To Aru Majutsu no Index 17

Touma finds out the accidental truth behind "Angel Fall".

Summary:
On the beach, Touma confronts his father about dabbling with the occult. Mr. Kamijo explains that it's because he wanted to help Touma get rid of his "unlucky" reputation. Mr. Kamijo sent Touma to Academy City in hope that science will overcome Touma's bad luck, but when it failed Mr. Kamijo started looking towards the occult. Mr. Kamijo states that if Touma is happy now then he will stop collecting artifacts and figurines, which makes Touma realize that his father is being affected by "Angel Fall" despite the fact that he retained his body.

Misha has finally had enough of Touma making fun of her costume. This means WAR!!!

At this moment Misha suddenly appears on the beach and pulls out one of her weapons. Touma thinks that Misha is just misunderstanding the situation, but Kaori arrives and explains that the girl standing in front of them is not Misha. Kaori had contacted the Russian church and learned that no such person exist in their organization. Kaori then goes on to explain that "Misha" is not a human but an angel (I think that's the interpretation) who is here to kill Touma's dad and cleanse the world. Now that her identity has been revealed, "Misha" sprouts her wings and uses her power to darken the sky and call up a giant magical array. Touma wants to fight "Misha" but Kaori states that he's no match for an angel, so the best thing for Touma and his father to do is to stop "Angel Fall". If "Angel Fall" is stopped then there will be no reason for the angel to kill Mr. Kamijo and cleanse the world. Taking Kaori's advice, Touma grabs his dad and runs back to the hotel.

Misha: Welcome to my light show.


Kaori is getting ready for some batting practice.

With the Kamijos gone, Kaori draws her blade and faces off against "Misha". In response, the angel floats into mid-air and draws in columns of seawater which she turns into ice. Not too far away, Motoharu looks at the giant magical array in the sky and comments to himself that someone must be sacrificed to stop disaster from happening. Back on the beach, "Misha" attacks with volleys of spiky ice columns, while Kaori tries to block and dodge the projectiles with her sword. After blocking several shots, Kaori is knocked to the ground by an extra-large projectile. Kaori realizes that she'll be at a big disadvantage if the battle drags on, so right now her only hope is for Touma to stop "Angel Fall"

Touma and Mr. Kamijo return to their hotel room to find Touma's cousin and Index lying unconscious in the living room. After checking on the girls and making sure that they are breathing, Touma frantically looks around in the hotel suite while Mr. Kamijo becomes more confused. Touma then grabs his dad by the collar and demands Mr. Kamijo disclose the location of the "Angel Fall" magical array, but Motoharu appears and tells Touma to stop being so rough to his father. Motoharu then goes on to explain that Mr. Kamijo is the person who initiated "Angel Fall", but he did so accidentally by collecting all the artifacts and figurines at his new house. The artifacts do very little by themselves, but they can become quite powerful when collected together, and by sheer coincidence, Mr. Kamijo has placed the artifacts in such a way that they initiated the spell. To stop the spell, Motoharu explains that in order to stop the spell, all the artifacts must be destroyed in one shot, because destroying the artifacts one by one may cause even more terrible spells to be released. The other way of stopping the spell is to kill the person who initiated it, and Motoharu looks at Mr. Kamijo and starts cracking his knuckles.

I guess Touma isn't really that tough, especially against people who actually knows how to fight.

Touma isn't about to let Motoharu beat up his dad, but Motoharu turns out to be quite the fighter and he effortlessly knocks out both Touma and Mr. Kamijo. With the Kamijo's down, Motoharu pulls out a container with little pieces of paper and spreads it in the room. After that, Motoharu retrieves four more containers, each holding an origami piece, and places the containers at the four corners of the room. Touma wakes up and realizes that Motoharu is trying to use magic, and as a consequence Motoharu starts coughing up blood due to his ESP abilities. Motoharu states that he knew Touma would try to stop him from doing the spell, so he decided to beat Touma up first so Touma can't stop him. Touma begs for Motoharu to stop, but Motoharu completes the spell which launches a comet-like projectile towards the Kamijo residence, destroying the house and all the artifacts inside. After the house is destroyed, the sky reverts back to normal and the angel fades into nothingness. Now that the battle is over, Kaori sits on the beach and notes that she now owes Touma another favor. Back in the hotel room, Touma wakes up again and notices the sunlight shining through the window. After checking on his dad, Touma is shocked to see Motoharu lying in a pool of blood.

Motoharu is going Super-Saiyan!!!


Misha decides to leave because the fight was becoming too boring.


Motoharu (in a singing voice): I saved the day, not you!!!! And I destroyed your parents' house too!!!

Touma ends up going back to the hospital room that he has always stayed in. As Touma is thinking about how Motoharu sacrificed himself to save the world, Motoharu suddenly walks into the room and greets Touma as if nothing had happened. Looking at Touma's shocked face, Motoharu explains that he has a Level 0 ability called "Auto Rebirth" which regenerates his body, so using magic actually won't kill him. Motoharu goes on to state that he was lying about a lot of things and is actually a freelance agent working for many organization. As Touma is getting more and more pissed off, Motoharu brings in Touma's parents and Touma finally gets to see what his mother really looks like. After checking that Touma is recovering well, the Kamijos state that they will be living in their old apartment temprorarily while their house is being rebuilt. Touma realizes the Motoharu was responsible for destroying his parents' house, but the blond teenager is nowhere to be found in the room. Mr.s Kamijo state that the old apartment is the place where she raised Touma, but unfortunately Touma doesn't remember any of it. Suddenly, Touma notices Index hiding behind the corner and looking at him with apprehension. Index still remembers what Touma did to her during the vacation (while she appeared to be Pierce) and she become angrier and angrier as she recalls these events. Eventually Index is unable to hold back any longer and starts biting Touma, and the only thing Touma can do is scream about how unlucky he is.

Index is absolutely dissatisfied with how the story ended.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another disappointing conclusion to another story-arc. Like the last story-arc, this arc started off pretty well but ended with a whimper. I was looking for a good fight between Kaori and Misha, but instead we have Misha and Kaori playing an endless game of "break the ice projectiles" (Kaori also for some reason just had to give a magical/religious lecture during the fight) while Motoharu saves the day by beating up the Kamijos and destroying their house. The "fight" was so terrible that it actually made the conclusion of the Touma vs. Accelerator fight look brilliant. The fact that Mr. Kamijo started "Angel Fall" accidentally was pretty stupid too, and the stuff about magic is still as confusing as ever. The most confusing part is Misha, and we aren't given much info on her other than that she's not human and she's not one of the good guys. The only good part of the episode was when Index got some retribution for Touma's cruel treatment against her at the end. At the end, Touma didn't hook up with any new girls since he didn't really save the day (Motoharu did), but at least Kaori thinks that she owes Touma another favor.

Anyways, I guess the moral of this story-arc is that collecting a lot of artifacts and trinkets and putting them in your house is a bad idea since you might set off some world-ending spell by accident. So if you or someone you know have too much trinkets and figurines lying around everywhere, have them watch this episode and they will realize the error of their ways.

We have a new OP (but not ED) this week. I don't like the song mainly because they went overboard with the microphone effects on the singer's voice, but the other aspects aren't great either, and the first OP was better. The new opening sequence is nothing special, but at least we got to see some of the new characters who will be making appearance in the upcoming episodes. From the previews, it looks like the story is moving on to the fifth light novel which again focuses on Mikoto and her clones. Seems like Mikoto and Touma will finally go on a date, so that should be pretty fun. Hopefully that story arc will have a better conclusion.

Tenjou Tenge 121

Sohaku absorbs Souichiro and all hell breaks lose.

Snakes on a Plane is nothing compared to Giant Snakes in the Sky!

Summary:
After Sohaku fuses with Souichiro within Souichiro's mind, a giant apparition of an eight-headed snake appear over the sky and various nearby people including Souichiro's mother Makiko and Jushi Mataza Tsumuji feel like their life forces are being sucked away.

Meanwhile, Bob is having sex with Chiaki while talking about how Souichiro has changed. Bob had bought plane tickets and was planning to leave the city with Chiaki, but the plane tickets are past their date. Suddenly, both Bob and Chiaki feel it's hard to breath and they look out the window to see the giant multi-headed snake floating above the city. In the hospital, Aya, Asshat, Shinichiro, Madoka are suprised by the appearance of Reiki's spirit, who happens to be Aya's ancestor (Sohaku's naked sister from chapter 120). Suddenly, Aya, Bob and the other characters get the feeling that the final battle is about to commence.

Near the Takanyagi building, Jushi's father Yorihira is wondering why Sohaku is gathering all this energy. At this moment Makiko steps out of the van but trips and falls to the ground. Yorihira tries to convince Makiko to get back into the van, but Makiko states that she must stop Sohaku. Makiko states that in his long life Sohaku has lost more friends and precious things than anyone else, and he plans to use his "loss" to shape the world. Yorihira offers to go instead of Makiko but Makiko knocks him out with her mechanical arm. Makiko then calls up her powers to form two much stronger mechanical arms and other equipment for herself in order to face off against Sohaku.

You know the end is nigh when a giant alien-like baby statue fall out of the sky.

Aya, Bob, Asshat, Shinichirou and Reiki's spirit are brought to a spiritual dimension where a giant statue of a baby falls out of the sky. The statue breaks up and a baby that represents Sohaku/Souichiro emerges.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slowly but surely, we are definitely moving towards the conclusion of the series. This chapter made a little more sense than the last, but my summary still sucks so you should definitely read the chapter (when English scans come out). Oh! great just had to stick some meaningless sex in the chapter for the people looking for that stuff. I suppose Bob doesn't really have anything else to do. Anyways, it appears that Sohaku has fused with Souichiro, so it'll be up to the other characters to save the world. I'm guessing the prime candidate for fighting this new super-enemy is Masataka, although Maya or Aya (using Dragon Eye plus Reiki) are possible candidates too. All the other characters probably won't be doing too much, at least not in the latter parts of the final fight.

Even though Tenjou Tenge hasn't made any sense since the Flashback Arc, this final showdown will probably be pretty exciting, especially if Oh! great just focuses on the fighting visuals instead of going into that weird philosophical crap that nobody understands. Okay, maybe he will go into that weird stuff, but hopefully it will be kept to a minimum.

To-Love-ru 134

Rito and company continue to play Momo and Nana's virtual reality dice game.

Summary:
Rito and friends continue to take turns rolling the dice.

1st round (continued from last chapter):
-Rito rolls a four and ends up in a beach gravure photo shoot with Run.
-Lala rolls an one and is sent to clean a shrine with Oshizu (both are dressed as mikos). Haruna's dog Maron appears and licks Lala's tail.
-Haruna rolls a three and is sent to a massage parlor to be assaulted pampered by Risa and Mio. Since it's Haruna, only the sound is relayed back to the main game board.
-Mikan rolls a four and is stalked by the perverted principal, but Yami as a cop shows up to save the day.

When Risa and Mio say "full-body massage", they really mean it and no place is off limits.
Risa: Don't worry Haruna. We won't miss a single spot.

The game continues and all the participants are forced to do interesting if not embarrassing tasks. It's Haruna's fourth turn and she rolls a four.

~~~~~~~~~~~

And the game continues. We saw some of the other characters making their in-game appearance, but nothing really important happened this week. The conclusion is probably next week, so hopefully there will be some real development. I'm still banking on Haruna or Rito hitting a "confession" square, since Momo and Nana probably want to know their true feelings, especially Rito's.

Bleach 343, Naruto 433 & One Piece 530

Bleach 343 - After busting out of the walls, Yammy sees Ulquiorra and Ichigo and asks if he can fight Ichigo, but Ulquiorra tells him to go deal with the captains. Yammy then spots the two girl arrancars and Orihime, and his first reaction is the send Menoli flying. Loli releases her true form and tries to fight Yammy, but the big espada crushes her and the tosses her out of the castle. Yammy then turns his attention to Orihime, while Ulquiorra continues to get in Ichigo's way. As Yammy is about to attack, Ishida appears outside of the hole in the wall (that Yammy smashed open to dispose of Loli) and shoots an arrow at Yammy's back. The arrow didn't penetrate and Yammy immediately turns around to attack Ishida. Unfortunately for the big espada, Ishida has already placed an anti-arrancar landmine (made by Kurotsuchi)in front of him and the mine blows up in his face.


My Thoughts:
Reinforcements have finally arrived! They probably should have shown up sooner since there aren't many strong arrancars left in Hueco Mundo (unless Aizen is hiding a bunch somewhere), so the four shinigami captains plus Ichigo's friends should be more than enough to take care of Exequias and whoever else is left. I guess Ishida just had to show up at that particular moment to make himself look cool. Not sure how well our bespectacled Quincy will fare against Yammy, but Yammy is only no. 10 so he might not be that strong. As for Yammy's sudden return, he isn't exactly a friend of the good guys but at least he killed Loli and Menoli before they can do anything nasty to Orihime, and Orihime is probably safe for the moment now that Ishida is here. No real harm done to Orihime other than being a little shaken up and having her clothes ripped.

---------------

Naruto 433 - God Realm charges at Naruto after seeing that Naruto is out of sage chakra. Shima suggest that she and Fuksaku fuse with Naruto, but Fukasaku explains that it's impossible because of the demon fox. However, Fukasaku reveals Naruto has found a way to get around the problem. Meanwhile Naruto is trying unfurl the scroll on his back, but God Realm keeps pestering him so Naruto throws the scroll to Fukasaku. Using the scroll, Fukasaku reverse summons a Naruto shadow clone from Myobokuzan that has been collecting sage chakra. After the clone is summoned and destroyed, Naruto receives all of the clone's sage chakra and returns to sage mode. After kicking God Realm away, Naruto forms another Rasen Shuriken and throws it at God Realm, but Hungry Ghost Realm steps in front and absorbs the ninjutsu, and Naruto realizes that Hell Realm is the one responsible for reviving Hungry Ghost Realm.

As the three Realms step into formation, Naruto and his two clones put up a smoke screen and attempts another Rasen Shuriken. Hungry Ghost Realm steps in to block the shuriken, but the first "shuriken" was actually Naruto in disguise. Naruto takes down Hungry Ghost Realm which leaves God Realm exposed to the real Rasen Shuriken, but God Realm's power returns and the technique is repelled. However, as God Realm is busy repelling the shuriken, a Naruto shadow clone sneaks behind and takes out Hell Realm with a double Rasengan.


My Thoughts:
Damn, Naruto is getting smart. Although not unintelligent, Naruto has usually been portrayed as a somewhat reckless character who likes to do stuff in the spirit of the moment. I guess he really matured after Jiraiya's death. The shadow clone sage chakra reserve was a pretty clever idea, but I thought chakra is evenly split among all clones. I guess sage chakra must be different than normal chakra so it can only be transferred after the clone dissipates. The rest of Naruto's tactics were pretty well thought-out as well. Even though God Realm repelled the Rasen Shuriken, Naruto has taken out Hell Realm which means no more resurrections. It's now Naruto (plus the frogs) vs. God Realm at full power. Well, there's still Konan and Pain's real body, so Naruto is probably still at a disadvantage. Naruto definitely will have to use the last reserve clone, and maybe will have to tap into some of that demon fox chakra as well.

---------------

One Piece 530 - The guards are surveying the damage in Level 2, but they soon find their hands full with a massive prisoner riot as Buggy has unlocked all the cells. At the control room, the Impel Down guards have discovered that Luffy is after Ace, and this news is relayed to the warden and eventually to Marine HQ. At Marine HQ, Fleet Admiral Sengoku is upset over the news, while Garp is laughing his head off. Sengoku states that no one has escaped Impel Down in 20 years and he is not about to let Luffy succeed. Sengoku then gets angry at Garp who cannot stop laughing.

Luffy, Buggy, Mr. 3, and the sphinx has fallen to Level 3, which is extremely hot and desert-like. Mr. 3 explains that Level 3, aka Starvation Hell, is so hot because of the infernos in Level 4 below, and all prisoners in Level 3 has had at least a 50 million Beli bounty. As Luffy and company decide what to do next, they and the unconscious sphinx are caught by a Kairouseki (sea stone) net laid out by Blugori chief Saldeath. Luffy, Buggy, and Mr. 3 are unable to break out of the net by themselves, but at this moment the sphinx wakes up and breaks open the net. In the ensuing chaos, Luffy ends on the ground battling the various guards while Mr.3 and Buggy climbed up the net and onto a horizontal beam. The two escapees announce that they are ditching Luffy, but Luffy thanks to them for bringing him so far anyways. While Luffy runs away from the guards, Buggy and Mr.3 discuss what to do next, and Mr. 3 suddenly hears a familiar song. Mr. 3 and Buggy follow to song to a prison cell where Mr. 2 is forcing his cellmates to dance ballet with him. Mr. 2 is surprised to see Mr. 3, while Mr. 3 and Buggy aren't sure if they should let Mr. 2 out or not.


My Thoughts:
Another Baroque Works character makes his return. Unlike Buggy and Mr. 3, Mr. 2 was actually has some goodness within him and so he might be more inclined to help Luffy if they run into each other. For now though it looks like Mr. 2 will join Buggy and Mr.3's little group while Luffy runs amok on his own. There is still Sir Crocodile and Mr. 1 left in terms of Baroque Works prisoners, but these two probably won't be so inclined to help Luffy rescue Ace. If I remember correctly, Sir Croc and Mr. 1 had a chance to get out jail but they chose to stay, but maybe they will feel like breaking out this time.

ToraDora! 17

Taiga returns to school; Minori is in a funk; Ryuji has no idea of what's going on; and everyone is getting ready for Christmas.

Summary:
Ever since hearing Ami's "you don't have to feel guilty anymore" comment after the Taiga-Sumire fight, Minori has been unable to focus to a point where it starts affecting her performance on the softball field, and her mistake caused her team to lose the game.

Cute pose no. 1: Donut-eating, victory-sign flashing angel of love.

Taiga and Ryuji are walking on the streets together after buying some donuts. As the holiday season is coming closer, Ryuji is busy thinking about how he is going to clean the house while Taiga promises to be good for the next few weeks in order to get on Santa's nice list. In her quest to become a good girl, Taiga offers to give Ryuji some help with regards to Minori. After finding out that Ryuji and Minori made no progress while she's suspended, Taiga promises that she'll be their Cupid and lead them into each other's arms.

Minori: Shut up!!! Don't you know it's rude to interrupt a girl talk?!

The next morning Taiga returns to school with Ryuji after serving her suspension. The two are greeted at the gate by a large number of male students who have become Taiga's fans after witnessing/hearing about her fight with Sumire. After passing Taiga's fans, Taiga and Ryuji to find Minori wearing her bald head-cap costume (from Ami's wrestling hero play) and acting weirdly. Minori returns to normal for a moment to talk to Taiga, but when Ryuji talks to her Minori snaps at him and then breaks down crying. Taiga and Ryuji are wondering what's wrong with Minori, and they are soon joined by Koji, Hisamitsu, and then Yusaku. Yusaku makes quite an entrance by sliding into the room on his belly. When asked, Yusaku explains that her is lying on the floor in order to express his thanks to Taiga, but he also tells Taiga not to fight anymore and instead talk to him first it there's a problem.

Is Yusaku really that grateful, or is he just trying to look under Taiga's skirt?


Ami reminds Taiga of one of her distinct physical advantages, and we are not talking about height.

During lunch break, everyone in the school is listening to Yusaku interviewing Yuri-sensei (supposedly an anonymous guest, but everyone knows it's Yuri-sensei) about her love life, and eventually the homeroom teacher breaks down and starts crying. Taiga wonders why Yusaku has a talk show, and Ryuji explains that Yusaku has been perceived as a relationship expert after his confession to Sumire in front of the entire student body. People confess their stories to Yusaku in hope that Yusaku will take away their bad luck. Hisamitsu observes that Taiga seems to be nicer than usual, and Taiga happily explains that she is being nice for Santa. Ami comes in and starts making fun of Taiga believing in Santa, but this does little to curb Taiga's enthusiasm. As Taiga and Ami are starting to argue, Yusaku announces over the speaker system that there will be a school party at midnight on Christmas Eve, and only couples can attend. After school while walking home together, Taiga tells Ryuji that he should invite Minori to the party and confess to her. Ryuji is a little nervous about the idea but Taiga assures Ryuji that she'll help him succeed.

Cute pose no. 2: Leek-wielding Cupid.


Your present for Chistmas is... me!

The next day Koji tells his classmates about a weird dream that he had about the upcoming Christmas party. Koji's dream featured Ami and her friends in sexy costumes, Minori in her bald head-cap and softball uniform, an almost naked Taiga, naked Yusaku and Hisamitsu, and Ryuji (wearing only an apron) bursting out of a Palmtop Tiger Santa suit. After Ryuji and other classmates object to the dream's content, Yusaku cuts in and states that the Christmas party needs an organizer. Koji and Hisamitsu immediately suggest Taiga, who then tries to get Ryuji and Minori to help her. To everyone's surprise, Minori reveals that she's not going to the party and she makes up an excuse about feeling bad after losing a softball game. Ryuji tries to convince Minori to attend the party but Minori answers with a stern "no". at this point Ami steps in and volunteers to be the party organizer. After getting support from the class, Ami tells Ryuji that he'd better be nicer to her since she has the ability to convince a certain someone (Minori) to attend the party. Ami's goading catches both Ryuji and Minori's attention, and Minori leaves the class after telling Ami that she's not going to the party.

Bow down to your parrot god!

In the late afternoon, Ryuji is in his house getting ready to go to a study session with Taiga and other friends. After briefing Yasuko about her dinner, Ryuji tells his parrot Inko-chan to take care of his childish mother, but Inko-chan surprisingly tells him "no". Yasuko figures out that Inko-chan must be acting up because he saw a cookbook Ryuji borrowed (with a roasted turkey on the cover), and both Ryuji and Yasuko crouch down to apologize to the parrot. Taiga walks in and wonders what's going on. Taiga and Ryuji leave the house and head toward the restaurant where Minori works. Ryuji has brought along Sumire's notes, which he and Minori won during the cultural festival. The two arrive at the restaurant to find that Minori has taken the day off, and Taiga begins to suspect that Minori is purposely avoiding Ryuji. As Taiga is thinking about the situation between Minori and Ryuji, Koji and Hisamitsu arrive and they are followed by Yusaku and Ami's friend Maya. Hisamitsu and Koji purposely arrange the seating so that Yusaku and Taiga are together. After Yusaku and Taiga leave to order food for everyone, Hisamitsu and Koji explains that they are going to help Taiga and Yusaku get together and they want Ryuji to help as well. Hisamitsu and Koji comment that Ryuji must have been surprised to find out that Taiga likes Yusaku, but Ryuji blurts out that they are wrong.

Cute pose no. 3: sweet blushing smile.

The six classmates walk home together after the study session. While Yusaku and Taiga are talking in the front, Ryuji hangs back to think about his relationship with Taiga. Ryuji is snapped out his thoughts by Maya, who asks if Ryuji agrees that Taiga and Yusaku make a good couple. When Ryuji gives a reluctant answer, Maya gets excited and states that she supports Ryuji getting together with Taiga, and Ryuji realizes that Maya likes Yusaku. After Maya runs to join the others, Ryuji thinks to himself that everything has suddenly become a big mess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was under the impression that this was the Christmas episode (with Ami's sexy costume and all), but this was actually the PRE-Christmas episode. This episode was mostly to start setting up for a new mini-arc which will probably conclude with the big Christmas party. After all the emotional moments in the last episode, this week's show is mostly filled with light comedy and Taiga trying to strike cute poses. Yusaku has returned to normal after coming to terms with Sumire's departure, but unfortunately Minori has taken his place as the character gone crazy. Ami's little comment at the end of the last episode had the opposite of its intended effect, and now Minori is either snapping at Ryuji or avoiding him. I guess Minori just doesn't want to admit that she likes Ryuji after figuring out that he likes her. Minori being depressed and angry is no fun (no more wacky expressions and poses), so hopefully she'll snap out of it soon. We'll just have to see if Ryuji and Minori can finally get together at the big Christmas party.

On the other front, Taiga seems to be making some progress with Yusaku with the help of Koji and Hisamitsu. Taiga should have a better chance now that Sumire is out of the picture. Of course there's Maya who will probably try to throw a wrench into things, but I don't think Ami's little friend will have much of an effect in the grand scheme of things. Judging by the new OP and ED, Yusaku seems to have been demoted from his position as a main supporting character, so whether or not Taiga makes any progress with him might not be all that important anymore. Speaking of the new OP and ED, both of the songs are kind of average, although the OP is a little better than the ED. The old OP and ED had more of an unique style, even though I didn't really like them either.

Last but not least, Ami is back to being her mysterious self rather than going after Ryuji like she did in some of the previous episodes. Wouldn't now be a great chance for Ami to snatch Ryuji away since Minori is in anti-Ryuji mode and before Taiga comes to a realization? Ami clearly likes Ryuji, so it's weird that she seems to be trying to set Ryuji up with Minori. I guess Ami probably has a hidden agenda somewhere, but nobody really gets what she's thinking anyways.

Last last note: Inko-chan is now capable of logical human speech!!! Unfortunately this new found ability makes him even scarier than before.

RideBack 03

Rin enters her first formal RideBack race, but she has to use another vehicle because the Fuego doesn't meet racing regulations.

You can tell that Haruki is more worried about the RideBack than Suzuri.

Summary:
After several weeks of practice and lessons from Tamayo, Rin is ready to participate in the her first All Japan RideBack Race Championship, for which Tamayo is the defending champion. Unfortunately, Rin must use the Balon instead because the Fuego does not meet (or far exceeds) race regulations due to special tuning by Okakura. On the day of the race, Rin doesn't feel quite right riding the Balon during the test lap. Tamayo and Haruki aren't sure what's wrong, but Tamayo is quickly nabbed by some reporters for an interview. As Tamayo is asked if she had her father's support, Douta explains to Suzuri that Tamayo's father Nanpuu is Japan's foreign minister while her brother Ryunnosuke is a high-ranking police officer.

Ryunnosuke and his assistant are waiting in a lobby to meet with the GGP's new general. Supposedly this general rose to his position by winning a "miraculous" battle with his squad of RideBacks, but Ryunnosuke's assistant cites that there's no official record for this battle, only rumors. At this moment, an administrative clerk informs Ryunnosuke that the general is ready to see him, and Ryunnosuke wonders what kind of person this general will be.

Laying off the sweets might be a good idea.

A little friendly elbowing never hurts anyone, right?

The participants of the All Japan RideBack Championships are going through the trial lap to determine starting positions. Rin still cannot shake off her weird feeling and places 17th out of 20 competitors, while Tamayo takes pole position without much opposition. While Shouko, Suzuri, and Douta are celebrating Tamayo's pole placement, Haruki is busy analyzing the Fuego's ACS (auto stability control system of some sort) and discovers that Okakura had made it into a mess. Haruki wonders why Okakura decided on such weird settings for the Fuego, but this also gives him the idea of deactivating the Balon's ACS. Haruki informs Tamayo of his idea, and Tamayo decides it's worth the gamble. As Haruki gets to work on the Balon, Suzuri and Shouko watch as Rin sits on the floor looking somewhat depressed. Suzuri wonders if Rin is alright, but Shouko knows that this is how Rin gathers her focus before the main event.

As main race is about to start, Haruki briefs Rin on the changes he made to the Balon and tells Rin to take it easy at the start. The race starts and Tamayo is in front battling with two purple-suited Cobra Brothers, while Rin screws up her start and is currently second to last. Meanwhile, Okakura is sitting in the organizer's tent watching the race, and he spots Rin on the screen. Back on the race track, Rin is starting to move up the standings, and she starts to employ increasingly faster and more daring turns. As Rin blazes past the organizer's tent, Okakura figures out that Haruki had deactivated the Balon's ACS. Okakura calls Haruki and tells the young engineer to give Rin the sign to forfeit the race. Haruki argues that Rin is moving up the standings, but Okakura states that a RideBack without ACS is a danger to both to Rin and the other racers. Haruki tries to comply but he remembers that he didn't teach Rin what the signs meant. After Okakura angrily hangs up, Shouko wonders what Haruki has done and Haruki has no choice but to tell the others. Haruki admits that turning off ACS would be a bad idea for most riders, but Rin seems to be able to react even faster than the ACS so she's actually doing better without it turned on. Nevertheless, Haruki still has to draw up a sign to tell Rin to forfeit because it's Okakura's order.

At a local high school, Rin's brother Yuki is trying to follow the race on his handheld TV while the teacher is giving a lecture. Yuki sees Rin moving up the standings but he doesn't immediately recognize his sister because of her suit and helmet. As the announcer is about to mention Rin's name, Yuki is caught by his teacher and therefore doesn't find out that Rin is the up-and-coming racer.

Oooo... Evil stare...

Meanwhile, Ryunnosuke meets with GGP general Romanof Karenbak about the import of RideBacks for police and military uses. Ryunnosuke opposes using RideBacks while Karenbak tries to belittle Ryunnosuke's defensive attitude. Karenbak cites that one of his subordinates used to believe RideBacks weren't the answer, but eventually that man was promoted because for his usage of RideBacks. After their meeting with Karenbak, Ryunnosuke's assistant state that there are no reports of Japanese nationals who are active members of the GGP, but Ryunnosuke states that there is one person who seems suspicious.

RideBack races can get a little violent. That's why so many people like to watch them.


The Balon sputters because it can't keep up with Rin's greatness.

Back on the racetracks, one of the Cobra Brothers sacrifices himself to take Tamayo out of the race, but Tamayo recovers and chases after the remaining brother. Meanhwhile, Rin has moves up to fourth spot and is about to pass another competitor, but suddenly the Balon's engine starts complaining. In the pit, Haruki gets another phone call from Okakura, who figures that Haruki had accidentally turned off the Balon's exhaust management system when he turned off the ACS. On the tracks, smoke starts spewing from the Balon's exhaust, and Rin is forced veer off and make an emergency stop. At the organizer's tent, Okakura watches Rin's exit and wonders if it's the Balon that cannot keep up with Rin's skills. Back to the race, Tamayo and the remaining Cobra Brother battle through the last turn and Tamayo just edges in front to claim her second All Japan Championship in a row.

Suzuri takes advantage of her drunkenness and finds a soft pillow in Tamayo's chest.

At night, the Musashino University RideBack club holds a party to celebrate Tamayo's victory, but Rin has decided to take the Fuego out on a ride around the university. Rin runs into Okakura during her ride and she apologizes for what happened to the Balon, but Okakura states that it was Haruki's fault and not hers. Okakura then asks why Rin chose to jump instead of slowdown during her first ride on the Fuego, and Rin replies that for some reason she just knew that everything was going to be okay with the Fuego. After talking with Okakura, Rin resumes her ride around the university.

It's ET!!!
... No, that's just Rin showing flying and showing off her panties for all to see.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The last episode established Rin's skills as a RideBack operator, and this week we are taught that no RideBack except for the Fuego can keep up with her. I was a little surprised last week when I saw the preview of Rin struggling during a race, but now we know the reason behind this: she was riding another RideBack and it wasn't good enough for her! Since the Balon and Fuego look alike I couldn't tell that Rin was riding something else during the preview. This episode went on to prove that Rin is so skilled and so hardcore that she can... no... needs the ACS turned off in order to show off her true skills. Despite the DNF (did not finish), that All Japan Chamionship is eventually going to be Rin's, that is if the race and Rin is still around after the all upcoming turmoil.

Other than the big race, we also received a little more detail as to Tamayo's brother Ryunnosuke and the whole GGP situation. We are also introduced to Karenbak, who is (probably) one of the series' villains. Karenbak certainly has the right look and attitude for a cold-blooded villain, and we'll see what he can do throughout the series. I find the talks about opposing that the import of police RideBacks to be a little dumb. I'm not sure what makes RideBacks so special/dangerous that Ryunnosuke has to adamantly oppose their use for policing/military purposes. I'd think that RideBacks would be pretty effective in an urban environment, since they have the ability to jump (easily) and transverse rough terrain/stairs unlike regular police bikes or vehicles. I guess everything will be explained eventually.

A special mention for Suzuri who used her (fake?) drunkenness to take advantage of Tamayo near the end. Looks like Rin isn't Suzuri's only target. Since Tamayo didn't seem to mind it too much maybe Suzuri will have better luck with her than with Rin.

It looks like we'll actually see some combat in the next episode, and I'm looking forward to see what Rin and the Fuego can do in those situations.

Review: Afro Samurai: Resurrection

Here is the Afro Samurai: Resurrection review I promised in my "Happy Chinese New Year" post. Afro Samurai: Resurrection is a sequel movie to Afro Samurai, which was a short, five-episode series made by Gonzo that aired in 2007. The series was notable for its take of the samurai + hip hop style and Hollywood voice talent in the form of Samuel L. Jackson and others. The story didn't make all that much sense, but it was very well animated and gloriously violent, and that's probably the main reason why I like the series. Resurrection works along the same lines as the predecessor, but I feel that it wasn't as good as the series.

The story of Resurrection takes place some time after the events of the first series. After defeating Justice and avenging his father's death, Afro (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) has gotten tired of all the killing and spends most of his days praying and making little statues. Unfortunately, Afro's violent past catches up with him and he is dragged out of his hiding place by Jinno/Kuma (Mr. Teddy Bear Head, who Afro still hasn't killed for some reason) and his sexy and crazy sister Sio (voiced by Lucy Liu). The siblings beat up Afro, take the No.1 Headband, and dig up the grave of Afro's father. Sio states that she'll revive and torture Afro's father, and if Afro wants to stop her then he'll have to find the No. 2 Headband and challenge her. And so Afro is forced pick up his sword once again and go on the quest to reclaim the No. 1 Headband.

Like its predecessor, Resurrection is another revenge story, but this is time is other people getting revenge on Afro rather than Afro trying to avenge his father. The revenge story makes sense since it's a logical consequence of Afro's ruthless revenge quest in the first series, but what doesn't make sense is how Sio is going about on her revenge scheme. Sio states at the beginning that she's going to revive Afro's father Rokutaro, but what she actually did was to revive Afro's father in order to kill Afro. Come to think of it, most of the things Sio said that she would do never happened the way she said them would, and she doesn't really do anything in the film other than showing off her curves and trying to convince people that she is twisted. Yes, we get that you are bootylicious and out of your mind. Now can you do something else please? Jinno/Kuma isn't much better. He looked good at the beginning where he was dragging the hapless Afro around on his bike, but after that he just faded away. All of you who are hoping for a big Afro vs. Kuma rematch will be disappointed.

Moving on from the disappointing main villains, we have our titular character Afro Samurai, who is as silent and serious as ever. He doesn't seem to be as powerful as he was in the series, but he makes up for it with the ability to take an unbelievable amount of punishment which allows him to outlast superhuman and robotic foes. This durability is especially handy since Afro has the tendency to walk straight into traps. Resurrection also sees the return of some characters from the previous series. Brother 3 (along with Brother 1, who's on life support thanks to Afro) makes a brief appearance, and mad scientist Dharma works for Sio. More importantly, Afro's imaginary friend Ninja Ninja (also voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) is also back as the principle comic relief. Ninja Ninja is still as snarky as ever and he's also probably the sanest among the main players in the story. Ninja Ninja is an important character in the series since he provides a nice foil to not only Afro but all the characters who are insane, out for revenge, or both.

Afro Samurai is of course really all about the fights. As a premier Gonzo effort, the animation of Resurrection is top-notch as expected. The fights are as violent as ever, with plenty of blood splattering and limbs flying along with lots of explosions. The final showdown was unfortunately a letdown, especially during the final moments where Gonzo suddenly decided to go for artistic style points instead of showing us what really happens. The disappointing final showdown pales in comparison to the earlier fights such as Afro vs. the current No. 2 or Afro vs. Sio's three cyborg cronies, and I won't even bother comparing it to the Afro vs. Afro Droid or Afro vs. Kuma fights in the series.

Afro Samurai: Resurrection follows the footsteps of the Afro Samurai series, but it's not quite as good as the original series. Perhaps the novelty of the series has worn off, but mostly I was disappointed by the main villains and the final fight. If you didn't like the Afro Samurai series, there's nothing new in Resurrection that will change your opinion. Those who absolutely need a sensible story should probably stay away as well. However, if you just want to see some well-animated and very violent combat with hip-hop music playing in the background (ex you liked the series), then Afro Samurai: Resurrection fits the bill perfectly. The end of the movie suggests that another sequel might be made, so this probably won't be the last time we hear of Afro Samurai.

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year) for those who celebrate the occasion. We went out on previous years but it was a pain since all the Chinese restaurants are packed. This year my family decided to stay home for dinner on Chinese New Year's Eve, and my mother cooked up quite a feast as seen here.

I'm not going anywhere for Chinese New Year since I don't have any vacation time. Tomorrow the guys at work will go for some dim-sum, but that's along with tonight's dinner are about it for the celebrations. Well, there's eating all the sweets too, but I should probably lay off on those. I've been to work for three weeks at my current co-op employer and everything is going fine. I've been mainly doing some scripting and programming, but will probably start doing some hands-on hardware testing as well. That's about all I have to report for now. I just finished watching Afro Samurai: Resurrection, and it was about as senseless and violent as I had imagined it to be. I'll probably write a review on that sooner or later.

Anyways, Gong Xi Fa Choi! (and enjoy your red envelopes too)

恭喜发财，春节快乐

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Second Season 16

Hank Hercules and his forces stand off against the Federation army, and everybody tries to guess how A-LAWS will respond.

Mr. Hercules: Let's get this party started!

Summary:
From within the Africa elevator, Hank Hercules announces his intentions to expose the crimes of A-LAWS to the world, but his announcement does not reach Earth's population due to the Federation's interference. Sergei is watching the Federation press conference from his home and thinks back to the old days where he, his wife and Sergei were still young. Back then Hank had a very positive view of the space elevators, citing that people can focus their efforts on other things now that energy is no longer a problem. Sergei and his wife weren't so sure because they think the countries who operate the elevators can use it as an excuse to develop their military which can turn into a cold war situation. Hank was unfazed by the argument and states that as long as the public and military know what they are doing then everything will turn out fine. After recalling that memory, Sergei gets a call from his general who informs Sergei that he has been assigned to a special mission.

While Hank is talking philosophy, Sergei is thinking about what's for dinner.

At A-LAWS HQ, Homer Katagiri and Arthur Goodman discuss the elevator situation, and Arthur will go into space to take care of the problem. Meanwhile, Wang Liu Mei, Hong Long, and Nena Trinity are also watching the developments from their base. At the Africa Tower control room, Hank receives reports that Federation forces has surrounded the base of the twoer and Katharon forces are on their way to rendezvous. Back on Earth, the crew of the Ptolemaios discuss about what they're going to do about the coup. Sumeragi notes that the Innovators should have gotten word of the coup from Veda, so it's possible that they are letting the coup happen on purpose. Despite this possibility, the Ptolemaios will head to the Africa Tower anyways in order to find out the truth and also to meet up with Setsuna (who Sumeragi predicts is headed that way already).

Automatons aren't so tough when you have a giant automated gun to take them out.

Up in space, A-LAWS has started releasing automatons into the tower, and Hank's forces are busy fending them off. Hank is surprised that A-LAWS hasn't made a move from the ground yet, but suddenly it's reported that a few Federation mobile suits are headed up the elevator. Hank puts the surveillance cameras on screen and spots the Tieren Taozi piloted by Sergei. At a Federation building, Sergei's general reports to an A-LAWS representative that he has sent Sergei up the tower as a secret envoy, and the A-LAWS representative reassures the general that he will retain his rank once he transfers to A-LAWS.

Andrei is getting somewhere with Louise? Unbelievable!

Somewhere out in the sea, Kati is frustrated and puzzled by the fact that her task force wasn't called to handle the situation at the Africa Tower. The three Innovator pilots are joking around in their room in one of the carriers, while Andrei and Louise are standing on the deck of another carrier. Andrei reveals to Louise that the person who took over the Africa tower is one of his father's friends. Andrei notes that Hank used to talk a lot about how the military should act, but now he is engaging in anti-government activities and holding sixty thousand people hostage on the Africa Tower. Louise comments that A-LAWS is here to keep peace and crush anti-government groups regardless of what reasons the groups might have, and Andrei agrees. Andrei then thinks back to a conversation he had with Hank when he just entered the military. Hank comments that what happened to Andrei's mother was a tragedy, but Andrei gets angry and accuses both his father and Hank for not helping to save his mother. Andrei has vowed not to go down the road of his father and he entered the military to prove his point. Hank wondered if that was what Andrei's mother would have wanted, and Andrei believed that his mother would approve. Back to the present, Andrei reaffirms his beliefs that the world needs A-LAWS' power to maintain peace and order.

In space, Sergei arrives at the control room of Africa Tower to meet Hank. Sergei announces that the Federation has no plans to meet Hank's demands and wants the dissident forces to surrender. Sergei then asks Hank why he is holding civilians hostage when they have nothing to do with A-LAWS. Hank disagrees and states that the civilians were partially responsible for letting A-LAWS come to power. Sergei argues that isn't it the duty of the military to uphold the interests and safety of civilians, and Hank responds that this is exactly the reason for his actions. Hank tells Sergei to relay to the Federation that his forces have no plans to surrender and will fight until the last man falls. As Hank tells his men to escort Sergei away, Sergei states he wants to stay. Before Sergei can give his reason, the tower comes under another wave of automaton attack and this time the killer droids are heading towards the areas with gravity. Hank orders his troops to hold off the automatons while the civilians are directed to the elevator cars. The A-LAWS automatons make no effort to distinguish between Hank's soldiers and civilians and shoot everyone in their way. As Sergei watches on the monitor, Hank states that this is a prime example of government and military gone wrong.

Klaus likes to talk big, but the truth is that Katharon hasn't really done anything important.

Sergei realizes that Hank planned to release the civilians all along but wonders about the reasons behind Hank's actions. Hank states that his goal is to expose A-LAWS ruthless tactics to the world. Hank hopes that the civilians he released will spread the information about A-LAWS and cause the public to question the Federation government. At this moment, the Federation releases a statement and a bunch of fake videos showing Hank's soldiers shooting civilians. Despite the fake videos, Hank states the truth will be released no matter how the Federation tampers with the media, as there's no way the Federation can shut sixty thousand people up. Sergei warns Hank that the Federation probably thought of this too, but Hank is still confident about his plan. Sergei then thinks about what has happened and wonders what A-LAWS is really up to.

The 00: Let me show you what REAL Tran-Am is all about!


Mr.Bushido is getting so excited that he accidentally bit his lip.

Near the base of the Africa Tower, Setsuna runs into Graham and his Masurao. Graham activates Trans-Am on the Masurao and starts hacking at the 00, causing Setsuna to aggravate his wound. Setsuna has no choice but to activate Trans-Am on the 00 to even up the battle. After several furious exchanges, the Masurao and 00 lock swords in the middle of the sky. Graham declares that he only lives to fight and surpass the Gundam, while Setsuna declares that he has something else to live for. The fight is interrupted when the other three Gundams arrive with Trans-Am activated, and Graham decides to retreat since his suit is running low on GN particles. After the battle, Setsuna hears Neil's voice telling him to change as he starts fading into unconsciousness.

The Masurao: I'm cooler than you!!
The 00: No, I'm cooler than you!!

Back in the Africa Tower control room, Hank is wondering why the Federation forces have pulled away from the base of the tower. Meanwhile, both Kati and Sumeragi are asking the same question from their respective posts. Sumeragi realizes that something is wrong and asks Feldt to retrieve the wind speeds and directions within a 1000km of the tower base. After looking at the wind directions and formation of the forces near the tower's base, Sumeragi, Kati, Hank, and Sergei realize at the same time that A-LAWS is preparing to destroy the tower, and also that there is another Memento Mori out in orbit. Out in space, Arthur Goodman states that the traitors (Hank's forces), Katharon, and Celestial Being will get a taste of God's thunder while he's waiting for the second Memento Mori to finish charging.

The second Death Star Memento Mori appears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another episode without much action, but at least the situation with Africa Tower is in full swing now. Hank seems to be one of those guys who believes that he's doing the right thing regardless of whether his reasoning makes sense or not, but at least he hasn't done anything too terrible yet. Sergei has been sent to the tower to burn by his general, although he probably would have went there himself. I don't really get why Sergei decided to take the Tieren Taozi. If a combat situation arises, even a GN-XIII would be a lot better than that five-year-old antique. I'm not sure how Sergei is going survive fighting GN-powered mobile suits with his museum piece. We might be having a father-son confrontation in the next episode between Sergei and Andrei, and it'd be really something if Sergei somehow manages to school his son with this Tieren.

It's pretty clear now that A-LAWS is trying to drop the Africa Tower, although I'm not sure what they are trying to accomplish or how they are going to get away with it. I don't know how A-LAWS is going to blame the tower drop on their enemies if they use the Memento Mori to blow up the tower. There's no way they can say that the "terrorists" built the Memento Mori and the Memento Mori's beam will be impossible to hide. Well, I suppose since the rest of the world didn't know that first Memento Mori ever existed, perhaps A-LAWS can hide the second one as well.

Moving on, the first fight between the 00 Raiser and Masurao was a little disappointed. I know it's a teaser fight, but I'm disappointed with Graham's performance since he only managed to fight evenly with an injured Setsuna, and Mr. Bushido himself was bleeding from the mouth while he was fighting. I was hoping that Graham might somehow get an edge over Setsuna, but from the looks of this fight Graham would have probably gotten smoked if Setsuna was 100%. I guess the fake Trans-Am just can't quite stand up to the twin-drive 300% Trans-Am of the 00. Graham's comments at the end of the fight indicate that the GN tau drives will run out of GN particles after they use Trans-Am, which might mean the mobile suit will get disabled after using Trans-Am for too long. Last thing about the fight is that the 00 Raiser showed that it can use GN field. Ever since the O-Raizer was attached the 00 seems be able to do anything it wants.

Anyways, there's a lot to look forward to in next week's episode. We'll have the big battle at the Africa Tower, a possible father-son fight between Sergei and Andrei, and Marie's debut as the pilot of the GN Archer.

To Aru Majutsu no Index 16

Touma joins forces with Kaori, Motoharu, and Misha in order to find the culprit behind "Angel Fall".

Summary:
After admitting to be a member of Necessarius, Motoharu explains to Touma that he serves as a spy for the church in Academy City. Motoharu used to have magical abilities, but he can't use them any more after undergoing the ESP curriculum. Kaori suggests that Touma join her company to find the culprit behind the "Angel Fall" spell, and so Kaori, Motoharu, and Misha check into the same inn as Touma's family.

Come on, being Stiyl isn't that bad. At least he's somewhat popular with the ladies.

Later at night, Touma is sitting alone on a window sill thinking about what's happening, but he is soon joined by Motoharu. Touma wonders why Motoharu isn't hanging out with everyone else, and Motoharu explains that he and Kaori didn't complete escape the effects of "Angel Fall". Because of this, people under the spell would see Motoharu as a pop idol, while Kaori would be seen as Stiyl. After laughing at Kaori being seen as Stiyl, Touma wonders how Motoharu was able to expand a magical field to escape from "Angel Fall" now that he is an abilities user. Motoharu shows Touma a wound on his waist and explains that using magic now causes his blood vessels to burst, so if he tries to use magic one more time he'll probably die. Motoharu then moves on to another topic and advises Touma not to say "so unlucky" in front of Kaori. Motoharu explains that Kaori used to be the head priestess of an underground Japanese Catholic group called the Amakusa Catholics. Kaori is one of the few people who has the ability to use "stigma", which enables the user to temporarily obtain superhuman powers. Motoharu states that Kaori is not very happy to be given this kind of "luck" from birth, although why Kaori acts like this is unknown. Before Motoharu can continue further, Kaori walks into the room and wants Touma to help her with something.

Touma to Kanzaki: Why can't you just use the women's bath? Nobody would dare to enter if you put your sword near the entrance.


I'm surprised that Touma isn't blushing or nosebleeding. I guess Touma prefers the loli-types like Index and Mikoto.

It turns out that Kaori has finally had enough of being recognized as Stiyl by Touma's family and wants to take a bath. Unfortunately since everyone sees her as Stiyl, Kaori cannot go into the woman's hot springs. Her only choice is to go into the men's bath, but she doesn't want anyone to see her naked (even though most would see her as Stiyl), so she wants Touma to guard the entrance while she takes a bath. While Kaori is taking a bath inside, Touma is trying to stop his father from entering the bath but is dragged into the hot springs regardless. Touma and his dad walk in on Kaori who is tying up her hair but still naked, and the father and son are forced to run for their lives after Kaori attacks with his sword. After getting driving out the intruders, Kaori hears Motoharu outside commenting that she should be a little nicer to Touma since he's the one who saved Index.

Touma to himself: Come on Touma, you can do this. You've already won over three cute girls, so there's no reason why you can't get a fourth.

Touma and his father stop at a bench to catch their breaths. While talking with his dad, Touma realizes that the person sitting in front of him is just some random guy and not really his dad. Seeing Touma's expression, Mr. Kamijo comments that Touma's mother also has the same expression at times. After the brief father-and-son moment, Touma and his dad spot Misha in the woods. After Mr. Kamijo leaves to give Touma some room to "get the girl", Touma approaches Misha and tries to start a conversation but fails. Touma changes his approach and offers Misha a piece of gum, and Misha carefully takes the gum so that she doesn't touch Touma's right hand. Touma asks Misha about what she knows about "Angel Fall", and Misha explains that whoever is performing the spell either wants the angel's power or want to take the angel's place. Misha states "Angel Fall" has not been completed yet, but disaster is going to happen if the spell is completed, so she and Touma's group must find the culprit before that can happen. After talking with Misha, Touma returns to the inn and overhears his father and his mother (played by Index) having an intimate conversation, and so Touma immediately runs into his parent's room to break up any possible hanky panky.

No love for Pierce-Index.

Touma ends up spending the rest of the night sleeping with his parents to ensure nothing happens. The next day Mrs. Kamijo needs to go back home because she didn't lock the front door, and strangely Misha decides to accompany Mrs. Kamijo on her trip back home. After Misha and Mrs. Kamijo leaves, Mr. Kamijo reveals that he saw Misha's conversation with Touma and comments that Misha didn't seem to want to touch Touma's right hand for some reason. Touma thinks about his conversation with Misha and feels that there's something strange about the Russian magician, so he finds Kaori and Motoharu and tells them what Misha said. After discussing the situation, Touma and company thinks that Misha might be the culprit behind "Angel Fall", and Touma and Motoharu decide to go to Touma's parents' house.

Touma is thinking about how uncool his dad is making a thumbs-up sign while wearing a suit.

Aisa finally makes her cameo appearance. She looks so different now that she is capable of expressing emotions.

After asking Mr. Kamijo for directions, Touma and Kaori ride a taxi to the Kamijo residence. Touma and Motoharu get to the house before Mrs. Kamijo and Misha, and the two of them walk into the house since the front door is unlocked. Touma and Motoharu examine the house, which is filled by various artifacts that Mr. Kamijo has collected. Touma eventually spots some pictures of his parents and realizes that his father did not switch bodies. Based on this, Motoharu and Touma concludes that Mr. Kamijo could very well be the culprit behind "Angel Fall". At this moment Mrs. Kamijo and Misha walk into the house, and Misha immediately bolts after seeing Touma and Motoharu. Motoharu wants to give chase but he is stopped by Mrs. Kamijo, who thinks Motoharu is the pop idol. Touma follows Misha outside but loses sight of the magician. Touma is then almost run over by a truck which is operated to angry trucker played by Aisa. Touma convinces Aisa/the trucker to give him a lift back to the seaside inn by saying that he has to save his dad. After reaching the inn, Touma tells Kaori about what happened, and afterwards Touma goes to the beach to confront his father.

Touma: Dad, stop trying to look cool in front of the sunset.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

This episode was a little more serious than the last, but it was still pretty entertaining. We now have two prime suspects for "Angel Falls", although the previews seem to indicate that Misha is the true culprit. There's something strange going on with Touma's dad as well, but for now his role in this whole business is still unclear. There is going to be a big fight in the next episode, and we'll probably get to see how the power of an angel stacks up against Kaori's sword and "stigma".

The explanations about Kaori's origins and any other magical elements are as boring as ever, but at least in this episode the explanations aren't too long-winded or confusing. What made this episode entertaining was the fact that it had plenty of comedic moments. The fact that Kaori is recognized by everyone as Stiyl is hilarious in itself, and it gets even funnier when she has to ask Touma to guard the bath entrance, but Touma ends up failing at the task and seeing her naked body. The situation where Touma overheard his parents talking intimately was funny as well, and so was the part where Index-Pierce gets crushed by the door. Comedy is one of To Aru Majutsu no Index's strength, so it's nice to see the funny stuff being put to good use in this episode.

In the last three story-arcs Touma has won over the affection or respect of a cute girl every time. We don't know if it's going to happen this time around though, since Misha is possibly the bad guy while Kaori doesn't like Touma all that much. I think Touma wins over Kaori in a later novel involving the Amakusa Catholics, so possibly Touma won't get a girl this time. Well, I suppose Touma can hook up with his cousin, although his cousin already likes him anyways so she won't count as a new girl.

To-Love-Ru 133

During a New Year's party, Rito and the gang are invited to play a virtual-reality dice game made by Momo and Nana.

Summary:
Rito, Lala, Mikan, Haruna, Yui, and Saruyama have a New Year's party at Rito's house, and all the girls are dressed up in long-sleeve kimonos. Lala asks Haruna about where Risa, Mio, and Oshizu went, and Haruna responds that she couldn't contact the other girls. Momo and Nana walk into the room and tells everyone that they will soon find out where everyone else is. To make the party fun, Momo and Nana programed another virtual space game (like the trouble quest Rito and the gang went through last time), and they had invited some of the other characters to play roles in the game. Rito and most of his friends are a little hesitant, but they participate anyways due to Nana and Momo's insistence.

Rito and Saruyama are liking what they are seeing.
"Now if I can get Haruna to land on that square..." Rito secretly plots.

Rito and the other players are transformed into a virtual space where they are standing on a giant game board. The game is a simple "roll-the-dice" game meaning the the first person to get to the end wins, and Momo states that the winner will receive a wonderful prize. Yui goes first and rolls a "3". After moving forward three squares, Yui sees a prompt saying that she get's sexy lingerie, and suddenly her kimono is changed into lingerie. The embarrassed Yui wants her kimono back, but Momo states that she has to stay like this until it's her turn again. Saruyama is up next and throws a "5" which leads him to an one turn break. Saruyama is transported into a room where Mikado-sensei is lying in bed and covered only by a thin sheet. Saruyama jumps at the alluring Mikado-sensei but gets hit in the head by a steel tub. Rito, Mikan, and Haruna start having second-thoughts about playing the game, but Rito is up next. In the maestro room, Nana notes that Momo seems to be having more fun that she is running the game.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

We are on to another random mini-arc. Maybe something meaningful is going to happen along the way, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. After the Lala-Haruna mini-arc, To-Love-Ru has gone back to its old formula of throwing around random stories, and this can probably go on indefinitely as long as the author can come up with more material. I find it a little strange that Celine wasn't with Rito and the gang during the New Year's party, but she's probably been recruited by Momo and Nana to play a role in the game. It's funny how Nana hates Rito's perverted ways, but she and Momo made the game pretty naughty themselves. Of course, this might all be Momo's idea since she is the more dominant of the two sisters.

Bleach 342, Naruto 432 & One Piece 529

Bleach 342 - After Orihime blocked Ulquiorra's attack, Ulquiorra starts questioning Orihime about why she didn't help Ichigo sooner, but Ichigo tells Orihime go to somewhere safer. Ichigo calls up a Getsuga but instead of releasing it, Ichigo leaves the Getsuga on his sword to increase his attack power. Unfortunately, this has little effect on Ulquiorra and the two continue to fight. Meanwhile, Orihime is watching the fight with concern in her eyes, and she fails to notice Loli and Menoli sneaking up behind her. The two arrancars grab Orihime and prepares to punish Orihime for what they suffered through. Ichigo tries to save Orihime but Ulquiorra gets in the way. Suddenly, No. 10 Espada Yammy bursts out of behind Orihime and the two female arrancars.

My thoughts:
Loli and Menoli make their move on Orihime as expected, and Ichigo isn't really in a position to help Orihime. The only interesting bit is that Yammy finally makes his return after a long absence, and we don't really know what he's up to. Yammy used to hang out with Ulquiorra a lot but that doesn't necessarily mean that he likes Ulquiorra, but his appearance probably won't be too beneficial to Ichigo either. Where are all of Ichigo's pals and the four shinigami captains when you need them?

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Naruto 432 - Naruto summons two clones and together they conjure a Rasen Shuriken. Unlike before, Naruto is able to throw the Rasen Shuriken at the remaining bodies of Pain. The bodies of Pain step out of the way but the Shuriken quickly expands in size. God Realm, Hell Realm manage to dodge the attack but Human Realm is caught by the spinning vortex after tossing Animal Realm out of harm's way. Animal Realm summons a large flightless bird which quickly digs into the ground.

Inside the village, Shikamaru learns from Katsuyu that Naruto is fighting Pain by himself. Shikamaru wants to help but his father states that Naruto is on a whole new level now, so the best thing they can do is try not to get in the way.

Back on the battle field, the multi-headed dog that Gamikichi was pinning down suddenly splits into several dogs and start to attack the big frogs again. Naruto is running low on chakra after using the Rasen Shuriken, and Fukasaku realizes they have to do separate the Realms to sever their connection to the Rinnegan. The frogs spray a smoke screen and Gamikichi traps both Naruto and Animal Realm in his mouth. In the darkness Naruto is able to score a double Rasengan on Animal Realm, and all of Animal Realm's summons disappear when their master is defeated. After his series of fierce attacks, Naruto reverts back to his normal form because he is out of sage chakra.


My Thoughts:
I was a little confused with what was happening in this chapter, particularly the part where a giant bird is summoned (by Animal Realm presumably) after Human Realm is taken out by the Rasen Shuriken. What was that bird for anyways? Naruto's "new" technique was a little disappointing. A ranged version of the original Rasen Shuriken sounds cool, but it's not such a great attack when Naruto only managed to take out one Realm with it and in exchange uses up a large portion of his chakra. Now that Naruto is out of sage chakra, there are a couple of things that could happen. Naruto may try to recharge while the frogs hold off Pain, but that's unlikely seeing that God Realm is incredibly strong. Reinforcements may also arrive (Team Guy comes to mind), or as a last resort Naruto will start drawing upon the Demon Fox's chakra and eventually go nuts with it. I don't think Naruto can win just by using sage techniques and the frogs, so there's probably going to be something else that will come into play.

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One Piece 529 - Ace and Jimbei continue talking and Jimbei reveals the reason why he respects White Beard so much. Jimbei comes Fishman Island, and back in the old days the island was frequently raided by human pirates. However, one day White Beard came along and declared the island his territory, and after that no other pirates would dare bother Fishman Island. Ace and Jimbei's conversation is heard by Sir Crocodile and the other inmates, and most of them are quite excited by the prospect of White Beard being killed.

Meanwhile Luffy, Buggy, and Mr. 3 are being chased by a horde of monsters on level 2. Mr. 3 and Buggy secretly agree to dump Luffy when they have the chance, but they run with Luffy for now because all three of them have to get to the stairs. Luffy and company arrive at the stair entrance to find it guarded by a giant sphinx. Luffy jumps on top of the sphinx while Buggy floats around with his powers, but Mr. 3 is stuck on the ground and catches the attention of the giant beast. The sphinx tries to stomp Mr. 3 but Mr. 3 makes many wax copies of himself. As the sphinx become preoccupied with stomping the wax copies, Buggy and Mr. 3 run for the stairs. Unfortunately for Mr. 3 and Buggy, the sphinx's stomping causes the floor to collapse and the company of three along with the giant beast fall down into level 3.

My Thoughts:
so Sir Crocodile is still around, but it doesn't sound like he is going to be any help to Luffy (which is expected). Luffy's dungeon crawling adventure continues and he picks up another member for his group, so maybe he'll pick up another helper on level 3. There are probably a few more of Sir Crocodile's agents around so perhaps they will join Luffy. One question I had after reading this chapter was who/what is the level 2 boss? I'm not sure if the sphinx is the boss, but I doubt it since the sphinx is pretty dumb, and it's probably a bad idea to let a mindless beast run a certain level of a prison. It doesn't matter any more now that Luffy and his group is on level 3, and there will be a whole new set of gaolers waiting for our hero and his unlikely companions.

ToraDora! 16

The Yusaku arc comes to its emotional conclusion.

Taiga demonstrates how David slayed Goliath.


I can't hold on any longer. This is just too much!

Summary:
Taiga and Ryuji continue their campaign to depict Taiga as a demonic candidate in order to goad Yusaku into entering the race for student council president. Several of Ryuji’s friends and eventually Yuri-sensei join the cause, but Yusaku still hasn’t entered the race a day before the entry deadline. While Taiga and Ryuji are worrying over the situation, Ryuji receives a phone call from a member of the student council, who explains that Yusaku’s strange behaviour may be caused by the fact that Sumire is leaving to study in the USA. After hanging up, Ryuji gets a serious look on his face and prepares to leave the house. When asked by Taiga, Ryuji explains that he’s going to go beat some sense into Yusaku, but he does not reveal the details of the phone call to Taiga.

On the way to Yusaku’s house, Ryuji is surprised when he finds Yusaku sitting outside near the river. Ryuji sits down beside Yusaku and discovers that Yusaku has already been disciplined by his father. Yusaku apologizes to Ryuji for his behaviour and thanks Ryuji and Taiga for trying to get him back on track. The (former) student council vice president then states that he is done with his childish phase and will start being responsible again. Ryuji suddenly hear Taiga calling out on the streets for him and so he leaves Yusaku to meet up with her. Taiga is worried that Ryuji might actually beat up Yusaku, but Ryuji states that’s not what happened. Taiga then asks about the phone call again but Ryuji states that it’s not worth mentioning.

Like any good politician, Yusaku says one thing during his speech but does the exact opposite a few hours later.

The next day Taiga gives another frightening speech in front of the school. As the other students groan and complain about the prospect of Taiga becoming the student council president, Yusaku arrives sporting his natural hair colour once again. After quietly thanking Taiga and Ryuji, Yusaku declares to everybody that he will fight against Taiga’s “evil” campaign. Despite the early show of enthusiasm, later in the day Ryuji finds out from Yuri-sensei that Yusaku still hasn’t submitted his candidate form. With 4 o’clock deadline is less than a half hour away, Ryuji asks Yusaku about the form but Yusaku has decided not to run after all. As the two friends walk through the school hallways on their way home, Yusaku tells Ryuji the story of why he joined the student council. During first year, Yusaku confessed to Taiga but was rejected. While Yusaku was feeling depressed over the rejection, Sumire appeared out of nowhere and encouraged Yusaku to get his spirit up and join the student council. Yusaku states that he is glad to have taken the first step, but he does not have courage to take the final step. Sumire suddenly appears and hands Yusaku the candidate form while telling Yusaku not to run away. Inspired by Sumire’s appearance, Yusaku submits the form just before the entry deadline.

Yusaku to Sumire: Huh? You were watching all this time?


Yusaku realizes that he screwed up big time.

It’s the day of the candidate speeches, and Yusaku is the only participant after Taiga drops out of the race. Instead of giving a proper speech, Yusaku confesses to Sumire in front of the entire student body. Everyone is expecting Sumire to answer, but the outgoing student council president sidesteps the confession and instead rallies the students behind Yusaku. After the ceremony, Ryuji confronts Sumire about not answering Yusaku’s confession, and Sumire states that answering wouldn’t do Yusaku any good. Ryuji is not satisfied with Sumire’s response but he is pulled back by Taiga. Taiga tells Ryuji to go comfort Yusaku, who is crying at his seat in the classroom. Taiga states that she’s unable to comfort Yusaku so she’ll do what she can. Ryuji wonders what Taiga is up to but Taiga’s only response is stating that she’s going to be okay.

Time to take care of some business.


Funny how everyone just stands by and watch while Taiga and Sumire beat the crap out of each other. I guess most people wanted to see the cat-fight between two of the school's hottest girls.

After Ryuji leaves to check on Yusaku, Taiga pulls her wooden sword out her jacket, marches into Sumire’s classroom, and challenges the outgoing student council president to a fight. Instead of backing away, Sumire grabs her kendo stick starts fighting Taiga right inside the classroom. The wooden sword-fight degenerates into a brawl and both girls are bloodied and bruised. Ryuji finally arrives to pull Taiga off of Sumire, and Sumire is also restrained by two of her classmates. After exchanging more heated words with Taiga, Sumire finally breaks down and tearfully admits that she likes Yusaku, and the reason why she didn’t show her feelings is because she didn’t want Yusaku to keep following her. Sumire’s words are heard by Minori, Ami’s friends, and most importantly Yusaku, who tearfully thanks Sumire for everything she has done.

Big boys don't cry.

After the classroom has been cleaned up, one of Ami’s friends discovers that Taiga had dropped her pocket book during the fight. Ami’s friends open the pocketbook and discover a photo of Taiga and Yusaku from the cultural festival celebrations. Minori, who is walking ahead of Ami’s group, sees the photo as well and pauses in her tracks. Ami grabs the pocketbook from her friends and states that she’ll return it to Taiga. As Ami’s friends pass by Minori, Ami quietly asks if Minori’s guilty feelings are gone.

Will Ami's advice finally get through Minori's thick skull?

Sumire left for the States two days after the fight; Taiga is handed a two-week suspension; and Yusaku became the new student council president. Sometime later, Sumire receives a postcard from Taiga with the word “baka” (stupid) written on it. The sight of Taiga’s postcard causes Sumire to laugh uncontrollably much to the bewilderment of her roommate.

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This was quite the episode. So the Yusaku mini-arc finally comes to a conclusion with an abundance of emotional moments. It’s funny how Yusaku changed his mind a dozen times (okay, maybe more like three times) in this episode, but at the end it didn’t really matter. The last three episodes have shown us that Yusaku isn’t the always confident and upbeat student council vice-president that we saw in the first 13 episodes. He has feelings just like everyone else, and he doesn’t deal with his emotions all that well especially when it comes to girls that he likes. If Sumire hadn’t come along then Yusaku probably would have gone into a slump after Taiga rejected him. As for Sumire, the fact that she didn’t reciprocate Yusaku’s feeling because she wanted him to move on was really sweet, but at the same time her lack of response made the situation worse. All of this made for a very effective emotional climax at the end of the fight. The fight didn’t really change the situation, but at least both Yusaku and Sumire manage to get some closure and can now move on to other things. Now that Sumire is gone, perhaps Taiga has a better chance of scoring a date with Yusaku on the rebound.

Moving on to the big brawl itself, I already knew it was coming because somebody spoiled it for me. The animation was of the jerky, freeze-frame style which could have been done better (a To Aru Majutsu Index kind of fight given this is J.C. Staff), but it’s not a big detraction. The level of violence was higher than what I would have expected for a teenage romantic comedy, but it was necessary to match up with the level of emotions being thrown around by Taiga and Sumire. Overall it might not be the best animated fight sequence, but it was an effective means of closing off the story.

AS for the other characters, Ami managed to make a moment for herself (and Minori) in this episode despite appearing for only 30 seconds. I had to go read some other blog posts to understand what Ami’s remark to Minori meant. The popular interpretation is that Ami is telling Minori not to feel guilty anymore about liking Ryuji since Taiga actually likes Yusaku. I don’t really understand why Ami is telling Minori that, other than to demonstrate that she’s extremely perceptive. Perhaps Ami is trying to make Ryuji happy by steering Minori in the right direction, although I find it hard to believe that Ami would be that noble. It’s clear that Ami likes Ryuji, so why give the competition a hand? It’s noted that Ami grimaced after her remark, so she doesn’t seem to be too happy about things either. Minori has shown some awareness to Ryuji’s feelings in recent episodes, so maybe her relationship with Ryuji will finally start going somewhere.

Finally, still no new OP or ED. Maybe next week?