Negima! Then (2003) and Now (2011) *SPOILER IMAGES*

This is courtesy of @Klashikari with a 2-page spread from the first chapter of Negima! where we see the various class members for the first time and chapter 336, where we see them today.

All manga-ka have their character designs and general art style evolve over time. For Akamatsu-sensei, it has clearly gotten better.  Nice to see some Sayo-chan love in the new image. ^_^

I haven't seen any raws and only one spoiler popped up on 2CH (which I think came from AQS) so no dice this week.

Anyway, thanks again to Klashikari!

Update!  A SPOILER image that made me laugh.

Heh! How's that for battle-hardened reactions?  ^_~  

BTW, this chapter is pretty much all Natsumi, which works for me.

Usagi Drop - 08

うさぎドロップ Episode 08

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: 

An exhausted Masako is taken out of the office by one of her assistants to get a break, and she has a lot on her mind. Meanwhile on this hot, August day, Rin waters the plants outdoors before helping put together her bento for daycare, to which she and Kouki attend during summer vacation. Daikichi asks if she wants to visit Grandpa's grave over the weekend. She says that the bellflowers won't be blooming by then and isn't keen on buying flowers from the store. However, she changes her mind when Daikichi tells her that while Grandpa would prefer home grown flowers to store bought ones, he'd like a visit from Rin even more.  With that settled, Daikichi escorts Rin and Kouki to daycare, where Kouki reveals his collection of cicada shells to Rin and Daikichi, neither of whom are impressed.

Rin and Daikichi visit Grandpa's grave where Rin discovers the gravestone wet and an ink bottle filled with water and some bellflowers. When Rin says that Masako had such a bottle, Daikichi has Rin pull weeds at the gravestone and races out of the graveyard to find Masako leaving with her assistant. He gets Masako's attention and lets her know that if she wants to secretly observe Rin, they will be around for a little while doing the normal Japanese grave visit rituals. He reminds her that he has no intention of forcing Masako to meet Rin unless Rin wants it.  Masako and assistant do come to the graveyard again where she's amazed at how much Rin has grown.  Her assistant remarks on how much Rin looks like Masako. 

Leaving the graveyard, Masako informs her assistant that she's going to take a new job she'd been mulling in order to be so busy that she can't remember anything, something he doesn't approve of. Meanwhile, Daikichi leaves with Rin, who wants to visit Grandpa's place. Daikichi tells her that his uncle owns the place now but they can look at the garden. Rin is excited as they come to the gate, but entering the yard, she's dismayed to see the bellflowers gone and the yard replaced with gravel. Daikichi comes up with an explanation and is glad he salvaged Rin's olive tree. That night, Daikichi brings out a chocolate cake for Rin's 7th birthday, which pleases her greatly.

Sometime later, she wears a yukata for the local bon festival when Kouki comes by, stating that his mother was getting ready to slowly. When Daikichi imagines her in a yukata, he is suddenly very enthused about getting to the festival to meet her there.

Thoughts/Review:

I think it was already apparent, but this episode made it pretty clear that Masako regretted her decision to give up Rin in favor of a career.  As she pointed out, even though she's a successful manga-ka now, a year from now, the public may get tired of her work. Plus, there are always new manga-ka attempting to make names for themselves.  So, she's depressed by that and while unstated, I think she's depressed over Rin, which is why she wants to work to forget.  I like how Daikichi is keeping her informed about Rin, even though he's not really going out of his way to do so.  I suspect that deep down, he understands that Masako does still care about Rin even if Masako made the wrong life choices regarding Rin.  I guess we'll continue to see these kinds of moments and I suspect that eventually, Rin will learn the truth about Masako.

I was struck at the guilt Daikichi felt for even leaving Rin alone for a short time when he went after Masako.  Rin has grown quite comfortable with Daikichi and trusts him not to abandon her and thus was fine. That was a rather touching and heartwarming moment all in one.

I could really relate to Rin's excitement at seeing her old home and her dismay at the changes made there.   Having lived in a few places during my life, going back and seeing an old home still provokes the same feelings within me to this day.  I would guess that's a common experience among all humans.

Interesting that Daikichi made no reference to Rin's birthday until evening even though Masako had mentioned it earlier in the episode.  Still, I loved Rin's reaction to getting a chocolate birthday cake and her blowing out the candles.

I have to say that I really love this anime thus far.  It manages to blend several emotions together quite well and though sad and heartbreaking at times, it is also heartwarming and happy at others.  I'm really glad to have started watching this and hope this good stuff continues.

Genshiken Nidaime Manga Chapter 67 Review

げんしけん: 二代目

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

With ComiFes over, Hato-chan comes by the Genshiken club room to find a shell-shocked Kuchiki sitting on a bench outside. Kuchiki immediately flees the scene.

At the club meeting, Ogiue asks what the new members thought of ComiFes. When she gets to Hato, he remembers his labeling Madarame as a sou-uke and Kuchiki as a hetare-zeme. Shamed, Hato-chan leaves and Ogiue learns what happened from Sue and Ohno. Sue and Ohno discuss how to handle the situation, especially in light of Ogiue's past with drawing boy-love doujinshi featuring boys she actually knew. Sue tells Ogiue that she should show the Sasahara x Madarame doujinshi she drew (and for which she showed Sasahara) and show it to the others in the club, including Hato. Her reasoning is to not isolate Hato and when Ogiue thinks about it, she agrees with the strategy.

Someday later, taking the work to the club room with Sue and Ohno, they again find the openmouthed  Kuchiki sitting on the bench outside the club area.  Inside the clubroom, the nervous Ogiue shows her work to Hato and the other freshmen as Ohno and Sue observe. As Hato, Yoshitake, and Yajima look with impressed amazement at Ogiue's work, she explains that she liked the concept of Sasa X Mada so much that she drew all this material and that it is her belief that all the girls in Genshiken believe Madarame to be sou-uke. As such, Hato need not suffer.

To Ogiue's amazement, Hato is now inspired to draw his fantasies of real people as Ogiue did since he's always wanted to do it but never did because they were real people he knew. Ogiue doesn't know how to deal with this turn of events as Hato announces he'll be drawing Madarame as a sou-uke.  However, he's interrupted when Madarame opens the door.  Everyone is shocked and Hato is horrified. When asked why he's here, Madarame says he got a text from Sue.  Ogiue asks Sue why, to which Sue states that she wanted to turn this problem into an opportunity but she didn't expect Madarame to come over so quickly.

Hato apologies and Madarame asks that they forget the whole ComiFes incident.  Yajima stands up and apologizes, explaining that all of the 1st-years see Madarame as an uke and as such, they'd begun discussing possible pairings, including Hato's own Hato X Mada pairing. This is because they are all fujoshi.  As such, she requests that he not pay attention to the things they say and just laugh it off.

Madarame is at a loss for words when Kuchiki enters, having steeled himself for what "Hato-chin" thought of him.  With that, he launches himself at Madarame to try to kiss him. This causes Sue to literally launch out of her chair, using the table for additional thrust, and uses her palm to knock Kuchiki back before he can kiss Madarame. Kuchiki loudly announces that Madarame's butt is his, forcing Hato-chan to put a sleeper hold on Kuchiki and knock him out. Hato tells Madarame to run, and Madarame flees for his life.  Ohno asks Ogiue if this is a success a not.  Ogiue says it is a failure.

Meanwhile, Madarame doesn't come back to the Genshiken club room for some time and has nightmares about his butt being assaulted.

Thoughts/Review:

I'd like to make an (obvious) announcement: Sue will be the president of Genshiken when Ogiue graduates.  That is all. ^_~

What I'm not clear on is what Sue's objective is when she sent a text to Madarame asking him to drop by after work. It seems to me that she wasn't expecting Hato and others to be there.  She may have wanted to clear the air with him separately on the current Genshiken's fujoshi obsession.  However, when she speaks of turning the problem into an opportunity, is she speaking for herself or something else?  She might be trying to push Hato into pursuing a yaoi relationship with Madarame but then I can't believe she'd do that simply because she has to know that Madarame is in love with Saki still.  If the theory that Sue has an eye for Madarame is true, then she may have been trying to make it so that she and Madarame could hook up like Sasahara and Ogiue did. 

Well, I suppose that we won't see Madarame for a while considering how the chapter ended, but it will be interesting to see where this goes.

One thing I think Kio-sensei was purposefully doing was creating phallic imagery with Sue and the Popsicle. *_*  The first usage was innocent enough.

Kio-sensei then shows a shot of her "going down" on the Popsicle sans the stick.

Then, he has Su licking the top, again sans the stick in the frame.

 Now with that thought clearly going through most reader's mind, Kio-sensei then has Sue do the side of her Popsicle.

 Finally, Sue is shown with stuff coming from her mouth.  

Yeah, I imagine Kio-sensei laughing his butt off over this. ^_^;;;

I've never liked the Kuchiki character. He's always been the representation of the creepy otaku in Japanese society, in my opinion, but his actions here take that one step beyond. *shudder* So, because Hato dreamed up a situation featuring Kuchiki as a "cowardly top" (to use what Del Rey used in the original Genshiken), Kuchiki snaps and decides to arse-rape Madarame (forgive the crudeness there)?  Ugh.

On the other hand, Yajima became the mature one here in handling Madarame, which was a nice thing to see, especially since Ogiue and Ohno were still off stride from Madarame surprising them.

While I do like the new Genshiken a lot, I'm becoming WAY to knowledgeable about yaoi and boys-love crap thanks to it. I may end up having nightmares like Madarame. *lol*

Toradora! Manga Volume 01 Review

とらドラ！

Toradora! Vol. 01 (manga)   --> BUY FROM RIGHTSTUF!
                                              --> BUY FROM BARNES & NOBLE!
                                              --> BUY FROM BUY.COM!

*SPOILERS!*

As a big fan of the Toradora! anime series, I'd love to be able to read the source light novel series. Unfortunately, those aren't licensed and aren't likely to be licensed.  Even if they were, most companies probably wouldn't do them in a way I would find acceptable so why bother? *_*  So, even though I don't normally go for manga adaptations of light novels and anime titles, I decided that in this one instance, I'd give Seven Seas some love and pick this up. 

The story, in brief, features high school student TAKASU Ryuuji, who is a really nice guy though he looks like a yakuza thug.  Ryuuji's single mother, Yasuko, aka: "Ya-chan," works at a hostess club and so is out most of the night and sleeps during the day while Ryuuji is at school.  Ryuuji has a crush on KUSHIEDA Minori, but can't act on it. Also in his class is AISAKA Taiga, who's a short but pretty girl who's known as the Palmtop Tiger, who's just as feared as Ryuuji is. When Ryuuji accidentally bumps into her, they immediately clash. However, when Taiga accidentally puts a love letter in Ryuuji's bag and breaks into his house to get it back, the two start an unusual partnership.

Taiga has a crush on Ryuuji's best friend, KITAMURA Yuusaku. Taiga's best friend is Minori. Thus, Taiga and Ryuuji agree to help each other hook up with their crushes and begin a series of plans to accomplish this.  At the same time, Taiga, who's living alone in the luxury apartment tower next to Ryuuji's house, starts spending more time with Ryuuji and Yasuko, eating meals with them and even sleeping over sometimes. Ryuuji even begins making her bento lunches for school. Their first plans don't go according to plan, but the way Ryuuji and Taiga are acting together, combined with being seen together outside of school, rumors start swirling about the two.

As I said earlier, I don't normally do these kinds of adaptations.  When I saw that Takemiya-sensei, who wrote the original light novel series, also wrote the manga, I felt that this would be as close to the original light novels as we are likely to come in English, even if there are some differences according to the manga's artist Zekkyo-sensei.  Well, that's not a problem because Takemiya-sensei may decide to tweak things that may not have been quite up to her specks in the light novel, or she may have decided to try out some new things. Either way, I'm good.

Zekkyo-sensei's character designs took a bit to get used to since I'm so attached with the anime character designs. However, they grew on me over time, which is a good thing.

This volume of the manga covered the first six chapters of manga as well as an omake chapter featuring "Ya-chan" and how she spends her day and night. 

As to the story, I have to admit that I enjoyed getting back into the world of Toradora! even though I know how it will all end and the medium from which I'm re-entering that world is different.  Well, a really good story will do that for you and make each return visit a pleasure.  That's the main reason to buy anime or manga, in my opinion.  So, now I'll have a manga with which to get a Toradora! fix when I can't rewatch the anime. ^_^

The light novels series ran for ten volumes with a three volume spinoff addition (which I found no information regarding content).  The manga is an ongoing, monthly publication in Japan.  However, the manga may not get published every month because as I look, the manga gets one volume released per year, meaning that volume 5 in Japan won't be published until the first of next year (2012). So, providing folks don't mind such a slow release schedule, we could be getting this in drips and drabs for years to come, assuming Seven Seas keeps the license or is still in business then (not that I'm suggesting anything, but we all know that a lot can happen over the course of a year).

Speaking of Seven Seas, they've long gotten a "thumbs-up" from me for doing manga (and even light novels) in an ANB-approved form, meaning Japanese honorifics are retained. Seven Seas goes a step beyond by keeping the names in their proper Japanese form, which I approve of completely. ^_^  Seven Seas also had a few translator notes, and I'm always supportive of them.

Sadly, I realize my blog hasn't given Seven Seas a lot of love, but I plan to add Toradora! to the manga blogging list and at least make it up a tiny bit to them. ^_^

(CLAMP) Gate 7 Manga Chapter 06 Review

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Masamune is wanting to skip more school and spend time with Hana, including futon time. Kurikara drags him away. Before they leave and Hidetsugu leaves with Mikoto, they chat about Iemitsu and his oni and how it will mean war if Iemitsu wants Nobunaga's corpse and Mara.

Chikahito, Sakura, Tachibana, and Hana are eating at a restaurant and promises the depressed Hana that he'll make more uumen for her, if there are any of the noodles left. This cheers her immensely, though Tachibana still doesn't like Chikahito. Sakura decides to switch from addressing Chikahito as "Chikahito-kun" to "Chika-chan," which Chikahito agrees to.  With that, Sakura asks if he finds Hana's face pleasing. He's embarrassed and flustered and says Hana's face is pretty, but there are a lot of pretty people in Kyoto. He then recounts his encounter with Iemitsu to them, though Chikahito did not know the boy's name. Sakura, Tachibana, and Hana immediately know whom Chikahito encountered, so Sakura and Tachibana leave Chikahito in Hana's care, who promises Chikahito to protect him.

Sakura and Tachibana race to the area where Iemitsu was, but there's no sign of him. However, there were five people that went missing and the two of them know they were eaten by Iemitsu's oni. Tachibana is frustrated that they cannot track Iemitsu but Chikahito was so easily able to find him. Sakura reminds him that Hana summoned Chikahito and that Hana wouldn't do something pointless.  Further, Chikahito's arrival somehow made it so that they learned a way to obtain the oni Mara, which had been a mystery to them until then.

Apparently, Tachibana's twin sister Sugihime is under the control of the Tokugawa clan, which is why Tachibana joined up with Hidetsugu.  Apparently Sugihime had some kind of powerful seeing ability and Tachibana is determined to rescue her and the two oni.

A week later, Sakura, Tachibana, Hana, and Chikahito travel to Osaka for "business" though the jobs in Osaka are usually handled by the local hanamachi. Chikahito knows something happened with Tachibana and Sakura after they left the restaurant and figures the disappearance of the tourist were related but he's being left in the dark.  Sakura and Tachibana ask Chikahito to let them know if there is anything that catches his eye, especially if it is the boy with purple eyes (Iemitsu).

As Hana drags Chikahito off, Sakura tells Tachibana that Chikahito can track Iemitsu's movements and that when they move, Iemitsu will as well. However, they have a mission to do and that means meeting with someone, not doing battle. Arriving at a kindergarten, Hana announces they've arrived.  They encounter a flustered and timid teacher who appears to be well-liked by her students, but is also not in control of them. Her young students go home and the teacher is the one Hana and company are to meet. The teacher returns to the school building as Hana and the others pass through the gate, where Chikahito finds they are again within a barrier space.

The teacher quietly appears and asks if she can help them. Tachibana and Sakura tell her they've come to deliver a message from Hidetsugu to the Ho family to not discuss Nobunaga, Mara, nor how to "obtain" them, meaning placing them as subordinates serving a master. This is because Iemitsu is killing oni wielders and stealing their oni, thus increasing his power. Sine Iemitsu's oni eats humans, Sakura says that this topic is related to the teacher, whom he identifies as SANADA Yukimura.

Thoughts/Review:

Did I mention how difficult this manga is to slog through? Egad! I decided that I actually need to keep my own notes on who's who because there are so many cast members that roll in and out. Plus, so many of the characters are historical in nature because they are reincarnations of famous Japanese rulers from the feudal period.  CLAMP's need for extensive exposition for things isn't always the best thing to clear things up, though the official translations may help a bit there.  When that's not going on, there is certainly a dark and interesting element to the Gate 7 story as well as humor elements.

Anyway, yet another reincarnated person has appeared, this time the samurai Yukimura. I'm going to guess that the bumbling, timid teacher routine is a front and that woman or not, Yukimura is going to end up being fairly powerful.  What Yukimura's relationship with Iemitsu and the oni Mitsuha?  Man, I hope she hasn't been feeding that thing children. *_*

So, Tachibana has a twin sister.  Naturally, I immediately heard Darth Vader saying, "Yes, your thoughts betray you. Your feelings for them are strong. Especially for... sister. So, you have a twin sister. Your feelings have now betrayed her, too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me. Now his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the Dark Side... then perhaps she will... "  *lol*

Anyway, what Sugihime's role in all this is still to be determined.  Why is she with the Tokugawa and why is Tachibana talking of rescuing her and taking two oni?  Well, we now know what Tachibana's interest with the Tokugawa is.

So, Chikahito's role becomes a bit more clear now that it is revealed that Iemitsu cannot hide from him as he does from the others. I wonder what else Chikahito will be able to do.

Whew!  There were 45 pages in this chapter, but I find there's not a great deal else to comment on.  More pieces are needed as well as a complete education of Japanese historical figures and warriors from the Warring States period in Japan. ^_^;;;  We'll see what is in store next month.

Negima! Manga Vol 36 Ch 335 Review

魔法先生 ネギま！Volume 36 Chapter 335 (manga)  
Mahou Sensei Negima! Manga Chapter 335

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Donet braces for the end of the Magic World when it doesn't happen.  All over the Magic World, people observe the massive storms disappear and clear skies return.

Over with Negi's group, Konoka heals Kotaro and Beau as Emily is recalled from the world of CE.  Her fellow knight her and weep rejoicing as Nodoka looks on and grins.

Meanwhile, Asuna continues the recall process, allowing Jack to move again as Eva looks on disapprovingly.  Asuna discovers that plants and animals were also removed, so she goes about recalling them as well.

All over the Magic World, folks come back to life and those that had been involved with people in Negi's circle are greeted by them.

Negi and company are taken to the Governor-General's residence again and given an hero's welcome, followed by a massive feast. It is here that Negi makes the rounds to speak with everyone at the party.

Elsewhere, Yuuna, Makie, Paru, Cocone (?) , and Misora arrive with a present for Johnny -- the latest model Manta flyer, courtesy of a couple of governments for his help in the recent crisis.

Two days later, Theo and other leaders arrange for a celebration to reward Negi for saving the world, marking him as the new hero that 20-years before, Nagi had also saved.

Thoughts/Review:

There's not a whole lot to talk about in the aftermath here.  I will say that Asuna being directly linked to the world of CE so that she knows exactly what was archived off is interesting.  I hope that in future, she talks a bit about her coming to terms with her past and why her original personality didn't take over as Fate expected it to.

I wonder why Eva doesn't look too pleased with Asuna as Asuna restores everything. Maybe because Eva's life was forfeit until Asuna save them and now Asuna is the true savior of the Magic World, at least in getting it back to normal for the time being.   I hope we learn more about Eva's past and her association with Ala Rubra now that we've got more time.

I notice that Shiori (Luna) wasn't around in any of the pictures.  Even Fate was shown attending the Governor's party and hanging out in the back with Jack.  I also wonder if Shiori's sister was restored since she was sent to CE.  I can't help but think that illusionary beings who just died normally, whether through war or naturally, aren't restored but those force-sent to the world of CE are.  So, its highly possible that Shiori's sister is back. That would be nice.

As I said, I expect there to be some additional aftermath in this new volume of manga, combined with some humor and general "taking it easy" on the part of Akamatsu-sensei before gearing up for the next arc.  In the meantime, I'll be on the lookout for some advanced chapter 336 spoilers, even if only a short time ahead.

Urusei Yatsura - 169

うる星やつら episode 169 (TV anime)
Urusei Yatsura Ep. 169 review


SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Ataru, Shuutaro, and Megane meet on a very hot morning to walk to summer school and they are angry, so much so that seeing ants consume a cicada irritates them; seeing Ataru's fly undone sends Megane and Shuutaro into a rage, and all three rage when a bread truck gets stuck on the road and they are forced to literally throw it off the road. At school, the class is trying to stay cool and Onsen-sensei isn't happy. It is noticed that Lum has a large chunk of ice floating above her head, which she keeps up with a balanced mind. Handing crystals to the class, they soon have chunks over their heads, but getting stressed or angry causes the ice chunk to crash on a person's head. Naturally, this leads to Shuutaro and Ataru trying to get a crash on the other. The problem is that the chunks won't melt for some time and many in the class are having second thoughts about using them, especially since stress makes the ice chunks grow.

The principal comes in and is angry with what he sees, so Lum, Shinobu, Shuutaro, and Ataru have to keep their stress down and get away from him. They try to use a kotatsu to melt the ice, but that fails. Ten-chan arrives and seeing they are using ice coolers, decides to take advantage of the situation and get revenge on Ataru, resulting in his ice chunk becoming enormous and Sakura-sensei encased within. Lum sees that this is a side-effect of ice coolers and is thus thwarted from punishing Ataru, lest more girls appear in the ice and she get and ice chunk on the head. Ataru decides to take a stroll off alone, but is stopped by Megane and Shuutaro, who aren't about to let Ataru have his way with Sakura-sensei even if they can get their own fantasy girls.

Lum gets Ten-chan to use his fire breath to melt the ice, but instead, the ice chunk grows bigger and he is batted away.  Now within the ice are Sakura-sensei, Shinobu, and Ryuunosuke. Shinobu's own ice cooler keeps her from getting revenge, so she gets Sakura-sensei and Ryuunosuke, who have no ice coolers, to do it for her. In the meantime, Ataru has grown his ice chunk so that his Ultimate Harem is contained within. Its too much for the guys, who immediately follow Ataru's example and begin punching themselves, causing all sorts of naked and semi-naked girls in sexual poses to appear in their ice. Lum's anger causes her ice to fall on her, knocking her out. However, Shinobu, Sakura-sensei, and Ryuunosuke arrive. Sakura-sensei and Shinobu take off their clothes to reveal sexy swimsuits and all the ice crashes down on the guys. When the ice melts, the fantasy girls melt as well, so Shinobu, Sakura-sensei, and Ryuunosuke can now safely leave.

Thoughts/Review:

This was another slow-starting episode that became more amusing as time went on. I realize that showing Ataru, Shuutaro, and Megane angry and hot was to stress how hot it was, but that could have been done a lot quicker.

The use of the ice cooler did provide most of the humor. As much as I detest Ten-chan, I did get some amusement at him abusing Ataru, knowing how it would result in a larger ice chunk to potentially fall on Ataru's head.

Having the nude, semi-nude, and swimsuit-wearing girls encased in ice was unexpected and thus added more humor, even if ecchi. Granted, the cause of this and ultimate resulting effect of all the guys building their own harems was predictable but still amusing.

On a related note, even though I personally think that the episode could have been made without the nudity, it does amuse me to think that this "cartoon" aired in primetime (19:30 Japan time, if I'm not mistaken).

So, in the end, nothing to write home about, but still amusing and entertaining enough to get by.

Ah! My Goddess Ch. 273 Manga Review

Ah! My Goddess Manga/Oh My Goddess! Manga
ああっ女神さまっ Chapter 273

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Mokkurkalfi discovers her older (and smaller) sister Ehwaz on the ground and thinks the curse has gone into effect, thus killing her. Ehwaz whacks Mokkurkalfi with a harisen to show she's very much alive.  Ehwaz is angry about Mokkurkalfi ruining their plan but Mokkurkalfi was genuinely concerned for Ehwaz's safety despite her bad temper.

Glühendes Herz explains how Mokkurkalfi came to him asking his help despite being opponents of Hild. He wasn't interested until Mokkurkalfi explained that Belldandy was to be reduced to a husk and that only she could help. As such, Mokkurkalfi needs Glühendes Herz to fly her through an opening she will create to Ehwaz's secret passage but since the opening will only last .2 seconds, she needs Glühendes Herz's speed. When the "broom" agrees, Mokkurkalfi notes how much like Hild Glühendes Herz is.

Ehwaz asks if Glühendes Herz restored some of Belldandy's power, but the broom denies it. Belldandy notes the ring, which Glühendes Herz says became a talisman to her. Belldandy agrees with this, stating that the power came from Keiichi's feelings. Ehwaz has heard enough and sends them off. However, before they leave, she asks Keiichi if he would have really turned the key.  He thinks about it for a moment before saying he probably couldn't have done it.

Mokkurkalfi asks Ehwaz on whether Ehwaz believed she'd get there in time. Ehwaz says she wouldn't have left such a thing to chance and remarks on how Keiichi's odd confidence was something she believed in. With that, Ehwaz tells her younger sister to pick a song for some karaoke.

Meanwhile, Glühendes Herz escorts Keiichi and Belldandy to the Daimakaicho's domain entrance, which is now controlled by Hagall. There the broom leaves them as this is as far as Glühendes Herz can go.

Thoughts/Review:

While this was not a bad chapter, it really was a filler chapter. Most of it was Glühendes Herz recounting the story of coming to work with Mokkurkalfi to save Ehwaz.  If the story told is to be believed, then there really wasn't anything special with Glühendes Herz other than Fujishima-sensei stuffing the broom off to the side on purpose to be pulled out at a later time.  Considering Fujishima-sensei's writing style, that may be all there is to it.  However, I'd like to know why Glühendes Herz abandoned the group in the first place, but as I said, there may be no reason other than Fujishima-sensei repositioning pieces quietly without alerting the audience.

Speaking of missing pieces, where are Urd and Skuld? Why didn't Belldandy and Keiichi have more concern about their freedom?  I know Belldandy had previously stated that they could take care of themselves, but I think I would have asked about them before leaving.  So, are Urd and Skuld still trapped or what?

With Keiichi and Belldandy now arriving at Hagall's place, I'd say we are going into the final phases of this story arc. While I've not been displeased with this story arc so far, I am ready for it to be over.  That's the problem with a monthly release schedule, I guess.

Well, we'll see what fun lies in store with the next chapter, especially since everything seems quite scripted from the mazoku's side. ^_^  When do Hild, Peorth, and Lind come back? ^_~

Negima! Chapter 335 SPOILER Images (and links to stuff on the new movie)

Negima! 335 SPOILER Images
魔法先生 ネギま！Chapter 335 (Images)

Here's what I know many of you have been waiting for --the sneak-peek SPOILER images for Mahou Sensei Negima! Chapter 335 as brought to you by anonymous fans (click pic to make bigger, y'all).

As you can see, a pretty text-light aftermath sequence. Cue the normal Star Wars final scene music, please. ^_~

Anyway, glad I was wrong about there not being a chapter this week.  I guess there won't be wone next week, maybe?

Finally, if you want to see some stuff about volume 35 (both the LE cover and the standard cover), Cartoon World blog (Japanese blog) has some images here.  NSFW CAUTION! There are hentai images for doujinshi/manga/anime at the bottom of the site, so you are warned. ^_^;

From the same blog, if you'd like to see some of the Japanese seiyuu from the anime (I believe as they worked on the movie), click here to view that (same NSFW CAUTION).

Usagi Drop - 07

うさぎドロップ Episode 07

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: 

Daikichi and Rin are enjoying sweet buns when Haruko and Reina show up. As Reina and Rin enjoy snacks, Haruko says that they've run away and that she's left a note with her husband and his parents, whom they were living with. She wants to stay with Daikichi for a while, so he agrees and the four go out to buy food for dinner. There, they meet Kouki's mother, where Daikichi panics about being seen with another woman, though he assures Kouki's mother that Haruko is a cousin. On the way home, Haruko teases Daikichi about Kouki's mother, leading Daikichi to realize he doesn't know if she's divorced or not.

At home, Haruko cooks a meal which is enjoyed by all, explaining that her mother-in-law always had the final say on what foods were to be prepared. After Reina and Rin are put to bed, Haruko and Daikichi have a beer. Daikichi informs Haruko that he called her husband to let her know she and Reina were safe, which irritates Haruko for a bit. As they talk, Rin gets up and listens. Reina calls her over to the futon she's using and tells Rin that her parents often fight but she pretends to be asleep. This news surprises Rin. They fall asleep and after Haruko and Daikichi finish talking, she shows Daikichi how Rin and Reina are sleeping together. Daikichi takes the sleeping Rin out of the guest room and back to his.

The next morning, Haruko gets up and is surprised to see Rin already up and making breakfast. A sleepy Daikichi comes in and Haruko scolds him for making Rin do this. He protests, leading Rin to interject to stop the fight. As the four eat, Kouki comes by, as he often does, and seeing Haruko, wonders if Daikichi got married. Daikichi protests this but lets Kouki have an onigiri when he asks for one. After breakfast as Daikichi cleans up, Haruko remarks on how kind he is to help Kouki's mother by letting Kouki come over and teases him a bit more about her. However, as they talk, Haruko realizes that being a single mother might not be such a great thing and takes Reina to school.

Haruko spends the day pondering things while at work, Daikichi has a chat with Gatou. Coming home with Rin, who's eager to arrive because Reina is staying over, Daikichi finds an unfamiliar feeling at coming home to a place with the lights all on and people waiting inside. That night, Daikichi and Haruko have another long talk where Haruko says she'll go back and make it work for Reina's sake. Their talk has Daikichi wondering what marriage and being a parent truly means. The following day while playing cards, Reina hears her father's car drive up, which surprises Haruko because he got off work early. After he apologizes to Daikichi, Daikichi offers to allow Haruko to come by anytime because Rin is always asking about Reina, which makes her smile and pleases Reina.

Thoughts/Review:

This episode was really good, not just because it had a couple of laugh out loud moments, but because it really took a look at family and what it means to be one. Daikichi's sacrifices to be a single father to Rin have already been established. However, through Haruka, the problem of children still living with their parents and trying to raise their own family raises its head.  Its something not uncommon in Japan where to save costs, a child will raise his own family in his parent's home. Combine that with the Japanese unwritten work rules about working massive hours of unpaid overtime and it makes for a terrible family situation. However, Haruka has decided that it is preferable to trying to raise Reina alone, and I can understand that. After all, she could see how Daikichi and Kouki's mother dealt with things.

Rin and Reina's remarks on marriage, based on Daikichi's and Haruka's own comments, were rather funny. However, it did raise an interesting oxymoron regarding marriage.  You have Haruka, who regrets having gotten married and wants to be single (but does not regret having Reina). You have Daikichi who would like to be married.  I think a lot of (young) guys think of marriage as guaranteed sex and someone to help out around the house. In reality, it is a lot more complex than that and since Daikichi is now raising Rin as a single parent, I think he's just now starting to realize that.  So for Daikichi, marriage appears to be something he still wants, but I think he will be more cautious just as Haruka is staying in her marriage rather than do something rash.

Speaking of romance, the romantic elements between Kouki's mother and Daikichi were raised again. Daikichi is apparently still attracted to her but I'd say he's too scared to do anything.  Kouki's mother did appear to be relieved when Daikichi told her that Haruka was just her cousin when Kouki's mother saw them together. So maybe they both are scared, but if Daikichi wants to hook up with Kouki's mother (and both being single parents, they do have something in common), he needs to talk with her more. He's already being a father figure to Kouki and he's going shopping with her, Rin, and Kouki (which was a funny moment) so in some ways, they are almost like a family unit.  Almost.

So, another good episode. I'll probably peek at volume 3 of the manga to just glimpse at when I can start reading that. ^_^

Negima! Manga Vol 36 Ch 334 Review

魔法先生 ネギま！Volume 36 Chapter 334 (manga)
Mahou Sensei Negima! Manga Chapter 334

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

The Lifemaker is choking Negi when Asuna arrives and chops off the Lifemaker's arm. Everyone is happy to see Asuna, who catches Negi before he hits the ground and gives him a hug. Then she starts scolding him for getting beaten up and says that everyone was worried about him. He tells her that everyone was worried about her, which she refuses, saying it was him they were worried about. Eva interjects to tell Asuna that something bad is behind her as the Lifemaker's severed arm raises to cast a massive spell.

Asuna readies her artifact sword and blocks the spell. She then has Negi help her and both of them grab her sword with Negi's Magia Erebea powers apparently boosting it. The combined powers easily defeat the Lifemaker, who reveals his face to be that of Nagi. He tells Negi to come and kill him, which will put an end to everything and that he'll be waiting. With that, the Lifemaker dissolves into petals.

Negi only takes a moment to contemplate what he's just witnessed before telling Asuna that they have more important things to do. Asuna tells him that she has already stopped the end of the Magic World and that she now has to recover all of the people rewritten. However, the lands and buildings that were destroyed are gone forever. Negi is surprised that Asuna has figured this out. Asuna looks aside for a moment to confirm that she has, then she looks at Negi and smiles, reminding him she is a legendary princess of a magical country.

Asuna's classmates all call out from the upper level and Asuna thanks them for reaching her with their voices. With that, she summons the Great Grand Master Key and using the Code of the Lifemaker, Asuna casts the spell to restore the world to the way it was.

Thoughts/Review:

I suppose folks think that with Nagi's face showing up in the hood of the Lifemaker that my Nagi is Negi theory has been destroyed. Au contraire my friends, I see nothing yet to counter that because what we saw on the Magic World was NOT Nagi. The fact that "Nagi" disappeared in a flood of petals tells me this was naught but another illusion.  So why haven't I given up?

For starters, the apparent REAL Lifemaker is sealed beneath the World Tree on Mahora.  Al knew about this and it appears that Al may have been kept under the World Tree to act as a guardian to prevent folks from unsealing the Lifemaker.  Also, Al knew that the Lifemaker was the one who turned Eva into a shinso vampire.  So, the real body is there.

That being the case, if the body under the World Tree is the possessed Nagi, then why wouldn't Al know about that?  After all, during the Mahora Festival, Al confirmed that Nagi was indeed alive (thus backing up Negi's story about having seen his father six years earlier) but that Al didn't know where Nagi was. As I see it, Al would know if Nagi were the possessed form of the Lifemaker.

Further, if Nagi is possessed by the Lifemaker, then what saved Negi six years ago? Did Nagi magically break free of the Lifemaker's control long enough to go, "You know, I wonder how my son is doing. I think I'll pay him a visit.  WHOA! He's under attack by mazoku, demons, and other nasty stuff! I'll come in and save his ass, then hand over my staff so that he can use it before shuffling off to wherever so that the Lifemaker can have his way with me again."

Sorry, that doesn't add up to me. If the Lifemaker is strong enough to possess Nagi, then I'm not seeing how Nagi conveniently gets control of himself just long enough to find a son in terrible danger.

Then, there's Nagi's careful staging of things. Before Nagi "dies" and before Negi is born, Nagi has Al record a message for said son.  Why?  Why would he think that Negi would follow his footsteps, come to Mahora, and get involved?  He had to somehow know this would take place, otherwise he wouldn't have left a message with Al.  Nagi planned things quite well, as I see it, enough to get the heat off of him (and based on the flashbacks with he, Arika, and Al on Earth, the heat was on) by staging his death. Everyone bought it too, save Al, who knew Nagi wasn't dead since his pactio with Nagi was still active.

"But wasn't that Nagi talking to Negi at the end and asking him to kill him to end it all?"

Heh! Anything is possible, but as I see it, this is a message from the Lifemaker, not Nagi. The Lifemaker is using Nagi's form to get to Negi and affect him in order to die.  Based on the previous Lifemaker remarks on suffering and having been alive for 2,600-years, this tells me the Lifemaker wants to die. It would be nothing for the Lifemaker to assume Nagi's form (Shiori and Al prove how easy that is and Al did take Nagi's form in the tournament), especially if the Lifemaker feels it would serve their purpose.

In my opinion, the Lifemaker is Amateru and that Zecht is somehow related to her (possibly her son but who knows at this point). Regardless, Zecht had been alive for a very long time, even before his 2,600 year old speech to Nagi before he dissolved into petals (remember when we were all stunned that Nagi called this boy "Master" and Nagi also called him an old youkai from what I recall, indicating that Zecht was indeed MUCH older than he looked)?  I think that Zecht is curious to see how Negi will handle things whereas the Lifemaker just wants it all to end now.

I may or may not post something further on my old theory. Whether I do or not, I will say that Akamatsu-sensei set up the reveal for Nagi in this chapter quite nicely by having Nagi appear during Negi's fight with Fate. ^_^

That reminds me, I want to speak on the the key reactions to the reveal of Nagi from the Lifemaker's hood.  Negi appeared somewhat stunned to see his father's face and somewhat disbelieving. Asuna seemed the most surprised by this reveal. Eva seemed to be very disbelieving what she saw.  Fate seemed to smirk somewhat, as if he knew something the others didn't (considering how Fate believed that Nagi was dead like everyone else, that suggests to me that he knows Nagi isn't involved with the Lifemaker but we'll see). Jack's reaction was one of, "Is that so?  What are you going to do now, kid?" I'll be interested to see followup reactions to this reveal.

As to Asuna's return, well, it was about time. I'm SOOOO glad that Asuna is finally back. After delays and thwarting of getting to her, much less rescuing her, the long wait is finally over. I'll be interested in seeing how Shiori reacts to Asuna. I suspect that Asuna will forgive Shiori and that will be that.

The unfortunate part of this chapter is that it feels so rushed to me.  I know this was done so that the chapter would be out in time for the Negima! movie release.  That's unfortunate, but I'll live with it. With the next Negima! chapter being delayed to promote the Negima!/Hayate the Combat Butler movie pairing, we'll have to wait to see the aftermath stuff, including the reunion of Emily with her comrades, the possible reunion of Shiori with her sister, and all of the other reunions. I figure we have nearly an entire volume of aftermath coming our way but I could be wrong there.

Oh, one more thing -- with Asuna restoring the people of the Magic World but not the destroyed lands nor the destroyed structures, could this be the start of Chao's world?  I think so because think of the massive hardships now in store for the people of the Magic World, which I suspect are even greater than those they suffered during the war.

Anyway, chapter 335 won't come out until August 31, so there's another wait in store for us.  Until then. ^_^

Negima! Some Asuna Love!

In honor of what's to come in Negima! chapter 334 (and because my blogging plans got thwarted), I thought I'd toss a couple of nifty images featuring Asuna. ^_^

Hopefully, I'll get to blog the new chapter sooner rather than later 'cause despite what some of you may think, my Nagi theory isn't off the table from what I can tell. ^_~

Also, I do still look for spoiler images.  The Japanese do post spoiler text most times, but to be honest, often there are fake things as well as legit text spoilers, so I just end up passing on the lot of them. I think the Japanese quit posting them because Kodansha removes them rather quickly. As such, what's the point of uploading them?  I am looking into another source though so stay tuned. ^_^

Genshiken Nidaime Manga Chapter 66 Review

げんしけん: 二代目

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Madarame and Kousaka catch up while Hato observes how the two are not acting like rivals. He then reasons that Madarame just stood on the side and observed Kousaka and Saki as a couple.  Hato then notices that Kousaka isn't wearing makeup even though he's in drag. Kousaka confirms this by saying he's supposed to be cosplaying a crossdressing character, not a woman. Hato then realizes that Madarame doesn't have a chance against Kousaka and wonders if Madarame should date Angela, but decides that is wrong. Madarame sees Hato's facial expressions as they return to the lower level and figures he's worried about looking good as a girl against Kousaka, thus Madarame tells Hato that Kousaka is on another level.

Hato puts his wig back on and decides that he wants Madarame to not give up. As such, when Angela starts making another move on Madarame, Hato gets onto her for her actions since she's going back to America. Angela counters that a one-night stand might be even more memorable because it is what it is.  This shocks all of the guys and Hato disagrees with Angela, stating that feelings that have had time to develop are stronger. Angela reminds Hato that she's had feelings for Madarame since the previous summer but simply held out on telling him until today.  As such, she feels it isn't Hato's place to interfere.

Hato is at a loss for words since he wants to tell the truth about Madarame being in love with Saki. Instead, he goes the boy's love route and says that Madarame is an uke.  Since Madarame's uke aura is real, he can only be paired up with guys.  Hato then goes through a Madarame pairing with Tanaka, Kugayama, Kuchiki, and Sasahara before stating that his favorite pairing for Madarame is one with Kousaka.  Hato immediately becomes embarrassed by his words, but Angela is excited to have someone else share her opinion of Madarame as an uke.  However, she feels that Madarame as an uke is one thing, and her having sex with Madarame is another.   As such, she takes Madarame's hand and pulls it to her breast.

Sue slaps Angela's hand away and Angela realizes that Sue is really angry. She kicks Angela in the butt, hard, and then gives Hato a thumbs up for what he did. Angela tells them that she'll see them next ComiFes and blows a kiss at Madarame, leading Sue to start kicking her butt again and drive her away.

Hato apologizes to Madarame for his words, which Madarame says is OK since it got him out of a tough spot. However, Madarame is horrified to learn that he's thought of as an uke.  At the same time, Kugayama, Tanaka, and Kuchiki have a chat about Hato's revelation and Madarame's reaction.

Thoughts/Review:

Last chapter, all of the former Genshiken male members, sans Sasahara and the first president, were at ComiFes and in this chapter, Sasahara makes a cameo with Ogiue, whom he is tending to since she's sick.  I had intended to say something about this during my previous chapter review, but I'm glad I held off because their usage in this chapter was much more humorous with Hato pairing Kugayama, Tanaka, and Kuchiki off with Madarame. *lol*  That was on top of their reactions to Angela's straight-forward press for a one-night stand with Madarame.  *lol*  Great to see all of the guys again.

Speaking of Angela, she had to handle Madarame slightly differently, though the (failed) breast-grab was potentially a good move to get Madarame interested despite Saki.  Madarame is someone that would have to be handled carefully.  Angela being too aggressive would be a turnoff for him. Her not being aggressive enough would mean nothing would happen.  So, having Madarame cop a feel at her direction would certainly wake him up to the sensation and possibly make him want more, which is what Angela would want. Then again, doing it in public wasn't such a good move on her part.  Now, she has to wait until the next ComiFes to continue her plans for Madarame, assuming things remain he same for him as they are now (meaning he's still single).

I neglected to mention last chapter that I had no problem with Kio-sensei incorporating the anime-only story of Angela and Madarame in the Genshiken club room into the manga storyline. Normally, I'm not a fan of retconning, but it isn't an egregious retcon in my opinion and it does help the Angela-Madarame storyline. 

Based on Sue's irritation and anger with her good friend Angela over the breast-grab (and her thwarting it), I now am firmly in the camp that could buy a Sue X Madarame pairing. We'll see if Kio-sensei does anything else here.  Sue kicking Angela in the butt and saying, "Yankee go home" made me laugh out loud.  *lol*

The other really funny moment was at poor Madarame's expense when he learned that he was thought of as an uke.  As Kugayama stated, that revelation made him forget about nearly getting a hand full of Angela's breast. ^_^;

I think this catches me up with the current chapter of the new Genshiken.  I'm really hoping we get some sort of licensing announcement 'cause I sure do want to see this officially in English in the U.S.

Urusei Yatsura - 168

うる星やつら episode 168 (TV anime)
Urusei Yatsura Ep. 168 review


SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Ataru dreams of being served food by the girls in his life, which Lum notes from her closet bed. At breakfast, he complains about his mother's meal but when Lum offers to cook, Ataru finds his mother's food not so bad. Megane is at home blathering about his breakfast before summer school. Shuutaro complains about his daily bacon, eggs, and toast even though it is perfectly cooked. Lum and Ataru walk to school and look at the clouds while in space, aliens from Planet Kappo accidentally drop a bowl from orbit. Back on Earth, Onsen-sensei and his class are in a foul mood over summer school with the students missing lunch and Onsen-sensei threatening to keep them through dinner as well. It is then that there's a massive impact outside, leaving a massive crater.

Ataru spots Onsen-sensei in the crater and the students rush out to find him over a nabe bowl filled with nabe. After they beat him, Lum determines the bowl to be alien, so Cherry is the only one brave enough to eat the nabe, which initially seems poisonous but Cherry says it was the best food ever. The others start thinking of foods and the bowl fills with them, which Cherry eats and gets beaten for. Again, the students try to properly fill the bowl, but Cherry ruins it and takes another beating. On the alien ship, their food stores are being drained as the students fill the crater with food. The aliens come and reclaim their bowl and food. However, the aliens also bring up the students, who continue to stuff themselves.

Thoughts/Review:

This was not the episode to watch while hungry, since it was all about eating and naming various tasty Japanese dishes.

As is happening all too often, the episodes are low on content and require massive filling. This time, it was lengthy and boring complaints from characters about breakfast.

Then, there was a musical interlude showing Kotetsu-neko and Ten-chan, who had no part in the episode.

Then, it was another musical interlude with bits of dialog about "lets make something weird get weirder" (or something like that).

That took nearly half of the episode. The rest of the episode was mildly amusing with the "magic bowl" and Cherry getting beatings for ruining things. I think the funniest moment came when they thought Cherry was dead and figured they should probably bury him.

Its episodes like these that makes one wonder how Urusei Yatsura lasted so many years on TV.  However, I will plow through to the end to be completely fair.