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ローゼンメイデン 
This is probably the best episode that have come out of this series. Seeing the other characters getting so much screentime is definitely better for the story since they are the more interesting and amusing part of the series. It still doesn't make either Hikari or Kei more likeable but at least they make the series a lot more fun that it normally is. I remember being bored out of my mind last week but that's not the case with this episode. Every moments are filled with insane plan from Akira's devious mind. It's like watching an episode of Road Runner with Akira being Wile E. Coyote whereas Kei is the Road Runner. The only difference is, I usually root for Road Runner whereas in this one, I wish Akira manages to somehow defeats Kei with one of her traps. It's really annoying when that monster just keeps plowing like a robot.
I think part of the problem that this series had before is because the writers try to stretch one volume of the manga for one episode. Vampire Knight writers realized that this is impossible and does a good job of mixing up a few chapters but that's not the case with this series. Thankfully the writers start to realize that this is not the way to go and starting from this episode, they combine 2 chapters to make one episode. I also realized now that the majority of Special A's stories are more like a straight-up romance between Kei and Hikari than a comedy involving the rest of the Special A members. I know I've said this before but it needs to be repeated because I think the side characters like Tadashi, Akira, Ryuu, and the twins are a lot more interesting to see. I don't like Yahiro though, I think he's as annoying as Kei so watching this episode is similar to seeing two annoying people at once. It doesn't help that I think the animation is not as good as last week's episode.
This episode is actually pretty good. The animators are starting to get used to using shoujo style conventions (soft filters, pastel colors, etc). The cheesy crayon drawings that always appear during Hikari/Kei scene still present but it's easy to ignore them and just focus on what's good about the episode. I do wonder what people think about the 'tablecloth' effect. I'm talking about this white tablecloth patterns that appears everytime they try to emphasize harmonious situation. The scene usually involves a static screen so the tablecloth looks like a watermark/pattern overlaying the image. At first I find it amusing but I'm getting used to it know and sometimes they actually look pretty good. As for characters, the focus of the story is still on Kei and Hikari but at least the other members are getting more screen time than in the previous episodes. And if the anime continue in this direction then we'll actually see an arc involving Akira pretty soon.
With an episode like this one, I often wonder what's the main story of this series. Does the series try to say that Hikari's obsession to defeat Kei is admirable? Or does it actually say, forget trying to defeat your childhood friend. Instead, you should hook up with him/her. If I remember correctly, Ouran Host Club also started the same way with Haruhi basically joining the club so she can pay the vase that she dropped. However, along the way we learned a bit more about each members of the club. Unfortunately there's no such thing in this series so far. It doesn't help that this episode is not funny at all. On a more positive side, I'm starting to like the ending. Between the OP and the ED, the later is a lot easier to listen to.
I'm surprised that this one turns out to be a bit better than the first and second episode. I almost lose interest around episode 2 because the wrestling story was not only boring, it wasn't even funny. I also finally understand why the fans of the manga are complaining about Kei's character design in the anime. In the manga, he looks completely different from this one. It looks like in an attempt to make the design easier to redraw for animators, they ruined Kei's character design. Thankfully he's not the most interesting part about the series. That actually goes to Akira, Tadashi, Ryuu, and the twins. I think Kei is funny when he is given a foil like that stupid student council President. However, on his own or with Hikari, he just comes across like an arrogant brat who wants to get laid by his childhood friend.
OP Theme: 「Special Days」 by Goto Yuuko - AVI version (32MB) | PSP version (16.9MB)
This three shows in a day is starting to kill me. It's getting really hard to cover all of them at once. Anyway, I'm not as impressed with this episode as I was with the last one. Having said that, it's not completely bad either. To begin with, at least the animation quality is still consistent. That means Kei's character design was fugly last week and still is fugly this week. Everyone else, however, looks quite decent and if you like the double lines that characterizes the character design of Toshokan Sensou, you actually get to see that too here minus the boring military stuff. The opening theme is not that great. I don't understand why Goto Yuuko chooses to employ that voice while singing even though she has her own mature voice to use instead. Story-wise, I am also not happy with the fact that many things in this episode are basically repetition of the first one (ie. character design, story of the week, etc). Although to be fair, Ouran Host Club did the same thing as well week after week. Overall, this episode is not that great but I'm just grateful that the animation stays consistent.
After waiting for almost a day, I can finally see this and it doesn't disappoint. I admit, I'm a bit iffy with the character design. It looks like the kind of character design that can look ugly easily if the animators are lazy or if it's outsourced to other company. However, for the time being the quality is pretty good so I have no complaint on that regard. Unfortunately, this episode doesn't come with the OP theme. Maybe on the 2nd episode we'll get one. The ED theme, on the other hand, is pretty good and is sung by all of the male VAs, including Fukuyama Jun. As for the story itself, it's pretty entertaining actually. I have heard from other posters that the storyline is not that fun and that the characters are not pleasant. From what I've seen so far, sure, they behave like spoiled brats but that's what makes them amusing. I also get the feeling that GONZO tries to capture that Ouran Host Club look since the style of the design here reminds me of that other series. Even the special area where SA students gather look similar to the area where Ouran Host Club is located. Overall, this is a fun and pleasant comedy which everyone should really check out.
Unfortunately, none of today's show really interest me. xxxHOLiC Kei might have if the quality animation improved but this sequel still shows the same dull color like the original version. Allison and Lillia's pacing is a bit too slow for me and the worst part of that series is the character design, which looks too generic. I have yet to check Macross Frontier and I will do so later. However, with 2 other series coming next week, I don't feel like doing 3 series in a day and this works out well. Anyway, enough about other shows. This is a special episode designed to promote S.A - Special A series which will air on the 6th of April. I am glad that I saw this because it really increases my interest for the upcoming series. I love the color palette that the animators choose and some of the characters look insane which is a plus in my book. Also, I can't help but grinning after hearing Fukuyama Jun (Lelouch in Code Geass) voicing the male lead. It's kind of funny because he uses his deep Lelouch voice in one occasion. This special episode is filled with the VAs doing quizzes on one another, snippets of the animation that we'll see in the series, and basically all around introduction of the 7 main characters from the series.
