Bleach 454

Ichigo and Ginjou are backed into a corner by Tsukishima.

Looking a little crazy there, Ichigo.

Summary:
Somewhere in town, Urahara and Isshin are walking on the streets with Isshin holding a special sword.

Meanwhile, Ginjou and Ichigo arrive at Ginjou's backup-backup hideout. Ichigo initially blames Ginjou for getting his family involved but then relents. Ginjou states that Tsukishima has the ability to implant himself into other people's memories, and now all the allies and friends they know think they are crazy. Ginjou can't be sure if killing Tsukishima will reverse the effects, but he states that they should kill Tsukishima anyways. At this moment, Yukio stumbles into the hideout thanks to a tracking bug that he had on Ginjou's jacket. Yukio tells Ginjou and Ichigo that Tsukishima and others don't blame them and instead feels sorry for them. Yukio then leads Ichigo and Ginjou to an abandoned mansion where Tsukishima is.

At the hospital, Uryu gets up from his bed and is on the move.

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We get to see Urahara and Isshin out and about, but unfortunately once again it's a tease. Things are looking up for the series though now that Ichigo has been backed into a corner by Tsukishima's memory manipulation abilities, and hopefully Kubo won't ruin things by dragging things out too much. We haven't seen Ichigo looking this desperate before the fight even starts, and the story has finally sparked a bit of interest after going around not doing much. Hopefully soon we will find out what Tsukishima is really after, and we'll also see if Ginjou is a really an ally or lying this whole time to set Ichigo up for something. And of course, we'll also see what Urahara and Isshin are up to. My money is still on that Urahara and Isshin are the trustworthy ones.

Naruto 545

Naruto and Killer Bee enter the battlefield.

Naruto discovers that it's really convenient having a few more arms at his disposal.

Summary:
After showing off his version of the Six Paths of Pain, Madara knows that the Shinobi Army will use Naruto to counter the White Zetsus and this falls right into Madara's plans. At Shinobi Army command center, Shikaku knows that the enemy is trying draw Naruto out, but he decides to let Naruto handle situation.

At a battlefield medic tent, Sakura and Shizune are examining a dead White Zetsu and they discover the White Zetsu were grown using the First Hokage's DNA and Yamato's abilities. Back at the command center, Tsunade and A return and learn of Sakura and Shizune's discovery. Tsunade notes that if Madara has implanted the First's DNA onto himself then he may be truly immortal.

Shikaku uses a telepathic link to tell Naruto about the situation and also tells Naruto to show Madara no mercy. Naruto promises to defeat Madara and hangs up. Naruto and Madara then run into what looks a group of Shinobi Army ninjas, but Naruto senses they are all fakes and start beating them up with some new moves and turns them into trees. A few White Zetsus try to combine into a larger monster, but Naruto squashes them with a giant toad summon. Naruto then calls up dozens of shadow clones to take out the White Zetsus everywhere.

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Naruto and Bee are now officially in the war and have engaged the enemy for the first time. Naruto showed off a couple of new moves combining his Rasengan/Rasen Shuriken with his tailed beast arms. Hopefully we'll see some more nice combo moves in the battles to come. Naruto is showing himself to be more than a match for the White Zetsus, but he is falling right into Madara's plan. Naruto of course can fight out of the trap using pure shounen hero determination, but it'd be more fun if Naruto ended up being saved by Kabuto's backstabbing. That's still some ways down the line though, and there is still Sasuke who has yet to debut in the war. In any case, hopefully the excitement should be building up and up from this point on.

One Piece 630

Hordy and his minions are on the move and so are Fukaboshi and what's left of Neptune's Army.

See kids, this is why steroids are bad for you.

Summary:
Hordy's squad captains (including the guy who was beaten up by Fukaboshi) cause trouble throughout the kingdom before they head towards the site of King Neptune's planned execution. Meanwhile, Fukaboshi and his brothers are heading there as well with plans to stop Hordy. Elsewhere on the island, the two ministers and King Neptune's army fun into trouble against one of the sea beasts employed by the New Fishman Pirates. At the moment, the ministers spot Hordy and King Neptune overhead being carried by the remaining Sea Beasts. The pirates on the ground notice that Hordy isn't looking too good, and the pirates on the sea beasts explain that Hordy has been popping lots of pills to keep himself standing after being injured by Zoro. Suddenly, Hordy bends over in pain and lets out a blood-curdling scream, and even the sea beasts start trembling in fear.

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This chapter is just setup for the upcoming big battle at Hordy's planned public execution of King Neptune, and Hordy's secondary commanders all receive some panels to preview what they can do. Before that can happen though, it looks like Hordy popped one pill too many and has finally overdosed on the 'roids. We'll see if he goes on a steroid-induced rampage now. My guess is that Hordy will become unbelievably strong with a shit load of muscles for the time being, but when the high wears down he'll be finished. Isn't this how all fictional "instant steroids" work?

Since Luffy and Jinbe hasn't resolved their differences yet, it'll be up to Fukaboshi and company to disrupt the execution for now.

Deadman Wonderland 11

Ganta and the remaining Scar Chain members rally against the Undertakers.

Who can say no to this face? He's so pathetic that you gotta help him.

Summary:
Elsewhere in Deadman Wonderland, Shiro is having a snack party with "Mockingbird" Toto Sakigami. Shiro complains that her cheeks hurt after being hit by Ganta, even though she can't really feel any physical pain. Toto tries to convince Shiro to forget about Ganta, but Shiro instead decides that she'll hit Ganta back and storms off. Toto realizes that Shiro is drunk because he had accidentally given her wine-filled chocolate, and the mysterious Deadman is a little disappointed that his meeting with Shiro turned out to be just a snack party. Toto then decides that he'll go eat some "snacks" himself, and by snacks Toto is referring to "Branches of Sin".

Ganta is training with Senji to get his "Ganta Gun" to supersonic speeds. In order to give Ganta more motivation, Senji takes away all of Ganta's candy and ties one piece to a rope. Senji tells Ganta that if he can cut the rope with his "Ganta Gun" then he gets the candy back, but of course Senji will be standing in the way trying to stop Ganta's shots with his blades. Ganta tries time and time after but Senji easily swats the shots away. In the middle of the training, Toto walks into the room looking for Shiro. Senji immediately confronts Toto because Toto is rumored to be the strongest Deadman, but Toto gets behind and takes a lick of Senji's blood. Toto wants a taste of Ganta too, but he is blocked by Senji. Toto then politely introduces himself to Ganta before leaving the room.

Hmmm... Senji's manly blood.

At Scar Chain headquarters, Karako and the remaining Scar Chain members decide to proceed without Ganta. After the other members go off on their tasks, Rokuro is still tied up in the room and tells Karako that the chances of success are very low, but Karako doesn't care. Karako recalls sometimes ago Nagi had shown her a locket saying that it contained a picture of his daughter, but Karako notices that the locket didn't have any pictures but went along with it anyways. Karako then dresses up in an Undertaker outfit and heads out.

Somewhere in the non-secret portion of the prison, Tamaki calls Genhaku while the inspection team is being entertained by a prisoners' concert. Tamaki tells Genhaku to hurry up and exterminate Scar Chain, and Genhaku obliges to the new warden. In Genhaku's room, a man dressed as an Undertaker has his skull crushed by the hand of another man. Tamaki hears the crunching sound on the phone and wonders what's going on, and Genhaku responds that it's nothing.

Deep inside the prison, Karako has infiltrated the enemy's base and is dressed as one of the Undertakers. Suddenly, a drunken Shiro appears out of one of the airducts. Karako tries to get Shiro to leave, but the commotion has drawn Genhaku's attention. Genhaku recognizes Shiro as the girl who broke his guitar, and he also sees through Karako's disguise.

Ganta is still training with Senji and he is starting to tire. As Ganta is running out of blood, the bullets he fire actually become faster, and Ganta realizes that he should limit the amount of blood used to increase the speed. At this moment, all of the TVs in the Deadmen's rooms turn on with Genhaku on the screen. Genhaku announces that he knows Scar Chain is trying to break out again, but this time he isn't going to come and find them. Instead, Genhaku turns the camera to the captured Karako and Shiro and threatens to have them tortured and raped. The leader of the Undertakers states that Scar Chain members are welcome to try and rescue their comrades, and the door to Undertaker headquarters are open.

All tangled up.

After Genhaku's announcement, all of the Scar Chain members run towards Undertaker HQ and are engaged in battles against the Undertakers. Ganta bolts out of Senji's room and plans to try and rescue Karako and Shiro by himself, but along the way he is intercepted by a group of Undertakers. The Undertakers try to kill Ganta, but they are taken out by Minatsuki who states that she saved Ganta to repay for her "luck" at the Punishment Game.

Sonic boom boom boom!!

After getting directions from Minatsuki, Ganta arrives at the Undertaker's HQ first. Ganta takes out a few Undertakers with his supersonic Ganta Gun, but he then gets woozy from lack of blood. Shiro frees herself and tries to run to Ganta, but she is hit in the legs by Hibana. Genhaku declares it's time to perform the conert of despair and starts playing guitar. The door behind Genhaku opens and Nagi is sitting inside. Genhaku allows Karako to walk towards Nagi, but Nagi tells Karako to get away from him because he remembered the truth about his child. The truth is that he didn't attack his wife during Carnival Corpse because she was pregnant, but her belly was cut open after the Punishment games and the fetus was put inside a container by Tamaki. Nagi then loses his remaining sanity, sends Karako sprawling with one of his Branch of Sin and then starts attacking everyone in sight.

This can't be good.

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The story has finally built up to the chaotic and climactic battle to end the season. Not too surprisingly, the good guys walk right into Genhaku's trap and it'll take a couple of miracles for them to win. To make things even worse, Nagi has turned into an insane demon of destruction. It seems that what Genhaku said last episode was true, and Nagi had been suppressing the awful memories so he can act "normal". Thanks to Genhaku, Nagi's pain and rage is back, and that certainly can't be good for the good guys... or even the bad guys. Genhaku doesn't really care about his underlings that much anyways and is more interested in seeing bloody destruction. Just goes to show what an hellish place Deadman Wonderland really is.

One thing I found curious was that the events in this episode were different from those in the manga. While the general course of the story was mostly the same, the anime changed a lot of the smaller details. For example, in the manga Ganta arrived with all the Scar Chain members for the rescue operation, but in the episode he arrives by himself. Perhaps the anime is trying to put more emphasis on our protagonist, although it's not like Ganta doesn't get enough attention already. Despite the differences, I'm still expecting the ending of the big battle to be the same though.

Sekirei 117

Sanada and Seo visit Izumo Inn to talk about the next stage of the Sekirei Plan.

Seo: You two really need new phones.

Summary:
Outside of the inn, Sanada is pissed that Tsukiumi splashed him and takes it as a challenge from Minato, but the situation is quickly defused when Miya appears. Sanada takes quite a liking to Miya and forgets about the splashing incident, but Minato and his Sekireis wonder why Sanada is here, and why is he here only by himself. Sanada eventually revealed that he is here because Seo told him to come, and Seo shows up right at that moment. Seo, Sanada, and Minato all received the text message about the fourth stage, and in the text Minaka states that this stage is voluntary, and whoever wants to claim the last four jinkis should assemble at the MBI building in 10 days. All three Ashikabi agree that they are going to participate, and Seo asks the other two whether if they should form an alliance.

Somewhere out in the city, Yukari and Shiina are also planning to fight in the fourth stage.

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The fourth stage is about to start, but as usual it'll probably take a while for the story to build and the action to actually start. Minaka didn't say much about the fourth stage other than participation is voluntary, so the only thing that's probably confirmed is that Minato and Yukari will run into each other and find out that the other is also an Ashikabi. As for Seo's suggestion of an alliance, I guess it'll be fine for the fourth round, but at the end it's every Ashikabi for himself/herself since supposedly there is only one winner. Regardless, let's just hope the series doesn't spend half a year "setting things up" before the fighting starts.

Gantz 342

Tokyo Team loses their Gantz apartment.

The good news is that the Gantz Ball looks to be in one piece. As for the bad news...

Summary;
The Gantz apartment is blown up by the bug aliens, but Nishi grabs Takeshi and jumps out the window down to the streets below to escape. Nishi has no idea why he saved Takeshi, but soon he starts to worry about Gantz (the naked guy in the Gantz ball). Nishi finds the Gantz ball nearby on the streets and finds Gantz dead inside.

Meanwhile in an abandoned district somewhere, the Tokyo team wonders why they are teleported to the location, while the survivors that came with them decide to walk off on their own. The nerdy guy and Yamazaki go coral the survivors while the rest of the team talk about how they should proceed.

Somewhere in the alien city ship, Fra tells Kurono #1 that she is taking him to her apartment to start the search for Tae. Elsewhere, Tae's group led by the two soldiers meet their contact who supposedly has shelter and food. The soldiers are not too sure about the contact and catch up to the guy, but they discover that the "guy" is actually a man-sized puppet of some sort.

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As usual, Gantz is proceeding on multiple narratives, and all of them are going slowly. Nishi actually did save Takeshi which was a slight surprise. The Tokyo Team lose their Gantz ball and guy, and so the Tokyo Team will have to get home on their own. Judging by the "sky", they are probably somewhere inside the alien city ship, but we have yet to see why the team was teleported this location. Meanwhile, Kurono #1 is supposedly getting help from Fra, but Fra's motives are questionable unless she has Stockholm Syndrome. Lastly, looks like Tae is in trouble wherever she goes, because her group runs into some sort of man-sized puppet of unknown origins, and that's likely not a good thing.

Bleach 453

Ichigo finds himself in an episode of the Twilight Zone where his sisters and friends think Tsukishima is his cousin.

I'm in your life and you can never get rid of me...

Summary:
Ichigo returns home and is shocked that his sisters think Tsukishima is a cousin of theirs. Ichigo grabs Tsukishima by the collar and demands to know what he has done, but at this moment Keigo, Tatsuki and Mizuiro show up and they all recognize Tsukishima as a friend. Ichigo tosses Tsukishima into a wall in anger and his friends and sisters are appalled by the action. Ichigo runs away from home, and on the road he is picked up by Ikumi. Ikumi brings Ichigo back to her shop to help Ichigo out, but Tsukishima shows up and Ikumi is friendly to him as well. Ichigo runs out to the streets again and this time he is met by Ginjou, and Ginjou informs Ichigo that Tsukishima has gotten to all of the other Xcution members as well.

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Now that was actually an interesting chapter. Bleach hasn't had something that intrigued for a long time. Ichigo now finds that his family and friends think that his enemy is a friend, and that puts him into quite a predicament. Tsukishima is doing a nice bit of psychological warfare. So Tsukishima has the ability to make people think that he is a friend. Orihime and Chad knew something was up when they were attacked, but maybe they've fallen fully under the spell too. It seems that Ginjou is only one Ichigo can rely on now, but like before I have my suspicions on Ginjou. This could be a setup so that Ichigo listens to whatever Ginjou tells him to do. But of course Ginjou could be good and Tsukishima is Aizen 2.0. I'm still waiting for Urahara/Isshin and also Uryu (didn't seem like he was hit by the "friend" slice) to act on the situation though.

Naruto 544

Naruto declares to A that he is going to save the world.

I'm the protagonist and savior! How many times do I have to repeat that to you side characters?

Summary:
After Killer Bee knocks A down with the lariat, Bee and Tsunade voice their support for Naruto, and Naruto explains that his parents had explained the situation to him (in his internal world) and he is ready to take up the mantle of savior of the world. After listening to Naruto, A knocks Bee aside and charges at Naruto with full power, but Naruto dodges the punch with a yellow flash. A tells Naruto that he passed the test and allows Naruto to go.

Back at Shinobi Army command center, Shikaku comes up with a plan to use Naruto's evil-sensing and shadow clone to combat the White Zetsus. Shikaku thinks Raikage will never allow it, but Katsuyu (Tsunade's slug) has some good news for Shikaku.

Somewhere out in the battlefield, Madara has emerged with his version of the Six Paths of Pain using the bodies of the former tailed beast hosts as the six.

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Naruto is going to be the savior. What else is new? Well, we all knew Naruto would get on the battlefield sooner or later, and it's good that he showed a bit of yellow flash to dodge A's full speed attack. Naruto also will be immediately useful on the battlefield now that Shikaku has come up with the plan to counter the White Zetsus with an army of Narutos. The plan makes perfect sense, but it also sounds a bit funny at the same time.

The thing that would throw a wrench into those plans though is of course Madara, who now has his own version of the Six Paths of Pain. Now it makes for Madara to have the body of the former tailed beast hosts, but didn't Kabuto also summon them back as zombies? So does that means the former hosts are back as two different kind of zombies? That question aside, did Madara steal the nine-tail chakra from the Kin Gin bros so he can make the Six Paths? I guess we'll find out soon enough.

One Piece 629

Jinbe and Luffy get into fisticuffs when they can't agree on how to proceed against Hordy.

Triple Knockout!!!

Summary:
At the sea forest, Jinbe and Luffy are about to go at each other because they can't come to an agreement. Luffy tries to get on Megalo, but Jinbe sends him flying with some Fishman Karate. Luffy fires back with Jet Stamp but Jinbe blocks the attack. The two charge at each other, but suddenly Robin appear in between them telling them to stop. Sanji jumps in to hug Robin but it was only an illusion, and Jinbe and Luffy end up socking each other in the face and Sanji on both cheeks as well, resulting in a triple KO. The real Robin steps out of the woods and tells everyon to calm down. Jinbe and Luffy quickly recover, and Jinbe restates the fact that having humans defeat Hordy would strengthen the perception that humans are oppressing the fishmen. Sanji interjects and states that he and Luffy and the crew do have a reason to fight. Jinbe disagrees, and Luffy and Jinbe are about to come to blows again.

At Ryuuguu palace, Hordy is planning to take King Neptune out of the palace for the public execution, and he is also going over the plan for people from the Fishman District to move into the kingdom. Meanwhile at the Candy Factory, Hordy's henchmen Daruma is terrorizing people by chewing through walls and the ground.

Back at the palace, Brook reveals that he has developed the ability to have his soul leave his body. Using his ghost form, Brook discovers that Pappug is still in the palace and wants to asks Pappug to retrieve a sword for Zoro to cut open the cage. Brook finds Pappug, but Pappug thinks Brook is an evil spirit and runs away.

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The Straw Hats and Jinbe are stuck arguing and make no progress towards stopping Hordy whatsoever, but at least there was the funny scene where Robin lured Sanji in so Luffy, Jinbe and Sanji all ended up being knocked out. Maybe Robin purposely lured Sanji in to soften the blow for Jinbe and Luffy lol. Since Luffy and Jinbe are taking their sweet time, Zoro, Usopp and Brook are really on their own, but good thing Brook has a new trick to do a spiritual projection of himself and Pappug is still free within the palace. If Zoro and company can't get out the cage then they can probably escape from the palace easily. We'll see if by that time if Luffy and Jinbe can work out their differences.

Deadman Wonderland 10

Ganta and the surviving Scar Chain members are held hostage by the Undertakers.

You shouldn't punch the girl who saved your life, even if she's more of less responsible for putting you in this hellhole.

Summary:
The surviving Deadmen stare at Shiro with shock in their eyes after Shiro threw away the data chip. Ganta confronts Shiro about what she has done, and Shiro responds by saying that she did everything to protect Ganta because Ganta is weak. After hearing Shiro’s explanation, Ganta gets riled up and punches Shiro in the face and tells Shiro not to appear in front of him ever again.

Meanwhile, Genkaku has Nagi tied up in his room. After playing a few guitar songs, Genkaku surprises Nagi by asking him to join the Undertakers. Nagi tells Genkaku that he will never join the people who murdered his wife, but Genkaku injects Nagi with syringe and tells him that he will change his mind soon.

In the administrative parts of Deadman Wonderland, Chief Makina has dug up some information on the true purpose of the Deadman Wonderland, and she decides to pursue the issue further by breaking into Assistant Warden Tamaki’s office. With the help of her assistant, Makina starts downloading information from Tamaki’s computer and sees some more information on the Deadmen, but she and her assistant are forced to hide in a chicken costume in the office when Tamaki unexpectedly returns with a military official named Aohi. From within the costume, Makina can hear the conversation between Tamaki and Aohi, and the two are talking about how to use the Nameless Worm for military purposes.

Looks like Makina's assistant is enjoying the mission.

Ganta and company manage to make it back to Scar Chain headquarters where they find Karako, who also managed to survive. Despite the failure of the plan, Karako is confident that Nagi is still alive, and so she decides to try to make the data chip again. After the recent battle, Scar Chain is short on manpower so most of the members are thinking about who to recruit. Ganta approaches Karako and asks to join in again, but Karako is looking for someone with more combat experience. Ganta then starts babbling about how he let Shiro take the chip away, but Karako just tells him to be quiet. At that moment, Rokuro appears and reveals to everyone that he had planted a bomb in the data chip. Rokuro is angry that the Scar Chain members didn’t blow up with the data, and Ganta realizes that Shiro had actually saved them by throwing away the chip. A group of Undertakers drops into the bar, and Rokuro tells the Deadmen that they are all hostages. Rokuro explains that until Nagi changes his mind and becomes an Undertaker, he and the other Undertakers will start executing the Scar Chain members. Rokuro then points at Ganta as the first person to be executed.

A crazy place like Deadman Wonderland calls for extra-crazy faces.

After getting punched by Ganta, Shiro has returned to old man (chief warden) Tamaki’s room and started eating some cookies that the old man used to give her. Shiro acts like she’s happy when she takes out a cookie, but tears starts flowing from her eyes as she eats the cookies.

Senji cuts the over-hyped Undertakers down to size.

Back at the bar, Ganta tries to muster up the courage to fight, but instead he falls down in fear. Rokuro introduces Ganta to the two Undertakers who are going to execute him. One of the Undertakers is a huge man who was raised by a bear and killed/ate a bunch of hunters. The other is a serial killer who had a habit of peeling off women's faces and scalps. As the two Undertakers move towards Ganta, Senji appears out of nowhere and slices them to pieces. Senji is able to negate the Worm Eater by using a supersonic version of his attack, and he and the remaining members of Scar Chain kill most of the other Undertakers and capture Rokuro. After the fight, Ganta sits on the ground in distress and wonders why he is so pitiful. Karako states that it's because Deadman Wonderland is a crazy place, and that's why they have to destroy it before they all become mad. Karako then asks Senji to join Scar Chain, but Senji tells them "hell no" and explains that the world outside is just as crazy.

What was that anti-Branch of Sin stuff you guys were mentioning? Doesn't stop my Branch of Sin.

Meanwhile, Genkaku is wondering why the public execution of Scar Chain members isn't showing up. Nagi is tied up and injected with a lot of drugs, but he tries to be defiant. However, Rokuro's drugs are starting to take effect and Nagi starts seeing images of himself ripping people apart. Rokuro tells Nagi that after his wife died, Nagi went on a rampage and ripped apart scores of Undertakers. As Nagi slowly slips into madness, Genhaku tells Nagi that the Undertakers will welcome that craziness.

Back in the chief warden's room, Shiro suddenly notices that the young boy she saw at the Scar Chain bar is standing on top of the piano. After struggling for a bit, the boy finally remembers his own name and introduces himself as Sakigami Toto, aka "Mockingbird", and he refers to Shiro as the "Wretched Egg." Toto tells Shiro to cheer up as she didn't do anything bad.

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Ganta and Scar Chain faced a lot of setbacks and losses these past two episodes, but in their worst moments they got lucky and thus not all hope is lost yet. So Shiro actually threw away the data chip because she hear Nagi's broadcast and knew the chip was a bomb, and that allowed Ganta and company to survive Rokuro's dastardly little plan. It's unfortunate that Shiro couldn't explain herself very well to avoid the big understanding. On another point, Genhaku should have just crushed Scar Chain with his squad rather than rely on Rokuro's plot, but I guess the manga needed some way to let Ganta survive.

Ganta and company survive the bomb plot only to be held hostage by Rokuro and Undertakers, but once again someone comes to save them. It was awesome how Rokuro spends all this time to introduce the two nasty, bad-ass Undertakers, and then right afterwards Senji slices them into pieces. On top of that, Senji made the other Undertakers look pathetic too by defeating the Worm Eater weaponry with a supersonic slice. Rokuro's stupidly exaggerated crazy faces were kind of fun too as it made Senji's ownage of the Undertakers even more enjoyable. As we can see from this episode, Ganta's win over Senji was obviously a fluke, but at least Ganta knows that he needs to get stronger.

As things stand now, Scar Chain is going for a prison break plan now and possibly a rescue of Nagi, but Nagi is starting to slip in insanity and might become quite dangerous. This all sets up nicely for the upcoming season finale showdown against Genhaku and the remaining Undertakers.

Yellow Version of Blog Theme

I haven't posted anything artwork related in more than half a year, but finally there is something I can show. Being a grad student and having to take care of myself really cuts down on the time I have to draw stuff. Anyways, there is now a yellow version of the blog theme featuring the Yellow Ranger "mascot". The new banner image is the same style as the others: quick and rough pencil sketch colored in Photoshop with a very, very liberal usage of the dodge and burn tools.

(click picture for larger version at DeviantART)

The yellow theme should kick in automatically as the the theme and banners rotate by day (for those who enabled JavaScript; those who don't see nothing). But for those who can't wait, you can click This Link to switch the theme.

Winter 2011 Anime Final Thoughts

The Spring 2011 anime season is heading towards its finish, so what am I doing talking about winter 2011 series? Well... you see, I usually write final thoughts/reviews for each series that I followed but didn't blog weekly for each season, but for various reasons I never managed to write the reviews for the series that ended in winter 2011. It's been too long since the end of that season, so instead of individual posts, I am just going to smack all the series together into one final thoughts post with a paragraph or two for each series. I could have just let things go and nobody would have noticed, but I am the kind of guy who likes to finish what he started, so here are my final thoughts for IS: Infinite Stratos, Freezing, and Star Driver.


Freezing

Plenty of blood and limbs flying in this show.

Synopsis:
The show is about girls (and guys, but mostly the girls) who train at a military academy to fight aliens from another dimension. However, the girls spend most of the time giving each other attitude and fighting each other, which usually leaves them in various states of undress.

Thoughts:
The action was good at parts, and the fact that the fighting was more bloody and violent than the usual "girls fight while having their clothes shredded" shows made the action a more prominent element. The character designs are pretty good and all the girls are attractive, but unfortunately the color and overall look of the animation just feels 'old'. I also disliked most of the characters, mostly because all of the girls act like bitches initially and have no problem beating others within an inch of their lives. They all seem too emotionally unbalanced and undisciplined to be tasked with protecting the world. As for the plot, its only purpose was to chain one conflict after another which would perfectly fine, except for the fact that the conflicts didn't really lead to much overall development of the story. Granted, the series only covered the beginning parts of the Freezing manga, so you can't really say much on the overall story based on just one season.

With plenty of action, boobies, and not to mention hissy fits, Freezing certainly didn't bore, but it certainly wasn't good either. It's not bad enough to be classified as "so bad it's good", but it's not far from that territory.



IS: Infinite Stratos

Having a harem can be dangerous, especially if said harem members have high-tech mecha at their disposal.

Synopsis:
A show is about one guy and a bunch of girls going to an academy to learn how to pilot mechanized exo-skeletons that supposedly can only be piloted by females. As expected, the guy gets plenty of female attention, good or bad.

Thoughts:
I thought IS was an average to above-average show and don't really have any strong opinions about it. The show is a harem-comedy with mecha elements. The main harem comedy component wasn't bad, but it wasn't especially hilarious or romantic. Charlotte was of course very cute, and Laura was a nice "villain" while it lasted, but Ichika seems to be a little too unreceptive/oblivious to be the lead (at least for majority of the series).

As for action, it wasn't shabby either. The CG exo-suits (the ISes) actually looked nice, and there were a couple of very good action sequences during the series. On the downside, the pacing/progression of the battles aren't always the best. Ichika and friends have the tendency to chat in the middle of the fight with the enemy still standing or have some dream sequence that puts awkward breaks in the middle of the action.

Like Freezing, it's too early to say much about IS' story, and there wasn't much of one this season other than the character and setting introductions. Overall, IS was certainly watchable and can be amusing at times, but it just seems to be lacking a little something that would make it into a good show.


Star Driver

Who is most fabulous of them all?

Synopsis:
A fall 2010 series that spanned two seasons, the show is about a guy who swims to an island to attend a school where a number of students/staff are involved in a plot to activate giant robots of unknown origins to take over the world. Our protagonist arrives to put a stop to the plot, and he and the "bad guys" battle using giant robots in a different dimension. While not battling enemy robots, our protagonist hangs out with both his friends and enemies around the island.

Thoughts:
Star Driver was a somewhat peculiar show, but it was peculiar in a good way. Star Driver is about giant robots, but it's can be quite offbeat ranging from the flamboyant styling of various costumes to the quirky but amusing personalities of many of its characters. As a BONES production, the animation quality was excellent especially during the mecha combat sequences. The battles sometimes became a little repetitive from episode to episode, but overall the combat was still quite good.

That being said, the best part of the show is not in the battles but in the complicated web of relationships between all of the characters. The show a love-polygon stemming from the central love triangle between the three main characters, and also protagonist Takuto appeared to be linked to most if not all of the other female characters. The relationship bring out a variety of scenes from comedy to romance, to awkwardness and even heartbreak. The only bad thing about it is that it so complicated that the series didn't have enough time to resolve everything, and we are left hanging. The series also didn't explain "the giant robots in another dimension" business with enough details either. So in the end, Star Driver promised a bit more than it delivered, but it was still the most enjoyable series I watched during the winter 2011 season.

Bleach 452

Ichigo is released from training but gets a nasty surprise at home.

Is it just me, or does this outfit make me look fat?

Summary:
Now that Ichigo has completed his Fullbring, Ginjou puts Ichigo through some physical training and tells Ichigo to do hundreds after hundreds of push-ups. Meanwhile, Orihime has made herself at home inside her "cage" and Riruka shows up to deliver breakfast. After Ichigo is done with the pushups, Ginjou states that he blinded Ichigo during the fight on purpose so that Ichigo can see reiatsu, and this means that Ichigo's shinigami powers are coming back and Ichigo will eventually be able to transcend shinigami powers. Ginjou then tells Ichigo to try transforming again, and Ichigo's new outfit is a full body armor suit and the representative shinigami badge serves as guard of Ichigo's new sword. Ginjou then remembers that Ichigo's Fullbring doesn't have a name yet.

Some time later, Ichigo and Orihime are released from Yukio's video game. Thanks to Yukio's fast-forward ability, it's only been 90 minutes in the real world. Ichigo returns home and is welcomed by Yuzu who states that a cousin has come to visit. Yuzu leads Ichigo to the living room, and Ichigo is shocked to see Tsukishima sitting on the couch.

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

Ichigo's new transformation is quite the departure from his previous looks. No more black robes or coats, but a full-body armor/ninja-superhero get-up complete with what can be described as facial bandages. I guess the look is appropriate since Ichigo is a superhero of sorts and also isn't a shinigami anymore. It's not a bad look, but it'll take a little getting used to.

And so the story takes a break from training and lets Ichigo go home, but he suddenly finds Tsukishima in his house. Tsukishima probably messed with Yuzu's memory to make her think he was a cousin. I wonder if Karin is at home and if so did she have her memories reprogrammed as well. Tsukishima being at Ichigo's home is at least a somewhat meaningful development, so can't complain much. Maybe this will be the time for Ichigo to put his new power to the test.

I wonder when Isshin and Urahara will show up again...

Naruto 543

Killer Bee tries to help Naruto get past A.

We don't hug. Instead, we give each other lariats as show of affection!

Summary:
In the flashback, A isn't willing to let Minato go so easily and charges. A thinks he figured out Minato's teleportation, but suddenly Minato teleports behind Bee because he had made a marking on Bee's tentacle. Bee and Minato point their blades at each other. Back in the present, Naruto sees that A is distracted and tries to zip past, but A reacts in time to bounce Naruto away. Bee tries to take down A with a lariat, but A shrugs it off and elbows Bee. Bee slows A down with a tentacle to let Naruto past, but A tosses Bee into Naruto.

At this point A demands some help from Tsunade, but Tsunade decide to side with Naruto. Bee goes for a lariat again but also gives A another fist bump for another flashback. The flashback starts after the previous Raikage's funeral. A is distraught and tells Bee to go learn the Tailed Beast Bomb and states that Bee is never allowed to leave the village again. Back in the present, A bounces Bee away, but Bee isn't giving up. Both A and Bee hit each other with the lariat, but it is Bee who sends A crashing to the floor, and afterwards Bee states that he has grown strong because of A and reminds A of their vow to be a tag team.

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I wanted to see what happened at the end of the battle between Minato and A & Bee, but the flashback just had to cut off right then and there. It would have been hilarious if A and Bee knocked each other out when they hit each other with the lariat. It would have been somewhat appropriate given A and Bee's characters, but then again that could never happen since it would take away Bee's opportunity to make a speech and get the last word. Anyways, it seems like the flashbacks of the tag team bros are over, and Naruto and Bee will probably get past A one way or another. There's no point dragging this out longer than it has to.

One Piece 628

Hordy announces his intention to take over Ryuuguu Kingdom and execute King Neptune.

Never knew that Luffy cared so much about the dollar value on his head. The fame might be getting into his head a little.

Summary:
On big screens everywhere throughout Fishman Island, Hordy announces that he is taking over the Ryuuguu Kingdom and tells all humans and sympathizers to scram. Hordy adds that all the shady people from the Fishman District are migrating into the kingdom. Hordy shows the injured and bound King Neptune on the screen and states that he will publicly execute the king in three hours. Hordy has men has also found the signatures collected by Fukaboshi and states that he'll track down and kill everyone who signed. Finally, Hordy shows Zoro, Usopp, and Brook trapped in a cage hung inside a flooding room and declares that he will take Luffy's head to show that humans are inferior.

Somewhere in the Sea Forest, Robin is reading a Poneglyph and notices that it's a little different than the others she has read.

After the announcement, Shiraboshi is eager to go save her father but is convinced by Hachi to stay. Luffy is also eager to go rescue his crew mates, but Jinbe states that he should go because Luffy, being a human, would only incite more human vs. fishman hate. Luffy isn't going to stand by and watch, and Jinbe is prepared to stop Luffy by force if he needs to.

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Not too much out of the ordinary this chapter. Hordy makes all the expected announcement, and now it's up to the good guys to respond. Killing all the people who gave signatures seems like quite an undertaking, but Hordy is crazy enough to do it. Before anything else happens though, Luffy and Jinbe might get into a little scuffle which is counterproductive at this point. Both Jinbe and Luffy have valid view points, and I don't see either of them backing down on their own, so someone has to talk them out of it or it will be a fight. Worst comes to worst, Zoro, Usopp, and Brook might have to free themselves.

All of the Straw Hats are involved now except for Robin who is still on her archeological hunt. I wonder if the Poneglyph she read has anything to do with the ongoing situation?

Deadman Wonderland 09

The Scar Chain operation runs into trouble.

Time for the knockout punch!

Summary:
After buying time for Ganta and the other Scar Chain members to escape, Karako turns back and pummels the Macro Necro with her Branch of Sin. The Macro Necro explodes and sends Karako and the bridge falling into the darkness below.

Always be careful of people with big swords, and be extra careful if the wielder is a little girl.

At the control room, Nagi and Rokuro overpower the guards to gain access to the controls. The pair are supposed to pull a lever so that Ganta's group can proceed up an elevator, but Rokuro doesn't pull the lever. Instead, a elementary school girl with a big bag appears, and Nagi soon realizes that Rokuro works for the Undertakers and that the little girl Hibana is an Undertaker squad leader. Hibana unzips her bag to reveal a giant segmented sword, and she proceeds to use the sword to bash Nagi around the room. Nagi tries to use his Branch of Sin but Hibana's weapon has the "Worm Eater" which cancels out Branches of Sin.

You don't want to know where these came from.

Nagi gets to a pulp but refuses to give in. Rokuro reminds Hibana that Rokuro wants Nagi alive, so Hibana decides to torture Nagi through Death by a Thousand Cuts and giving him cut after cut. Nagi however still refuses to give in and insults Hibana, and this causes her to get angry. It's revealed that Hibana's mother trained and tortured Hibana in various inhumane ways. Hibana's mother eventually hanged herself, and Hibana's twisted sense of right and wrong led her to dismember several of her kindergarten classmates which landed her into Deadman Wonderland. At present, Hibana's rage causes her to cut off Nagi's left arm, but Nagi tosses that arm into Hibana's face and makes the arm explode to knock out Hibana. Nagi then knocks Rokuro out and pulls the level to the elevator before falling to the ground.

A dismembered arm still has blood.

Ganta's group had been waiting a long time for the elevator and is relieved when the elevator finally activates. However, the relief soon turns into despair as the group is met by Genhaku's Undertakers at the top. Using their anti-worm equipment, the Undertakers slaughter the Scar Chain members, but before Ganta and a few remaining are killed off, Genhaku and his men decide to retreat.

That's a pretty cool guitar.

Back in the control room, Rokuro wakes up and taunts Nagi about how everything fell into his plans. The data chip has no data at all, and of course Genhaku ambushed the other Scar Chain members. As Rokuro and the Undertakers leave, Nagi pulls out his teeth communicator and calls back to the bar for help from anyone. Some time later, Shiro arrives at the bar looking for Ganta, and she finds a strange guy with a white outfit who smiles at her.

Ganta and the few surviving Scar Chain members wonder why the Undertakers left, but they decide to continue the mission. Suddenly, Shiro appears out of a duct and asks Ganta about the data chip. Ganta shows it to Shiro, and Shiro immediately grabs it and tosses it into a burning room. Shiro slams the door as the room (full of flammable materials and on fire from the battle) explodes as Ganta and the others watch in disbelief.

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When things go wrong in Deadman Wonderland, they really go wrong. Nagi is tortured and beaten 90% to death, and Ganta's group get slaughtered thanks to Rokuro's treachery. With the anti-worm weaponry, the normally formidable Deadman can't seem to do much against the Undertakers. Nagi managed to "win" through sheer willpower, but his act ends up sending many other Scar Chain members to his death, and he didn't even kill Hibana and Rokuro. Following tradition, Hibana cutting up Nagi was rather bloody and gory, but on the other hand the series did shy away from directly showing Hibana being tortured by her own mother which may or may not have been shown in the manga.

So things go to hell for Ganta and Scar Chain, although for some reason Ganta and a few others were spared by Genhaku. There is probably some diabolical reasoning behind Genhaku's retreat, but from an efficiency standpoint it would have been easier if Genhaku's crew just wiped out Scar Chain then and there. At the end, Shiro makes a surprise appearance and more surprisingly tosses away the data chip. Prior to that she met a stranger at the Scar Chain bar, and it probably had something to do with that person and also Nagi's cry for help over the radio. Regardless of Shiro's reasoning, I have a feeling that Ganta and the other Scar Chain members are not going to take this very well.

Amanchu! Special Chapter

The feline characters are out and about in this special chapter.

Aria needs to be much bigger to block the door.

Summary:
It's not quite summer vacation yet and students are still going to school. Hime (the little kitten Hikari and Futaba rescued and now taken in by the principal) wakes up at the school and wants to suckle a finger, but she finds the principal's finger too big and smelly. Hime then remembers Hikari and Futaba, and despite Aria (aka Consultant Cha of the Diving Club) telling her that the two girls are in class, Hime decides to seek out Hikari and Futaba anyways. And so Aria is forced to follow Hime in order to make sure the kitten stayed out of trouble along the way. After being rescued from a pond, Hime wonders why Aria is following her. Aria can't quite admit that he likes Hime, but Hime really doesn't care all that much and continues on towards her destination. The two cats eventually stroll into the classroom, and Hime jumps onto Futaba's lap while Aria jumps onto Hikari's.

Later in the day, the principal spots Aria returning with a sleeping Hime on his back. Aria sets Hime into her bed and then falls asleep besides her, and the principal comments that this is true love.

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It's no secret that Amano-sensei loves her feline friends, and so it wasn't too surprising that Amanchu! would devote a chapter to the feline characters. It also wasn't surprising that the little kitten is named Hime, and now just like in Aria, the cat named Aria is in love with the cat named Hime. This was a cute and fluffy chapter, and Hime and Aria were amusing as the little kitten who does what she wants and the secret protector respectively. It's not quite mutual love yet, but at least we know the two of them get along.

Gantz 341

Nishi and Takashi are attacked in the Gantz apartment.

Drowning in alien flesh.

Summary:
The bug aliens continue to teleport into the Gantz apartment and they attack by blowing themselves up. Takeshi is hurt by one of the explosions, but he and Nishi manage to escape by jumping out the window.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Tokyo team are at a processing plant wondering why Gantz is not transmitting them back. Kaze has a bad feeling about Takeshi and screams for Gantz to send them. The transmission finally starts, but instead of being sent back to the apartment the team and survivors are sent into an abandoned area of a city.

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Things take a turn for the worse for the Tokyo Team again as they lose their Gantz ball. No more raids to the processing plants, and instead most of the Tokyo Team is sent to who-knows-where. The bug aliens that attacked the apartment are rather weak and only blew themselves up, but they do the job because they are so numerous. It does look like Nishi escaped, although I am not 100% if Takeshi jumped out as well. Not much else to say at this point other and we'll just have to wait and see what happens next.

Naruto 542

The story of A and B(ee).

Fast, but not fast enough.

Summary:
A and Bee become brothers and they go through missions together. Because of his talent, Bee is chosen to be the next host for the hachibi when the previous host dies. After Bee becomes the host, A and Bee get into a fight with Minato during a mission. After finding out Bee is host, Minato and the Konoha contingent retreat, but Minato advises A to take care of Bee.

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

A little bit to story time about A and Bee to put off any potential fight between Naruto/Bee and A. We now know that Bee became the host after teaming up with A, but other than that the story didn't show too much more than what we've already known or suspected. I guess A will be a good brother and keep Bee happy so Bee doesn't go into a depression. Bee always seems to be in high spirits and goofy, but maybe he needed some support back then. Hopefully the flashback will end next week and we can see Naruto use Minato's Flying Thunder God technique against A's technique. Minato was faster than A, so let's see if Naruto will be as well.

Bleach 451

Ginjou gives Ichigo some tough love training.

Should we be worried now that Ichigo has a sword through his stomach?

Summary:
Ginjou continues to beat on the half-blinded Ichigo and starts acting evil. Orihime tries to help, but Ginjou gets Yukio to trap Orihime in a soundproof cage. Ichigo is pissed off but unable to defend himself, and Ginjou cuts Ichigo down and stakes Ichigo to the ground with his sword. Ginjou then mentions he'll go kill Chad and Orihime. Ichigo struggles and suddenly he can sense Ginjou's reiatsu. Ichigo's Fullbring suddenly transforms and releases an explosive amount of energy. After the energy fades, Ginjou explains that he had to be around at the time when Ichigo completes his Fullbring so Ginjou can prevent the energy from ruining Ichigo's body. Ginjou reveals that his "evilness" was all an act and once again welcomes Ichigo to Xcution.

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

Once again, Ichigo gets a power-up when he is pushed to the brink. The chapter was kind of fun when Ginjou was being an evil bastard and beating Ichigo up, but we all suspected from the beginning that it was an act to get Ichigo to hit his limit and miraculously power up again. This still doesn't prove that Ginjou has good intentions; it only proves that making Ichigo's Fullbring complete is part of his plans.

So in the end Ichigo gets another transformation. From what the chapter shown, it looks like Ichigo is wearing a striped referee's shirt. I wonder if that means anything lol.

Rosario + Vampire II 42

Tsukune resumes training, while Akua takes Moka to Fairy Tale home base.

The monster that never goes away.

Summary:
Thanks to Kurumu's intervention, Touhou's operation to power up Tsukune is a success, and Tsukune can now wield considerable yoki in his attacks. After testing out his new and improved body, Tsukune goes to thank Kurumu. Even though Tsukune wasn't in control during the rampage, he still has vague memories and knows that Kurumu had kissed him to bring him back, and the two have an embarrassing but enjoyable silence. Tsukune's mind then moves back to his training and Moka and he promises in his mind to rescue Moka. Kurumu tries to reach for Tsukune's hand for some hand-holding, but she is interrupted by Yukari, Mizore and Ruby who had been hiding in the bushes.

In the skies far away, the airship carrying Akua and Moka and getting close to their destination. In the airship, Akua asks Outer Moka a bunch of memory questions and figures out that the memory of Akasha's "disappearance" is suppressed in Outer Moka. While Akua was a staunch fan of Inner Moka before, but through questioning she decides that Outer Moka is quite cute too. Shortly after, the airship arrives at the floating fortress that serves as Fairy Tale's home base. The base is defended by an army and a lot of weapon emplacements. Moka's arrival is watched to by Karua and Fujisaki, and Karua is worried what Fairy Tail will do if Moka tries to escape. Back in the landing bay, Akua advises Moka not to try to escape and also tells Moka to forget about her friends, but when Moka refuses Akua gets the murderous look in her eyes.

Akua then states that she'll take Moka to "see her mother". Akua leads Moka deep into the fortress and down an elevator into a huge chamber. Inside the chamber Moka is shocked by sight of the massive Alucard, and Akua explains that Akasha sacrificed herself to put Alucard to sleep, and right now Akasha is inside Alucard and has probably merged with him. Akua then adds that her mother was Alucard's daughter, and so she and Moka's fates are tied with Alucard.

Meanwhile, Fujisaki rides a platform down to meet with Karua's mother who is also the chief commander of Fairy Tale. Karua's mother watches Moka on the monitor and comments that Moka will be the key to waking up Alucard to destroy the humans.

The mastermind is finally revealed.

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

Things have calmed down on Tsukune's side of things, and the narrative is moving back to Moka and Fairy Tale. Tsukune gets his power up and will probably undergo some (mostly) off screen training, and Kurumu isn't depressed anymore. It's hard to say if Kurumu has gotten closer to Tsukune because of the incident; most likely things are just back to the way before, and Moka is still the first priority on Tsukune's mind.

With Tsukune's side taken care of, the story moves back to Moka and her capture. So Fairy Tale's chief commander is Karua's mother, which explains why Karua said that the Shuzen family supports Fairy Tale. We don't know much about Mrs. Shuzen just yet, but she is probably the classic evil bitch, and she probably don't like Moka much due to Moka being Akasha's daughter. I wonder where Moka's father Icha Shuzen is in the picture, and what role (if any) he has in Fairy Tale and the plan to resurrect Alucard.

Another interesting fact that was revealed was that Akua is actually Alucard's granddaughter. If it is true, that also explains why Akua was so eager to gain Alucard's powers during the flashback. I don't think Karua and Akua have the same mother, so Akua's mother is probably some other person. The whole plan about resurrecting Alucard is becoming an increasingly complex family drama with Moka's family. I'm guessing the bad guys will try to work on Moka's seal, but the seal will probably hold for long enough for Tsukune and friends to mount a rescue.

Deadman Wonderland 08

Ganta joins Scar Chain in their plan to expose the real Deadman Wonderland to the world.

Aceman denies impromptu rock concert by someone who sucks at playing guitar!

Summary:
Genhaku gets ready to unleash some hell on Ganta with his guitar cannon, but Shiro suddenly comes through a vent on the ceiling and stomps the guitar in half and this forces Genhaku to retreat. Afterwards, Ganta and company are met by Scar Chain's intel/hacker guy Rokuro who dislikes Ganta on first sight. Nagi and Karako gather up the rest of the Scar Chain crew to meet Ganta and have some drinks together. Nagi and Karako then start briefing everyone about their plan to escape from the prison, and the timing of the plan coincides with the government inspection that will take place at the prison the next week. Because of the inspection, the inhumane show will temporarily be put to a stop. The problem is of course getting past the Undertakers who are the worst of the worst criminals specially trained and equipped by promoter Tamaki to deal with Deadmen. Ganta mentions that Genhaku somehow repelled his Branch of sin attack, but Rokuro shows a video where Genhaku appears to just dodge Ganta's attack. Everyone starts laughing at Ganta, and the humiliated Ganta decides to leave with Shiro.

Hey, why are you zooming in there? My face is up here. Hello?

In a locker room, Makina and her assistant get ready to go steal some of Tamaki's data while Tamaki is busy handling officials. Meanwhile, Tamaki learns of the chief warden's death and is happy that Deadman Wonderland is finally his.

Ganta returns to near his quarters and chats with Senji. Ganta tells Senji about the Undertakers and Nagi, and Senji states that Nagi is probably out for revenge as his wife was killed by the Undertakers. Nagi was force to face his wife (also a Deadman) in Carnival Corpse and purposely let her wife win. Nagi lost her vocal cords for the loss, but promoter Tamaki punished Nagi further for throwing the fight by having Genhaku kill Nagi's wife. Ganta returns to his quarters to find Nagi there with Shiro. Ganta asks Nagi about his past, and Nagi explains that he is not out for revenge but for freedom so he can see his kid who is on the outside. At night, Ganta can't sleep and asks Shiro what she wants to do if she could leave the prison, and Shiro states that she likes to ride the Ferris Wheel. Ganta is inspired by Shiro's words and promises Shiro they would ride it together if they can escape. At Undertaker HQ, Genhaku gets a new guitar cannon, and it's revealed that Rokuro actually works for Genhaku and is trying to lead Scar Chain to its doom.

Genhaku even sucks at air guitar.

You never know when your last meal is in DW, and thus it's perfect time for a big meal.

The next day, Ganta goes back to Scar Chain's tavern and decides to join the operation. Shiro wants to join to but is convinced to leave by Karako. With Shiro gone, Nagi starts the briefing again and explains that the goal of the operation is not to break out but just to sneak some incriminating data on Tamaki out of the prison. Nagi and Rokuro will attack the G Ward control room while the others try to sneak the data stick out. Soon after, the operation starts and Nagi and Rokuro attack the control room. The others led by Karako try to sneak past a bridge, but suddenly the security alert is tripped and the group is attacked by a Macro Necro security robot. The robot spits acid which dissolves one of the Scar Chain members. The bridge starts falling apart, and Karako desperately tries to hold the bridge together for the others to cross. As the Macro Necro draws closer, Karako tosses the data stick to Ganta and entrusts him with completing the mission.

I'm melting!!! Melting!!!

Ugh yeah..., you actually are.

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The Scar Chain "story arc" officially begins, and despite changing his mind a few times Ganta gets involved in a dangerous mission to expose Deadman Wonderland's secrets to the world. This all happens rather quickly, but Ganta's actions are understandable since Deadman Wonderland is such a crazy and hellish place. To make things worse though, Rokuro actually works for Genhaku, which means Ganta and the other Scar Chain members are in a lot more trouble than they realize. As such, the operation is not likely to go well unless something miraculous happens... but of course we know at least Ganta will survive somehow.

I find it surprising that Scar Chain actually has so many members. You'd think the prison staff would have taken action earlier, but I guess Genhaku and the Undertakers are waiting and setting up that one opportunity to take down all the Scar Chain members in one fell swoop. As for promoter Tamaki, Scar Chain really isn't even on his radar, but he probably leaves it to Genhaku to take care of things.

Not much else going on in this episode besides the Scar Chain stuff. Makina is slowly making her move against Tamaki, and for some reason I thought the changing scene with the fan service was kind of funny. Probably because it was slotted into the middle of an otherwise "serious" episode lol.

To Love-Ru Darkness 08 & Mikan Special

In chapter 8, Riko (Rito's female form) gets groped and licked by Momo and Mea. That is exactly what happens in this chapter. I wish I was kidding but I am not.

Also around two weeks ago, a special chapter was released where Mikan is hit by Celine's pollen and Momo tries to tempt Mikan into "getting together" with Rito.

What kind of reaction would a girl have when her older brother is turned into a girl and is being groped by another girl?

Chapter 8 summary:
Mea's boss Nemesis learns of Yami's plan to turn Mea towards humanity, but Nemesis believes that the darkness in Mea's heart will turn Yami back into a killer and so it's not a bad idea for Mea to get closer to Yami's allies.

The next day at school, Mea appears to have opened up and is getting along with everyone, but Momo is still weary of her. During break, Mea sees the perverted principal with a poster of Run, and Nana and Haruna explain that Run is an alien who change back and forth between girl to boy with a sneeze. Mea wonders how a person can suddenly change genders, and to demonstrate Lala pulls out her sex-change ray gun and blasts Rito with it, changing him into Riko. Rito demands that Lala change him back, but Lala states that the ray gun has run out of power and Riko is forced to run when Saruyama appears.

At Rito's house, Mikan returns and discovers that Riko is at home after having skipped school for the rest of the day due to her predicament. To make things worse, Lala made Rito dress up as a maid, and Mea is also visiting and starts groping and licking Rito's boobs. Later, Mea is treated to tea and puts in a ton of sugar. She then gives Celine a sip and Celine spits the tea into Riko's face, causing her to fall boob-first into Nana. Nana takes it as a shot to her flat chest and slaps Riko.

After the accident, Riko goes to her room to clean up. After stripping, Riko starts checking out her own body in the mirror. Momo suddenly appears and states that she'll teach Riko about the female body. Riko tries to use Mea as an excuse to get Momo to stop, but Momo states that Mea had left. Momo then proceeds to touch and grope Riko on the bed until Mea unexpectedly appears at the window. Mea explains that she purposely left so she can return and see the "real" Momo. Mea then reveals her ability to enter people's dreams and recalls what she saw in Rito's dream to Momo, and Momo actually blushes when she learns that Rito has naughty dreams about here. Mea asks Momo to let her help with the harem plan (except for helping to convert Yami), and Momo agrees because she wants to drag Mea's master out into the open. Mea proceeds to grope and lick Riko, and instead of helping Riko Momo starting giving Mea advice. Riko suddenly transforms back into Rito, and at this moment Mikan walks into the naughty scene.

Outside the house, Run had come to visit Rito and can hear all the commotion coming from within the house.

This is Rito's future... wait, it's his present and future.

Mikan Special summary:
One day at home, Mikan discovers that Celine has gotten drunk on cola and gets sprayed by Celine's pollen. Rito and Nana returns to find Celine drunk and Mikan with the flower on her head, but Mikan appears to be resistant to the effects of the pollen. However deep down, Mikan is becoming hot and bothered thinking about Rito. Momo notices this and tries to set Rito and Mikan up several times. On the final try, Momo tells Rito that Mikan is not feeling well and Rito checks if Mikan has a fever by touching foreheads. This sends Mikan over the edge and Mikan pushes Rito onto the floor is about to kiss Rito, but at the last moment Mikan manages to resist and shoves Rito away. Having witnessed the incident, Momo concludes that Mikan is not quite ready to take the next step yet, and a little later the effects of the pollen wears off on Mikan.

Mikan can't fight the temptation anymore...

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Ugh... this was not a good chapter. Instead of continuing on with Mea and Yami's relationship, the series brought out Riko just so she can be groped and molested mercilessly by Momo and Mea. I guess because Riko is the female form of Rito who is a guy, Riko can be groped and molested more explicitly than the other real female characters? And of course because Riko is girl, she can't resist getting touched.

Basically, this chapter was more or less hentai, just without the sex. There is a line between amusingly naughty and porn, and Darkness has never crossed that line further than in this chapter. The excessive fan service of the series is somewhat forgivable when there are other stuff in the chapter such as comedy, action or plot developments, but not enough of these were present in this chapter. I'm also a bit disappointed that Mea turned out to be huge pervert, but maybe this is just a part of her/her boss' strategy to defeat Momo.

Moving on, it looks like the next chapter will feature Run, and hopefully Momo will go back to her antics of trying to expand Rito's harem. Momo is more fun to watch when she tries to get other girls together with Rito, so the next chapter should at least be better than this one. Run is already openly in love with Rito, but I'm sure sneezing and Ren will get involved somehow. It's what happens in most of Run's appearances.

Finally, the Mikan Special was short but cute. Unlike chapter 8, the fan service wasn't so excessive, and Mikan being teased and tempted into going after Rito was fun to read.

Claymore 115

Raki helps the trainees fight off guards while Miria and company continue battling the Abyss Feeders.

Must have a good showing because all the pretty girl trainees are watching me.

Summary:
One of the new twins breaks into Raki's prison. The twin thinks Raki is an enemy and attacks, but Raki jumps away and takes a dull training sword from one of the other trainees. The other twin joins in and Raki has a brief sword fight with the twins until they come to a standstill. The twins wonder why Raki's movements are similar to theirs, and Raki explain that the person who trained him was also a warrior. After learning about the trainees' plan to escape, Raki decides to lend a hand to the trainees.

Outside, Miria and the warriors are having trouble against the Abyss Feeders. The Abyss Feeders become more experienced and harder to defeat as the battle goes on, and Miria and company realize time is not on their side. Suddenly, the Abyss Feeders launch an attack on the weaker warriors, but the new twins appear to force the Abyss Feeders back. The warriors wonder why the twins are here and not with the other trainees, and the twins explain that they left the other trainees in Raki's protection.

In a room somewhere within the base, Raki is fighting off the black-clad guards of the Organization. Since all the guards are human, Raki has no problem beating them up with the training sword.

Meanwhile, Dae is watching the battle between the warriors and the Abyss Feeders from a window when other handlers arrive to ask Dae about his work. Dae reports that he already completed the work and sent out the three resurrected no. 1 into the battlefield. Dae adds that the three might have some obedience problems, but they should do a better job than the inexperienced Abyss Feeders that were sent out. Not far away, Deneve's group notice a large youki suddenly appearing in the middle of the base and quicken their pace towards the base.

In the main meeting room inside Organization HQ, the other handler complain to Rimuto about Dae and suggest that the three resurrected warriors be retrieved, but Rimuto states that it's too late and all they can hope for is that the three won't awaken.

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As expected, Raki joins forces with the escaping trainees and shows himself to be a much more powerful fighter than the average human. Raki has no trouble beating up the guards, but if the guards suck that much why couldn't the new twins wipe them out before going to help Miria's group? I guess it's all to make Raki see some action and make cool poses, but what happens if he encounters a Claymore-level opponent?

The Organization's latest and greatest weapons are finally released into the open this chapter, but too bad we won't see the three zombie no. 1s in action until at least next chapter. The start of the whole revolt was ridiculous (Miria inspiring all the other Claymores and trainees by being hacked to a pulp... so much bullshit), but it can certainly end well with a massive battle involving Deneve's group and the debut of the three resurrected no. 1s. Priscilla vs. Rafaela/Luciela had tons of build-up but didn't deliver much of a battle, so maybe this time will be the opposite: not much build up but a heart-pounding, gritty battle the end things off?

Mid-season Anime Thoughts Spring 2011

Here is another one of my mid-seasons impressions post for anime series that I follow but don't blog on a weekly basis. Strictly speaking, it's already past the middle of the season, and the lateness is the result of other stuff I have to attend to. I have been watching less and less anime lately, and this season I only have two series to talk about in this post.


Hidan no Aria

I'm a cute tsundere loli! Pay attention to me!

After seven episodes, Hidan no Aria has shown itself to be an enjoyable watch. It's nothing groundbreaking, but there is enough in the show to keep it from sinking into the realm of "merely okay". Aria's tsundere antics are kind of cute without being too annoying, and Kinji is fun when he goes into hysteria mode. The action and production quality are decent, but we've seen better from J.C. Staff. It's too early to say much about the story especially given how it's structure. As the series is based on light novels, the storytelling is divided into arcs spanning a few episodes, and right now we are only onto the second arc. The first arc was okay and did its job introducing the cast, and hopefully things will get better from there.


Maria Holic Alive

Mariya is right most of the time, but sometimes he can be a little too strict.

Maria Holic Alive is more or less the same as the first season, other than perhaps Kanako being even whinier than before. Kanako still has her elaborate and perverted fantasies about the girls at the Academy, and she continues getting shot down/kept in check by Mariya, Matsurika and others. Just like before, some of the comedy work out very well (for example, the end of Kanako's diet attempt), while other attempts fall flat. There isn't much development in terms of the overall story (the cross the Kanako has and its connection to Mariya's family), but then again it's not the type of show to focus on any sort of story. It's still the same eccentric, bizarrely styled, hit-and-miss show. I think Maria Holic Alive has enough funny moments to make it watchable, but that's no surprise given I sat through the first season and this season is quite similar.

Naruto 541

Naruto and Killer Bee try to get past A and Tsunade.

You talk smack about my dad!? That's it. I'm challenging you to a rap battle!

Summary:
Naruto and Bee are confronted by A and Tsunade. Naruto tries to get past A, but A is fast enough to keep up with Naruto's fox mode and forces Naruto back with a punch. A then claims to be the fastest ninja alive since the death of the Fourth Hokage and then starts talking smack about the Fourth, and this pisses Naruto off. Seeing that Naruto won't back off, A decides that he'll kill Naruto in order to stop Madara's plans despite Tsunade's complaints. A attacks Naruto but Bee step in to block the punch. Bee then give A a fist bump to start a flashback.

Years ago, A was already destined to be the next Raikage, but by tradition he needs a tag team partner called "Bee", so a rag tag group of kids were selected to see if they can become "Bee". To see who can become Bee, each candidate will perform a double lariat with A to see if they can decapitate a rubber doll. Most of the kids fail and are overwhelmed by A's strength, but one short kid with sunglasses successfully performs the task and is selected to be Bee, and that kid is the current Killer Bee.

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I expected a bit of a battle between the equally hardheaded Naruto and A, but this is turning into a flashback segment instead. A is fast and powerful enough to give Naruto a challenge, but we'll have to sit through some family history of A & Bee first. So it turns out that Killer Bee isn't A's biological brother, which explains why only A resembles the previous Raikage. We don't know if Killer Bee was already the host of the eight-tails during the double lariat test, but we'll find out soon. Given that Naruto doesn't seem to be going anywhere in a hurry, a bit of flashback probably won't make things any worse.

Bleach 450

Ichigo trains against Ginjou while Riruka chats with Orihime some more.

You cannot deny Orihime from eating donuts.

Summary:
Ichigo continues to fight against Ginjou while Orihime watch from the sidelines. Riruka enters the training dimension with a box of donuts, and Orihime uses her googly eyes to get some of the donuts. Riruka continues to try to be unfriendly to Orihime, but after finding out the Orihime had abusive parents and lost her brother Riruka decides she should just leave and let Orihime have all the donuts.

While fighting Ginjou, Ichigo wonders why he can't "feel" Ginjou's blade like he did Tsukishima's or previous opponents. Ginjou tells Ichigo that he's thinking too much and suddenly Ichigo is sliced across the eyes and blinded. Orihime rushes in but Ginjou stops her, and Ginjou states that he'll bring back Ichigo's willingness to fight.

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... the training continues, and so does Riruka's one-sided "competition" with Orihime. There wasn't much going on the training front until the end where Ginjou blinds Ichigo out of nowhere. As for the girls, it was amusing to see Orihime using her googly eyes to procure some donuts, but other than that not much going on there either. By the looks of things, Ginjou will have to beat up Ichigo some more before Ichigo gets another power-up. Maybe Ichigo will develop the power of a blind samurai or something...

One Piece 627

Jinbe finishes his story.

The final goodbye...

Summary:
Otohime dies from the gunshot wound. Jinbe, Hordy (formally Hodi... scanlators decided to changed his name) and guards catch up to and kill the assassin who turn out to be a human pirate. Jinbe tells the guards to keep things quiet in order not to ruin Otohime's efforts, but Hordy takes the culprit and parades him in front of the crowd. Otohime assassination prompts King Neptune to lock himself inside a tower so he doesn't go on a rampage. King Neptune struggles to contain his own anger and expresses frustration at the cycle of hate that all the fighting and killing has created.

Some time later, the royal palace receives the marriage proposal from Vander Decken to Shirahoshi, and King Neptune tells his children not to attend their mother's funeral in person. During the funeral, Fukaboshi speaks to the crowd via monitor and declares that he will start the Reverie signature campaign from scratch and carry on his mother's work, and his speech prompts all in attendance to tear up.

Back to the present, Jinbe apologizes to Nami for setting Arlong free into the East Blue, but Nami tells Jinbe not to feel so guilty about it. The group then start talking about the current situation, and Hachi states that Hordy probably wants to stop the current Reverie campaign. Hachi adds that unlike Arlong, Hordy will destroy anyone who gets in the way, including fellow fishmen. At this moment, the group notices a giant Denden Mushi with a TV screen crawling out of the forest. The screen turns on and Hordy is on stage getting ready to address the inhabitants of Fishman Island.

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Jinbe's account of the history of Fishman Island ends with Otohime's death and the Reverie signature campaign derailed yet again. I like how the flashbacks lead right back into the current situation with Hordy threatening to derail the Reverie campaign once again. Overall, Jinbe's story has been decent. It wasn't super-detailed and moved quickly from event to event, but it was concise and got the point across. I was hoping there would be more to Otohime's murder; it'd be interesting if it was some sort of plot rather than just a random human gunman being responsible for the murder. There's still a chance that's the case, but it doesn't look likely. Back to the present, Hordy is in control of the situation at the moment, but of course the Straw Hats and allies will fight back soon. Too bad it won't be next week as One Piece is on break.