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ローゼンメイデン 
First thing first, I probably should put a disclaimer saying that this entry is full of my opinion since some people actually think that what's said here is a fact. It's shocking, I know, I always thought my opinion is well, my opinion and not a fact. Anyway, "pillage and plundered" were the first words that came into my mind upon seeing the 'development' shown in this episode. This episode is so out there that I give up trying to find some sense in the plot. I've said many things about this series, both good and bad, but one thing that I appreciate the most out of this latest development is that I have no idea where this speeding train is heading. Having said that, I hope I have the chance to bail out in the case that it's heading towards a wreck. At the moment though, the feeling is more of that fast, dangerous and uninhibited insanity, like anything can happen any moment now. I'm also amused that Lelouch and Suzaku are back together and rule the world with their evil, iron fists. It's like every fanboy's nightmare and every fangirl's dream finally becomes a reality.
The music in this series is just sublime. I think I've said this before but I'll said it again: the soundtrack can't come out soon enough. On that note, I've been checking several Japan online retailers and I haven't seen the Blu-ray listed at all. What I hate is that when I don't check them, all of a sudden, the title will appear on the listing. Then everyone else will pre-order the disc and get the first-pressing edition while I miss out on it. I know this because I've missed out on several discs like Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo although I did get Perfect Blue special edition (with a rather embarrassing boxset). Shame about the transfer quality of the later one though. Anyway, this is another one of those transition episodes where there isn't much progress or development. If I interpret the episode correctly, it seems the writers have decided to give bigger focus on the romantic entanglements between the characters. It remains to be seen if this is a good idea or not.
This episode turns out to be really good and full of character development. This is completely unexpected since I thought it'll just be full of character battles/power-ups but the writers actually have a really good story in between the battle. Also of interest is the modified ED theme, which has been given a different animation to reflect the story of the episode. I think this is the first time I've seen this kind of treatment given to the ED theme. I wonder if there is other series that has done this. Of course, there are series where the ED song runs at the same time as the actual story but that's not what I meant here. I'm looking for a specifically created ED that mirrors the story of the actual episode.
The plot is finally becoming a bit clearer here. I always thought that the Hiruko used in Xam'd and the ones used in Humanform weapon are similar but this episode suggests that they are actually different. I wonder what's different about the two though and if this is the reason why Akiyuki manages to control his transformation better than the humans who turn into humanform weapons. This episode also shows that both Haru and Furuichi are not going to be a mere bystander while Akiyuki goes on travelling with the postal ship. Even a supporting character like Akiyuki's father seem to have more role in the story than how he first appeared in the series. The animation is a bit inconsistent this week, which is rather disappointing considering BONES' track record with other series such as Soul Eater. Having said that, the episode does not look horrible at all. It's just that sometimes the characters don't look like the way they suppose to look.
What the hell is going on? It's like the story went from one thing and suddenly turn into whatever it is now. Halfway through this episode, the entire thing feels so all over the place that I no longer knows what the writers have in mind for ending. I just hope that they somehow manage to sort this thing out and not draw it out further into a third season. Maybe my joke about the show going into The End of Evangelion territory wasn't so far off after all. We now have: a mother who willingly puts her children in anguish for the sake of a plan, a crazed father willing to do anything to kill the old Gods, there's a weapon floating in the sky and pillars coming out looking like they are DNA strands. I wonder if the so-called rumor about how Code Geass not turning exactly how Taniguchi envisions it is true after all. It'd be unfortunate if that's the case and I would like to know how far back into the past these changes happened.
Hmm, this turns out to be spirit-festive weekend for me because in addition to watching this, I'm also watching the US remake of The Grudge 1 and 2. In case you're wondering, yes, I've seen the original version. I just want to see how different the remake turns out to be. So far, they're not as scary as the original for some reason. Maybe it's because I've seen the original and already know what's going to happen. Anyway, when I first saw the preview for this episode, I really thought that the chibi Kitsune is actually a girl. I should have know better than that but it's not until 'she' said that one day she'll become a man, I didn't have a clue. I think it was the long hair and the voice that confused me. Moving along, the series continues to impress me with the soundtrack. They really good and I wish that they have been backed up with equally good animation. I can't help but thinking what this series would have been like if it actually has Mushishi's animation style and quality.
This episode explains why Stein wanted Black Star to fight against Chrona instead of Maka. I don't think we'll ever find out how different the result of the fight would have been if Black Star went against Chrona but you can debate it if you choose to do so. I think if this had been Black Star, he'd have dealt with Chrona more effectively. In addition to this, Maka and Soul probably won't have to deal with the repercussion of using the Black Blood to win the battle. Having said that, the whole Maka and Soul turning dark fits with the whole "the kishin closest to us" idea. It'll be interesting to see how they deal with the dark power that they have now obtained from the Black Blood.
First thing first, am I the only one who thinks that the song that plays when Lelouch goes into meltdown mode on poor Rolo sounds like Koiuta? Yeah, I know it's completely inappropriate and all since Nunnally is supposed to be his sister but considering Lelouch's siscon tendency, it kind of fits. Plus, the lyrics pretty much describe the kind of emotion that Lelouch must be feeling right now. Of course, the song could also be a representative of Lelouch/Rolo relationship although if that's the case, I think some people will go "Oh Geass No". Seriously though, it's probably just something that the composer decides to rip off of Koiuta. After looking at some of the CD adverts, I think the title is either one of these ones: Innocent Days, Alone, Masquerade, or Stories. These titles will be in a Geass' side-CD called Angel Feather Voice. The songs are performed by Hitomi. (please see comments) Anyway, I'm really enjoying this episode for some reason. Maybe it's because there's a sense that the story is winding down and there's a clear direction of where this series might go.
It looks like the plot is finally going to move somewhere. I always feel that both Haru and Furuichi don't have much of a role beyond that of Akiyuki's classmates. From here on forward, however, it looks like they both are going to join the army to fight the humanform weapon. However, considering the fact that this will be the same army that is spearheaded by Kakisu and his crazy professor, I'm not sure if this is such a good idea. Kakisu seems to be working to fight the northern invader at the moment but given the right situation, I can see him turning around and want to become a dictator. There is a chance that Kakisu will become the main villain that Akiyuki and his postal ship crews have to fight later on in the story. Speaking of batshit insane villains, it's good to know that Nakiami's own little tribe is equally dysfunctional in this regard. This episode confirms that the one who's been sending humanform weapons is a Tessik-origin character who thinks that causing world chaos is a spiritual mandate. I suppose the writers want to draw comparison to real-life batshit insane terrorists.
This episode reminds me of various Japanese horror films where a person finds out that a ghost has been latching onto their neck/back all of these times *shudder*. Come to think of it, it was extremely nice of Natsume to help the youkai despite what happened earlier. I think most people would rather flee than having to deal with youkai. Especially since the youkai in question looks like Sadako from ', The Ring.
Well, here it is the big battle between Stein and his students vs. Medusa and her underlings. It should be interesting to see since the students are not exactly inexperienced against fighting some of the enemies. Both Maka and Kidd have face-off against Chrona before so at the very least they should know what to expect. Black Star is kind of clumsy but Devil's Eye is not exactly bright either so it's a match made in heaven. As for Eruka, she doesn't seem to be that powerful but if she is, I'm pretty sure that Kidd can take on her easily. The only one I'm worried about is actually Stein since Medusa has proven herself to be rather powerful. But now that he has Scythe-kun with him maybe his odd is better. I also can't wait to see Blair against those stupid mouse. It should be an easy win for the sexy cat considering that she's powerful and has 8 lives remaining now.
At this rate, the only two characters who stay alive will be Lelouch and Suzaku. Actually, I kind of want to see that just for amusement and to see how the fans react if these two are the only ones who stay alive while everyone else is dead. To begin with, that seems like the kind of thing that CLAMP will do. I know they don't write it but sometimes it feels like their influence goes beyond designing the characters. Having said that, I can't imagine the kind of reaction that such ending will bring. Let's face it, at this point, I think most people either hate Lelouch or Suzaku or both. If the only two people surviving are Lelouch and Suzaku, I can't imagine the riot that will ensue. Anyway, this episode makes me realize how sensational in-story death has become. In the olden days, death is a device that is used sparingly and have meanings to it. These days, death becomes some kind of shock tactic to maintain viewers' interest. Having said that, I guess it can't be helped with this series since it has so many characters against the main character.
The animation quality of the series remains good which bodes well for the rest of the series. I'm especially impressed with how the character design works so well with the color scheme of the series. If there's one thing that I hope the series will improve is the ship designs. I think it's been said before that this series has some of the most ridiculous ship design ever. I don't actually mind the design of the human-form weapons and its associated Xam'd-like creatures because I get the impression that they are meant to have the animal-like quality, or rather, they look like the animal Gods from Egypt. What I want to know, however, is if these creatures come from the same source or if they come from different origin. It's kind of hard to tell who's fighting who and on whose side a particular human-form weapon is at this point in the story. On that note, do we actually know the name of the postal ship? Because I've been having difficulty distinguishing one ship from another.
The jazz music in this series is just beautiful. I was especially impressed by the track that was playing when Natsume agrees to accompany Santo. Come to think of it, the majority of the soundtrack in this series are the kind of music that I like to listen to so I think I'll get the OST once it comes out. Anyway, this is a really nice surprise for the series. When one thinks of original episode, one usually associate the idea with 'filler'. However, this is more than a typical filler. The storyline is actually interesting and offers some perspective on youkais behavior according to Japanese folklore. And although the youkai doesn't appear in the manga, Santo is actually looks cute and well-designed. In addition to this, it's nice to see Natsume finally making friends with the people that he encountered in the previous episodes, namely his two classmates, Tanuma, and Sasada. It's kind of funny because Natsume doesn't actually make that much of an effort to be friends with any of them but they come to him anyway. Also, is it just me or does everyone else thinks that Sasada has a crush on Natsume?
Episode 17 was 30 minutes (well, more like 15 or so since I keep fast-forwarding the episode) that I'll never get back. I'm just glad that I didn't watch it on its own or I'd have lost enthusiasm for the whole series. Thankfully episode 18 is the complete reverse of 17 and delivers a lot of tense moments. I kind of wish that there wasn't that break between episode 16 and episode 18 because it feels weird going from a not-so-funny comedic episode to a serious one. Anyway, it looks like the next few episodes will be full of cool-looking battles between the Shibusen students versus Medusa and her freaky friends. I just hope that Square Enix gives Bones the budget to animate all of the fights.
Back when the original Forbidden Siren was released for PS2, I was extremely interested in the game. Upon playing the game, however, I found that there were many problems with the control and in addition to this, the game is extremely hard. If you fail a mission, for example, you will have to repeat an entire level. Your character is completely vulnerable in comparison to other survival horror characters out there. After several trial and error attempts, I felt that I didn't have much fun and stopped playing the game. I always regret it because I like the non-linear storyline offered by the original game and wanted a chance to figure out the story. Fast forward 2008, Sony suddenly announces that Team Siren will release Siren: New Translation (Siren: Blood Curse in US and Europe) via PSN and Blu-ray. The game is basically a remake of the original with different casts and tweaked controls. I became interested in the game and when it was released last week, I decided to purchase it. I completed the game yesterday so here's a review.
A few weeks ago, a friend asked me what kind of ending am I looking forward to see in Code Geass finale. After thinking about it for a while, I have to admit that I have no desire for a specific ending. This is probably one of the few series where I have little to no attachment towards the characters. I mean I feel sorry for C.C but since her main intention is to die, then wishing her to not die will be kind of the reverse of what she wants. The other characters are fair game as far as I'm concerned. It's probably a good thing as well since despite how it looked last week, the writings have actually gone towards a train-wreck style ending. What I mean by this is that I can see the ending being one of those endings where almost everyone dies in style like Evangelion. I admit that I've read spoilers for this series and while their validity is in question, I can see the series heading towards that direction now that part of the spoilers are proven to be true. As a side note, I'm including some of my commentaries in the summary section since it's better to do it like this for this episode.
I haven't paid much attention to the BGM of this series prior to this episode but they're really nice and reminds me of some Ghibli BGM for some reason. The piece that plays as Akiyuki realizes that they're no longer above Sentan is a good example of this. It's a quiet yet melancholic piece that is perfect to describe Akiyuki's mood at that point. Speaking of mood, I noticed in this episode that the series go through a great detail to describe a person's emotion. For some reason, despite Kakisu's calm answer at the meeting shown at the start of this episode, his body language suggests something else. Throughout the meeting, he is shown tapping his feet to the ground like he's enjoying the situation or he's impatient with how the things proceed. I'm impressed how BONES put so much focus on what is actually a minor scene. At this point in the story, Kakisu's characterisation is kind of dubious. It's hard to see if he'll become one of the heroes or if he'll be the villain piece of the story. But at least now we know why there's a tapping feet in the opening scene.
