TheAkiba

Ano Natsu de Matteru EP 04 – Sempai Was Amazing

saitohama — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:04:52 +0000

Simply walking away and acting like it never happened isn’t a terrible way of escaping that awkward moment when you find out that someone likes you. It may not be a permanent solution to the problem at hand, but it’s probably the best choice when your both living under the same roof. From an external point of view, I found it surprisingly amusing to watch Ichika just board the train leaving Kaito behind, simply because it prevented me from having to watch guy A and girl B aimlessly wander about. As much as the focus was directed at Kaito and Ichika, however, I really began to feel for Kanna when Tetsuro and Remon both begin to calculate her into the equation as “girl C”, while the before-mentioned two remain completely unaware of her involvement. They’re obviously both so caught up in their love uncertainties and secret keeping that that they haven’t bothered to pay any mind to Kanna’s feelings. It made the feeling of sympathy even greater to see her put on a such a melancholy face when putting Ichika’s happiness before her own, something that might have originated from Mio.

I can’t blame Mio or Tetsuro for putting their love ambitions on the back burner to boost those of Kaito and Kanna seeing as they’re all friends, but I almost feel a sense of anxiety that they should be taking some time to attend to their own situation—in a group of two boys and three girls, at least one will inevitably be left empty-handed and heartbroken. Taking a quick look at the relationship “chain” that was established last time (Mio -> Tetsurou -> Kanna -> Kaito -> Ichika), Mio and Ichika straddle the extremes, leaving the two boys within that and Kanna in the Middle. It’s interesting that Kaito’s worrisome fantasies of being openly rejected by Ichika briefly referenced the idea of him being a “third wheel”, but in a less-than-fortunate twist it is actually Kanna who adopts that description.

Taking this into account, I can foresee a few possible scenarios that could arise by series end. One concludes with Ichika leaving Earth—which she has already half-heartedly hinted at—and Kaito/Teturo are left to reciprocate the love of their respective lovers. Another, and probably the most likely considering who fills the lead role, is where Ichika remains on Earth to be with Kaito while the other three are left to progress and adapt. The scenario would likely diverge from this point, resulting in two possible resolutions. With Kaito out of the immediate picture, Tetsuro would be the deciding factor by either swooping in as the supportive friend and take Kanna, or holding back long enough for Mio to muster the courage to do make a move on Tetsuro. If nothing and the trio is brought to a stalemate, then I believe it would be Mio who would ultimately suppress her feelings as she is definitely aware of how strong Tetsuro’s love is for Kanna, thus I would suspect Mio is the most likely victim. But seeing as how new elements of complexity are consistently being introduced each time, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the whole group suffering from the repercussions of Kaito’s decision.

Putting conjecture aside, Ano Natsu has an apparent talent for turning even times of emotional agitation into comedic sequences involving meddlesome seniors and promiscuous older sisters. It was pretty obvious from the beginning that Minami-san was simply an acquaintance of sorts to Kaito looking for someone to mess with—though my first impression was that she had literally driven in from a much sexier anime series—she sure did a decent job at getting Ichika all riled up and forcing her to confront her true feelings. Granted, it hasn’t properly sunk in yet, and probably won’t until Kaito’s anxiety to know builds to the point of direct confrontation or vice versa, considering that their reactions are fairly identical. From the ending sequence, it appears that we have only scratched the surface of this particular romantic comedy and that the question at hand is now, what happened “that summer”?.

This post Ano Natsu de Matteru EP 04 – Sempai Was Amazing was written originally at TheAkiba.

Code Geass: Nunnally in Wonderland in July

YoU — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:30:58 +0000

The official website of TV Anime series Code Geass (コードギアス) just announced the release detail of Nunnally in Wonderland (ナナリーinワンダーランド), the upcoming OVA of the series. With a price tag around 4200 JPY (around 50 USD, 45 USD for DVD version), the Blu-ray of the 30-minute OVA will be available on July 27th, both come with optional English subtitles and A4 picture book. The OVA was confirmed three weeks ago, together with the announcement of the long waited movies of Boukoku no Akito (亡国のアキト) and Hangyaku no Lelouch (反逆のルルーシュ).

According to the information on the website and the translation from Crunchyroll, the OVA tells another story of Alice in Wonderland when, while spending time with his sister one sunny day, Nunnally requests that Lelouch tells a story, like in old times. To grant his sister’s request, Lelouch uses Geass on the entire cast of the Code Geass series: I, Lelouch Vi Britannia command you! Characters of Code Geass, become characters in my story and entertain my beloved Nunnally. Thus with the biggest waste of Geass in Code Geass history, a new story of Alice in Wonderland takes place.

Source

This post Code Geass: Nunnally in Wonderland in July was written originally at TheAkiba.

Ao no Exorcist Second Season Unknown

YoU — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:41 +0000

We have already learned that a movie of Ao no Exorcist was announced last year, and according to Takeda Seiji (竹田靑滋), the chief producer of MBS (毎日放送), the movie will be premiered at the end of 2012. Apart from the movie, Takeda Seiji also mentioned that he would very much like to work on the second season of the series when the original Manga chapters are enough for the production.

Judging from the producer’s word above based on the fact that you have actually read the Manga, we can tell you that the TV Anime is totally different from the story of the original Manga, at least the second half of it. Thus even if there would be a second season, the story should be a bit different. We will keep an eye on this. Like the series, you can check out the official website of the movie for more.

Source: Gigazine, MAL

This post Ao no Exorcist Second Season Unknown was written originally at TheAkiba.

Yuru Yuri Second Season Heroine Change?

YoU — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:41:46 +0000

We mentioned the confirmation of the second season of TV Anime series Yuru Yuri (ゆるゆり) a month ago. The second season is scheduled to air in July this year, the official website was also updated recently and we found something quite interesting from the new illustration, as well as the official Twitter. If you can read Japanese, you can tell the ribbon on Kyouko which says “I am the true Heroine”. You know this is probably a joke but judging from the fact that we barely saw Akari in the first season due to her special abilities like being invisible and firing her hair dumplings like missiles, it is more likely than not that the statement can somehow be true.

The first season ended a few months ago and we wrote an interesting review. If you like the series, don’t miss the second season in July.

This post Yuru Yuri Second Season Heroine Change? was written originally at TheAkiba.

Guilty Crown Episode 14 Review

Night — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:29:15 +0000

Episode 14 of Guilty Crown is in a word…flawed. The storytelling is fine, and whilst the story itself remains as silly as last week, it is at least consistent and well directed. That alone would be enough to make this one of the best episodes yet. Unfortunately the show is once again let down by ignoring its own continuity, using plot devices of convenience and generally not making much sense.

Recap:

In this episode we’re in the same position as last week, only the situation is even worse. Whereas before, the students had simply assumed they were probably going to die, now they know they are. This results in a lot of scared and panicking students looking to the only authority (that’s not actively trying to kill them) for a solution.

Unfortunately whilst Kuhouin might be a great peace time President, she quickly proves herself inept at handling the panic stricken students. Her pleas of patience fall on deaf ears and she sounds like she’s trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

The students need a promise of action and a nameless smirking student, who for the sake of this review we’ll call ‘Glasses’ because they didn’t even bother to give him a name. Would it have really been that hard to name the bad guys? Anyway he seizes upon the opportunity presented. He puts forward a motion of no confidence and a new election is to be held. Glasses and his manipulable red haired crony whom for the sake of the review we’ll call ‘Red’ begin to plot Kuhouin’s downfall.

As they all wait for the election Tsugumi shows everyone the ‘Genomic Resonance Gauge’ which assigns a power level to a person’s void.

Meanwhile Segai, apparently not having had enough fun with his little stunt in the previous episode, unblocks the schools extranet. Then he places some rumours that whoever hands over Funeral Parlour members gets safe passage out of the rapidly shrinking city.

Glasses and Red quickly capture Ayase and Tsugumi and in the midst of trying to strip them on stage, Shu jumps in to provide a much better idea.

Shu tells everyone he’s with Funeral Parlour and gives himself up. Red takes them to the gate to negotiate a trade, but alas they are all cut down by merciless gunfire. But it’s all a trick! Using Tsugumi’s Void they actually sent holograms in a remote controlled car and they’re actually all back at the school.

Glasses doesn’t take the shocking truth that the government lies to people particularly well and tries to kill Shu, who promptly disarms him. Realising the man with the gun wasn’t the best candidate for President, Shu is quickly elected into power, a position he reluctantly accepts.

Following the election, Yahiro privately shares his future plans for the school with him. With Shu ‘reigning over’ the students, Yahiro wants to rank every student by their Void value. That the power value of their Void will represent the value of that person.

Shu is speechless, looking at Yahiro with shock. We can only hope Shu is in shock because he is appalled by the sheer stupidity of Yahiro’s plan and that he’ll do everything in his power to stop it.

Review:

There is a lot wrong with this episode and it’s largely just the same basic mistakes that have plagued the first half of the season. I had hoped that the writing, like Shu himself had matured and would no longer be so blatantly lazy. Alas this episode proved me wrong as we return to the roots of why the show on the most basic levels is simply bad.

Every show, movie etc has its own internal logic; it can play by the rules of the real world but will usually have a few of its own. Problems occur however, when a show sets up these rules and then ignores them later down the line. In episode 3 Shu learns how to pull out Voids, he practically spends the entire episode learning how and the rules he’s taught are pretty clear. Firstly, you never know what you’re going to get. Secondly, the person needs to think you’re making eye contact. Yet in this episode, Shu, without even turning is able to reach back and pull out the Void of Red. Not only this, but it happens to be a Void that fits the situation at hand perfectly. It would certainly have been awkward if Shu had thrown anything other than the boomerang Void at the gun toting bad guy. The scene itself is certainly cool on the face of it, but it makes no sense. It’s disappointing that the show has to break its own internal logic just to make Shu look cool for one scene.

This episode is actually the most sexual by far and it’s actually quite creepy. All the male students in the episode (excluding the main characters) are completely predatory; three of them corner Inori, itching to rip off her clothes before she mercilessly kills them. There’s even a scene where Tsugumi’s Void virginity is forcibly taken by Shu. I understand that Shu needs to know what assets he has at his disposal but surely you would ask for the consent of your friend before plunging your hand into her chest? Apparently not.

Later we find out that Tsugumi’s Void is a wand which creates holographic figures that can be controlled remotely. Ignoring how exactly she can control 4 figures in real time, it’s yet another void of pure convenience that doesn’t make any sense. Tsugumi is the hacker archetype and so her Void happens to be advanced technology. Now considering Voids are supposed to be the reflection of people’s hearts/souls, this really doesn’t make any sense.

We saw the lonely side of Tsugumi in this episode and I thought this was essentially going to lead up to her Void in the same way that Ayase’s emotional issues in the previous episode led to hers. I.e. that Tsugumi is a lonely person and so her void reflects this. Instead once again a deus ex machina is thrown in so it can perfectly solve the problem the characters are having this episode.

Speaking of convenience; according to Tsugumi, the Genomic Resonance Gauge is ‘a gadget for measuring void strength.’ That; ‘the bigger the total number, the more butt the Void kicks.’

Now I can understand this gadget being useful for research purposes, but in the hands of Shu, Funeral Parlour and the Student Council in general, I honestly can’t see any practical application for it whatsoever.

The device shows peoples power levels, basically the strength of their void in numerical form. Firstly what denotes power? Voids are specialised, they are defensive, offensive or random enough that they can only be useful in a mere handful of situations. So how exactly does ranking people by Void power change anything? How is it even useful?

As we saw Hare’s medical void is 1832, Ayase’s hover skates are 1752 and Tsugumi’s holograph wand is 1487. How will knowing the rank of these things ever be useful? If you need a weapon then both the hover skates and the holograph wand are more useful than the medical void, yet they are both ranked lower.

Thus I can’t really follow why Shu and his group would want to know Void values let alone rank them. Further compounding this is the simple fact that beyond his friends, he has no idea what anyone else’s Void is, so knowing their power level means absolutely nothing. I wouldn’t make such a big deal if they hadn’t introduced as something so important to the plot, yet has no actual use beyond Yahiro’s idiotic plan, which will only work so far as creating a brand new form of social injustice through pointless discrimination.

The episode also raised a few other questions. Firstly why did it take an entire episode for the students to remember Shu killed an endlave and for them not to also remember Ayase was flying? It’s also never explained how long Voids can be kept out for, we’ve yet to see a reason why Shu can’t now keep voids out indefinitely. Before, the person became unconscious so it was simply civil to return their Voids after use. Now since he can give them away to their owners, the question remains as to why can’t Ayase keep her hover skates on? It’s not like she has a secret identity to protect anymore, though one could beg to differ from the seemingly goldfish sized memory spans of the students.

It wasn’t all bad though, we got to enjoy some back story for Tsugumi (all 5 seconds of it) and then we got to see Inori’s dark side which was a nice twist and the high point of the episode. Considering how one dimensional she’s been so far, it’s certainly nice to see her being fleshed out. Hopefully something substantial will come of this, I look forward to seeing Inori’s (hopefully) yandere side revealed in the coming episodes if nothing else!

I dish out a lot of criticism for Guilty Crown, but I can’t say any of it isn’t justified. Yes the show is very pretty, the soundtrack gorgeous, the direction praiseworthy and Shu finally a character you don’t vehemently hate. Now if they could do something about the clichés, plot holes, deus ex machinas, incompetence of the bad guys and good guys among other things. Then we might just have a story and characters worth caring about.

This post Guilty Crown Episode 14 Review was written originally at TheAkiba.

Ano Natsu de Matteru EP 03 – Sempai Said it. . .

saitohama — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:57:35 +0000

Ano Natsu de Matteru played a perfect hand this week in following up a heated night of drinking and games with a mellow, yet nonetheless hilarious day cast in all the right places in terms of setting. By now I have myself convinced that my knack for choosing the ‘winners from the losers’ each season on the first try is not much of a “knack” at all—I’m wrong nearly every time! The thing that continues to surprise me is that time and time again, it is the less known and underestimated series that tend to come flying in out of the blue that not only capture my attention, but often become successful hits by season’s end. It might be too early to make a definitive call, but already Ano Natsu has done a remarkable job at diverting my complete attention from my first pick, Zero no Tsukaima F, with it’s particularly unique blend of romance and comedy that always seem to be right on point. This week, the plot seemed to revolve around the characters’ wild fantasies leading to comedic awkward scenarios all the while Remon continues to seek amusement in toying with the many emerging unrequited loves, making for a highly enjoyable episode with clever humor at every turn (I especially liked the Men in Black reference). Picking up right where they left off, the unspoken confession between Kaito and Ichika becomes the ‘foundation’ from which the other parallel subplots extend—and an amazing bunch of subplot lines they are. I don’t know how I managed to stumble upon Ano Natsu as I originally gave @Night first pick to select a secondary series to cover (besides Zero F), but of course I’m not complaining .

Thus far, I am greatly impressed by the way in which they have gone out and swiftly surpassed the awkward ‘first base’ stage across the majority of character relationships, avoiding the lethargic pace that plagues many romance genres. On top of that, the one-directional love flowchart—Mio > Tetsuro > Kanna > Kaito > Ichika—has been introduced and more or less confirmed, again solidifying the basics so as to allow each subplot line to sprout in the spotlight without any lagging exposition. Kudos to director Tatsuyuki and the screenwriters for transitioning perfectly between focal points, especially with the short break in the Kaito/Ichika routine to squeeze in a reasonable date at the mall with Kanna. And even after that, transitioning back to the unanswered question at hand as Kanna scurries off to reunite with the others when embarrassed by Remon’s invasive cinema technique, the shift was fluid and unforced. Overall, Ano Natsu’s formula has proven its effectiveness by employing a cast of intelligent characters that almost immediately capture and attention and affinity of its viewers. The show spends little to no time mulling over getting the characters to tediously nitpick the cast for 11 episodes before finally settling on a potential crush candidate to smooch during the ED of the finale, but instead it explores the interesting progression of how each’s love is revealed.

In any case, I am extremely happy to see that the confusion regarding Ichika’s secret and Kaito’s feelings was only toyed around with and not left aside to fester for another episode. If I wasn’t already sold on the choice of characters already, that final minute or so where Ichika picks up on Kaito’s body language to discover his true feelings—a feat in and of itself as most series often disregard character perceptiveness when it comes to love—I am sold twice over by this point. The cast continues to impress; even understated Mio and too-hot-for-love Tetsuro find a moment to display their soft sides. Again, very impressed with how they managed to fit everything into a single episode and avoid any sense of rushed development as just because the relationships have been defined, the degree of comfort around each other is only just beginning to grow. Leaving off on a cliff hanger like this is only one more reason to keep on watching. I can’t wait to see more!

This post Ano Natsu de Matteru EP 03 – Sempai Said it. . . was written originally at TheAkiba.

TV Anime Natsuiro Kiseki in April 2012

YoU — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:47:56 +0000

The official website of the upcoming April TV Anime Natsuiro Kiseki (夏色キセキ) finally got a revamp recently and due to the fact the we mentioned Toaru Kagaku no Railgun and Toaru Kagaku no Railgun a couple of days ago, I thought we should also bring this to our readers. Not a news at all since you may have heard of it a couple of weeks ago. Produced by Sunrise, Kiseki will is another well promoted original Anime coming this Spring. The reason I mentioned Index and Railgun is because Tanaka Yuichi (田中雄一) is doing the character design of Natsuiro Kiseki. Thus if fans are waiting impatiently for the two series, you should keey an eye in this Spring and see if Natsuiro Kiseki will interest you. Another thing to note is the Seiyu group sphere will play the main roles.

When mentioning original Anime, it reminds me of some really good original Anime in this winter. We have Ano Natsu de Matteru, one of the best series this winter, Rinne no Lagrange, my favorite of the season. These are all great series and if you haven’t checked out our recommended series this winter, take a look now!

This post TV Anime Natsuiro Kiseki in April 2012 was written originally at TheAkiba.

Mashiroiro Symphony Review

Jack — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:16:21 +0000

It has been several weeks since the finale of the notable Anime adaptation of the visual novel, Mashiroiro Symphony. Although there were some enjoyable moments while encroaching upon the seemingly magical journey since episode one, there were also parts where I felt that could be room for much improvement. So let’s go back and re-discover the ups and downs of this so-called ‘Pure White Symphony of Love’.

Before the series began airing, the initial details available in regards to the visual novel that the Anime was based upon had given me the impression that it wouldn’t be something out of the extraordinary. You have a school setting with a male protagonist surrounded by various beautiful heroines, one of which eventually becomes his love interest; it’s a typical setting used by a majority of visual novels as well as the Anime adapted from them. Even the promotional artwork presented prior to airing gave us little to no suspicion that the art, character development and the story would be any different from any other visual novel originated Anime adaptation.

So what were the factors that contradicted with the above speculations? Firstly, the illustrations and character designs gave off a ‘fairy tale’-like feel when various elements of the story itself didn’t hint such intention. An example would be the Yuihime Girls’ Private Academy uniform, which, appeared to be a fusion between the traditional formal attire and the sailor uniform. The result in my opinion makes it seem like it was a school for young mages, but the only thing I found that was magical was the strange creature, Panya. Another interesting factor was the way the main cast were entwined by the series’ mascot, Panya. It had been quite a while since I’d witnessed a strange but cute creature used to such effectiveness that produces a warm lasting impression in the finale. In comparison, Clannad, which used a family of dangos as its mascot was only merely mentioned or portrayed in various occasions but never really played a significant impact to the story. Furthermore, the level of fan service used was kept to a minimum while focusing more on the drama between the protagonists. Initially, this leads me to believe that the series may be trying to deviate from the norm. However, as the story progresses, I could not help but arouse suspicions on various issues.

Episode one gave us a rather astounding introduction to Airi, one of the main heroines of the story and was followed by her abrupt antagonism at the episode’s closure. The event instinctively lead me to believe that Airi’s objection to her school’s merger would be the primary focus of the series and the resolution to that issue would likely amount to the protagonist, Shingo ending up with her at the end. The half way mark of the series had proven that my initial gut feeling was not the case. However, I wasn’t disappointed because my prediction was wrong; it was the way how Airi relieved herself from her opposition of the merger, the reason behind it and why she was not chosen as Shingo’s love interest. From observation, it could be interpreted that Airi’s hatred of males waned over time due to repeated interaction with Shingo and the Nuko club members. However, the fact that her opposition was portrayed in such an assertive manner in the beginning had raised my hopes up on this single plot element yielding much better possibilities than the resolution that we actually saw. Thus, that lead me to the conclusion that the resolution we ultimately witnessed wasn’t the intended resolution that the writers had originally planned.

So what exactly did I think was wrong with what we saw? Basically, Airi’s confession to her reason why she was against the merger; the ‘I don’t like sudden changes’ argument, made its root plot element seem as if it had simply been hung out to dry. Surely, there could be many better ways to utilize Airi’s initial opposition to the merger, like having it act as a trigger to other antagonistic events. I believed that anything could be better than to simply allow time to fix the issue, especially in a fictional context where viewers would expect something new and creative. And as for how Airi was not chosen in the end; again it was just simply allowing human nature to take its course. Not long after her antagonism towards Shingo was resolved, Airi was on the most part placed aside. There was no causative sequence of events that led her there other than been just out of the spotlight for natural reasons. Also there was little to no direct indication of how she truly felt towards him during the final episodes besides showing her observing in the shadows at Shingo’s relationships with the other girls. So what does all that mean to me overall? Simply put, the writers just decided to play it safe and stuck to simplicity.

Sana’s abrupt transformation and revelation that she actually hated males was something to be questioned. Prior to her change in attitude, it was never hinted nor reinforced that she was actually hiding something nor was there any indication that she possesses an alter ego of some sort. The event was just thrown to the face without warning, which made it rather awkward and difficult to comprehend at least in an analytical sense.

The poster sabotage event during the Nuko club arc was another example of what I considered as wasted plot element usage. My primary concern in regards to this issue was that the perpetrator that placed the member recruitment posters in the furnace was neither found, hinted nor was the incident explored further. This lead me to believe that the single purpose of this event was to act as a stepping stone for Shingo in advancing further within the zone of Sana and Miu, thus, resulting in the drama between the three during the final episodes. Again, this event had potential to do a lot more if explored further; yet, it was simply employed as a onetime usage and then thrown away. I believe that plot elements of a sinister nature yearns suspicion and could potentially be difficult to overlook, especially for viewers who were more plot oriented.

The Shingo x Miu relationship in my opinion was probably one of the most spectacular and heartwarming events in the series, yet, I found the incidents that led to it rather questionable. The somewhat unorthodox transition from a seemingly sibling-like relationship (with Miu initially acting as an older sister figure) to a romantic relationship was one of my primary concerns on how the unity established. Looking back, I just felt that there could have been stronger linkage of events that suggests that the Shingo x Miu pairing was a possibility. Prior to Shingo’s love confession there had been various scenes which involve the two’s interaction, however, at the same time, there were other things going on, such as the progress of the merger, issues relating to Angeline, Sana’s dilemma to name a few. In addition Sakuno, who was considered one of the heroines had yet to have an entire episode dedicated to her. The numerous simultaneous events and expectations amounted to an uncomfortable degree of uncertainty of where the course of the series was going to take us. As a viewer, I don’t mind surprises, however, I do find it rather frustrating when I’m always forced to guess what will happen. Thus, I was distracted from what had been a solid romantic development.

Another thought worth mentioning was the catchy opening theme song, Authentic Symphony, which well interpreted the meaning behind the Anime’s title. My only concern in regards to that was the usage of the concept ‘the color of love’ was too metaphoric and not that apparent within the actual series. The only indication I could think of was the short monologue by Sakuno at the beginning of the first episode as well as the white color of the school uniform, but that could mean just about anything and may have nothing to do with ‘the color of love’ concept at hand.

So what is my impression of the series overall? Simply put, ‘surprisingly memorable’. Both for its attractive illustrations as well as its unique but awkward composition (made me wonder if there was an internal dispute over the story during production). Would I recommend this to someone? If that someone cares primarily about eye candy, it’d be an extraordinary journey. But for someone who likes to dig deep into the plotline, he/she will probably be scratching their heads here and there while trying to comprehend what they just saw.

This post Mashiroiro Symphony Review was written originally at TheAkiba.

Rumor: Toaru Majutsu no Index Third Season Coming?

YoU — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:26:17 +0000

According to the post on Mikatan’s blog, we learned that Toaru Majutsu no Index (とある魔術の禁書目録) will take some moves within the year, while the new move of Railgun project remains a secret. To interpret these lines, we can tell that there will be a new project of Toaru Majutsu no Index coming this year besides the movie we mentioned last year. Judging from the fact we still don’t know the premiere date of the movie, a third season of the TV Anime could be something that we are waiting for. As for the Railgun series, there should be one but the date remains unknown. It could be at the end of this year or some time next year.

Mikatan is a staff of Good Smile Company and the promotion message could be some insider talk. Thus the statement on the company culture blog could add more weights to your confidence. Stay tuned and will post more updates on this.

This post Rumor: Toaru Majutsu no Index Third Season Coming? was written originally at TheAkiba.

Zero no Tsukaima F EP 02-03 Roundup

saitohama — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:49:25 +0000

It was obvious from its debut episode that Zero F would venture where its former seasons has not and waste no time diving into some pretty sizable plot developments early on. Of course, it makes sense considering that this is the all-important final season, but that doesn’t make an outright invasion headed by the hellish antagonist to destroy all that is decent in the world any less surprising at the third episode. I’m certainly not complaining, however, as this level of consistent action from this series already has me far beyond content, but that is not to say that a number of the smaller developments felt noticeably rushed and could have either been more subtle or brought about in another way.

Starting things off on a good note, the Pope’s two-week long celebration has brought out the best that the kingdom of Romalia has to offer—banquets of food, endless festivities and, of course, Louise and Tiffa fully-clad in Index cosplay. I’d have to agree with Saito on this one—Sister-Louise is way too cute to resist, but the “lemon-chan” thing went right over my head. Maybe it was another example of cross-series advertising with Ano Natsu (I wouldn’t doubt it, episode 2 was hilarious!), or possibly the anxiety of being deprived of Tiffa’s oppai-hugs. I don’t know, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Unfortunately, the comedy antics are cut short when Louise is yet again captured by the villain—this time, however, her captor is the youngest of the Elemental siblings, goth-maid Jeanette. Meanwhile, Saito, gets caught up in a sword fight of his own with the squinty-eyed sword fighter, Doudou. I have found the inclusion of the Elemental siblings to be a catalyst for the rapid rate at which the plot development has travel so far in the story, which I’ve greatly enjoyed watching. Also, unlike so many other sub-par baddies that should really only be guilty of making rookie mistakes, the siblings have already demonstrated their level of competence, preferring to use authentic tactics like stealth, deceit, and even the use of poison (badass!).

With the invasion force drawing ever closer to the kingdom’s aerial forces, Joseph initiates his plan by first acquiring a portion of Louise’s void unique ability, explosion, and sets it into motion by detonating a series of powerful fire stone “bombs”. As the destruction ensues, members of the ‘dream team’—Tabitha and Sylphid at its head—soar into action, which brings me to the segment where I boast one of my favorite characters of the series, and the star of particular episode, Saito. Where his unyielding determination is naturally full of confidence, his performances are usually just that—rehearsed and devoid of genuine emotion. However, in this episode he turns a full 180 degrees, making it difficult not to give him a good amount of attention. The first instance that impressed surprised me was his “mind’s eye” bluff. Not only did the hilarious implications of Saito bringing a gun to a magic fight introduce a good few laughs, but discovering that Joseph possesses the “accelerator” ability solidified the joke with an out-of-place comparison. Sitting there watching Saito close his eyes had me questioning his sanity, considering Joseph’s powers—and Saito’s certainly no Kamijou Touma, but after seeing him pull of a workable “unafraid of death” creepy smile-of-determination, I questioned if this was the same Saito that’s been around all of this time. And on that same note of emerging maturity, was the instance where Tabitha was in a position to kill her wounded uncle. Of course, I was expecting to hear a righteous loli-rant from both Louise and Saito on the evils of revenge, but surprisingly he let her make the decision herself. Another very smart move. Finally, let us not forget his perceptiveness when he called out the pope and Julio for scheming with Louise’s life. All in all, he undoubtedly lived up to his reputation as hero.

My only caveat, as mentioned earlier, with this episode was the brevity of the individual sequences and the grand development involving Joseph’s plotting and the invasion of Romalia. The main problem with the smaller developments, mostly those that took place during the invasion—Tiffa being prompted and using her ‘forgetfulness spell’ on the gargoyle in under a minute; the half-minute FB of Julio giving Saito an ‘ancient artifact’ to explain the gun to name a few—was that they lacked a substantial tie-in to the plot’s rapid development. Maybe J.C. Staff got carried away by their own strength—after all, they’ve been cranking out great episodes for a number of current series. What would have been better is if the build up to the invasion way stretched over possibly one or two more episodes, allowing time to subtly introduce these important factors and maybe even go a bit deeper into discovering who Tiffa’s familiar might be. In the end the resolution just came so fast that it left me longing to simply see more on behalf of Joseph’s truly dastardly personality. In my opinion, it might have been nice to throw in an extra extended half episode devoted to mayhem— evil gargoyles snatching up babies, ships colliding head on, and an all-out magic fight between the invading fleet and the other index-mages, but you can’t have it all .

Taking everything into account, I am extremely pleased with the balance this season is displaying thus far. A key aspect of balance is finding a desirable ratio of fast-paced action and comedic romance sequences, something the final season is employing near-flawlessly. What Zero F does remarkably well in addition to employing such a balance, is in it’s fanservice department. While as of yet Tiffa seems to be holding the fort on her own in terms of fanservice, I can’t think of a better way to have it; after all, it’s one of those things that delivers a greater punch when used less frequently. So another fantastic episode from Zero F, how did you like it? What I’m anxiously awaiting now is the next big development hopefully leading up to another grand conglomeration of good vs. evil. As for next week it’s looking like things might break for some ecchi fanservice, but hopefully this intermission won’t take too long.

This post Zero no Tsukaima F EP 02-03 Roundup was written originally at TheAkiba.

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