Clannad ~After Story~ ep 15 - 24 (Complete)
That was a roller coaster ride of drama. Having seen the movie ahead of time, I already knew what to expect in general, that Nagisa would fall ill while giving birth to Ushio and die. What makes After Story better is the time it has after this to deal with the aftermath properly, with Sanae engineering a meeting between Tomoya and his grandmother, which leads to him returning to his proper place in Ushio's life as her father and also reconciling with his own father.
The last couple of episodes was where things deviated, with Ushio falling ill and dying too. This did, however, finally connect the main story to the alternate world with the girl and the robot. I knew they had to be connected somehow, and that the robot must have been Tomoya, but I was not expecting the girl to be Ushio, so that was certainly a surprise. I'm still not entirely sure how time was reset and put on a new course where Nagisa survived, but I'm glad it did, otherwise this show would have had much too depressing an ending.
One of the best parts of the last few episodes was the return of Fuuko. She hadn't changed at all, and it she provided a nice break from the doldrums and depression. It's hard to believe she's an adult, considering how much she acts like a kid. It was hard to believe in the first place even when she was in high school, considering she's always acted like a child. But that's where much if her charm as a character comes from.
In my opinion, After Story was much more emotional than the first season, and it definitely has more of an emphasis on family relationships too.
K-ON! ep 13 (Complete)
Not much to say about this extra episode. It's just as fluffy as the rest of the show has been. I loved the synchronized yawning and stretching between Azusa and the kitty, it reminded me of my cat. And poor Ritsu, mistaking Mio's lyrics for a love letter from a secret admirer.
Kanon ep 1 - 3
Fresh on the heels of Clannad, I'm diving into Kanon, another adaptation of a visual novel by the same people, so right away the style is exactly the same. In this series, a teenage boy named Yuichi Aizawa goes to live with his cousin and aunt, Nayuki and Akiko Minase. Yuichi used to visit a lot when he was a kid, but hasn't been to the town in seven years, and much of his memories of those times has faded.
Yuichi isn't in town very long, though before he starts running into several strange girls who seem to share a connection with him. Principally among them is Ayu Tsukimiya whom Yuichi is able to remember. The most telling thing about Ayu so far is that she seems to be stuck in the past somewhat; there's a bookstore where she believes a cake shop to be, and she doesn't know what cell phones are. Another girl that Yuishi runs into is Makoto Sawatari, a lively character who claims to have amnesia but knows she has some past grudge against Yuichi.
Revolutionary Girl Utena ep 30 - 32
I almost feel sorry for Nanami this time... almost. It's impossible to genuinely feel sorry for her though since she's such a rotten person. This time it's her turn to be manipulated by Touga and Akio into dueling with Utna again. Plus Akio starts to seduce Utena.
Strawberry Panic ep 15 - 18
Kaname and Momomi are still up to their tricks, this time attempting to sabotage the play being put on for the cultural festival. I'm really tired of these two and their machinations.
An important new piece of information is provided: the position of Etoile is actually held by two student in partnership. This explains why Kaname and Momomi have been trying to break up the relationship between Amane and Hikari, in hopes of isolating the two from each other so Kaname and Momomi will be able to run as Spica's Etoile candidates.
Shizuma also tells Nagisa about her Etoile partner (and lover), Kaori, who passed away, but her inability to let go of the past continues to put a wedge between her and Nagisa.
ep 19 - 21
More flashback as we see the relationship between Shizuma and Kaori, from it's beginning to it's end. It's good to have the gaps finally filled in.
ep 22 - 26 (Complete)
And the show wraps up with plenty of drama. Finally standing up to Kaname, Hikari told her that if she wanted to defeat Amane, she should use more honest methods. This led to a tennis duel between the two, with Kaname finally convincing Amane to run for Etoile. Of course, things never run smoothly, and days before the election, Amane is thrown from her horse and suffers partial amnesia, forgetting about the election and Hikari. But then the "nick-of-time" clause is implemented, and Amane is able to recover her lost memories.
Miyuki (Miator's student council president) chooses Tamao and Nagisa to represent their school in the Etoile election. I wasn't able to tell if this was intended as a means to force Nagisa and Shizuma to forget about each other, or get one of them to finally break down the wall between them. Whatever the true intent, the latter was what happened, as Shizuma interrupted the election and ran off with Nagisa. Of course, this leaves Amane and Hikari as the only remaining candidates, and they are confirmed as the new Etoile.
So... The show was OK. Not the greatest thing in the universe, but I enjoyed it for the most part. I think having seen Marimite already colored my perception of shows like this, so I already have that influence knocking around my head. This has more angst for sure, and more overt drama. It's also open-ended, but then what animes aren't? Shizuma is still going to graduate, and Nagisa still has several years of school left, so I'm wondering what will happen, but that's left to the realm of fan speculation. There's also the bitter-sweet nature of the outcome: while the Shizuma/Nagisa and Amane/HIkari couples have their happy endings, I still felt sorry for Yaya and Tamao, and their unrequited loves for Hikari and Nagisa respectively.
