picking Lashara wouldn't have solved anything. An annoyed Lashara asks if Yukine is his type, then coyly mentions that as a rare male Seikishi, he may have to marry her in order to breed more Seikishi.

Chiaia explains the importance of this to Kenshi since the church only allows a certain number of Seiki-jin to be created. Thus for a nation to gain an edge over another nation, having Seikishi who are bred to be better than mere training can provide is essential. Kenshi is not keen on the idea of being in an arranged marriage so Chiaia reminds him of the debt he owes them considering he tried to kill Lashara. Seeing Kenshi depressed, Chiaia states that as an underaged male, he won't be forced to marry just yet and before he comes of age, he may find a way back to his own world. Kenshi likes this idea, then mentions that it is possible he may have to marry Chiaia if he doesn't get to return home.

Wahanly has been challenged by a rounin Seikishi in the hopes that by defeating Wahanly, Lashara might bring them into her service and thus giving them a master. Wahanly asks Chiaia to officially observe the match and she agrees. Two Dou Armor units are used to simulate Seiki-jin combat in the match grounds and the fight is on. Mexiah-sensei (who insists Kenshi address her as "Mexiah-oneechan") and Ulyte-sensei come to watch the match as well. The rounin Seikishi scores some hits and looks to have the advantage, but Kenshi sees otherwise. Sure enough, Wahanly wins and Lashara is vindicated in choosing her as one of her personal Seikishi. Mexiah is impressed by Kenshi's observations.

After the match is over, Lashara, Chiaia, and Kenshi are taken to their residence, which is a small castle due to Lashara being a queen. Chiaia shows Kenshi to his room and asks that he not wander. Naturally, he looks out the window and is off. In some nearby woods, he finds all manner of edible foods and is harvesting some when he senses two presences. He is attacked and dodges repeatedly, surprising his attackers. Their attack is stopped when Princess Aura arrives and orders them to stand down. Observing what Kenshi has gathered, she is impressed with his skills and he is informed that this land belongs to the Shurifon, though she gives permission for him to come whenever he wants.

One of the items Kenshi gathered is a rare mushroom which they treat like gold. Kenshi gives it to them as thanks for Aura saving his life previously. Aura's two men are very happy and are off with this priceless mushroom leaving Aura and Kenshi alone. Since Aura is a Seikishi, Kenshi asks her about her opinion regarding these forced marriages. She explains why it is important and how the Seiki-jin are important for world peace. After she leaves, Kenshi finds Ulyte-sensei nearby apparently feeling faint. Kenshi makes him a concoction that knocks him out but ends up doing wonders for the teacher. However, Dagmyer is not happy about what has happened to his uncle.

Kenshi leaves and finds Yukine tending a flower garden. She notices he's not very cheerful and he mentions how he ended up knocking Ulyte-sensei out. She tries to comfort him on this and he remembers Lashara teasing him about possibly being forced to marry Yukine. As such, he asks Yukine about these arranged marriages to get her opinion. She tells him that these kinds of marriages as well as having people and even young rulers from all over the world attend this academy helps world peace and so she's OK with the Seikishi marriage system. It is here that an irritated Chiaia finds Kenshi and drags him back to their residence.

Kenshi is tasked with helping Wahanly in her mobile workshop to organize the place before her induction as an official Seikishi. Kenshi notices the severely damaged Seiki-jin and asks about it. Wahanly states that it is too damaged to be repaired here so it will have to be taken to the church. He notices the pure mechanical robot next to the Seiki-jin and asks about it. Wahanly is impressed that Kenshi knew it was a robot and says she calls it "Kikoujin." It uses a different energy source than the ahou energy used by the Seiki-jin, but she sees it as having an important, non-military function. This leads Wahanly to talk about how the histories of the world (Ena) are traced back to a single event and that the church rules most of the countries, which she finds strange.

Their conversation is interrupted when Mexiah arrives and plans to join them for lunch. She's cozying up to Kenshi when a large group of female students arrive, demanding that she keep her promise to have lunch with them. Realizing she can't get out of it, Mexiah kisses one girl on the cheek and goes off with her, followed by an excited group of students. Chiaia seems a bit embarrassed by this and Kenshi notes how popular she is with the girls.

In his residence, Ulyte-sensei is contacted by a voice, whom he's spoken with before. Their talk is interrupted when Kenshi arrives to see how he's doing. Kenshi is relieved to see that his drink has worked so well. Ulyte-sensei asks if there is something on Kenshi's mind, so Kenshi mentions the Seikishi marriage issue. This leads Ulyte-sensei to believe Kenshi has a girl in mind but asks him to bear with it.

Back at the residence, Lashara is not happy with this flashy bath she's been furnished since her own bath is broke. So Wahanly, Chiaia, and Kenshi head down to repair the boiler of Lashara's own bath. As a reward, they'll get to use it but upon making the repairs, Chiaia discovers that Kenshi has wandered off again. She finds him and accidentally knocks him into the water that feeds into the boiler and through to Lashara's bath, where he naturally arrives. This causes the elderly head of Lashara's staff to be horrified, though Lashara isn't too concerned and simply requests Chiaia and Kenshi be more careful.

The next day, Chiaia and Wahanly are inducted as Seikishi in a ceremony along with many other girls from other nations. Kenshi sees Chiaia get inducted first, which consists of putting on her head what appears to be ear muffs with cat ears on them.

Thoughts/Review: Wow! Forty-five minutes of OVA and a lot of material and characters to cover. ^_^; I'm actually stunned that we have another 45-minute episode. Actually, the DVD version of episode one is over 51-minutes long (the PPV version was 45-minutes however) but I figured that was just to get things going, after which we'd have a bunch of 30-minute episodes. However, Kajishima-sensei may surprise me by having every episode be 45-minutes in length. Unlike most OVA/OAD's released today where they still use the TV-format when it comes to episode length, Kajishima-sensei is thumbing his nose at all that. Heh! That's pretty typical of the man and I'm not going to complain. ^_^

First, the OP and ED sequences have that pointless female nudity that we've come to expect from Kajishima-sensei. Of course, he likes all that pointless fanservice and ecchi content, which is why it is sprinkled throughout all his anime titles. This time though, he gave some for the other side as well by having Kenshi naked and giving a butt shot.

The other well-known Kajishima-sensei trademark is the harem concept and this title is no different. However, Kajishima-sensei is setting things up a bit differently than he has in the past. For TM!R and GXP, the political aspects of the hero ending up with a bunch of babes is secondary to the notion of a bunch of hot babes of all ages and girl-types falling in love and/or lust with the hero, no matter how young he might be. In a title like Masquerade (which is a hentai title) or Photon, the harems are very small so it is simply about some girls going for the nice guy hero.

For ISM, Kajishima-sensei is first establishing the political and practical need for a Seikishi male to possibly marry multiple Seikishi females for the purposes of genetically breeding a superior Seikishi to pilot the Seiki-jin's. Naturally, there would be few males who become Seikishi and so Kajishima-sensei has created a nifty little scenario to happily play the harem card without totally being the same as before.

What I especially find interesting here is Kenshi's concerns about marrying someone whom you don't love just for the purposes of breeding. Kenshi isn't concerned about the harem aspects of this, which is natural considering his half-brother is married (or shacking up with ) quite a few women at the same time. However in that case, Kenshi knows that Tenchi loves all the girls in his harem. Kenshi obviously has no love at present but the ground work is being laid for Kenshi to have his own harem to love by the time the series is over. His concerns made him feel more like a real person to me.

I take note of the speculation within the episode that Doll may be from another world. Well, that's likely going to be true considering that a similar character was in Dual! and in the background materials for TM!R, Kajishima-sensei also has a similar character if I recall correctly (I'm too lazy to sift through the mounds of materials I have to attempt to see if it is TM!R or another series Kajishima-sensei did).

I still like the character of Lashara a lot but even last week, I wondered what it would take to foil someone as clever as she (for a young girl, she has her act together). The moment she made a face and remark about the Havonia ship, I instantly knew what that foil would be -- a female rival. Sure enough, introduce Queen Maria, who's apparently the same age as Lashara and is the one person who can make Lashara act her age. Well, it had to be done because you can't have Lashara being perfect.

Going back to Kenshi, I liked the sense of awe and wonder he expressed every new place he went. I was reminded of the first Harry Potter movie and seeing how Harry acted when introduced to the strange new world of magic. So kudo's to Kajishima-sensei there for making Kenshi feel like a real person in that regard.

I'm still not entirely sure what the Seiki-shin really is but I guess I'll learn more later.

There was just an incredible amount of table setting being done with this episode and a lot of characters to be introduced and previous ones given some face time as well. Overall, I did enjoy this a fair amount as there is a lot of fun and items of interest though the pacing drags a bit in places. I do look forward to seeing the next episode, whenever that happens to be. ^_^

Hayate no Gotoku!! - 16

Hayate the Combat Butler "2nd Season" Ep. 16
ハヤテのごとく！！Episode 16

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: As Hina and Maria discuss Hina's "friend's" love life, they are blissfully unaware that Ayumu and Nagi are being chased by assassins. Ayumu has managed to elude them and as she pedals down the road, Nagi tells her that she should toss the bike and take the train as it is impossible to bike to Shimoda. Ayumu won't follow that advice as the mountain bike is a gift from her mother. Hearing this, Nagi steps off the back of the bike and tells Ayumu to go on as Hayate will soon be there. After all, Nagi doesn't want to be responsible for breaking a gift from Ayumu's mother.

Back a ways, Hayate is on their trail and finds Ayumu's cell phone when he's attacked by Ginka. She wants Hayate to go to the Shimoda onsen where Isumi currently is so that Isumi can be cured. Hayate lets Ginka know that he's already going down there with Nagi but has to save Nagi and Ayumu. He promises that once he's done this, he will help Isumi get her powers back.

Nagi is sitting on the wall separating the road from the beach when Ayumu returns with a cold beverage for her. Since Ayumu is bad at understanding things and bad at giving up, she's not going to give up on getting Nagi to Atami. Before they can go, Ayumu finds her beverage can shot as the assassins have found them. Ayumu and Nagi are back on the bike but this time the assassins are staying with them. Things look bad until two traffic light polls come crashing to Earth, causing the assassins to wreck. Having kept her promise, Ginka tells Hayate to keep his end of the deal and then proceeds to deal with the assassins.

Hayate gets Nagi and Ayumu to Atami Station safely where they meet Maria. Since Ayumu is determined to still bike the rest of the way to Shimoda, Nagi orders Hayate to bike her there since he has the ability to do so. Hayate protests as he's concerned for Maria and Nagi, but Hina arrives to tell him to do this. Further, Hina reminds Hayate that he owes Ayumu a White Day present. He's still uncertain until Hina literally puts her foot down hard on his, feeling she's doing the right thing.

Ayumu is happy to be alone with Hayate though the incredible speed he's pedaling at has her scared. He slows down but then a snooty rich couple in a convertible pull up and make fun of the two of them before leaving them in a cloud of dirt. Hayate and Ayumu are agreed upon revenge, so Hayate pedals and soon smokes the convertible to the shock of its occupants. Ayumu and Hayate have a laugh about this before Hayate asks what Ayumu wants for White Day. She mulls it over for a minute and then says she wants nothing as she has everything she needs.

At Shimoda, Nagi has crashed and slept in her clothes. She has a dream-memory about her mother and upon waking, finds Sakuya there. They head out to try to find the secret onsen where the meteor crashed and find throngs of people. Coming to the base of a long steps leading to a secluded onsen, the old lady warns of terrible dangers and won't let them pass without paying ¥4000 each. They pay and are soon in the onsen, which has Nagi drunk somehow. Hayate rescues her from the onsen and upon coming to her senses, Nagi is not happy to be seen naked again.

Feeling the onsen story may be fraudulent as she experienced no improvement, Nagi wonders if maybe a UFO crashed rather than a meteor as no traces of a meteor have been found. She prays to her deceased mother for an alien encounter and almost immediately, something crashes into her room. It is what appears to be an alien.

Thoughts/Review: The episode marked the beginning of new materials and in all honesty, it shouldn't have. For some inexplicable reason, the anime production team completely removed the funny chapter with Kotetsu coming to the onsen and trying to hit on Hayate. I've no idea why they did this. The manga ends volume 11 with Hayate rescuing Nagi in the onsen and then volume 12 would start this whole alien thing. So why not do it this way for the anime? I can't make heads nor tails of it.

One thing the anime did do was make me realize that the "Yukariko-neesama" that Isumi's mother spoke of must be Nagi's mother. In the manga, I didn't make that connection (as of volume 11 at least) but somehow hearing Isumi's mother speak the words turned on the light with me. Well, if Hayate does resemble Nagi's mother somehow, then it would make sense as to why she trusted him so quickly. Then again, can you trust something Isumi's mother says? It would be interesting to see the relationship between Isumi's mother and Nagi's mother.

Ginka's appearance in the anime has an edge over the manga because of the animation factor. I can't help but like this nutty old woman and wonder how she'll be used in future after Isumi gets her powers back.

Even though the moment comes off about the same in both anime and manga, I like not only how Ayumu and Nagi continue to be friends and rivals, but how gracious Nagi can be. For her to just let Ayumu have some time alone with Hayate as thanks for saving her bacon says a lot about Nagi as a character.

Speaking of Ayumu, I felt that the loss of the Detective Conan story was handled pretty well, though the chat Ayumu and Hayate had there is lost. The writers attempt to compensate for the loss though and I think they pull it off pretty well.

So another good episode with the one troubling removal of the Kotetsu story. From here on its all new territory for me so I'm looking forward to new stories. ^_^

So, a Live-Action "Space Battleship Yamato," eh?

TokyoGraph reported on Saturday that ISHIGURO Noboru, the animation and episode director of for the various Space Battleship Yamato anime series (MATSUMOTO Leiji being the main director) confirmed at the 2009 Otakon convention that the Japanese are doing a live-action Space Battleship Yamato movie and that the part of Kodai will be played by SMAP band member and TV actor KIMURA Takuya.


When it comes to the special effects, I'm not to worried about this one. Why? Because the CGI sequence for the Space Battleship Yamato 2 pachinko game kick serious bottom. If they can make something this good for a pachinko game, it can be the same or better for a movie.



Providing that they tell a good story that is faithful without the 70's cheese (obviously a lot of "small" stuff would have to be cut), that would be good. I'm guessing they'll just do the whole story in one movie, but to be honest, a three-part movie would do the first TV series justice. That just leaves the acting and directing aspect. I don't know anything about this Takuya guy so I don't know what his involvement means. However, I hope for good performances. There've been a lot of crappy anime/manga/book adaptations, but I felt Shinobi: Blade Under Heart was a good (even if abbreviated) take on Kouga Ninja Scrolls (Basilisk as the anime was called).

Well, we'll see what happens.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - 15

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi - Fullmetal Alchemist Ep. 15
鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Episode 15

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Scar attacks an older, crippled State Alchemist named Giolio Comanche, the Silver Alchemist, and eventually kills him. Scar returns to the abandoned house he is using as a base where he finds his cowardly follower Yoko and a young girl named Mei Chan from the country of Xing. Scar does not want her around but the girl sees he is injured and uses what she calls alkahestry, a form of alchemy, to heal Scar's wound when she recognizes Scars' tattoo. She states that she and her mini-panda Xiaomei (Xiao Mei?) crossed the desert to meet with wonderful genius "Edward Elric-sama." Yoko tries to expel Mei only to get a chomp from Xiaomei. Scar resigns himself to allowing Mei to travel with them.

In Central City, Riza is walking her puppy, Black Hayate, when they are attacked by Barry the Chopper. Riza blast him several times with his gun but of course being a suit of armor, Barry suffers no real damage. Barry tries to scare Riza by revealing that he is only a suit of armor and when that fails, Riza reveals that she knows someone like him. Barry figures it must be Alphonse, so Riza has no choice but to capture Barry and take him to see Roy and Vato in a storage warehouse. There, they learn about Lust and Envy and the research done for the Philosopher's Stone.

Elsewhere, Ed and Al arrive at Black Valley to pay Winry a visit at her place of employment. After punishing Ed for again wrecking her automail, she makes temporary repairs until she can acquire more parts. Ed and Al wander through town when Al finds a starving man in an ally. They take him (Ling Yao) to a cafe, where he eats a ton. He's looking for information on alchemy, the Philosopher's Stone, and the secret to eternal youth. Ed plays dumb on this, so Ling decides to have his two bodyguards press the issue.

Not giving into Ling's demands, Ed and Al battle the masked bodyguards. The battle lasts long with Ed taking one guard and Al the other. Al is running from his opponent when Paninya comes up and together, they execute a plan which captures the bodyguard. Al unmasks him and discovers and older man named Fu. Ed too has trouble and is forced to rip off his automail arm as bait in order to snare his attacker. Ed unmasks this bodyguard and finds a female named Lan Fan. Ling arrives to congratulate Ed and Al but when the townsfolk arrive to demand payment for all the damages caused, Ling and his bodyguards beat a quick retreat.

Ed and Al make things right and return to Garfiel's, the automail shop Winry is training at, only to find Ling waiting for them. He says that he is a prince from the country of Xing (one of many from different clans born to the emperor). In order to have an edge in becoming the next emperor, Ling wants the secret of eternal youth. Winry returns to find Ed holding his automail arm, which results in more punishment for him. Meanwhile, Fu is concerned that Ling is having to bow to these kids, but Ling says it is a small price to save his clan.

Winry and Garfiel make repairs to Ed's arm and when Winry asks where they are going next, they tell her they are heading to Central City. Winry wants to tag along in order to pay the Hughes family a visit and Garfiel gives her the time off. Ling, hearing their destination, is going to tag along as well.

Elsewhere, Yoko is driving the cart with Scar and Mei in it on their way to their next destination.


Thoughts/Review: Yay! Totally new material here. ^_^

Now that Al has regained his memories, he can also perform alchemy without a transmutation circle. That's something cool and new and certainly makes Al a more powerful character.

Barry the Chopper's return was pretty funny. I loved now only how Riza dealt with him (even capturing him), but the macabre humor of Barry's response to Roy's question about the death of Hughes made me laugh in spite of it all.

Though Giolio Comanche wasn't onscreen very long, his little "spinning top" attack was something I found interesting, even though ultimately it did him no good when it came to battling Scar.

Mei Chan (or "May Chang" as the eye catch spelled her name): Another, cute moe-type girl that I hope doesn't meet a horrible end like Nina did. I loved her going all gooey over the idea of meeting "Edward Elric-sama." Her ability to heal through alkahestry is certainly interesting and a new element to the story. As a form of alchemy, this means that we've seen alchemy as a power to destroy (Scar), as a power to create (Ed and others), and now as a power to heal. Still, I wonder how she has survived on her own when her half-brother (or so I'm guessing) Ling Yao had two bodyguards.

Xiaomei (or "Shao May" as the eye catch spelled the name): Heh! This little mini-panda not only adds to the scene-stealing potential of Mei, but also works well as comic relief. The idea of a mini critter accompanying some cute girl is not a new concept (I think of Misty from Van Dread: Second Stage) but making it work and not seem old is what matters. I wonder why this panda is so tiny.

I don't have much to say on Ling Yao, Lan Fan, or Fu at the moment beyond feeling that they'll be around for awhile. It will be interesting should they hook up with Mei Chan, which seems likely considering she wants to hook up with Ed.

Garfiel: Ugh -- a gay stereotype character.

Scar allowing Mei Chan to stay with with him and Yoko kind of says a bit about Scar, doesn't it. Granted, she proved herself to be a useful aid when she healed his injury but I get the feeling that Scar would be like Sesshoumaru from Inuyasha -- pretend not to care but deep down be very protective of his charges.

Which reminds me -- having Yoko's story removed still seems to be harmful to the anime. However, I still hope that we will get a flashback scene to explain who Yoko had been and why he is where he is now.

Anyway, this episode was very enjoyable. I'm excited to enter this new territory because I'm sure most stuff will be new from here on out. ^_^

Negima! Chapter 258 SPOILER Images

Negima! 258 SPOILER Images
魔法先生 ネギま！Chapter 258 (Images)

Here's what I know many of you have been waiting for -- the original-sized, sneak-peek images for Mahou Sensei Negima! Chapter 258 SPOILER Images as brought to you buy anonymous Japanese fans (click pic to make bigger, y'all).


Update: More came out an hour after the first batch, so I'll upload them here.

Hayate no Gotoku!! - 15

Hayate the Combat Butler "2nd Season" Ep. 15
ハヤテのごとく！！Episode 15

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: A meteor crashes on the Izu peninsula at Shimoda so Nagi has decided a trip down there is in order seeing as how there are reported side effects of improving one's stature, improving one's bust size, improving one's math scores, and regaining lost powers. Naturally, this also catches the interest of Hina, Ayumu, and Isumi. On the morning of the trip, Ayumu sets out from her house on bike, believing she can traverse the distance to Shimoda in a day.

Meanwhile, Hayate is horrified to learn that Nagi wants to make this a normal trip seeing how she and Maria are so naive. On board the luxury compartment of the train, Hayate produces three ekiben's and explains that all train stations have different types. Nagi somehow gets off the train to buy one and gets left. She's not worried because she has her train ticket like Hayate instructed her, only the wind carries it away. Back on the train, Hayate is about to leap out to get Nagi when Hina comes up, allowing Hayate to pawn off Maria onto Hina and go after Nagi. He jumps out of the train and lands safely in the road, only to be run over by a delivery truck.

As Hina sits with Maria and attempts to discuss her current love troubles (disguised as if speaking of a friend), Nagi finds herself more lost than ever but then finds herself in front of a ramen shop in the middle of nowhere. The giant man in pink has her inside and a bowl of shio ramen in front of Nagi before she can bolt. Nagi thinks she can pull off the old, "this is nasty" trick and get a free meal (since she has no money), but the ramen is too good. Nagi cries as she eats, leading the ramen owner to think his ramen is so good, it moved Nagi to tears. Thus, he gives it to her free.

Nearby, Ayumu is distressed to learn she hasn't traveled as far as she thought and decides to get some food. She stops at the ramen restaurant Nagi is at. Upon seeing her, Nagi decides it is time to leave but not before muttering "baka hamster" under her breath. Ayumu isn't going to take that and follows Nagi out. Eventually, Nagi lets Ayumu know that she got separated, so as Ayumu gives Nagi a lift on her bike, she also lets Nagi use her cell phone in order to contact Maria. Nagi is not happy to learn that Ayumu has a print club sticker photo of Ayumu and Hayate together and lets Ayumu know as much. Nagi calls Maria who then relays the information to Hayate, who's been tracking Nagi. Unfortunately, a car full of assassins pulls up with orders to kill Nagi. Since the description they have is a girl with twin tails, they decide to kill both girls. Ayumu doesn't wait around and pedals like mad, causing Nagi to lose the cell phone.

Thoughts/Review: This story arc is a favorite of mine from the manga (and one I have not completed so after episode 16, it will all be new to me) because it is so funny. The anime writers, as they've done all this series, have proven yet again that sticking to the source material makes for the best stories. ^_^

Despite knowing that Hayate would not only leap out of the train but he'd get run over, the moment comes off so much funnier in the anime that I could not help but laugh out loud. It is a pure moment right out of Looney Toons or even a Road Runner cartoon and is older than the hills. Yet despite this, the joke worked well in the manga and even better in the anime. Sometimes the classics, in the hands of a good director, never get old. ^_^

Another moment where the anime trumped the manga was the tough guy ramen shop owner. It was funny enough for this giant of a man to come out, grab Nagi, and shove a bowl of tasty ramen in front of her. In the anime, having him wear and outfit with lots of pink in it made me laugh out loud because I honestly didn't expect it (the black-and-white image was too ingrained in my head I guess). So kudos to the production staff on this one as well.

The other moments, including the assassins showing up and targeting Nagi, comes off about the same as the manga to me in terms of humor and enjoyment. Its just really good stuff that I'd love to see on my anime shelf. ^_^

Next episode, I'll get to see how the writers handle the loss of the Detective Conan chapter where Ayumu and Hayate had a moment together since that carries over into the story in the next episode.

Urusei Yatsura - 117 (Beef -- it's what's for dinner.)

うる星やつら episode 117 (TV anime)
Urusei Yatsura ep. 117

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Lum and Ataru are at a pet shop looking over the animals when they come upon a cow. Ataru demands to know from the clerk why a cow is being sold at a pet shop. The clerk states that the previous owner had a problem with the cow. To illustrate this, the clerk instructs Ataru to place his hand close to the cow, which he does and it bites him. Lum frees Ataru but gets bitten as well. Since the cow won't let go, she gives it a massive electrocution as Ataru gives it to the clerk verbally. They leave the shop and Lum returns to her ship to bandage up her hand. The next morning, she discovers that her horns have lengthened and become cow-like, making her afraid she's turning into a cow.

Lum's multi-day absence from school has Megane and Shuutaro upset and pestering Ataru about it. When a weary Ten-chan arrives at school, he lets Ataru know that Lum has been affected by the bite of the cow. For her part, Lum has gone to the countryside to observe a field of cattle where she imagines a time in the future when she has become mostly cow. She pays a visit to Ataru, who lives in the country in a poor hut. He does not know her but is kind and as they talk, Lum gets him to tell her that in his youth, he loved a girl named Lum. Lum is prepared to sacrifice herself so that Ataru can be fed but when Ataru sees this, he tells this "cow" that he loves her and makes her his wife on the spot.

With Lum's continued absence, Megane and Shuutaro again hound Ataru, who directs them to Ten-chan floating above. Ten-chan won't say what's wrong but lets it out that Lum is sick. Lum appears in the window with her hair in buns, saying she's OK and wants to speak to Ataru. She accidentally causes Ataru to fall to the ground and at the infirmary, Lum has to fend off Sakura-sensei's questions about her condition. Lum finally gets Ataru off alone and she makes a strange request that if after she leaves a cow shows up at his door, he should name the cow "Lum" and treat it well. She attempts to leave but Ataru grabs her legs. Her buns drop, revealing her extended horns.

Lum weeps and tells Ataru she's turning into a cow. Ataru is horrified by this but promises to take good care of her and to never eat beef again as he embraces her. The two come home where Ataru's mother asks if Ataru can do the shopping. Lum volunteers but hearing that beef is one of the things she has to buy, Lum flees to Ataru's room crying, causing Ataru to go off on his mother. Meanwhile, Ten-chan finds out from Lum's father that the horns are a merely a symptom of Lum being ill and they'll go back to normal when she's well. However, since Ataru is so devoted to the idea of caring for Lum as a cow that he's building a cow shed for her, Lum can't bring herself to tell him the truth.

Thoughts/Review: The way this episode started, I thought, "Oh boy -- here comes a boring episode." That's because the beginning (and indeed the end) are parodies of melodramas and for me, it just wasn't funny. (As an aside, I wonder why the AnimEigo translator felt the need to translate "melodrama" for since that was the term the Japanese used?) Fortunately, that was simply the only aspect of the episode that I didn't like (though there is one disturbing part but I'll mention that later) as the rest was pretty darned funny and amusing. I think back to how things wouldn't have been this good before the current director took over.

I loved how Shuutaro used the argument of Ataru's love of various beef dishes to "prove" Ataru loved cows. *lol* Those beef dishes came up again when Ataru tearfully swore off of them in a moment that while laced with sadness, also had me laughing at the same time. This may sound bizarre, but I loved it! I just like how the writers pulled off the listing of foods in a funny way. Not only that, but the writers did it three time.

Speaking of cows, Lum's dream sequence at becoming a cow in the future and serving a piece of herself to Ataru was (and still is) quite disturbing. Almost equally as disturbing is when Ataru falls in love with this cow and decides to make the cow his wife in the manner men sometimes made women their wives ages ago with no preacher or justice of the peace around. ^_^; Despite shuddering at this implied bestiality joke, I couldn't help but chuckle while being revolted at the same time. "Ewwww! Nasty, AstroNerdBoy!" ^_^;;;

Also absolutely hilarious is Megane's breakdown in class at imagining that Ataru had done something horrible to Lum, such as force himself upon her. The more Megane went on, the more I laughed. ^_^ Then there was Lum electrocuting the cow that bit her, which would have the PETA folks in a tizzy for sure. *lol*

The other positive element this anime had was showing how much Ataru cared for Lum even while trying to play this down. When Lum attempted to fly off, he grabbed her and wouldn't let go. When she broke down, he held her and comforted her, even encouraging her to continue jolting him as a means of release on her part. His telling off his mother in order to defend Lum, his swearing off of beef, and his building a cow shelter were all very sweet things that one wouldn't normally expect from Ataru.

So another good episode in the chain, which makes me very happy. A series is much easier to blog when it is fun to watch. ^_^

Tsubasa Shunraiki - 02 (finale)

ツバサ 春雷記 Episode 02
Tsubasa: Spring Thunder - 02

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Syaoran-clone enters the dream world and seeing Watanuki, he expels the xxxHOLiC character but not before Syaoran urges Watanuki to do what he can as the other part of Syaoran. With Watanuki gone, Syaoran-clone is determined to get the feather from him no matter what. He produces his sword as does Syaoran and the two clash steal and magic. As the others wait outside the giant sakura tree and wait in anticipation, Syaoran-clone and Syaoran fight with Syaoran ultimately losing the contest due to the superior magic Syaoran-clone has, thanks to the magic he stole from Fay.

Sakura cradles the injured Syaoran and defies Syaoran-clone's wishes in doing so. Fei Wong Reed, observing from his hidden facility, orders the clone to kill Sakura. Syaoran-clone attempts to but finds he cannot. Yuuko-san, sensing what is happening in the dream world, states to Black Monoka that even if the mind forgets, the body remembers. Because the clone had traveled with Sakura for so long, he could not kill Sakura. Seeing this to be the case, Fei Wong orders Syaoran-clone to kill Syaoran.

Syaoran-clone activates powerful magic which causes the sakura tree to split wide. He forces Sakura away and extracts the feather from Syaoran, who grabs the clone's arm. Black goo emerges from the sakura tree and snares everyone outside as the two escape the dream. The feather comes free and both Syaoran's go for it while attacking each other. Instead, their blades pierce Sakura, who's somehow come between them. Both Syaoran's are shocked and Sakura reveals she is a clone as well. She tells Syaoran that the real Sakura is waiting for him and as her body-soul dissolves into sakura petals, she attempts to confess to Syaoran-clone before disappearing.

Kyle, one of Fei Wong's associates who's been on two different worlds with the group, emerges from a tear in space to retrieve the unconscious body of Sakura that had been resting in the boughs of the tree as well as the feather. He escapes, leaving the others to talk of events where Fay reveals that he knew Sakura was a fake from the start. Syaoran decides he wants to rescue both the clone and real Sakura and makes a wish of Yuuko-san. Kurogane and Fay also decide to accompany Syaoran. Yuuko-san reveals that the price for their wish has been paid for by Watanuki, who sacrificed his own memories in order to make payment.

In his lair, Fei Wong now has the body of the clone Sakura and is closer to his goal of being able to grant his own wish as well as freely cross dimensions.

Meanwhile back in Nihon Country, Princess Tomoyo pays Kurogane a visit, who knows she's there before she announces herself. She is amused by this as he's always known when she's around. He answers that he always knows where she is at all times. Tomoyo presents Kurogane with a gift -- his father's sword Ginryuu. Though Kurogane had wanted it buried with his parents, Tomoyo had previously promised Kurogane's mother that Kurogane would get the sword and that promise trumped Kurogane's wish. Accepting the sword, Kurogane again vows to serve Tomoyo and to return to her side after this mission is over. Tomoyo blesses Kurogane and the sword, addressing him by the name she gave him -- "Youou."

The following day, Kurogane, Fay, and Syaoran are dressed as they were when the adventure first started. Yuuko-san directs them to Fei Wong Reed's hideout -- the frozen in time lands of Clow Country.

Thoughts/Review: Ah yes -- the infamous story where dream Sakura reveals she too was only a clone, thus meaning the Syaoran and Sakura at the beginning of the series were only clones and where the manga series went south for me. I was reminded of all this as I watched this episode and while I won't spoil ahead for those who aren't current with the manga, I will say that things get stranger from here on, should more of Tsubasa be animated.

One thing that this episode pointed out to me which had not stood out in the manga was how worthless all of the other characters are for the most part outside of Syaoran-clone, Syaoran-kun, and Sakura-chan. All they have to do for the most part is stand around looking at a sakura tree that's spewing lots of cherry blossoms and splitting at times due to the fight going on in the dream pocket. Well, they do provide moments of exposition as well as "I hope they are doing OK" moments, but those later moments are mere filler.

Another thing this episode did well was accent the gentle yet sweet relationship between Kurogane and Tomoyo. This element was present in the manga, but the scene when Tomoyo presents Ginryuu to Kurogane comes off exceptionally well to me. I think in that moment, I saw the actual love between the two characters that pretty much goes unspoken. It makes me wonder if CLAMP will have them end up as a couple (presuming of course we get any kind of "Good End" at all).

Something else that stood out to me is how much effort went into the animation for the fight between Syaoran-clone and Syaoran-kun. The fight is very fluid and very well done. (I wish the fights in Fate/stay night would have been done this way but I digress.) Because animation like this isn't cheap, the production team makes some sacrifices during moments of exposition, where they will revert to artistic still images that are panned and scanned. That's fine because during talky moments, we don't need to see a whole lot of animation, right? Save it for the fights and that's exactly what the production team did.

The episode's end clearly is set up for another OVA/OAD series, should one be created. The problem is will such a series decide to skip over another wide swath of story?

I'll write some final thoughts later but for what it was, this episode is not a bad adaptation and conclusion of the manga story.

Some Devastatingly Cute Ushio-chan Pictures from Clannad After Story (at least, I think so)

Not that I'm trying to turn into an image blog or anything, but I happened to stumble onto these pictures of Ushio-chan from Clannad After Story and I was just going, "Oh man! Is she just the cutest anime kid I've ever seen or what?" *lol*



Finally, here's the Japanese DVD cover with Ushio-chan on it along with Nagisa. Should this be licensed in the U.S., I hope this cover gets used. ^_^



Some screen captures I made of Ushio-chan from the anime can be found HERE for those interested. ^_^

Fate/stay night -- Final Thoughts

フェイト／ステイナイト

I was first introduced to Fate/stay night through my regular search for interesting anime images, which leads me all over the place. I saw some cool picture of Saber with her sword on the attack and it really caught my eye. So I started looking for some more images and information and saw Saber naked with...well, you get the idea. ^_^;;; The result ended up being that I had nothing to do with it, but after FUNimation licensed the title and a lot of people told me I really would enjoy the anime, I picked up the DVD set and did not regret it at all.

Adapted from the Fate/stay night eroge (visual novel), this anime follows what I believe is the main path through that visual novel with the protagonist Shirou accidentally summoning the heroic spirit (Servant) Saber as part of the Holy Grail War currently underway in modern day Japan. Since these Servants who fight in the war are normally powered by magic and Shirou only has a limited amount, Shirou and Saber have to come up with a strategy to not only stay alive, but with this round of the war in order to have their wish granted by the Holy Grail.

One of the problems in adapting a visual novel of any kind is that it is impossible to incorporate every path and all of the great information provided. Some, like Clannad or Kanon, are easier but a game as massive as Fate/stay night is not so easy (with all of its sequels of sorts). While the anime production team does a good job at making this adaptation, there are lots of things that get left out which would make things clearer. Also, at times characters are just completely forgotten at times. One character dies and no one says another word about him. Another character has something bad happen to her and that's completely forgotten. Another character gets injured twice and seems to be in dire straits both times but instead the character shows back up later without a scratch or an explanation. Because of this, I feel that adding another episode or two might have helped, though the production teamed seemed to be going for a faster pace.

Speaking of that, every episode of this anime seemed to just smoke by. I would find myself so engrossed in the episode that when it ended, I often thought, "NOOO!" Often, this resulted in my immediately playing the next episode (even if I should be going to bed or doing something else). It is at times like this that I'm glad that I didn't have to wait a whole week for the next episode. ^_^

The removal of the hentai elements really causes no negative impact on the story. That said, there is a scene in episode 15 that I immediately recognized as being one of the images I saw early on, only Saber was sans clothing. ^_^;;; So while it is never stated, it is strongly implied that Shirou and Saber have sex here and then again toward the end of the series for the purposes of recharging Saber's mana. Good thing for Shirou that Saber wasn't a man, eh? ^_^;;;

Character-wise, I'd like to speak about the hero Shirou. On one hand, he's the harem hero who knows what he wants and goes after that girl. That's an unusual trait for a harem hero (though admittedly, this is not your typical harem anime title) and one I liked. On the other hand, he has Saber, a powerful Servant, there to fight battles and protect him. Shirou wants to protect her despite the fact that all he can do is get hurt. Granted, he gets better and better over time, but initially, Shirou annoyed me somewhat as a character. I understand his feelings of wanting to protect Saber but at the same time, a man has to know his limitations. ^_~

As to the other characters, there's a nice mix of the traditional kinds of characters (mostly female) that we've seen before. Obviously, I gravitate to Saber, but I like Rin and Sakura as well. ^_^

While I've no problems with the art and character designs, I found the animation to be somewhat lacking at times. Considering the popularity of the Fate/stay night franchise, I would have thought that there would be a bigger animation budget. I guess not. That's unfortunate, considering the number of action sequences in this anime. That's not to say that this is some horribly animated anime, but it isn't the best for sure and it deserves better than what it got in my opinion.

Finally, I'd like to thank Garik for all of his incredible information he posted in the comments section of the individual episode reviews. That makes me really glad I opted to review the series this way rather than the whole series at once approach I had intended. ^_^ I'm sure those are as helpful to others who've not played the visual novel as well. Thanks to the others who posted comments as well. ^_^

In the end, we have a face paced, action filled anime that is garnished with just enough comedy and romance to make it sweet. Nice characters and a very interesting story concept make the anime very enjoyable. The only weaknesses are in animation and in the fact that there is is too much source material that had to be cut, leaving some things not clear. However, this is a title that I could easily watch again and as such I'm glad I bought it.

It is a "Fate/stay night" kind of day

Since I'm going to be doing my final review of Fate/stay night tonight, I thought I'd share some more images from the series, which you may or may not have. Looking over them, they seem pretty Saber-heavy. I wonder why? ^_~



Ah, but here's a Rin modified Sakura (though not as big).

Natsu no Arashi -- Final Thoughts

夏のあらし！
Summer Storm

Natsu no Arashi is the latest anime adaptation from manga-ka KOBAYASHI Jin, creator of the popular School Rumble series. Since the anime is produced by SHAFT, we have a classic example of how SHAFT can make things outrageously funny at times and mind numbingly idiotic at others.

The story centers around young junior high school student Hajime and a summer he spends working at a cafe called the Ark -- one of the few places to survive from World War II. Working with him is the ghost Arashi, who was apparently killed during an air raid in 1945 but every summer she somehow has physical form. She forms a mystical connection with Hajime which allows the two to travel back in time, where Arashi is keen on saving people, especially those from World War II. Others in the cast are Jun -- a girl Hajime's age who pretends to be a boy; Kaja -- another ghost from 1945 who was a German transfer student and friend of Arashi; Master -- a con woman who somehow acquired the Ark and conned all of her employees into working for her; Hideo -- a detective initially tasked with getting Arashi; Kanako -- a girl with an agenda and vendetta; and Yayoi -- a girl who experienced a huge trauma in her life that she has to recover from.

SHAFT decides to get things started by skipping to where all characters are already introduced . If you haven't read the manga, a lot of the interactions, characters, and story thus far which are implied mean nothing to us. Then, they go back and decide to introduce the characters properly as they enter the overall story. While the first episode is funny, SHAFT presenting it first basically kills any sense of drama for most of the rest of the series because we already know where everyone will end up -- at the Ark.

There are two types of stories in this anime. The first are the serious stories where time trips to 1945 Japan are taken. I found these to be very impactful for the most part. SHAFT managed to give me the sense of what is must have been like to be caught in an air raid. I've watched many World War II movies and documentaries but in none of them did I get the feeling of fear that must be being experienced by those on the receiving end of the bombs. So I give props to SHAFT for pulling this off.

The only minor negative thing I have against the trips back to World War II is that there is a slight anti-American feel to them. The strongest comes from the incident where a lone American fighter targets a girl in a wheelchair for strafing. The other comes from the actual bombing of the city. I don't know if any of this is in the manga or not, but the anime gives the feeling that the Americans shouldn't have been bombing the crap out of Japan. If that is what SHAFT is saying, I would remind them that Japan attacked the U.S. first. After that, the only way to wage war is to completely defeat your enemy, which is what we eventually did to Japan. After Japan was defeated, we Americans did what we are great at -- helping the less fortunate. Now Japan is a close ally of the U.S. and Japanese comic arts are embraced by the U.S.

Now that the serious stuff is out of the way, the rest (and majority) of the manga is devoted to comedy. Here, SHAFT hits both extremes by creating one of the funniest anime episodes I've watched (episode 8) where Jun and Hajime body-swap. However, they also create some of the biggest comedy bombs imaginable. Further, they run some jokes into the ground and then keep going until they pass through the Earth's core and emerge on the other side. The first one is the salt joke where the same customer episode after episode asks for salt and never gets it. The other is the endless "I've read a book" jokes which describe some manga or anime series. Better have some deep anime and manga knowledge because otherwise you aren't going to get the joke.

SHAFT also attempts to cram episodes full of parodies. I'm a fan of parody stuff even if I don't get it. However, the production team at SHAFT seemed to think that there's no such thing as too many parody references. It starts with the entire OP sequence, where SHAFT has parodies of countless Japanese album covers. This then continues with customers at the Ark, which are actually from other anime or manga titles. Food and beverage packages can have characters from Motsu (Negima!?) to Eri and Tenma from School Rumble. Frankly, this is parody overload and for me, it becomes tedious.

Episodes 1 and 13 have one of those bizarre heads on the weather vane. That's one of the stranger things to come out of Japan. Apparently, two characters from a series of Touhou games (KIRISAME Marisa and HAKUREI Reimu) were drawn on a 2ch forum using SHIFT-JIS/ASCII art. The Japanese person doing this art only did the heads of the two characters and they came out with that dopey look with the inane grin. The characters were made to say, "Yukkuri Shite Ittene" which roughly means "take your time" or "take it easy." As these things go, they took a life of their own and there's all sorts of merchandise sold with these two heads on them. ^_^; SHAFT, being one to go with these kinds of things, used them twice for this series. Now you know. ^_^

Should this anime ever be licensed in the U.S., I'm hoping that the R1 licensor will take the time to have an extra feature to point out all of the parody references and explain them. If the Japanese provide the notes to explain all this, it shouldn't bee that big a project for the American company to do.

SHAFT also does things very stylized in their presentation of the anime. This really didn't annoy me, but it often stuck out to me and was distracting. As such, I didn't like it. The one time where this stylized approach worked well was when Jun experienced being in an air raid and the stylized presentation helped represent the terror she felt.

In the end, this is a typical SHAFT production that runs all over the place, both in highs and lows. The likable characters, mostly good humor, and interesting looks at World War II Japan outweigh the bad jokes, over stylized presentation, and the excessive parody references. Because I could rewatch the series, I'd buy it were it licensed in the U.S.

I'm Missing Full Metal Panic

I was reading a bit more about the announcement of more Shakugan no Shana goodness and then the rumor that we may be in for a new Inuyasha series this fall. For some reason, this made me start thinking about one of my favorite franchises, Full Metal Panic.


I know Kyoto Animation has a full plate at the moment, especially if they are involved in a new Inuyasha project. I also know that for the main story to proceed, the best solution would be to wait for Gatoh-sensei to complete the light novels, thus giving the anime writers a clear picture of how everything ends up. That said, I do know there are more than enough short stories to produce another 13-episode comedy series like Full Metal Panic ~Fumoffu~.


Oh well.

In the meantime, there are always these delightful images to look at and I can always go to the archives and pull my FMP discs off the shelf to rewatch them should I really need a fix. ^_^

Tsubasa Shunraiki - 01

ツバサ 春雷記 Episode 01
Tsubasa: Spring Thunder - 01

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Fay uses the last of his magic to help Syaoran and Sakura escape Celes but can't escape himself. Monoka has Syaoran use the earring to open a connection there. They get Kurogane, who has to sacrifice his arm in order to save Fay. Monoka then sends them to the next world, which is Nihon Country -- the land Kurogane is from. Kurogane awakens to find Princess Tomoyo with him and the two have a talk about events and how Kurogane has now learned the true meaning of strength. Tomoyo then has Fay come in, who punches Kurogane in the face as thanks for saving him. Both understand and things are good between them.

Sakura's souless body is places up in the sakura tree in the courtyard where Syaoran tends to her. Empress Amaterasu arrives with her escorts as does Fuuma, who's arrived from the Piffle World with an artificial arm created by that world's Tomoyo. He was sent on this quest by Yuuko-san and as payment, Fay extracts the magic from his good eye and sends it to her. Kurogane gets the artificial arm attached and it is good as new.

Another cross-dimensional visitor arrives, this time Fuuma's older brother Seishirou. He senses the vampire blood in Fay and knows Fay has been in contact with Kamui and Subaru, the vampire twins Seishirou has long pursued. Seeing his prey isn't here, he's about to leave when Syaoran challenges him for the feather Seishirou took to the devastation of the world he removed it from. Seishirou accepts his challenge and at Amaterasu's signal, Tomoyo creates a barrier pocket where the two can fight without damaging property.

As they battle, Fay has a conversation with Princess Tomoyo, where he learns that she sacrificed her dream seer ability in order to insure that Kurogane and company would come to Nihon Country after Celes. Meanwhile, the battle does not go well for Syaoran but he does not give up and soon gets the feather. Syaoran vows to return with Sakura and enters the dream world, where he finds Sakura talking with Watanuki from xxxHOLiC. The clone Syaoran arrives in the dreamworld too and a showdown seems inevitable.


Thoughts/Review: This episode suffers a great deal from skipping earlier stories, relegating that (such as the encounter with Asura and the truth of Fay) to mere flashbacks. If you haven't read the manga, I figure you will be scratching your head some because you won't understand why all these characters are talking about things that even with the use of brief flashbacks, mean little to the audience. This is a shame, really because things would have been so much better to have just done a longer OVA and bridge the connection to Tsubasa: Tokyo Revelations. Oh well.

If you are aware of the story skipped, things are pretty nice otherwise. I'm having a hard time remembering how close to the manga the production team is sticking. As such, I'm unable to comment on this aspect of the production, which is something I'd normally do. I glanced through the manga and it looks pretty close. I'm betting that it is, unlike the xxxHOLiC counterpart, which has always been all over the place.

Speaking of which, Watanuki's cameo here isn't nearly as jarring as Sakura's cameo in the xxxHOLiC episode.

A nice touch is how the Bee Train-style incidental music remains in this OVA. It really has become a trademark of the Tsubasa anime run in all forms and I'm glad it continues here.

The art and animation here are pretty good too. ^_^

In the end, the skipping of the Ashura arc is the biggest thing that harms this first episode of Tsubasa Shunraiki. However, if you've read the manga, you'll be OK.

Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition Manga Volume 4

ガンスミス キャッツ
Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition Volume 4<-- BUY FROM AMAZON!

For this fourth and final adaptation of the bunkobon from Japan (originally tankoubon 7 & 8) of the Gunsmith Cats manga, we pretty much have more of what the earlier volumes provided -- action, cars, guns, and the occasional pointless nudity.

The first story arc is what I hear referred to as the "Mr. V arc." In it, the Italian, sadistic, lesbian mobster Goldie returns to not only to attempt to establish a new drug trade in Chicago, but also to get Rally. After Goldie makes a brazen visit to Rally, using Mary Anne as insurance, Rally takes the bait and is on the case. Goldie has a new member of her mob named "Mr. V" who turns out to be Rally's father, who's been conditioned with Goldie's drug to obey Goldie. Aided by Bean Bandit, Rally and crew have to take down Goldie while saving Rally's father.

While this chapter takes the bit of character development from last volume (where we see how Rally came to love guns), unfortunately this chapter provides no real additional character development beyond showing why Rally's father ended up with Goldie and what happened to Rally's mother. Otherwise, it is just another lengthy action arc which could easily be the plot of some summer popcorn action flick.

The final arc is what I call the Misty arc as it deals with Misty attempting to score some stuff on Bean Bandit and ending up being kidnapped by a group looking to score Bean's delivery -- parts for counterfeit money production unit. Now Bean and Rally partner up to save Misty and so Bean can get paid.

This story comes off rather low key considering how the other story arcs have gone. Considering this is the last one of the series, I guess it isn't surprising. Plus, it is a shorter story.

The final story has Rally considering retiring from the bounty hunter business. May is pregnant so she and Ken are getting married. Rally's self-searching comes to an end after the kids she helped in a previous story arc come by with presents for Rally's birthday, helping her to see how she's had a positive impact with her work. This final story is the highlight of the volume for me.

The rest of the volume is filled with a lengthy preview for the Riding Bean manga.

As I mentioned earlier, Sonoda-sensei pretty much follows his standard pattern of excellent, detailed artwork, fast-paced action stories filled with lots of gun play and some pointless nudity at times. I really do wish we had character development and stories with them, but that goes against Sonoda-sensei's style big time. Heck, he couldn't even bother to address the aftermath of Goldie's "toys" (the young women Goldie drugged to be her sex slaves) when they attempted to commit suicide when they learned they'd been abandoned. Yeah, we see Bean is going to get them to the hospital, but then that's it. Sorry girls -- love 'em and leave 'em. *_*

I'll write a final thoughts review but I'll wrap this by saying that if you've liked the previous volumes, there's nothing here you won't like. ^_^

xxxHOLiC Shunmuki - 02 (finale)

×××HOLiC 春夢記 Episode 02 (OVA/OAD)(final episode)

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Watanuki and Doumeki, having obtained the book Haruka tasked Watanuki with finding, are wondering what to do next when a paper with the Kanji for pond falls out. Assuming this means the pond on the temple grounds they head there. When the paper falls into the water, Ame-Warashi and Zashiki-Warashi emerge. Ame-Warashi explains that it is connected to Zashiki-Warashi's water because of its purity. As to the reason for their visit, Zashiki-Warashi had heard about Watanuki's injury and wanted to visit him.

She's about to fall into the water due to blushing but when Watanuki goes to save her, he falls in instead. While in the shallow waters, he notices an object under a green rock and extracting it, discovers it is the next item they are to find. Ame-Warashi and Zashiki-Warashi depart and as Watanuki warms himself in a large bath, he discovers that the artifact is not just a mirror, but contains a bird symbol.

After consulting with Yuuko-san about the object over the phone, he follows her advice and to find the next clue, Himawari-chan arrives with cream puffs and remarks on how it looks like it will rain. After she eventually leaves, Watanuki remembers her rain comment so he and Doumeki head to where a large number of Japanese umbrellas are stored at the temple. Carved into one of the wood beams of the storage bin for the umbrellas is the bird symbol. Pressing it reveals a small chamber with a key. That key then fits into a small chest that Doumeki remembers no one having a key for.

Opening the small chest, Watanuki finds himself in the dream world and with Haruka, who explains that this treasure hunt was a ritual to get him here so he could meet with Sakura from Tsubasa. Sakura-chan and Watanuki talk for a while with Sakura-chan remarking on how like Syaoran he is. Syaoran arrives followed by the other Syaoran. Before he's expelled from this dream world, Syaoran tells Watanuki to do what has to be done as the other part of himself. Watanuki finds himself in a large open space with Yuuko-san standing under a sakura tree. They talk for a bit and Watanuki expresses his desire to grant Yuuko-san's wish.

After they hug, Watanuki wakes up to find Doumeki watching over him. Watanuki's glasses are missing as they were lost in the dream world. Doumeki wants to eat so an annoyed Watanuki agrees to make something. As he steps outside, he opens his hand to find a single sakura petal there. Over at the shop, Yuuko-san has a similar petal in her hand

Thoughts/Review: I'm reminded that this is where the manga stories for both xxxHOLiC and especially Tsubasa went off the deep end and never came back. However, that's a discussion for another time.

The writers here basically took a couple of chapters from the manga and cobbled them together to form a new tale. Having read the manga, I did understand the whole Tsubasa intrusion and I am reminded that I need to watch the 2-episode Tsubasa Shunraiki series. Anyway, for what its worth, I guess it worked OK. I always like seeing Zashiki-Warashi and Ame-Warashi so even though their sudden appearance was strange (and not as meaningful as it was in the manga). Seeing Himawari-chan is a plus as well. ^_^

I will say that Sakura-chan's appearance, while happening as it was supposed to, slowed things down quite a lot. If you haven't watched the Tsubasa Shunraiki OVA or read the Tsubasa manga, this will come across as one of the most bizarre and boring bits ever. Even though I knew the purpose, I found the sequence incredibly slow and though I love crossovers, this is a pitfall that one can fall into when doing a crossover.

I did like the moment between Yuuko-san and Watanuki when he told her he wanted to grant her wish. I felt that came off better as a scene in the anime than it did in the manga.

The ending sets up the possibility of more OVA's should the Japanese wish to produce them. I'm guessing that will happen once both Tsubasa and xxxHOLiC mangas have run their course.

In the end, I'd say the first half or so of the episode flows pretty well, but things rapidly slow down once Sakura-chan comes over.

Completely Off Topic -- Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie Gangsta Rap!

Taco's Rule hit me up the other night with a video that had me laughing pretty hard. I don't think I'll see Bert and Ernie in the same light ever again. *lol*



Props to stianhafstad on YouTube for making this parody video. ^_^

OK, back to anime, manga, and things Japanese. ^_^;


Yikes! Scary! ^_^;

Back to the Vaults -- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki: Night Before Carnival ("Episode 7")

天地無用! 魎皇鬼 OVA "Night Before Carnival"

With the success of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki OVA 1, it was only natural that AIC and Pioneer would want more. So, a single episode was created to bridge the series to the future OVA 2 series.

This time around, Tenchi is adjusting to life living with a group of alien women -- Ryoko the notorious space pirate; Aeka, the daughter of the Emperor of Jurai; Sasami, Aeka's younger sister; Mihoshi, the often air headed Galaxy Police officer; and Washu, the genius scientist who'd been kidnapped 5000 years earlier and held captive all that time until Mihoshi accidentally freed her.

Washu runs experiments on Tenchi in an attempt to discover the secrets of his power. Tenchi has a special seed from Ryo-oh given to him by Tsunami to return to Aeka. Aeka knows that by planting the seed in a special container, the Royal tree will grow and she'll have her former tree-partner back again. Washu proves somewhat mischievous in dealing with Aeka's request, demanding to be addressed as "Washu-chan" despite the fact she's many thousands of years old. Aeka eventually is forced to agree to Washu's terms and Washu produces a containment unit with a Juraian environment suitable to plan Ryo-oh in.

Meanwhile, Sasami-chan decides to have some fun by putting Aeka and Ryoko onto shoujo manga titles collected by Tenchi's father, selling them on the idea that they could learn the art of human love by reading these manga. Aeka and Ryoko put what they read into action causing Tenchi to wonder what is wrong with them. Finally, Aeka and Ryoko decide that they need to thin out the competition by removing Mihoshi and Washu. So the plan is to seal Washu in a force field and send Mihoshi back to Galaxy Police.

After Washu brings Mihoshi's shuttle out of subspace, Mihoshi is off to her mother ship to make her report to her Galaxy Police supervisor who is relieved that the Kagato problem has been resolved. He's not happy with Mihoshi's request to remain assigned to Earth as that planet is under Jurai's jurisdiction. However, since Tenchi had asked her to come back and he's related to the current Juraian emperor, she's there to stay. Now, her supervisor has to deal with her detailed written report.

That night, Ryoko has Aeka bound and plans to have her way with Tenchi. She runs through a scenario with herself and likes what she hears. However, when she attempts to enter Tenchi's room, she finds herself teleported to the lake by a kekkai. Returning to the house all wet, Ryoko finds Aeka free and set up this barrier. Ryoko is going to allow Aeka to go first but Aeka isn't having any of that. They begin to grapple with each other but after Sasami-chan knocks and gets into Tenchi's room, they attempt to get in as well only to be teleported into the lake. They emerge from the lake, only to have Mihoshi return and crash, destroying Tenchi's house and forcing them all to spend the night in Aeka's new tree container for Ryo-oh.

I went a bit more into story summary this time but that's OK. ^_^

I've read that this episode is the kind of story that Kajishima-sensei loves to do -- a day in the life of the residents of MASAKI Tenchi's home. Indeed, the Tenchi doujinshi Kajishima-sensei has been doing for the last several years reflects this as he does stories showing the hijinks and happenings at Tenchi's home. As such, this episode is mainly about showing how the various girls love Tenchi -- Washu goes after him in a direct, sexual fashion; Sasami goes to him more like an older brother but we see she loves Tenchi dearly when Mihoshi leaves; Aeka and Ryoko try different things to get to Tenchi.

This episode is the one that I believe causes the majority of old Tenchi fans to latch onto the whole "whom will Tenchi choose" idea. It is easy to understand why as I too latched onto this in my first few viewings of the series. However, this episode also provides some clues to Sasami-chan's mysterious condition and we are shown that there are larger forces at work here with the glimpse we are given of Tokimi and the shadow images behind her in her realm (which Kajishima-sensei would later reveal as the "Choushin Realm") which look a lot like Tsunami and Washu.

Another thing this episode does is reveal how Kajishima-sensei doesn't like to get bogged down in details. On one hand, he did provide us an explanation as to why Ryoko attacked Jurai and thus why Kagato would have a container for a Royal tree. We even get a late explanation as to how Tenchi obtained his Juraian battle uniform from OVA 1 (via the ring Tsunami gave him). However, Kajishima-sensei did not explain the seed of Ryu-oh and how this seed could still be Ryu-oh. What was up with Ryoko's sense of taste? Why were there so many Ryo-ohki's all of the sudden? Japanese fans demanded an answer and Kajishima-sensei was forced to answer this and a whole lot of other unanswered questions in the book 101 Secrets of Tenchi Muyo!, which was published after Night Before Carnival was released.

The DVDs I still have for TM!R from Pioneer are the re-release they did for a cheaper price. Pioneer corrected some of the worst translation mistakes from the original VHS (and first DVD) release but there are still a lot of flaws in the translation. For example, the translator was desperate to avoid Japanese honorifics at all costs but then that blasted Kajishima came out and had a whole scene centering around Washu demanding to be called "Washu-chan." Since the attitude of the time was that honorifics are evil, the translator came up with the whole "Little Washu" concept.

Ugh!

When I saw this for the first time, I had no understanding of honorifics beyond "san." Even so, reading the subtitles were Washu demanded to be called "Little Washu" made me cringe -- it sounded so freaking stupid because no one would demand to be addressed as "little," especially if they are short in stature. Further, what did Washu's age have anything to do with "little" beyond not being a baby? Later when I learned of the "chan" honorific and the "sama" honorific, everything in this scene made sense to me. Someone of Washu's status being addressed as "Washu-sama" would be appropriate and it would be completely wrong to address her as "Washu-chan" since that would be reserved for children, girls, and pets (primarily). However, not only does Pioneer change "chan" to "little," they decide to ignore the "sama" honorific. I guess the translator couldn't figure out a way to force-translate it, so lets pretend it didn't exist.

By removing the honorifics from the subtitles and pretending they don't exist (except for "little" with Washu since other instances of "chan" are ignored), quite a bit is lost in my opinion. If somehow FUNiamtion scores this, I hope they'll let Tomato retranslate it from scratch. I'll lobby for that to happen.

Speaking of honorifics, this episode is the only time that I recall Ryoko addressing Tenchi with an honorific. During her attempt to recreate a scenario from a shoujo manga she read, she called Tenchi "Tenchi-san." ^_^

(As an aside, Ryoko is the only girl that Tenchi does not use an honorific with. This is something Japanese fans of a Ryoko x Tenchi pairing would point to as proof Tenchi would pick Ryoko.)

So while the episode is a lot of fun and fluff, there is also some important table setting for events in OVA 2 and OVA 3 to come. That's why I enjoy this episode so much because it helps flesh out characters, have some fun with them, but also moves the bigger story forward a step as well.

Where are my Negima! Chapter 258 SPOILER Images? (Oh, and some Eva talk.)

Just a reminder for all those searching for the new spoilers -- Negima! is on a break this week so no spoiler images from chapter 258 today (well, unless something VERY strange happens). ^_^;

As is my custom, I thought I'd add some images from Negima! Today's theme is Eva.

I'm sure we all remember this image from volume 3.


Since there had been some recent talk about the possibility that Eva and Arika were the same, I got to thinking about how Eva apparently often passed herself off as an adult with her very powerful illusion magic. Indeed, her one encounter with Nagi saw her in this guise until Nagi conned her into walking into a trap and forced her her illusion to drop. That said, when the Magic World put a price on her head, I believe that they believed her to be an adult and Nagi uncovered the truth. I haven't bought into the Eva=Arika theory yet, but I do see the potential there. ^_^


There are so many things about Eva's past that Akamatsu-sensei hasn't touched. It may have no bearing on where the story goes, or it may be that those answers have to wait until the story gets to them. Either way, I look forward to learning more about Eva, both from before her encounter with Ala Rubra and after.

On to the last picture -- this is a newer image to promote the OAD's.


I'm not into this whole "lolita fashion" thing and I saw some of this recently (and it was scary, which is partially why I have no photos of the encounter). However, it does seem to fit Eva, doesn't it? Even Chachamaru looks fairly cute here. ^_^

I was a lot more talky than I normally am for simple image posts. *lol* Hope you like them. ^_^

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - 14

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi - Fullmetal Alchemist Ep. 14
鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Episode 14

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Colonel Mustang reports to King Bradley in Central City only to discover that the Fuhrer has gone to the Southern Territory for an inspection along with Major Armstrong and a group of soldiers. They arrive at Devil's Nest and storm the place while inside, Izumi and Ed face Greed only to have him flee. Since Izumi is vomiting blood, they cannot pursue. As the soldiers kill every chimera they come upon, Bradley heads to the sewers where he encounters Greed as well as Al with Martel inside him, stunning them. Bradley attacks Greed and to Greed's surprise, Bradley is able to inflict heavy damage on him.

Elsewhere, Armstrong battles with Roa, who transforms to a more beast-like mode. He reveals that he is also a veteran of the Ishval fight but when Armstrong gives him a chance to surrender, soldiers open fire on Roa. Dolcetto (Dorochet) kills the soldiers and slicing a steam pipe, provides cover for their escape. However, they run into Bradley who slays them both. Bradley continues to school Greed and is revealed to also be a homunculus with the Ultimate Eye to counter Greed's Ultimate Shield. Despite Greed's ability to regenerate, he cannot overcome Bradley and is defeated.

When Martel attempts to get out of Al, Al tries to keep her inside to protect her but Bradley kills her just the same after she uses Al's body to attack Bradley. With her bloody death, Al has a memory of visiting the gate and the "truth." When he comes to, he finds an injured Ed worrying over him. Bradley somewhat harshly questions the brothers about what they know and learning they know nothing, Bradley is satisfied and resumes his cheerful statesman appearance. Before leaving, Bradley pays a visit to Izumi, who's resting in bed and even offers her a role as a State Alchemist should she want it.

Outside, Ed is cleaning Al's armor and talking with Armstrong. Upon mentioning Hughes and the Ouroboros tattoo, Armstrong urges them to be careful. After he leaves, Ed and Al discuss the situation, finding it odd that King Bradley would even trouble himself over such a trivial matter. Further, if Greed and the chimera were a big deal, why kill them instead of taking them prisoner for questioning. They decide to stick close to the military for now.

Somewhere, King Bradley makes a report to an old man seated on a stone throne connected to a large number of cables and tubes. Bradley also has Greed chained to a pillar and pierced with many swords. Greed opens his eyes at Lust's request he awaken and discovers that Gluttony and Envy are also there. Sloth is not there, being given a task elsewhere, and Bradley is revealed to be Wrath, whom Greed had not known. Greed is amazed at Bradley's appearance since Bradley has aged, something the homunculi do not do. Father questions Greed on his betrayal, which amuses Greed since Father should know, having created Greed. When given the option to repent and rejoin the cause, Greed refuses and is dropped into a molten vat. He is defiant the whole time and his essence is liquefied and flows into a vat from which Father fills a glass and drinks and offers a toast.

Bradley returns home to a wife and young son, named Selim.

Thoughts/Review: Wow. Very interesting stuff here and certainly very different from the original anime. ^_^

I've read some of your concerns over how King Bradley would show up to rescue Ed and Al in this episode and I'm curious to read your thoughts on how the anime handled this.

As to Bradley -- wow. We'd seen a taste of his fighting abilities but his battle with Greed was impressive to say the least. So the fact that Bradley is "Wrath" means that he had the ability to own Greed so fiercely? I'm wondering why Greed was so unable to do anything but regenerate himself. The only explanation the anime seemed to give is that Bradley is a homunculus with the designation "Ultimate Eye." But Greed is the "Ultimate Shield" and that wasn't worth much.

Also interesting is how Father apparently ordered all of the chimeras destroyed based on how Bradley had them all wiped out. I wonder why this is other than to remove Greed's support base.

Speaking of Father -- another "wow." I didn't expect to see some apparently frail old man kept alive by machinery. I had flashes of Bubblegum Crisis 2040 and the CEO of GENOM, Quincy Rosencreutz -- he too was kept alive by machines.

So, Father had the homunculi created with the seven deadly sins, expunged from himself. Now that he has taken Greed back into himself, what does that mean for Father? Why create the homunculus at all? What purpose do they serve other than possibly having an invincible army to rule the world but frankly, if that were Father's purpose, it seems that it would have already come about.

It seems strange that Greed is dead. I remember him being an active player in the first series after his initial encounter with Ed and Al. I suppose Father could make a new homunculus and call it Greed.

Sloth certainly is different in this anime. Wow. That was a secretary in the first series, right? Now, we show a man underground looking a bit like a larger version of Envy and in chains.

It is strange seeing Bradley act the good father to his son Selim. I can't remember much about Selim but I want to say he was in the first anime.

I just remembered this -- how did Martel's death trigger Al's memories? The blood splattering on his seal?

So a lot of "wows" for me as we enter new territory when it comes to story. Of course there is still the Scar story, but I don't know how much that was changed in the first anime.

Rin and Saber (Fate/stay night)

Here are a couple of images of Rin and Saber together that I rather enjoy.


I'm pretty sure that this second image isn't from Type Moon but I don't know its source unfortunately. However, I did imagine that this would be how Fate/stay night would end somehow, with both Rin and Saber hanging out with Shirou (whom I presume is off camera in this image but that's just me). ^_^

Hayate no Gotoku!! - 14 (No 'Detective Conan' For You!)

Hayate the Combat Butler "2nd Season" Ep. 14
ハヤテのごとく！！Episode 14

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: After the results of the 2nd annual popularity contest is announced, Isumi and Sakuya are on a youkai hunt and as the battle winds down, Isumi dispatches the large winged eyeball-like youkai. Isumi explains that this is a "dream youkai" which forces people to dream about a popularity contest. A small version of the youkai emerges but when Isumi pulls an ofuda to dispatch the beast, her powers fade and she's unable to do anything but chase the youkai.

The next day, Nagi sends Hayate to Isumi's estate with a get well gift, having heard that Isumi isn't feeling well. Hayate meets a woman in a kimono at the front gate wondering which button on a single-button intercom system she should press. Hayate attempts to help by saying that pressing the button will summon the person inside the residence outside. The woman says that Hayate is lying as the person inside is already outside. Hayate is taken aback by this but then Isumi arrives and Hayate realizes that this is Isumi's mother. After meeting Isumi's mother and grandmother, Hayate understands why Isumi considers herself to have it together.

Isumi explains that she's not ill, but has simply lost her powers. To prove what she says, the little dream youkai begins beating on Isumi's head until she's had enough and gives chase. Isumi's mother, Hatsuho, explains that even though Isumi is more powerful than Hatsuho or her grandmother, Isumi is still young and so does not have control of her power. Hatsuho says that she has determined that they need the blood of a 16-year old male who is strong, looks like a girl, is unlucky, works as a butler, and who's given names starts with a "Ha." Hatsuho doesn't know where they'll find such a person but Hayate knows. Before he can volunteer, Isumi stops him because she feels her power loss is her own fault. When the dream youkai turns large and attacks Isumi, Hayate discovers that the real youkai is nearby playing a video game in a way Nagi does. Hayate disposes of the youkai and saves Isumi.

Hayate walks home and comes upon a box of abandoned kittens as well as a puppy and young monkey as well as a note saying to adopt them or the animals will die. As Hayate ponders this, a short person in a mask attacks but fails. The person and the animals leave and Maria arrives to do some shopping unexpectedly. A hand brushes her butt and she thinks it is Hayate, but it is the short person in the kimono and mask again. Again failing to nail Hayate, the person grabs Maria's butt and flees. Maria has had enough and orders Hayate to do something about it.

Chasing the person across the roofs, Hayate finds himself under multiple attacks from the person, which he manages to foil. Eventually, Hayate gets his opening and kicks the person in the face, removing the mask. Hayate is stunned to see a young girl there and the girl is very upset about having been kicked in the face when all she tried to do was kill Hayate. She decides that she no longer cares about Isumi's needs and goes for an all out attack but fails when she suddenly turns into a very old woman. Isumi arrives, explaining this is her great grandmother Ginka and this is her normal appearance. She only looks young thanks to drinking blood of those pushed to their limit. Hayate volunteers to give Ginka blood and she readily accepts. Hayate returns home quite a bit thinner thanks to the experience.

Thoughts/Review: Wow! They did the popularity contest from Weekly Shounen Sunday magazine, which was from the manga. I honestly expected this to be skipped. Oh wait -- they DID skip the one I was thinking of, which was the first popularity contest. This is the 2nd one, which I've not read yet because Viz hasn't gotten that far yet. ^_^; However, the anime writers do make a joke about skipping the first contest so WOOT!

The anime writers DID skip the Detective Conan parody chapter where people had to find "Conan-kun." This could be bad juju because frankly, there is an event which happens in that chapter between Ayumu and Hayate which will play out more in a later story -- next episode in fact. I'll be interested to see how the writers compensate for the loss of the Detective Conan story though.

You know what's really amazing about the loss of this story? Its the fact that last series, there were lots and lots of Detective Conan references. How many busts on Nagi's mansion grounds and in the mansion itself were shown to be Conan? Now, we don't even get the story with Conan. Strange but then again, there were likely copyright issues to overcome and the staff decided to go for the Evangelion stuff over Detective Conan.

The nightmare joke was changed too as the manga had the dream youkai make you dream about Detective Conan. Yet they had Isumi's mother Hatsuho make a "Conan-kun" reference. Strange.

Speaking of Hatsuho, I wonder why Isumi addresses her as "Hatsuho-okaasama." That certainly didn't come out in Viz's translation of the manga. I mention this because as formal as Isumi and her family are, even using her mother's name in the way Isumi is implies that she's not truly Hatsuho's daughter, but sees Hatsuho as a mother-like figure.

Great Grandmother Ginka comes off quite well in this episode and is funnier in the anime only because of the extras an anime adds to a manga. The blades with attached cats were a smile point in the manga but here, they made me laugh out loud. Her baby talk while in child form is something to get used to though but I still loved the whole, "You kicked me in the face when I was only trying to kill you" argument of Ginka. *lol* I look forward to seeing more of her since soon the anime will pass what I have read in the manga.

You know, the youkai in this episode reminded me of one of the critters from Monster Rancher -- Suezo. The difference is that Suezo had no limbs save for one leg and Suezo was yellow. Too bad that Monster Rancher wasn't released in the U.S. in an unedited form with a Japanese track w/ subtitles. I did watch a few episodes on TV years ago, enough to get me interested somewhat despite it being a kids title. But I digress...^_^;

So a good start to the "Isumi Loses Her Powers" arc. ^_^

Fate/stay night - 24 (finale)

フェイト／ステイナイト Ep 24
Fate/stay night episode 24 (final episode)

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Shirou is trapped in the evil sludge from Kotomine and as the dead scream at him, he thinks of some words his adopted father told him, Rin's final words to him, and other people. As such, he finds the strength to be able to break out to Kotomine's surprise. Shirou pulls Azoth out to try to attack Kotomine again but finds himself hit by another mass of evil goo and thus trapped once again.

Outside, Saber and Gilgamesh are fighting still with Saber unable to defeat him. Pulling herself up, her connection with Shirou becomes strong and she sees a light. Shirou has a revelation as Saber thinks on how Shirou is her scabbard. Shirou uses his tracing magic to create the scabbard "Avalon" for Saber. So when Gilgamesh again attacks, Saber is able to return the attack to Gilgamesh. He's not defeated but before he can get another attack off, Saber hits him with her sword's attack at close range, defeating him. He understands that Avalon is Saber's true Nobel Phantasm.

Meanwhile, as Saber receives Avalon, Shirou escapes again from Kotomine's evil goo. Now, Shirou is able to dodge Kotomine's attempts to ensnare him a third time and uses Azoth to stab Kotomine in the chest. He then speaks the command word Rin taught him to finish it. Kotomine wonders where he got the dagger. When Shirou says Rin gave it to him, Kotomine recalls handing it to the child Rin 10-years earlier. He then dies and turns into goop. Shirou uses his tracing ability to create a blanket with which he catches the falling Ilya. Saber comes up and requests Shirou give the command to have her destroy the Grail. Shirou again thinks of his love for Saber but gives the order just the same.

Saber destroys the Grail and she says she was glad to be able to carry out her oath. As the dawn breaks, Saber confesses she loves Shirou and is gone. She returns to her day, a dying king who believes she has just experienced a dream. She orders her knight Bedivere to return her sword to the lake, which Bedivere does. After Bedivere returns, Saber (King Arthur) passes away and Bedivere prays that the dream the king had will continue.

In the present, life returns to normal with Sakura coming by Shirou's place every day to make breakfast and Fujimura-sensei coming by to eat. Ilya now lives Fujimura-sensei (at least, I think that's the case) and the two bicker a lot. Sakura makes a dish that Saber liked and the group goes to school. Shirou meets up with Rin on the way and confesses that while his memories of Saber will fade, he will always remember that he loved her. Instead of going to school, he leaves Rin and goes to the bridge that he and Saber had a long talk on, planning to carry forward to his goal.

Thoughts/Review: I am glad to see that Rin did not die. I guess despite how bad she looked and how she fell asleep (or passed out), she came through. I half expected her to still be living at Shirou's place, but that would be inappropriate wouldn't it?

I guess Ilya is living with Fujimura-sensei based on thier bickering conversation and the fact that they came to Shirou's place on the scooter bike. What confused me is that Ilya is shown cleaning Shirou's place in a couple of brief scenes, which I suppose could be just her cleaning and nothing more. It would also be inappropriate for Ilya to live with Shirou even though she and Rin did so along with Saber.

Sakura looks no worse for wear and appears to be leading a normal life, taking a role in the archery club. So that's nice.

Shirou -- on one hand it looks as if he's accepted things and moved on but on the other, this goal of his seemed to imply to me a thought that someday he and Saber could be reunited. That's a sweet thought since Saber didn't get to survive in the modern time. So does this mean that Sakura and Rin have no chance to a memory? I realize that isn't an important question, but for some strange reason it is one I thought of.

Going back to the final battle, Shirou and Saber's connection I'm guessing is what allowed Shirou to create the scabbard for Saber. I'm a bit confused because I thought Saber had extracted a scabbard from Shirou last episode. That's the problem with the anime -- too much information gets flushed for time.

Saber's love confession to Shirou was very sweet. Often in anime, someone confessing will say "dai suki," which is often translated as "love" and that's not inaccurate. Saber says, "aishiteru," which I'm informed is a more personal (and deeper?) way of telling someone you love them. It is a bit sad that she didn't get to live a life in the present with Shirou, but oh well.

Did they make Bedivere a woman in this anime? I suppose that if Arthur can be a woman then why not Bedivere? I'm just wondering why a female voice for Bedivere.

So things are now over. It was a good episode and I'll write a final review soon.

Negima! Manga Vol 28 Ch 257 Review

魔法先生 ネギま！Volume 28 Chapter 257 (manga)
Mahou Sensei Negima! Manga Chapter 257

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Aisha and Lyn, Nodoka's female treasure hunting companions, present a wardrobe of elaborate dresses for all of Negi's female students to wear. Negi and Kotaro have tuxedos as well. Negi is troubled by the idea of the non-battle-harem girls coming to the ball with him but Paru won't hear of them being left behind. Paru sees it as making connections and that excites her writer's blood. Asakura points out that she might be able to learn more information about the Magic World in addition to Negi's parents. Chisame tells Negi that it wouldn't be fair to leave them out now. Negi bows to this.

Paru mentions how attending the ball could be the romantic event of a lifetime. This idea strikes Yuuna, Makie, Chachamaru, Natsumi, Ku, Ako, Sayo, and Akira.

Because they are leaving, Nodoka decides that she needs to say goodbye to her former treasure hunting companions Craig, Kris, Aisha and Lyn. After saying goodbye, Nodoka promises to return one day. Elsewhere, Yuuna and Makie pay a farewell visit to Johnny and Toragoro. Still elsewhere, Akira, Ako, and Natsumi say goodbye to "Mama Bear."

Negi has final words with Tosaka, wondering if Tosaka resents Negi's mother Arika. Tosaka remarks on Queen Arika and how she was believed to be the mastermind behind Kosmo Entelecheia and thus tried and executed 18-years ago. Even today, she's known at the "Witch of Calamity" but Tosaka doesn't resent her, remembering how she was before the war. He also remembers feeling sad when the announced her execution. However, if Negi is the son of Arika and Nagi, it would mean the government lied. Tosaka likes the idea of Nagi rescuing her and their going off for a happy ending.

With the girls getting ready for the ball, Natsumi decides to waste some time until she goes in to change last. She sees a large map of the Magic World and remarks out loud on how it looks like Mars. Negi hears this and encourages Natsumi to continue since her remark triggered a memory. Natsumi states that "Chizu-nee" has a globe of Mars and Earth as a member of the Astronomy Club, so Natsumi has looked at the Mars globe. This has Negi wondering if the Magic World and Mars are indeed the same place.

Thoughts/Review: So, Arika is officially dead, huh, and she was executed 18-years ago. BWAH!HA!HA!HA! Akamatsu-sensei cracks me up with Arika. If my theory ends up being right, he will have had his fun with everyone by sending them down the wrong rabbit hole.

Is she dead or isn't she? It is possible that she's still alive but in all the flashbacks we've been shown after the war, there is no Arika. Ala Rubra did a lot of stuff over the years after the war but during those eight years, there's really no Arika. There is an Eva in those years though just how long and exactly when Eva hooked up with the group is a big mystery.

So, if Arika is still alive, what was she doing during all those years while Nagi is off going here and there? Of course, like almost everything concerning Arika, there is a massive amount of assuming going on, such as an ongoing relationship between the two (Nagi and Arika), to say nothing of the assumption that Arika is Negi's mother. ^_~

To me, if Arika were alive, she would most certainly have to be disguised and well hidden in order to pass detection. I know people have mentioned that maybe Nekane is in fact Arika in disguise. That would certainly keep her hidden and also explain why Nagi apparently had an interest in Nekane. If Nekane is Arika in disguise, then it would also lay the groundwork for Nagi to become Negi in my own theory and thus hide in plain sight. It would also explain why the demons were summoned to take out the village if someone suspected the truth. Amazing that only two people survived that attack on Negi's village -- Negi and Nekane. Also amazing that Nagi comes to save the day. ^_~

Enough about Arika for now. I'm sure you guys may have more to say on the matter in the comments. *lol*

The Mars revelation isn't that big a deal, though I understand that in Japan, it is quite a big deal. I guess that while we in the west fairly quickly sauced out that the Magic World and Mars were one and the same, I gather that many in Japan either did not link the two places or did not believe it. Regardless, I get the feeling that based on Negi's reaction, Chao will get a name drop and possibly a flashback cameo image in chapter 258.

I liked the goodbye moment with Nodoka and her former comrades. You know what would be nifty (well, if Akamatsu-sensei had the time)? A chapter showing a complete adventure of theirs. ^_^

Paru is still up to her usual tricks. I swear, before this chapter, I had no belief that Akamatsu-sensei would give us a pactio or anything. However, I do remember the Kyoto arc where Nodoka scored her pactio card. In the middle of some serious issues (protecting Konoka and delivering the message to her father, Eishun), we had a spot of fun and that may well happen here too. We'll see.

Akamatsu-sensei is dropping the idea that the Magic World arc is coming to an end soon with the plan being to immediately leave after the ball. This bothered me because we have Anya missing and Yue with another team. Then I thought, "Negi is getting people like Makie, Ako, Akira, etc. off world before taking the battle harem and Kotaro to rescue Anya." I would bet that would be the plan.

Negima! Chapter 258 won't be out next week so no spoilers on Saturday. I'll try to find a nice Negima! image to post though. ^_^

Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition Manga Volume 3

ガンスミス キャッツ
Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition Volume 3--> BUY FROM AMAZON!

And so we come to the 3rd adaptation of the bunkobon from Japan (originally tankoubon 5 & 6) of the Gunsmith Cats manga. As before, there are two story arcs to cover. The first is the "Bean Bandit" arc. While Bean Bandit has been in the manga for a long time, this arc is dedicated to the "driver" (I kinda like "transporter" better considering the movie of the same title) that has caused Rally no end of grief. Since she's out of the bounty hunting business for a while thanks to her actions while under the influence in the last arc, Rally decides that Bean Bandit needs to stop bringing in drugs to the city. So she gets him to bet that if she stops his current delivery, he'll never make another drug run.

This arc pretty much is standard Gunsmith Cats manga fare -- lots of guns, blood, violence, shooting, and street chases. To be honest, I'm kind of surprised someone in Hollywood hasn't turned these into live-action summer blockbuster movies. They have lots of what the popcorn crowd would love.

The second arc is "Smart" arc where Rally is tasked with taking the famous magician named Smart down as he jumped bail. Smart and his estranged wife are in a custody battle over their daughter Jeena, with the wife resorting to dirty tactics to get everything from Smart. Things get complicated when Jeena's friends try to help young Jeena see her father and Jeena's mother reports this as a kidnapping by Smart. Things get more complicated when the mafia uses Jeena to try to get Smart to do a job for them. Now the race is on to free Jeena and take care of the bad guys.

As before, this arc has the same elements, only a bit more nudity. However, I have to say that I liked this arc the best of any I've read so far. For starters, we start off with some character development for Rally and see how she obtained her interest in guns through her father. Further, considering how Rally and Jeena both wanted to follow their father's footsteps rather than the path laid out by their mother, one can understand how Rally would take a shine to Jeena. Plus by having cute kids as the victim, one really wants Rally and company to kick bottom when dealing with the villains.

The only bad thing about this arc is that it just ends. Technically, everything is resolved, but it isn't very satisfying. A few more pages to deal with aftermath would have been best but I guess Sonoda-sensei ran out of pages. Looking into the next book, I see that the new story arc begins so no luck there for an aftermath.

There are no extras in this volume. Dark Horse continues its "make it grittier" adaptation, which one is used to by now. At least nothing is edited out though as happened in the initial release from Dark Horse.

Bottom line: If you like almost non-stop action, guns, cars, and girls, AND you liked the other manga volumes, there's nothing here to turn you away. Brownie points for a bit of character development for Rally in this volume as well. ^_^

Fate/stay night - 23

フェイト／ステイナイト Ep 23
Fate/stay night episode 23

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Shirou and Saber return home to find that Kotomine has not only kidnapped Ilya, but has given Rin a severe and bloody beating. Saber tends to Rin's wounds as best she can while Rin weakly gives Shirou some advice. She figures that Kotomine is at Ryudouji since that's the best place to summon the Holy Grail. She also reveals that Ilya was designed to be the element that brings forth the Holy Grail, being a magic circuit formed into a human. She gives Shiro her Azoth dagger, which contains some of her mana. She then tells Shirou that when she wakes up that he better not have lost or she'll never forgive him.

Shirou has Saber take the scabbard from his body before they head to Ryudouji where Shirou has a moment where he considers bailing out and trying to find a means to keep Saber alive. However, he soon resolves to do what must be done -- he will take on Kotomine while Saber deals with Gilgamesh. Reaching the top of Ryudouji, Gilgamesh is waiting for them and tells Shirou to go to Kotomine. Gilgamesh has all sorts of nasty plans for Saber once he defeats her. They battle with Saber ultimately coming out on the short end of the stick.

Shirou finds Kotomine as well as a naked Ilya and a bunch of black goo oozing from the thing she is suspended from. Shirou attempts to attack but is stopped when the goo comes at him at stops him. Kotomine talks about his dislike of Emiya Kiritsugu, the war 10-years ago, and how that the Holy Grail has never been properly summoned. Kiritsugu had thought that by destroying the Grail in the last war, things would end but this was not the truth. Ilya will bring forth the Grail and Kotomine will have his wish granted. As such, Kotomine takes a bunch of the evil black goo and uses it to encase Shirou.

Meanwhile, Gilgamesh taunts Saber, citing how Shirou failed to defeat Kotomine. She rejects this idea since she still feels her connection to Shirou. Gilgamesh has her by the ankle for more taunting but gets a kick in the face which frees Saber. He's had enough and decides to take her out for good. Saber braces and gets ready as Gilgamesh attacks.

Thoughts/Review: As usual for this series, the episode just flew by. ^_^

Rin took such a bloody beating, I can't help but wonder if she died. I know she could have used some healing magic on herself, but as bad as she looked combined with the "going to sleep" remark, I just wonder.

Shirou finally lets Saber do her thing without trying to protect her from harm, which is a nice touch though not unexpected with the series wrapping up. During Shirou's confrontation with Kotomine, I kept thinking, "where's the Azoth dagger?" One would think Shirou would use it but then I'm guessing that it will be used to get Shirou out of the trap he's currently in.

What surprised me during Kotomine's exposition was that no previous Holy Grail had actually been properly summoned and used. So I guess that means that if the Holy Grail is properly summoned this time, that's it? No more war?

As to Ilya being connected with the Holy Grail, that was telegraphed last episode. Thankfully there is that great information from Garrik. ^_^

Both Shirou's and Saber's battles went pretty much as expected -- the heroes and heroines have to experience the darkest time before the dawn. ^_^

So, another enjoyable episode and I look forward to the final episode.

xxxHOLiC Manga Chapter 183 Review

xxxHOLiC Manga Chapter 183

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Watanuki awakens to discover that Doumeki had found him in the treasure room and brought him to the bedroom. Watanuki is relieved that Doumeki still remembers Yuuko when Maru and Moro "emerge." Crying, they race to Watanuki's arms where they inform him that Yuuko used the last of her power to secure the shop and that their master is really gone. Watanuki knows then that this is not a dream.

Outside, Doumeki finds Monoka on the engawa with Yuuko-san's pipe smoking nearby. Since Doumeki can see what Watanuki sees, he knows that Yuuko-sans' departure was no dream. He wonders what the egg that Yuuko-san gave him is for. Monoka says it is not yet time to use the egg since Watanuki has one more choice to make. The only people who remember Yuuko-san are those with power -- the old fortune teller, Kohane-chan, Himawari-chan, and Doumeki. Because Doumeki shares an eye with Watanuki, Doumeki will be the one to choose the time to use the egg.

Thoughts/Review: I didn't expect Maru and Moro to return, but I'm glad they did. It seems strange to see them crying since they are usually happy-go-lucky. However, it does help to put a "yes, Yuuko-san is gone" stamp on things -- well sorta. I say sorta because I really don't believe Yuuko-san is gone forever. Whether it is Doumeki's egg or some other means, I figure that she'll be back before the manga is over.

Speaking of the egg, that's been one long-running dangling plot thread, hasn't it? Watanuki's egg was used to create Himawari-chan's bird ages ago so it is about time that Doumeki's egg gets used. Well, assuming it is used in the near future. For all I know, CLAMP may drag this on for several more chapters until we again forget about Doumeki's egg. ^_^;

I liked the cameo's by everyone and hope to see a bit more of them before all is over.

I am curious to see where CLAMP will take things with the next chapter. However, I think the next chapter of the manga won't be published until July 27th, so there's some time to wait. ^_^;

Natsu no Arashi! - 13 (finale)

夏のあらし！ Episode 13
(Summer Storm)

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: It is a summer morning with Arashi waking Hajime up. He has his "homework" project where he made a Sakura Bakudan -- taking a cherry and making it explosive to taste. Arashi decides it should be named "Cutie Cherry-chan." At the Ark, Master again attempts to get someone to go into the past with milk, only this time she wants to exchange it for good stuff. This leads to another lengthy discussion on what this would mean. Kaja decides to end this by throwing out the spoiled milk and buying new stuff.

When Takeshi comes by to order, Hajime gets jealous but is thwarted in planting the Cutie Cherry-chan with him. Since Kaja also purchased a giant pile of cherries, Master decides that a special service for the customers will be to serve them cherries. When Cutie Cherry-chan gets lost in the pile, Hajime convinces Arashi to go back into the past to retrieve it as an experiment on what Master proposed with the milk earlier. She agrees. Meanwhile, Jun and Kaja also go back to the past with a milk. When Kaja is reminded of the Strawberry Cutie-chan incident, she'd suddenly determined to get Hajime back but to avoid a time paradox, she and Jun are forced to return to the present.

Hajime and Arashi arrive to exchange cherries and return to the present where Hajime "disarms" the Cutie Cherry-chan. Meanwhile, Master makes Kaja, Jun, Kanako, and Yayoi a fruit beverage with milk from the fridge, which upon drinking, all four scream.

Thoughts/Review: As I sit here at my desk, I find myself stunned by what I have just watched. I am so stunned, I am finding it difficult to write anything. Remember how last episode I said that I was looking forward to the sequel of this series? Had the series been like this episode, that certainly would not have been the case.

As I've mentioned before, SHAFT can produce some of the funniest anime material out there but at the same time, they can produce some of the worst crap out there. This episode falls into the later category. Apparently, the production team thought, "You know what was the funniest part about our series after the endless 'I read a book' jokes? Why it was the parody references. Therefore, how about we ram as many parody references into this episode as we can. Then for the icing on the cake, we'll have lots and lots of fanservice."

Ugh.

Seeing everyone in swimsuits and various costumes that are changed frequently does not make for a good episode.

Man. I couldn't wait for the episode to be over so that my spinning head would have a chance to settle down.

The only thing that interested me at all was Kaja remembering the Cutie Strawberry-chan incident and her desire to pay Hajime back for that. Unfortunately, it didn't pay out.

I'll write my final review later but I have to say this episode was extremely disappointing. Typical SHAFT in other words.

Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition Manga Volume 2

ガンスミス キャッツ
Gunsmith Cats Omnibus: Volume 2 --> BUY FROM AMAZON!

This second adaptation of the volume 2 bunkobon (tankoubon 3 and 4) begins by wrapping up the Grey story arc from the first volume which runs though chapter 22, roughly 25% of the book. This plays like the final act of a thriller action-adventure movie with Rally and company attempting to pursue Gray to bring him to justice.

The second story then picks up the Goldie story-arc which may or may not be completed with this volume (its hard to tell). Goldie Musou is a female Italian mobster who is tasked with bringing the drug "kerasine" to the Chicago market, which is like a combination of cocaine, LSD, and heroine. Goldie is a sadistic lesbian who uses kerasine to not only hook young ladies, but get them to do things like kill people while under the influence. With Rally, Goldie finds a challenge and she ultimately wants Rally broken to her will without the use of drugs. With Goldie holding one of Rally's comrades from the start of the arc (Misty), Rally has a personal stake in taking Goldie down.

This arc also plays like a thriller action-adventure movie. There's lots of action, violence, and even a touch of horror with people under the influence of kerasine seeing monsters and zombies. Of course with Goldie, there is some nudity and sadomasochist elements. I'm not a fan of that of course but there's no denying the fast-paced nature of the manga.

Unfortunately, there's really no character development for any of the characters. We are shown that May is now 19 (which would make Rally 21) and we get to see May and the old Chinese lady she used to work for as a 13-year old prostitute. I would like to see more character stuff and a breather from the almost non-stop action, but I don't think that Sonoda-sensei is going to do that.

Sonoda-sensei's art is top-notch though. His detailed drawings of cars and guns are outstanding, so no problems there. He still can be quite chaotic when it comes to intense action sequences, but he has improved quite a lot since the first book.

Dark Horse's adaptation still has that over-shift feeling to make the text feel more gritty and "American" than the original Japanese. However, at times a Japanese feel still comes through despite the removal of all Japanese honorifics. Dark Horse does use Japanese honorifics for the omake stuff with Sonoda-sensei. ^_^

Bottom line: If you liked darker, fast-paced, violent and bloody action-thrillers with an icing of some nudity and sexual aspects of the first volume, you'll really enjoy this volume. If not, it won't be your cup of tea. One read-through will be enough for me.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - 13

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi - Fullmetal Alchemist Ep. 13
鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Episode 13

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Izumi kicks both Ed and Al out of the house and they are escorted to the train station by Sig. Sig invites them to stay at their house next time they are in town which surprises Ed and Al. Sig chastises them because they haven't realized that Izumi no longer sees them as students but as equals. Ed remembers why they came to Dublith at all, so he and Al race back to Sig and Izumi's home to beg Izumi for knowledge on how to restore their bodies. She refuses but they are instant. Since Ed and Izumi remember seeing "that" (the door) and paid a price with their bodies, it is likely that Al saw even more of this "truth" since he had to give up his entire body. Al is willing to do what it takes, so Izumi says she'll consult some friends on restoring Al's lost memories.

At the Eastern Division HQ, Colonel Mustang has a going away game of chess with his commanding general. After winning the game, which the general calls a present, Mustang makes one last request. As a result, Mustang's staff (Secretary Cain Fury, Warrant Officer Vato Falman; Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda, Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc; First Lieutenant Riza Hawkey) are also transferred to Central with him. Jean doesn't want to transfer since he's just found a girlfriend, but Mustang doesn't care -- they are coming no matter what.

In the slums of Central City, Scar is visited by an Ishval religious leader. He knows that Scar is killing State Alchemist for revenge and advises against this since revenge begets revenge. Their conversation is interrupted when a couple of large thugs arrive at the tent Scar is living in. They promise to split the reward with a third person named Yoki, who is no where to be found. He's hiding nearby and the Ishval people are not happy with him since they had taken him in. When the thugs try to take him, he removes one thug's arm and kills the second. Yoki vows to follow Scar in exchange for his life. Scar leaves the camp and Yoki follows.

Back in Dublith, Al is sent an invitation about his secret to come to a place called Devil's Nest. One guy named Dorochet tells Al he should come with them but Al decides to punch him instead. Three others with Dorochet attack and the girl, Martel, enters Al's armored body after the helmet is knocked off, thereby allowing Al to be captured. She remains in his body as Greed arrives. Returning Al's helmet, Greed reveals that his four companions are chimera -- Dorochet has been combined with a dog, Roa with a bull, Bido with a lizard and the lone female Martel with a snake. Greed reveals that he is a homunculus and shows his Ouroboros tattoo. Al doesn't want to believe this since he recalled what happened with Nina and homunculus are not supposed to exist. So Greed has his head knocked off to prove he is a homunculus.

Greed wants the secret of how Al's soul was affixed to a suit of armor and in exchange he offers to teach Al about how to create a homunculus. Al reveals that he doesn't know how his soul was affixed, so Greed has Bido get Ed. Ed comes with a defeated Bido and Al lets Ed know that Greed is a homunculus. Ed goes off on the offer of exchange of information and ends up in a battle with Greed. Since Greed is able to regenerate his damage, Ed is at a disadvantage. To further show Ed the futility of his ways, Greed covers his entire body in metal.

Ed takes a beating but when Greed grabs him and brings him close, Ed transmutes some of Greed's armor. Thus Ed is able to get in attacks and reasons that Greed can't regenerate and fix his armored form at the same time. Meanwhile, Sig and Izumi discover Ed and Al are missing. Receiving a tip, Izumi storms to the Devil's Nest, where she's heard the secret to defeating Greed. Greed isn't interesting in fighting a woman, but Izumi transmutes his facial armor and then causes Greed damage. When Greed asks who she is, she angrily announces that she's a passing housewife.

Thoughts/Review: It is starting to look like the story of Yoki's initial encounter with Ed and Al may never get told, at least not as an episode. I say this because while he'd been name-dropped before and a wanted poster of him has been seen, we've not seen anything about him until this episode when he shows up in the refugee camp and we are shown that he wants revenge on Ed and Al but we don't know why. I say "we" but those who saw the first anime or read the manga do know why and I'm guessing the anime production team are counting on that to proceed. I could be wrong though.

I gather that this episode encompassed about a volume's worth of manga material. That is a shame if true because so much will have been cut to compress things down so much. Generally speaking, 2-3 chapters of manga comprise an anime episode. Depending on the number of chapters per volume, generally 2-4 episodes are created from a manga volume. We'll see how this plays out.

The introduction of Greed and his gang is something I remembered very well from the first anime. I had forgotten little details like the fact that Greed could become like Colossus from X-Men -- he can transform his body (or at least his skin) into metal. I don't remember how they get through this, but likely I'll remember when I watch the next episode.

When I saw Ed's partially-broken automail arm, I had a thought that I've never had before -- why does Ed need Winry to repair his automail? Shouldn't Ed be able to repair it perfectly? After all, he can transmute his arm into a blade and then back into an arm, so when his arm gets broken, why can't he just instantly repair it? Is this explained anywhere?

Come to think of it, why not transmute pieces of Greed away as Scar did to his attackers?

I'm interested in learning from you guys any parts from the manga that were excluded from this episode. Until then, I look forward to watching the next episode.

Negima! Chapter 257 SPOILER Images

Negima! 257 SPOILER Images
魔法先生 ネギま！Chapter 257 (Images)

Here's what I know many of you have been waiting for -- the original-sized, sneak-peek images for Mahou Sensei Negima! Chapter 257 SPOILER Images as brought to you buy anonymous Japanese fans (click pic to make bigger, y'all).


There were three batches of images with one repeat. Since I'm doing them as a single post, I didn't post the repeat.

Looks like there's a break next week so brace yourselves. ^_^;

Happy Independence Day for those in the U.S.

It's July 4th and that means officially it is a time for we Americans to celebrate our independence from Great Britain. Unofficially, that thought never enters our mind as it is a time for hitting the road for vacation, firing up the grill or barbecue, hitting the beach or pool, and generally just taking it easy.


Oh yeah, and there's those fireworks if you are fortunate enough to live in a state where the nanny's haven't destroyed the pursuit of happiness though the setting off of various small explosives. *_*


Regardless, I hope that those of you who have the day off have a good one and those who have to work (my brothers and sisters in the IT/IS field especially), I hope you have a quiet day/night. ^_^

Hayate no Gotoku!! - 13

Hayate the Combat Butler "2nd Season" Ep. 13
ハヤテのごとく！！Episode 13

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: In the time before Hayate arrives at the clock tower, Hina is frustrated that he is late for their appointment. When she falls asleep, she has a memory-dream of being abandoned as a little girl along with her sister. So waking up to see Hayate, Hina decides to take it out on him while elsewhere, Isumi, over a cup of tea, explains to Father Radiostar about the sword Hina borrowed (Masamune) and its effect on Hina. Hina is upset and ki "energizes" Masamune so that Hina's attacks are more deadly. Hayate avoids them all but eventually Hina regains her composure and drops the wooden sword, resting her head on Hayate, who apologizes for delaying his appointment on her birthday.

Hayate prepares tea for Hina, who's embarrassed at having rested her head on Hayate's head. She decides she needs a win no matter what and so challenges Hayate to beat the present that Nagi gave her. Hayate presents some cookies he made for her, saying that since she comes from a well-off family and has rich friends all around, he wanted to do something simple. He states that as a kid, all he got for his birthday was a cookie. Hina confesses the same thing that confuses Hayate until she reveals that she and Katsura were abandoned by their parents and saddled with massive debt. The Katsura family adopted them and while Hina loves her adoptive parents, she still loves her real parents.

Hayate leads Hina out to the clock tower's terrace. He says that when they first met, he was able to see this view. Hina is afraid of heights but with Hayate steadying her, she opens her eyes and views the nighttime cityscape below and in the distance. Hayate tells her that despite all they've gone through, were they are now isn't a bad place. Hina finally admits to herself that she is in love with Hayate. The following day, Hayate and Nagi are walking to school when they are passed by Hina, who greets them and addresses Hayate as "Hayate-kun" rather than "Ayasaki-kun." Nagi is suspicious and afraid that Hina will fall for Hayate, something Hayate denies could happen. Hina is happy as she goes to the clock tower, but discovers that she still can't go out onto the terrace alone.

Thoughts/Review: Another enjoyable episode that wraps up Hina's birthday arc. ^_^ I know I've said this before and I'll say it again but I am so glad that this time around, the anime production team is following the manga so closely rather than go off all over the place.

Speaking of the first series, the Star Wars reference and the SUZUMIYA Haruhi references were somewhat muted in this episode. In the first series, there were bleeps all the time from different things being referenced and bleeped out for copyright (or joke) purposes. In the manga, it is clear that Luke Skywalker is the reference (with some characters purposefully removed) but here, only the name "Luke" survives. For Nagi's joke about how The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya DVD's were released and the whole TV version vs. DVD version was even more muted. The manga pretty clearly spells this out but the anime doesn't even reference what series she's talking about (or I didn't hear it referenced). Granted if you know Haruhi, you know the whole controversy there and would likely get the joke, but I'm sure some will be lost.

The omake ending in this episode is straight from the manga. However, while this episode's story comes from volume 10 of the manga, the omake comes from the omake in volume 9. I'm glad the anime production team included it since Kotetsu will be back down the road. ^_^

Unfortunately because the first series scrounged bits and pieces from the rest of volume 10, it appears that the current series production team have decided to skip the rest of this volume and go straight to volume 11. That's a shame because we are skipping the whole "psycho in the restaurant" story and the Hayate-bot story (since the first series already did the part with Hayate studying for exams). *_*

Ah well, here's to the next episode and the Saginomiya Clan. ^_^

The Latest Japanese Cafe -- The Cat Cafe

So you are in Japan and want to go to a cafe. Unfortunately a maid cafe doesn't seem like something you'd like and a cosplay cafe just isn't your cup of tea. However, you do love cats. Well are you ever in luck -- Cafe Calico is just the thing for you.


Read Mimi Hanaoka's article on her trip to this cat cafe and see what fun you are missing by not living in the Tokyo area. ^_^

Natsu no Arashi! - 12

夏のあらし！ Episode 12
(Summer Storm)

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Now that things in the past have been resolved, Kanako, Yayoi, Hajime, and Hideo return to the present. Yayoi and Kanako return the energy taken from Arashi so that she is restored to life. However, this causes both Kanako and Yayoi to nearly fade from existence. They are ready to accept this but Arashi is not. She takes Hajime's hand while Kaja takes Jun's hand and they form a circle with Kanako and Yayoi which restores them fully.

The next day at the Ark, Hajime, Hideo, and Master are discussing the situation when Hideo realizes that Arashi is the girl who saved his father during World War II. Kanako and Yayoi arrive at the Ark where it is revealed that they'll need someone to connect to in order to obtain the energy required to "stay alive" as it were, something Kanako says that Hideo will provide them. They want to show their appreciation for what has been done for them and offering to do anything gives Master the opening she needs to acquire two more waitresses.

Jun gets a scare when fellow model Youko arrives. Jun quietly reminds Youko to not reveal Jun's secret, so Youko loudly declares herself to be Jun's girlfriend. Hajime isn't happy about this since he considers Jun to be cheating on Kaja, so Jun sends a signal to Kaja for help. Kaja misunderstands and loudly goes on about how Jun is cheating on her. Yayoi doesn't realize what is happening so she tries to talk with Youko about this but instead gets a lesson in love from Youko.

Hajime and Arashi are splashing water on the street outside with hishaku and bucket and as they talk, they end up splashing each other in fun. A man walks up who recognizes Arashi but she doesn't know him. They go to the Ark where Arashi agrees to go on a date with the man, YAMASHIRO Takeshi. She has her reasons and Hajime tries to play things off as no big deal but when Takeshi takes Arashi to the spot they first met, Hajime follows on a bicycle. It turns out that ten years ago, a girl who looked exactly like Arashi saved him from drowning.

Upon returning, everyone wants to know how the date went. The girls from the 40's think that going for a drive to the beach and a meal is going pretty far. Master thinks otherwise. The injured Hajime declares that he knows when to give up but Arashi reveals to him that she'd never met Takeshi, meaning that she'd save Takeshi in the future. Since the only way to do that is with Hajime, it means they'll be together for a while. She says she wants to save Takeshi and Hajime agrees, so the two are off.

After they return, Arashi, Kaja, Kanako, and Yayoi sit outside and discuss how how now that they are together, it is almost as if it were the past. Arashi remarks on how Hajime is the one who brought them all together again in the present. Kaja remarks on how a boy can grow up over the course of a single summer and Arashi states that it is cute how Hajime doesn't realize any of what he's done.

Thoughts/Review: So now we have the final circle completion to episode 1 with Yayoi and Kanako's employment by Master. In all honestly, the series could have wrapped up there but there's still one more episode and I'm guessing that will have to deal with "long-haired older guy" who also has an interest in our four female ghosts. After episode 13 plays, I'm going to have to rewatch episode 1 to get some additional perspective on things now that the circle is complete.

It has been clear from the beginning that Hajime has a major crush on Arashi. What has been unclear to me is how Arashi sees Hajime beyond a friend and partner who helps her on her quest to save people from the past. The conversation at the end of this episode between Arashi, Kaja, Kanako, and Yayoi seemed to imply that despite the differences in age AND condition (ghost vs. flesh-and-blood) between Arashi and Hajime, Arashi may regard Hajime as something more. She obviously knows Hajime has a major crush on her and I think her putting her arms around Hajime from behind when she wanted to save Takeshi is part of that. However, I now wonder if there's something more there. I'm not saying Arashi has a shoutacon fetish, but it just seems like her feelings have gone beyond friendship and partnership, but in a sweet and non-sexual way.

There were a lot more parody references in this episode, but I've no clue what they are. Again, I'll just say that to whomever licenses this for R1, please include some sort of parody reference explanation chart as an extra. That way, I can learn more and appreciate these things in the future. ^_^

Beyond this, I don't find a whole lot to say other than I'm glad that there will be another season/series of this. Despite some of SHAFT's annoying tendencies, there has been enough good for me to find the series enjoyable.

"Anime and Manga Elitism" or "Consumer Choice?"

I'm a firm believer in supporting what you like. Going back to my teen years, I would purchase audio tapes to score my favorite songs when I was able, though most of my music came from recording from the radio or copying tapes of friends. After I left home and joined the military, I began collecting CD's and added the collecting of movies on VHS. When DVD's came out, I upgraded my favorite movies to that format. Now that Blu-ray is out, I am again repeating that process for titles I think are worthy.

I mention this to establish that I put my money where my mouth is.

That said, I know what I want and what I don't want. For example, when The Lord of the Rings movies came out on DVD, I refused to purchase the theater versions because I wanted the extended, director's cut that would be coming a few months later. Does this action on my part make me some kind of elitist? It does according to some areas of anime and manga fandom.

One of the freedoms about being a consumer is that I can choose to spend my money wherever I feel like. When it comes to anime, I have one simple rule -- the subtitled version needs to include the Japanese honorifics. If they don't, then I will spend my limited anime budget on an anime release that DOES contain what I want.

For manga, I have a similar requirement -- the adaptation has to include all of the Japanese honorifics. I give pluses for titles that go above and beyond such as Viz's Hayate the Combat Butler or Del Rey's Negima! x Since Del Rey released Pumpkin Scissors without Japanese honorifics (at least through the first three volumes), I refuse to buy another volume, period. For Inuyasha, Viz jacked that up left and right as far as I'm concerned, to say nothing of the art being FLIPPED! What the smeg is up with that? (Yes, I know they are fixing that issue -- or at least I'm informed they are.)

According to some in fandom, I should be supporting the business by purchasing all four manga series no matter what. To refuse to purchase a title for what they consider trivial reasons is being an elitist and one of the reasons TokyoPop is going down the tubes, to say nothing of the anime/manga market being in dire straits (a theory I reject for the record). Since when as a consumer of any product do I have to purchase something that isn't up to my specifications? What happened to, "the customer is always right?"

Seriously folks, if you are out shopping for an HDTV and you have researched and know exactly what you want, do you purchase a standard definition TV just to support companies who are making them? Of course not. You buy the HDTV and you buy the one that meets your standards. If you want a 46" TV, you don't settle for a 7" one, do you? Of course not.

So why is it that I'm supposed to purchase an anime or manga title that isn't translated like I want? Why can't I pass on a manga title that is still being published flipped? Why must I support a company that decides to print their manga on cheaper paper while charging me more for the privilege?

The fact of the matter is that I do NOT have to support anything I don't like and I won't purchase anything I don't like. This act on my part is a choice and does not make me an elitist.

After Viz did what they did to the Maison Ikkoku manga (which was only partially fixed in the re-release) as well as my afore mentioned mishandling of Inuyasha, I decided that I wouldn't purchase another title from Viz until they changed their ways. So when Viz scored the Honey and Clover manga, something I had been keen to read, I said, "I'll spend my money elsewhere, thank you very much." That's not elitism but a consumer choice.

However, when I was made aware that Viz had been listening to consumers like me and had changed their adaptation processes for Honey and Clover so that the Japanese honorifics were used in the adaptation, guess what I did -- I bought the manga. Not only that, but I also purchased Viz's Hayate the Combat Butler because it too was done to my tastes, only better. As such, I'll gladly support both of these Viz manga titles and I'll encourage my audience to do the same. If Viz placing honorifics into the adaptations is a deal breaker for some, it is their choice to make on whether to puchase those titles or not. If they choose not to make the purchase because this is a deal breaker for them, they are not elitist either.

(By the way Viz -- if you re-translate Maison Ikkoku from scratch and re-release it to Hayate the Combat Butler's standards, guess what I'll be buying? ^_^)

The manga and anime industry may be having some hard times thanks to the current economy. However, the companies that will survive will be the ones that listen to their consumer base rather than expect us to take whatever they graciously decide to give us. That's how business works and I'm not obligated to support anything that doesn't meet my standards or tastes. That's not elitism, that's consumer choice. ^_^

Negima! Manga Vol 28 Ch 256 Review

魔法先生 ネギま！Volume 28 Chapter 256 (manga)
Mahou Sensei Negima! Manga Chapter 256

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Jack's arrival causes a bit of hero worship with Craig and Tosaka but after that's over, Jack has Negi play Governor-General Gödel's invitation. Gödel not only invites Negi to come, but also his female companions, even offering to provide them dresses if Negi sends their measurements. Gödel promises not only their safety but also promises to have them stricken from the wanted list, something that apparently Theo, Seras, nor Ricardo can do. If that's not enough encouragement for Negi to come and should they attempt to go down to the surface, then Gödel will send a fleet of warships to hunt them down. As a final request, Gödel asks that Negi come in his Nagi disguise.

Negi says he will go but orders the girls to return to the surface. Shiori-Asuna rejects this immediately and chastises Negi for once again deciding to do things on his own. Jack figures to tag along as well and so it is settled.

Kaede is briefed on the situation which leads Setsuna to tell Negi about the Shinmeiryuu technique Zanmaken Ni no Tachi which Gödel uses but that someone of her status is forbidden to learn the technique as it is reserved for those directly connected with the Aoyama clan. Jack borrows Setsuna's sword and proves that by careful observation, such a technique can be indeed learned. He tells Setsuna that she could learn it if she wanted but if she's worried about status, he can rename the attack for her. He decides to call his attempt at the Ni no Tachi as "IN CELEBRATION OF MY FIRST KISS WITH OJOUSAMA... SPECIAL." Jack has Negi raise a powerful barrier and unleashes the attack. With it, he's able to (mostly) bypass Negi and strike a nearby floating boulder. That Jack does this amazes Setsuna.

Jack explains that Kurt Gödel was an orphan boy that Ala Rubra picked up during the war like Takahata. Gödel was keen to learn the Shinmeiryuu techniques that Eishun used. Eishun initially refused but seeing how Gödel began picking up things just from observing Eishun, Eishun began teaching Gödel properly. After the war, Gödel left the group as he didn't agree with their meathods on saving the world. Gödel got into politics and now is Governor-General.

Negi takes Chamo, Setsuna and Konoka off to the side -- Setsuna still marveling that Jack was able to perform such a powerful Shinmeiryuu technique without training. Negi tells them that before they go to the ball, he feels he needs to tell them about Asuna and that maybe he'll need to tell the others at some point. After a bit of difficulty, Negi informs them that Asuna is actually from the Magic World and that in reality, Asuna is a Princess of Ostia.

Thoughts/Review: Well, it wasn't Motoko (well, unless you count that tiny example image as Motoko, which I know some feel it is her though not specifically stated) but we did get the "Aoyama" name-drop in this chapter. I still would love to see a proper appearance by Motoko or her sister at some point.

Still, we now have an opening for Setsuna to learn the Zanmaken Ni no Tachi, which I'm sure she will. Should there be a fight at the ball, I don't think she'll have learned it because as good as she is, I don't think she's as good as Jack at the moment. Then again, maybe this will be something else she attempts to acquire as a skill -- learning techniques from observing others. That would give her an edge in fights both in "borrowing" an opponents attacks and using them against said opponent.

Now to Gödel -- he certainly wasn't taking anything for granted with his invitation to the ball. Interesting that he is more powerful politically than Theo, Seras, or Ricardo. I think we all had been wondering why they hadn't removed Negi and company from the wanted list and now we know -- they couldn't. That Negi would go to the ball was something I don't think anyone really doubted. What surprised me is that Jack is going to attend. That will make things more interesting.

Also of interest was that Gödel was briefly a member of Ala Rubra as a child. With Gödel throwing this ball, I begin to wonder if maybe Takahata will finally show up. Its a long shot to be sure since I think he and Mana will be used in the final battle to wrap up the story arc. We'll see though.

So an interesting chapter with table setting exposition to get us firmly into the next phase of things. Bring on the next chapter! ^_^

Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition Manga Volume 1

ガンスミス キャッツ
Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition, Volume 1 --> BUY FROM AMAZON!

About a year ago, I caught the 3-episode Gunsmith Cats OVA (see my reviews of episode 1, episode 2, and episode 3) and found it rather enjoyable. I heard that Dark Horse had decided to redo the manga they'd licensed, so I thought I'd give it a try and see how it went.

For those who don't know, this manga by SONODA Kenichi features the 19-year old Rally Vincent, who owns the Chicago gun store known as Gunsmith Cats. Rally is highly skilled at all manner of firearms both in shooting them and customizing them. As such, her store contains a lot of "specialty" items that aren't legal. While the store is her main job, her hobby as a bounty hunter is where she makes most of her money. As such, she works closely with Detective Roy Coleman in the Chicago Police Department.

Joining Rally is the child-looking 17-year old girl named May Hopkins. Despite her young age, May is an expert at explosives, so much so that she can create improvised explosives with the right elements. She learned this from her 30-something year old boyfriend Ken Takizawa, who apparently hooked up with her when she was 13. Further, for reasons unknown, May worked in a high-class brothel as a prostitute in Chinatown from 13 to 17. She was so good, she was given the assignment of training the new girls.

The manga starts off almost like an assignment of the week for Rally, beginning with how Rally and May became partners. As time passes, Rally has some thugs and other criminals that she's put down or away that are very keen on getting revenge on her. Add to this mix May's attempt to reconnect with her boyfriend Ken, who ends up on the wrong side of a crime syndicate that he worked for. The result of all this is a very violent and often bloody manga.

Also in this manga is a bit of nudity at times as well as sex. I'm not saying this has gone to hentai levels, but early on we are shown May giving a BJ to an invisible penis. May also has her sexual relations with Ken (when he's around) and May also had a sexual encounter with a man as part of a job she and Rally were on. May also has a lengthy masturbation scene. Frankly, I could have done without all of that. The OVA proved that May doesn't need to be some sex addict in order to have a good story.

Sonoda-sensei has some excellent artwork though. His detailed drawings of various cars and weapons are highly detailed and along the lines of what Fujishima-sensei would do (Ah! My Goddess). There is one chapter where his art completely lets us know that this captured girl had been brutally raped by the villain -- no words were required. So there's no denying his excellent artwork.

Sometimes Sonoda-sensei's action can be a bit chaotic -- too chaotic at times. There are times where chapters end without a complete closure to things which then forces Sonoda-sensei to have to address that at the start of the next chapter with some throw-away lines. I guess he just runs out of pages and has to do things in a hurry which causes both the chaos and the occasional unresolved feeling to things.

As to the Dark Horse release, the "Revised Edition" is actually a copy of the Japanese bunkobon re-release of the manga, so the first two volumes of the original materials are covered here. Unlike the recent experience I had with TokyoPop's paperback bunkobon release, the higher-grade paper Dark Horse is using and general better way the book was put together meant no breaking of the spine, which is a good thing.

Dark Horse also includes a two-page interview with Sonoda-sensei which is a nice extra as well as some character sketches from the original tankoubon release.

The translation/adaptation has been changed from Dark Horse's original release so that May is now 17 rather than 18. Certain other rewrites have been corrected as well from what I'm told. For me, the stories feel accurate, but there is definitely an American take in the adaptation. What I mean is that I think the adapter decided that this needed to be grittier, so profanity is added to the adaptation that wouldn't be there in the original Japanese.

There are no Japanese honorifics used, which since the story takes place in Chicago is the excuse used to not include them. I do note that the adapter appeared to have gone with a lot of the standard American shifts though (such as "May, dear"). Well, I'm not going to make an issue of this but did want to note it for those who care about such things.

Bottom line: This is a violent, bloody, and sexual manga that lacks most of the charm that the 3-episode OVA gave the franchise. There is excellent artwork and sometimes chaotic storytelling, but things are never boring.