Yami no Matsuei ep 4 - 6
These episodes form The Devil's Trill arc. Hijiri Minase, a young student and violinist, receives a transplanted cornea; this cornea came from a man who sold his soul to the devil to become a master player. Since the cornea suvived, Hijiri has now become to bearer of the devil's contract, and Tsuzuki and Hisoka must protect him and the dead man's daughter, Kasuza.
This is the only arc of the anime which does not feature Muraki as the main villiain, which is a nice change of pace (his constant molestation of Tsuzuki and Hisoka can get annoying after a while). There's some decent drama when Tsuzuki is possessed by the devil and we learn that when he was alive, he had killed people (the reason why still remains a mystery) and that he works as a guardian of death to atone for this. The big fly in the ointment is that after all their efforts to protect Kasuza, who winds up dying anyway, due to a collapsing building of all things. That just seems like a cop-out.
Maria-sama ga Miteru ep 9
A little diversionary episode focusing on a student named Mifuyu who went to kindergarten with Sachiko and has admired her since then. I was a little suspicious of her at first, thinking she might make trouble for Yumi, but she turned out OK in the end, growing out of her little infatuation with Sachiko.
Shadow Skill ep 13 - 17
We start with a little break from the action. First an episode in which Gau and Low angst over their previous duel. In the end Low goes off to train some more; I'm not sure if he'll be coming back, but I'm glad he's gone for now. He tended to get on my nerves a lot.
Next is what I can only describe as a filler episode where a young historian and a whiny young Valle explore an ancient temple. It features none of the main characters, although Elle makes a brief appearance right at the end. It was an interesting diversion, but the Valle-in-training is such a fraidycat that she grated on my nerves almost the entire time.
Then the story kicks back into high gear when "G" Kain Phalanx, the former 58th Sevalle returns for his revenge on King Iba Sutra. Solfon conspirators set Kuruda on fire and everything is in pandemonium. Against Diaz's wishes, Scarface sends Gau to battle G alone. The question is, will he survive the encounter? And if he does, will he lose his sanity in the process?
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 S2 ep 24
Epic Gundam is fricking epic:
- TIERIA, NOOOOO! DAMN YOU TO HELL, RIBBONS!!! I suppose living on within Veda is better than nothing, though.
- Oh good, Louise is (relatively) sane at last... you know, after that trying-to-kill-Saji part.
- Trans-Am Burst mode... the light is so pretty...
- Phew, Billy stopped being an idiot. I don't have to worry about that anymore.
- Yay, Marie is back!
- Thank you, Lyle, for finally killing Al-Saachez! I've been waiting for that roach to die through two seasons.
- Ah, so this was Regene's plan all along... Guess he turned out to be better than I thought. Or at least, he gets to have the last laugh at Ribbons.
- And at last, after all this time, we finally learn Aeolia's true plan. Proof that Ribbons is just a power-hungry bastard that hijacked things for his own ambition.
- Great, now Setsuna has to fight Ribbons in his mobile armor... Does that creep ever run out of alternate plans?
- I'll make a prediction: Graham will show up during the final fight between Setsuna and Ribbons. Not sure what he'll do, but he'll at least show up.
Lovely Complex ep 8 - 10
Too bad Otani didn't return Koizumi's feelings, but then I would imagine it's always hard to see a friend as something more at first. Also, it wouldn't be much of a show if it was resolved that quickly. I wonder what Koizumi will do to change his mind.
Key the Metal Idol ep 5 - 7
A new character enters the scene: Prince Snake-Eye, a cult leader who witnessed Key's display of power in the previous episode (where she saved a man from falling to his death). He's convinced Key has some divine power, and even begs her to heal a dying boy.
There's still much unknown about Key. Is she really a robot, or an ordinary girl living under a delusion? There certainly is something strange about her. She has flashes of power that come to her at random and change her completely, both in her appearance and personality.
As for Ajo, he really doesn't deserve to be the main villain of this show, he's an idiot. Sergei is the only one who has any idea of what's going on. Speaking of which, Ep 7 treats us to a pretty serious fight between Sergei and Wakagi (Key's bodyguard). He takes a lot of punishment that would certainly kill most people but continues to survive. Definitely not someone I would dare to cross.
There's also the growing mystery of a strange voice emanating from electronics, first discovered by Sakura's friend Tataki. What's more intriguing is this voice is only heard whenever Key is unconscious...
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann ep 3 - 4
I can sum up these episodes in two words: MANLY COMBINING!
We get some new characters this time around: villainous Beastman Viral and the Black Siblings. And now Kamina can have someone just as manly and stubborn as him to argue with in Kittan.
The change in animation style in Ep 4 was a tad irritating.
Maria-sama ga Miteru ep 10 - 13 (Complete)
And the first season draws to a close with a pair of 2-part stories. In the first, the school gets stirred up by a book called "The Forest of Thorns" which everyone assumes was written by Sei. Even though she is not the author, the story mirrors events of her second year at Lillian. In a flashback episode we see Sei's relationship with a girl named Shirori, and how her departure from the school to become a nun broke Sei's heart.
The second 2-parter involves the girls going out on their dates (the prize for the Valentine competition), all the while being stalked by Minako (president of the newspaper club) and Tsutako (Yumi's friend and member of the photography club), while a jealous Yoshino tails Rei and her date.
Of this bunch, and possibly the entire season, I really love Ep 11, the flashback to Sei's past. It really helps to explain the way she is. Sei has definitely grown on me over the course of this season, and I think I might like her more than Yoshino now.
Revolutionary Girl Utena ep 10 - 13
Nanami and her bother-complex are getting on my nerves. At least Utena defeated her in their duel, that ought to shut her up... for a while. I'm sure she'll be back sometime later.
Touga's a scheming bastard. I couldn't believe that he beat Utena, and then it was utterly disconcerting to see her so depressed, not to mention wearing a girl's uniform. It really doesn't suit her. Not to mention his engineering Saionji's expulsion to get him out of the way.
Ep 13 was a recap, but it did provide a little more insight. There's something, some power sleeping inside that floating castle above the dueling arena, and it appears to favor Utena. Tantalizing clues, but we still have a long way to go yet.
