Princess Nine ep 10 - 14
Izumi officially joins the team, although she remains pretty caustic and constantly critical, although this does have the benefit of motivating the rest of the girls. The rampant sexual discrimination continues to bug me; most of the males in this show deserve a boot to the head.
Even after winning a match against a skilled jr. high team, the girls are still shut out of the national tournament and so must play a game against an even more formidable high school team. This leads to some hilarity in Ep 13 as Coach Kido employs an unorthodox strategy, getting the girls to flirt with the rival team to throw them off their game. This only lasts so long, though, and as the game winds down all that's left to save them is Ryo's pitching. In the last inning, she summons the will to fight on, discovering her father's famous Lightening Ball pitch.
Maria-sama ga Miteru ep 1 - 3
This is a departure for me. I'm not sure I've ever watched a show like this before, but I decided to give it a try. The story takes place at Lillian, an all-girl Catholic school. There is a tradition by which second and third year students may choose a younger girl to become their "soeur" (Franch for sister). These first three episodes revolve around second-year Sachiko Ogasawara wanting first-year Yumi Fukuzawa to become her soeur, and Yumi's initial refusal, then eventual acceptance of the role.
So far it's a nice quiet show with a sedate pace. Not much drama except on a smaller personal level between characters, although Sachiko has some issues playing the lead in the school's production of Cinderella opposite the student council president of the neighboring boys' school as the prince (due to her dislike of men and the fact that he's her cousin and fiance).
Not really much else to say, except it's left a pleasant impression on me so far.
Shadow Skill ep 9 - 12
So the gang arrives in Julianess for the Four Divas Ceremony, and of course Elle can't help but pick a fight with one of the other Divas, a loudmouth named Kaila Lu Luka. Even Gau and Kyuo get in trouble when Low sees them together and picks a fight with Gau, landing all three of them in prison. Things get smoothed over eventually, though.
Now the series starts to move out of the episodic and into a story arc as the nation of Solfon plans to destroy the Holy Nation of Ashliana, attacking Kuruda first. While Elle fights a powerful Hulim, Scarface sends Gau to protect Diaz (whom the Solfons wish to capture for his weapon making skills). Gau attacks the massive army single-handed, and gives himself the warrior name Black Howling.
It's nice to see the series finally start shifting to an ongoing plot. Let's face it, an action show like this would never work if it was just a bunch of unconnected episodes. It's nice to see Gau begin to come into his own, sliding out from Elle's shadow. With war on the horizon, things should definitely start picking up speed.
Toradora! ep 20 - 23
And now we're into the home stretch. The emotional tension in this arc of the series finally reached the boiling point. I enjoyed the end of Ep 23 where Minori couldn't stand Taiga and Ryuji's denial of their feelings anymore and just exploded, forcing Taiga to face the truth. It's going to be hard waiting for the next episode.
Ami's still the wild card here: I can swing from liking her to hating her, even in one episode. She understands what's going on, but her attitude still irritates me. I guess being blunt is all she knows how to do though, if it motivates people to admit what they're trying to hide or run away from.
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 S2 ep 17 - 22
The show just keeps building at a fever pitch. The united attempt to stop the orbital elevator from destroying the city around it was incredible, although it sucked that Andrei killed his father. Andrei is such a hypocrite: "You followed military protocol and allowed mother to die, that makes you a murderer." Yeah, well what do you think you are, dummy?
Louise is freaking me out. I've started referring to her as 'Screw Loose Louise.' Since Ribbons was the one who gave her those pills she's always popping, I'm guessing they're what's allowing him to control her.
I can't say that I'm sorry about Wang Liu Mei's death. She may have given Celestial being coordinates to Veda, but in the end she was still selfish and wanted things her way. She would never have changed.
Nice to see Kati finally defect from A-Laws and come riding in as the cavalry, with Patrick no less. That guy has always grated on my nerves, but this time he was OK.
Probably the worst part was Anew being manipulated into betraying everyone. And then of course getting killed. Poor Lockon... I've warmed up to him now, I don't dislike him the way I did in the beginning. Oddly, that was the first and only time the new ending theme has fit the series.
Setsuna's transformation into an Innovator is an intriguing twist. I hope that when they reach Veda, they learn exactly what Aeolia's plan was. If Ribbons made all the other Innovators, I'm beginning to wonder... Did Aeolia create him, then realize it was a mistake if Ribbons began to have his delusions of grandeur back then? Did he alter his plan so that a normal human would Innovate because of the GN drive? I'm hoping my questions will be answered soon. Speaking of Ribbons: headshot! But too bad Regene is just as power-hungry as Ribbons.
