Finales: Tokyo ESP, Free2, Hanayamata

Tokyo ESP ends in about as ridiculous fashion as you would expect. Episode 11 brings us right around to episode 1, with the parliament in the air, literally, and people rushing to get there and find a way to stop these unstoppable bad guys, who, as it turns out, could be stopped quite easily when …

Hanayamata 11, Free2 12

Work is going to delay my posts for a couple days, so I thought I'd put these two up now. Hanayamata 11 was sweet and infuriating at the same time. It was sweet because, for once, all the tears Hana and the others shed felt right on target. Not too many, not too few. They …

Hanayamata and Akame ga Kill 10, Free2 11

You can tell a lot about Machi's personality in Hanayamata 10 by how she joins the club. She just announces that she's joining, and that's that ... with a little hesitation on the "please take care of me" line. And from there she starts working them to death as if she was the president. True, …

Hanayamata 8-9, Akame ga Kill 9, Zankyou 8, Free 2 10

Hanayamata 8 sort of ruined all the fun for itself by foreshadowing a disastrous accident onstage. It looked to be a real memory or an anxiety dream, and I can't tell which because Naru and Yaya have never mentioned it before. Either way, you knew the dream meant a bad thing happening, namely Naru falling …

Tokyo ESP 8, Glasslip 9, Free! 9, Space Dandy 8

Tokyo ESP 8 is a mixed back of little events to set things up for what looks to be a big battle arc. The Professor and Minami go to work recruiting other people who have taken the goldfish, so to speak, one of them completely indifferent, another a sympathetic victim. Since they must murder someone …

Aldnoah and Barakamon 7, Free! 7-8, Akame 7

Aldnoah Zero 7 was great fun, though there were some nutty coincidences and a bewildering exchange between Inaho and Slaine near the end whereupon Inaho shoots down Slaine's ship, well, Slaine was shooting too ... Not sure where they're going with that. Looking at it through Inaho's eyes, this guy has just helped him kill …

Sixes: Free!, Nozaki-kun, Hanayamata

In Free! Eternal Summer 6 we have the prelims, and while they do have a few races in it, it doesn't feel all that compelling. The main drama is Makoto deciding to swim against Haruka in the 200m free in order to have a serious race with him. Makoto loses, and he doesn't mind. That's …

Barakamon 4, Zanyou 3, Free 3-4, Hanayamata 4

Barakamon 4 starts with a crisis of communication. Both Handa's computer and cell go on the fritz at the same time. But before we can settle down and watch what we think's going to be the episode's theme explored, it gets bored with it. Well, there's an amusing bit where he has to deal with …

Twos and a three: Tokyo Ghouls, Nozaki-kun, Free 2

I'm dropping Tokyo Ghouls, not because I think it's a bad show, but I've never been big on horror and this show is dripping with it. Episode 2 had Ken get a lecture from Touka while she beats him up, and later he gets a lecture from Nishiki while HE beats him up. It's satisfying …

2014 Summer Shows #1

I'm going to go in order as listed on Random Curiousity's preview page, except that I overlooked Glasslip, so I'll start with that next time. Like last season, I'm going to post an image of the first second or two of each show. Bakumatsu Rock starts by giving us a concert by a boy-group in …