Still More Finales: Bakuman II, Amagami+, Kill Me Baby

Other finales have the villains defeated, or the hero getting the girl, or vice-versa, but in the Bakuman world the heroes reach a goal only to get another one thrust before them. The boys spend the episode overworking, again, changing their chapter one manuscript in any way they can to improve it, not even attending …

Last Exile 20 (22?), BRS 8, Amagami+ 12, Inu x Boku 11

Last Exile 20 (or 22) overcomes the problems the show has developed by giving us terrific action. We've pretty much had our moral issues discussed. It's time for the fighting! Okay, though this show has been something of a letdown with its clumsy storytelling (and that happens in this episode as well), it's handled the …

Elevens: Amagami+, Moretsu, Symphogear, Kill Me Baby

I've said before that so far Amagami SS Plus hasn't lived up to the original series. But the return of Haruka as the main girl has brought back a lot of the fun. She was the first girl in the original and has had to wait the longest for her return bout, but she's making …

BRS 6, Lagrange 9, Amagami+ 10, Papa is not really in this episode 9

Black Rock Shooter 6 gives us some background, but not enough, rather, just enough to be confusing. Mato is now in the fighting world and not enjoying it at all. Every time Black Rock Shooter takes a hit, Mato feels the pain, so you can imagine her state of mind when the fighter's arm is …

Amagami+ 9, Moretsu 9, Papa drops a plate 8, Kill me Baby … er …

Sae, being so quiet and shy, could have been the weakest girl in the original Amagami SS series, but they covered for that by adding more comic bits. With Plus the same bits are back, and again what could have been a deadly-dull episode was ... satisfactory. There are still dead spots. While Sae has …

Nisemonogatari 8, Symphogear 8, Amagami+ 8, Papa gets evicted 7

Hoo boy, with Nisemonogatari, half the time I don't know whether to be appalled and amused. But I try to keep my perspective. Let's start with the "amused" part. We wrapped up the Karen arc last week, and this week I fully expected an arc starring the littler little sister Tsuhiki, a rather mysterious thing …

Nisemonogatari 7, Amagami SS+ 7, Inu x Boku 6

Nisemonogatari 7 finally ends the Karen Bee arc with what feels like little more than sophistry. We get three conversations, the first, Araragi/Karen being the shortest and most violent. The upshot again is that the being right doesn't mean much if you're not strong, that being strong isn't meant in a physical way, but in …

Natsume Shi 7, Inu x Boku 6, Amagami 6 and Kill Me Baby something.

Natsume Yuujinchou Shi 7 concludes the help-me-I'm-stuck-in-a-jar story arc with a great episode. The plot involves rescue and escape, but the emotional story in a Natsume episode is always closer to the heart. In this case, Tanuma. He's tried to find the Natsume-jar and stumbled into youkai land where there's a big banquet to celebrate …

Last Exile Fam 15, Amagami and HS Boys 5

After the wild events of the past two weeks of Last Exile - Fam everyone is content to get their affairs in order or become turncoats. It's also a way for us to see the current political, military, and exile-ly status of the principals. Most important, it's where where little Sara Augusta is finally convinced …

Episode Dump: Amagami 4, Papa no Iukoto 4, Aquarion 5, Kill Me Baby 4

Amagami SS+ 4 has almost nothing to it. Even that so-called cliffhanger last episode is resolved the way you'd expect. Makabe just shrugs and walks away. Junichi is quick to decide he's in love with Rihoko--all it took was that overheard conversation and a flip through a scrapbook. Now all someone has to do is …