Coyote Ragtime Show ep 4 - 7
First there's a flashback episode as we get to see how Pirate King Bruce pulled off his ultimate crime: stealing ten billion space dollars from the Central Bank. After a slow episode where the Coyote crew sneak in to Big Pink station on their way to Graceland (their disguises are ridiculous and Katana looks like Freddy Mercury), it kicks back into high gear action again as Marciano's battleship arrives. The Sisters chase after Mister and his friends in typical over the top fashion, not caring at all who gets in the way. At one point Marciano abducts Franca, but the girl manages to escape in the same episode, which is frankly a wasted opportunity in my opinion. It could could have added to the tension: they would only have a limited amount of time to find the treasure AND rescue Franca. But I suppose with only five episodes, and the show more than halfway done now, it would have been too much crammed into too short a time.
One thing I've noticed is what I call the "Scooby Doo Syndrome". There are moments where someone tells a joke that frankly is more of a groaner than genuinely funny, and everyone starts laughing. This kind of comedy always feels false and forced to me.
ep 8 - 12
The final hours tick down as every reaches Graceland. While Bishop and Swamp try to stop the incoming bomb the Federation plans to use to destroy the planet, Mister takes Franca and Katana down to the surface to search for the treasure, but gets sidetracked when he learns Marciano is holding Angela prisoner. Mister and Franca eventually make it to the replica Gigabank left behind by Bruce and discover that the most important part of the treasure isn't the money, but Bruce's old home movies from when Franca was a child. Mister is willing to give Marciano the money, but she's intent on killing him no matter what.
In these last few episodes, the show manages to throw a few curveballs: the bomb is revealed as a fake, but the Federation has already buried the real bomb, right underneath where Bruce hid the Gigabank; Angela tells Chelsea why she's chased Mister for so long, and it's heavily implied that she's in love with him; and Marciano is a cyborg and former Coyote who hates them because she cannot have a family. One thing that is still left unexplained is exactly why Marciano killed Bruce. Had they been lovers a long time ago and she murdered him because he left her behind and had a family with someone else? I think it would have helped deepen the story if this had been explored.
Coyote Ragtime Show is nowhere near as great as similar shows like Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star, but it doesn't really try to be either. It's just a fun action romp and serves it's purpose well.
Ghost Hunt ep 7 - 10
In File 3: The After School Hexer, the gang investigate a series of bizarre incidents involving the students and faculty of a high school. Is it a haunting, or did the girl Kasai, who claims to have psychic powers, really put a curse on those who tormented her?
I pretty much had it figured out that it was actually the biology teacher, Miss Ubusuna, halfway through Ep 8. It made sense that if it wasn't Kasai after all, the only other possible suspect could have been Ubusuna since she was the only one who was defending Kasai.
I think Masako needs to stay away from buildings with more than one story. Falling from the second floor of the abandoned schoolhouse in the first arc, and now getting pushed the stairs here. She's got really bad luck in that area. And I wish Monk, Ayako and John had more in their exorcism repertoire. All they ever do is repeat the same kinds of chants and invocations every time they do their work.
Hayate the Combat Butler! ep 1 - 3
Hayate Ayasaki is a boy with big problems. His parents don't work, so he has to bring in money for the family. One day they accrue a massive debt and basically sell Hayate off to pay for it. Desperate for a way to get out of the situation, Hayate considers kidnapping a rich girl he meets named Nagi Sanzenin for ransom, but ends up saving her life from other kidnappers. A grateful Nagi is determined to hire Hayate as her new butler, but will he survive the job?
I pretty much knew what to expect from this within the first couple of minutes: off-the-wall comedy, combined with a heavy dose of breaking the fourth wall and cultural references. So far I've recognized references to Evangelion, Black Lagoon and Sailor Moon. There's also the curious habit of bleeping certain references in the dialogue, like with Gundam. I remember this happening in Lucky Star as well. Guess it's just part of the comedy.
You're Under Arrest! ep 32 - 34
Ugh, Strike Man again... I really, really hate the episodes with him. They drag so much because he is one of the most annoying characters ever invented. And this one also had some of the kids, and they aren't that fun either. But hey, at least I got to see Nakajima's eyes for the first time in over thirty episodes. I swear he's never once taken off those sunglasses.
After an adventure involving thieves hijacking a train, the next major plot development arrives: Shouji Toukairin, the officer who helped Natsumi rescue the chief in the Tokyo Tower incident, gets assigned to Bokuto to assist in emergency training. Natsumi takes an instant dislike to him and a rivalry appears to ensure (at least from Natsumi's point of view), but in the end they seem to be getting along, for the most part anyway. I'm interested to see what other situations involving Tokairin might crop up.
