Wakaranai

 

This episode of the Sacred Blacksmith swings back from the light and fanservicey heights of last week’s maid episode and ramps up the action again, providing an abrupt and dramatic conclusion to Charlotte’s Empire quandary. I say it was an abrupt resolution because I kind of expected these guys to hang around a bit longer and end up intertwined with the central story of the series, but instead they were on their way again after a bit of self-pitying and a good healing beating from Cecily. For a 12 episode series, Charlotte-and-company’s plot has been a pretty long tangent, essentially stealing the focus for three episodes, or a quarter of the show. I will be annoyed if they don’t show up again to contribute to the final climax. For that reason, this episode annoyed me a little. But its main problem was that, despite all the blood, sweat and tears being flung about, and the veritable storm of emotions that followed the Empire’s threat, I found myself pretty disconnected emotionally from the whole affair. Perhaps it was just a bit too cliché and predictable to have much resonance with me, but I didn’t feel a tinge of empathy for the girls throughout the episode. The lesson on life and family was just too forced and simple to be very engaging, and I was personally off-put by the girls’ stubborn rejection of the defection offer – if it’d been me I would have accepted happily!

The drama component may have been a bit weak but the action sequence that made up the climax of the episode was really awesome. The subbers, known for their, err, personality, seemed to revel in Cecily’s admission of her own stupidity, but for a Cecily fan like myself, I was more impressed by the fact that she actually got the chance to be awesome! There’s been a fair bit of harsh criticism hurled her way, along the lines of “she’s the most useless heroine of the year!”, but if anyone has the guts to call her useless now then they must be the stupid ones! She fought really well against Charlotte’s three loyal defenders. To their own demise, they opted to attack her one-by-one, but, even still, Cecily beat them down without hesitation or remorse. The fights were animated really well, adding yet another scene to The Sacred Blacksmith’s impressive action repertoire. In fact, the production quality all-round has been good. This may not have caught my fancy the same way the last episode, with its maids and bath scenes, but it was good for its fantasy battles (if not for its plot or dramatic impact).

● Man, Lisa and Luke sure have been sidelined lately. I always kind of figured that the show would primarily feature the four characters it shows on the OP and ED, but none of them have been getting much attention lately, with the exception of Cecily. But I liked Doris, Penelope and Margot so much that I can’t say I missed them much.

● I’m going to miss you Doris! ;_; You were so pretty and valiant..

● So Siegfried set the girls up to get a hold of Aria, huh? What is his goal, I wonder? If he just wanted the demon sword I’m sure he could have found a much better way to obtain it.

 

Quite contrary to its first season, Darker than Black season 2 never fails to impress, but this episode it went one better and raised the bar for itself with an uncompromisingly riveting, and superbly produced episode. Without the comic-relief distractions of the transvestite bar owner and her pseudo-son, the series has now completely plunged into its increasingly complex and intriguing plot, with awesome results. Suou and Hei now find themselves in an intensifying maelstrom of violence and espionage as all of the many players enter the fray with their own nefarious goals relating to Suou’s brother, Shion, and the Izanami plot. They now have to deal not only with the lethal Japanese Agency, but also the CIA, which Hei betrayed, and the Russian secret service, which have pursued them to Japan. More than any other, this episode was seeped with betrayals and scheming, as Misaki forms a dubious alliance with coworker, Shizume, and Suou and Hei are screwed over by the own contacts.

Now the series really feels like a fugitive/manhunt type story, where our protagonists find themselves alone, unable to trust anyone, and targeted by an increasingly deadly array of assassins. With the heroes both struggling to survive and also trying to grapple with each of their own confused morality, Darker than Black has really become edge-of-your-seat viewing. I just hope that they can not only keep up this pace, but accelerate it toward a mind-blowing finish. There were sincere emotional moments coming from the utterly captivating Suou, and the episode even featured one of the best-choreographed action sequences I’ve seen in a TV-anime. As I’ve said before, this series, in some ways, has the scale of a Hollywood film, but also conveys a poignant emotional story. The strong content is backed up by as good a production work as one could hope for, from the amazing voice cast, to the sleek art and animation, and it even has the temerity to offer one of the best anime soundtracks I’ve heard since Gits SAC, if not the best.

● Where the twins got to? When they were introduced like 3 episodes ago I kind of figured they’d have had some kind of role to play by now. I only miss them cause they’re cute.

● Suou’s attack using shards of glass was really brutal and surprisingly effective. I’m surprised she was able to throw them so strongly and precisely. I thought it was a really great scene though just because of how she continued to impale her victim with the glass with so little hesitation or emotion. It’s a good example of her contractor side really coming to the forefront.

● There were no more allusions to Suou/Hei pairing that sort of arose last week. I say sort of because it really depends on how you interpreted her behavior then. Was her kicking of Suou’s ghost out of jealousy, or frustration because of how Hei’s feelings for her tore down Suou’s determination to succumb to her contractor side? I think there’s a little bit of jealousy there. I quite like the idea of a subtle romantic interest coming from Suou. It’s certainly an interesting romantic subplot if true, given how Hei treated her just recently. But somehow I would still find her feelings believable. Hei never really hurt her anyway, at least not physically.

✔ Suou’s interactions with July this episode were priceless. Her trying to poke and prod a reaction from the doll was just so cute. Especially when she pinched his cheek in frustration and then rubbed it, apologizing. July and Suou are really adorable. It was also a nice moment when July heeded Suou’s prior advice and said he was in pain later on. Is there hope for contractors after all? I also had to laugh when Suou threw a snowball at Mao. So she has a playful side, eh?

✔ The final action scene was just totally awesome. The storyboarders/writers are good at coming up with interesting ways to orchestrate Hei’s kills; jumping off an adjacent moving truck, and rolling over the roof of a car to strangle the driver has gotta be one of the coolest yet. It was really exciting and well-animated!

✔ This episode was directed/storyboarded exceptionally well. Every scene seemed to have real visual depth and its own kind of atmosphere. This makes most anime look flat and uninspired, because you can really feel that a lot of thought was put in as to how to capture the scenes.

♡ My burning moe passion for Suou goes stronger and brighter with every episode! I just think she’s one of those rare characters who’s both extremely cute but also multi-faceted and compelling. She has a definite moe angle – given her situation you frequently feel like you want to protect and nurture her, but she’s also very strong in her own right. As I’ve said before, Hana Kanazawa has just nailed her. She’s totally my type of character. Suou: loli of the season!

 

Angel Beats is an upcoming 13-episode anime series which has got a lot of people talking. Set to air in spring next year, this anime warrants attention due to the mix of high-profile staff and respected production companies involved in its conception. This includes the involvement of Key with writer Jun Maeda (responsible for the big hits, Air, Kanon and Clannad) being the original creator and writer for this project. Contrary to the earlier rumours of A-1 Pictures and Studio Ordet’s Yakaman being bought onboard to handle the animation production and direction, the animation studio will be the even more exciting and fresh studio, P-A Works, which has proven itself a great source of polished and big-budget anime like CANAAN and True Tears. Chosen for his ability to do comedy as well as drama, the director is Kishi Seiji (Galaxy Angel Rune, Seto no Hanayome OVA). The important position of overall art direction has been given to Hirata Katsuzou, who worked on Gurren Lagann and also had the overall art direction job on GONZO’s very successful and attractive, Strike Witches. Although the director doesn’t excite me greatly, overall the staff choices and particularly the choice of animation studio show great potential. Jun Maeda is quite clearly the real driving force behind this project, and his enthusiasm for the anime and its staff is apparent in interviews and such.

Sadly, I’m not really a fan of what Jun Maeda has written under Key before. That’s right, I never really got into the big Key-Kyoto anime, Air, Kanon or Clannad. Sometimes it feels like I’m the only one. I found their formulaic tone too tedious to really enjoy, which is pretty easy to trace back to their bishoujo visual novel origins. So the Key stamp would actually be a detriment if it weren’t for the fact that this isn’t a traditional Key series. Rather than an adaptation of a visual novel, this anime is a part of a ‘mixed media’ project that will encompass a light novel, drama cd and probably a manga, and which was born as the result of Maeda being approached by Aniplex to work together. Because he isn’t just working on another derivative visual novel this time, he will have a lot more freedom to create something new and interesting. The premise sounds quirky but interesting:

In a world after death, angels fight for their fate and their future. Yuri, the leader of the Shinda Sekai Sensen, rebels against the god who destined her to have an unreasonable life. On the otherhand, Tenshi, the chairperson of the student council for the world after death, battles against the SSS members. SSS members utilize armed weaponry to battle it out against the angels harnessing supernatural powers.

Depending on the degree to which this series takes itself seriously, this premise could either turn into something heinously stupid or something really fun. The degree of seriousness is something that has sparked a lot of debate on the net, and might be something Key loyalists will react to. Although it was hard to tell initially, from comments made in interviews and other announcements, it’s becoming quite clear that this show aims to be, in large part, a comedy, supported by some dramatic elements, a strong flavor of moe, and a prominent focus on action sequences. The question remains how much of a comedy it will be and whether Jun Maeda will prove adept at writing with a more humorous tone. The director was selected largely due to his ability to pull of comedy, and there is a distinct parody feel to the premise and the promotional artwork.

The other question that has stirred the most controversy is in regards to the clear parallels to The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. From the very first promotional picture of the main character, Yurippe, was instantly compared to Suzumiya Haruhi and rightly so. Her design and posturing is so similar that it almost looks like Haruhi fanart. And it’s not just her appearance, her personality is described thusly:

It sounds scarily familiar. The latest image released (above) featuring the anime character designs just screams Haruhi more than ever. The hairband, the hair, and the hand-on-hip pose – it’s so obviously Haruhi that you have to assume that the show is either partly a gag/parody anime, or a desperate rip-off of Kyoto Animation’s huge success. Many people have even compared the other girl to Yuki Nagato, given her quiet demeanor, pale hair and flat chestedness. The story features a group called the SSS, which has got to be a reference to the SOS brigade.

Haruhiism aside, the designs aren’t actually all the appealing, especially before the anime designs came out. The original character designer is ‘Na-Ga’ was chosen by Maeda, and I have to say it was a strange choice. Perhaps it’s just my own preferences speaking, but I find his art style really dull and bland. I was actually really put off until I saw the designs that will actually be animated (shown above), which, with a slight bit of modification and better colouring, look a lot better.

If all the right elements are pulled off right, this anime could be a real hit. It’s designed from the ground up to have plenty of otaku appeal, but also a more general entertainment value in the form of comedy and action. I have to admit I’m curious about this series – the premise is really strange and sounds kind of dumb but I get this swirling sense of optimism that it won’t turn out as a throwaway, generic series. The fact that around 30 characters have been designed for the series is one of those points that really catches my attention. How many 13 episodes series can claim a cast that large? No wonder Maeda is apparently having trouble trying to write within the constraint of a one-season series! One thing that’s basically assured is a polished visual production and some awesome action scenes, if P.A Works’ history holds true. Looking forward to a promo!

As usual, this page will be updated when I find anything new and interesting about the show.

 
 

➡ ANN Page
➡ Anime Suki Thread
➡ Canned Dogs
➡ Official Website

 

Manglobe’s new foray into the darkside of otaku-pandering moe-moe anime production and marketing continues to provide us with surprisingly fun results. Being a once-proud studio Manglobe still brings flare and energy to this anime series, even if they are throwing in obvious trapping for fanboys. I have a lot of fun watching this series, and quite frankly it’s really refreshing to sink my teeth into a straight fantasy like this – an unpretentious and unsophisticated tale of knights, magic and demonic beings. This particular episode was kind of jarring in a way that I’m having trouble pinpointing. The previous episodes all flowed on to each other nicely with a pretty consistent pace and tone, but then this episode startlingly opened up with an uncharacteristically battle-ready Cecily fighting off a horde of new characters. Suddenly there’s demon swords left-right-and-centre, an empire, a horde of new girls and a sharp new focus of the plot.

This jarring effect is amplified by the fact that the new girls, the emperor’s heiress and her trio of plucky guardians, bring a whole new mood to the table. For starters they feel notably more cliché than the other characters. Even though I only just met them, they already feel so familiar. The protective bodyguard role and the faux ojousama role are fairly reoccurring in anime. Plus, their interactions somehow just don’t seem to be in line with the fantasy setting of the series. I can’t really pinpoint why, they just don’t seem to ‘fit’. I probably just have to adjust to them as well as the new plot direction (or tangent?) that they’ve brought with them. The sudden abundance of demon swords was probably the biggest surprise (other than Cecily actually being skillful in a battle). Now that everyone seems to have one it kind of undermines the importance impressiveness of Aria. But the biggest thing that made me think “this doesn’t feel like The Sacred Blacksmith!” was the fact that there was not a single Cecily breast-size joke! Not one! Make an effort, Manglobe..

That aside, I enjoyed the episode. There was a lot of action, parts of it well animated, others a little jerkily, but all of it pretty exciting. Seeing the new demon swords in action was a lot of fun (although it’s strange that we didn’t see any of the others in human form, are they happy just staying a sword all the time?). And I’m glad Cecily got to hold her own in a fight with actual choreography. You did well, girl! Even if they were jarring, I still liked the new girls. The young girl with the right to the throne, Charlotte is actually kind of annoying, but she’s really cute with her three friends and protectors. The interplay between them is fun! I think it’s amusing how the episode turned out after they were beating the crap out of Cecily for the first half. Cecily must be feeling really confused when she’s enjoying dinner with them! Other than Cecily, they all seem pretty casual about fighting.

Casual describes this episode pretty well, and that suits me just fine. The Sacred Blacksmith is a very enjoyable series if you aren’t looking for something deep or realistic, and if you can stomach its rampant embellishment of katanas.

 

● The three bodyguards who work for Charlotte are Doris (Earth demon sword user), Margot (demon sword of scarlet ray), and Penelope (who uses a demon-sword-killing ballock knife. Together these young girls add a new flavor to the series. Personally, I’m especially fond of Doris. The name of her seiyuu eludes me but I really like her and think she fits this role very well. Margot is also very fetching, with red hair even fierier than Cecily’s. Her character design is very stunning <3. But she’s not just good looks – her demon sword is probably the coolest one I’ve seen so far. It’s like an extendable lightsabre of sorts. It gives off a really ‘lethal’ feel. Margot also has a cute side to her when dealing with Charlotte. It was so moe when she was wiping her face clean at dinner.

● Didn’t Luke seem a bit overpowered here? I expected him to drop in and dish out a pretty epic spanking but he barely even had to muster a flick of the wrist to defeat all three demon-sword wilders when he was rescuing Cecily (again). It seemed a bit much. Also, how many times does a guy have to save a girl these days before making her melt into dere-dere mode? Mind you, Luke’s dashing chivalry is offset a bit by the fact that he’s a bastard. I loved his grin when Cecily was forced to have the empress-to-be in her home.

✔ My surprise at the fact that this series is directed by the man who previously bought us .. a bunch of pokemon movies and Linebarrels of Iron (Hidaka Masamitsu), is ongoing. This will certainly improve his reputation!

 

 

I don’t know if I’ve ever read a chapter of a manga that was this breath-taking. The second part of what’s now known as the ALA RUBRA SAGA comes to a powerful and spirited conclusion as Nagi and his band of heroes pull off the inevitable and the impossible: a last-minute rescue of the defamed Queen Arika from certain death on the day of her execution. Although I’m happy to admit this was a simple and predictable fantasy-fairytale ending – the heroes showing up and saving the day for the cause of justice and love, and the typical setup of the knight in shining armor rescuing the beautiful princess. But with amazing artwork, impeccable timing, and intimate dialogue, Ken Akamatsu pulled it off with a sense of awe, passion and romanticism that, for me at least, defines the perfect story climax. And to think, this is just the end of a flashback sequence. If things work out well, the culmination of the present day plot, with its vast complexity and characters we’ve come to love over years of the manga, should be truly mind-blowing! This grandiose chapter had it all and it was so amazing that I’m not even in the mood to make the usual complaint about not having seen some of the characters for too long!

Although the other members of ALA RUBRA had a fleeting moment of badassery in the limelight, this was primarily a chapter about the love story between Nagi and Arika. But even if we only get see them for a brief moment, after getting to know their deeds through this flashback, every time they appear I just have to cheer. Rakan’s appearance was just perfect, and his arrogant dismissal of his opponent’s armies on behalf of his untouchable team was just about as hot-blooded and GAR as this manga has so far been. In terms of our two stars, I actually found their dialogue together this chapter really poignant, sweet and funny. Prior to this chapter I never really cared much for the pairing, but their romantic reunion here was just executed so well that they finally clicked and I felt their great chemistry. Nagi was so cool here that my respect for him has greatly increased - I can see why Arika would fall for him (hell, I even understand why all the girls of the magical world fangirl over him)! And Arika was just so adorable as the smitten but stubborn damsel, swept from death by her knight. I just loved how she couldn’t confess properly, despite the utmost chivalry with which Nagi gave her the chance. Although I have to say I was relieved when Nagi headbutted her to break up her “why did you save me you crazy fool?” tirade. I’m starting to think it’d be great to see a bit of a spinoff manga set in the magical world with these guys..

I don’t really have a lot to say about this chapter because it didn’t deal with the intricacies of the plot and didn’t give me anything to complain about! The only thing of interest beyond the tale of the Queen of Calamity is the fact that this chapter gives a proper background for Godel, explaining his methods. Clearly, despite using subversive methods to achieve his goals, that we wouldn’t normally attribute to a hero, he is an ally of Negi’s who wants justice for the senate’s persecution of Arika. Brilliant fantasy imagery, probably the strongest dose of romance Negima has ever delivered, and great entertainment – this is why I love Negima!
 

 

Darker than Black season 2 plows ahead with another stellar episode, again leaving its competition behind in the dust. Although there are anime I haven’t seen, so I can’t say this definitively, there’s little doubt in my mind that this series is the pinnacle of the season, with its fast pace, depth of character, thrilling action sequences and polished production values. And for once I’m not alone in my pick for the season: 2ch recently ranked it as the most entertaining show of the fall lineup! I think the show’s success can be attributed to the fact that it finds a really great position somewhere between being pretentious and overly deep and being too shallow; it is both easily accessible and emotionally captivating. I feel really sorry for those with this misfortune to no have already seen the original DtB. Even though I complained about that series a lot it was sure worth it just for this follow-up season.

The last two episodes have dealt with some really confronting and fascinating themes as Hei continues to emphasise the anti in his new anti-hero role by perpetuating a tyrannical and absusive relationship with his young charge, the sympathetic and multi-faceted, Suou. His physical abuse of Suou was a shocking change of tone for the series. Even though the series never lost its ability to entertain, it gained a much more emotional spin that really gave my heart a good tugging. It’s not as though the violence directed at Suou was particularly graphic or serious, but rather than the physical distress of being kicked and slapped, it was the crushing of Suou’s once sprightly and innocent spirit that made for such distressing and riveting viewing. When she told Hei to hurry up and hit her to get it over and done with, my heart was just broken!

Suou’s character has now reached a point where she has not only been pulled into a life of grey morality, but is also at odds with herself. As she is dragged deeper and deeper into the world of contractors, of killing and solitude, her struggle between her lingering human emotionality and the cold indifference that seeks to possesses her as a contractor is intensifying. Suou’s character is a perplexing and gripping juxtaposition of a young girl with a strong, loving heart and soulless killing machine. I find it impossible not to sympathise with her and root for her as she tries to find herself in this harsh new existence. I think she’s probably one of my favorite character of the last few years.

Hei himself hasn’t reacted well to having to share the limelight with another star. By that I mean he has become grossly unlikeable as the alcoholic, abusive and uncaring hobo. He’s not just a shadow of his former self, but a true wreck of a man, whose competence in battle is just about his only asset as a hero. Another way of looking at it though is that he has become a hell of a lot more interesting. He always bored me as the stoic and unassailable protagonist in the first season, and in this season he is a guy that you just love to hate. And, despite his selfish and unkind attitude towards Suou, he now has a sense of intrigue, clearly caught in a pall of loss over Yin. Most importantly, even though he has a withered demeanor and twisted spirit, I still get the feeling that he is redeemable, and that it’s going to be an impressive moment when his sense of heroism is finally roused. Then again, this series has shown that it’s not totally predictable so far, so maybe things won’t turn out as nicely as that!

With all the moral dilemma and confusion going around, the only thing unequivocally good about this series is the excellent production qualities! Yasushi Ishii has created the best soundtrack I’ve heard for an anime in a long time. It’s unique, creative and textural music that works flawlessly with the series. The animation is slick, again providing an awesome action sequence, and the directing is sharp is effective, helping strengthen the show’s dramatic impact.

✔I think someone on the production team REALLY likes Misaki because every scene she’s in she looks incredibly cool. There must be a whole team of animators dedicated to making her look as suave and stylish as possible for her every appearance. The trench coat she had on this episode probably can’t be topped though. Lookin’g good, Misaki.

✔ What’s this? Gun maintenance? Weapons fans must be delighted. Ignoring the fact that she can spawn the anti-tank rifle and a handful of ammunition out of thing air, it’s rare to find an anime that puts this much thought into portraying guns.

✘ I’m still not really sure what the actual plot for this series is, and this is probably its only major flaw. Sure, there’s plenty of intrigue and important-sounding exchanges of dialogue between mysterious characters, but I’m not really sure what it’s getting at yet. But hey, I never really worked out what the first season was about – at least this series has enough thrills and drama to keep me from worrying about the story.

✘ The rest of the characters (except for Nika who is now thankfully deceased) are all complex and interesting, but for some reason Mao went in the other direction. Maybe he’s just getting into character for the new, cuter animal he’s inhabiting, but he’s been reduced to a pretty lame character who hangs around to make lame attempts at humurous comments.

 

Continue reading Darker than Black 05

 

I’m very happy to admit that this series is turning out better than I expected. Manglobe have only done 4 TV anime but my opinions of them have been wildly variable. They have demonstrated the ability to make something fantastic out of a cool concept (Samurai Champloo), something depressingly lame out of an utterly fantastic concept (Ergo Proxy), and now, with Sacred Blacksmith they are trying their hand at making something refreshingly fun out of a decidedly mediocre story. On the one hand, as the sub group gg commented, it’s pretty damn obvious that this is strategically produced by Manglobe with the one shining goal of profit. For once they’ve dropped the pretence of innovation and edginess and are making something shamelessly dressed up to infiltrate the Japanese anime market.

There’s a good range of cute, moe girls, from the headstrong but innocent Cecily, to the cute and bubbly loli-character, Lisa. There’s fanservice, breast-size gags and a whole slew of conventions that sell DVDs. Hell, they’ve even announced the DVDs/Blu-rays will be “uncensored” and feature Cecily’s nipples in their full glory. Hey, it worked for GONZO on Strike Witches. But I’m not about to lambaste them for trying to make money for once in a while, anime studios are business and can’t afford to spend all their time working for the greater good of creativity and artistry (except Studio 4C I guess). The most important thing is that they have put a lot of effort into giving this show shiny production values and a sense of fun that elevates it above its mediocre baseline. For all but the most hardened cynics, this series offers high entertainment value of a consistency that Manglobe haven’t really achieved since Samurai Champloo. It may look shallow pitted against Ergo Proxy or Michiko to Hatchin, but the fact is, this (so far) is one of Manglobe’s most polished works. There are no major pacing problems or faltering animation issues, it just gets the job done and provides a great watch every week.

This episode was certainly the best yet, hitting that perfect note, that ultimate seinen frequency: a great combination of girl appeal (moe/sexy factor), a sense of plot and mystery, and a portion of exciting action. It fulfils the seinen-genre’s triangle of dietry intake quite well, delivering on the full spectrum of fanboy needs. The only element that might need a bit of upward tuning is the fanservice quantities. Don’t stop the Cecily nudity jokes now! Mind you, I guess they can’t squeeze in nudity or panty-shots into any situation without resorting to arbitrary nakedness ala Queen’s Blade *shivers*. But the strong moe charm that Cecily and Lisa both radiate is more than enough to make up for this. And a lot of attention was drawn into her breasts this episode, even if they weren’t shown. It seems Cecily has a lot of fans for her bust, not the least of which is the new girl, Aria, who has already made a habit of sneaking into Cecily’s bed at night and enjoying a bit of gropage skinship. There was plenty of Cecily getting embarrassed this episode, which is one of the biggest draws of the show in terms of moe. There was also an absoloutely fantastic action sequence, topping all the battle’s so far with a mix of sword-swinging and strategic magic action. Despite the air of genericness, this is a fundamentally good fantasy series, with some really cool magic, mysterious demonic plot elements, and knight-based politics. It’s a great world to escape to!

♡ PONY!! PONY!!! *ahem* Yeah Cecily’s ponytail was just so damn cute. Ponytails are so rare in anime it makes their appearance have so much more impact (like Canaan’s ponytail at the end of that series). I really like her usual (Railgun-esque) hairstyle, but the ponytail look is a stunning variation. I think it suits her personality too.

✔ She’s doing actual training!? It might not be the most amazing sight in the world but we’re so used to super-powered shounen training sequences that you could easily forget the fundamental idea of a normal person training with a sword, practising swing and posture etc..

♡ Cecily’s strength comes from the POWER OF LOVE! At least according to Aria. How cute. I look forward to seeing more of her power of love coming out in future episodes. She might be forced to given that she offered her body to Luke in a state of panic this episode. I hope she’s teased about that too!

♡ Cecily evokes my fanboy spirit more and more! The poor girl, she gets teased so often but it’s just too much fun seeing her blushing and embarrassed. I really like the fact that although she is a bit stubborn around Luke, she’s not an outright tsundere. It’s more like, immaturity. Her childishness when it comes to love is a really adorable counterpart to her determined battle poise. Seeing her self-conscious, whether it’s about her breasts or about her relationship with Luke, is a HUGE moe pull for the show. And if they can get fanboys heated up with moe they can really sell fanservice with her. Hell, I’m already looking forward to the DVD-releases .. need to see her revered chest for myself!

✔ They actually made the crowd move in this shot! How dare they? They’re making pretty much all other anime studios look bad. They’re supposed to be stuck in a constant cheering pose. At most they should have just shaken the screen or drawn dashes around the place to represent movement. Tch.

✔ Hannibal is a fucking badass motherfucker. He doesn’t take shit like jets of lethal magical flame. Seriously, I really appreciate his presence on the show because he genuinely is a manly man, and the series needs a bit of GAR to balance the moe overload.

✘ The ending was a bit overly soppy for my liking, which is probably the biggest downward point of the episode. The profession of comradeship between Cecily and Aria was nice but kind of too sappy. And the whole “I won’t forget your name” whatever thing for the crazy guy she killed was a bit over the top (I’ve already forgot his name!). The guy was a freakin psyco criminal from the start. But I guess it fits in with Cecily’s sense of justice.

● What is the relationship between Lisa and Aria? Lisa almost got to finish saying something like ‘Lisa is my ..’. Your what!? Creation? I’m not sure, but it’s interesting. They had a bit of a moment together last episode too.

✔ Again, I have to say the magic effects are truly awesome, definitely the best fantasy magic effects I’ve seen in a fantasy TV anime. I really loved how they portrayed the fact that the monster was literally on fire. The bolts shot at him were fried to dust and it looked really cool when he melted that knight’s sword.

✔ The animation was really impressive in the climax of that battle when Luke charged in for a 3-strike attack on the fire dude. Again, some nice choreograohy, fast motion and really detailed cels. Counter to the norm, the animation and art in this series seems to improve during the expensive action scenes.