Princess Nine ep 15 - 18
The team faces it's worst crisis yet in these episodes:
- A sports reporter looking for a scoop dredges up the past and Ryo learns of the scandal that ended her father's pro career.
- The fallout is so sever that the school's parents association wants to disband the team and expel Ryo.
- Ryo runs away and finds herself in her dad's home town at an orphanage he used to visit. When a violent storm traps two kids in the middle of a raging river, Ryo rescues them, but winds up in the hospital in critical condition.
- Things manage to end on a positive note when Kanako convinces her father to finally support the team.
So, we get to see the gross underbelly of humanity. It doesn't matter how old the scandal was, or that Ryo had nothing to do with it, rumors seem to be enough for people to make judgments on. The representatives of the parents association were a bunch of self-serving snobs.
And we finally get the back story to Keiko's relationship with Ryo's father and why it ended, resolving that long-standing mystery.
Key the Metal Idol ep 1 - 4
I've been meaning to re-watch this for some time, since I only got about halfway through the first time.
The series centers around Tokiko "Key" Mima, a young girl who is also a robot. After the death of her grandfather, his last words send Key to Tokyo where she must make 30,000 friends in order to become human. There she runs into her old friend Sakura, but also attracts some unsavory characters. In many ways, this is a modern-day Pinocchio story, only much darker and more bizarre. There are a lot of mysteries surrounding Key.
On the other side of the coin is Ajo Heavy Industries, a company secretly producing combat robots (PPORs). Ajo himself is a bit of a creep, with a disturbing robot fetish. His adjutant, Sergei, aka D, is a much more interesting character. I don't normally get attached to villains, but Sergei is my favorite character so far. I think it's because of his intelligence; while Ajo refuses to accept that Key might be a robot and blames his staff for PPOR failures, Sergei quickly realizes Key's proximity is causing the PPORs to malfunction and go berserk. On top of all that, there's also the strange connection between Ajo and pop singer Miho Utsuse.
If you liked Serial Experiments Lain, you'll probably like Key. Both have a lot of brain-teasing, but Key is much less cerebral.
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 S2 ep 23
I've used the word epic a lot in describing this show, but if the shoe fits... This episode ramps up the intensity even more as Celestial Being begins it's assault to take back Veda. Here's quick summation of my thoughts:
- Yeah, I knew Ribbons would pull a trick like that. If he has a clone army of Innovators, he can easily clone himself too. Sucks for Regene.
- And the Servaee is the first to be trashed, that sucks.
- Billiy is now OFFICIALLY an idiot, and I hope he dies, unless Sumeragi can talk him out of it.
- Ironic that, despite his refusal to take revenge on Al-Saachez like his brother did, Lyle is the one who has to fight him in the end.
- Let's hope Saji can talk Screw Loose Louise out of her psychosis.
- Lasse in the 0 Gundam = cool.
As for the next episode, although it will probably start as a battle of wills between Tieria and Ribbons, I bet Setsuna will end up being the one to take control of Veda.
Yami no Matsuei ep 1 - 3
Also known by it's English title, Descendants of Darkness, this show deals with the Summons Section of the Ministry of Hades and it's Guardians of Death who help guide lost souls to the afterlife, specifically their agent Asato Tsuzuki, a slacker with a sweet tooth but also much hidden power.
Tsuzuki is in the same vein of characters like Vash the Stampede and Abel Nightroad: a lovable goofball whose scatterbrained personality hides frightening power and darkness. Tsuzuki's antics always amuse me, but it's also nice to know he can be counted on when the chips are down.
His new partner is Hisoka Kurosaki, a teenage boy who died of a lingering illness and joined the Guardians in order to find out the truth about his death. Hisoka is the complete opposite of Tsuzuki: quiet and serious. They get off to a rocky start, but eventually they come to rely on each other.
The first three episodes comprise The Nagasaki File, in which Tsuzuki and Hisoka investigate a series of vampiric murders. This leads them to Dr. Kazutaka Muraki, or as I like to call him "Muraki the Molester", since he develops a rather sick obsession with Tsuzuki. He is also the one responsible for Hisoka's death.
The show aired on SciFi last year, so I'm watching the dub, which isn't the best ever but it's serviceable.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann ep 1 - 2
Back when Gurren Lagann first aired on SciFi, I eventually dropped it after a few episodes, don't ask me why. So with it rerunning now, I decided to redeem myself and start on it again.
This is definitely an in-your-face show: lots of eye popping visuals and and larger then life characters, especially Kamina. The man can go from awesome to irritating at the drop of a hat, but her certainly never compromises. If he wants something, he goes after it with all he's got.
Yoko is, of course, a total babe. Although she's definitely eye candy, she's also a strong character, which strikes a good balance. Simon is also cool, although I perceive he will probably be a Shinji-type and go through his moments of extreme doubt (in fact I know he will). I really like Leeron... I still can't believe that's Steve Blum doing his voice. Wow...
So, so far so good. Hopefully this time around I'll keep up with the show.
Lovely Complex ep 4 - 7
Oi, Otani is so incredibly thickheaded. How many episodes does it take to get the obvious!? And Seiko... the kawaii... it burns...
Revolutionary Girl Utena ep 6 - 9
This was an interesting bunch of episodes. It flipped back and forth between comedy and serious. The comedy... well, all I can say about Ep 6 is WTF KANGAROO!?! As for Ep 8... I've seen body-swap stories before, but never has it been due to a curry explosion. That has to be pretty unique. Oh, and WTF ELEPHANT!?! (Utena's comedy seems to rely heavily on running gags).
At least the serious episodes kept it balanced out. I liked that it was Juri's turn to be in the spotlight; I think she's my favorite out of the Student Council members. I also like the subtle subversion of expectation when it comes to her reason for fighting. I knew it had to be more than it seemed.
Ep 9 was very cool, particularly the revelation that Utena had encountered Touga and Saionji in the past, although she doesn't remember (and I'm sure they don't realize it yet either).
Maria-sama ga Miteru ep 4 - 5
Once again, this show is good to watch if you need a break from the heavier stuff. While she's been quiet and off on the sidelines so far, I like Yoshino more now because she strikes a personal chord for me. I know what it's like to have serious health problems and having to face heart surgery, which is pretty scary let me tell you.
