Episode dump: Chihayafuru, Tomodachi, Working’!!, Tamayura, Horizon

Kana gets a little carried away if there's poetry involved.

Since Chihayafuru 12 became available to me the moment I had finished with #11, I might as well take care of it now. The prelims are done, the nationals are head, Mizusawa is going to represent all of Tokyo … and nobody else cares. That’s the nice irony that this show gives us, the fact that you can become so devoted to something which really is not that important, at least in the practical modern world. It’s shown here by the Empress (grumpy old advisor lady) not understanding what the fuss is about, and Chihaya’s family not seemingly knowing or caring that she even went to a tournament that weekend at all, because her model-sister is on TV. Chihaya’s reaction to this is rather sad. She’s so used to it that she just shrugs it off and joins the family to watch the tape, which makes the payoff later in the episode more emotional. The rest of the time is spent practicing under tougher competition at various clubs, with Chihaya feeling the pressure, reassuring bonks on the head by Taichi, and checking up on the morale of Desktomu, who’s grades are slipping, and who, strangely, does not care too much. But the best moment comes at the end. Kana reminds us that these cards they’re batting around have poems on them. They represent a culture and history that must be remembered, even if they seemingly have no practical use (she doesn’t actually say that, but it’s clear that the creators want that point made), which leads to Chihaya later saying she sees “her” card as bright red. Especially notable in this series where all the colors are washed out. And what does Omi Jingu, the Nationals venue look like? Yup. Lovely moment. Sometimes I think this show’s at its best when it’s not filled with frantic tournament action, when it moves more slowly and allows the metaphors and imagery to drift in.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai 11 doesn’t do much of anything until the very end. That’s okay. For me, half of the show’s fun is watching the characters screw around with each other. This week it’s the local summer festival. We get the scene where someone wants to go but doesn’t want to admit it, and soon everyone winds up going (the excuse is to eat takoyaki), we get rather too much of Yozora and Sena competing in games normally beneath them, Kobato and Maria going at each other, etc, the only difference being just about everyone is wearing a yukata, except Yozora, who’s character is always in danger of veering away from healthy misanthropy to stick-in-the-mudness. Apart from the end, the highlight was Kodaka trying to define Rika’s stock anime character and the Comiket flashback including the Ore no Imouto characters. As for the end, well, I’m glad they got to the revelation, and I’m glad Kodaka realized it himself, but there was nothing leading up to it at all. Yozora cut her hair, Kodaka made the connection–that’s it. Kind of a letdown. But it should give the final episode some extra spice.

Working’!! 12 is mostly about Inami and her androphobia, but that’s okay. The season has done well in not overemphasizing it, rather, using it as part of their now-extensive comic arsenal. What’s more, Inami’s gotten better and has in fact set a record for days in a row not punching a guy. Not only am I happy that the show’s not weighed down with her, but enough time has passed that I’m happy for her character; she’s about the only one there capable of growing, well, apart from Takanashi’s little sister. And it’s a good episode all around. Also, so many little bits are worked around the Inami story that it feels balanced. We get bits with Yamada and her bear (the other crisis of the story), with Kozue, and Yamada’s brother and Inami-stalker, and almost all of them are funny. The dialogue and visuals mesh together in inventive ways to tell the jokes, my favorite bit this week being Satou’s slow and unnoticable backing up when Yamada and Poplar take Inami on the “Wagnaria man tour.”

Farewell to Tamayura – Hitotose. It’s an eventful little episode, as these things go. The “Ourselves Festival” goes by without a hitch. When Maon sat down to do her reading I inwardly cringed, but it was a better story this time, and it had special effects (and later, we learn that she killed off the main character!). Little Komachi’s photographic additions to the exhibit (all of Norie being angry) was a nice touch. Best of all, it was all over halfway through the episode. After that it’s New Year’s Eve stuff (I rather like watching depictions of New Years in anime), a call from Chihiro, and Sayomi drags the girls off to see the New Year sunrise … only to have the car balancing on the edge of a steep incline, another thing I didn’t expect from this show. But they get to see the sunrise from a new angle, people stop and brings them warm food and heaters until the tow truck can arrive, and it turns into a party on the roadside, a good way to end this sweet and innocuous series. It sometimes got too sentimental, especially at first when Fuu was still getting over the loss of her father, but at its best it drifted along with few words, and invited us to enjoy the everyday moments of life along with the characters, with some gags tossed in at just the right moment. Not bad.

The most profound battle of wits since the Marx Brothers' 'Swordfish' routine.

I hoped that Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon 12 was its final episode, but apparently they want to squeeze as much confusion out of this premise as they can. As you recall, Muneshige is about to fire Lype Katarripsi at Mushashi, but Futayo decides she’s not done yet, gets off the ground, and beats him. Something to do with her father’s legacy, since he had beaten Muneshige before. Muneshige is fine with this and falls unconscious. Then we get to the real action. Toori’s at the wall of sins, or whatever, talking to Horizon, or rather, the automation that carries her soul. It’s love declaration time! She says the world is more important than his wishes, so he announces he’ll become king of the world and lists just about every single weird thing we’ve seen in twelve episodes and balls them up into “Us.” It’s a long, eloquent list, an impressive speech overall, so naturally she rejects it. So he says he loves her. She says, being an automation, love is a foreign concept. So he talks about her boobs, she (and everyone watching) calls him disgusting, and announces that their personalities are “parallel,” so it can never work. Perfect! Toori plays that game where you reverse every sentence so that their contradictions wind up agreeing with you. This works just fine until he brings up her boobs again. After the Pope tries to interfere he accidentally touches the deadly wall (actually her boob, which is on the other side of it) and now he has to deny his greatest sin, which really isn’t much, since it wasn’t entirely his fault. They survive the trial, Horizon is rescued, hooray! Parallel lines meet above the horizon! Hooray! Let’s end the series right here! … Unfortunately, there are too many other characters standing about, and a few armies. It looks like they have to fight a war first. Maybe next episode.

Episode dump; iDOLM@STER 23, UN-GO 10, BakumanII 12, Ben-To 11, Tamayura 11

Another iDOLM@STER character spends time with her outer child.

iDOLM@STER 23 continues the Haruka story, rather, it’s her turn to wander off in a funk and think things out while everyone else worries about her. It’s practically a mirror image of Chihaya’s crisis, though this one has no ridiculous bad guys behind it or painful past to overcome (but she does sit around at home and even meets her younger self, just like Chihaya did). Rather, she’s worried about the future. The drifting apart continues, people still aren’t making it for the New Years rehearsals. Not to mention that the producer is in the hospital because of that trap. One of the weirder moments of the story arc is that while everyone is worried about him, the show pretty much ignores him except for some words of wisdom for Chihaya which sets the girls plan in action. Other words of wisdom come from Touma, Jupiter’s former lead asshat, who’s happier with the smaller-scale productions they are forced into because he enjoys the sense of community. And so on. Meanwhile I waited and worried that there wouldn’t be anything to spice the inevitable reunion up … until a typical kids in the park sequence, where their little voices transform into those of 765 Pro, an unexpected and beautiful moment that made me gasp and fumble for the rewind button. And yes, we get our reunion bit, though everything else felt flat compared to that moment before.

But he's still alive, or maybe he's not, or he's an AI or ... my head hurts.

I had a write-up for UN-GO 9 all written up, but it went missing, overwritten, probably, or copied over … Or maybe Kaishou didn’t want me to post the explosive truths contained in that post, so he used that software he made!! YEAH!!! Anyway, episode 11 goes farther out of its limb concerning The Truth. Let me just say that I hope the series doesn’t wind up with a pat conclusion such as “there is no absolute truth or reality.” I hate it when creators do this, unless he’s Philip K. Dick (on the other hand, at least this show’s source material isn’t simply ripping Dick off). But I think Shinjuru agrees with me on this. He seems pretty certain that there is a truth. Not to mention that Inga could force it out of people (But this would explain why he/she’s at a loss when Bettenou’s around). As for the plot, I’ll say again that I suck at mysteries. I was following along quite happily until they got to the humming and the handkerchief and suddenly Shinjuru was running off somewhere, throwing Kazamori at somebody, at which point my eyes glazed over. I didn’t really focus again until Shinjuru held up that invitation. Well, all will be explained next week unless it’s not the truth, or THAT’s not the truth, or THAT’s not, ad nauseum.

Lovers' tiff.

The straight line in Bakuman 2 12 is the growing relationship between Miura and the boys, or that’s how it felt like, and looking at it that way it makes a nice contrast with the episode’s theme of love and relationships in general. Starting with an embarrassing text dialogue Kaya jokingly reads aloud, we next get Nagai falling in love with Kato (poor sap), Aoki’s new editor putting the moves on her (what a slimeball), and Aoki’s subsequent meeting with Aiko at college. I had forgotten completely about her, but she’s the one who rejected Takagi because he wanted to write manga, or did he reject her? I forget. Now she meets Aoki, and the scene feels completely different, like the beginning of a romantic story not at all related to Bakuman. Where it will go, I don’t know. But back to the heroes and Miura. The arguments about whether or not to do a gag manga, not to mention the exhaustive research on sales Miura makes, then his saying the wrong thing and having to apologize, after the boys had realized how much work and care he had taken (shown in a gift package full of gag manga with extensive, scrupulous notes) for them, feels like a manga-ka equivalent of any relationship past its first stages and at the point where you start to learn what your lover is really like.

Who is this guy and why is he barging into our story arc?

After the trauma of last week, Ben-To 11 comes as a disappointment. Two or three things go on. First, we learn about the Sawagi twins’ happy childhood, kindergartners entranced by a violent bento fight, and we get some more of Kyou (not Kyou)’s dual identities. Then there’s Satou visiting Sen the day after and learning she has a cold, and that’s maybe why she lost. The scene is inflated with the usual Satou fantasies, which never really work for me. Meanwhile other people try to figure out where Othrus comes from. We find out. And the usual Oshiroi bit. Satou loses again to Othrus but we don’t see it. The only interesting thing comes at the end, when some totally unmentioned newcomer, who three years ago beat Othrus so badly they still have nightmares (well, Kyou does. Not Kyou), shows up to do it again. Where did he come from? Why is he messing up with our perfectly good but currently slow-moving story arc? Especially with only one more episode to go?

Tamayura – Hitotose 11 presents us with possibly the most excruciating type of story (for me) imaginable: doing a stage show. Because I’ve done a lot of theatre I know what can go wrong, so I can’t help but feel nervous along with the poor performers. This episode promises to be even worse, for it’s Maon who’s going to perform. But right away they do some things right. First, it’s not a whistling exhibition! (Insert cheers and fireworks here). Rather, it’s going to be a recital drama, where she’s going to stand up there and tell a story, or something. Here’s where the unwelcome pressure comes in. Since it’s for the “Ourselves Festival” she wants to try out her material in her home town, at her family’s inn, for whoever’s around. But word gets out, big posters are made, people invite other people, and soon they have to rent out the Virgo Theatre, a large space where, ironically, Maon has always dreamed of performing. Also, she has no material to try out. What keeps this from getting to be too much is the gentle overall tone of the series. There’s that tranquil piano music playing throughout even Maon’s worst moments of fear. You know the show is not mean-spirited enough for worse-case theatrical scenarios. And while her nervous recitation of a text any 2nd grader could write wasn’t all that great (we are fortunate to only see a little of it), and was no more than a metaphor for her making friends and growing up, everyone watching is a friend. It could have been a lot worse. For one thing, she could have chosen whistling.

Episode dump: Ben-To 10, Bakuman 11, Tamayura 10, Kimi to Boku 11

Ben-To 10 makes me wonder about the use of magical items found in supermarkets. It’s obvious to anyone who’s used them that shopping baskets have some sort of fundamental magic to them, something which causes them to knock items off the shelf when you’re not looking. But to have the weird black stuff coming out of them that Orthrus, i.e., Kyou and nee-san, i.e., the twins, use to defeat the Ice Witch, I dunno. It’s pushing whatever physical and unnatural laws the show had in place. On the other hand, battling with baskets is such a good idea I wonder why the other Wolves don’t use it. As far as the story is concerned, seeing Sen go down was for me a bit hard to watch, but the show had to do it sooner or later, and she WAS double-teamed. But it’s hard to follow a battle when all three are have the same uniform and hair color. Since Kyou and Kyou are comfortably in the opening credits now, I assume there will be a face turn in the future, hopefully after they lose a battle for once.

Eiji's opinion of Future Watch

With Bakuman II 11, the boys embark on their goal to both win the monthly contest with Future Watch and get a serialization with Ten. Okay, they really want a serialization out of Future Watch, but many people disagree, especially Miura. And in the end, both appear as one shots; let the readers decide. Meanwhile, they begin to suspect that Miura’s opinions, especially about gags, are suspect, and newly serialized Takahama is beginning to agree. And in the end, well, it’s hard to keep watching this show sometimes. Everything is such a damn grind. You work your butt off and no one cares. On the other hand, real life is like that, too, especially in creative fields. Success doesn’t magically appear. You have to work hard AND get lucky. You have to give Bakuman credit for that, even if it makes everything move at a snail’s pace. But there were good moments, Eiji’s good for a laugh, Ishizawa reappears for a bit, and Nakai meets Kato …

Tamayura ~ Hitotose 10 gently drew me in to Kaoru’s problem and then proceeded to drive me crazy, gently. It was set up nicely. Everyone thinks Kaoru’s acting strangely. How they can tell is anyone’s guess, because Kaoru up to now has shown little personality at all. It’s her sister who’s the driving force in her family. But, okay, she’s acting strangely. Everyone else seems to know what they want to do, except for Maon, who has so many things she wants to do she can’t decide. Not knowing what you want to do with your life at age 14 or 15 is expected, you know. Besides, I thought they had gone over this theme with Maon. So they drag her off to the little cafe and they all talk about it until Kaoru announces theres something she wants to do: an “Ourselves Expo,” with Norie’s sweets, Fuu’s photographs, and Maon doing a whistling exhibition (No! NOO!), and a corner for Kaoru’s popurri. It feels a little sad. These are all, to put it bluntly, “first-world things,” what you’d do if you were living in some small town by the sea with a heavy tourist presence. Places like this are fine to visit, to enjoy some views, view fresh air, and forget about the real world for a while. But to people just starting out in life, with so much else to experience, I don’t know. It bugs me that they won’t look beyond their little touristy town, nice as it is. Just like this show is nice to watch once a week. But no more than that.

Kimi to Boku 11, our other slice of life show, though more realistic, has Yuuki maybe or maybe not developing a crush on a lunchlady. It’s hard to tell with him. Every chance he gets to do something with her can be easily construed as a normal interaction in school. Except for the last part, where he helps her wipe down tables for a couple of her convenience store stickers (collect thirty and you get a plate!), which he actually could care less about. The lunchlady, Kayo, is an ordinary young woman, and it seems even Yukki isn’t sure what the attraction is, apart from his talk about hair curled around a finger, this week’s poetic statement that sort of reflects the episode. None of the other characters have much to do. It’s refreshing to see Kaname amused by something for a few seconds. And how long does it take for paint to dry, anyway? I know they said they can’t use the roof for lunch because it’s getting colder, but no one takes the sign down. Such are the thoughts that go through my mind as I watch ths show.

Last Exile Fam 8, Tamamura 9, UN-GO 8

And I thought that the last episode of Last Exile – Fam had some exciting scenes. Episode 8 is even better. As you remember, the bad guys, led by a not-impulsive older guy aboard their flagship Anshar, have tailed Fam to the Silvius and are demanding they hand over Millia.

There’s a brief discussion. Millia wants to avoid bloodshed on the Silvius, but who really believes that the Federation’s going to let them go scot-free anyway? Besides, we’d lose out a hell of a battle if they did. So there are lots of scenes of Millia being upset and guilty, and Fam as well, since she considers herself responsible. But nothing to be done. Battle stations! Release the vanships! Open up the ports to let the explody things out! And in a great moment, the martial music slowly dies away as the vanships take flight, and there’s only the sound of wind and engines, until stuff starts to blow up.

Neeeeaaaaaoooowww BLAM! Ratatatat! Boom! BOOM! Pew Pew Pew!

I swear, I got my stupid-grin on for just about every minute of these scenes. They’re absolutely amazing. As for the battle itself, the good guys manage some good damage and evasive maneuvers (why are the bad guys always surprised by smoke screens?), but they’re taking hits themselves. The bad guy captain is no fool. They outnumber the Silvius and know a few tricks themselves. And then there’s the little fact that they’re all near the Glacies border. We’ve seen their pilots already, noting the foreign craft and muttering in what I assume is Russian. The fact the show dwells on two of them suggests they’ll have a bigger role to play later. “They” meaning the two women. Glacies gets involved pretty quick. But until then it’s beginning to look bleak, and when they’re this bleak, it’s time for Fam to step in and suggest something heroic and absolutely insane.

(sigh) Fam ... Fam ... Fam ...

What Fam is actually going to do out skyfishing out there while everyone’s trying to blow each other up is anyone’s guess, and I lost track on just what was going on. We do know that the Silvius blows a hole in a weak fissure of a cliff, momentarily escapes into Glacies territory, and lets the Russians start blazing away. But it’s still badly damaged and now there are TWO nations trying to get at it (and each other). Meanwhile Fam and Millia(!?) fly around, spot one of the Glacies pilots trying to do some skyfishing herself in her wounded aircraft, and prop her up with their aircraft. Why? I don’t know. Having saved her, they go after the Anshar and Millia manages to fire a single shot right where the Anshar is most vulnerable, like that shaft on the Death Star. And down she goes! Utterly ridiculous and fun as hell to watch.

Fam, doing something ridiculously heroic and dangerous again.

But when a show presents itself so well you gniggle about the lapses in logic later. You can also wonder why Gisey wasn’t with Fam, or how she’s feeling at the moment (lousy). But at the time you enjoy the show’s strengths: a young, impulsive hero (who’s not a jerk), big countries with big agendas and big armies, and art and animation you just don’t see anywhere else, though Fate/Zero certainly has its moments. Sigh, I suppose next week they’ll have to settle down and throw some intrigue at us. It’ll be a letdown.

No connection between this screenshot and the Fam entry intended. Really.

I was pleased that UN-GO 8 didn’t continue asking questions about what reality is and rather, went back to investigating why the hell Shinjuru was placed in that prison when he had committed no crime. It was more satisfactory to have Shinjuru active and in control rather than reacting to strange events. If that meant another long string of detective musings and figuring out who the murderer is, that’s fine. For the story splits in two. Shinjuru comes to his senses (zap!) but won’t leave until he discovers who killed the “director.” But really, what set this episode apart is that line above, spoken by the woman in the fake world where there was no war, where people play war instead. A fantasy, comforting, but oblivious to the potential of war and with no true understanding of its consequences. UN-GO always wishes us to compare its fictional society to our own, and this is its most chilling comparison yet.

Time for something quiet. Tamayura – Hitotose 9 has a pointless little story about Momoneko, that white ball of fluff and a wild boar. The second story was better as we meet Shimako, the girl who said she was going to confess at the festival. She returns to town, binge eats, and acts like she’s drunk, until a friend comes to fetch her and teach her about love, using reckless driving as a metaphor. Screams are heard, tears are shed, and the kids all watch. Not much to it.

Last Exile Fam 7, Tamayura 8

Last Exile Fam is living up to the original series.

Relax, Gisey, it's just a handshake.

But we start with a lull in the action to get us updated on various people. Little Sara Augusta is despondent because she couldn’t protect the nobles who were massacred last episode. She had failed their trust, unlike her wise mother. She comes off as a little naive, but she is a little girl, after all, and she has her heart in the right place. The trouble is, it’s clear she isn’t the one making decisions right now, it’s Luscinia. What happens when he turns against her? Again, that’s for future episodes. The other quiet moments involve Giselle and her quiet but obvious jealousy toward Millia, and her fear that Fam is turning from her. She’s young, too, though not as young as Sara, so all we can do is hope that she sees that what she feels is illusory. Near the end of the episode Fam says a few appropriate words to her, without knowing that anything’s bothering her. That’s the problem with quiet characters. Only Millia seems to know what’s going on, and she does her best to keep Giselle from distraction. For there’s work to do. A fleet of noble’s ships! Skyfish heaven! Let’s go!

Personally, I'd be using stronger language than that.

In the first moments of this fantastic action scene the big crisis would seem to be the arrival of Fam’s old comrades who also want to steal a vessel of two. Damn it! Nothing like old friends to screw up your plans. Just when we’re wondering if Fam can snare a ship with all the competition swarming around him, an Ades fleet, or two or three, descends from the clouds and begins firing. It’s an ambush! NOW we’re wondering if ANY of them is even going to get out of this alive. There follows several moments of drop-dead beautiful animation, tempered by the desperate situation they’re in, and accompanied by a score loaded with fanfares. Absolutely amazing stuff. And through it all, providing the anchor, we watch as Fam and Giselle dodge explosives and think as hard as they can, until they come up with an improbable idea, which naturally works. And just as I was beginning to relax, they toss a cliffhanger at us for next episode.

Uh, Fam, behind you ...

This is what the original series did so well: the great plans of nations surrounding two young, resourceful heroes, well, that and great art, music and animation.

In Tamayura Hitose 8 Fuu and her friends step to the side while we watch some adults do some adult thinking. Well, Fuu is there, watching, but she’s really not the center of whatever little story this is. If there is a dilemma in this episode it would be “Is Shimomi going to give up photography?” And the answer is, “who knows?” My other answer is, if she does, she could easily make money modeling, for all the loving close-ups this episode gives her. Have her look somewhere off-camera with a wistful look, she could easily make some bucks. But I suppose the theme is wisdom and experience handed down (and around), as we discover that little tyke has taken up photography, inspired by Fuu, who was inspired by Shihomi. In the episode we discover that Shihomi is staying with Hoboro, er, Chimo (leading to the episode’s other big question, if you’re an adult), and the three of them visit another restaurant, run by Mihono, another mentor/friend. We hear them talk about switching jobs and why they like what they do, even if it means leaving something you’re good at. It’s a good lesson, though impractical for many in this lovely economy we live in now. In other words, it’s grownup talk, and Fuu tries to take it in using the “Ticket to the sky” metaphor, i.e., you are currently aimless, but it means there are so many possibilities. And no, Shihomi isn’t giving up photography yet.

Working’!! 7-8, Tamayura 7, Boku wa Tomodachi 7, C3 8

I’m tired for reasons I don’t get, too tired to write, but here are some extra-quick thoughts about some shows.

No, Soma, it really isn't. Asshole.

Working’!! 7-8 exhibits some of the show’s strengths and weaknesses. There’s a molester who hangs out on the way Inami goes to work. This alarming news reaches the Wagnaria staff, and is diffused in a number of silly ways until you almost forget there’s something to be worried about. Because working is a day-to-day routine, and big things don’t usually happen. This is a good thing about the show. It can take some event and have each character play with it from their angle until it’s run its course, and by then the characters are paying attention to something else, if anything. That’s a strength. The show’s weakness is when they get on too long with something. The molester is an odd person who is probably Yamada’s older brother. The show has some fun as he tries to examine each female staff member (and we learn some very interesting information about Takanashi which I’m not sure I like, in terms of character, though it leads to a very sweet moment with Inami), but the Soma decides not to let them meet, and far too much time is spent with that. Well, now that they’ve introduced the molester maybe they’ll move on. The only other important news is that Nazuma is now as tall as Takanashi, meaning Popura gets petted on the head a lot.

The girls are in the back.

Tamayura – Hitotose 7 whips out its usual feel-good, as the girls prepare for yearly festival, one that Fuu never got to see with her father. Of course it threatens to rain, of course it lets up in time. It’s a nice touch that Kaori is as keen on Fuu having a good time at the festival this year as Fuu has. And again we get a lesson on subtle background music. It never seems to start or start, it just always seems to be there, or not there. Perfect for a show such as this. And I particularly liked the tune for when the rain comes.

Admit it. You did stuff like this too.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai brings up a dilemma that I’ve seen before. Intelligent people who have no need for new technology can come across as blithering idiots when forced to learn to use them. It can be sad, as I learned at my old job when the economy went sour and many laid-off people came into the library to make new resumes, but could barely use a mouse. Here it’s not so sad. Our friendless bunch learn to use cell phones. There’s an amusing but completely unbelievable scene where Yozora and Kodaka learn catch up on what the cool kids (a year younger) are doing with their newfangled infrared gizmos. Then, this being the type of show that it is, once they’ve learned few things about their phones, it’s time to abuse them. A typical, usually funny and mean-spirited episode.

C3 8 has the gang removing Sovereignty’s curse and thus saving her and Shiraho. Not that it matters. I watch it for the visuals. Here’s another good one.

I only wish C3's story was as good as its art.

Horizon, Tomodachi, and more Tamayura, even though I did one yesterday

Maon was cute when she was five years old and not whistling.

Tamayura – Hitotose 6 is harmless enough. We go back in time and discover how Maon made friends with Fuu and Norie. Interesting that they chose Maon; they featured her in an episode not long ago. And I don’t mind too much as long as she doesn’t overdo the whistling. Alas, in the first half, where she meets Fuu, she hears someone whistling (badly) and is transfixed by it. Later she tries to whistle to make two crying girls (unbeknownist to her, Kaoru and Norie) stop crying. She masters the art in maybe a second, and the world was doomed after that. In the second half she meets Norie again. I’m not usually a fan of the loud types, but they do a good job keeping Norie from getting too annoying, plus, if she’s shouting about stupid would-be boyfriends Maon won’t be whistling, so it’s all good. And again, when the show gets really ludricrous and has Norie understand what Maon’s whistling about, they turn it upside-down after the EF by demonstrating that Fuu and Kaoru can’t. This show has a good sugar-overdose detector.

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon 6 has no big battle scenes, so it isn’t as fun to watch as the last couple. Instead the characters settle down and try to figure out what their status is now, and what their next move will be. While we at home try to remember who’s on whose side and why we’re even bothering. They repeat enough things that I assume they’re important. Horizon, that living doll who’s got a mortal sinarmament weapon mixed with her soul (robots have souls, apparently, or maybe she borrowed one or they stuck one inside her. The original Horizon’s soul? Who cares, anyway?), is, I think a captive, but they’re being very nice to her. Meanwhile everyone in other scenes are hoping she won’t commit suicide. Then we get one of old guys, Sakai, himself in a very pleasant house arrest, chatting up another hot robot maid, meets up with other old weirdos Galileo and Innocentis, and apparently they have a grudge. Oh, the blond guy who lost the fight last week is healed and tortured a little by, er, someone. His sister, I think. Then a LONG classroom scene involving more exposition–if Horizon commits suicide,the Matsudaire clan will disappear, so the Mito Matsudaira clan will become the Far East Representative, meaning the student council rep is skipping class, attending a surrender ceremony where she tries to punch someone but fails. Then a tearful confession by the shy, nearly-blind Suzu, which is about the only part of the episode I understood. Then she has Toori grab her tits–okay, I understood that, too. In episode 7 the students face off against reps from … somebody, about whether to make war or not. We get one actual battle between a mecha (made of god of war parts) and a capitalist, a non-battle between Suzu and drill-haired Neito. Something about the honor of knights. Suzu tries to grab her boobs and falls instead. Everyone’s happy. Then Toori says let’s just give up. End of episode. I can’t wait to be confused next week as well.

Some of Rika's unique vocal stylings.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai 6 was a letdown after two good episodes. Up until they actually visit the karaoke place all the scenes went predictably. Sena thinks it’s beneath her, but winds begging to go, etc. It gets a little better when they get to the place. Yozora thinks paying for one room for six people is a ripoff (she never had to pay for her air friend, right?), so tries to rent six rooms, one for each of them. Maybe that’s it. She and Sena wind up sulking in their own rooms, sulking, while Kodaka and the other three do what karaoke is meant for–have fun (except Kodaka’s fun is dampened by worrying about them). It’s actually a little sad. It doesn’t help that we have more flashbacks with Kodaka and Yozora as kids, or that Sena hints at a hidden connection between them that Yozora can only guess at (Yozora, who’s been rotten to Sena all episode, had it coming, but still). So in this show full of people with no friends, the happiest ones are those who join together anyway. Oh, bonus points for not feeling obligated to show every character singing.

Kobato's cute when she's planning to sing karaoke.

Episode dump: Guilty Crown, UN-GO, Kimi to Boku, etc etc etc

Guilty Crown 4-5 brings us Shu’s indecision between following a repressive regime who thinks it’s saving the world from evil viruses, and the rebels headed by a megamaniacal handsome guy who everyone claims is wonderful. He wonders if he’s just jealous because of Gai’s charisma and the fact that everyone follows him blindly and tells Shu to shut up whenever he asks why, jealous because Inori seems to be shacking up with him, pissed off because Inori lied to him about her feelings (in fact, the lie is a lie, as she broke orders during to raid to rescue Shu). And he has that little pen which could bring the regime down on him. Meanwhile he is training with the Funeral Parlor, so we get all the “newbie in over his head scenes.” Shu is a wuss and maybe a turncoat (he hasn’t decided), but I share most of his suspicions. I don’t like either side. At least the show makes it clear that we’re not supposed to. And now that they’ve apparently blown Gai up, who knows what will happen next. It’s done in a ham-fisted way, but once again, the action scenes are great.

Now THAT'S how you introduce your corpses.

With UN-GO 5 the pattern is pretty much set. Shinjurou will try to find a murderer, while the crime’s circumstances lead to the exploration of more philosophical issues. With this one it’s the concept of sacrificing your life for others. Cynical Shinjurou doesn’t believe it’s possible; people are too cowardly and venal to do it of their own free will. He’s wrong, and meets his first humiliation of the series because of it. However, it only leads himm to refine his view. People can die for others, and it’s beautiful, and it makes the people who survive because of it even scummier. Or something like that. To prove it, we get the gold bricks denouement, which really doesn’t prove anything except that Shimada was a scummy guy. On the other hand, that was a terrific way to introduce the murder: have the corpses roll out of a sculpture during a public unveiling. Excellent bit. Oh, and I’m glad that Kazamori is going to be a regular in the series from now on.

I’m thinking of dropping Kimi to Boku, and I’m rather sad about it. I liked the first episode very much, the deadpan delivery, the slow, lazy nature of the whole thing, but after episode 2 it became clear that that was all it had. Yuta and Yuuki will continue to antagonize Kaname no matter what, the blond kid will remain forever clueless … It’s a wonder they’ve remained friends all this time. If they don’t throw in a new wrinkle soon I’m going to lose my patience completely. As for episode 6, it’s mostly flashback about when Kaname started to wear glasses, with the usual cat metaphors.

It's hard for me to drop a series that looks like this.

C3‘s latest story arc has left such an impression on me that I thought I had skipped an episode, because I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what was going on. Konoha was injured or something? All I remember was Sovereignity and dolls. Not that it really matters. With Horizon I watch because it’s more fun not to know what’s going on. With C3 I watch because of the endless visual treats it gives me. Who cares about Fear’s curses, or the curse of Savernity, or whatever. Give us more moments like the above.

Tamayura – Hitotose has found its groove. Episode 5 is cute and sweet and gentle without being dull or cloying or annoying. The fact that it begins with Fuu meeting a biker gang certainly helped. That was the last thing I expected to see in this series. Even after it had settled down and reintroduced the teary Chihiro, it floated along smoothly in that way these type of shows are supposed to do. At one point the girls are admiring the view, the music is fading out, and I expected a new scene to start. Instead, the scene continued, the silence now making its own statement. The episode’s main point, that shy Chihiro was glad that Fuu had new friends but was lonely herself, was understood throughout but so understated that no one bothered to bring it up untl the very end, when the girls all pronounced themselves new friends of hers. I hope this show can keep it up.

Working’!! has been in a groove for a while; episode 6 just keeps it going. Having the manager’s minions come in to botch things up work, was a good enough story. “I fell in love with the way she beat up my brother,” is one of the show’s better lines. The second half was more affecting. Part of it was some satisfaction I felt when Takanashi finally snapped. I can’t say his answer to Kyoko’s question was any better than hers, but he’s put up with way more shit than anyone else in that restaurant. It’s about time he let some frustration loose. The resolution was sweet, and the inevitable gag was perfectly timed.

Hey, I’m sorta kinda getting caught up! Only 12 more episodes in my queue!

UN-GO 4, Tomodachi 5, iDOLM@STER 18, Tamayura 4

Who's talking to who?

UN-GO 4 had a satisfying end to the Kazamori story, and a typical reaction from me when I watch a mystery: I follow right along until there’s a moment I get distracted by something I forgot, and it’s downhill from there. People say things, point at each other, other characters show up and I don’t remember seeing them before … Until the show reaches the revelation whereupon I usually nod and note to myself that I’d be a lousy detective. Still, the end was satisfactory because of this. What we had seen so far had been so predictable it’s hardly fair to call it mystery, so see it behave like one at the end (and confuse me) was a good thing. Not that it matters. The world detective Shinjurou and Inga live in is a lot more interesting. To me the mysteries are only there to add depth to the world, okay, except for some of the dated, stereotypical uses of technology. In spite of this, monstrous legislation like their “Information Privacy and Protection Act” strike too close to home, even if its dangers are more easily combatted or circumvented here. And we’re just now learning about Inga, a being so oddly out of place in their world that the RAI who knows everything has no idea. I think the show’s beginning to gel. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next.

The forces of light and dark begin their epic battle.

Ever since we met Kobato, and saw Kodaka’s innocent neglect of her in Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, I’ve been waiting for the inevitable scene where all those wistful looks she gives out between the “ku-ku-ku’s” and minions of darkness talk bubbles out into a tearful scene with accusations of neglect. This would be that episode, except the show, again, works above my expectation. Mostly. After all, most of it involves playing yet another computer game, this one with full sim goggles. It’s the usual Yozora betrays Sena, or vice versa, while the other characters look on. We saw it a couple episodes ago. But then Kobato makes her entrance. Oboy, I said, here come the tears. But Kobato is no shrinking violet, she doesn’t just start crying. She’s proactive. She sought out the club to see what was distracting Kodaka so much and gets to verbal and physical sparring with Maria for daring to call her onii-san onii-san. That’s the spirit! The other characters shrug; she fits right in. So now I think this splendid cast of outcasts and weirdos is complete and united. There might be better series out there, but this might be the one most look forward to each week.

iDOLM@STER 18 is predictable as it gets. Ryuuguu Komachi have a “secret concert,” which apparently means something I don’t know, since there’s nothing secret about it at all. One of them gets the mumps, so Ritsuko, former idol, now producer, steps in. So the tables are turned on the Demon Drill Sergeant, she sweats a lot and gets stage fright. You knew when, early on, someone mentions her old fanbase that they would show up for the concert right when the jitters were getting too much. Actually, that was a nice scene. Concert scenes in this show are usually pretty good. I could have done without the pep-talk from sick what’s-her-name, but that is the sort of thing you expect from this show. More satisfactory is Miki turning down the opportunity to fill in with the group she nearly quit 765 over, because Ritusuko was a better fit. Still, not much to this one.

I fell two episodes behind with Tamayura – Hitotose, but didn’t realize it, which should tell me something right there. In spite of that I don’t really want to drop this harmless show … as long as fuu doesn’t harp on her father and Maon doesn’t whistle. Well, episode 4 is dedicated to her, but she doesn’t whistle TOO much. Instead the girls visit the inn where she grew up, there’s an important question about whether she’ll take over the inn when she grows up (I can’t see Maon as Madame Manager), or pursue her other dreams, but since she’s in middle school and her parents are actually kind and perceptive, the question is important only to Maon and her friends. From our perspective, of course, she has all the time in the world to decide. This isn’t a pressure-type show. Another reason to keep watching.

Chihayafuru 4, Tamayura 3, UN-GO 3

Damn, I’m falling behind. I have two Ben-to’s to watch, two Working’!!’s, god knows what else. This always happens this time of the season, before I get serious about cutting shows.

In a way, Chihayafuru 4 ends much the same way that 3 did, with Chihaya gloriously happy for a minute or two until the whammy hits and her hopes are dashed. This time, however, there’s probably some hope. The situation is not out of their control.

Chihaya's between-rounds routine.

After another brief goodbye flashback, we follow a cherry blossom to the present day, with Chihaya as we first met her, a pretty, kinda weird high school girl, imploring Taichi to return to karuta and form a club with her. He is dubious, wants to join the soccer team, etc.. Basically he drifted away from karuta after he started going to a different school, i.e., didn’t get to see Chihaya all the time. It’s a variation on the question I’ve had about Chihaya, one that Taichi brings up during her match. Is she having so much fun playing because of the game, or because of the friends she played it with? Arata once told her not to dream for other people, but for herself. With Taichi it’s become clear that any passion he had for the game was because of Chihaya. And for, Chihaya, well, we don’t know her reasons yet. I doubt that she knows.

Another karuta-related cameraman death.

Most of the episode takes place at a qualifying tournament. The winner becomes Class A. Chihaya and a lot of other hungry players are Class B. The show doesn’t bother to explain any further. This show is pretty good at slipping us the game rules and subculture without dull explanations. Chihaya isn’t expected (except by herself) to get very far, but, of course, does. Taich and Harada watch and talk tactics. (They did a nice job aging Harada. He’s still the intense fan and trainer he used to be, but he looks smaller now, a bit more lined in the face) The final match is drawn out and exciting, and there’s an odd moment when Chihaya realizes she’s up against a player who’s also passionate about the game, and her eyes sparkle. Another variation of the question: is she playing for the game or for the people who play it?

The bad news we sort of expected.

And so we get to the whammy. Chihaya calls Arata to tell her the good news and … Well, again, this wasn’t fate, this was Arata’s decision. Since he’s a main character and it’s only episode 4 it’s hard to take it seriously. Besides, we know that Chihaya and Taichi are going to form a club together. Arata will be drawn back in somehow. I expect we just won’t see too many matches in the next couple episodes.

Good news. Tamayura-Hitotse 3 does not mention Potte’s father! Not once! Maybe now the show will truly settle into that quiet, enjoy-life groove it’s been looking for from the start. This episode shows promise. A kid named Komachi challenges Norie to a cooking duel over an elementary school boy they both like, I hope for different reasons. So it’s peach jelly and pancakes to the death! Okay, it’s a quiet, peaceful blood-duel, with lots of talk about how food makes people happy, and the thought of making people happy with the food you cook making you happy, which makes the food better, and I suppose it goes into a loop … meanwhile Potte takes pictures of everything. No, it’s not great drama, or even particularly deep thinking, but it made me hungry for pancakes; I haven’t had them in over a year. Everyone smiles a lot, especially when they’re eating, because the food is, of course, delicious. Nice episode, but can someone please tell Maon to stop whistling? It drives me up the wall.

Inga aids the investigation in many ways.

You know, it took me a minute to think after watching UN-GO 3 to wonder why they were continuing the story to the next episode. The mystery had been unmystified, right? And it was a clever way to end the episode, a second after the revelation. And if there had been no murder, there is no need for an investigation, apart from some legal issues concerning who actually owns the Sasa empire. Shinjurou can drag Inga and Rie off to look for workable smart phones for prostitutes. But, okay, there’s the problem of the original murder to overcome. That’s what we’ll be doing next week, I guess. As for the actual plot, any mystery involving people in masks and sophisticated AIs is going to lead you to some accurate conclusions. And when Inga does her thing near the end, you also know that it’s time to stop speculating, some of the fun is over. The anti-terrorist police state backdrop continues to bug me a little. They’re clearly referring to modern-day events, but the situation in this fictional Japan is more than public fear-frenzy after a couple of attacks. I mean, we see lots of combat flashbacks and people walking past miles of rubble. In other words: much worse. As much as I deplore the real state of events, what we see in this show is not the same.