To Love-Ru Darkness 15

Tearju meets Yami again at school.

You'd pay more attention if Tearju was teaching your class... but probably not more attention than what she is teaching.

Summary:
Tearju becomes Rito's class' assistant homeroom teacher. Because Tearju is beautiful and klutzy, she is very popular with the male students. Lala, Haruna and the other girls in the class note that Tearju looks like a grown up version of Yami, but their personalities are completely different. At the library, Momo tells Yami about Tearju, but Yami doesn't seem to be in a hurry to see Tearju again. Momo then gets interrupted by Risa who starts groping Momo. Meanwhile, Rito is at the nurse's room talking to Mikado. Mikado reveals that she and Oshizu had tracked down Tearju and brought her to Earth. Mikado and Tearju were classmates in high school but they lost contact once Tearju joined the secret research agency. Mikado states that Tearju hasn't talked to Yami yet after arriving on Earth and both are reluctant to see each other.

After talking with Mikado, Rito tracks down Tearju and asks her to go to talk Yami. Tearju thanks Rito for looking after Yami, but then she admits that she feels guilty about leaving Yami behind and hasn't worked up the courage to talk to Yami yet. At this moment, the perverted principal arrives and targets Tearju. Rito grabs Tearju's hand and tries to escape from the principal. On the way, Rito sees Lala and asks for help, and Lala gives Rito her "new and improved" teleport bracelet. Tearju trips and falls chest first onto Rito's face and the teleporter activates. Rito and Tearju end up outside in the yard with only their socks/stockings on and with Tearju's chest pressed against Rito's face. Rito tries to explain what happened but he gets punched out by Yami who happens to be sitting on a nearby bench.

Momo arrives to bring back Rito (and probably Tearju)'s clothes. After getting dressed, Tearju goes to talk to Yami while Rito and Momo watch from some distance away. Tearju refers to Yami as "Eve" and is glad she is doing well, but Yami states that she goes by the name "Golden Darkness" now. Tearju starts tearing up and apologizes for leaving Yami behind. She wanted to take Yami with her but the organization was after her life and Tearju could only escape on her own. Tearju heard about the Golden Darkness years later and knew it was Eve, and she can't imagine what Yami had to go through to become a ruthless killer. Yami is moved by Tearju's tears and softens up a bit. Yami tells Tearju that there is no way to change how things ended up, but she is glad that Tearju is still alive. Yami then quickly leaves the scene. From the sidelines, Momo wonders why Yami just doesn't get to the chase and give Tearju a hug, but Mikado shows up and explains that it'll take sometime for Yami and Tearju to close the distance between them and rebuild their relationship.

Meanwhile, Nana mentions to Mea that Tearju had become the assistant homeroom teacher to Lala's class, and Mea seems have to some devious plans in mind.

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So Yami was actually named Eve just like in Black Cat. It seems like To Love-Ru Darkness is an alternative universe version of Black Cat. Anyways, Tearju works her first full chapter of the series, and she is still the same busty and klutzy genius scientist character. This of course makes her a totally hot homeroom teacher, so no wonder all the guys in the class love her. Being an attractive female character also means that Tearju gets groped by Rito on her first day on the job. Tearju finally reunites with Yami again, but their relationship will be a work in progress. It seems that Darkness won't give away the emotional hug scene between Yami and Tearju this easily. Tearju looks rather harmless and useless at first, but I'm sure she probably has a plan or will come up with something to help Rito and Yami to fight against Nemesis or whichever villain that might show up. For the moment though, we'll have to see what kind of move Mea makes against Tearju.

Claymore 122

Deneve and company vs. Hysteria.

Let's all fly away.

Summary:
Deneve and company arrive in time to stop Miria from awakening. Uma and Cynthia start healing/calming down Miria, while the others face off against Hysteria. Hysteria takes to the skies, but Deneve and company also "hover" using Anastasia's hair technique. Deneve and company rescue the two warriors that Hysteria had impaled and then Tabitha manages to sneak behind Hysteria and chop off her wings. Deneve and company think they've slowed Hysteria down, but Hysteria lands and states that the wings were too slow anyways. Hysteria starts to power up and Miria tells Deneve to dodge, but it's too late as Hysteria blasts into the air at blistering speed and rips off Deneve's left arm and another warrior (Nike? one of Anastasia's squadmates)'s right arm. Dietrich tries to hit Hysteria but isn't nearly fast enough and then Dietrich gets shot in the torso by some projectile. Back down on the ground, Miria realizes that Hysteria is propelling herself by firing the blades from her torso and using recoil to move herself quickly and suddenly, and that's the reason why there are suddenly so many impact craters on the ground. Hysteria's speed and movement reminds Miria of the time when Clare partially awakened to defeat Rigaldo.

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The reinforcements arrive for the righteous, but as expected an Awakened no. 1 isn't going to go down without putting up a lot of fight. Hysteria's awakened form still looks ridiculous, but at least she looks more purposeful without the angel wings, and now we know what the ring of blades around her torso is for. Launching blades and using the reaction force/recoil to move is kind of neat and the flying blades are a deadly weapon, but I was kind of hoping for jet or rocket propulsion lol. Looks like Deneve and company have their work cut out for them even if they don't have to worry about Roxanne and Cassandra for now. Miria might have join in the fight again after she is healed up sufficiently.

Deadman Wonderland 50

The story between Yosuga and Toto.

I don't see this ending well.

Summary:
Back at the submarine, Karako and the doctor help patch up Senji's injuries and it's likely Senji will survive. Ganta is also unconscious, but his ailment stems from the crystal in his chest and Makina and her crew isn't sure what they can do about it. The crew also knows that Yosuga had gone missing and had taken a first aid kit with her.

Inside Deadman Wonderland, Yosuga had pulled Toto/Hagire out of the rubble and patched him up. Toto and Yosuga aren't actual siblings and Yosuga is actually younger than Toto despite Toto referring to her as "big sister". Toto and Yosuga met when Yosuga first arrived in Block G. Yosuga didn't have any will to live and was being pushed around by two other deadmen. Toto saved Yosuga from the thugs and started calling her "older sister". Toto is a fearsome competitor in Carnival Corpse and he earns enough credits for both him and Yosuga to get by. Yosuga also managed to survive Carnival Corpse via her Branch of Sin which she can't control properly. Yosuga had asked recruiter Tamaki about Toto and learned that Toto had an older sister who died in the big earthquake. One day, Toto buys Yosuga a toy pistol in order to give Yosuga the "will the live", and the two of them remained close.

Back to the present, Toto/Hagire wakes up and wonders why Yosuga patched him up, and Yosuga states that it's because she's Toto's "older sister".

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So Yosuga actually went to save Toto. She is also not actually Toto's sister but is just some random girl who Toto decided was going to replace his dead sister. I guess it's not too surprising given that Deadman Wonderland is full of people with mental issues caused by past trauma, and Toto (the original one, not Hagire) and Yosuga are probably not entirely right in the head anyways. I guess Hagire won't die so easily now that Yosuga has patched him up, but what's going to happen next. Toto's body is pretty beat up and is missing an arm and a leg, but it still possesses a large array of useful Branches of Sins. Is Hagire going to keep Toto's body or will he try to transfer into Yosuga? Or in the best possible case, maybe Toto's original personality will resurface and overcome Hagire, but that's unlikely given the tone of the series.

Bleach 478

The end of the Fullbring arc... maybe?

I'm not crying. Those are tears of joy for finally being done with this story arc.

Summary;
Yukio wanders off and is joined on the road by Jackie who lost her Fullbring from the fight. Jackie states that she found Giriko's body and buried him. Yukio promises that he'll make his company bigger in three years so all the Xcution misfits can come work for him.

In the woods somewhere, Shishigawara carries Tsukishima (who is somehow still alive) on his back and they walk towards the sunrise.

At Urahara's shop, Riruka wakes up next to Orihime and being watched over by Rukia and Ichigo. Ichigo states that all the other Xcution members were gone when Urahara arrived to pick them up. Riruka talks to Orihime and discovers that Orihime has no recollection of Tsukishima. Both Riruka and Orihime then start to cry.

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Looks like the Fullbring story arc is finally over. I guess it's time to break out the champagne and confetti and celebrate. The whole business of the Fullbrings didn't really go anywhere and the longer the arc went, the more we wished it was over. I'm okay with the other Xcution members being alive, but Tsukishima should have died because of how much of an asshole he was messing with other people's memories. I guess having a Fullbring somehow allowed him to survive having a big hole in his chest. Now that the arc looks to be done and Ichigo has his shinigami powers back, maybe Bleach can finally get back on the road of being not so crappy. I wouldn't get my hopes up too high, although Ichigo looking for answers about the shinigami badge may have some potential.

One Piece 651

Luffy gets into a confrontation with Big Mom's people.

She's big. Big and scary.

Summary:
Near the candy factory, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji beat up Caribou and relieve Caribou of all the treasures he had looted from Ryuuguu Palace. Nearby at the factory, the Minister of the Left is trying to reason with Big Mom's underling Pekoms about not being able to meet the candy quota. Luffy's trio arrive to check on the commotion and Luffy states that he ate all of the candy. Big Mom's underling Tamago appears and explains to Luffy that Fishman Island pays Big Mom 10 tons of candy per month for "protection", and if the quota is not met then Fishman Island will be destroyed.

At Big Mom Pirate HQ, Big Mom is looking forward to eating Fishman Island candy and eats some of her underlings as snacks. One of her lieutentants return to report that he has burned down a country that failed to meet the quota. Big Mom then gets the report that Fishman Island won't be able to eat the candy quota and this prompts to call Fishman Island immediately.

Luffy is arguing with Tamago and Pekoms when the phone rings. Neither Tamago nor Pekoms want to answer the phone, so Luffy answer instead and tells Big Mom that he ate all of the candy. Luffy offers to give the treasure they took from Caribou to make up for the quota. Tamago doesn't think it's a bad idea since Big Mom's forces has suffered some losses from Kidd and is a little short on funds, but Big Mom refuses the proposition. Big Mom states that she'll direct her wrath on Luffy instead and dares him to come out into the New World, and Luffy responds by saying that he'll kick Big Mom's ass and make Fishman Island his turf.

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Big Mom's forces and the candy factory are finally coming into play. Big Mom looks like a scary individual who, despite her preference for sweets, can probably eat anything and everything, but Luffy has to meet the other members of the Four Emperors sooner or later. Luffy definitely made himself heard, and Big Mom's forces are going to be hostile at least for the foreseeable future. With the way this chapter ended, the possibility of a big fight in Fishman Island between the Straw Hats and Big Mom's forces is pretty low. The real battles will start when the Straw Hats arrive in the New World. I don't see Tamago and Pekoms putting up a fight right now, but we'll see what happens.

Naruto 568

Naruto talks with the 4-tails.

Let's all be friends and sing and dance!

Summary:
Guy and Kakashi try to come to Naruto'aid but they are tied up by the other tailed beasts. Hachibi grabs the 4-tails and tries to pry open the 4-tails' mouth. At the same time, Hachibi argues with Kyuubi about lending Naruto power. The 4-tails opens its mouth momentarily but then swallows Naruto. Naruto ends up inside the 4-tails' inner world and sees the tailed beast chained to some rocks. The 4-tails reveal that his name is Son Goku and Kyuubi's proper name is Kurama. Son Goku complains that humans always saw tailed beasts as weapons or threats and treated them badly. Naruto states that he wants to be friends with the tailed beasts like how Bee is with Hachibi. Son Goku seems to be convinced and states he might be able to help if Naruto can free him from his chains.

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So the big monkey beast is named Son Goku (probably after the same character from Journey to the West) and Kyuubi is called Kurama. Good to know. As for the story, Naruto, Bee, Guy and Kakashi aren't going to survive Tobi and his puppets without some help, so now Naruto is trying to get Kurama and Son Goku to help him. I guess all of this will lead to a power-up for Naruto since his current fox mode has been rather useless, and it fits with Naruto's motto of perseverance through friendship and understanding lol. I'm not too impressed with this chapter since Naruto has to spend some more time jumping through hoops to get help, but I suppose it's better than Naruto staying useless throughout the entire fight.

On an unrelated note, I hope everyone has had a Merry Christmas.

Gantz 354

Kurono #2 decides to take on the big monster by himself.

I am an One Man Army and I'm here to prove it.

Summary:
In the streets of Tokyo, some of the people saved by the Tokyo Team are trying to dispel the misinformation that's being spread about Gantzers being terrorists.

Back in the alien game show, the Tokyo team has finished killing the smaller monsters in the warehouse, but there is still the huge monster hanging from the ceiling. Kurono #2 wants the team to blast the monster all at once, but the other team members are more inclined to retreat with the survivors. Kurono #2 then tells everyone to leave so he can take on the monster by himself to prove that he is just as capable as Kurono #1. Reika wants to stay but is pulled away by the guy who is big fan of hers. After everyone leaves, Kurono #2 shoots at the big monster, but that only wakes the big monster up.

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Ok... that's a rather curious time for Kurono #2 to try and prove himself worthy to bear the name of Kei Kurono. I suppose Kurono #2 has a point, but at that point sticking with the team seems to be the better option. The chapter didn't make much sense, but if Kurono #2 vs. the big monster turns out to be an exciting battle then it's okay I suppose. I'm not really sure what happened in the last few pages though. It looked like the big monster was dropping down and Kurono opened fire with the X rifles. The next page then shows the monster back up to the ceiling a bit but having no real signs of damage.

This chapter aside, I wanted to see the continuation of Kurono #1 as he is forced to pilot the giant Gantz mech on a mission to attack the city ship's central tower. The whole game show thing for the Tokyo Team doesn't seem to be going anywhere at this point, so it's not as interesting anymore.

Amanchu! 24

Hikari and Futaba take Futaba's Tokyo friends for a diving trip.

Place your trust in Hikari and she will guide you to the light.

Note: I think Akane is the Aika-clone... not really sure if that's right though.

Summary:
Futaba and Hikari take Akane and Chizuru to the diving shop run by Hikari's grandma. Katori-sensei is also at the shop to teach Chizuru and Akane the basics of diving and also to help out at the restaurant. Because Akane and Chizuru are Futaba and therefore Hikari's friends, Hikari's grandma doesn't charge them for the equipment rental, but grandma refuses to toss away Katori-sensei's tab. While Hikari and Futaba are preparing the equipment, Akane comments to Chizuru that Futaba seems to have really changed, and Chizuru can see that Akane is feeling lonely now that Futaba has a new friend.

The activities begin first with some snorkeling for Futaba's friends to get used to the water. After that, the real diving begins. Since Katori, Hikari and Futaba all have diving credentials they can guide Akane and Chizuru on the dive. Before getting into the water, Akane asks why Hikari calls Futaba "Dotty", and Hikari responds that it's because Futaba's eyebrows looks like dots when seen from close up. Akane is not very happy and lags behind the others on the dive. Suddenly she feels pain in her ears and a feeling of pressure. Everyone else is disappearing up ahead and Akane is worried, but Hikari suddenly appears to check on her. Hikari figures out that Akane had forgotten to equalize pressure of her ears, and the pain goes away for Akane after she does the procedure. Akane is still lagging behind, but Hikari grabs her arm and pulls her back to the group. The group stops at an area where they get a really nice view of the sky and some nearby mountain from underwater, and Akane is touched by Hikari's actions.

After the dive, Katori takes the girls to the train station because Akane and Akari 'Cclone have to go back to Tokyo. Chizuru states that she really enjoyed the dive, but Akane states that she felt she was going to die when she was in pain and left behind by the group. However, Akane is very thankful that Hikari came back to look after her, and she thanks Hikari for taking her on the dive. Hikari is relieved because she thought Akane didn't like her. Akane states that she had wanted to hate Hikari because she felt Hikari stole Futaba away, but she found that Hikari is a very nice girl. Akane also realizes that hating Akari won't help with her feeling lonely. Hikari tells Akane and Chizuru that they have to come back and visit. Akane agrees, and tells Hikari to take care of "Dotty" in the meantime.

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Last chapter we were left with a potential conflict between Akane and Hikari, but once diving was brought out any brewing conflict was resolved quickly. It was no mystery that Akane was apprehensive towards Hikari because she thought Hikari was stealing Futaba away, but in typical Amano-sensei fashion Hikari charmed Akane over with her caring personality and through the activity that she loves most (scuba diving). It's understandable that Akane is feeling this way seeing how Futaba used to be really shy on her own but is now so vibrant and happy around Hikari, especially given that Akane probably has the same personality as Aika from Aria. This just to show that no one can resist Hikari's charms haha. Chizuru and Akane are not part of the main group of characters, but it's likely they'll probably show up every once in a while in the series now they are both Futaba and Hikari's friends.

This chapter featured a fair amount of diving and underwater scenes, and I think the underwater panels could really use some color. As nice as the artwork is, it's a hard to imagine the proper colors of the water and environmental features, and the background looks like rocks, bubbles and the sky. In Aria, the intricate details of the buildings of Neo-Venezia were more than enough to carry the background through. Maybe I'm just lacking in imagination though, but lets hope for some underwater color spreads in future chapters.

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE 11

The Diva visits Minsry to plan their attack on the UE hideout, and Flit meets Yurin once again.

No woman can resist Woolf's silver hair.

Summary:
The crew of the Diva along with Euba leader Ract arrive at the neutral colony of Minsry and will stop by for 2 weeks. Grodek, Flit, Woolf, Millais, Ract and Largan head into the mountains to meet millionaire Alzack Birmings to get monetary support and to plan out the attack on the UE hideout. Unbeknownst to them, Federation officer Strahler Guabaran is at the colony looking to arrest Grodek. Back at the Diva, Vargas hooks the AGE system to the Diva so the AGE system can devise a new weapon for the ship. The AGE system comes up with a positron blaster but can't build the cannon in 2 weeks, but Emily gets the idea and calls Madorna in to help build the weapon.

Flit and company are hiking through the mountains to Alzack's mansion when Flit hears a noise and runs off to investigate. Flit's hunch turns out to be correct and he finds Yurin. Yurin explains that she lost her family to an UE attack and was sent to the orphanage. Yurin was then adopted by Alzack, but she couldn't accept him as her new father and ran away, and that was how she ran into Flit on Nora. Yurin is living with Alzack now but still likes to wander around on her own. Meanwhile, Grodek and company arrive at Alzack's mansion, and Alzack agrees to support Grodek's plan. Alzack wanted to meet Flit but talks to Grodek first since Flit isn't around. Alzack tells Grodek about Yurin and states that he is disappointed Yurin hasn't accepted him as family. Later, Flit arrives and meets Alzack, and Alzack reveals that Flit's story is what prompted him to support the effort. Flit aska Alzack to take care of Yurin and become her family, and Alzack states that what he had intended to do.

Apparently in the future wigs are back in fashion for rich people.

I don't think Emily would be too happy to see this.

Grodek's group then spends the rest of the two weeks drawing up plans for the operation. Supposedly the UE are hiding at an abandoned Federation base. The plan is for the capital ships to attack from the front to create a gap in the enemy defense and then send mobile suits in to destroy the base. The capital ships will obviously draw fire from the enemy, and the Diva's mobile suit squad will be tasked with guarding the ships. While not working with the planning group, Flit is hanging out with Yurin in the forest.

The end of two weeks has come and Grodek, Flit and company head back towards the port. While riding the boat back, Flit sees Yurin on the shore and he silently promises to see her again. Grodek and company travel a bit further downstream when they are stopped by Strahler and two Federation mobile suits. Grodek is arrested and taken away, and this leaves the UE attack plan in jeopardy. Flit and the other ponder what to do, and Flit eventually gets everyone to agree that they should rescue Grodek. Flit calls for the Gundam and uses to head off Strahler's ship. Flit uses the Gundam to disable the two Federation mobile suits and Grodek destorys Strahler's communication equipment before leaving. However, Strahler still has a communicator pen left and calls his forces to head off the Diva in space.

Slicing and dicing.

Where can I buy those chocolate bars?

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Not exactly the most exciting episode, but it was necessary to move the story forward. This week was mostly an episode about the planning and about Flit meeting Yurin once again. Grodek and company have gathered the support they need and formulated a plan of attack, but they still have to get around Strahler's forces before they can begin their attack on the UE. Getting support from Alzack went rather smoothly which was a little surprising, but Strahler is around to provide the obstacle. Although Yurin does have a similar power to Decil, it doesn't seem like she is part of the organization that Decil belongs to... at least this episode doesn't talk about it. The focus was more on Yurin and Flit hanging out and building a relationship, and Yurin is kind of cute. I wonder what Emily would think if she knew what Flit was doing these past two weeks haha. Speaking of love triangles, there might be one forming between Woolf, Millais and Largan. Millais seems to be warming up to Woolf, and Largan seems to be a little concerned. We'll see how much attention the series pay to this potential situation between secondary characters. Woolf is the ace pilot important support character, but Largan and Millais have been "just part of the crew". I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to build some more personality into the supporting characters.

One Piece 650

Bunch of things going at Ryuuguu Palace/Fishman Island.

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

Summary:
King Neptune confirms to Robin that Shirahoshi is indeed the ancient weapon Neptune that's capable of destroying the world. There are also two other ancient weapons out there. King Neptune states that it would be bad if people knew this because the government and pirates would come after Shirahoshi for the power, but unfortunately neither he nor Robin notice that Caribou is eavesdropping nearby.

Back at the party, Jinbe starts talking about some current events to Luffy and the gang. Sengoku had stepped down as fleet admiral and recommended Aokiji as his successor, but forces within the government wanted Akainu to take the job. Aokiji and Akainu ended up settling the issue in a big battle. Akainu won the battle and became fleet admiral, while Aokiji decided to leave the Marines. To compensate for the loss of Aokiji, the government granted the Marines even more powers to carry out "justice". The next piece of news is that the Blackbeard Pirates are making waves in the New World and some refer to Blackbeard as one of the Four Emperors. Rumors have it that the Blackbeard Pirates are on an abilities hunt in which they somehow steal desirable Devil Fruit abilities from people they kill. Luffy isn't really paying all that much attention to Jinbe, but suddenly he, Zoro and Sanji sense an intruder in the castle.

Somewhere within the palace, Caribou is trying to kidnap Shirahoshi, but Luffy, Sanji and Zoro arrive and Luffy smacks Caribou out of the palace. After learning that Caribou likely stole the treasures, Nami asks if King Neptune wants to treasures back. When King Neptune states that the treasures are not important and the Straw Hats can keep the treasures if they retrieve them, Nami sends Luffy, Sanji and Zoro out to capture Caribou. King Neptune then gets news that something had happened in the prison. At the prison, Hody and his gang had shriveled up and became really old. King Neptune and staff realizes Hody had stole the legendary pills from the palace and used them as energy steroids, and this is the result.

Elsewhere in the palace, the Minister from the Left is concerned about the candy offering the Big Mom. The Candy factory had been damaged from Hody's attack and the Minister knows that Big Mom may attack if she doesn't get her candy.

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Looks like the Straw Hats may still have business at Fishman Island. This was a very informative chapter. Shirahoshi is confirmed to be oneo of three ancient weapons with the power to destroy the world. This probably won't come into play into the near term though unless Caribou manages to make it out of Fishman Island and spread the word. Speaking of Caribou, he finally appeared again, and it looks like Luffy, Zoro and Sanji may have a mini-adventure trying to capture this guy. Onto the other current events, it's not too surprising that Akainu/Sakazuki ended up becoming Fleet Admiral. Luffy and the Straw Hats are anti-government, so it makes sense to install someone that Luffy has a lot of beef with as the head of the Marines so Luffy can beat the guy to a pulp somewhere down the line. As for people like Aokiji, Sengoku and Garp who have quit or at least distanced themselves from the Marines, maybe they'll become the Straw Hats' allies some day. Another guy Luffy will have to beat up down the line is Blackbeard, who is also amassing power. Luffy vs. Sakazuki and Luffy vs. Blackbeard probably won't happen for hundreds of chapters though. Moving on, Hody and his pill popping gang get what's coming to them and turned into the wrinkly old people. They should have known that steroids are bad for them. Finally, I've been wondering if Big Mom and her candy factory would come into play, and it looks like they will. This may be the start of the next story arc.

Bleach 477

Ichigo defeats Ginjou.

So that's where you've been hiding for all this time.

Summary:
Ichigo and Ginjou fall down to the ground and Ichigo cuts Ginjou down after a few more exchanges. Suddenly, Tsukishima appears behind Ichigo and attacks. Rukia steps in the way and Riruka emerges from a door on Rukia's chest to take the hit from Tsukishima. Tsukishima is mad and screams for Ginjou not to die, but the wounded Riruka tells him to stop and states that Ginjou had saved them, but Ichigo had saved Ginjou. The story then enters flashback mode showing a young Tsukishima being comforted by substitute shinigami Ginjou.

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That chapter had the usual number of pages, but it felt really short. Ginjou is defeated rather unceremoniously which isn't too much of surprise at this point. Bleach might as well put this part of the story away and move onto something better. Funny Tsukishima was still able to walk around and attack with a hole in his chest, but I suppose Ichigo had holes in his chest a couple times and that never stopped him. I still wish Tsukishima would die lying in a pool of his own blood because of how much of a jerk he is. It turns out that Riruka was hiding within Rukia, but I'm not sure the purpose of having her appear now. I'm not liking the way this arc is wrapping up, but lets just get this over and done with. Maybe the Ginjou/Tsukishima flashback will be somewhat interesting, but I am not getting my hopes up.

Naruto 567

Naruto, Bee, Guy and Kakashi battle fake Madara/Tobi and the beasts under his control.

Naruto is not a part of your healthy daily diet.

Summary:
Sasuke has finally breaks out from Tobi/fake Madara's hideout. Elsewhere, Suigetsu and Jugo are walking around in the forest intending to find Sasuke and Karin again, and they decide to head to Orochimaru's hideout.

Kakashi and Guy arrive to back up Naruto and Bee. The transformed five-tails try to charge at Tobi but is restrained. The good guys wonder what is up, and the Hachibi and Kyuubi start having a telepathic argument. The other half-transformed jinchurriki's attack, and Kakashi and Guy are surprised that the puppets aren't using Pain's techniques. From what he sees, Kakashi figures that it takes Tobi a lot of effort and energy to keep the beasts under his control. Tobi admits that Kakashi's observation is correct, but then he has two of the jinchuriki transform fully (into a giant ape and a giant slug/salamander?) and the good guys get tossed around. Naruto gets hit and loses his fox mode transformation. Naruto plans to make clones to distract the beasts so he can attack Tobi, but Bee warns him against it because the Kyuubi can drain all of his chakra. Hachibi realizes that Naruto should have been starved for chakra a long time ago which means Kyuubi stopped draining Naruto's chakra at some point, but Kyuubi pretends to nap when Hachibi asks. The giant ape tosses Hachibi and Naruto falls into its mouth, but just as the ape bites down Naruto regains his fox mode.

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Hey, a Sasuke sighting, and also a Suigetsu and Jugo sighting. Those are pretty rare these days. It took Sasuke quite a few chapters just to get out of Tobi's hideout, and it ends up being an one page tease lol.

Back to the battle at hand, it looks like Guy and Kakashi came by themselves and don't have anyone else with them. Although Tobi doesn't use Pain's moves and has a little bit of trouble controlling the beasts, he still has the upper hand in this fight. Maybe more reinforcements will show up for the good guys, but at this point it looks like Naruto will get some help from Kyuubi so he can actually do something useful. It sound like the Kyuubi is getting soft, but then again he is no fan of Madara (real or fake) and helping Naruto out is probably better than getting captured by Tobi. Hopefully Naruto will end up doing something impressive with his fox mode, because he has looked pretty bad against tough opponents so far in that form.

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE 10

The Diva, Euba and Zalam try to fend off a UE attack on Fardain.

Zalam and Euba weapons do no damage, but they serve fairly well to distract the UE so that people with beam rifles can line up a shot.

I don't know why you guys are so mad about shooting each other given your weapons do next to no damage. What you should really worry about is not getting shot by the enemy whose weapons actually do damage.

Summary:
The Diva along with Euba and Zalam mobile suits deploy to head off the incoming UE task force. As the battle starts, the Diva launches beam scattering bombs which prevent the big ships from hitting each other with their beam weapons, and thus it turns into a mobile suit battle. The defenders find some success with the Euba and Zalam forces serving to distract the UE mobile suits so that Flit's Gundam and Woolf's G-Exe can get some easy kills with their beam rifles. At the bridge of the Diva, the crew learns that Adams had sent a message to Federation HQ asking for reinforcements, but the request was denied. Back outside, the tide of battle changes when the high speed Zedas flies into the battlefield and causes the Zalam and Euba mobile suits to hit each other and thus causing disorganization among the defenders. The UE presses the attack and pushes the defenders back. Don Boyage gets caught by a Baqto and his mobile suit is hit and explodes.

Goodbye Mr. Awesome Mustache (Don Boyage). We'll miss you(r mustache).

The Gundam lost the Titus bulk but is still to slow.

It looks like the Zalam and Euba had lost their will to fight, but suddenly Don Boyage's voice is heard on the comm link. Don Boyage's mobile suit is heavily damaged but can still fly. Don Boyage rallies his troops and entrusts them to Ract. Don also tells Flit that he believes in the boy and perhaps Flit will change the world. Don then goes on a suicide charge towards the UE ship, and is joined by some of his underlings. Don's underlings are destroyed during the charge, but Don makes it and rams into the ship which causes an explosion but no damage. Meanwhile, the Zedas is harassing Flit's Gundam which in Normal form is still too slow to keep up with the Zafran, and Flit gets the inkling that Decil is controlling the Zedas. Vargas tells Flit that the new Spallow pack is ready and Flit tells Vargas to launch the new pack and he'll re-equip the Gundam in space. Woolf steps in to tie up the Zafran and the Gundam is able to exchange its limbs without harassment. Once in the new Spallow form, the Gundam tags back in and slices up the Zedas in a high speed battle. The Zedas loses an arm and a leg but manages to limp away. At this moment, the rest of the UE also decide to retreat, giving the defenders the victory. After the battle, Ract pledges Euba and Zalam's support for Grodek's expedition and promises to meet up with the Diva again later. The crew of the Diva along with Flit, Emily and Dique then agree to start on their journey towards the space colony Minsley. Afterwards, Flit meets Grodek in Grodek's office and tells Grodek about his feeling that Decil was piloting the Zedas.

They should have called the pack "Ninja" and thus this is the Ninja Gundam.

The Ninja Gundam strikes!

In his room, Decil throws a tantrum after losing the battle. Yark calls to rub it in and tells Decil not to waste valuable equipment, but Decil swats the screen away and vows that this is not over.

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Nothing too out of ordinary for this battle episode as the Gundam saves the day. The Gundam Normal is still too slow to beat the Zedas, but once the Gundam turned Ninja I mean "Spallow" the battle was over, and the fact that the Gundam damaged the Zedas was enough to make the rest of the UE retreat. The Gundam Spallow is quick and has a nice sharp sword, but it doesn't have any good ranged weapons. There were the needle launchers in its knees, but the launcher doesn't seem powerful and the location is awkward. With its sharp sword, the Spallow would have probably fared well against Baqtos too, but I suppose the AGE system's philosophy is to fight fire with fire, and thus it built the heavy Titus pack to fight Baqtos and the light Spallow pack to fight Zedas.

The other elements of the battles were okay, but nothing really impressive. Woolf got a couple of kills on Gafrans, but the G-Exe wasn't too effective against the Zedas. The Euba and Zalam forces acted in the expected manner which was to serve as distraction and cannon fodder. The G-Exe actually came with an useful beam rifle, but the Euba and Zalam were still stuck with their machine guns that do no damage. Hopefully when Ract's forces join the mission again they'll have better weapons at their disposal. Don Boyage's death was... I don't wanna say this, but it was a little comical because I had the feeling he would actually hit the UE ship on his suicide charge but fail to do any damage. The guy had such an awesome mustache, and he goes out not being able to do any damage to the enemy? That was sad. I guess Don Boyage will join the old general as another one of them old farts who died to drive Flit to carry on his dreams.

So the Diva and Gundam pass the first major test against the UE and now start on their journey to attack the UE hideout. It's clear the Decil and Yark are part of the UE, but their goals are still yet to be revealed. Decil hurt his hand swatting away the communication screen, and I wonder if this means Decil is supposed to be more fragile than normal people. It looks like Flit will reunite with Yurin next week, and lets see if Yurin has any connection to Decil and Yark.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 88

The Third Impact begins.

You know what time it is! It's giant naked Rei time!

Summary:
A huge explosion rocks the battlefield and Asuka's Unit 02 is tossed back. The explosion causes Lilith's egg/the black moon to be exposed. In Terminal Dogma, Gendo begs for Rei to come back. After Rei merged with Lilith, Lilith falls off the cross and transforms into a giant version of Rei which rises towards the surface. Lilith/Rei rises through NERV's command center by passing through all matter including the staff at the command center. Back in Terminal Dogma, Gendo falls to his knee feeling dejected, and he is then shot in the throat by Ritsuko who then falls from her own wound.

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And so the Third Impact begins. Some of the details are different from the movie version such as Gendo being shot by Ritsuko and Asuka still functioning, but things are mainly still the same with Rei merging with Lilith which turns into giant Rei. We'll have to see how the whole Third Impact goes down though and see if the differences in details will make any difference in the conclusion of the manga.

Rosario + Vampire II 48

Fang Fang and Yukari battle the 4th division leader Miu Sai-Lung.

Fang Fang's strategy is to defeat Sai-Lung with laughter.

Summary:
Fang Fang is surprised to see Miu Sai-Lung. Fang Fang and Sai-Lung knew each other from childhood. Back then, the Miu and Huang families had negotiated a truce, and Fang Fang played cards with Sai-Lung. Fang Fang and Sai-Lung are also cousins since their mothers are siblings. However, once Sai-Lung took over the Miu mantle he called off the truce and the war between the families was back on. Fang Fang demands to know why Sai-Lung called off the truce and joined Fairy Tale, but Sai-Lung ignores the question and tends to Routier. Routier wakes up, and Sai-Lung states that once he defeats Fang Fang and Yukari he let Routier do whatever she wants with them.

Sai-Lung then challenges Fang Fang to summon something, but Fang Fang fails and summons the useless panda. Sai-Lung summons a Gatling Gun flower and starts blasting away, but Yukari summons a giant fire-breathing snail to counter. Yukari explains that she had wanted to practice magic with Fang Fang and so she learned summoning on her own, and she has gotten pretty good at it. Fang Fang is stunned at his own uselessness and watches and Yukari summon bugs against Sai-Lung's plants. The battle is pretty even, but suddenly Yukari drops to her knees and spits out blood. Sai-Lung explains that summoning comes at the exchange of yoki, and if the summoner runs out of yoki and keeps summoning then he/she will end up using their own life force, and this is what happened to Yukari. Fang Fang holds Yukari in his arms and apologizes for being useless. Sai-Lung comes in with a pistol to finish Fang Fang, but Fang Fang suddenly jumps and cuts Sai-Lung in the shoulder with his coin sword. Fang Fang declares that he'll protect his comrades in whatever way he can. Sai-Lung tries to shoot Fang Fang but Fang Fang dodges the bullet with some after-image trick. Sai-Lung realizes that instead of inheriting Touhou Fuhai's magic prowess, Fang Fang actually inherited his mother's affinity for martial arts. Sai-Lung summons a flowers that shoots out multiple blades to stop Fang Fang, but Yukari summons a big metallic spider to cover for Fang Fang. Fang Fang closes the distance and stabs Sai-Lung in the stomach with his coin sword.

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There was some confusion from the last chapter as to who is actual 4th division leader, but I'm fairly sure now that Sai-Lung is the actual leader. Routier is Sai-Lung's servant/bodyguard, but she might be the assistant leader or something. It was an action packed chapter, although it wasn't a two on two match up but Miu Sai-Lung taking on the tag team of Yukari and Fang Fang. Sai-Lung had the advantage at times, but he wasn't all that impressive. Raika at least looked somewhat overwhelming at times, but with Sai-Lung he gained the advantage mainly because Yukari gassed herself from summoning and Fang Fang sulked during the middle of the battle. Once Fang Fang remembered that he can slice, punch and kick people with super speed it was over. Of course, maybe Sai-Lung is not finished and he pulls off a plant clone (haha I read too much Naruto). I don't really see this battle dragging on for too long though. If Fang Fang did deal the critical hit, maybe we'll see Sai-Lung explain why he called off the truce between the families and why he joined Fairy Tale.

One Piece 649

After the victory over Hody and allies, the Straw Hats party the night away at Ryuuguu Palace.

I guess putting in the entire background would make this busy panel even busier.

Summary:
After the battle, Hody, his officers and Decken and thrown into prison. Wadatsumi is too big to be put in prison so the kraken is tasked with moving him far from the island. The human slave pirates all ran away, while the other New Fishman pirates are going to stay at Fishman Island doing penal servitude. King Neptune also decides to close down the rundown Fishman District. Meanwhile, the Straw Hats and Shirahoshi have sneaked away from the plaza. Luffy tries to convince Jinbe to join the crew, but Jinbe states that he has business to take care of but may join the crew later. Luffy and crew are about to leave Fishman Island, but Luffy is drawn back to the palace by the offer of a banquet from one of the ministers. Later at the palace, the Straw Hats party the night away with lots of food and dance and song.

In the middle of the party, a slightly drunk King Neptune wanders away and is met by Robin. Robin asks King Neptune about the person referred to as "Joyboy" from the poneglyphs she read. King Neptune explains that Joyboy was someone from the surface who lived during the Void Century and the poneglyph was an apology to the mermaid princess of the time about not being able to keep a promise. Legends have it that someday someone is supposed to come to Fishman Island to fulfill Joyboy's promise, and that promise has something to do with Noah. Robin asks if Joyboy could control the sea kings, and Neptune states that it was probably the mermaid princess who could control the sea kings. Neptune notes that Shirahoshi has just awakened her ability to talk to the sea kings, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Robin mentions that she read a poneglyph in Skypiea that pointed to the location of an ancient weapon in Fishman Island, and she wonders if that ancient weapon "Poseidon" refers to the mermaid princess and by extension Shirahoshi.

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I thought this was just a celebration/tie up loose ends chapter after reading the first half, but things became interesting near the end when Robin starts talking about the poneglyphs. Robin spent so much time looking around for that stuff, so it's about the right time she had something to show for her research. I like the fact that the whole poneglyph thing also ties into Shirahoshi's ability to control sea kings and the mystery of Noah. Obviously the whole poneglyph puzzle is not going to be resolved here, but it's always good to add some more pieces every so often. Let's see what else King Neptune has to add to this discussion. If Shirahoshi really is a weapon of mass destruction, what would be the course of action for the Straw Hats? I'm still thinking that the Straw Hats will move on to some new adventures, but at some point Shirahoshi, Noah and all this stuff will come back into the story.

The other item of note from the chapter is that Jinbe didn't quite join the Straw Hats just yet, but he'll likely join in the future after he takes care of some business. That makes the end of the last chapter mostly a tease, but chances are eventually Jinbe will be part of the Straw Hat crew. Jinbe would serve as the "underwater guy" if nothing else, and he'll also bring some valuable experience to the crew.

Bleach 476

Ichigo vs. Ginjou continued.

There is no point trying to understand Ichigo's thought process because it makes no sense. 

Summary:
While Ichigo and Ginjou battled overhead, Byakuya, Hitsugaya, Kenpachi and Ikakku start to leave. Rukia wonders why her fellow shinigamis are leaving, and Byakuya answers that they've accomplished their objective which is get Ichigo to make his decision about whether he is for or against the shinigamis. Hitsugaya adds that originally the agreement between the captains was to use the next substitute shinigami, which is Ichigo, to lure Ginjou out and then erase both substitute shinigamis. However, Ichigo changed Soul Society and thus the shinigamis are going to leave him be. Back up in the sky, Ginjou fires a cero, but Ichigo snubs it with his hand and then cuts Ginjou with his sword.

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So the soul society originally wanted to use Ichigo as bait to lure out Ginjou and then erase both of them, but because Ichigo ended up saving their asses they decided to let Ichigo live if Ichigo didn't side with Ginjou. Okay, I can take that, but if that's the case, why don't they help Ichigo take Ginjou out if Ginjou was such a high priority target? Maybe it's the unwritten honor rule about shinigamis having to take their opponents in single combat? Okay, that's somewhat understandable too. But using the last few pages of the chapter to draw some sympathy for Ginjou was just stupid. Ginjou is an asshole who played with Ichigo's emotions and also messed with Ichigo's friends and family. He is not someone we should be feeling sorry for. Ginjou is welcome to badmouth the Soul Society and even reveal some truths in the badmouthing, but in the end he is a bad guy who deserves to get stomped convincingly. All that stuff in the last few pages with Ginjou silently whining why Ichigo isn't seeing things his way makes Ginjou look weak and crappy as a villain, but I guess Kubo just wants to wrap things up as soon as possible so we can all forget about the whole thing.

Naruto 566

Naruto and Killer Bee vs. fake Madara and puppets continued.

"You sealed them all!"... Naruto, do you need a pair of glasses?

Summary:
At Shinobi Army HQ, Shikaku orders all the squads that have sealed their zombie targets to go help Naruto and Bee. Meanwhile, Bee transforms into hachibi mode and clears out a large patch of forest with a massive spin attack. The Jinchuuriki puppets are caught in the attack and stunned. Bee sends out ink clones to restrain the puppets and to pull the control rods out, but all the puppets power up into semi-beast mode. The puppets then proceed to beat up Bee and Naruto. Sensing an opportunity, fake Madara emerges to grab Naruto, but Kakashi and Guy arrive to force Madara to go into his untouchable mode. Kakashi and Guy pull Naruto out of the way, but fake Madara isn't overly concerned.

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Naruto's fox mode looks weaker and weaker every chapter. In this form Naruto hasn't look good against any tough opponents. Naruto did take down Mu and the previous Raikage, but Mu is still half-free and Naruto used Sage mode to make the Raikage hit himself. Bee has his beast mode, but he is over-matched against six Jinchuuriki puppets and fake Madara especially with Naruto not being much help. Before Naruto figures out the keys to victory, it looks like the important supporting characters like Kakashi and Guy will try to hold the fort and show off a bit in the process. Given that Guy and Kakashi are here, then their squads are probably nearby. Although random no name ninjas will usually end up as fodder, some help is better than no help I suppose. Obvious fake Madara won't be defeated at this point, but maybe he'll be forced into a strategic retreat?

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE 09

Flit and friends visit the Madorna Mobile Suit factory.

Like a girl would call you, Woolf. You couldn't even get a date with our comm chief Millais.

Summary:
At the Diva, Flit and friends wonder who built the G-Exe for Woolf. Woolf gets a call from Madorna so he agrees to take Flit, Emily and Dique to Madorna's mobile suit factory. At the factory, Flit and friends meet Madorna and his wife, and Flit gets into a discussion on mobile suit design with Madorna. Madorna then gets down to business and reveals the reason why he had called Woolf: a customer had left a mobile suit for Madorna to tune, but Madorna realizes that the mobile suit looks like a UE unit. Flit, Woolf and friends confirm that it's a UE unit (a high maneuverability Zedas unit) and wonders how it ended up at Madorna's factory.

Puh-leeze! A Gundam is always superior to some other mobile suit type by the sheer fact that it's a Gundam.

I wonder why people never bother putting restraints on mobile suits to prevent them from being stolen or moving unexpectedly.

The Zedas suddenly activates and blasts its way out of the factory. Flit and Woolf sortie on two Shaldolls to battle the Zedas, but they find that the unarmed Shaldolls to be inadequate so Woolf offers to buy time so Flit can get to the Gundam. Flit calls home to the Divas and has Vargas launch the Gundam Titus to the factory. Flit completes the transfer without wearing a space suit and rejoins the fight in the Gundam. Flit punches the Zeda away, but the Zeda then transforms into flight mode and flies circles around the slower Gundam Titus and Woolf's Shaldoll and Flit has no way of fighting back. Back on the Diva, Vargas notices that the AGE system is computing a solution to the problem. From somewhere far away, Decil is watching the battle and is disappointed by the Gundam's performance, so he calls off the attack. On cue, the Zeda flies off into space and leaves Flit and Woolf to wonder why the UE retreated.

Who needs a space suit?

Flit: I kind of wish the AGE system would put some ranged weapons into the Titus so at least I can take some pot shots.

After the battle, Madorna reveals that the customer who left the UE at the factory was name Yark Dore. If Flit and crew can find Yark Dore then they can find out the truth about the UE. Flit and friends carry this information back to the Diva, and Grodek decides it's time to launch the attack against the UE with help from Zalam and Euba. This of course comes as a surprise to the crew, and Grodek further reveals that he commandeered the ship for his own purpose and thus anyone who doesn't want to get involved are free to leave. Emily and Flit speak up and vouch for Grodek, with Emily stating that if Grodek didn't take control of the Diva then the people of Nora would have died. Thanks to Emily and Flit, the bridge crew all decide to stay. At this time, a large number of UE signatures appear on the Diva's sensors.

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I was hoping to find out a little more about the connection between the UE and Yark Dore, but we are getting there. I guess the series can't give away the big secret quite yet. Decil definitely seems to have control over the Zeda, and so Yark Dore and supporter could certainly be the people behind the UE threat. We don't really know why Yark left the Zeda at the factory. Did Yark or Decil anticipate that Flit would visit the factory?

The battle in this episode clearly shows that the Gundam Titus isn't really suited for high speed space combat where the Titus' slow speed and lack of ranged weapons make it ineffective against fast enemies. Obviously, the AGE factory is calculating again and so we'll see the Gundam's high speed form in the next episode. I was impressed by Flit's no-space-suit mobile suit transfer in this episode though. Haven't really seen that in a Gundam series before.

It looks Grodek's plans to attack the UE hideout is finally going to start, and right on cue a task force of UEs shows up. Grodek has support from Zalam and Euba, but unless the Zalam and Euba get better weapons they are not very useful. Right now, only the Gundam and the G-Exe can effectively battle UE mobile suits. The good guys should pump out some more DODS rifles or high output beam swords, but I don't think it'll happen. The more likely way to victory is for the Gundam to pull off a miracle/one mobile suit army, although that doesn't seem as likely in this series given Flits somewhat average piloting skills.

To Love-Ru Darkness 14 & Special

Yami tells Rito about her childhood.

Like mother and daughter.

Chapter 14 summary:
Yami starts telling Rito about her childhood with her creator, genius scientist Dr. Tearju Lunatique. Yami reveals that she was grown from Lunatique's cells and can be considered a clone of her creator. Although Yami was created for a weapons program, Dr. Lunatique tried to raise Yami as a normal child. However, the other people involved in the program disagreed and Dr. Lunatique left the program and Yami was conditioned into a merciless killer. The people behind the program were trying to make money by developing living weapons in a time of war, but those plans were thrown out the window when King Deviluke and his forces conquered the galaxy. Rito reacts strongly to Yami's story and condemns the people who made Yami into a weapon and separated her from Dr. Lunatique, and this surprises Yami. Yami then starts leaning closer to Rito.

Meanwhile, Momo sneaks out from the attic apartment to spy on Rito and Yami, but she is caught by Mikan. However, Momo convinces Mikan to go downstairs with her after describing how Rito and Yami can be doing naughty things to each other. The two make it to the bottom of the stairs by Mikan has second thoughts. Momo reminds Mikan of how naughty Rito can be when he is asleep and wants to open the doors to the living room to take a look, but at the last second Mikan stops Momo by grabbing her tail.

Back in the living room, Yami pulls back and can't believe she almost asked Rito to embrace her. At this time, the magnetic effect wears off and Rito and Yami's hands aren't stuck together anymore. Rito celebrates a little too enthusiastically and ends up being knocked out by Yami. Yami then leans against Rito and hugs his arm to fall asleep because it reminds her of the times with Dr. Lunatique.

Meanwhile, Mea is in her apartment using a laptop to hack into something (I think it's Mikado-sensei's computer). Mea's master Nemesis arrives to asks about the progress, and Mea answers that she knows her target has been communicating with people, but she wasn't able to get more than that due to strong security. Nemesis states that there is one person who can oppose them, and Mea wonders who it is.

The next morning, Rito wakes up with a headache and discovers that Yami has gone. For some reason, Momo and Mikan look like they didn't get much sleep. At school, Lala informs Rito that their class is getting a new assistant homeroom teacher. Much to Rito's surprise, the new teacher bears a striking resemblance to Yami and is named Tearju Lunatique.

That's one fine homeroom teacher.

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

Nice role reversal.

Special chapter summary:
Haruna and Lala are having drinks at an outdoor cafe and Lala shows Haruna her new invention which transforms the user into an animal. Lala then notices Oshizu being chased by a dog and runs off to help. Haruna is left with Lala's invention which activates and turns Haruna into a cat. As a cat, Haruna wanders the streets wondering what to do but she is spotted by Yui who has a thing for cats. Haruna tries to gesture and yell to get Yui's help, but Yui instead thinks the cat doesn't like her and runs off.

Haruna then remembers that Nana can talk to animals so she walks to Rito's house to get help. Haruna manages to get into the house from the backyard because Momo and Mikan are doing chores outside. In the house, Haruna is spotted by Rito. Haruna accidentally steps onto a juice box, so Rito then decides to take a bath with cat Haruna. Rito is reminded of the time where he turned into a dog and ended up having a bath with Haruna. Haruna is trying desperately not to react, but Rito starts washing her chest and crotch areas. Suddenly, Haruna glows and returns to her human form sans any clothes, but thankfully Rito got knocked out in the mess. Mikan comes to investigate the noise and wonders how Haruna ended up naked in the bath together with Rito. Back at the cafe, Lala wonders where Haruna went.

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So we finally find out a bit about Yami's past, and her childhood history is very similar the same as her counterpart Eve from Black Cat. I guess we shouldn't be too surprised since Yabuki seems eager to bring in characters and elements from Black Cat into To Love-Ru. The history was pretty straight forward and Yami mostly skipped over the bad times where she was turned into a killer or when she was a feared intergalactic assassin, and so there is no new information about Mea and Nemesis. Speaking of Nemesis, it looks like Nemesis and Tearju may not be the same person, and Nemesis may have referred to Tearju as the one person who can stop her plans in this chapter. We'll have to see if the Tearju that showed up as Rito's assistant homeroom teacher is the real Tearju Lunatique.

Other notes on the chatper: It was cute that Yami knocked Rito out and then hung on to his arm to fall sleep. Thank to Mikan stopping Momo, nobody except Yami knows about it so it'll prevent her from becoming embarrassed and killing Rito out of reaction. Momo and Mikan's interactions were pretty amusing too. There were no actual ecchi moments in this chapter, but Momo made up plenty of them through her descriptive fantasies.

Moving on to the Haruna special, it was a fun chapter too since it was the exact opposite of the time when Rito turned into a dog. It's also good see some focus on Haruna since the numbered chapters haven't really focused on her much.

Claymore 121

All three resurrected no. 1s have awakened.

Cassandra is still the Dust Eater/Limbo master.

And yes, I have taken the liberty to censor this pic to make this post safe for work.

Summary:
Hysteria and Roxanne awaken and their awakening is felt by all of the warriors and trainees who are still standing. The new twins are tending to Audrey, Nina and Rachel. Audrey tells the twins to escape, but the twins decide to go back and try to save the other downed warriors from becoming food for the awakened no. 1s.

Roxanne has transformed into a giant mechanical looking humanoid with several pairs of long, bladed, wing-like arms. Roxanne is hungry and so she picks up a downed warrior to eat, but the new twins arrive to snatch the warrior out of Roxanne's hand. Roxanne tries to grab one of the twins, but she is stopped by Cassandra who claims that everyone around is her food and continues to talk shit about Roxanne. Roxanne flings her arms around slashing the space around her, but Cassandra is able to dodge the slashes with her Dust-Eating technique and the battle between the two continues.

Meanwhile, Miria has an unconscious warrior in her arm and is trying to outrun the awakened Hysteria, but Hysteria is now faster than Miria and cuts off the escape. Hysteria has transformed into a weird creature that looks like the bust of an angel statue on the top, some blades and an insect like thorax in the middle, and a bunch of sharp and pointy legs at the bottom. Hysteria has skewered two downed warriors and attempts to eat one, but Miria's sword is still lodged in her throat and thus she can't swallow and Hysteria doesn't have hands to pull out the sword. Hysteria tells Miria that she is willing to let Miria and the warrior in Miria's arm go if Miria removes the sword from her throat. Miria is unwilling to let any of the warriors become food and doesn't take the deal. Miria tries to attack, but Hysteria takes to the air. Miria goes all out to chase Hysteria and is about to awaken, but she is suddenly pulled back down to the ground by Anastasia. It turns out Deneve and company have finally arrived on the scene, and Deneve tells Miria that she must remain human so they can smack her for coming to attack the Organization on her own.

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The focus of this chapter was Roxanne and Hysteria's awakened forms. Roxanne looks like one of those artistic scrap metal statues, but the form reminds me of something else that I can't quite recall right now. Hysteria's form looks like someone cobbled a bunch of random body parts together into something rather bizarre and funny looking. For someone who is known for "elegance", Hysteria's awakened form doesn't look very elegant. Can't Hysteria just return to normal human form to pull the sword out? On the other hand, though Hysteria probably wants Miria dead since Miria beat her, so obviously Miria won't be helping Hysteria any time soon.

All three of the resurrected have awakened, and that also means it's time for Deneve's group to finally join the battle. Three Abyssal class monsters is quite the challenge, but the good thing is that Cassandra has a deep grudge against Roxanne so those two will probably be busy fighting each other. This means that Deneve, Miria and friends can focus on ganging up on Hysteria, and they probably need the numbers since Hysteria has a significant speed advantage. I guess the stronger members will battle Hysteria, while the weaker warriors (like the three other warriors from Anastasia's team) can help the twins get the downed warriors to safety. In the previous chapter, Dae alluded to Priscilla, but I don't think Priscilla and Clare are going to show up... at least not for a few chapters.