xxxHOLiC Manga Chapter 206 Review

xxxHOLiC Manga Chapter 206/xxxHOLiC Rou Chapter 02

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Despite being attacked, Watanuki tells Doumeki to keep shooting the attacking youkai. The invisible little one is afraid so Watanuki comforts it as Doumeki dispels most of the attacking creature. A lone arm survives and makes an attack, eluding Doumeki's rei arrows and forcing him to shoot a bottle of sake on a tray near Watanuki, killing the youkai. When Watanuki asks Doumeki why he did it, Doumeki points out that Watanuki had purposely left this bottle unopened and that it had a red string on the bottle's mouth as a supernatural seal. That means it is "miki." Watanuki congratulates Doumeki on this.

A bridge forms from the sky to the engawa where Watanuki and the invisible child are. Watanuki informs the child that the bridge is here to gather it and the child asks if its mother is there. Watanuki says she isn't but that he's sure that next time, the child's mother will thank the child for being born. With that, the child crosses the bridge to the other side and the bridge disappears. Watanuki collapses, covered in wounds. Doumeki grabs him as Mokona comes out to check on them. Mokona mentions that it is unusual for Watanuki to be injured like this and wonders how Watanuki could be so injured from using defensive techniques. Doumeki feels that Watanuki was protecting not protecting himself, only the child and Doumeki.

The injured Watanuki is taken to his bed were a worried Moro and Maru tend to him, thanking Doumeki for his efforts. As they tend to Watanuki, Doumeki and Mokona talk more. Doumeki states that he had considered going into medicine but that Watanuki's wounds can't be healed by traditional medicine and that Doumeki couldn't do Watanuki's requests as a doctor. With that, Doumeki falls asleep.

Sometime later, Doumeki pays the old fortune teller a visit. Over a glass of beer, they discuss Watanuki's last customer, which the old lady knows about. Doumeki remarks on how he recovers quickly from an encounter like that but it takes Watanuki some time to do so. The old lady notes that Kohane-chan had received the same e-mail that Doumeki did, telling them to not come by as he is resting and for them not to worry.

Doumeki asks about the child that he could not see. The old lady explains that the child was a fetus who had not been born for whatever reason. As such, Watanuki prevented them from seeing it, especially Kohane-chan since her understanding the situation at the time would have made things worse. Doumeki thinks about Watanuki's remarks to the child about it not being taken away for the convenience of others. The old lady states that because such children have learned nothing, they are easy targets when they die.

Doumeki asks about what it was that attacked them. The old lady doesn't have an answer other than it is powerful to break through the shop's barrier and that it doesn't always take the form of a hand. This thing of negitive emotions and evil craves the pure innocence of the unborn fetus to consume it. However, since that child (upset over not being born) found Watanuki first, it now has a chance to return to the world in some form. She doesn't know where that bridge leads to, but she does know of those who've been near death who've crossed that bridge and returned.

With that, Doumeki remarks on an e-mail he has from Watanuki about a delivery, which the old lady knows about even though she's not involved.

Doumeki brings a package to Watanuki from the shop where Watanuki had delivered that birdcage with the invisible bird in it so many years ago for Yuuko-san. The delivery is a smoking tray since Watanuki couldn't smoke while the child was at the house. This was the price paid for protecting the child until the bridge came to get it. Doumeki wants to know who paid the price, but Doumeki doesn't know. The old lady had a divination tell her to have Doumeki run an errand and Doumeki stopped by the antique shop for this old smoking tray. Beyond that will cost Doumeki, who understands that there are things that even Watanuki doesn't know.

With that, Watanuki goes off to to get another bottle of sake as Doumeki looks at the smoking tray and wishes happiness to the spirit of the unborn child for the next time it arrives on Earth.

Thoughts/Review: Wow. I'm floored and I have to say that for a now shounen manga, I didn't expect something this deep.

As I saw it, this 2-chapter story was the tale of a mother who had an abortion for whatever reason and that the unborn child was upset by not having been born. Somehow, the fetus spirit and Watanuki crossed paths, a price was paid for Watanuki to protect the fetus, Watanuki was injured but delivered the child safely, and Doumeki was used to get the payment.


The reason I say "abortion" rather than something like the child being stillborn is that a point was made about the child being cast aside for the convenience of another, in this case, the mother. Further, the child longed for kind words from its mother, something it had not received. A mother who'd lost a child due she wanted to have would have loved the fetus and spoken kind things while it was still in the womb. Even if the child was stillborn for some reason, that mother would grieve. I got the sense that for this fetus spirit that Watanuki cared for, there was no such mourning. Thus, it is my believe that this fetus spirit came from an aborted child.

CLAMP does appear to leave a little bit of room for doubt, thus creating wiggle room. I don't know how hot a topic abortion is in Japan. I know it was made legal in 1949 as part of the Eugenic Protection Law as a means of population control and to keep eliminate those with mental illness, birth defects, or other such disorders (the law was changed in the mid-90's to remove the eugenics part of it). As far as I can tell, Japan doesn't really have a moral problem with abortions as such per se, but I got the feeling that maybe the ladies of CLAMP do.

Some additional research on my part revealed that in Japan, the willing or unwilling termination of a fetus will result with the mother performing mizuko kuyo, a Buddhist ritual where a Mizuko Jizo statue representing the dead fetus is given various offerings. This is done to help the mother mourn the loss of the child, provide comfort to the soul of the dead fetus, and even to protect against it becoming evil and potentially possessing the mother. Mizuko means "child of the water" and is the term used to describe dead, unborn children (whether from abortion or not). Jizo is the deity that guides the soul of the unborn child to the next world.

Still, I don't think CLAMP made a political statement here as it might be seen in the U.S. I do think they may be opposed to abortion, but not for political purposes whereas in the U.S. and other Western countries, politics on both sides trump everything.

After my research, I reread this chapter. The bridge that formed would appear to be the bridge that in Japanese mythology, allows the souls of the dead to cross the Sanzu River to proceed to the afterlife. Since it appears that no mizuko kuyo ceremony was performed, Watanuki then took the role of the Jizo deity (Ojizo-sama, as the Japanese would address the deity), protecting the Mizuko until the bridge came and the child could safely cross, something it would not be able to do otherwise according to Japanese beliefs. Thus, Watanuki returned Mizuko to the other side to await rebirth in some form or other.

It may be a very big stretch, but part of me can't help but wonder if this Mizuko story might be setting up the stage for Yuuko-san to be reborn or return. Some have speculated that Watanuki may in fact be Clow and if they are right, then it stands to reason that Yuuko-san could return as well. Himawari-chan maybe? Technically, Yuuko-san was already dead when Watanuki met her, however she was simply frozen in time.

No, no! Bad ANB! That's taking it WAY too far. ^_^;

So, who did send the Mizuko to Watanuki and who paid the price?


Regardless, CLAMP again wrote a story which caused me to "hit the books" as it were to do a lot of research in order to get more educated on Japanese beliefs and mythology. After all, many of their stories are deeply rooted in Japanese culture and certainly, this 2-chapter story was about as deep as they come.

Although it was only a brief moment, I loved how the "soulless" Moro and Maru show how much they love and care for Watanuki in their thanking of Doumeki.


Speaking of the manga, again CLAMP clocks in with 48-pages. Considering that's two months in a row where they've done 48-page stories, I guess that's the new norm now. I've got no problem with that, especially now that the manga is a monthly publication. Having 48-pages is like doing 12-pages a week with the occasional week off. So my fears that xxxHOLiC would proceed at a snail's pace appear to be unfounded.

So, a very interesting but disturbing chapter here to complete the Mizuko arc.

Oh, one other note. I'm not sure when the title "Rou" started being used with "xxxHOLiC" but I do know that it is being used now. As such, I may switch the title of future review to reflect this but also note the overall chapter at the beginning of new reviews.

Negima! Chapter 298 SPOILER Images

Negima! 298 SPOILER Images
魔法先生 ネギま！Chapter 298 (Images)

Here's what I know many of you have been waiting for -- the original-sized, sneak-peek SPOILER images for Mahou Sensei Negima! Chapter 298 as brought to you by anonymous Japanese fans (click pic to make bigger, y'all).


Update: Time for Negi to school a fool. ^_~


Hmmmm...Makie and Chisame tag team. Last time we saw that was during the Mahora Festival I believe and Inchou (Ayaka) was with them as well.

Update 2: Four more images.


Update 3: What has rattled Fate's boat?

Ah! My Goddess Ch. 260 Manga Review

Ah! My Goddess Manga/Oh My Goddess! Manga
ああっ女神さまっVolume 41 Chapter 260

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: As Belldandy fights Slyum in a stalemate, Urd notes Belldandy's license as a Valkyrie in regards to how Belldandy is staying in the fight but she also notes that their time is limited. As they only have six hours, Keiichi starts thinking of what to do to win or even if they need to win at all in order to proceed onward. Keiichi recalls the spell Belldandy placed on him for speed when he needed to race to school in order to replace his clone to take a test. Urd remembers this along with the fact that she dressed up the clone in a female school sailor uniform and states that she can create the "medicine" required. Urd wonders about Keiichi taking the pill though, but Keiichi assures her that since Slyum enjoys the fight, a chance to fight him will be bait enough since he's the only one she's not engaged. Urd agrees and after teasing Keiichi a little bit about showing off for Belldandy, she gives him the pill.

Meanwhile, Slyum appears happy to be fighting Belldandy like this but asks her how she plans on winning. Belldandy knows she has to do something to change the the stalemate and knows it will be very dangerous to do so. As she prepares to change her attacks, Slyum thinks Belldandy has lost when Keiichi calls Slyum out. Keiichi is standing in front of the door and counting down the 20-seconds in his head until the speed spell in Urd's pill activates. Keiichi is afraid but speaks boldly and Slyum takes the bait. Slyum attacks just as the pill activates, allowing Keiichi to see her apparently moving in slow motion. He waits until the last moment, observing Slyums look of happiness before dodging her punch. Her blow takes out the exit door instead.

Thoughts/Review: It is not surprising that Fujishima-sensei would suddenly retcon in that Belldandy is also a certified Valkyrie along with everything else Belldandy does. After all, Fujishima-sensei has been doing that kind of thing for years. However, in this case, even though this skill has never been mentioned before, I think back to the Lord of Terror arc when Belldandy had to do some major fighting. She proved skillful there so why not have an explanation as to why someone like her who doesn't like to fight knows how to and can do so?


Keiichi's plan to save Belldandy actually forced me to pull volume 3 off my bookcase. I haven't read that volume in ages and it is shocking to see the artwork back then. *lol* That aside, I didn't remember the incident Urd and Keiichi were talking about until I read that chapter in the manga.

For those who don't remember, Keiichi had been trying to study for his exams and his buddies from the Motor Club came by to party. To solve the problem, Belldandy attempted to make a clone of Keiichi (with humorous results during the cooking process) so that the Motor Club would have something to play with while Keiichi went to school unmolested. Unfortunately, a drunk Tamiya sees the two Keiichi's and well twice the Keiichi is twice the fun. Anyway, thanks to Urd, the dumb clone gets to class the next morning while wearing the high school girl's seifuku and by the time Keiichi and Belldandy arrive, the clone is seated. So, to allow Keiichi to make the switch, Belldandy casts a speed spell on him so that no one notices the switch, but that also means Keiichi had to wear the same seifuku as the clone. *lol*

Anyway, back on topic, I'm surprised that Fujishima-sensei even bothered linking Keiichi's plan to the past manga story. Still, it was a way to showcase Urd's pills again (when was the last time we saw those and just how did she make one anyway?) and a way for Keiichi to use Slyum's strength to their advantage. However, just because she's blown open a door doesn't mean that she's just going to let them leave. So I'm not sure what this accomplishes in the long run. It was an interesting turn of events though.


Fujishima-sensei reminding the audience of the time restriction was helpful since this manga is a monthly publication and thus it has been many months since Keiichi and company left Earth on this quest for Hild. It will also hopefully inject a bit more urgency in the story, but then again, it might not. We'll see. ^_^;

So, a fun chapter for what its worth. I'm hoping the Slyum part ends next chapter.

Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari - 13 (finale)

Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari OVA Ep. 13 Review
異世界の聖機師物語 OAV Episode 13 (Blu-ray version)

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Lan's forces wait at a checkpoint fortress that the Swan will have to come through in order to get to Seichi to liberate it. As expected, forces from Shurifon attack but the Swan does not make an appearance. Since the area around the checkpoint is devoid of Ena energy, Lan's Seikishi take up defensive positions, powered with hard-lines to energy sources. However, a small infiltration unit cuts those power lines and removes that threat. The Shurifon use catapults designed by Kenshi to hurl the egg-shaped containment cases of their Seikishi over the fortress wall into the Ena energy canyon where they immediately activate. As Babalun has ordered Lan's second and third lines of defense to retreat, her forces are now surrounded and cut off.

In an unexpected move, the Havoniwa assault train avoids the sabotaged direct route and takes to the highlands to launch an attack on Babalun's floating tower fortress. At the same time, the Swan, towed (and powered?) by Wahanly on her mecha, which uses the railroad to travel and is able to leap over the sabotaged areas when they appear. Thus the Swan is able to bypass the checkpoint and make it to Seichi. Dagmyer receives permission to greet them and challenges Kenshi to a duel. Since he has a reactor that upon exploding, would cause massive devastation. Kenshi easily defeats Dagmyer but the fight costs enough time for Seikishin to completely revive, whereupon Doll enters to pilot it.

Seikishin, with the Gaia Shield, emerges and flies at Kenshi's Seikijin in an attack. To everyone's surprise, Kenshi is able to hold his own against the legendary Seikishin. Lashara sees this as the reason Kenshi was sent to them. Babalun is also surprised that Kenshi has kept up with Seikishin, so he "teleports" himself from his command center in the floating tower fortress to the top of the Gaia Shield. There, he dissolves into a black goo and is absorbed into Gaia before Gaia envelops Seikishin. The shell reopens and a modified Seikishin emerges, the perfected Gaia. Gaia-Seikishin then attacks with a particle weapon in its mouth, destroying most of the Havoniwa assault train and causing his own fortress tower to fall over and crash. Against such firepower, the Swan and others retreat, leaving Kenshi to face Gaia-Seikishin alone.

Meanwhile, the Church's ship has cut off the retreating forces that were to have backed up Lan, preventing them from reaching the rally point with Babalun's main force. The Church Seikijin, piloted by girls from the Seichi school, attack in waves, thus keeping fresh Seikijin and Seikishi fighting while the enemy Seikijin and Seikishi do not have such a luxury. As such, the enemy forces are soon to exhausted to fight and are defeated. The Swan insures that that their ships land. The King of Shurifon reports that his forces have breached the checkpoint fortress and soon join up with the Swan, Church, and Havoniwa forces.

After a reunion of family members and friends, Aura, Wahanly, Yukine, and Chiaia decide to return to Seichi to try to help Kenshi if they can. Despite the incredible odds, Kenshi has held his own against Gaia-Seikishin. However, any damage he makes to Gaia is instantly repaired, meaning defeating it is all but impossible. Seeing the discarded Seikishin reactor that Dagmyer had used to convince Kenshi to fight him, the four female Seikishi decide to charge it up with their Seikijin despite Kenshi's protest. They nearly have it charged up with Babalun, as Gaia-Seikishin, realizes what they are up to and attempts to stop them. Chiaia breaks off to intercept him, forcing Gaia-Seikishin into a cliff wall.

Once charged, Kenshi takes the reactor, which is on overload, and compresses it before launching it at Gaia after Chiaia gets clear. The resulting explosion causes massive damage to Gaia, but Kenshi immediately senses that it wasn't enough. Sure enough, Gaia regenerates and comes out for more fighting. Doll-Mexiah makes telepathic contact with Kenshi, asking to be saved, so Kenshi goes all out. While Gaia is somewhat hindered, Kenshi still cannot overcome it and indeed, loses his stone sword. In its place is an energy blade but even that's not enough. That energy blade converts to a Light Hawk Wing and Kenshi is able to slice Gaia's head half off.

Reaching into the Seikishin cockpit bubble, Kenshi uses his Seikijin to retrieve Doll. After saving her, she wonders which form Kenshi would prefer, her current form or her Mexiah form. She chooses Mexiah. However, Babalun isn't done and attempts to reform himself. Ulyte arrives and shoots the gem eye (core crystal?), causing Babalun to return to goo. Ulyte collapses and turns into Leia, aka Neizai. This revelation causes Babalun to attempt to reform but the eye-gem cracks and he falls into the ravine below, returning to goo. After Leia explains things, there's a verbal fight for Kenshi, forcing him to flee. Meanwhile, down in the ravine, Dagmyer picks up the shattered gem and pricks his finger as Emera guards his back from an attack from Lan.


Thoughts/Review: Well now, well now.

The final episode of the series is certainly an enjoyable one even though there are a number of unanswered questions, which is typical for a Kajishima-sensei title. Seriously, after Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki OVA 1 and Night Before Carnival was released, Kajishima-sensei had to publish 101 Mysteries of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki in order to answer 100 questions from Japanese fans who wanted to know.

1. When Wahanly had tow lines attached to the Swan, was power also being supplied to the ship since it wasn't expected to be able to travel the way it did? I'm guessing so but after one viewing, I'm not sure.
2. Why weren't the lines that the Havoniwa assault train took cut as well?
3. What exactly was Babalun? I gather his "eye" is in fact a core crystal but how that enabled him to absorb Gaia and the Seikishin is beyond me.
4. Neizai was one of the original creations designed to fight Seikishin and had been reduced to a core crystal and was planted into Ulyte. Did Ulyte have a sister who was also implanted or did I just misunderstand? Was that sister Leia?
   
5. Why did Seikishin need all that time to regenerate, only to now be practically invincible? Couldn't Babalun have simply merged with it earlier and instantly regenerated it?
   
6. When emerging from a Seikijin, the unit always goes back into its bubble-shell from what I recall. If that's true, then why was Kenshi's Seikijin still in its proper form long after he'd emerged from it?
7. Why only one Light Hawk Wing for Kenshi?
8. Who sent Kenshi to this world in the first place?
9. Does Dagmyer pricking his finger on what I presume to be a core crystal mean that he will take over where his father Babalun left off?
10. Kenshi's Seikijin would often change to a combination of black and white. Why was this true?
11. Who had the text conversation at the end?
12. Kenshi aided the villains at the start because he wanted a way back home. Does he still want to go home or has that been forgotten?
    

I'm sure I could think of more if I thought about it. *lol* Well, that's Kajishima-sensei for you.

I can't say that Kenshi's ability to produce a Light Hawk Wing was a surprise (though I should note that the Japanese term for Light Hawk Wing was not mentioned). That he produced only one was a bit more surprising since three were produced in Dual! (at least, as I recall) and three were produced in GXP by the leads. My own theory on this would be that Kenshi might be more akin to a 3rd-generation Royal tree, which can only produce one LHW. Of course, I can't help but recall the pendant Kenshi has which has a Crystal from Ryo-ohki and appears to be encased in wood from a Royal tree. I wonder what role, if any, they played.

For the most part, the final episode played as expected for the good guys to win. The revelation that Ulyte was Neizai was a surprise at first, but like many things Kajishima-sensei does with his stories, it made sense when I stopped and thought about it. Well, I plan to rewatch the entire series before writing a final thoughts post, simply because I'm sure I'll pick up on more things this time around now that certain secrets have been revealed.

The comedy, harem ending was pretty typical but it still made me smile. Actually, this is the biggest prospective harem ever considering the sheer number of girls involved. ^_^; Well, after GXP and Seina's harem, I suppose this was the one way to make sure that was topped in some regard. ^_~

With the mysterious text conversation at the end of the episode, combined with Dagmyer picking up the crystal fragment from his father's remains, things are set up for a sequel, especially since there are so many unanswered questions. However, the question is, "If there were a sequel, would we want more of the same antics?" That, I'm not sure of. I think that if Kajishima-sensei were to be a bit more plot-focused rather than texture-focused, it would work. Unfortunately, he loves the texture stuff such as the ecchi and comedy aspects of daily life and as such tends to spend too much time playing there.

Finally, since I know people are going to ask, if I had to speculate on the persons behind the conversation at the end of the episode, I'd say for sure that one speaker was Washu. Assuming these were the Choushin (and it should have been), then one of the speakers had the feel of Washu. Does that mean the other was Tokimi? Possibly, but for all I know, all three could have been party to this.

So, it was a fun, entertaining episode with a few small surprises and a few more secrets revealed. Nothing to extraordinary but nothing to really complain about (aside from some bad-looking sequences in the final battle when Kenshi went in for the attack).

1-Million Plus and Going Strong!

I just noticed that the blog has now had over 1-million visitors, something which amazes me greatly since I had no idea when I started if anyone would bother to drop by or not. So I wanted to say, "Thank you" for making my little blog such a huge success. ^_^


OK, just a quick status report -- I'm hard pressed for time for the last week. That's why there's still no ISM post today. I'm hoping to have it finished by tomorrow though, assuming I'm not too tired to do so. ^_^; I've got some stuff on the docket that I'd like to clear out by next week but we'll see if I can manage it or not. That includes,

• Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari 13
• xxxHOLiC Manga Chapter 206
• Shakugan no Shana S #3
• Shakugan no Shana-tan Tri
• xxxHOLiC Rou (anime)
• More Blog Fixes *_*

I'm reminded that I need to finish reviewing the Kitchen Princess manga series, the Love Hina manga series, do archive reviews of TM!R OVA 3 and 3+1 as well as GXP. So there's a full plate to be sure, assuming I can work in some free time. ^_^;

Again, thanks to everyone for being loyal and spreading the word about posts they find of interests. ^_^

xxxHOLiC Manga Chapter 205 Review (Now a Shounen Manga)

xxxHOLiC (xxxHOLiC Rou) Manga Chapter 205

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Doumeki stops by the shop with ingredients for dinner, so Watanuki, Moro, and Maru go off to prepare it. Doumeki confirms with Mokona that Watanuki had a customer while he was away. At dinner, there are the usual antics with Mokona, Moro, and Maru and after they leave, Watanuki and Doumeki make small talk about Doumeki becoming an assistant at the university so he could continue studies in folk lore, something Kohane-chan is majoring in as well. Doumeki inquires about the customer Watanuki had, which the later states that the customer is there, though Doumeki cannot see this "little one," even with the eye he shares with Watanuki. In addition, the request of the little one is to wait to be summoned.

Some amount of time passes (next day?) and life goes on with Watanuki creating umeboshi.Kohane -chan comes by to collect the share Watanuki intends to give to her and "obaachan," the old fortune teller. After some small talk, Watanuki invites her to dinner and she accepts. Watanuki heads off, leaving K0hane-chan and Doumeki to speak of this invisible client of Watanuki's. Like Doumeki, Kohane-chan can sense this customer but cannot see it and suspects that Watanuki is the cause, considering his great powers.

At dinner, Kohane-chan mentions learning how to cook Watanuki's spinach soup from Watanuki to teach it to her mother. This causes a noise to happen and Watanuki to appear to be stroking the air. Watanuki encourages Kohane-chan to continue to speak of her mother while appearing to place his arm around something.

After dinner, Kohane-chan leaves but after saying goodbye, she gets permission to speak to Watanuki's invisible guest, whom she thanks for apparently showing concern for K0hane-chan as she spoke of her mother. This causes a breeze to form and Watanuki informs Kohane-chan that the "little one" has never been thanked before and is pleased.

After she's gone, Watanuki and Doumeki are on the engawa when Watanuki asks Doumeki to get the thimble in order to purify the creature that will come for Watanuki's "little one." Doumeki agrees and the "little one" refuses to go inside the store where it is safer, preferring to be outside. As the rain falls, a bunch of dark hands and arms descend from the sky, attempting to grab Watanuki's client. Doumeki begins shooting the hands, purifying them and asks how long he's to do this. Watanuki answers that Doumeki should continue until the summons comes. Doumeki fires spiritual energy arrows at the thing as Watanuki notes Doumeki's growing skill with the artifact. Watanuki is surprised when there is a loud noise and an apparent slashing of him from the front.

Thoughts/Review: Again, CLAMP pushes time forward with the relaunch of xxxHOLiC, this time it appears to have been 10-years since Watanuki came into Yuuko-san's employment and as a result became friends with Doumeki. I didn't really expect that, but now Watanuki and Doumeki are full-fledged adults and Kohane-chan is now at university. Sadly, no Himawari-chan though.

This is a very long chapter, clocking in at fifty pages. Since xxxHOLiC is in a new magazine, they do take a bit of time to introduce Watanuki, Doumeki, Kohane-chan, Moro, Maru, and Mokona. There is no mention of Yuuko-san and as I mentioned before, no mention of Himawari-chan either. Thus, if you've never read xxxHOLiC before, now is a time to get in.

As I previously speculated, this chapter did increase the action levels by the time the 50-pages were done as Doumeki fights whatever this critter is. I guess Watanuki was attacked as well, but knowing CLAMP, this could be a red herring and his invisible guest did something to possibly save him.

Speaking of the invisible guest, I've no clue as to what this could be other than a child of some sort. I would guess that it might be some sort of youkai, but if Kohane-chan is right and Watanuki is preventing herself and Doumeki from seeing it, then not only has he grown very powerful, but it also suggests that the "child" might be something not so pleasing to the eye. We'll see though.

I did like the mention of Kohane-chan's mother and the improving relationship between the two. A new reader wouldn't be confused by the mention of her mother (at least, I don't think they would) and for a long-time reader like me, it is nice to see that particular story thread mentioned to show progress on that front. I wonder if CLAMP will actually bring Kohane-chan's mother back or not, though I doubt it.

I smiled at Kohane-chan addressing of Doumeki as "Doumeki-san" at school and "Shizuka-kun" in private. That's all proper and such but it still made me smile when Kohane-chan had to catch herself from being more formal in a private setting.

So, although there are 50 pages of manga (48 if you take away the 2-page color spread), there isn't a great deal more for me to comment on. A lot of time was spent in exposition and general setting before getting to the action at the end. That just leaves some questions such as who or what is Watanuki's client, why is he apparently making it invisible, what is trying to get it, and who wants to meet Watanuki for that summons?

I see the next chapter is already out, so I guess I need to read it too, eh?

Lupin III: The Last Job

ルパン三世The Last Job
Rupan Sansei The Last Job

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: Lupin pulls off his latest heist, making sure Zenigata is informed for the expected chase, and scores a Buddha statue which supposedly contains the key to a greater secret, the ninja treasure known as Fujin. As the chase goes down on live TV, an attack helicopter filled with armed troops arrives and opens fire. The chopper is from Morgana, someone with ties to the Fuma ninja clan who also wants the treasure. In the subsequent battle, the troops grab the statue from Lupin while stabbing him in the arm with a shuriken. Lupin returns fire but Zenigata gets snared by his handcuffs and ends up caught in the fire from the helicopter and subsequent explosion. A funeral is held, which Lupin attends in secret and afterward, he sees a strange acting dog.

At the devastated scene of the attack, Lupin, Goemon, and Jigen have their own little memorial service of sorts when an unimpressed Fujiko arrives for a bit. Meanwhile, ICPO recalls Investigator Kagurazaka, who's been undercover as a TV reporter and who covered the chase between Zenigata and Lupin. She makes a stop at a Catholic church in Rome to pick up some ninja weapons that have been imported from Japan. Lupin makes a visit and Kagurazaka reveals that she has shinobi skills and that the strange acting dog is hers and is has some shinobi training. After a lengthy battle, Lupin ends up on the losing end and has to be rescued by Goemon and Jigen.

Morgana has used the statue to uncover the clue and now needs the Kagetora Sword, located at a museum. Disguised as Jacopetti from Interpol, Morgana and his men easily overcome the museum's security forces but Kagurazaka (Asuka) is there with her dog to thwart him. Morgana proves quite skilled to counter Asuka's shinobi techniques and ends up being saved by a shot from Jigen. Lupin confronts Morgana, who reveals he has a detonator bracelet that will go off in 10 seconds if he dies. Fujiko arrives and snags the sword from a distance. Lupin tries to tell her about the sheath but she's not listening. A new fight breaks out and when Goemon accidentally cuts the bracelet, Morgana escapes in the subsequent destruction of the museum.

As Interpol discovers Morgana's disguise and Asuka's going rogue on them, Lupin, Goemon, and Jigen follow an icy mountain road to seek Morgana. At Morgana's hideout, several of his ninja soldiers are sacrificed when they attempt to wear the sacred Fuma samurai armor, leaving it to one (Maya) to successfully put on the armor. Sword Kagetora burns with a red fire and the computers show it to be resonating with the statue, but nothing else. The woman uses the sword to slice the statue, revealing an elongated crystal inside. The ninja dog grabs it and escapes, delivering it to Asuka who also escapes.

Lupin and company make it to town where they have a bit of car trouble. As Jigen fixes it, Asuka arrives, followed by a bunch of Morgana's ninja. Lupin and company join the chase with Jigen taking out several of the ninja with his gun. However, their route is blocked by the ninja samurai with Sword Kagetora, who uses it to destroy Jigen's car. Goemon battles the ninja while Jigen, Lupin, and Asuka escape. Another of Morgana's people awaits them, this time with a giant yo-yo weapon. He is revealed to be Andre, someone Jigen knew from the past. Leaving Jigen to fight Andre, Lupin and Asuka move on. Asuka manages to lose Lupin while Goemon defeats his opponent, destroying the samurai armor and revealing a woman underneath. Andre defeats Jigen, forcing the later to take a dive into icy waters.

Asuka patches herself up and is attacked by two of Morgana's ninja. She's saved by the female ninja whom Goemon defeated. The ninja, named Maya, has a talk with Asuka and they are revealed to be allies. As Lupin listens in on their conversation, Asuka's dog bites him in the rear. blowing his cover. Maya leaves and returns to Morgana's base of operations, where he immediately confronts her, having learned that Asuka is a member of the Fuma Clan as is Maya. Maya passes Morgana's test of loyalty and his test to see if she is telling the truth, so he tells her that the killing of Asuka is in her hands.

Interpol puts out a warrant for Asuka and an alert Roman cop spots her despite her disguise. She gets away but is found by a psychotic "bird man" with tremendous skills. Her fight with Bird Man at a stalemate, Lupin arrives and gives her a means of escape. However, Bird Man steals a bus and chases the two on his scooter. After saving some kittens, Lupin and Asuka are in a bad way as Bird Man manages to shred some of Asuka's clothing and free her from the crystal. However, Fujiko arrives and surprises Bird Man, taking the crystal for herself and making sure Asuka's dog doesn't follow.

Fujiko turns the crystal over to Morgana as Asuka and Lupin head out after a quick meal. They infiltrate Morgana's castle hideout but even with Goemon's and Jigen's assistance, Morgana and Fujiko get away, destroying the castle in the process. Lupin reveals he has a copy of the symbol from the laser beams emitted from the crystal in Morgana's lab, but Morgana has obtained the same information at his new location. Lupin and Asuka head to a Roman ruin where Asuka finds the Kanji symbol of the Fuma clan, whom were co-founded by dissident Romans. Lupin figures out the opening to a secret door and an underground chamber where a painting depicts the creator of the Fujin, Milo Garibaldi, a student of Leonardo da Vinci.

Now that they know they are in the right place, Lupin figures out where the controls to reveal the Fujin are located behind a pillar. He is able to wind the clockwork until a small, Japanese lion statue appears -- the Fujin. However, Lupin sets off a trap and is nearly trapped. After escaping, Asuka reports to Maya, who's been turned into a prisoner at Fujiko's advice. Morgana sends a lot of his troops to try to find Lupin and Asuka in the ruined city. They allude the aerial patrols but Andre finds them and Jigen takes him out with a big gun. This reveals their location and the three flee. Jigen's injury proves a problem but Goemon is there to help cover their escape to a small train.

The train ride is cut short when Morgana arrives with an attack helicopter, grabbing Asuka but missing Fujin thanks to the dog. Lupin has the Fujin scanned but only comes up with the symbol on the guardian statue matching Morgana's head tattoo. Meanwhile, Fujiko calls Goemon to have Lupin come with the Fujin in exchange for the loot at Morgana's cottage. Meanwhile, Morgana explains to Asuka, Maya, and Fujiko of his connections with the Fuma and that Morgana is actually the name of the society that some of the Roman creators of the Fujin had belonged to before they fled to Japan.

Meanwhile, Zenigata awakes in his coffin and emerges from the grave as two other ICPO officers were coming to pay respects. They take him back to the Roman HQ where Zenigata explains that Asuka used a ninja technique to fake his death. Sensing Lupin nearby, Zenigata discovers the apartment that Lupin used and where the dog Kotaro is still tied up. The dog has Lupin's cell phone, which Zenigata uses to chase Lupin, who has just stolen an ICPO helicopter to head to where Asuka and Maya are being held.

As a blizzard intensifies, Morgana's plan to have Asuka activate the Fujin and complete the contract of 100's of years ago is foiled when she spits a coin into the Fujin after Lupin and company fail to rescue her and Maya. In the chaos that ensues, rematch battles are in the works as Goemon battles Andre, Goemon battles a ton of Morgana's troops, and Lupin battles Bird Man. Inside Morgana's island, castle fortress, Fujiko discovers Morgana's treasure room while Asuka and Maya are still bound to a metal tower. Lupin manages to make it inside but is too late as Morgana informs him and destroys that part of the castle.

Morgana again attempts to obtain a voice sample from Asuka to work the Fujin but despite electrocuting the sisters, they do not scream out. Lupin emerges and is saved from death by Zenigata, who's just arrived to arrest him and Morgana. Morgana begins electrocuting the sisters again, insuring they are out of reach of rescue. Kotaro wails and his wail activates the Fujin. Fujiko's arrival with some device on wheels which explodes allows Goemon to cut down the sisters but allows Morgana to escape with the Fujin.

Morgana plans to use the Fujin to destroy his island fortress, but Lupin grabs a rocket pack and goes after him. Goemon and Jigen make sure that Asuka and Maya don't follow. Lupin makes it to Morgana's attack helicopter and grabs the Fujin, which is a particle device capable of creating a black hole singularity. The activated device creates a weather phenomenon and deconstructs Morgana and his chopper. However, Lupin gets the device to shut off and returns to Earth safely with only his shoes destroyed. The Fujin is returned to the Fuma and Fujiko takes off with a bunch of loot, only to have Morgana's plane blow up, forcing her to bail. Meanwhile, Maya has Goemon destroy the Fujin. Zenigata asks Asuka what she wants to do now and she suggests arresting Lupin, which meets with Zenigata's approval. Thus, a new chase is on.


Thoughts/Review: I always have a soft spot for Lupin III titles, which is why I try to make room in my schedule to watch them. That said, I don't think it will be possible for any Lupin III title to match the classic that is Castle of Cagliostro, though The Last Job tries to do so in certain ways.

I'm having a hard time writing thoughts on this episode despite blathering on and on in the summary section. I guess that while I was not bored with this anime, I can't say that I was all that gripped either, though there were some items of note.

When Zenigata "died," I knew right then and there that this was a lie. There have been more than a few Lupin III stories where Lupin or Zenigata die and it is of course a lie. Even if the franchise didn't have a history of this kind of plot device, I think we all know that there's no way they'd kill any of the core characters of Lupin, Goemon, Jigen, Fujiko, or Zenigata. So therefore, the plot device is a complete fail and made worse by the fact that they actually buried Zenigata. I'm so glad that his need to find a toilet was enough to allow him to escape his coffin and climb through six feet of dirt. *_*

Since I've started in the negatives, I'll stay there and ask, "What the heck was up with the kittens?" Yeah, I'm sure this was supposed to be funny in that Lupin saves a bunch of kittens while in a fight for his life, but as a joke it doesn't work and if it isn't a joke, it is completely stupid.

Then there was "Bird Man," who was only there to provide a hindrance to Lupin and Asuka. Come to think of it, that Andre bloke wasn't any better but he did provide a means of having someone who could battle Jigen successfully. Bird Man was worse and and just "ugh!"

Lupin episodes are always full of fanciful things and indeed the term "Lupin physics" has been coined to explain some of the amazing things he and his comrades can do at times. That said, the notion that hundreds of years ago, a group of Roman's with the aide of ninjas in Japan created a device, disguised as a Japanese shisa guardian statue, that is capable of creating some kind of quantum singularity as an ultimate weapon is going beyond credibility. I would have loved it if the Fujin didn't work, as it didn't appear to for the longest time . The Fujin not working would have been believable without knowing what it was exactly.

The comedy aspects of the show didn't make me laugh. There was the running gag about Kotaro biting Lupin in the butt, which was supposed to be funny but never made me laugh.

When the Fuma clan was mentioned, I rather hoped that there would be some mention of Lupin's previous title (and the only one to have a completely different seiyuu cast) The Fuma Conspiracy. This could have been done in such a way so that fans who'd watched that movie would get the reference but those who hadn't wouldn't be at a disadvantage.

Finally on the negative front, the seiyuu for the main cast are really sounding bad at times, especially NAYA Goro, who plays Zenigata. I guess he had throat cancer diagnosed a couple or so years ago and his voice is the worst. As such, I wonder if "The Last Job" is more than just the title of this special, but the last Lupin III episode that will be done. We'll see.

On the positive side of things, I liked it when Lupin, Goemon, and Jigen had a little memorial for Zenigata in the ruins of the battle they'd had with Morgana's troops. The memorial in and of itself was a nice touch, but what grabbed me more is that the destruction caused in the aftermath of their fight is shown, something I don't recall being featured in previous Lupin III outings I've done.

I also liked how when Goemon squared off against Morgana, Goemon accomplished what he set out to do but the results weren't quite as expected.

Speaking of battles, the production team went through a lot of trouble to plan these out as there are many of them and for the most part, they looked pretty good to me.

In the end, this is a beautiful-looking anime with a story that ends up going way over the top. There are some nice action sequences but for the most part, things are pretty much by the numbers. At least all the main characters are given something to do and some have convincing losses (Jigen springs to mind). Still, I wasn't bored so that's something good, right?