A Product of Wasted Time

Gantz 358

2012-02-24T23:54:00.000-05:00

Kurono #2 buries Reika, while Kurono #1 continues to march his giant mech towards its destination.

Goodbye to Reika, the hottest babe this series will ever see.

Summary:
Kurono #2 carries Reika's body out of the warehouse. Outside, the Tokyo Team battles and kills a giant monster. The team then sees Kurono and Reika, and they pay their respects as Kurono buries Reika's body.

In the alien city, Kurono #1 continues to fight his way towards the tower inside the giant mech, swatting at any alien gunships that get too close. The battle spills over to where Fra and Tae are. Some of the nearby aliens are killed by the rubble, but Fra grabs Tae and gets into her flying car to make the getaway. Fra then promises to help Tae find Kurono. Kurono #1 and the other Gantz giant mechs continue their march through the city, but the alien giant mechs are waiting for them.

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Reika the big-breasted babe is gone (for the moment) and that's that. We'll have to wait a bit to see what sort of effect her death will have on Kurono #2 as the narrative moves back to Kurono #1 and Tae. The gigantic Gantz mechs are about to meet their alien counterparts, so it looks like we'll have a giant mecha fight on our hands. Can't really say that I'm too excited since these are slow moving mechas, and Gantz's art style makes it hard to make out what happens some of the time. Kurono #1 is probably going to triumph though. I can't see him dying just yet. As for Tae, Fra is looking out for her, so she isn't in any immediate danger. Would be interesting if Fra finds that Kurono is inside one of the mechs that is wrecking the city though.

Bleach 482

2012-02-22T19:22:00.001-05:00

Ichigo confronts Ivan, while some strangers show up to confront Yamamoto.

Now you are just asking to be kicked out the window.

Summary:
Ichigo tells Ivan to get off of his bed and kicks Ivan out the window when Ivan refuses. Ichigo goes out in shinigami form to investigate, while the rest of his friends promise to follow once they finish eating. Ichigo leads Ivan away from his house and asks if Ivan is an arrancar, but Ivan mocks the suggestion and pulls out a giant Quincy-like bow instead.

Meanwhile in Soul Society, Ikakku and Yumichika are investigating disappearances in a village. A whole village has disappeared, and some footprints on the ground lead the two to believe that somebody in the village is making others disappear. At Gotei 13 headquarters, Yamamoto is approached by a group of uniformed, masked people who declare war.

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So the culprits behind the disappearances might be Quincies or Quincy-related entities after all. The little "five point" cross and bow the Ivan pulled out is definitely very Quincy-like. Making souls disappear is also a Quincy ability. Ivan's reaction indicated that he is no arrancar, but he might not be a Quincy like Uryu either. Perhaps he and his cohorts are Quincies that gained hollow powers or hollows that gained Quincy powers, since there has to be some explanation for his arrancar-like eye mask. Neither hollows nor Quincies like Soul Society in particular. Let's see if the group that confronted old man Yamamoto is from the same side as Ivan.

Naruto 575

2012-02-22T14:42:00.000-05:00

Back to the five Kages vs. zombie Madara.

Come and get your free firewood.

Summary:
A and Oonoki attack Madara with a stone giant, but Madara calls on his wood element powers to destroy the giant and cover the whole battlefield in flowering giant vines. The Kages evade the attack on Gaara's sand clouds and they are worried about the pollen, and this allows Madara to sneak behind them and knock them down into the vines. Madara then sets the vines on fire and the Kages are getting choked unconscious by the fumes. Oonoki has a flashback as he is falling unconscious and this gives him enough of a jolt to stay conscious. Oonoki then blasts the surrounding vines with Dust Technique attack which also hits Madara. The other Kages come to, and they sees that Madara has the face of the first Hokage on his chest. Back in his hideout, Kabuto believes that the combination of Madara and the First Hokage is unstoppable.

Meanwhile, Sasuke and zombie Itachi run into each other in the woods.

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Looks like Sasuke will have a confrontation with Itachi... but just not this week. If Itachi is heading towards Kabuto's hideout, I'm not even sure if we'll get a fight between him and Sasuke since Sasuke is probably not a big Kabuto fan either. Anyways, most of this chapter was back to the fight between the five Kages and zombie Madara. While we were away watching Naruto vs. Tobi, not too much has been going in this battle. Not surprisingly, Madara is spamming wood powers and has the advantage, but the Kages are not out of it just yet. I hope Kabuto will find out that his Madara zombie isn't as unstoppable as he might think.

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE 19

2012-02-20T20:09:00.000-05:00

Asemu graduates from military academy is assigned to the Diva on a mission.

Summary:
Some time after graduating from high school, Flit graduates from the military academy and attends the graduation ceremony. Vargas, Emily and Unoa are in attendance, while Flit is on stage with the military officials. Also in the ceremony is Romary who also chose a military career much to Asemu's surprise. Asemu has been assigned to the Diva as the Gundam's pilot. On the way to the Diva, Asemu meets Dique's daughter Arisa who will also serve as a mobile suit pilot on the ship. The Diva is now commanded by Millais; Woolf returns as the leader of the mobile suit squad, and Romary becomes a member of the bridge crew. The Diva is on a mission to transport some important goods to Earth from the Big Ring base commanded by Flit.

You smell that? That's the smell of adventure.

I'm a big ~~boy~~ boss now.

After arriving on the Diva, Asemu visits that hangar where he sees the new AGE-2 Gundam in its Strider mode and meets Dique who is the Diva's mechanic. The AGE-2 is the second Gundam that the AGE system came up, and the AGE-1 Gundam will be retrofitted so it can run without the AGE Device. Asemu is then called to a meeting by Woolf and meets the other two mobile suit pilots on the ship, Obright and Max. Woolf lays down the ground rules and tells Asemu about his past history with Flit.

So you are Flit's kid... extra harsh treatment for you.

New Gundam time!!!

The Diva departs from port on its way to the Big Ring. Zeheart, who has been named commander of Veigans' Earth suppression forces, decide to send a mobile suit team out to test the Diva's capabilities. The Diva is attacked by five Dorados. Woolf and his mobile squad launch to meet the enemy, but Asemu is stuck in the hangar because the AGE-2 Gundam needs some more tuning. In space, Woolf carries the fight for his squad and destroys one enemy while saving Arisa from another. Arisa gets into trouble again, but Asemu in his AGE-2 Gundam arrives in time to destroy the Dorado charging at Arisa's Adele with a shot from the Gundam's improved DODS rifle. Asemu then destroys the enemy leader with a beam sword to the chest. The remaining Dorados group together behind the Gundam. Asemu wants to shoot but is stopped by Woolf because the Diva is in the line of fire. The two Dorados head towards the Diva and Asemu gives chase, but now the Gundam is in the Diva's line of fire. Millais tells Asemu to get out of the line of fire, but Asemu doesn't listen and charges right in past the Dorados and then takes out both enemies with one shot of the rifle.

Two birds with one stone, two Dorados with one shot.

So the big questions is: did these two ever get it on?

While Asemu's performance was impressive, he earns himself a trip to Millais' office for a stern talk for ignoring orders. Meanwhile, Zeheart is surprised that there is a new Gundam and wonders if Asemu is the pilot.

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Asemu gets his start on the Diva and the new transformable AGE-2 Gundam makes its debut this week. As we all known by now, Millais, Woolf, and Dique return as ship captain, mobile suit squad leader, and chief mechanic respectively, and by sheer coincidence (not) Miss Love Interest Romary is also assigned to the Diva as a bridge crew member. On the Veigan side of the equation, Zeheart is now the boss of the Earth suppression forces, and so the recipe is complete for Asemu to start his big space adventure and go up against Zeheart's Veigan forces.

This episode was primarily to introduce the new Diva crew and show off the new Gundam a bit. Not too surprisingly, the new Gundam trounces the competition, and it wasn't even completely tuned. Asemu was a bit reckless during the fight and didn't listen to commands all that well, but it seems that he is doing better on the battlefield on his first official mission than Flit was during his. It's hard to say if this is due to the superiority of the AGE-2 Gundam or Asemu's natural talent or Asemu being older and better trained. I'm sure Asemu will have the X-Rounder ability eventually too.

Now that the stage is set for Asemu's big adventure, it remains to be seen what will be at stake during this generation of the story. Flit was driven by his hate for Veigan for the deaths of his family, Yurin and other people, and his adventure culminated with the destruction of a Veigan outpost. This time, the Veigans appear to be taking the fight to Earth. Asemu doesn't have the hate for the Veigans as Flit does, but he does seek Flit's approval, and I'm sure Zeheart on the other side of the war will play a role in Asemu's motivations.

One Piece 657

2012-02-15T23:31:00.000-05:00

Luffy's group reach the boundary between fire and ice, while Sanji's group try to escape after being captured.

This kind of prison just doesn't cut it for the Straw Hats.

Summary:
On Punk Hazard, Luffy's group ate most of the dragon and caught up to the half-man. Luffy stuck the half-man to his own back side to become "a centaur", but eats a couple of suplexes for his trouble. The group then reach a viewing platform where they can see the frigid half of the island in the distance. The group realize the distress call came from the cold side of the island and Luffy wants to go there. While arguing with Luffy, Usopp sees a "bird-person" looking at them and then flying off.

Meanwhile, Franky wakes up and sees that he, Sanji, Nami and Chopper has been locked up in a room with a heavy safe door. The group know they've been gassed but Brook is not with them. The group also finds pieces of someone's head and those pieces are talking. The group has some fun playing with the puzzle before assembling a somewhat correct face. The head states that someone he didn't know cut him but instead of dying he ended up in pieces. The head then starts admonishing Nami for her mannerisms and dress but admits he loves Nami's bra top and this caused him to get beaten up by Nami and Sanji. The group learns from the head that they are on the frozen half of the island. Sanji reveals that he and the others are members of a pirate group, and the head states that he had wanted to escape together with Sanji's group if Sanji and friends weren't pirates. Sanji had tried kicking the door but to no avail, but Franky is full of cola and blasts open the door with a Radical Beam. Before leaving, Sanji reassembles the head correctly to look like a samurai and he might be the samurai that was mentioned in the distress call, and the head reveals that he came to the island to save his son. Sanji brings the head along as the group heads out to escape their captors. The group comes upon a door and Sanji kicks it open to reveal a room full of giant kids.

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Things keep getting wilder and weirder in this adventure. The fire/ice environment has been established, but now we have bird people and a daycare of giant kids. And of course, there is the samurai who has been cut to pieces by some unknown power. The lower half is with Luffy's group and the head is with Sanji's group, but where is the upper body? The samurai doesn't like pirates, but it doesn't sound like he is a bad guy and he is on the island to rescue his son. The island's name of Punk Hazard hints that the island may have something to do with the infamous Dr. Vegapunk, and maybe Sanji's group has been captured by the mad scientist's underlings? The samurai's lower body also spoke of some shichibukai too. It might take a while for this story to unravel.

On another note, I'm a little surprised that Franky was able to blast open the door while Sanji couldn't kick it open. I thought Sanji was supposed to be stronger than Franky, but with the upgrade Franky might have more destructive power especially if he has enough cola.

Bleach 481

2012-02-15T21:39:00.001-05:00

Party in Ichigo's bedroom.

It's such an awesome party that strangers show up.

Summary:
Hyori and Lisa are hanging around in Karakura Town when Hiyori smells shinigami and sees a "rip" in space.

Meanwhile, Yuki wakes up in Ichigo's bed. Ichigo tells Yuki to leave, but Orihime, Uryu and Chad arrive to start a party. Yuki screams and Ichigo tells him to shut up and informs Yuki that he has been asleep for two days. While Ichigo is yelling at his friends, Yuki remembers that Ichigo and his friends showed up to took out all of the big hollows and Orihime healed Yuki and Shino. Ichigo hands Yuki a piece of bread and tells Yuki to enter his gigai, and Yuki gets scared of his own gigai. Yuki then wonders where Shino went and Shino, and Shino shows up on cue to lariat Shino for sleeping so long. Ichigo asks Yuki his name, but a guy named Ivan Azgiaro appears on Ichigo's bed to answer the question.

Somewhere in Soul Society, Ikakku and Ayasegawa (?) are running around after hearing the news of people vanishing from Rukongai.

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It didn't take long for a new villain-like character to appear in this final story arc. Ivan looks like an arrancar, so perhaps the culprits of hollows disappearing aren't the Quincys like people have been guessing. The pacing of this chapter left something to be desired, especially how Ikakku suddenly appeared on a page running around to nowhere, and then Ivan appeared out of nowhere on Ichigo's bed. I guess things and powers appear out of Bleach so often now we should be used to it. We'll have to see what Ivan has to say after being able to sneak up on Ichigo and his friends.

On a side note, it doesn't look like all of the Vaizards took their jobs back. I suppose the posts that were vacant in the Gotei 13 were taken by the Vaizards, but those whose previous posts have been filled don't get their old jobs back.

Naruto 574

2012-02-15T19:57:00.000-05:00

Sasuke and his old buddies are on the move.

It's okay. We can agree that you are all psychos.

Summary:
In a Konoha prison, Karin can't decide whether to fawn or stomp on a picture of Sasuke. The guards decide to ignore her, but Karin actually has escape tools hidden in her classes and the Sasuke booklet. Meanwhile, Suigetsu and Jugo wander into Orochimaru's old hideout. The two start to argue about Suigetsu's need to get between Sasuke and Karin. Jugo gets angry and punches Suigetsu, but Suigetsu turns into liquid and then suffocates Jugo. Jugo's punch broke a wall to reveal a secret room, and Suigetsu walks inside and finds some data that he thinks may be able to change the course of the ongoing war. Suigetsu then pockets the data.

Somewhere out in the open, Sasuke runs into a squad of white Zetsus. Sasuke reveals that he killed the original White Zetsu. The Zetsus go after Sasuke, but Sasuke burns all of them with black flame disks from Susanoo except one. Sasuke then interrogates the last Zetsu with his Sharingan and learns of Tobi's plans to capture Killer Bee and Naruto. After learning of this, Sasuke kills the Zetsu and decides to head towards Naruto's location, but zombie Itachi is not far away.

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Looks like Sasuke might have to go through zombie Itachi first before he gets anywhere near Naruto. I thought Itachi was going after Kabuto, but he probably won't let Sasuke walk around if the two run into each other. I guess this is the match-up that makes the most sense at the moment, although having Sasuke run into Kabuto might be good too. The new flaming Amateratsu discs are not that impressive though, since I thought people who can use Amateratsu can set things on fire just by looking at them.

In the meantime, Suigetsu, Jugo and Karin are still in the show, and Suigetsu might have found something from Orochimaru's stash that could take control of the war. I don't see Suigetsu getting a big role in the war, so either somebody takes that data from him or he'll have one moment of control in the war and then get smothered out by the big boys. Suigetsu's honesty about liking to "cut things in two" was pretty funny though. All four in Sasuke's little Falcon group have some mental issues. At least Suigetsu is honest about his haha.

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE 18

2012-02-12T16:02:00.000-05:00

Asemu and friend graduate from high school.

Summary:
On a field trip to the outside of the colony, Asemu risked his life to save the school bully Abus who didn't follow instruction and was running out of air in his spacesuit. Asemu's friends asks why Asemu risks his life to save the school bully that hounded them throughout the years, and Asemu states that he can't just let someone die when he has the ability to save them.

Some period of time later, it's the day of graduation ceremony at Asemu's school. Asemu, Romary and Zeheart visit the mobile suit club workshop before the ceremony and they reminisce about the good times. The topic then moves on the future, and Romary states that she might continue school but isn't sure yet. Asemu is pretty sure he'll move on to the military academy so he can protect people especially in this time of conflict, but Zeheart questions Asemu's decision. The three are then reminded by Shawee and Macil to attend the ceremony.

Graduation ceremony shoulder top racing!!!

That must have been a terrible speech for people to tossing stuff at Asemu.

At the ceremony, after everyone has received their diplomas, the principal calls Zeheart and Asemu to the front to give a speech, and Abus carries Asemu on his shoulders to the stage to thank Asemu for saving his life. Asemu reluctantly takes the mic and thanks his friends and fellow students, and Macil and Shawee starts cracking jokes and incites everyone to toss their caps at Asemu. Before Zehart can get the mic, three soldiers walk into the assembly hall to arrest Zeheart on spying charges. The Federation has linked Zeheart's appearance to the Veigan attacks via some encrypted signal activity. Asemu doesn't believe the accusation and gets in the soldiers' way. Zeheart's Veigan cohort Doz is in the audience and pulls out a gun to take the attention off of Zeheart. Doz briefly takes Romary hostage at gunpoint before running out the door, and the soldiers chase after him and leave Zeheart be. After the incident, Zeheart and Asemu tend to Romary who is traumatized and can't stand. Zeheart asks why Asemu believes he is innocent, and Asemu answers that it's because Zeheart is his friend. Asemu takes Romary to the nurse's room, while Zeheart disappears from the ceremony.

I don't think your pistol will be very useful in this battle.

Zedas are faster in space, but the Gundam is nimbler on the ground.

Doz escapes into a wooded area, and the Federation assembles a squad to search for him. However, the Feds didn't have to search long as Doz reappears in a Dorado with Zeheart's Zedas R in tow and Doz blasts the soldiers. Zeheart rides to rendezvous with Doz and they start an attack on the colony with two more Dorados attacking the colony from the outside. Woolf in his G Bouncer and two Adeles are called on to respond. Asemu is with Romary in the school nurse's room when Vargas calls him about the attack. Vargas tells Flit that the Gundam is being trucked to the school and tells Asemu to get ready to battle. Meanwhile, Zeheart flies near the school and thinks about the past year or so of living life as a student, but he decides that his mission for the Veigan is much more important. Zeheart defeats to Adeles in combat before being met by Asemu in the Gundam. Zeheart uses his X-Rounder abilities to dodge any serious damage, but he finds that the Zedas R is not quick enough and stumbles against Asemu's two sword style. Zeheart gets his act together though and pins down the Gundam. Zeheart then reveals his identity to Asemu. The two get out of their mobile suits to have a face to face talk, and Zeheart tells Asemu that he is too nice to be on the battlefield and questions if Asemu has the resolve to go to war and defeat him. Romary has gotten out of the nurse's room to watch the battle and she also learns of Zeheart's identity. Woolf's squad finally arrives, and Zeheart gets back into his Zedas and fly away.

So uh... we are not friends anymore?

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The time has come for Asemu and friends to graduate from high school and it's also the time for a change in the story. This episode wasn't what I expected, since I thought the series would keep up the Zeheart's charade a little longer and have him and Asemu be friends in person but enemies on the battlefield. I think the story would have been more interesting that way, and the reveal later down the story would have had more impact. It was clear that Asemu saw Zeheart as a friend, and Zeheart could have been made to take advantage of that. Now the secret is already out, and now the only thing they can do is fight it out in space. Obviously there will be no real love triangle in this generation either as Zeheart revealed his Veigan identity before he and Romary can get anything significant going. Maybe because AGE is catered to the younger audience the writers didn't want too many "complicated" and "adult" stories going on.

So now Zeheart is back with the Veigans, and Asemu will join the military, become a part of the Diva crew and get a new Gundam. I am surprised that new Gundam didn't show up for three episodes, but it looks like it'll take over from the AGE-1 next week. I also thought the AGE-1 may get damaged or destroyed before we get to the new Gundam, but it looks like the series might keep the AGE-1 as an antique. We did have the 0 Gundam fighting at the end of Gundam 00, so this wouldn't be the first time an old model stuck around in the story.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 89 & 90

2012-02-11T14:17:00.000-05:00

The Third Impact in progress.

Can't blame Shinji for covering up. Those are somewhat disturbing images.

Summary:
Shinji comes to his senses and finds Unit 01 in the sky. Giant naked Rei rises out of NERV HQ and appears in front of Shinji. The mass produces EVA start turning into Rei, and Shinji screams in terror. At this moment, the Lance of Longinus pierces Unit 01's core, and Unit 01 transforms into a giant cross. Shinji wakes up in a blank dream world with only him and Rei around. Rei states that she is Shinji's heart and asks if Shinji has any hopes and desires. The Black Moon rises into orbit and an even more gargantuan naked Rei appears to clasp the Black Moon in her hands while spreading wings from her back. At NERV HQ, the crew sees that the Anti-At field has crossed the threshold and life cannot maintain their form anymore, and Kozo comments that the fate of humanity now lies in Shinji's hands.

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I almost forgot that I blogged the NGE manga given its highly irregular release schedule, but the series will probably finish in the next year or two. These two chapters got the giant Rei rising out of the ground stuff out of the way. If the manga still follows the End of Evangelion scenario, then next chapter will likely be about everyone melting into goop. It looks like the manga will probably stick with that scenario, but there is still room for some departure, especially when it comes to how Shinji will decide his own fate and the fate of humanity.

Gantz 357

2012-02-10T21:24:00.003-05:00

A certain well-endowed hot babe dies :(

No... I won't be able to enjoy these big soft pillows anymore...

Summary:
Kurono #2 wakes up and finds the big ugly alien has been killed with a stab through its chest-face. Kurono #2 then finds Reika lying lifeless nearby. Kurono tries to get Reika to wake up but fails. He tries CPR but to no avail. Kurono cries over Reika's body and apologizes for saying mean things to her and screams that he had genuinely loved her. Kurono gives Reika one final kiss and walks deeper into the tunnel while carrying Reika's body in his arms.

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They killed Reika. Those bastards! Why kill off the hot, big-breasted babe? Why!? Lol I can't say that I'm surprised since Gantz is the type of series where anyone can die at anytime, and it certainly looked like in the last chapter that Reika would sacrifice herself to save Kurono #2. Kurono's #2's bad timing for his outburst just cost him the hottest girlfriend that he'll ever have in this life and the next. It kind of sucks that the series like to kill off the babes (Kei Kishimoto, that girl that looked like Lara Croft/Angelina Jolie who had sex with Kurono), but that's just the way it is. There is always Gantz' "revive" card though. It doesn't work right now, but perhaps that Gantzers can fix the network. Hopefully Reika's death will mean something significant to the story, for example send Kurono #2 into beast mode where he one-man-army his way out of the crazy alien game show and makes some heads roll.

Bleach 480

2012-02-08T21:40:00.001-05:00

After a three week hiatus, Bleach is back with its final story arc.

What's the point of sending in weak shinigamis when you know Ichigo is on the job?

Summary:
In Soul Society, Kurotsuchi's 12th Division are on high alert in their control center after the report of hollows disappearing. 3rd seat Akon is worried about the barrier between Soul Society and the material world, and Kurotsuchi knows that only one group can cause such a crisis.

Meanwhile, two shinigamis named Yuki and Shino are chosen as the new shinigamis for Karakura Town to replace Imoyama. Yuki isn't very enthusiastic about the assignment since Karakura Town is known for high number of hollows and there is a very strong representative shinigami there. Imoyama brings Yuki and Shino to the town and leaves them to their assignments. Shino suggest that the two of them split up to look for hollows, and not soon after Shino had left Yuki sees a hollow behind her. Yuki is scared and tries to find Shino, but he then sees that Shino has been grabbed a group of big hollows. Yuki is then knocked to the ground by the hollow that he had found and he is badly hurt. The hollows move in to finish Yuki off, but Ichigo appears to save the day. Ichigo introduces himself and tells Yuki to get it in gear or else he'll be as useless as Imoyama. While the fight is going on, someone is watching from the shadows.

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This is the beginning of the end for Bleach. Bleach is a long running Jump series that has built up a substantial fan base, but recent story arcs have been disappointing. I'm hoping the three week hiatus allowed Kubo to come up with a better story this time. I won't be getting my hopes up too high, but I'm hoping that the final arc can end off Bleach on a high... or at least decent note so we don't have to remember it as the series that started off well but then crashed and burned. Even though the end is in sight, I'm sure Kubo can wrangle 100+ chapters out if he wants to given this is final and likely most significant story arc of the series.

Anyways, the arc starts off with hints of some mega crisis that will threaten both the Soul Society and the material world and some yet to be identified group causing the trouble. Meanwhile, Ichigo is still doing his job as representative shinigami by knocking off hollows and saving weak shinigamis that get sent to the town. It's too early to say anything about the story. Bleach doesn't have a problem with starting storylines; it has trouble ending them, so the starting stages will probably be okay as the crisis gradually unfolds.

One Piece 656

2012-02-08T20:32:00.000-05:00

Luffy's group battle the dragon, while the crew on the Sunny are hit with sleeping gas.

It's not like it wasn't hot enough already in Punk Hazard.

Summary:
Back on the Sunny, Sanji is in the process of serving food when he notices everyone else is asleep on the deck. Sanji then notices the gas surrounding the ship and tries to reach the Den Den Mushi to alert Luffy's group, but he doesn't make it and falls unconscious. A group of men in gas gear comes on board and they plan to present the sleeping Straw Hats to their master.

Meanwhile in Punk Hazard, Luffy's group hear a voice coming from the dragon, but the dragon attacks them with fire breath. The group dodges and Luffy punches the dragon, but the dragon is durable and smashes Luffy into some buildings with its tail. Zoro attacks but also fails to deal much damage and he becomes trapped in the dragon's jaw. Luffy's kicks the dragon in the stomach to free Zoro, and while the fighting continues the voice continues coming from the dragon asking if Luffy's group are "men of the Shichibukai". The dragon takes to air and breathes fire once again to force Luffy and Zoro to take cover. Zoro tells Luffy that he got this, and Luffy slingshots up onto the dragon in order to knock it down. While on the dragon's back Luffy spots the lower body of a man sticking out the dragon. The dragon tries to bite Luffy but ends up biting on its own wing instead. As the dragon falls to the ground, Usopp shoots out a trampoline flower that allows Zoro to bounce into the air and decapitate the dragon.

After slaying the dragon, Luffy tries to pull the man out of the dragon but to his surprise only the lower body comes out. However, the lower half body seems to completely function on its own. The half-a-man gets back to his feet and does a spinning kick to get Luffy's group to back off before running away and screaming something about not letting a target go and saying something about a Shichibukai. Luffy is impressed and wants the half-a-man to join his crew.

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The new adventure continues and things get ever more bizarre and dangerous. Luffy's group slays the dragon in a not-so-easy battle to find a "person" who only has the lower half of his body who is saying stuff about a Shichibukai and a target. Judging by the clothing, the half-a-man could possibly be a samurai... or half of one. Luffy's group will probably try to follow or capture the half-a-man to get some clues as to why Punk Hazard is such an inhospitable hellhole.

Luffy's landing party isn't having all of the fun by themselves though, as the rest of the crew on the Sunny are gassed by an unknown force. The guys in gas gear have some bad plans for the Straw Hats they've captured, but it seems to be me that they didn't include Brook in their count. Brook was shown to be also asleep though, but maybe he'll be ignored because he is a skeleton and most people don't think skeletons are alive.

Naruto 573

2012-02-08T19:16:00.000-05:00

The news that Naruto is holding his own against Tobi is spread to the Shinobi Army.

You should lose your evil mastermind license if even Naruto's childish teasing can get in your head.

Summary:
After defeating Tobi's puppets, Naruto makes fun of Tobi for not knowing the actual names of the tailed beasts. It starts to rain and Tobi isn't so full of confidence anymore, although he still believes Naruto is just a pawn in his plan used to "stimulate" Sasuke. Back at Shinobi Army HQ, Ao gives Shikaku the news that Naruto is holding Tobi back. Shikaku tells Inoichi to spread the news to everyone to boost morale. Inoichi spreads the news via the psychic link and over-exerts himself in the process, getting a nosebleed. Naruto's friends and the rest of the army hear the news and they all get renewed desire to win the war.

Somewhere out in the wild, Sasuke is walking around looking somewhat evil.

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Not much happening this week as the entire chapter was taken up by the army trying to use Naruto to boost morale, so it means there was no progress to the fight whatsoever. Tobi is not as confident as before about his absolute superiority, but I'm sure he still has a few tricks left. Sasuke has appeared in brief spurts once every so often during the war story arc, but until he actually runs into someone his appearances are just there to tease us. Hopefully this time Sasuke will actually enter the fray. The only thing remotely interesting was that it sounded like part of Tobi's plan is to use Sasuke for something and using Naruto to "stimulate" Sasuke. I'm not sure where that plays into the "Moon's Eye" plan.

Rosario + Vampire II 50

2012-02-07T20:24:00.000-05:00

Tsukune's group run into more Fairy Tale lackeys.

Uh... I think we should have taken the last exit.

Summary:
Tsukune, Kurumu, Mizore and Ruby continue to venture deeper into the Fairy Tale flying base despite the fact that Yukari and Fong Fong haven't caught up. They come out of the tunnel into a larger room where 1st subdivision leader Fujisaki is waiting for them. However, Fujisaki is not looking for a fight and instead offers to guide Tsukune's group to Moka's location. Ruby can feel that Fujisaki is dangerous and recommends Tsukune take the offer, but Tsukune refuses because Fujisaki had tried to force himself on Mizore during the snow village incident. The group walk by Fujisaki, and Fujisaki tells them that they are already being targeted. On cue, Yoshi Kiria appears from above to attack Tsukune. Tsukune dodges, but Kiria uses a teleportation spell to send both Tsukune and Ruby to another location. Mizore and Kurumu are left to fend for themselves against Kiria and Fujisaki. Kiria explains that someone that Mizore, Kurumu and Tsukune knew wanted to see Tsukune badly, so that's why Kiria teleported Tsukune away. After the explanation, Kiria charges in with his arm blade, but to Kurumu and Mizore's surprise Fujisaki steps in and blocks the slash with his hand.

Meanwhile, Tsukune and Ruby is at a strange location with little floating islands over a burning pit. Ruby feels a murderous presence nearby, and Tsukune feels it too and the presence is familiar. Tsukune quickly jumps to another island to dodge a fire ball, and just as he had guessed the enemy he is facing is Kuyo, the demon fox who was a member of the Youkai Academy's Public Safety Committee.

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Two old characters from the first season of the manga are back, although unfortunately I don't remember what they looked like and had to look up their names. Kiria is Hokuto's "helper" and the guy who gave Hokuto his youkai powers, and it seems that unlike Hokuto, Kiria is in favor of doing his job for Fairy Tale. On the other hand, Fujisaki seems to have other agendas and are willing to help Tsukune's group and even defend Kurumu and Mizore from Kiria. It sounds like Fujisaki may have something to do with Hokuto helping Tsukune's group sneaking into the base. Fujisaki and Kiria's motives are still mysteries though, but it'll be interesting to see what Kiria and Fujisaki will do now.

The other character who showed up was Kuyo the demon fox whom Tsukune beat up during the first season of the manga. It's been a while since I've read the first season and so I don't have too much recollection of what happened, but the only thing we need to know is that Kuyo was a Fairy Tale spy and now has a big grudge against Tsukune. Kuyo now has five tails (supposedly he had four before) which means he's more powerful than before, but on the other hand Tsukune is also more powerful and better trained than before. It's a fight that Tsukune will likely win, but then the question becomes if Tsukune can find his way to Moka from where he is right now.

Lastly, the manga left us dangling as to the fate of Yukari, Fong Fong, Xia-Long and Routier, but chances are they are alive. If Rosario + Vampire is going to kill off characters, it'll probably show the death front and center to show that said character actually died.

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE 17

2012-02-05T17:12:00.000-05:00

Zeheart tries to locate the Gundam and hones in on the Asuno ranch.

Running at full speed away from the corny friendship montage.

Ladies love Zeheart because he as both the look and moves.

Summary:
Asemu, Shawee and Macil and busy tuning their mini mobile suit in the shop for the upcoming competition when Romary walks in to thank Asemu for protecting her during the UE attack. Romary agrees to keep the fact that Asemu is the Gundam pilot a secret. Meanwhile, Zeheart has learned from another Veigan operative that the Gundam is probably hidden in the Asuno ranch. With that in mind, Zeheart joins the mobile suit club to get closer to Asemu and helps the club tune their mobile suit. Zeheart gets along quite well with Asemu and the rest of the club members. One day Romary comes to check on the club and Zeheart saves Romary from being hit by an accidental flying wrench from Shawee, and Romary seems to have to taken a liking to Zeheart as well.

Zeheart is walking to school with a bag of part for the mobile suit when he spots the other operative in a nearby park. Zeheart walks over and sits on a bench to have a conversation with the operative who hides behind a tree. The operative tells Zeheart that they are pretty sure the Gundam is at the Asuno ranch, but security is tight and so Zeheart is tasks with finding a way in. Zeheart manages to convince Asemu, Macil and Shawee to go to Asemu's house to look up any mobile suit books that Flit might have in his study. While at the Asuno house, Zeheart sneaks away from the group and to the barn/stable where he finds the Gundam under the stacks of hay.

Zeheart, expert hay inspector.

Pretty violent and dangerous for a high school robot competition.

The next day is the day of the mobile suit competition. Asemu is piloting their mini mobile suit and doing well in the matches, and Emily, Unoa and Romary are in the stands to cheer for him. While Asemu, Macil and Shawee are busy with the competition, Zeheart sneaks away and coordinates an attack on the Asuno estate in order to steal the Gundam. The other Veigan operative drives a Dorado to the Asuno ranch and attacks. Vargas and his two helpers are watching Asemu's mobile suit competition at the time when they spot the Dorado standing up in front of the ranch. The two helpers buy time by shooting at the Dorado with a bazooka from a jeep while Vargas calls for Asemu to return. Asemu has reached the finals in the competition but is forced to leave it up to Marcel and Shawee, and Romary also sees Asemu leaving. In the woods near the ranch, Zeheart is watching the operation unfold from his Zedas R and he spots Asemu riding back home on a motorbike. The Dorado spots Asemu's bike and blows it up, but Asemu manages to get away in time. Vargas and helpers harass the Dorado some more with the bazooka which allows Asemu to get to the Gundam.

Special delivery: one Veigan Dorado to tear up your barn and blow holes in your yard.

Asemu pilots the Gundam against the Dorado and slices off one of the Dorado's arms in a swordfight. Zeheart comes to help out and holds the Gundam with his Zedas. The Dorado charges in with its remaining beam blade, but Vargas uses the yard sprinklers to spread fog over the ranch. Asemu breaks away from Zeheart and then takes out the Dorado with a stab to the neck, but the Veigan operative escapes before his Dorado blows up. The explosion clears the fog, and Zeheart's Zedas tackles the Gundam and holds it down. Zeheart tries to disable the Gundam with the Zedas' beam sword, but he is distracted when Romary appears. Asemu uses the opportunity to punch Zeheart's Zedas away and get the Gundam back to its feet, and Zeheart is forced to retreat when he spots Federation mobile suits approaching the ranch.

The Gundam does have two swords if you didn't know.

Okay boys, break it up and gawk at the school cutie.

The UE attack caused the finals of the mobile suit competition to be canceled, and the next day both Asemu and Zeheart took the day off from club activities. The Gundam is taken to a military storage facility per Flit's orders. Meanwhile, Zeheart has another chat with the operative in the park and is informed that his infiltration mission will continue until they get the Gundam. Zeheart feels relieved that he is staying at the colony but isn't sure why.

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It wasn't exactly difficult to figure out the Gundam was hiding at the Asuno ranch given how Flit is the former pilot and designer of said mobile suit, and thus Zeheart and the Veigans attack the ranch in order to steal the Gundam. I would have though Flit, as a general, would tell his kids not to go mess around in his study because he might have sensitive information lying around, but I suppose Asemu would have brought his friends home anyways, and certainly Asemu has no idea that Zeheart is a Veigan operative. They failed this time, and thus the Gundam is taken to a secure military facility... where it probably should have been in the first place. Asemu gets another real mobile suit battle under the belt, but the responsibilities are weighing in on him now that his family ranch has been attacked. I'm not entirely sure why the Veigan are so bent on stealing the Gundam given that the suit is 25 years old already. The AGE-1 Gundam is still an impressive piece of technology, but it's more about the skill of the pilots rather than the technology that allowed the Gundam to win some of the more crucial battles against strong foes. Maybe the Veigans just want it as something symbolic, as if they are taking the savior of the Federation away or something. I'm still waiting for Asemu to get the new AGE-2 Gundam featured in the OP though, but it probably won't happen until Asemu actually joins the military in some capacity.

This episode set up some of the main character dynamics for Asemu's part of Gundam AGE. Zeheart joins the mobile suit club in order to get closer to Asemu in order to get the Gundam. Zeheart is carrying out the Veigan mission against the Asunos and the Federation, but on the other hand he seems to be enjoying being in the mobile suit club and making friends. The fact that Zeheart is Asemu's classmate/club mate/friend on one hand and the enemy ace pilot/covert operative on the other is obviously going to be an integral part of the of the story for this generation of the show. Another possibly important development in this episode is that Romary seems to have taken a liking to Zeheart in addition to Asemu, setting up a possible love triangle. The Flit part of the show had a love triangle of sorts, although Emily never knew about Yurin (and probably still doesn't know). Zeheart also stopped when he saw Romary while trying to pin down the Gundam. We'll see if the love triangle really happens or not.

Overall, a decent episode to move the story along. Next week we'll see Flit get out of high school so he can move onto becoming a hero, and it looks a certain white mobile suit will be appearing as well.

To Love-Ru Darkness 16

2012-02-02T18:48:00.000-05:00

Mea sets her sights on Tearju.

I guess Momo doesn't know that Yami can change her figure at will.

Summary:
Due her good looks and klutzy nature, Tearju becomes a very popular teacher at Rito's school. One person who doesn't like her is Mea, and Mea wonders if she should eliminate Tearju. During break, Tearju talks to Rito and Momo and Tearju states the doesn't know too much about Mea's origins. Tearju thinks that Mea was probably developed using Yami's data as the second generation morphing living weapon, but she doesn't know much more beyond that. Momo gives Tearju seeds to a quick growing vine plant so that Tearju can use these seeds when she gets into trouble. Using the seeds will also alert Momo. Momo explains that it was Yami who asked her to keep an eye out for Tearju. After talking to Tearju, Momo wonders why Tearju has big breasts while Yami has a flat chest and she suggests to Rito that both Tearju and Yami should be added to the harem much to Rito's chagrin.

After school, Tearju is alone in the classroom when Mea appears at the open window. Tearju states that she wanted to talk to Mea as well, but before any talking can happen Oshizu barges in and uses her psychic power on Mea's clothing so that the clothes will rip if Mea tries to move. Mea moves anyways and becomes naked, but she quickly generates her battle outfit with her morphing powers. Oshizu and Mea face off against each other, but Tearju accidentally trips over and drops Momo's seeds which activate.

Mea vs. Oshizu... a potentially interesting fight.

Momo, Rito and Celine are on their way home when Momo gets the alert. They rush back to the classroom to find Oshizu and Tearju entangled in the vines in naughty positions, and Celine takes advantage and jumps into suckle on Tearju. Momo frees Tearju and Rito spots Mea standing on a desk nearby. Mea mentions that it was Oshizu who attacked first and her master Nemesis taught her not to have mercy on an enemy who has animosity towards her. Upon hearing the name Nemesis, Tearju remembers that there was a completely different weapons program by the same name that ran along side the Eve program (that created Yami). Mea confirms that her master Nemesis was the product of said program. Mea remembers that she emerged from the wrecked research lab with no idea who she is supposed to be, and Nemesis was the one who found her and taught her how to use her abilities to be a weapon. Mea asks if Tearju still thinks Yami should live like an ordinary person, and Tearju answers yes and also wants Mea to live like a normal girl too. Mea tries to deny the thought, but Momo and Rito also weigh in with their support that Mea should remain in town and live like a normal person. Seeing that Rito is involved, Mea states that she'll consider it if Rito licks her entire body, and Momo and Tearju urge Rito to go through with it. Of course, Mea was only joking and states that she won't be swayed so easily before leaving out the window. After Mea had left, Momo and company realize that they forgot to free Oshizu from the vines.

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As expected, Tearju's arrival at Rito's school has gotten Mea's attention, although there were no big fights or assassination attempts this chapter thanks to some timely and untimely intervention and falls. We finally saw Mea using her battle outfit in present time, although she didn't bring out any of her blasters this time. It was probably a good thing that Tearju tripped over and released the vines on Oshizu to prevent the fight from escalating. We did learn a bit about Mea's master Nemesis and Mea's origins. So apparently Nemesis is the product of a different weapons program, and Mea is basically Yami generation 2 which wasn't developed completely due to the lab being destroyed. If this is true, Nemesis will probably be quite a formidable combatant, but her abilities will be different from those of Yami and Mea. It might be a while until we see Nemesis' face out in the open though. From the chapter, it's obvious that there is a part of Mea who wants to be a normal girl and hang out with Nana and friends, but it'll take a lot more than just words to win her over. Now if Rito really gave her whole body a lick...

Speaking of that, the ecchiness of the series is going up again thanks to the arrival of Tearju. Given Tearju's amazing figure and tendency for tripping over, it's no wonder that she has become a prime target for the ecchi scenes in the series. She starred in a fantasy shower scene, got some vine bondage and got suckled by Celine this chapter... things are not looking good for her lol. There were some funny moments in this chapter as well, such as how Tearju and Momo urged Rito to lick Mea in order to win her over. I also liked how Yui was concerned for Tearju due to Tearju's figure. The naughty stuff is the source of humor for To Love after all.

Claymore 123

2012-02-02T15:03:00.000-05:00

Miria, Deneve and company continue fighting the awakened Hysteria.

Gotta love the fist-raising flying pose.

Summary:
Helen, Tabitha and Anastasia are left trying to hold off Hysteria. Miria is watching the battle from the ground and notes that Hysteria can fire the spikes (which are connected to a rope) to propel herself high into the air but once in the air she cannot move upwards again. Yuma and Cynthia spot the injured Deneve, but Deneve tells the two to tend to Nike and especially Dietrich who is hurt bad and can't regenerate very well because she is an offensive type.

Back to the battle, Helen swings and misses, and Anastasia gets hit and is pinned to the ground by Hysteria's legs. Hysteria tells the warriors that she will spare whoever pulls out the sword lodged in her neck, but if no one takes the offer then she'll kill everyone. Miria watches the situation and realizes even the team of Northern Survivors who are at least as strong as the single digit Claymore aren't enough to take down an Abyssal One. Miria then gets the idea to go all out and awaken in order to take down Hysteria, but Deneve talks her out of it and invites her join the fight with her humanity intact. Deneve then shows Miria how to use Anastasia's hair threads to "hover" in the air and the two come up with a plan to turn the tide of the battle.

Meanwhile, Nike (who regenerate part of her right arm with Yuma's help) agrees to pull the sword out of Hysteria's neck. Nike slowly pulls the sword out and slices off the leg that has impaled Anastasia, and Deneve and Tabitha rush in to get Anastasia away from Hysteria. Nike is left to face Hysteria, but Hysteria keeps her promise and ignores Nike to go after the other warriors. Miria confronts Hyseria again, and the two have a race in mid air with Miria frequently changing directions and Helen using her extensible arms to interfere with the spikes that Hysteria is firing into the ground to anchor herself. Back on the ground, Anastasia is concerned that even Miria with her speed won't be able to outrun Hysteria forever, but Deneve points out that Miria is trying to lead Hysteria into the battle between Cassandra and Roxanne.

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The battle against Hysteria continues, and it looks like even the Northern Survivors with their greater skill and numbers aren't enough to stand against the power of an Abyssal One. So instead, Miria and company are trying to lead Hysteria into the grudge match between Cassandra and Roxanne probably in hope that Hysteria will get snagged into the battle. If that happens, Miria and team can let the three monsters sort it out themselves at least for the time being. It sure sounds simple enough, but leading Hysteria into the middle of the big fight and getting out alive won't be nearly so easy. If the plan is successful and the three resurrected start fighting each other, I wonder if their yoki will force Clare and Priscilla to come out of their slumber. Hopefully that's what Claymore is building towards.

One Piece 655

2012-02-01T23:08:00.000-05:00

Luffy and friends venture onto a dangerous, closed off island.

Coincidentally, 2012 is the year of the Dragon.

Summary:
After emerging from underwater, the Straw Hats find that the nearby sea is on fire and any sea creatures unfortunate enough to be in the water have been cooked. The crew then receives a distress call on the Den Den Mushi from someone on the island of Punk Hazard who screams about being in a frigid environment and getting stabbed by samurais. There is only one island nearby behind the burning sea, and despite the suspicious circumstances and the fact that no log poses point to that island, Luffy decides to go and try to save whoever was on the call.

Meanwhile near Raijin Island, Smoker has been listening to the distress call from his tapping Den Den Mushi. Smoker thought that the Straw Hats would come to Raijin Island because the log pose shakes the most violently in its direction, but after hearing the call Smoker tells his crew to head to Punk Hazard which is inhabitable and closed off because of something that happened four years ago.

Back near the burning sea, the Straw Hats draw straws to determine who joins Luffy in the landing party, and Usopp, Robin and Zoro "win" the draw. Nami creates a cloud bridge to get over the flames and Luffy's party venture to the island via the Mini Merry. After Luffy's party leaves, Nami notes that the clouds on the other side of the island looks like those of a frigid winter.

Upon arriving on the island, the landing party finds that the island has been cordoned off by a giant chain linked fence with a Marine/World Government sign telling people to keep out. Luffy and comrades of course ignore the warning and venture inside, and the hot temperature force the party remove some of their clothing. The group finds the ruins of some sort of base and Robin and Usopp find the place suspicious. The group then sees the skull of a gigantic humanoid, and to their surprise they see a real life dragon who in turn asks the Straw Hats who they are.

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I'd say that's a pretty good start to the Straw Hats' next adventure. Deserted/cordoned-off island with some sort of mysterious history, surrounded by a sea of fire and with samurais and dragons is just the kind of fantastical and dangerous place you'd expect to see in the One Piece Grand Line region. Smoker had the right idea thinking that Luffy would go for the most dangerous island, but he didn't expect the Straw Hats to go off course. It looks like Smoker is still in the picture though despite not being in the right location, and so the Straw Hats and Smoker's G5 Marines will probably some time during the next story arc.

In the meantime, Luffy's landing party will have to first deal with the dragon which appears to be sentient and able to speak in human-tongue. I wonder what are the chances Luffy will try to beat the dragon up lol.

Naruto 572

2012-02-01T22:08:00.000-05:00

Naruto and Kurama team up against Tobi's tailed beasts.

Little Kurama shedding a tear... weird.

Summary:
Naruto and Kurama counter the combined tailed beast bombs of the other beasts with their own giant tailed beast bomb. The two attacks create a huge explosion, and Naruto/Kurama uses the smoke to grab the stakes on Tobi's beasts with Kurama's tail-arms (each containing a fox mode Naruto shadow clone). Naruto wants to pull all the stakes out at once, but suddenly he is transported into an inner dimension again. This time, all of the remaining beasts and their jinchurikis are present and none of them are bound by chains. Even Son Goku and his jinchurikis appear, and all of the jinchurikis and beasts pledge support to Naruto. While watching Naruto, Kurama takes a trip down memory lane where the Sage of the Six Paths held an assembly with all nine of the young tailed beasts. The Sage stated that he won't be alive for long, but he tells the beasts to search for the right path and eventually become one again. Kurama believes that maybe this day has finally come.

Back to the real world, Naruto pulls out the stakes from the remaining beasts and Tobi has to suck the beasts back into the cursed statue. Having met with the other tailed beasts in the inner world, Naruto now has even more confidence.

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Naruto and Kurama defeat Tobi's puppets and Naruto gets more knowledge (and perhaps power) from the other tailed beasts. Kurama shows himself as the most powerful of the beasts as he and Naruto countered the combined attack of five other tailed beasts and then pulled out the control rods. Everything went so well that half of the chapter was spent in the inner world where Naruto learned the proper names of all of the tailed beasts and made some stupid jokes (and then got made fun of). I suppose the inner world stuff with all the beasts and jinchurikis pledging support was necessary, but the flashback with all the baby tailed beasts around the Sage of Six Paths was a bit weird. I certainly didn't expect to see the beasts in their kid chibi forms and I thought Kurama shedding a tear was funny. The whole thing felt out of place to me. I thought the beasts would be somewhat hostile to the Sage since he was the one who formed them from the Juubi, but it sounds like the Sage was more like a father figure to the tailed beasts. Maybe this is all to go with Naruto's central message of that everyone can and should get along or something along those lines.

Anyways, Tobi loses the puppets, but he still has the Cursed Statute and probably some other eye hacks if he chooses to continue the fight. We'll see if Naruto received any additional power-ups from his meeting with the tailed beasts.

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE 16

2012-01-29T20:16:00.000-05:00

The war between the Federation and the Veigans continue 25 years after the battle at Ambat.

Is that Mount Fuji in the background?

Summary:
In A.G. 140, 25 years after the battle at Ambat, the war between the Federation and Veigans continue and the Veigan agent Zehearte Galette and his superior plan to move onto stage 2 of their Eden Plan. The now 39-year-old Flit is a general in the Federation and is still determined to defeat the Veigans who has refused every attempt for peace talks. Flit gets a day off from his duties and decides to return to the space colony Tordia to check on his family.

Acquiring target... love interest identified.

Flit has got the style going on these days.

At a school in Torida, two members of the school Mobile Suit club are confronted by three bullies, but club member Asemu Asuno shows up to help his fellow club members and the fight is then broken up by a teacher. Asemu and his two friends return to their warehouse to work on their mini-mobile suit for an upcoming competition, but there is a problem with the arm programming. The school cutie Romarie and her two friends come to check out the commotion. Romarie seems interested in the club's work, but her friends aren't so enthusiastic and gets her to leave. Afterwards, Asemu gets a phone call from his dad Flit who has arrived in the colony. The Asuno family (Flit, wife Emily, Vargas, Asemu and sister Unoa) has dinner together to celebrate Asemu's 17th birthday. Flit gives Asemu the AGE device and explains that Asemu should use the device to protect the things he holds precious. Flit also states that he will recommend Asemu to go to a military academy and tells Asemu not to slack off on his studies.

No, it's not the keys to the convertible, but it's something even better.

The next day at school, Zehearte transfers into Asemu's class. During break, Asemu and schoolmates watch as Zehearte has a run-in with the big bully and Zehearte embarrasses the bully without fighting back. Later, Zehearte passes by the Mobile Suit club workshop where Asemu and friends are tuning their suit, but Zehearte isn't interested in the club. Instead, Zehearte goes into the wooded area nearby and calls for the Veigan to start their attack. Two Veigan Dorados fly into the colony and start blowing up houses, and a Genoace II and two Shaldolls show up to fight the intruders. Asemu and friends see the smoke in the distance, and Asemu decides to ride his motorcycle back home after being unable to reach his mother by phone. On the way, Asemu spots Romarie in an area that has been hit. Romarie has twisted her ankle, and so Asemu brings her along for the ride. Aesemu arrives back home where Vargas informs him that Emily and Unoa are hiding safely in the basement. Vargas motions Aesemu and Emily to go into the barn where Flit has been hiding the AGE-1 Gundam Normal among a huge stack of hay. Vargas states that he and his helpers had been maintaining the Gundam all this time and tells Asemu to use the AGE device as the key. Asemu hops into and activates the Gundam. After the barn roof is opened, Asemu gets the Gundam to jump out and head towards the battle.

The Veigans suits are looking more ninja than before.

The new Gundam isn't ready yet, so for now you'll have to settle for a dual-wielding AGE-1 Gundam.

Asemu arrives when the the two Dorados had already defeated the Shaldolls and knocked down the heavily damaged Genoace. Zehearte is watching in the distance and reports that their target (the Gundam) has been sighted. Asemu fights the Dorados by dual-wielding beam sabers, and he manages to stay in the fight despite being inexperienced and knocked down once. Asemu creates a smoke screen using the Gundam's thrusters and this allows him to isolate and destroy one of the Dorados. The other Dorado tries to retaliate but its leg is grabbed by the downed Genoace, allowing the Gundam to step in and slice it apart. After the battle, the whole area is covered by a strange fog. Outside of the colony, Flit watches news of the attack from a shuttle.

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It's now on to the second generation of Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, and the Gundam has been passed down from father Flit to son Asemu. Flit is now a middle aged general of the Federation, and having too much stuff to do Flit decides to hand the Gundam pilot mantle to Asemu. It is kind of like handing the keys to the car to the son, but of course the Gundam is much more substantial than any car. With a mustache and goatee plus the designer suit and shades, Flit's current look reminds me of Tony Stark (or the Robert Downey Jr. version of said character), so he looks kind of cool for a middle-aged guy. As we all have guessed by now, Flit married Emily, and both Asemu and his sister Unoa inherited Emily's blond hair. Seems like green hair is an even more recessive trait than blond hair. Despite Flit not being around the family most of the time, Asemu seems to be a happy and balanced kid and doesn't have issues with Flit. Through the course of the 1st generation story, Flit developed a hatred for the Veigans, and we'll see what kind of beliefs Asemu will develop through his part of the show.

Looking at the start and the OP sequence, a number of characters from the 1st generation will return to show. Millais will be the new captain of the Diva, Dique will take over Vargas' role as the Diva's mechanic chief, and Woolf will be back as well with the addition of some manly sideburns. I wonder if any of the other non-deceased characters from the 1st generation will make an appearance though. In terms of new characters, Zehearte will star opposite to Asemu as the "Red Comet" masked ace pilot of this series, and Romarie will be the love interest for Asemu. Zehearte has the same last name as Decil, so there might be some relation there.

We know for a fact that Asemu will have a newer transformable Gundam at his disposal for the majority of this part of the series, and thus he won't be using the AGE-1 Gundam for long. The AGE-1 Gundam still has enough ability to defeat the second generation Veigan grunts, but it'll probably be inadequate once tougher opponents show up. My guess is that the AGE-1 will suffer heavy damage and will be rebuilt into the new Gundam, but they can also build a new one from scratch.

Anyways, this was an okay start to the second generation. The last generation ended on an attack on a Veigan hideout. Perhaps this part will end with an attack on a more significant target? The Veigan home base will probably be saved for Asemu's son though.

Gantz 356

2012-01-29T11:32:00.000-05:00

Reika returns to help Kurono #2 against the big ugly alien.

One part of keeping your man is keeping him alive.

Summary:
Kurono #2 is lifted into the air by the big alien's telekinetic powers and has his clothes ripped off. The alien's attack is starting to hurt Kurono, but Reika returns to down the alien using her H-gun. Reika shoots the alien a few more times, but the aliens recovers enough to send Reika flying with a palm pressure wave. Kurono gets back up and seeing Reika lying on the ground. As Reika recovers from the attack, Kurono tells her to leave and states that he wished he could have seen Tae one more time. Kurono then charges towards the big alien and starts hacking at the alien with his Gantz sword. Kurono slices off the alien's hand and feet, but the alien crushes Kurono with a pressure attack by looking at Kurono. Reika rushes to Kurono who is unconscious but still alive, and so Reika picks up the Gantz sword to face the alien by herself.

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Hmmm... I guess the reason why Kurono #2 went wild is because he still can't get over the fact he is a clone, so he wants to take on the big monster by himself to throw his own life away. It is kind of hard to get over the fact that another Kurono is with Tae. Perhaps Kurono decided to snap once he saw that there were tough enemies around... doesn't make that much sense, but it kind of makes sense in the context of Gantz. Anyways, Kurono #2 is knocked out at the moment, so it's up to Reika to save them both. What are the chances that Reika will end up dying to save Kurono, and how Kurono #2 will feel if Ranka does save him?

Deadman Wonderland 51

2012-01-28T14:24:00.000-05:00

Ganta recovers, but so does Hagire.

No, you guys can't start the show without me!

Summary:
Inside Deadman Wonderland, Yosuga follows Hagire's instructions and hooks up a bunch of equipment to Hagire in order to save his life, and Hagire then proceeds to perform surgery on himself with Yosuga's help. Meanwhile back at the submarine, Ganta finally wakes up after being unconscious for five meals worth of time. Ganta tells his buddies that he feels fine, but Ganta's comrades remember that Makina had told them that Ganta's Branch of Sin is special and consumes his body the more he uses it. Ganta then calls a meeting to tell everyone what he saw from Hagire's memory when Hagire tried to download himself into Ganta's body. Ganta states that the Mother Goose system can be unlocked if the right Branch of Sin is inserted, and Ganta states that he himself is the key. Ganta then declares he'll be the one to stop Shiro.

Back in Deadman Wonderland, Shiro/Wretched Egg comes to visit Hagire while Yosuga is sleeping. Hagire promises that he'll release Shiro, and Shiro wonders whether Hagire or Ganta will fulfill her desires.

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A short chapter this time around. Both the good guys and bad guys are regrouping after the previous battle, and we are heading towards the final battle near the Mother Goose control station. As expected, Hagire doesn't die thanks to Yosuga and will stick around to make things worse for Ganta and company. Meanwhile, Ganta also recovers but the crystal in his chest is getting spreading. The final confrontation should be coming around soon, and Ganta will probably get to at least a near death state thanks to his Branch of Sin consuming his body, and that begs the question of whether or not Ganta will survive the series. I would be surprised if we didn't get a few character deaths in the final showdown. Obviously Hagire is going to die, but the more interesting question is whether if Ganta and Shiro will live through to the end.

Naruto 571

2012-01-25T17:57:00.000-05:00

A power-up Naruto and allies continue to battle Tobi and his beast puppets.

Kurama knocks back the other beasts with his terrible roar... and bad breath.

Summary:
The five remaining tailed beasts aim Tailed Beast Bombs at Kakashi and Guy. Kakashi and Guy are about to pull their last resort moves, but Naruto powers-up with Kurama's help and bounces all of the blasts away. Tobi's beasts decide to charge in, but Naruto forms a full size chakra version of Kurama to bounce the beasts away. Kurama warns Naruto that they can only remain in the form for 5 minutes, but Naruto thinks it's enough time to find and eliminate the chakra control rods on the beasts' bodies (using a shadow clone in Sage mode). Naruto/Kurama and Bee/Hachibi engage in some melee combat with the five beasts and Naruto's Sage clone locates all of the chakra rods. Tobi gets his beasts to combine their Tailed Beast Bombs to blast Naruto and company, and Naruto/Kurama try to counter with a giant Tailed Beast Bomb of their own.

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Naruto powered up and finally he looks like he might actually be able to win this battle. It was about time that happened. The initial fox chakra mode hasn't been all that impressive especially against strong enemies. This was a decent action chapter for Naruto/Kurama to show off their new combined abilities, and next chapter we'll probably see Naruto successfully pulling off the Tailed Beast Bomb... it'd be hilarious if Naruto fails at it even with Kurama's help, but I doubt that would happen. If Naruto does defeat all of Tobi's puppets by removing their chakra rods then it'll force Tobi to retreat for the time being, but I'm hoping something not so predictable will happen... say having Sasuke show up to crash the party? Haha one can dream.

One Piece 654

2012-01-25T17:29:00.001-05:00

The Straw Hats make their ascent back to the surface.

Hook one fish, get two larger ones for FREE!!

Summary:
The Straw Hats are making their ascent back to the sea surface. Nami takes a break from her navigator duties to take a bath, and Brook and Sanji are hanging around outside the bathroom wanting to catch a glimpse of a naked Nami. Chopper is also around but he is more interested in Nami's tempo clouds, but he accidentally touches a thunder cloud and causes Sanji and Brook to be fried. On deck, Usopp, Luffy and Zoro are planning to catch a deep sea for dinner. Luffy knocks out a large fish and Usopp hooks the fish, but the fish is eaten by a larger fish which is eaten by an even larger fish. Zoro kills the final fish with a sword strike, but the crew notices that the ship is sinking and Luffy spots a "white dragon" nearby. Robin realizes that what Luffy is seeing is an underwater whirlpool called a Whitestrom. Nami returns to the deck and tells the guys to cut the fishes loose to avoid getting sucked in to the Whitestrom, but it's too late and the Sunny is pulled inside. After spinning around for a bit, the Sunny is spat out into a school of giant Miraculous Island whales which Brook mistakens for Laboon. To avoid getting into more trouble, Nami orders the ship to sail with the whales. Brook starts singing and the whales seems to enjoy the music, and the Straw Hats are carried by the whales to the surface. The Straw Hats break through the surface and find that they are inside a huge storm, but the terrible weather fails to dampen their spirits.

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Luffy and their friends finally make their way back to the surface world. The crew is progressing towards their next big adventure, but it might take one or more chapters to actually get there. If I remember correctly, Urouge (one of the 11 Supernova/100 million+ bounty rookies) ended up in a stormy location. We'll see if the Straw Hats ended up at the same area or somewhere else entirely. It's safe to say that thanks to the fishing attempt, the Straw Hats probably don't know where they are. The next few chapters will be for the Straw Hats to figure out where they are and what is there for them to do.

Now that the Straw Hats ended up in dark and stormy seas, they probably won't be seeing Smoker's G5s anytime soon.

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE 15

2012-01-22T19:35:00.000-05:00

Grodek's task force and Flit venture into Ambat.

Bigger doesn't mean better.

Looking like an ace, slicing through grunts with ease.

Summary:
Woolf, Largan, Ract and the other mobile suits are in charge of protecting the Diva while it is docked at Ambat. Grodek leads Millais, Adams and a few others into Ambat in their spacesuits. Flit also ventures into Ambat in the Gundam and is tasked with destroying the central reactor. Flit flies through the tunnels and runs into Geera Zoi in his giant Defurse mobile armor. Flit loses his beam rifle in the skirmish but Flit damages the Defurse in a sword fight and this prompts Geera to retreat. Having heard that Geera is one of the central culprits, Flit follows him down the tunnels but this is what Geera wants. Geera leads Flit into an ambush in the reactor chamber consisting of several UE mobile suits, but Flit channels the power of ~~rage~~ X-rounder and quickly cuts down the ambush party. Flit destroys the Defurse's sword arms, but Geera opens fire with the scatter beam and takes out the Gundam's left arm. Woolf arrives to back up Flit, and Flit destroys the Defurse with a slash to the chest. Geera escapes before his mobile armor is destroyed and escaped down a personnel tunnel and Flit gets out of the Gundam in pursuit. Woolf tries to follow but has trouble getting his boosters attached.

Hey you, no name. Go out into the open and get shot so we know where the defenses are.

OMG, the UE are made up of people with crazy hair!

Meanwhile, Grodek's task force battle their way through the tunnels. They make it into the control room by disabling an automated defense system. A number of UE personnel are operating computers in the control room and none of them reacts to Grodek's gun-toting task force. Geera returns to the control room followed shortly by Flit who is sporting a pistol. Geera takes off his helmet and the Diva crew are surprised that the UE are actually human. Flit wants Geera dead for the deaths of his mother and Yurin, and Grodek wants revenge for his family. Grodek knows that Geera is Yark Dole and he was responsible for letting the UE into Grodek's home colony. Grodek then demands to know the UE's motivations, and Geera reveals that the "UE" are actually survivors from a failed attempt to colonize Mars. Many colonists died from sickness after getting to Mars, and the Federation covered up the event and told that there were no survivors. The survivors formed a new country called Veigan and Geera is here to carry out the will of their leader. Flit refuses to accept that the UE are human, and Geera dares Flit to shoot him, but Grodek is the one who shoots Geera. The wounded Geera goes to a computer terminal to activate the fortress' self destruct sequence before dying from his wounds. Geera's son Arabei returns and draws his pistol, but Grodek swats the gun away. Grodek tells Arabei that he is the one who killed Geera before leaving with Flit and the rest of his team. While all this was happening, Woolf is in the hallways and finds a dying Veigan man, and the man hands Woolf a necklace before dying. Woolf tries to venture further but his path forward is cut off by explosions, and so he returns to his mobile suit. Grodek and his team returns to the Diva and orders the ship to launch, and Flit and Woolf fly out of Ambat as the fortress is engulfed by explosions.

I activated the self-destruct. My job is done.

Classic flying away from explosion at the end of battle.

After the battle is over and the Diva has made it to safety, Grodek thanks his crew and retreats his office to reminisce about his family. Meanwhile, Emily spots Flit in the hangar sulking by the Gundam. Flit is still depressed over the fact that he couldn't save Yurin and he promises he'll defeat the UE and become the savior. After the Diva returned to Federation space, Grodek gives himself up and takes full responsibility for taking the Diva. Grodek is thrown into prison, and the Federation takes full credit for the successful operation at Ambat. Back at the Veigan's home colony at Mars, the high command is concerned about the setback at ambat but their plans will carry on.

Seems like every Veigan commander must have an unconventional hairstyle.

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That's the end of first part of Gundam AGE with Flit as the protagonist. Flit and his buddies win the battle and learn a bit about the "Unknown Enemy" that they've been fighting for 15 episodes. It turns out the UE are a bunch of disgruntled colonists who are in part pissed off because the Federation left them for dead. We still don't know all of the reasons why the martians are attacking, but it's not surprising given there is still two-thirds of the series left to go. The UE, or Veigan as they call themselves are following the plan of some mysterious leader, and that's all we know for now. Given that, it's hard to guess how Flit's son's story will play out. Hopefully his story line be distinctive enough to be remembered. In other words, it better not be a repeat of how Flit's story went down.

Since this episode wasn't series-ending final battle, it wasn't super impressive. Geera and his Defurse mobile armor didn't really do anything special, and thus Flit didn't need to turn in an exceptional performance to win the battle. I guess the X-rounder stuff will become more and more out of the world as the series progresses, and the same goes for the mobile suits. In the aftermath of the campaign, Grodek is locked away and all the credit gets taken by the Federation. It'll be interesting to see how many characters from the current cast will return after the time skip. Flit will be back as a grown-up, and Decil and Arabei will probably be back as well given that they were both kids in this arc of the series. Let's see how many of Diva crew will make an appearance again.