The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a 3D island of ignorance in the midst of kawaii seas of 2D infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.

And it was then that Ny̛҉a͝r̵ļ́k̛͝o͏̀ came out of Japan. Who͟ ̶she ̡w̷a͟s͏,̨ non͡e ̶c͠óuld ͡tell̨, but͠ s͏h͡e͠ ̶w̵a̕s of̕ th̕e ̀o͝l͠d ̢na̡tiv̢e͏ ͡blơo͢d̴ ̛a͡n̸d ̶l͢òok͏ed l͏i̧k͡e ͢a̛ l̢͉̥̤̰͘o̺̥̻̬̣̦͢͟l̮̳̼̲̼̤̮͉͢͢i̮̻̩͖̺͡.̬͖̙̦͓͎͡

She spoke much of the cuteness o͞f̛ ̧̀zettai ryouiki and ahoges ̸̸-͡ ̢̀  and gave exhibitions of moe which sent her spectator away speechless y̡̧̧e̢̕t̀ ̶̴wh̵i͡c̸̢h̢ ̧şwelled ̷͝h͘er̢ ́҉̡f͏̸̨a̧͢͞m̴̵e̶͟ ̴̡to exceeding magnitude.

O͟t̛a҉k̸ùs adv̸ised͞ on̶e ͞anoth͝e̸r͠ ̵ţo se͟e҉ Ny͜arlḱo,̧ an͝d ͜h͠n̵nn̨n͜gh̴ An͟d wh͘e͘re Nya͜r̸l͞ko ͞w͝en͡t҉,͏ re̶st v̢a̕ni͡shed; ͡fo҉r t́h̶e ̀śmąll̷ ͏ho͝ur̢s w̸e͟r̸e ren̵t w͝i̧t͜h̨ the̸ m̀oan͠s̵ o̧f͠ ̢fap̢ping. ͘ ̕

Be̴h̨o͏l̸d ͠the ̶mig̷h҉t͏y͝ ̶N͟y͜a͏r͘l͏k͘o.̵ Thè m͠ęs̢s͏eng͠er ̡o̶f t͞h̕e͏ o̕utér g͟o̴d͝ś ̵ẁh͞ós͜e ́l̵o͢l͘i҉ bo͝dy causes̶ ͢m͟e̢n̢ t͟o f͏ap͡ ̢t͢h̀em̷se͝l̶v͞e͠s̡ ͏i̵nt̨o ḿadd͝es̨s͘.̸ ̸S͜he ̀w̕èaŗs͝ ̴a t̶ho͞usan̷d m̵as̶k͠s e̛a͏c͏h m͟or̶e̵ ̛m͜o҉e ͡t͡h̢an͞ t͏h̢e l̡a͝st ̨ánd͝ ̀for a price can teach the ͡se͢c͡r̢ets ̢o͢f҉ ͞absolute ̢mǫe.̡

An̨d̛ thr͝o̕ugh t̛hi̧s̴ ͝q̨uįe͝t ̡gr͡a͏veyard ̕o҉f ́th̨é bath̸roòm, ͜t͜he ҉m̧u̕ff̨l̀ed͠,҉ ͏mad́dęni͝ng ̸e͞chos, an͡d͡ ̕th̵i͡n̶, ̢mòn̨otơńơus ͝wh̕ine̷ o̕f͢ blasphemous  s҉tea̡m ҉f͠rơm ́inconceivable, ̶unl̡ig̀hted͘ ͡c͜ḩa͢m̵be̵rs ̷b́eyon͢d ͜T̛ime;͡ ţhe̢ detestable pounding ͢aņd p̨ìpi̵n̡g w̧he͡ŕe̕u̡nt҉o grope ̢s̡l̷ow͟l҉y͟,͢ ̢awkwardly,͜ ̶a҉nd ͢absurdly th̛e deli͝ciou̵s͢, ṕer̴v̕erte͡d̨ ̸ul͢ti̛ma̢te̢ ͘g͠od̵s̸ — t̸he͞ ̸kawaii,͡ ̷ge͡n͞k̢i, a͏ss̛er̢ţìv͡e͡ ̢g͜ar̷g͢o̕yles ͢whose soul͡ i̶s͡ ̨Nyàrl̴k̸ò.

Haruka

Himmler suspects that there might be an SIS agent among the ranks of the Schutzstaffel and has ordered newly promoted officer Tachibana Junichi to be assigned to senior officer Morishima Haruka on a top secret mission to hunt down the British spy.

While seemingly professional on the exterior, Haruka is in fact very playful and teases Junichi a lot, which often times impedes their investigation. She is also very excitable and will arbitrarily use English phrases such as ‘Blimey’ and ‘Jerry tossers’ at inappropriate moments, although Junichi does not pay too much heed since her line of work as an intelligence officer requires her to speak multiple languages.

Unbeknownst to Junichi, Morishima “Lovely Bird” Haruka was the spy all along.

Kaoru

Nicknamed ‘The Warhead of Munich’, Junichi’’s war kumpel Taneshima Kaoru instilled fear within the Schutzstaffel, intimidating even the higher ranking officers due to her aggressive character. She is however, less volatile around Junichi as they swore to be bad friends for life, whether either of them like it or not.

Their relationship is put to the test when Kaoru discovers that her mother, a highly ranked and respected Nazi official fell in love with an Allied officer and has defected. To make matters worse, Junichi and Kaoru were given direct orders to capture and kill Kaoru's mother.

Sae

Nakata Sae is a newly enlisted officer under Junichi who dreams to be part of the Hitler’s elite Praetorian Guard just like her parents. But as Junichi soon finds out, Sae is as green as they come, has never been through any military training whatsoever and is frightened by the sound of gunfire.

In addition to that, Sae claims that she keeps hearing voices in her head, where a suave, deep-voiced Yellow Aryan man narrates highlights of her life. Unable to turn down a fräulein with a formidable pair of Schwerer Gustavs, Junichi takes it upon himself to help train Sae into a competent officer worthy of the Führer.

Ai

Junichi is reassigned to the Kriegsmarine led by Grossadmiral Tsukahara Hibiki, to help supervise the newly enlisted U-boat crew recruits. There, Junichi meets the cold and distant Nanasaki Ai, who showed a lot of potential but is plagued by a recent string of poor performance caused by suspicion that her younger brother may be leaking information to the Allies.

After pressure from the Grossadmiral that might see Ai being dropped from the crew, Junichi must help her regain confidence and composure if she was to be eligible to be among the first to man the U-99.

Rihoko

As part of their North African campaign and formation of the Afrika Korps, the Third Reich had recently developed and deployed a new line of heavy tanks known as the Tiger. Tank Operator Sakurai Rihoko is selected to be one of the first few to operate the Tiger Tank due to her excellent service record at the Eastern Front.

Unfortunately, she is known for having trouble getting into a tank and on many occasions, getting stuck when she tries to exit. The introduction of the even heavier Tiger II meant that Rihoko would practically render the tank immobile due to sheer combined weight. Fearing that it might jeopardise her chance to operate the Tiger Tank, she desperately seeks her childhood freund and fellow war kumpel Junichi to help her lose some weight.

Tsukasa

After the successful invasion of Poland, Second Lieutenant Ayatsuji Tsukasa volunteers to organise a Nazi celebration in honouring victory for the Wehrmacht. Junichi, who was incidentally assigned to assist Tsukasa in the preparations, manages to pull off the event successfully together.

Due to her innate talent for managing human resources, Tsukasa is given the opportunity to head the Auschwitz concentration camp. Things go well for Tsukasa until one day Junichi picks up a small notebook that she always carries around with her. Curiosity got the better of Junichi and he flips through a few pages, only to discover a list - Jewish families who Tsukasa helped escape.

Risa

News of a fearsome marksman reached Berlin, where advancing Nazi troops were being massacred by a lone female sharpshooter at the frontlines of Stalingrad. Personally requested by his former instructor Major Erwin König, Junichi heads to Russia to put an end to this menace.

An unfortunate turn of events saw Junichi being betrayed by his girlfriend, who led him straight into a sniper ambush. However, Junichi manages to entrench himself safely, waiting for an opportunity to take out the enemy sniper. At the end of a four day standoff, Junichi successfully tricks the sniper and incapacitates him. As he goes to confirm his kill, Junichi is shocked to discover that his opponent was none other than Kamizaki Risa, the sniper who had been terrorising Nazi troops previously.

Risa, while injured, is very much alive. Due to Junichi’s weakness for cute fräuleins, he is unable to finish Risa off and instead patches her up. He then leaves Risa to her own devices and no news was ever heard about the sniper again. Fast forward two years into the war, recently promoted Officer Junichi is unable to shake off the feeling of being watched and kept in (telescopic) sight at all times...

Omake:

ARE YOU READY, WEEBS?

AYE AYE CAPTAIN!

I CAN'T HEAR YOOOOOOOOOOOOOU

AYE AYE CAPTAIN!

OOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

WHO LIVES IN A SPACE SHUTTLE OVER THE EARTH?

SCHOOLGIRL PIRATES

KAWAII AND MOE AND CRAVING SOME GIRTH!

SCHOOLGIRL PIRATES

IF SPACE PLUNDERING BE SOMETHING YA WISH!

SCHOOLGIRL PIRATES

FORGET ABOUT THAT AND FAP TO PANTIES!

SCHOOLGIRL PIRATES

READY!

SCHOOLGIRL PIRATES

SCHOOLGIRL PIRATES

SCHOOLGIRL PIRATES

SCHOOLGURLLLLLLLLLLLL PIRATES

I. LOVE. YOU!

Doushio? Doushio? Should I tell him that I love him? B-but there won't be another chance again. Doushio, doushio?

I love you~uu~uu

Y-You love me best right??

Am I good enough?

Please, just a little more

You said it! You said Mami was the best! I'm sure you said it!

Ami will alwaaaaaaaaays fix your necktie for you!

I... don't hate you.

I like you.

I love you.

Honey honey honey honey suki suki suki

What's wrong? Isn't this alright?

Oh dear. This is love...

(Not as dissatisfied as he would have us believe)

Sauce

I did not want to believe it at first, but the following video pretty much confirmed what I had feared all this while. For the past four years, I was led to believe that the author behind Berserk, a prominent iDOLM@STER fan himself, was a staunch supporter of Yayoi. To lend credence to that rumour, the image above surfaced in the light of the Tokyo Youth Ordinance Bill back in 2010 which clearly depicts her, along with the twins. Then there's also the inclusion of Schierke in his magnum opus, which I was so certain was a nod as well.

>Interviewer queries Miura on the purpose of purchasing of a premium account on Nico Nico Douga

>Miura responds with iDOLM@STER, among other things

>Toshiyuki Kubooka(guy with gendo sunglasses and original iDOLM@STER character designer) can be seen quite uncomfortable after that response. Incidentally, he is also the director for the new Berserk movie

>Interviewer asks Toshiyuki what he thinks about it

>Toshiyuki responds by saying that other people told him this too, but (he thinks) it's not just because of iDOLM@STER that Miura suggested him to be the director

>Interviewer says "Well, you say that, but sensei might have thought differently."

>Dumb hag in the middle spews stupid shit

>Interviewer asks Miura who he likes in the franchise

>Miura: "Chi-chan."

>Interview: "I'm sorry, who?"

>Miura: "Chihaya."

>Toshiyuki's face when

>Miura: "I'm sure you can tell from looking at Casca , but I like the fact that Chihaya is stoic."

>Interviewer: "I see. iDOLM@STER and Berserk are connected, in the sense of stoic."

Folks it is no secret that I love Yayoi. With hatred originating from disreputable gentlemen continually persisting, I am often called upon to defend my favourite idol from criticisms. The fact that Miura may or may not have been a Yayoi fanboy was one of the defences I used to ward off haters, even though I had no actual evidence to back it up.

I knew that this day would finally come, and I find it difficult to discredit Miura for it, since Chihaya is indeed an excellent choice. You see, the fact that he even likened her to Caska makes me wonder if all he just wants to see is her suffering.
Whether it is rape by Femto, losing her voice, getting hit by a car, being assaulted by a stalker, being abused by Kuroi via blackmail that would damage Haruka's reputation does not really matter. What matters is that Chihaya suffers, because that is when she is at her most beautiful.

Miura, you may not have been the Yayoi bro I always thought you were, but at least I know that you are a true iDOLM@STER broducer nonetheless.

I remember when I first began watching this show, equipped with what little knowledge about the franchise, thinking it would be K-ON! (in hindsight, a poor comparison, but that was honestly how I felt back then) minus the tea, cake, and school setting, with a bit of character development and insight into the idol industry on the side. In a way, those expectations probably helped set the bar perfectly for this show - I simply did not come in expecting anything quite this amazing. From the way I see it, while the games offer condensed individual characterisation as well as the 'It's like I'm really a Producer' experience, the anime supplements things with its magnificent portrayal and interpretation of character relationships, capturing the very essence of the 765 danketsu - something which even the games didn't pull off quite as well. This is made possible undoubtedly from the love of fans over at the production-side, for us fans.

Best of all, they even succeeded at making Broducer his own character. In terms of outward appearance and personality, he has little about him that stands out, to the point he is almost no different from the faceless protagonist seen in the games. Yet, for a 'blank slate' whose shoes were to be filled by the audience, he emanates an aura of trustworthiness and reliability that makes you feel that everything will be alright, earning him the Broducer moniker that the English-speaking fanbase bestowed upon him. Down to earth at all times, he is a hard worker who exhibits traits like having lots of tact and empathy. Without putting him on some sort of pedestal, they made him a person that you could easily relate and look up to. The end result saw Broducer fumbling and stumbling along the way, while he does his best to manage those under his care, to finally be able to stand tall with the everyone.

Of course, that is merely what I like about Broducer as a person, but what really makes him special in my eyes is his presence in the show. Despite being the sole male character surrounded by a large female cast, Broducer hardly comes off as your typical harem lead. In fact, he's anything but. On the one hand, he does not get overly involved in the girls' issues and problems, therefore not appearing as someone who sticks his nose into other people's business, like you would expect from somebody in his position. Conversely, he is also always there for them, a presence akin to a guardian angel, as I see it. While not performing any miracles per se, the little things he does to help serve as a magical nudge for the girls to help themselves overcome any adversity. However, just like Seth in the City of Angels, even Broducer falls in love, and I don't think there are any pairings that are more one and true than Broducer and Kotori.

As I am still reeling under the effects of Post-iDOLM@STER Stress Disorder, I cannot remember the last time I have ever felt so attached to this many characters at once. As such, it does upset me quite a bit that there will not be anything of that sort to look forward to for quite some time. Then I realised something very important; The iDOLM@STER is far from over. This 7 year strong franchise has churned out so much material that once you think you have depleted everything it has to offer, its creators release a slew of new stuff to milk you dry. As I have mentioned, the anime has always been a big budget advertisement for everything and anything iDOLM@STER, reaching out to the masses who have not already succumbed to surrendering their disposable income for overpriced merchandise So throw your money hard enough at Scamco's direction and rest assure that they will make full use of it to satiate your hunger for more aidorus.

So where do we go from here? Everything in the finale hints at a continuation of some sort; 765 getting Me Ga Au TOLD by Sir Blackwell while 876 is gaining popularity. For the record, Dearly Stars is about the 876 idols being tutored by the 765 idols after the latter made it big as you see now. Direct material aside, Dearly Stars has actually got writing that surpasses even The iDOLM@STER 2, so in the hands of Nishigori, there is no telling how great it will be. Then there's Puchimasu, which by the way started off as something conceived by the fans, only to be, shall we say, appropriated and turned into an official 4koma series by Scamco. A very Jewish move to say the least, but I don't think the fans actually mind. With pre-existing drama CDs accompanying it, turning Puchimasu into a full-fledged OVA should be well within their means (Does anyone remember which episode it was that the Puchimasu keychains made a cameo?). Either way, Scamco has acknowledged that the possibility of more iDOLM@STER anime lies in director's hands. For the time being, we will have to just make do with the Yayoi x Iori BD special, before anything comes to fruition.

To help yourself bridge the gap between now and the release of episode 26, here's a quick checklist of iDOLM@STER-related material you can look into:

Iori Tier

Play the games (durr); Get a Playstation 3 and a copy of iDOLM@STER 2. There's the option of the XBOX360 with the original game, expansion set and sequel, but you will have to be awfully dedicated to buy that crappy console which will not be able to withstand a iDOLM@STER binge anyway.

Haruka Tier

If you have a PSP, The iDOLM@STER SP: Perfect Sun has been fully translated, so you can go right ahead and produce Haruka, Yayoi and Makoto. There is the option of emulating it on the PC, but from what I gathered, some of the features will not function properly if you do. Also, Dearly Stars itself if you only have a DS.

Yayoi Tier

For iDOLM@STER on the go, there is the Cinderella Girls social game which offers a pretty good experience for the financially-disadvantaged producer. Follow these instructions and you will also be able to access it from your browser. Along with Puchimasu, there are a number of official manga for your perusal:

• Break: Haruka

• Relations: Miki (and Chihaya)

• Neue Green: Ryo

• Innocent Blue: Eri

• Splash Red: Ai

• The World is All One: Haruka, Yukiho and Hibiki

• Nemuri-hime: Chihaya

There are a bunch of other reading material as well, but the above are the only ones which I am aware of that on the internet and are translated(to some extent).

I certainly expected quite a fair bit from Haruka's route since they kept it for the very last, though I was somewhat underwhelmed by the way things unfolded. As you already know, Haruka has always been portrayed as the strong one who worked to solve problems, and for some arbitrary reason, they reduced her into a weakling who ultimately broke down because she was unable to face reality. Why is Haruka the only idol falling into depression about everyone being separated? You would think that she would be the one comforting someone else about it and give them the usual "Everything will be daijoubu so let's ganbatte and do our best!" Unlike Chihaya's suffering which had plenty of build up, Haruka's one felt a little... coerced, even if it was hinted very early on that it might have ended up like this.

After the initial reaction shitstorm, Miki Miki seems surprisingly calm about the whole incident, and truth to be told, I was expecting her to be a lot more emotional and perhaps even pin the blame on Haruka. While that would have complicated things a lot more, it definitely would have been in-character. However, I cannot say that I disliked how they chose not to vilify Miki Miki and instead portray her as the rational and level-headed one with a grip on how things are the way they are, while Haruka spews all sorts of selfish nonsense www The real highlight of this exchange was watching Haruka finally crumbling into tears after getting her status: told, and boy, was it delicious.

It was a relief to see Broducer faring much better than they tried to imply in the previews, though it was disappointing that he took one in the name of character development but barely influenced the flow of events and its outcome. To top it all off, it was as though Haruka had no concerns about him despite being partially the cause for his condition... At least one thing positive resulted, and it is all but confirmed that it will be a Broducer x Kotori end It takes a lot of love and dedication to be by someone's side all day, every day. Just imagine Kotori helping Broducer to the washroom while giving him sponge baths. Then it will be like "Oh my, there's something swelling down there. Let Kotori-chan heal you" and "K-Kotori, what are doing?" while Broducer makes that face you see above. But seriously though, it is hard to refute their love for each other, when you have such hard evidence. And if life really imitated art, I'll have you know that
Kotori's seiyuu is actually married and has given birth as well

Haruka is the omnipotent entity of purity and goodness on this planet. When her despair breaks a certain threshold, the universe corrects itself by creating a new Haruka. The newly manifested Haruka does what comes naturally and immediately tries to cheer the previous Haruka up. In the rare event that this does not succeed, the original Haruka disintegrates while the new one continues her life, unaware of what of has transpired. This chain has continued unbroken since the beginning of time... I don't know what they were thinking when they decided to pull this off but it looks like the A-1 staff has been smoking the same shit as the people they borrowed from Gainax. In the im@s-verse, in order to overcome your bout of depression, you must first go through a series of hallucinations; While Chihaya merely met with her past self, Haruka projects everyone else from 765 in front of her, only to later materalise and interact with Past and Present Haruka. That's some S-rank Schizo Phantasm right there.

Although I was quite critical earlier, I actually liked this episode a lot, even if they could have used at least one more to flesh things out further. Danketsu has always been the primary central theme for both the game and show, so to have everything resolved in that fashion is definitely appropriate. Loved how they set it up with that initial wake-up call from one of the studio guys commenting that everyone is better off individually and can pretty much do without 765 Pro anymore. Shit really got Danketsu'ed after Chihaya relayed the message from that brief talk she had with Broducer. It was then everyone realised Haruka's plight, with the exception of Miki, who did so on her own accord Sorry to Chihaya X Haruka shippers out there who were expecting some yuri bonding time, but hey, at least there are still the radio shows and online broadcasts. As for those who are straight, your ship got sunk too. Even if Haruka hands Broducer the wallet next week, his heart already belongs to someone else w

P.S The finale post will be up a little later than usual since I will be in Shanghai next week, something which I'm already regretting w

My life is complete... once again.

Having relocated to a country where I can watch the latest anime first hand (at the expense of waiting a bit longer than the rest of the world for the latest Hollywood flicks, yes, Japan is that slow), so my first venture here as Atalude's unofficial "movie correspondent" is of course the much hyped movie of the Kyo-Ani franchise K-ON.

Naturally, if you're one sensitive to spoilers, this is your chance to look away if you've not seen the movie. Not that a slice-of-life show like K-ON has much to spoil about.

SPOILERS BELOW

First, as someone who has stayed in the UK for a few years, seeing Kyo-Ani recreate all the locations in London faithfully brings a nostalgic feeling for me. I even just visited London early this summer just before it got sacked by rioters.

Fortunately, by the time the girls arrived in London, there were no more rioting, so they're free to travel around as they please.

(If you want to stay in the same hotel as our lovely girls, try booking a room at the Hotel Ibis London Earls Court, from 80 pounds a night. )

The story takes place just a few months before the senior girls' graduation, and they reckoned since they've now got their passports (season 2 episode 27) they should go on a graduation trip overseas, eventually deciding on London, bringing Azu-nyan along for the ride.

That said, the scenery in London turned out to be just a sideshow in the grand scheme of things, as along the trip, the four older girls discuss what to give to Azu-nyan as a parting graduation gift. This is more or less the process of how they came up with the idea of the song Tenshi ni Fureta yo, played in the heartrending finale of Season 2. All in all, it was a nice touch as the TV series finale focused on Azu-nyan's sorrow of parting with her seniors while the movie focused on the senior girls' gratitude for their junior.

Tenshi ni Fureta yo

Click here to view the embedded video.

Other highlights:

- HTT suddenly playing Death Devil's style in the beginning gave me quite a shock. Thankfully, the girls were only syncing one of Sawa-chan's old records.

- Yui and Ui's parents finally make their anime appearance.

- Mugi, despite being more travelled than the other bandmembers, is surprisingly poor in her command of the English language. Even Mio and Azu-nyan understands more.

- Most of the foreign characters are voiced by foreign actors, though it sometimes sound like their English script has been slightly dumbed down to accommodate the girls (as well as movie's Japanese speaking audience). But it's bearable.

- Shameless product placements by Japan Airlines and the aforementioned Hotel Ibis.

- First day in London and the girls decide to have some sushi. Though they have no idea how posh Asian restaurants in London can be.

- The sushi bar manager mistook the girls as the Japanese band that was due to perform that night. With no choice byt to perform, Yui saw an Indian guy with a turban and decided to do Curry Nochi Rice. It turned out well.

- The band that was supposed to come was actually Love Crysis, the band of Ricchan's friend (Season 1 Episode 14), who was also in London doing gigs. They later invited HTT to do another gig in the outdoors, just outside the London Eye, opposite Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. Though agreeing to do the gig means they had to rush to Heathrow in order to catch the plane home, thankfully Sawa-chan flew all the way over to help them out. (Though they declined to put on her specially designed ninja cosplays. )

- After going back to Japan, the girls decide to do yet another gig at school. Sawa-chan had to arrange for them to perform in the morning in order to avoid the Dean's wrath (due to her own personal experience with Death Devil). Though there wasn't much need to worry as the Dean rather enjoyed HTT's music.

The OP is performed by Yui as usual.
OP Unmei♪wa♪Endless!

Click here to view the embedded video.

As with most other EDs performed by Mio, the movie's ED is awesome. Though the girls' Victorian-like PV costumes also caught my attention:

Yui in one-piece dress with twin pigtails and big glasses = Love

ED Singing!

Click here to view the embedded video.

(Both the OP and ED are out now. The OST will be out later on December 21st)

K-ON is bigger than I thought in Japan, I went to a cinema in Shinjuku on Monday night to avoid the weekend crowd, but it was still packed. And the people there weren't just otakus, from couples to students to whole families. Gotta give it to Kyo-Ani for successfully marketing a supposedly moeblob show to the mainstream (at least in this country).

Yamanote line train with movie posters

Click here to view the embedded video.

Overall, the wait for this movie was certainly worth it if you're a fan of the show. While the movie was particularly smooth sailing in comparison to other "exciting" movies out there, if you're someone who enjoys "slice-of-life" comedy, this is something to enjoy for just over 2 hours. (Once again, since the whopping 2 1/2 hour length of Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi, Kyo-Ani has redefined the standards of how long an anime movie should be. )

(I'll have to remind myself to ask Shin to bump this article up once the DVD is out when more of you guys can watch it. Until then, I'll go back into blogging hibernation. )

RIP Broducer 19xx - 2011

I need to apologise to Haruka on what I said about her not getting any jobs whatsoever. After this episode, I am convinced that Haruka genuinely likes being together with everyone more than being popular. She did everything she could to show up at every rehearsal for the New Year's Live (a pretty big deal by the way); Rescheduling all her jobs so that she could be done by the end of the day, even if meant pushing her nubile, young body to its limits. However it would seem like her efforts were for naught, as Chihaya goes to America (even though this is not her route) to work under Simon Cowell while everyone starts missing practice. To top it all off, Namassuka?! gets cancelled because their conflicting schedules finally got the in the way meaning that the only time everyone will be together no longer exists.

I am usually partial towards Miki's straightforwardness, although I will be the first to admit that she may have gone a bit too far this time. Still, Haruka probably needed her shit slapped for missing the bigger picture on what being an idol really entailed. Haruka seems to have deluded herself into thinking that she is part of something equivalent to an after school tea time club, where its members masquerade as musicians She needs to understand that she is in the major league now, where one has to be at the top of their game at all times, lest they be replaced by shit tier idols that at least know how to market themselves like AKB48. That said, it is unfortunate that she has to be reminded of this fact in the harshest of circumstances.

Miki's NTR finally took its toll and you can almost spot the exact moment Haruka lost it. The best part about Haruka's soulless expression is that it is exactly what it would look like if you had just raped her. Just imagine sliding your ponos into her teenage vagoo in one unforgiving stroke, tearing her hymen and stretching her walls to its limit.  After you arrive inside and leave, all she can do is quietly sob at how powerless she was, having her innocence taken away so suddenly. Haruka is damaged for life, and when asked what happened by the Producer, all she can say is "It's nothing at all."

Haha, of course he's not dead... Right? Please don't die, Broducer. After the demise of 765's first P-san, I don't think my heart can take another emotional arrow to the knee A-1 certainly has picked up a thing or two on the art of trolling from the Gainax staff they have onboard. With Broducer having avoided the one and only 'death' flag in Miki's route, no one took the seiyuus' spoilers in the weekly preview seriously about Broducer being 'absent' from episode 24. Masterful execution from the writers, using smoke and mirrors to drop this bombshell on us. As Kuroi would have spelt it on his scrabble board, C-H-E-C-K-M-A-T-E

P.S Next week's director will the same one from episode 20, who incidentally did Clannad After Story episode 18 as well. Prepare your lacrimal glands.

Nee, producer-san, am I popular yet?

No Haruka, you should have expected that they'd all be busy on Christmas. Man, I thought they would not have been able to top Chihaya's suffering but in retrospect, all she had to do was overcome her past to secure her future. She did, and all was well.

Now Haruka's suffering on the other hand is a bit special, in that she herself is anything but. Every other idol other than her has something that makes them stand out, and no matter how you look at it, Haruka is just ordinary in every aspect. Her primary role has been always the glue that ensures everyone sticks together, but as this episode has highlighted, Haruka is slowly losing her purpose, as they are all able to stand on their own two feet, especially Chihaya. Everyone else but Haruka seems to have shot to the top while she herself is just managing to get by. Then again, she is the face of iDOLM@STER and the role of the supportive leader would seem like a perfect fit for her.

Ah but you see, if this was just limited to the anime, it wouldn't have been that bad. Remember how I said the idols and seiyuus were extensions of each other? The fact of the matter is that this is also the case in real life. While I personally think that Nakamura Eriko is plenty talented, she is somehow overlooked for bigger roles and is stuck with supportive ones instead. Sounds familiar? It would seem as though Eriko's career is not going anywhere, while the people around her are overtaking her. Best example is of course her lesbian comrade Imai Asami who is increasingly having more prominent roles, in both anime and video games. What's even sadder is that this is not only limited to Chihaya, but Mio as well. Oops, I meant to say Hikasa Yoko, who is Eriko's co-host in their internet radio show, Odoroki Sentai Momonoki Five(listen to it, I guarantee you'll laugh your ass off) And guess where Yoko's career is at now? Oh Haruka, buffing everyone in your party with Career Advancement except yourself I can only imagine >her face when she was handed the script wwwww

I can see how people can come to dislike Miki Miki, since she is not only the epitome of the perfect idol but also the perfect girl. Unfortunately, her flawlessness is also her biggest flaw as she seems to be able to have her cake and eat it as well. To an outsider, her reaction to winning the Shining Idol award would border at being irritating ; Did Miki get something? Yes Miki, you got the MVP prize, the one award everyone has been working their ass off for, which you got without much effort. Of course, Miki has not got a single mean bone in her so she really is just being straightforward and honest with her feelings. Still, if the other girls were not already popular idols in their own right, I can see how their self-esteem would be affected. Someone like Haruka for example...

The image that's burned inside my eyes was
The smiles of you and that girl
Though it really hurts inside
It's not that easy just to (confront you and) ask

The above is an excerpt from Miki's image song, relations. Yes, the one playing at the beginning of the episode. Long story short, it's a song about (Miki) getting NTR'ed. Oh the irony. You cannot imagine how many times I went "OH SHIT NIGGER" at this scene. Poor Haruka, having the opportunity to express her gratitude to Broducer stolen right before her very eyes. What's more, she is the only person who actually had a present for him. Miki truly has a knack for hijacking; she practically just 9/11'ed Haruka with that.

It's one thing to watch someone like Chihaya suffering and be aroused by it, but to see Haruka having her Genki armour being chipped off bit by bit while she slowly (but surely) falls into despair just gave me a boner that could cut other boners. I so cannot wait to lick the tears off Haruka's face next week