August 2024 – Chua Tek Ming~*Anime Power*~ !LiVe FoR AnImE, aNiMe FoR LiFe! (2025)

It’s that time again. Long ago, yes, very long time ago, I knew the existence of an anime series called Divergence Eve. I was always hesitant to take a look at it because from what I read and believed then, it had some horror theme and it was that dreadful sci-fi genre. Enough to make me stay away from it for a long, long time. And you know, as I grow older and as with such similar animes that I never wanted to watch in the past, suddenly ending up having me eventually watching it, you could say that it is the turn of this anime to have that similar sentiment. Perhaps all that on and off unconscious bugging has led me to believe I can handle another series like this. And thus I finally made the effort to check off this anime from that unofficial list of mine. Yeah, sometimes I can’t seem to understand how I think myself.

Episode 1
Lyar Von Ertiana addresses her crew. It seems there is going to be a final battle with this Ghoul. Prim Snowlight calls Misaki Kureha for a medical check-up. Right now?! Right before heading into battle?! Whatever. Everything seems to be okay so they start whatever synchronization. Yeah, there’s a lot of terms and mumbo jumbo going on. I’M SO CONFUSED, WHAT THE F*CK IS GOING ON?! So everything is ready as Lyar leads her team as they jump into the battlefield, hoping to destroy Ghoul while its whatever is still unstable. Something goes wrong with Misaki unresponsive or something. Lyar’s team in trouble. Yeah, I think some casualties. Before she gets owned, here comes Misaki. Not sure about this vision of her father she sees. Because now she powers up to transform into some goddess form to fight Ghoul. Weird battle. In the end, huge explosion that takes them both out. It’s over. Prim and Jean Luc LeBlanc go check on Misaki in her pod and although she is unconscious like a vegetable, they see no threat to her life. Vegetable Misaki wonders if she just died. Yeah, I wonder what the f*ck is going on!

Episode 2
So yeah, now we go back in time to see what happened that led to all that. We see Misaki completing some job but she wasn’t performing as expected and gets summoned. Then she returns to her comrades (Luxandra Frail, Kiri Marialate and Suzanna Bluestein) as Misaki mockingly imitates what her superiors chastised her about. Yeah, this is no longer training so better buck up. Misaki has doubts if she can do this but the rest believe in her since she was selected from the reserves. Then we hear more mumbo jumbo especially about the universe having multiple layers. Parallel universes, huh? Then you can travel in between them via wormhole when its hole gets bigger for spaceships to fly through. Baby Universe… Inflation Dive… OMFG, the terms are killing me! Anyway, Misaki and her teammates are preparing to enter such wormhole to another universe. Meanwhile we see Lyar who has been transferred from some combat unit to command HQ, talking to LeBlanc about Ghouls who are invaders from another universe and they’ve been cracking their heads on how to beat them. Suddenly the alert is sound as they detect some object passing through the wormhole. They think it could be related to Ghoul. Lyar goes to see Prim who is surprised she is still around. Didn’t she get transferred? Yes she did but until her replacement arrives. As such, Prim is updating data of her substitute pilot who is an android, Kotoko. With some mass detecting, everyone gets prepared and activate some Quantum Barrier. More confusing mumbo jumbo. Misaki and her comrades are in sleep mode. Misaki experiences some weird trippy sh*t. I don’t know what’s happening because it looks like the Ghoul trying to rape her or something!? WTF she’s totally naked now?! Then she turns into her beast form and fights back, destroying the abomination. With Ghoul’s readings vanished, Lyar’s team is sent to check out the pod. She finds Misaki and co asleep but soon Misaki wakes up and is in shock she is naked.

Episode 3
Misaki fails hard in some simulation training. Not just her but her pals too. It seems they are undergoing training as cadets under Seraphim and Lyar is their superior while Luke Walker (sorry, he is not with the Force. HAHAHA!) is their trainer. Misaki has inferior complex to her comrades since her score is not good and doesn’t consider an elite like them. However they don’t care about that because they too flop in the training. It seems Lyar is to choose a replacement from these cadets. She notes Misaki as the weakest but Prim notes some strange powers of hers. Lyar then reports to LeBlanc and Wolfgang Woerns about the trainees. Something about HQ’s concerns that they may become aware of Ghoul because of the contact during re-entry. But with test results showing negative, it proves they don’t remember a thing. Gun shooting training this time as Misaki continues to flop hard. She notices Kotoko bringing in a gatling gun. OMFG she scores perfectly with all the targets! And then something happens as Misaki suddenly becomes a pro and hits all her targets perfectly. Her observers wonder if it is a fluke as they analyse her data. But Prim notes to Lyar that Misaki has this precognition ability. It is not an ability that can be seen via normal training. Next training is to descend into some core and withstand its G-force, I think. Something goes awry with Misaki’s pod so Lyar scrambles to go rescue her. Inside the core, Misaki is surrounded by weird robot aliens or something. Luckily Lyar arrives in time to bring her back out and Misaki so happy she came just to save her.

Episode 4
Our cadets are surprised to have a day off. This is all part of Prim’s plan that in order to get more stable data, they need a break once in a while. LeBlanc throws caution that they might not come back but Prim believes they will. So we see them have fun in town and at a bar, Misaki is surprised Lyar and Kotoko are here. Off duty too? When Lyar notes that cadets these days have a lot of freedom unlike in the past where it was 24/7 training and nothing but training, Misaki disagrees and leaves in a huff. Then in an alley, she sees a small girl doodling on the ground and tries to talk to her but she continues to only draw. Command centre detects some anomaly. Not sure all that mumbo jumbo but I believe it’s something bad. What Ghoul reflection is materializing, they say? As Lyar gets a report on this and with a short blackout, she realizes a Specular is coming. Is that spectre + spectacular?! Just kidding. I believe it is made out of some energy because here that energized Ghoul appears before Misaki and the girl. Misaki experiences some weird horror sh*t and similarly the girl too. She gets so scared and screams her head off. However the Specular soon disappears. I believe command centre did something to seal the Ghoul and hence Specular also vanished. Lyar sees Misaki and has a men take away the girl. She orders Misaki to keep this a secret. Kotoko notes to Lyar that this girl has seen a Specular before and hence that drawing. It proves her encounter was a scary one and the only good side of this is that she is so scared, she won’t probably remember it all. Misaki returns home and is confused and dejected. LeBlanc notes Prim was right in Misaki coming back and as Prim explains, lab rats like them know where they belong since they have nowhere else to go. That girl continues to doodle that Specular in her room.

Episode 5
Lyar picks up and guides reporter, Bernard Firestar around. She is not too happy but Bernard knows about the secret Seraphim programme and that his boss has ties with the military, the reason he is assigned to her on this assignment. He assures he won’t write anything on it. Then they talk about some organization who are against humans going out to space and some laser oscillators that is some anti-terrorist defence plan. Bernard watches the cadets in training and then interviews them why they join this programme. Everyone learns that Misaki was trying to find a job with a decent pay but more shockingly, her father died in an accident here. Bummer. Bernard then notes about another accident yesterday. Does Misaki know anything about it? Remembering Lyar’s orders, she claims she doesn’t. Bernard tags along with the cadets for another training mission. Suddenly command centre detects the sudden materialization of a Ghoul. Lyar contacts the cadets to tell to escape immediately. Suddenly all communications are cut off. Misaki suddenly have this familiar feeling before. As Luxandra is checking the Rampart Armour (mecha pods) for their escape, suddenly she gets a nasty slash. Kiri almost gets one too as the Specular attacks quick and invisible. Kotoko goes to handle it to buy time for others to escape. Misaki and Bernard hide as the latter thinks she knows something about this. Otherwise, how would she know what’s coming? She claims she really doesn’t know. Bernard then gets a nasty slash on his back. Luxandra lives and manages to escape with a very traumatized Suzanna. Kiri follows subsequently. After Misaki places Bernard in the Rampart Armour, damn it, the pod is not functioning! Specular rips the pod open and Kotoko gets decapitated. Strange staring game? WTF this Specular wanna rape her or what?! So not sure if Misaki’s touch or command centre activating Quantum Barrier to dissipate the Ghoul and Specular. This shocking event causes Misaki to pass out. We see Bernard’s true colours as he plugs his device into Kotoko to download all the juicy stuffs.

Episode 6
Looks like everybody seems to be okay. Well, our cadets are looking gloomy. Because after what they’ve saw, Lyar has made them swear to secrecy and it’s bugging them like hell as they realize why HQ never said anything about the enemy. Because it is an unseen enemy and one they’ll have to fight. This has Misaki wonder if her father died because he also encountered that monster. Soon, Lyar has the cadets gather as she announces that Suzanna has been picked to be their first pilot. The rest are to resume their training. While Luxandra seems frustrated, Suzanna looks sad. Suzanna expresses she can’t do it. Lyar takes it as that she is weak and chides her that she lost her will after seeing the enemy. If she wants to retire, that is fine. However they are still sworn to secrecy and she will have her memories erased via artificially induced memory loss. Suzanna takes part in the simulation. Yeah, more mumbo jumbo that I can’t understand. However her heart rate and other symptoms are skyrocketing. Lyar orders the experiment to continue. We see from Suzanna’s view, she is faced with the Ghoul/Specular as it, uhm, tries to rape her?! This aggravates the problem so Lyar forces the operation to be aborted. Later Prim explains to Suzanna about this technology system to strengthen a human’s ability and sensory perceptions (WTF I DON’T GET IT ALL!) and seeing she doesn’t detect anything abnormal in Suzanna’s stats, she may leave. Luxandra talks to Kiri and reveals she felt happy when Suzanna failed. Because it meant she could replace her as the pilot. Kiri too felt the same. So why are they feeling lousy now? Misaki talks to Suzanna and tries to give her some hope. However Suzanna reveals she entered this programme as told by her father to become an elite. Her dream was to become an engineer. In short, she wants to retire. Misaki is in shock since she will have 2 years of her memories erased as explained by Prim. So she rushes down to Lyar who already knows what she is going to say. She rejects Misaki’s plea to make Suzanna an exception. Even if she had the authority, she will still proceed with this memories erasing procedure. Lyar poses a question to her if Earth will accept 10 million refugees of this place. Impossible, right? They will continue living here and being a closed space, the reason why they must keep this enemy thingy hidden. Nothing can be done once they find out. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Suzanna undergoes the operation and at the end of it, has forgotten everything.

Episode 7
Bernard tries to hack into Kotoko but looks like some security thingy prevents him from getting in. If that’s the case, maybe he’ll try Misaki. With Suzanna no longer around, the cadets’ morale takes a dip and their training is sloppier. While Luxandra and Kiri continue to train, Misaki skips out altogether. Bernard finds Misaki and uses this to his advantage. He pleads for Misaki’s help to get to the truth. Yup, playing up her father’s accident, was it really an accident? Using her authority card, they hack into the library for some details. Bernard reveals his mother also died in that accident that is known as the Tragedy of Cherubim. Some Inflation Drive failure at that camp caused it to go berserk and all researchers there went missing. Right, her father’s name is on that list. With no more data on this, Bernard thinks of heading down to Camp Cherubim to get more info since some surveillance unit of the camp should still be there. This sneaking around is being watched by LeBlanc and Prim but they aren’t pressing the panic button yet. Bernard and Misaki hijack a ship to head for the camp. They talk about their fathers as Misaki fondly remembers saying goodbye to her father at the airport. Lyar is not pleased to learn what Misaki and Bernard are doing. She is going to take some steps when suddenly Kotoko starts to shoot everyone! Everyone in the way will be eliminated! Obviously her programme has been overwritten although Lyar soon shoots her down. At this point, Misaki and Bernard have arrived on the camp. With robot enemies popping up, Misaki will hold them back so Bernard can extract the info. But with the numbers overwhelming, Misaki soon falls into the abyss. Bernard has downloaded what he needs. Calling for Misaki once, twice… No answer? I guess he has to return alone. Misaki is lost but surrounded by more enemy robots. She is horrified to see its pilots are all dead! And the voice of her father calling out to her…

Episode 8
Oh wow. Lyar going to be a hero as she heads down to the camp herself to rescue Misaki. She is taken back and recuperating. Prim watches over her as LeBlanc visits. He has Prim report her test results now. It doesn’t matter since she will eventually know about it. Yeah, some irregularity has been found in her third chromosome pair. LeBlanc reveals those dead people there are Necromancers and they are ghosts possessing the core. Their aim was to capture Misaki. Lyar goes to warn Bernard never to touch her subordinates again. She then leaves him alone and this baffles him like as though their real target was Misaki. Lyar talks to Luxandra and Kiri and they expect Misaki to be punished. However it seems Misaki can return to training tomorrow and that all 3 of them will be selected together as the main pilots. Win-win for everyone, right? As Bernard goes through the info, LeBlanc pays an unexpected visit. Bernard then recognizes him as Professor Jalabert. Not many people know this name so LeBlanc realizes he is not an ordinary spy. When Bernard realizes his men are behind the Kessler Project, LeBlanc shoots him. He crossed the line by knowing too much.

LeBlanc then takes Misaki to a hangar to let her see the truth. It contains a huge shuttle that travelled through the Inflation Hole first. But in the next room proves horrifying. There are loads of jars with creepy corpses!!! These are the dead people like those Misaki encountered down there. They are nothing but specimens now. There are also some Ghoul fossils. Although not dead, their time to materialize has been tremendously slowed. Like as though they are linking the shards of time and waiting for someone to come. There are other corpses that were the first victims who encountered Ghoul. It seems Ghoul merged with them but the reason is unclear. Although no such further incidents happened after the development of Watcher’s Nest progressed until the construction of a station on Cherubim. Another tragedy but this time many of the bodies couldn’t be recovered. Although those Necromancers attacked her, they aren’t alive as their brain are just receiving some sort of electromagnetic impulse. A research team was sent there to determine what happened there and they found out some exact same mutation in the genes of the corpses. It seems Ghoul didn’t kill humans for no reason. What is the reason behind this? Time to unlock the secret message. Something is activated inside Misaki as she starts to feel the Ghoul fossil communication with her. It seems her father is related to it. LeBlanc is pleased she has exhibited greater abilities than expected. Later Lyar is mad at LeBlanc for experimenting on her subordinates but he lets her know she was brought here by Alchemy.

Episode 9
Our cadets are now promoted to ensigns. Even Lyar has been promoted too. Misaki’s current job is to patrol around the area with her other anti-Ghoul team. During a patrol, suddenly her senses heightened and it’s like she’s pulling off some super stunts weaving through the asteroids! But this ‘circus’ act doesn’t impress her comrades and this ostracizes her. Lyar then confronts LeBlanc again from another underhanded tactic on Misaki. She threatens to report to Woerns but LeBlanc claims he is only a figurehead. She warns him again not to touch her subordinate. LeBlanc then has Prim hasten the deciphering of Bernard’s data. The faster they get it, they can use their trump card to silence those who opposes them. Misaki experiences horrifying nightmares of Ghoul and Necromancers. So, uhm, she is the Ghoul?! As she cannot take it anymore, she goes to hold Prim at gunpoint to reveal the truth. Prim claims she doesn’t know but Misaki believes she is lying. Enter Lyar as she uses Kotoko to reveal the truth on the data Prim is processing. It seems she has done deciphering the data Bernard was going to send back to Earth. Part of it reads those who died in the Tragedy of Cherubim became Necromancers as they were performing genetic experiments using genes during the encounter with Ghoul. Some next generation genetic engineering was sent to Watcher’s Nest for more testing. To Bernard’s luck, he managed to meet a living sample: Misaki. As Lyar hounds Prim for more details, Misaki is in shock over the truth over herself as she fires a few pot shots and runs away. She is not a damn sample or trump card. She is human! So she thinks. More horrifying visions as she sees herself as a Ghoul. She tries to hijack a carrier to escape this place. Lyar uses her authority to have Luxandra and Kiri talk to her. Seeing her friends calm her down a lot although she breaks down and gets the much needed relief. For the time being, she continues to enjoy the company of her friends. With them around, she can tough it out.

Episode 10
Not sure about LeBlanc being creepy. Because he is hugging this creepy statue believed to be his mom and is glad he can finally be like her. Now that all the preparations are done, it’s show time. So we see some error happening as command centre scrambles to contain it. Meanwhile Misaki continues to feel down despite being given lots of words of encouragement from her friends and even Lyar. She believes she is still running away. With Ghoul on the verge of materializing, Lyar is going to be hero again by going down to the core. Woerns then orders the firing of the lasers into the core to contain Ghoul from materializing but it failed. Even more shocking, a high level off energy beam has been blasted from the core. Luxandra has crashed onto the core. Unfortunately the Ghoul rips open her Rampart Armour and devours her! Bloody. Misaki then feels something strange about it and something happens that has a Specular materializing right before her. She realizes Luxandra has died and goes berserk. LeBlanc watches the footage of its true form and notes that a nearly perfected Specular can be so easily neutralized. Lyar finds Luxandra’s damaged Rampart Armour. She returns to base only to learn a Specular showed up in the hangar. Although Misaki is alright, she is in a total state of shock. So shock that she sees visions of Luxandra still trying to cheer her up and that she cares about everyone. Misaki tries to deny that. Well, Luxandra’s gone. Time to fall into despair.

Episode 11
Quantum Barrier is down. Woerns orders to expedite its repairs quick because as simulation shows, if Ghoul attacks, everything will be destroyed in an astonishing 37 minutes! Looks like Luxandra is given a full military burial. Kiri tries to look for Misaki but she is not around. Yeah, looks like she has run away again. This time blaming herself for not being strong enough to save Luxandra. She wanders about in the desolated residential area. A devastated guy hounds her for answers but poor Misaki, she doesn’t know anything and runs away! Is this what she can do best?! Woerns talks to Lyar and LeBlanc about the current options if Ghoul attacks. LeBlanc has a solution and that is to use Misaki. Data proves she can easily handle Ghoul while others in Seraphim can handle Specular. Woerns realizes he has been dancing in LeBlanc’s hands. What else is there for him to do? Misaki visits her dad’s digital grave. Prim approaches her to tell her more truths but Misaki doesn’t want to hear. Oh girl, you’re already too deep in this so you can’t chicken out now! Prim reveals those who vanished had been genetically altered. We see clips of events that span about 200 years! DON’T FREAKING GET IT! In order for mankind to unlock Ghoul’s secrets, they have to play God. That means creating people known as Designer’s Children, people who carry genes of Ghoul since birth. That is you, Misaki. Hence is the most ideal Ghoul AKA guinea pig. Prim also reveals she is a product of genetic engineering but compared to others, she is a failure. She wants Misaki to survive this. On the way back, they see Suzanna as a ground sweeper. Obviously she has no recollections of Misaki. They have a small chat. Well, sadly I could say that Suzanna seems happier. With Misaki returning to the bridge, LeBlanc has ‘won’ his bet. Yeah, this guy has been smirking the entire episodes!

Episode 12
Misaki takes some simulation tests and basically she’s on fire! She’s like the top gun maverick or something now. Prim reports to LeBlanc that despite has signs of mental fatigue, her dopamine levels are still high. LeBlanc notes Prim hasn’t even reported the most important thing and he guesses right about the cause of Misaki’s mental tension. Ever since her contact with Specular, Misaki was sending her consciousness to the entire core without realizing. In other words, she is trying to contact the Ghoul. LeBlanc chides Prim for being sympathetic and falling back to her primal instincts. Prim then goes to see Woerns on some matter. Misaki gets some morale boost as Kiri talks to her. But the alert is sounded. Ghoul is here. Misaki is launched and as part of the plan, she goes to face it. She then transform into her Ghoul version and communicates with it. It seems the Ghoul’s attack is not a battle. However she cannot forgive it for killing her father and Luxandra. Some fight and then an explosion. Misaki goes unconscious as Lyar collects her. Back at base, Misaki is recuperating but then we see her fine as she meets up with Kiri and Lyar. Kotoko then has her recite a tongue twister to test if she is the real Misaki. Because now we see Prim telling LeBlanc about some cell regeneration that is cancerous. If let be, it will over propagate and destroy the body. Currently its propagation is being suppressed by drugs although that will only last for 120 hours. More mumbo jumbo about using this disposable individual for some genetic mismatch and if another such explosion occurs, they’ll use some system to synchronize memories of the clone and original. WTF IS GOING ON?! Because we see a clone of Misaki standing next to the one in the incubator! So this clone enters the cockpit and getting ready for the final battle.

Episode 13
Snippets of what happened in the first episode to refresh our memory. After coming this far, I STILL DON’T FREAKING UNDERSTAND!!! With Misaki close to broken from fear, LeBlanc takes over in rescuing her. He is satisfied the clone has proven where she can merge perfectly with Ghoul. Lyar is shocked that Misaki has just returned but then is ordered to go on another mission. Kiri tries to talk to a shocked Misaki but the latter hides in her room. Lyar has an emergency meeting with Woerns who has decided to evacuate all 10 million residents as they cannot handle the increasing frequency of Ghoul’s materialization. This means abandoning Watcher’s Nest. There are no other options left. LeBlanc knows this exodus plan was Prim’s proposal to stop him from this experiment. But it has backfired because LeBlanc was the one who persuaded Woerns to go ahead with this. LeBlanc brags about Prim overlooking many stuffs and how he stayed ahead of her. From what I understand, the residents are all doomed too. With no place to go, they will be trapped in the crevices of space-time of the Ghoul. He has also switched places of the real Misaki with the clone. When everyone has evacuated, LeBlanc takes control of the command centre and plugs in all the cables. He is going to contact with Ghoul. Prim thinks she has the last laugh as she is going to use the system to speak directly to Misaki’s mind and sever LeBlanc’s connection. So we see a hypnotized Misaki hijacking a carrier to head to the core. Ghoul pops up as LeBlanc relishes to contact it. However he senses something wrong. That b*tch Prim trying to interfere! This manages to snap Misaki to her senses as she is shocked a Ghoul is before her. She transforms to fight it as LeBlanc expects all answers to the universe to be revealed to him. But to his shock and horror, what’s this about the universe undergoing loops of deaths? Chaos before time is born? Sorry pal, no God-like powers to be found. Yeah, the shock must be so great that he starts bleeding and explode! Good riddance. Not sure this horror scene of Misaki facing with a corpse version of herself. She feels lost but visions of her friends are here to give hope. I hope it is not literal when they say they’re alive in her heart. This has Misaki believe the need to find another universe where everyone is alive. So now we see Misaki enrolling in a military academy. Another time in another universe…

Misaki Chronicles

Episode 1
Short flashback shows a young Misaki happily saying goodbye to her father, Juzoh at the airport. Now we see Misaki flopping through her military training. Like, is she even fit to do anything?! Why do I have a feeling those boobs get in the way? Even in her part time job, she is so clumsy! Can she do anything right?! I still blame those boobs, though… Almost spilling the food on a customer! But soon that customer, Gim Glenn who is from the military, talks to her. She explains she joined the army because her father was one. Not to follow in his footsteps but to understand him further. Now she realizes she is nowhere near him and can’t do a single thing right! Glenn claims he doesn’t know Juzoh but on the contrary we see him at his grave. What now? One day Glenn brings Misaki to a sea carrier. He tells her whatever her father wanted, she will never figure it out. Only he himself will know. However he can let her experience closely to what he has gone through. And yeah, this ride through the launch rail that launches them into space! Hold on to your seats! Misaki is awed by the view of Earth as Glenn notes this will be the first of many experiences Juzoh has gone through. We see Lyar doing well in a simulation battle against Ghoul. The scientist explains how the technology they have, they can at best hold back Ghoul. But if they want to fight Ghoul, they have to rely on Rampart Armour’s systems. Lyar notes its drawbacks but the scientist has that covered. That is where Kotoko comes in as special backup.

Episode 2
Misaki is in a field training with Luxandra, Kiri and Suzanna. Damn girl still so useless and almost causes a friendly fire! No wonder Kiri hates her! We see Lyar down on the field too. She stumbles upon another group of trainees and is shocked to see Bernard. However she soon spots a young ghost Misaki girl and goes after her. Meanwhile the real Misaki gets lost (HOW?!) but luckily stumbles into Lyar and they make camp. Misaki talks about herself and how bad she is at this military stuff. Lyar then sees the ghost and has Misaki hide. Because a Specular pops up. At the same time, Misaki’s friends stumble into the area. WTF aren’t they supposed to be making camp at this hour?! Anyway, Lyar fails to defeat Specular so Misaki picks up her gun. Some flashes of her previous life whatever so she fires directly at it. Not sure if it is because Lyar contacts Kotoko for assistance and some sky beam directly hits it and the Specular disappears. The friends are impressed with Misaki but they realize too late that Lyar is gone. A weakened Lyar is warned by Kotoko to get out of here or she’ll be stuck in this time forever. She thinks it is best time stood still so Misaki won’t experience that tragedy but then ghost girl says that can’t do because everyone has their paths to take. When Lyar collapses, she returns back to her own real time inside the carrier. Kotoko and Kiri are with her. Lyar notes Kiri’s miserable time with Misaki during military training. However Kiri says Misaki was never on her team and the first time she met Misaki was on Watcher’s Nest. This leaves Lyar confused and wondering what is happening down there on Earth.

Episode 3
Woerns talking to his comrade if Earth is actually stuck inside this temporal barrier. However he opines it is not Earth but they who are stuck in this. Lyar and Kotoko ride a Rampart Armour down into Earth. Based on the stars and everything, they realize they have returned to feudal Japan in 1594! However they are far away from their supposed target. Seeing they cannot ride Rampart Armour there, Lyar will go there on foot while Kotoko stays behind to relay messages. Yeah well, she’ll soon learn it will be like 80 km away! Thank goodness she meets a samurai dude (Juzoh?) and after assuring she is not the enemy, he agrees to guide her to her destination. Meanwhile we see Misaki also existing in this feudal time. Ghost girl trying to tell her she can’t keep herself locked up like this forever. A ninja is about to assassinate Toyotomi. However this guy has a Specular with him and in no time ninja dude dies! Damn, a hole through his body! Feel my divine power! Samurai guy has led Lyar to where she wants so they part ways. Uhm, he vanishes into the wind? Misaki hands her lord some message. Something about Toyotomi’s failed assassination. He then hands this job to samurai guy. He takes it up and almost meets the same fate. Luckily Lyar is here to save him although he is already suffering a fatal wound while trying to dodge Specular attack. Lyar fires a shot and with Kotoko’s help locking it in, the Specular escapes. Lyar wants to finish this job by ghost girl tells her to tend samurai guy. Toyotomi still has Specular’s power and wants to ambush but ghost girl stops him. How does Lyar intend to save samurai guy from his wound? I don’t know the logic behind this but she gets naked and have sex with him?! WTF?! Definitely any dead guy will come back alive!!!

Episode 4
More explanation to Woerns on why this is happening to Earth. All that mumbo jumbo and I don’t get it! As for the reason for all this happened, Lyar believes it is Ghoul. When they anchored to the moon, Ghoul already landed on Earth. Why? As LeBlanc said, they are invaders from parallel universe. Hence she suggested going down on Earth to investigate further. So here we are now. Samurai guy is still alive thanks to the amazing sex. Oh, he thanks her for the medicine? I don’t know if it’s their term for sex but whatever… Samurai guy wants to go back and assassinate Toyotomi although Lyar has her concerns. He vanishes into the wind again. Lyar then orders Kotoko to bring Rampart Armour here. It’s an emergency so screw what the superiors say. Samurai guy talks to the lord about a strange shadow that is Toyotomi’s source of power. They must kill it or countless people will die. He will attack again tonight seeing he just got attacked so he won’t think it will be so soon. Samurai guy then finds himself confronting a Misaki version Specular. His primitive weapons won’t do any good. Thankfully here comes Lyar and her Rampart Armour to turn the tide. But then she starts to see a vision of Misaki in it. Then she is faced with ghost Misaki and feudal Misaki. Ghost girl says she is made from Misaki and hence a different version of her. That is when Lyar remembers her true mission. She detected a Specular but what she was after was a Ghoul. Realizing this Specular is just an illusion the Ghoul created, she does what is necessary to eliminate it. With that, feudal Misaki dies. HUH?! WHAT?! Lyar believes samurai guy doesn’t need to assassinate Toyotomi since this malice power is gone. However he still needs to because the person is still alive. Oh, Lyar wants to come along? But Kotoko say no can do because by defeating the Specular, this disrupts the temporal barrier. They have to go back now or they’ll be stuck. Samurai tells her to go home. Why is Lyar so heavy hearted to leave? Is she in love with him or what?! As they leave, samurai tells his name: Goemon Ishikawa. Kotoko checks the legend that he still exists although he eventually will get executed. It’s a good thing Lyar didn’t help him with the assassination as she might have changed history. Yeah, Lyar looking so sad…

Episode 5
Lyar returns but collapses. Meanwhile Woerns detects some Saturn rings going to collide with the moon so they’re gonna prevent that. As Lyar recuperates, the doctor talks to her about infinite parallel worlds. This has her think if Misaki became desperate to find an ideal world. Now we go down to Earth in 1936. Somewhere in Japan, a group of soldiers are going to start a coup but Misaki tries to stop them. They shoot at her but she becomes her Ghoul form. Nothing happens. Ghost Misaki then tries to stop Misaki from what she is doing. But Misaki believes if that never happened, little ghost version would’ve continued to smile instead of putting on this sad face. Meanwhile Kiri talks to Suzanna. Somehow the latter felt relieved she quit the military and is now able to help people. However this puzzles Kiri, what made her say that? Even Suzanna herself can’t understand why. Then Kiri talks about a certain friend of hers who would pursue her dreams without any hesitation. She was wrong. Kiri will replace Lyar in the next mission to head down to Earth. Before that, Lyar warns Kiri that she thought she was following signals of Ghoul. However what she was something different. You mean, she’s talking about that ghost? We see Misaki talking to a painter girl, Isuzu. From what I understand she is the fiancée of one of the coup soldiers. Because she pushed aside their love for the greater good of the country, Misaki confronted that soldier who is more than willing to sacrifice their mini happiness for the sake of purging the country of the corrupted. It’s for the better good. And of course Isuzu is left crying when she receives a letter that her lover cannot meet again. She accepts her fate but Misaki is more confused because she sacrificed her happiness. When Kiri stumbles into the Ghoul, she sees Misaki in it. She realizes this is what Lyar was talking about. But this Misaki claims she isn’t the real Misaki and she is trying to alter time to change the future because she has the power now. Kiri can’t believe she is risking millions of lives to save a few but Misaki is hell bent on executing her plan. Kiri talks about her meeting with Suzanna and despite the misfortune, she accepted it and moved on. Misaki must do the same. Misaki disappears and since the temporal barrier is closing, Kiri must get out. Back at base, Kiri talks to Lyar about Misaki trying to change time and save the people of that era by stopping the coup. She thinks she understands why Misaki called her out.

Episode 6
Now we’re jumping to the future. It’s 2305, baby! Juzoh is part of the military and Misaki is his mechanic assistant whatever. Lyar is here too and talks to him, asking why he joined the military especially to become a space pilot. What he wants is always faraway. Even if it is so far away beyond his grasp, the best solution is to do it and go there himself. A mini explosion nearby rocks the place. Juzoh has to go and wonders if he can ‘date’ Lyar again. Of course. As long as he is alive. Kiri is trying to smoke out the saboteur but stumbles into mechanic Misaki. She wonders if Misaki is trying to alter something in Watcher’s Nest so that everything could end painlessly. Misaki escapes. Before Juzoh’s next mission, Misaki asks why he continues to risk his life. Because of his promise to a girl that looks like her. This is when ghost Misaki pops up before this Misaki to remind her of her promise with dad. Meanwhile Lyar and Kiri take down the saboteur who reveals there are many others trying to prevent the creation of Watcher’s Nest. He believes Juzoh will die in this next dive. But as they race to the control room, Juzoh’s pod has already launched deep into the sea. But something goes terribly wrong. All signals lost. Misaki goes into despair and this stops time. All she wanted was for daddy to come back just like that time. Further flashback shows Misaki was in despair, thinking Juzoh swam out to sea and died. But he came back and brought back some pendant. Hence the promise made, whenever Juzoh finds something he has never seen before, he promises to come back to bring it to her. Ghost Misaki adds this is the reason she must go to Watcher’s Nest. Because that is where reality is. The reality everyone has chosen. A miracle happens as Juzoh comes back alive. Lyar explains to Misaki that Juzoh named her so as it means cape. Because he sets out to an unknown world, he won’t be afraid from the cape he is setting as he knew his daughter will always be waiting for him. That’s why he went to Watcher’s Nest. Lyar now lashes out at her for trying to remake the world. Even if she changes the past, it will not take away her pain. The only thing they can do is create a better future and she has lots of friends who would gladly help her. Misaki breaks down and pleads for help but disappears. That is when fluctuations in the temporal barrier is detected. Past and present superimposing and existing together. Get out of here now and fast!

Episode 7
Lyar sees a vision of Prim who tells her it was Misaki who connected the other universe. She is also calling out to her and others. The reason she is doing so is because she needs help. Lyar doesn’t understand. So do I! Because what comes next is some mumbo jumbo explanation on the parallel universe thingy and the reason there is another Watcher’s Nest before them! WTF???!!! I DON’T UNDERSTAND! Woerns need to send those who can withstand the rift and the only candidates are Lyar, Kiri and Suzanna. Oh, Suzanna is back in active duty since when?! Along with Kotoko, the quartet dive into the core and arrive on the other Watcher’s Nest. Supposedly on a time where everybody just evacuated. Not sure what they’re doing or going to do but we see Suzanna serving them food. Apparently she’s the only one who can cook or what? In the meantime, old memories of Suzanna may be resurfacing. As they continue, suddenly a Ghoul pops up to attack. Could this be Misaki? Lyar wonders if the Ghoul has stolen her soul. Suzanna reliving the nightmares when she first encountered the Ghoul. But then she fights back and with the help from Watcher’s Nest laser beam or something, the Ghoul disappears. But we also see it is causing Misaki to be hurt. Woerns then receives report of something resembling Ghoul response has been detected near Saturn.

Episode 8
Suzanna suffering from shock as she has some of her memories returned. Misaki soon pops up all over the monitors. She tells the ladies she is in the Quantum Core and to come rescue her quickly. Because all the Ghouls are here and their goal is to destroy everything. OMG, is Misaki getting raped by the Ghouls?! After losing contact with her, it is LeBlanc’s turn to pop up to say that they’ll never locate her unless they use the Integral System. So as Lyar tries to use it, Kotoko picks up more distressing signals from Misaki to come quick. The Ghouls are devouring her! Meanwhile Suzanna wakes up and then who’s the wise guy who posted all the secret files of her having that surgery to erase her memories? Yeah, she finds out about it and feels sad. But don’t worry, she’s stronger now, right? This data also pinpoints some secret location. So they head there and find unconscious Prim inside a pod. After rescuing her, Lyar attempts to use the Integral System but LeBlanc points out it is beyond her understanding. If she uses it, she’ll end up like Prim. However he hints there is a way seeing she wants to save Misaki so bad. That is, use Kiri as she is able to handle it. After talking to her, of course Kiri is going to do it. As Kiri enters the pod, she sees some strange visions of the experiment and LeBlanc spilling the beans that the real experiments on Necromancers was to come into contact with the consciousness of the Ghoul. Hence everyone including our ladies here all just pawns for this experiment. Using Integral System, Kiri finds Misaki and she realizes she is holding back the Ghouls. Hurry up! She can’t hold on much longer! But how to rescue her? She then communicates with Lyar to pinpoint Misaki’s position. Yeah, just fire a few shots into the Ghouls and look, we’ve freed Misaki! With Misaki rescued, all return to base.

Episode 9
It seems several Ghouls have been detected entering this universe and attacking. What in blazes is happening? LeBlanc so happy to explain the power keeping Ghoul in check is reaching its limits. After the ruins of Watcher’s Nest were discovered, those at Alchemy launched an investigation on what happened. It seems the moment Ghoul received a certain piece of info, they all begin to invade via every Inflation Hole. Misaki is recuperation well as Lyar asks if she is the real deal. Yes she is and not some phantom created by Ghoul. Misaki explains that the Specular was also her. Separated, but both of them were her. Lyar understands as she met different versions of Misaki in different points in time. All of them were suffering. Misaki continues explaining she saw the Ghoul’s past. Nothing but endless fighting. Watcher’s Nest was something created to seal Ghoul. Soon, Lyar and Misaki drop down back into the core. This time they face lots of Necromancers. Lyar will hold them back and wants Misaki to go cut off the Integral System. LeBlanc told her it is a technology humans stole from Ghoul. LeBlanc gleefully watches them and hopes they will lead him to the final key because the dead kept preventing him from attaining all the final records. Misaki thought she stumbled into a Ghoul but it is already dead. Then there’s some primordial soup or something. Contacting it, it seems it views Misaki as the Ghoul’s successor and will relay all the data to her. And conveniently she plays it back to the others. Another round of confusion! Here we go… Some space is supposed to bring order to all chaos. If some invasion happened, the universe will be trapped in some super massive state until it suddenly collapses. And it’s supposed to remake all of space-time? To seal that, a war was waged that would determine their existence and fate of the universe. To defend against the invaders, some temporal barrier was erected between 2 connecting universes. But the invaders overcame that. The final option was to concentrate a large amount of energy on Baby Universe and crush it to close the corridor. But turning an entire planet into that wasn’t sufficient so they had to destroy the planet instead. At that point, they had no more strength to fight so the only choice left was to use their bodies as guardians to protect that cage of time. Hence Necromancers are not controlled by Ghoul as previously thought. Ghoul invaded the minds of those who are dead and obviously the planet did not completely die. Misaki is appalled they destroyed their home planet and become the living dead. Playback over. Misaki experiencing some pain when she sees her father approaching.

Episode 10
So now we’re going to see Juzoh’s memories, huh? Looks like his team crash landed on some planet and slowly one by one, Juzoh watches all his comrades die and turn into corpse. At the same time, Lyar was a cadet and she wanted to mount a search and rescue operation but her superior shot her down as the top brass believed everyone was already dead. So as we see Juzoh surviving by himself on this barren hell, he thinks back about his time with the nurse at the military who took care of him, Akari. Yup, soon they marry and have a child. Juzoh promised that if he finished his training and go into space, he will bring them. However as he finished that, Akari got hospitalized. Then we see Juzoh stumbled upon some recording regarding the outcomes of Designer Children. It seems all died and that he was the only survivor. It then dawned to him that everything was planned from the start including meeting Akari. There must be a reason why he kept living or being kept alive. Even so, he believed it was all his will. As he rode out of this hell hole, he remembered Akari’s last words that he can aim as far as he wanted but promise to come back no matter what. For Misaki’s sake. Juzoh then stumbled into a Ghoul who then zapped him, trying to scan him. But remembering Misaki, he fought back. He will not let this monster have Misaki even when he is dead! Then at Akari’s grave, Juzoh told Misaki he will be going somewhere for a while. Misaki accepted it as long as he came back. She’ll wait. It’s a promise. Now Juzoh confronts Misaki and gives her Akari’s charm which is his dog tag. He hopes for her to be happy. Obviously. Misaki tearfully part ways with him as Juzoh tells her she knows what she must do next. Misaki then tells Lyar they will be returning to Watcher’s Nest since that is where everyone is.

Episode 11
Flashback shows LeBlanc talking to some higher up in Alchemy about the next step in his experiment. Something about using traces of Ghoul in the dead to reconstruct their entire memory. Boss was ascertain the experiment failed as none survived Watcher’s Nest. However LeBlanc noted about Juzoh. He was only the first step to guarantee some preliminary data as the second step is already ready. This time they’ll send an observer AKA Prim. Now we see LeBlanc using a Rampart Armour forcing his way down to the centre of the core. He will make use of what Misaki has done. At the same time, he hacks into all the systems and Lyar puts her priority to go rescue Misaki. Kotoko wants Lyar to back up her memories in case something happens, she won’t forget them. LeBlanc’s hacking begins as Kotoko senses he is trying to use the system to attack the other Misaki who is holding the Ghouls back. As Kotoko tries to stop him, unfortunately LeBlanc is superior and overwhelms her. However LeBlanc faces resistance as Prim tries to fight back but is also overwhelmed. However this buys Lyar time to rescue Misaki and rendezvous with the rest. LeBlanc is happy that the door is now opened. What’s this he can be with mama again? And so our ladies detect as such and Ghouls are beginning their invasion. Misaki explains alternate times and spaces have become connected. Lyar believes their only option is to destroy the Inflation Hole although this will cause them to be stranded here for 32 light years from home. She tells the rest to escape and knew of Misaki’s plan to sacrifice herself for this. However Suzanna and Kiri will not run away. They’re sick of that. Don’t you believe in us? Alright then, let’s do this. LeBlanc thought he has completely hacked all the systems but Prim did something to get in the way. This allows time for Kiri to cut off all links to their system. But now they can’t control it from here so Suzanna suggests some ring’s secondary control room in the alternate space. But to do that, they have to shut down all systems that LeBlanc has taken over. Do they have a choice?

Episode 12
Walker receives a CD message from Lyar and relays it to Woerns. Yeah, this method Lyar uses to communicate with Woerns is because as she warns him LeBlanc has hacked all the systems. Hence she tells him to cut all lines before LeBlanc hacks his. She also mentions they are trapped in the temporal barrier and not Earth. Thus LeBlanc is trying to release Ghoul that has been trapped inside the Inflation Hole with them and have all the Ghouls transcend space-time and invade every point throughout the universe. Lyar has Suzanna stay back not because she wants her to live but rather to cut off LeBlanc’s link with the main system. Only she can do it. The rest go down to fight LeBlanc but unfortunately Kiri gets killed. That is no illusion! Then as Misaki faces him, LeBlanc feels he has the upper hand because he controls everything here. But what’s this? Who is thwarting him again? Not Prim again! Well, Kotoko somehow woke up and carried Prim all the way into the Integral System. Yeah, the b*tch’s back as she wants Misaki to stop her brother’s madness. They’re related?! At least they are test subjects created from the same set of genes. So as Prim holds down LeBlanc, Misaki fires and is forced to shoot through both of them. With LeBlanc’s link severed, Suzanna makes contact with Woerns to initiate their final plan. LeBlanc still lives and he thinks he now knows everything what a Ghoul is although Misaki opposes. LeBlanc tells us Ghoul’s true form is always expanding and it is Inflation Space itself. Their goal to invade universes is to destroy and bring everything into nothingness. That is also what LeBlanc himself wants. Why? We wouldn’t understand? Oh, let’s hear it. LeBlanc was created as a mere test subject. As such, his life was hell. Love was just some illusion created by humans to deceive themselves and satisfy their own desires. Alchemy was formed to be some sort of mankind’s future and last religious institution. But if this cycle repeats itself, it can only lead to destruction. Hence he is born out of such monster’s desire and as such he will grant that desire. Misaki opposes because there is still happiness as long as you believe! LeBlanc calls that BS because it’s just illusions she created to bluff herself. Misaki makes peace with herself and then relays a message to Suzanna and Lyar. Basically, she is going to sacrifice herself to save them. Don’t be sad. She’ll always be with them. In their hearts, right? And so Misaki disappears and saves the universe.

Episode 13
Lyar sees a final vision of Misaki telling her that she was wrong to find a world without sadness. Because you can’t change the past. But they can change the future. Lyar and Suzanna arrive safely. But when Lyar wants to search for Misaki, Suzanna is unsure who she is talking about. It has been a year and it is like as though Misaki has been erased from existence. Lyar gets permission from Woerns to go down to Earth to visit the families of the fallen. She visits Luxandra’s mom and although classified info cannot have her disclose how she died, all Lyar can say is that she died protecting others. Then she visits Kiri’s brother to hand him her stuffs. Woerns discusses about Earth refusing to accept their 10 million refugees. However he believes they can return to Watcher’s Nest using their own human technology as their path has always been forged by their own strength. As Lyar visits Alchemy, she remembers Kotoko doesn’t remember about Misaki too and no such person in the database. Lyar is shocked to see LeBlanc at Alchemy but he is Jalabert. More shock as she learned that Prim has never been dispatched to Watcher’s Nest and has always been here. Prim then reports to Jalabert about the destruction of Inflation Hole near Watcher’s Nest that sealed the Ghoul. Asking if Juzoh had any children, negative as his wife died young. Jalabert looks through the files and sees Lyar as the last survivor of Kessler Project. Now 10 years as past. Lyar becomes the captain of another expedition to space to continue mankind’s dream. Yes, another 60 years of space journey and Lyar is now an old woman. She receives a signal from Misaki for her. Flashback when the journey started, a couple gave birth to the first child born on this expedition. She was given the honour to name the baby and she called her Misaki. The same reason Juzoh named her so. As the ship approaches Watcher’s Nest, it looks like it is intact like before. Lyar goes down alone to follow the source of Misaki’s transmission. She finds her room and her diary. She remembers about Prim talking about parallel universes and there is a possibility that one from another universe may be stuck there if the universes intersected or connected. So, I believe Lyar’s connection to Misaki has her believe she has never been completely separated from her yet. Lyar goes around the places they have been in the past until it leads her to Misaki in the flesh. Have a big hug. It’s been a long time.

Me-Suck-It Comicals: All That Glitters Is Not Ghoul
Oh man… WTF… What the heck is this pain in my head… OMFG… Am I getting a headache?! Holy sh*t! I guess 2 cours of sci-fi madness was indeed enough to give me all that! Or maybe I am growing old and should not have binge watch this retro anime in a few sittings! But damn, I’m glad it is over because I don’t know how much more of everything from this series I can handle! Yup, I don’t think I understand what is going on. So did I just waste my time watching this show???!!! OMG. Is there a me from another parallel universe jump right in to help me understand WTF is going on???!!! On second thought, scrap that. I’m not interested in this series any longer, now that I have completed it. Sighs. Good riddance.

As you can already tell, I’m not going to have a lot of good things to say about this series and I am just going to b*tch and whine about everything simply I am too dumb to understand all the sci-fi terms and plots that was going on. It still proves that until today, such genres are not my cup of tea and should stay away from it. But have I learnt from all over the years? Yeah, guts are one thing and they are often wrong when it comes to this! So yeah, if you really want to enjoy this, you have got to love and have the mind set of a sci-fi lover. Otherwise you will be so lost and even more lost than Misaki in time or in the other universe! Heh.

Obviously, I don’t really understand what is going on even in both seasons. The terminologies are so heavy that until the end of the series, there are many terms which I am still unfamiliar with. So when the characters started spouting them, my mind goes blank. The whole thing just confused the hell out of me and the simple plot of Ghouls wanting to destroy the galaxy has been elaborated and twisted in such a sci-fi manner so that we can have some sci-fi twists and drama. Yeah, like those Necromancers are actually the good guys trying to protect and hold off Ghoul. If I actually understand that right! There is a chance I may be wrong so feel free to correct me any time. Even the Wikipedia up there has some decent and comprehensive explanation about the plot and characters but at this point I am too confused and tired to read it up. I just want to get away from this right now!

In the first season, at the beginning of each episode, they show clips of what I believe are experiments from the past that led to the current situation. Of course I don’t really understand hence I cannot connect them into the current storyline. Making it very out of place for me. Essentially the first season felt like trying to set up the mysteries surrounding the Ghoul and eventually it is not the Ghoul that are the biggest devils but rather humans because well, we’re so devilish we want to play God and achieve whatever our desires. So the Ghoul isn’t the bad guy but us? In a way. You know what Steve Irwin said about crocodiles and humans, right? Crocodiles being simple as they just want to eat you. But humans they pretend to be your friends first. So in this context, foolish humans who thought they could unlock the mysteries of the universe and become God, were actually opening up Pandora’s Box. If I understood that correctly. Then in the second season, it felt more like Misaki getting lost and her different version and her pals trying to bring her back before from her depression the ultimate showdown of what a Ghoul really is and the ultimate battle to somewhat save mankind.

Unfortunately, I can’t rant long about the characters (which is also a good thing to keep my blog short!) since what are the chances I understand the characters if I myself has already lost the plot. So yeah, what else is there for me to say about Misaki because I am still confused about her. She’s a normal girl but not really normal. There. I just confused myself further with it. You wonder among her comrades in Seraphim, she’s like a retard and bimbo. So out of place. And then of course, plot twist, human and Ghoul hybrid! There’s your excuse for her to transform into her grotesque form for some weird Ghoul action. Yeah, and some family issue in which thankfully was resolved. So did father and daughter keep their promise? Don’t know. Still confused about it all. But they made peace so that’s that.

Personally, Lyar feels like a better character as she goes out of her way to ensure those under her do not suffer as much. Her bad point is that she tries to take it all upon herself but I guess the power of friendship in the end has her delegate her roles. Imagine how many times she has to go down to the core to rescue somebody. My other pet peeve with her is how her name sounds exactly like a liar! Imagine calling you a liar all the time! Felt weird at first but eventually I got used to it. Liar. Though, official sources spelled her name as Ryer because she has German background… Oh yeah, cast so nationally diverse because although Suzanna is British (not that I know of), Kiri is New Zealander?! WTF, she is a Kiwi?! I never knew! I thought she was f*cking Japanese like Misaki or halfie due to her hard to pronounce surname. Of f*ck, Prim is Swedish?! Oh sorry, KINGDOM of Sweden! I SO CONFUSED! Wouldn’t have guessed it! Does Luxandra look like an American to you?! Sorry she’s Mexican. Yeah, United Mexican States. Wait… WHAT?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! My gringo amigo yo! But with a surname like Frail, oh boy… Don’t judge a character by their name because she’s not. I want to make some Star Wars puns about that American Walker dude since he also looks a bit like Lando but never mind… The force is not strong in me for this one. And by the way, he is American and not from planet Socorro…

And now we have French dude LeBlanc as the main antagonist at least in the second season where he shows his true colours and wanting to unleash Ghoul and wreak complete destruction upon the universe. The terminologies already compounded my misery so whenever he blabs about his plans, blah, blah, blah, it just felt so confusing. All I know is that he sounds like a typical villain from the way he says it all. Though, I still don’t get what all this has to do with his mama. I thought he was just some sick boy yearning to go to where mama is because mommy got devoured by a Ghoul before his eyes when he was a kid. But I guess that would make him turn into Eren of Shingeki No Kyojin and he will go like, kill all Ghouls!!! Yeah! Thank goodness that did not happen. And so with him being this typical villain who wishes for destruction upon all, I think it is simpler that way. I think. Prim and Kotoko felt more like plot conveniences in the second half to fight off this madman more than anything else. But I could be wrong since I don’t really fully understand them.

One of the biggest issues I’m going to complain about is the visuals. More specifically, the CGI. Ah yes, such abomination. Even though this show came out in 2003 and its sequel a year later, I’m sure I am tempted to give a pass because of technological limitations of that era. However each time I see the Ghoul animated in such horrible CGI manner, I am tempted to think twice. Especially Misaki in her Ghoul form. Oh my, so freaking atrocious! She looks so hideous! One big ugly mother! I hope I don’t get nightmares! So was this the horror part I was afraid of? Well, I am not sure if they intend the Ghoul to look so ugly but damn, the animation quality and use of CGI of it remained awful. Especially Ghoul on Misaki Ghoul version, it looked some very weird rape scene. Yeah, WTF going on there?! The other nightmare fuel for me, when Misaki seems to communicate with the Ghoul and her eyes turn into something that looks scary! Yikes!

Coupled in with some special effects of that time, oh yeah, the explosions and whatever smoke effects it sure looks so dated and amateurish at this point. Which brings me to the action bits and they’re just as weird because of such visuals. Yeah, don’t really understand. Rampart Armour firing a few pot shots at Ghoul. Ghoul in pain whatever. Really weird. And that Specular thingy made out of electricity. Hope you love your CGI effects of that era. Weird. But CGI for others like Rampart Armour and the carrier look pretty decent and smooth. Is it because they are inanimate objects? Such quality reminds me of the Transformers’ Beast Wars series. It was really wow, ooohhhs and aaahhhs back then but looking back retrospectively, damn it’s just so ugly and plain…

So yeah, the 2D animations fare slightly better although there are some scenes that felt a bit wonky. Otherwise it is your typical 2D animation that reeks early 2000’s style. Yeah, looking at Misaki now, I thought she was an alternate sci-fi version of Hatsune Miku… I also want to point out this series has some fanservice in it because well, girls in space, how do you fanservice that? Our Seraphim cadet quartet initially wore their training suits so sexy, obviously that is fanservice bait, no? Yeah, I thought they were dressed to go play beach volleyball or something but I just remembered we’re in space. Mind boggling. Do they need to dress up so sexy like that? And colour coded too? More fanservice galore as all our girls are just as busty as f*ck and their boobs so firm like as though they want to stick it into our face! I don’t know about the laws of physics in space or in the universe, but do they bounce and jiggle a lot like that? Oh geez. Thanks? With the second half of the second season getting serious and advancing in its plot, the fanservice seems less obvious. After all, our cadets have been promoted so no going back to that sexy uniform style. That’s why they made Prim unconscious and lying in coma in her white undies. Do they have to actually intricately draw her lacy underwear? Better appreciate it. This anime was done by the now defunct Radix who did Haibane Renmei, Silent Mobius, Lemon Angel Project, Love Get Chu and Master Mosquiton 99.

Voice acting is rather okay as Takehito Koyasu being the most recognizable of the lot. He sounds a lot like he is today as he is back then. Consistency, dude. The other ones I partially recognized is Hiroaki Hirata as Juzoh and Kazuki Yao’s cameo as Goemon. Got to remember that there is always more to just One Piece’s Sanji to him. More shockingly, didn’t realize that it was Rina Satou behind Prim! OMG, it’s her?! Fun fact: This is actually her first debutant role in the voice acting industry! OMG, I’m inclined to think how old she is!!! HAHAHA!!! Well, definitely wouldn’t recognize her unless she does that trademark biri-biri character’s voice. And the other one that caught me by surprise too is Miyu Matsuki as Kotoko. I thought she sounded familiar and couldn’t place my finger on it until I saw the credits. Oh f*ck, has it already almost been 10 years since she passed on (back in 2015)? Oh man, how time flies. RIP, Miyu Matsuki.

The rest of the other casts whom I never heard of are Yumi Kakazu as Misaki (Shizuka in Doraemon series), Reiko Kiuchi as Lyar (Anubituf in Simoun), Fumie Mizusawa as Kiri (Ayako in Fate/Stay Night), Sanae Kobayashi as Suzanna (Lucy in Elfen Lied), Reiko Takagi as Luxandra (Kaolla in Love Hina), Ikuya Sawaki as Woerns (Fujitora in One Piece), Yuri Amano as Akari and even the Ghoul had Ryuuzaburou Ootomo (Crocodile in One Piece) voicing it?! Isn’t the Ghoul just roaring and moaning all the way?! Oh well, seeing his Walker role wasn’t prominent enough, might as well double him with this role. Yeah, I can hear myself making dumb conspiracies of him and the Ghoul being related. And to the Star Wars universe! Better stop it… And what’s this? Jun Fukuyama making a cameo as Kiri’s brother in the final episode?! No way! Oh right, forgot all about Hiroyuki Yoshino as Bernard too.

The first season’s opening theme, Nine Inch Nails by Yousuke Houga is an instrumental. Perhaps the reason why this is the best song despite being some futuristic rock piece that fits this series like a glove. It is also here in the opening credits animation where the biodata of the characters are listed. The reason how I knew the characters had ‘strange’ nationalities. Yeah. So yup, Luxandra’s United Mexican States was not me trolling or a typo!!! Then suddenly with have some lively candy pop with the first season’s ending theme, Pump Up by Nao Nagasawa. Oh man, lots of Misaki fanservice and the happy girl herself having fun and living the life she was supposed to live! The same techno dance pop sung also by Nao Nagasawa greets us in Misaki Chronicle’s opener, Kiss Kiss Kiss. Once again, the animation felt like this would’ve been the happy life for Misaki had she not go through all that Ghoul crap. Our Nao Nagasawa once more sings the ending theme for the sequel. However Sora is more of a slow techno rock.

Overall, this has been a train wreck for me and it still proves that until today, such sci-fi shows are not for me. Ever. Unlike many reviews and commenters out there who had positive things to say about it, unfortunately it is not the same for me. The sci-fi terms themselves already killed me and my puny brain cannot comprehend the seemingly complicated sci-fi plot. I was already lost and confused and not even hot chicks fanservice could dissipate all that confusion. Heh. And the atrocious Ghoul CGI could even exacerbate my nightmares. Yes, it was not a journey I enjoyed especially spending most of my time in bafflement and perplexity. Such agony. So I guess it is safe to say that for the time being I will be laying off sci-fi animes and especially popular ones that I may have an inkling of an interest to look at. Sorry Steins; Gate and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Looks like I’ll have to pass you up for the foreseeable future. Or forever. Just like Misaki said, I can’t change nor undo the past (of watching crappy and confusing animes), but I can definitely change the future by watching more slapstick romcom fanservice filled animes! It’s a no brainer. Something I understand so much better!

Hey, wait a minute! I thought this was already over! So over that there won’t be any possibilities of a sequel! Or so I thought. Because I should have seen it coming that it is the next new and younger generation that will be taking over. Ah yes. Something that is old but also fresh and now. Thus that is the case for Nanatsu No Taizai: Mokushiroku No Yonkishi. Time for a next generation of heroes to take the limelight. Just like its predecessor, looks like our so called new generation heroes won’t be starting off as heroes. Because as the title suggests, they are the prophesized Four Knights of Apocalypse that will bring ruin to the world. And we should know it better already, despite having a moniker from the bible that represents something bad, they actually aren’t. You know, bad guys are the good guys and the good guys are the bad guys. Confusing titles… Yeah, I roughly know how it will turn out.

Episode 1
Percival lives a happy life with grandpa, Varghese on a remote sky island. One day, grandpa realizes tomorrow is his birthday and he will turn 16. Well, Percival doesn’t even remember his own age! You see, when he turns 16, grandpa believes he will go on a journey like he did. So Percival, it’s not drinking beer with grandpa. However Percival isn’t interested and prefers to stay with him. Even if Varghese mentions all the exciting supernatural lore that Britannia has below. Varghese thought his grandson is boring but Percival disagrees. Living every day like this with grandpa is fun. But of course we soon hear Percival’s thoughts that he is actually interested to go adventuring but is staying back for grandpa’s sake. One day, a Holy Knight named Ironside visits the island. He is looking for Varghese. Percival points out where he is as Varghese laments this kid has never been told the truth. And soon, Ironside attacks Varghese. The former saying something about betraying their master but Varghese claims only Ironside betrayed. Varghese only abandoned. Percival tries to fight Ironside but both grandpa and grandson got heavily wounded. Ironside reveals an ominous prophecy was made a few days ago. The arrival of some existence will lead to King Arthur’s doom. The identities of those Four Knights of Apocalypse are unclear but they can’t leave it to chance. So, without prove he is suspecting Varghese? And why the f*ck he didn’t kill them off to make sure they’re dead?! This allows grandpa and grandson to have their last words. Varghese knows his time is up and needs Percival to go on a journey alone. Percival refuses although he admits he lied about not being excited to go on a journey. In that case grandpa too lied because he was happy when he wanted to stay. He further reveals Ironside is Percival’s father and if he wants to know why he is doing this, seek him out. Varghese dies as Percival buries him. He tries to live the solo life but soon finds a bag containing gears grandpa prepared for the day he would leave. With that, Percival mans up and takes his first step descending down to the land of Britannia.

Episode 2
Upon reaching the ground below, Percival meets a strange dog. Or is it a fox? Wolf? He wants to be friends with it but it runs away. This leads Percival to a travelling troupe consisting of Katz, Elva and Donny. Sneaky Donny trying to steal Percival’s belongings while distracting him with a trick but seeing how Percival is fast, better not play with him. Percival asks if they know someone named Ironside. Don’t recall that name. Perhaps the village up ahead might know. After all, all of them harboured hopes to become a Holy Knight but were dropouts. They let him join them as they make their way but soon villagers come running for help as a monster wolf is attacking. Percival goes to fight it. Damn, he is lousy with the arrows! Before he gets owned, Donny returns to protect him. Percival’s courage got him fired up. Percival then uses his strength to stop the wolf and even a single slap kills it! With that, he is considered a hero as the village welcomes them and celebrates. Elva tells Percival all he needs to know about being a Holy Knight since he doesn’t even know what it is. Percival then starts asking all the villagers but none of them know who Ironside is. Until this dude shows up. He is a fellow Holy Knight, Pellegarde. It seems he was friends with Varghese and that monster wolf was his familiar. Pellegarde is impressed with his strength and would like to train Percival himself. They end up fighting so if Percival wins, he will tell Ironside’s whereabouts. Otherwise Pellegarde will take him away. It looked like a one-sided fight. Although Percival is strong, he is still no match for Pellegarde. Pellegarde wants him to use magic but to his surprise, Percival says he has none. When Percival is about to lose, a village kid cheers for him not to give up. It is then Percival unleashes some magic to push back Pellegarde. So was he lying about the magic?

Episode 3
Percival is amazed with his new powers although he is still no match for Pellegarde. Despite showing a few other magic like summoning little minions and healing, Pellegarde is still a grade above. Pellegarde is suspicious of this rare power he has as he now shows his full power. Percival might have died had Donny not intervened. That is when a fox interrupts and teleports them away. At a safe place, Sin tells Percival that he must not be taken by any Holy Knights since he has been found. Sin is from a group opposing the Holy Knights as they believe they are serving an evil king whose goal is to find and eradicate the Apocalypse Knights who will destroy the world: Famine, Pestilence, War and Death. They don’t exist yet but soon will be. Although 1 of them has been found. It’s you, Percival! We see the Holy Knights convene as they discuss about the Apocalypse Knights. Their identities are still a mystery although they have a lead on some of their traits. Yes, one of them seems to be Percival’s. Ironside and Pellegarde get into a fight over not killing Percival. Hey, wasn’t it Ironside’s fault for not making sure he is dead? Don’t say I didn’t tell you! Sin is going to bring them to Camelot. However that place is believed to be destroyed during the war. Sin claims it still exists but one cannot enter via normal means and must be through Liones. It’s a long way and since their tummy growls, time to hunt for food. Donny sucks at shooting arrows and almost hits this giant nun, Dolores worshipping nearby. But her fairy pals, Bob and Nob come rushing to warn her as they saw a human (Percival) entering the dangerous Echo Gorge. Because there lives a weird guy who makes medicines and turn all creatures berserk. Speaking of Percival, he beats up all the monsters and finds himself at this weird guy’s house. He saves a fairy from being his experiment. But in exchange, Nasiens will make him his guinea pig. Uhm, is this what Michael Jackson would look like if his Smooth Criminal outfit is a magic herbalist?!

Episode 4
Nasiens is surprised that the drugs he mixed have completely different effect on Percival. He wants to further use him as his guinea pig but Percival breaks out from his ropes. Nasiens tries to take him down and notes he has no time for this since he is trying to save the gorge. When Percival steals a precious drug bottle, Nasiens panics. Percival drinks it all! Now what is happening to him? Nothing! In fact, he feels a lot better. So this drug works? Nasiens can finally make some as he drinks what is left of it and collapses while the others come into the picture. When he mentions the name of Ordo, the fairies note it is the person who previously lived here. A nice apothecary guy, he was researching various herbs and made this place his home. Nasiens was then found as an abandoned baby so Ordo treated him like his own child and thought him medicine. But one day, he went missing and strange things started to happen to the gorge. The fairies believe he is trying to kill it but Percival isn’t jumping the gun yet. He gives Nasiens a chance to save the gorge since now it is engulfed with poison mist that kills all life. Nasiens’ ability is ingesting any poison and then mixing it inside his body to freely create and mix his own. This new drug regenerates the gorge. Wow. Everything just came back to life. The fairies apologize for accusing him. Even though the side effects of his drug turned some animals crazy, Nasiens was also tormented by this and hoped to find a cure for them soon. However he is unsure what is causing the gorge to die. Just then, a hideous monster pops in. So, that is Ordo?! We’ve got our answer as this guy is spewing poison gas into the gorge. Definitely words can’t reach him because as Ordo is going to kill Nasiens, Dolores protects him and gets burnt all over. The perpetrator is that earlier fairy whom Percival saved. He blames Ordo a sinner and orders him to destroy this gorge. Nasiens is in despair but Percival promises they are going to get back Ordo.

Episode 5
The fairy turns out to be Talisker, one of the Holy Knights. He will tell them the truth why he did this to Ordo if they manage to land a hit on him and if they defeat him, he’ll turn him back. Nasiens charges straight and could’ve met his fate had not Percival intervene. Talisker sends Ordo to kill them and as Percival blocks his attacks, the tries to tell Ordo about Nasiens keeping the gorge safe. A slight reaction as Ordo tries to fight back. When Talisker rains hailstorm, Percival punches away every single one of them and takes some damage himself. That’s when his magic starts activating and turns him more powerful than before. After landing a hit on him, Talisker reveals why he did this to Ordo. It seems he was told to abandon other races and solely concentrate his medicine on humans. He refused to do so and was punished. Hence he must destroy the gorge himself otherwise Talisker will do it. Talisker realizes Percival fits the description of one of the Apocalypse Knights. Defeating him means ending the prophecy. Too bad he is foolish not to see his own defeat as Percival easily sends him flying. Dolores is okay and her burnt marks is just her ability to harden her skin. What about Ordo? Sin destroys a strange looking staff belonging to Talisker. Just like that, Ordo reverts to normal. An emotional reunion with grandpa. Sin notes about the strange staff known as chaos staff that is handed out by the king of Camelot himself. Why? Dunno. As Percival and co are about to resume their journey, Nasiens is joining them. Ordo told him to go experience the world while he remains to perfect Nasians’ drug. After all, Percival is his first friend, oops guinea pig. We know he meant friend, right? Percival is now motivated, not only he’ll beat up Ironside for the truth, he is going to kick Arthur’s ass too. As it is still a long way to Liones, the next town they’ll arrive at is Sistana.

Episode 6
Anghalhad AKA Anne is the daughter of the duke ruling Sistana. It seems Ironside is here too and speaking to the duke. But Anne’s powers detect him full of lies. Especially about protecting this town. Soon, Percival’s side enter Sistana. Percival’s little minions lead him to unearth an artefact hidden underneath the bushes. Sin is shocked upon recognizing as a part of the Coffin of Eternal Darkness. But soon Anne spots them and thinks they are working for the Holy Knights to get this piece. As she fights them, she is surprised seeing Percival has no lies. In fact, he gives this fragment back to her. But when her maid calls for her, she gives it back to Percival to hide and tells him not to give to anyone especially Ironside. Oh, that name. Anne is berated by her father for going out since it will be dangerous. She tries to tell him about Ironside’s lies but he doesn’t believe. Worst, he thinks she is still a child and slaps her, telling her to stay in her room. At Percival’s side, Sin knows Percival wants to get even with Ironside but this piece is dangerous and need to get it out of town. Otherwise they’ll involve the entire town. Is he willing to go that far? Furthermore, Percival is not even strong or close enough to best Ironside. That night when Ironside summons the townspeople to show them this Coffin of Eternal Darkness. He claims a disaster will befall on this town and hopes the people can help look for its missing piece so this item will help protect them. Sin of course knows hell will come once that final piece falls into the puzzle. This was supposed to seal the demon clan and with no goddess clan around if the seal is put together, you can guess what happens? Plus, all the townspeople will be the sacrifice. When Anne calls out to Ironside’s lies, he wants to punish her by turning her into a sacrifice. That is when Percival shows himself. But it is to take Anne and run. At the same time, the maid is Ironside’s demon familiar as it has found the missing piece and stole it for Ironside. As Ironside begins his ritual that requires blood sacrifice, our heroes must now make haste to stop it and they can do it by just removing a piece.

Episode 7
Monsters are appearing all over Sistana. Percival and co face off with Ironside continuing his ritual. Even in this state, he can still fight them. Donny gets scared and chickens out. Don’t want to die like this. Bye. This leaves the rest to save the day. Percival will fight his fighter while the rest go take out the Coffin of Eternal Darkness. But it is no easy feat seeing Ironside is super strong. Even if Anne manages to cut him slightly with her rapier that Nasiens infused with some paralysing toxic, Ironside is still far from going down. Percival questions his father about killing grandpa. So, not risking that there was a small chance he couple be one of the Apocalypse Knights? That’s it? Oh, Varghese took away something important from him too. Ironside kills Percival and proof is that all his minions disappear. No more traces of magic left. Nasiens’ potion couldn’t do the trick. Not even if Anne puts it in her mouth to administer it. Is there a difference?! Anne continues her futile attack while Nasiens defends Percival’s body. Yeah, so sad of his death, the posthumous award is that Percival has upgraded from his guinea pig to his hero. And look who’s back? Oh, it’s just Donny. He saved a few trapped townspeople on his way fleeing out. But realizes he can’t escape this mess and decides to go back to Percival’s side. He knows they can win this. Why? Because well, they’ve got Percival! What else answer do you need? Slowly, Percival’s magic revives and so does he. He heard his friends’ support from the darkness and their powers help increase his magic. Yes, friendship is the miracle and magic base for Percival to go Super Saiyan. Time for a comeback.

Episode 8
None of the townspeople get devoured because there is this strange powerful guy singlehandedly killing all the monsters. With the ritual interrupted, Ironside claims he has failed and will soon be executed. He wants to see Percival’s face up close before he dies. However Anne calls out to his lies so Ironside resumes his attack. Percival and co dodge all his attacks and in the end, manages to steal a piece of the Coffin of Eternal Darkness and even break Ironside’s helmet. Yeah, looks a lot like Varghese. Well, duh. Before he could continue attacking, Mortlach is here to stop him. Because he believes somebody who has the power to kill all the demons, could be part of the legendary Sins. The Holy Knights escape as Percival and co revel in their victory. Win Sin returning, they think his reinforcement has helped save their skin. They want to know who he called so he claims it is his forest pals. Ironside reports his failure to Arthur who is not impressed he lost to a kid. They lost their best chance to destroy Liones. He lets the demons devour and torment Ironside as he claims how humans have always suffered and caught in between wars of other races. He is trying to create a land where humans are free from all that agony. Now he not only wants Camelot but the entirety of Britannia to be freed. Be it Sins or the Apocalypse Knights, as long as they remain, humanity will never have true peace. Ironside’s suffering is just an illusion since Arthur views him as too valuable to be disposed of. He gives him a new and important mission: Find him a bride. Anne’s father talks about his wife being acquainted with Ironside when they were both serving as Holy Knights under Arthur. Back then he was a good man who strived to do good. Anne realizes she is still weak despite still harbouring dreams of becoming a Holy Knight like mom. She wants to go on a journey but don’t worry, she’ll be travelling with Percival.

Episode 9
Anne is so looking forward on this journey. Especially heading to Liones and she admires Meliodas while explaining the legendary heroic exploits of the Sins. Because of that, she wants to pick a leader among them. I suppose she is trying to nominate herself seeing everyone else has their ‘flaws’. This is cut short when Sin talks about their next plans. In order to get to Liones, they must cross the Dalflare mountain range. Because of its dark realm, they need to prepare themselves at the nearby town, Cant. This has Donny remember he was training under Hauser along with Edlin. At Cant, the guys are trying to find a place to stay. But it seems Anne has blown all their money on items and stuffs she thinks they will need for the journey. This makes Sin mad so she promises to get it back and has Percival participate in some wrestling match to earn money. Meanwhile Donny and Nasiens rest at the bar and to Donny’s surprise, a drunk Hauser is here. Hauser accuses him of running away from his training. Not only is Donny his apprentice but Hauser is his late mom’s brother. That’s right. His uncle. Hauser misinterprets Donny stole this part of the Coffin of Eternal Darkness and beats him up after claiming how Liones will be destroyed if it falls into the wrong hands. He is glad Donny didn’t become a Holy Knight. This hurts Donny’s feelings as he runs away. Percival would want to fight back but Nasiens has a better way to settle this. A drinking competition and the first one who falls loses. As it gets underway, Nasiens has observed and noted all the strange things. Like the weapons made and the goods sold are all the same price despite all are differently made. When he questions if the people here really live here, that is when the gig is up as all the people around turn against him. It seems all of them are bandits and their boss is Edlin.

Episode 10
Hauser is not impressed Edlin is now living such a lowly life, getting his bandit friends to take over the town and rob travellers of their belongings. Hauser could have actually put up a fight if he wasn’t this drunk! Nasiens uses his magic to put everyone to sleep. But when he sees Edlin suddenly taking Percival hostage, he is surprised how he moved that fast but Edlin knocks him out. Edlin then goes to see Donny and wants him to team up. Edlin claims he has quit being a Holy Knight and found his true calling. Donny refuses to join him but when Edlin threatens about his friends, Donny warns him not to touch them or else. Edlin then summons his trump card. As the rest are put in the cell, the bar master frees them. Who is he? Damn, Taizoo has grown old! He tells Hauser to do something about Edlin. He is not the threat but the ancient dragon he tamed! It seems he stole the dragon’s only egg and using it to do as he pleases. Because of this guts is what the bandits started following him. As they wonder how long Edlin can fool the dragon, the thing is, that egg in Edlin’s hand is fake! Edlin’s magic is to create a perfect clone. The dragon will soon catch up on this and the bandits too will get fed up of him because Edlin forbids the bandits to do as they please like rape women or harm others. He even frees those who get captured. He might act tough but is a good guy. Some bandits have beaten up Edlin to steal the egg. The furious dragon pops up to reclaim it but in their panic, they drop it and the illusion shatters. The dragon is in rage as it starts destroying the town. Taizoo then reveals a secret room in the cellar: Why, it’s that baby dragon! Yup, the egg has already hatched and is staying here since it is sick and dying. Edlin didn’t want to return it to its mama in this state. Nasiens will try to concoct a medicine while the rest go to stop the dragon. Hauser thinks Donny has long fled since he was a coward. Percival doesn’t think so. Hauser finds it hard to believe seeing Donny’s last words when he left his training was because he doesn’t want to die. Edlin hides along with Donny from the dragon’s wrath. Edlin laments his path in life no matter what he does. But Donny has made up his mind. He is going back to become a Holy Knight. They are about to be toast by the dragon but here comes Percival unleashing his minions to blow back that blazing flame breath at it. How does it feel to have a taste of your own medicine?

Episode 11
Sin chastises Hauser for hating himself in failing to raise his trainees right. He corrects his perception that Donny didn’t steal the Coffin of Eternal Darkness but actually saved it from being activated. Sin then hints his identity as he is sent on a mission by the king of Liones to track down Percival who turns out to be one of the Apocalypse Knights. Due to his inexperience, he has for now only awaken his magic. Hauser wants Nasiens to take the alcohol out of his body. Because it’s time to show the kids what a true Holy Knight is. Good timing as they have no way of defeating the dragon. Hauser uses his wind skills to defeat it. Percival so awed he wants to learn from him. The baby dragon is cured and reunited with its mother. With the threat over, our Holy Knight drama isn’t yet. Hauser thinks Edlin is going to run away again and despite calling him pathetic, Hauser also calls himself one. Flashback shows Hauser trained Edlin harshly after Donny left and this obviously shattered Edlin’s morale when he couldn’t beat him. He wants them to start anew and has renewed hopes seeing them fight the dragon. Hauser also apologizes to Donny although the latter credits meeting Percival for changing his outlook. Hauser uses his blacksmithing skills to forge the Coffin of Eternal Darkness with a blade so Percival will have a new sword. His plan is to rebuild Cant with Edlin before settling with all sides that got involved. Hauser then tells Sin to at least report to the king about Percival. So we see Sin vaguely in his human form as he fires his message to Lioness. King Meliodas gets the message and looks forward to seeing that prophesized knight.

Episode 12
We’re crossing the mountain range. Is Liones in sight? Well, more mountains to climb. It’ll take 4 days! Along the way, they see a village. Percival and Donny rush in with Sin trying to get them back. A guy named Aard manages to stop Nasiens and Anne from heading in as he claims that is not a village of people but demons in disguise. Those who enter the barrier can never get out. He has been staying here to warn others who pass by not to enter. The elder has his villagers treat Percival and Donny to a great feast. Sin confronts the elder who figures out who Sin is and wants to talk privately. However Sin is soon knocked out. Aard further tells the duo that a huge strange stone in the centre could be the protective barrier. Once that is taken out, the demons will show their true form. Aard offers to be the distraction so the duo can head in to take the stone down. However the duo remain cautious why he is so nice seeing they just met. Aard explains he has a daughter and their village was attacked by monsters. He got stationed here in hopes of reuniting with her one day. Anne sees no lies in him as the duo prepare to head in. Although the duo enter the barrier, it seems Aard himself cannot enter whether he wants to or not. Nasiens sees Donny writing in pain and goes to attend to him. So Anne is left to pull the stone down with her horse? Is that going to work?! OMFG, it did! Donny is healed and Percival is doing sumo with the villagers? They speak a strange language (demonic language) that only Percival seems to understand. When the demons return to their true form, however all of them are friendly. Thanks to Percival? So amidst the confusion, the elder knows these kids are not the enemy. This is when Aard shows himself. He is actually the Holy Knight, Ardbeg and has waited long enough to take out the Demon Clan.

Episode 13
Ardbeg traps all the demons into his amber. Percival wants his friends back and Ardbeg believes he is siding with the demons and thus truly one of the Apocalypse Knights. He summons his dog, Cerrie to fight him. Yes, this dog is from purgatory. Percival seems to have a hard time against it until Sin tells him to combine his sword with his magic. It multiplies his power as he easily takes down Cerrie. Anne wonders how Ardbeg had deceived her but all that he said was true. But he is still guilty of using the kids to get into the barrier. They might claim these demons didn’t do anything bad but Ardbeg has lived through those hellish times of the Holy War so he thinks these kids don’t understand the hardship and how fearsome the Demon Clan is. With Cerrie down, Ardbeg escapes. The elder points out the cave he is hiding in so you bet Percival is going there. The elder wonders why he is doing this because aren’t demons the enemy? Percival doesn’t believe in collective punishment. For instance, grandpa was killed by his own son. Does that mean he should hate humanity? Because Ironside is a bad Holy Knight, it doesn’t mean others are. So if you’re a good person, it doesn’t matter your race. As they enter the cave, the gang note Ardbeg as the weakest Holy Knight they’ve fought. He didn’t even use magic to trap them. But it is too late when they realize they’ve been trapped by his spell. His real magic is to turn his targets 50 years younger. So now are kids have turned into babies! However seeing them especially Anne, has Ardbeg reminisce about his own daughter. Such a bundle of joy. Until those damn demons burnt his entire village down. So sad. Ardbeg tries to steel his resolve and finis his duty but the elder knows he has not what it takes to kill children.

Episode 14
The elder knows Ardbeg has been hiding in this cave in hopes to see his dead daughter. If he returns the children back to normal, he will let him see her. Ardbeg doesn’t believe him so the elder shows his true form: Gowther! He has been taking that form to protect demons who want to live in peace in Britannia and not in the demon realm. Ardbeg still can’t accept this and kidnaps Anne and Percival. He threatens to drop Percival down the gorge. That is when Gowther shows his daughter. Obviously a fake recreated from his memories but Ardbeg is overcome with emotion. Now that he has return to his senses, he remembers when his daughter died, Arthur came up to him and told him he could have him see his daughter again. Ardbeg saw the look in his eyes and believed him. That’s how he ended up serving him. Suddenly an arrow attack. In order to protect Anne, Ardbeg uses his own body. Thanks to Sin coming in to disable to attacker. Gowther detects several Holy Knights at a distance so Gowther returns the favour. His arrow hits Tamdhu as his body starts moving on his own and attack his own comrades. Fiddich kills him off and warns the rest not to underestimate them. When the kids return to normal, Gowther lets Anne see Ardbeg’s memories. Seeing how he protected her, now she is crying like a baby. His death hits hard for her. The friends continue to their journey to Liones but Gowther can’t go with them since he has a duty to protect the demons living here.

Episode 15
Entering the entangled forest, our friends are going to lose their pursuers here. First they stay together and hide their mana to make the Holy Knights split up. However this folly is up when Elgin discovers them. He uses some magic to weaken them but when it is his turn with Nasiens, medicine boy already used mixed his potion to enhance his strength and endurance. This allows Nasiens to return his magic and send him falling to his defeat. Though, Percival won’t let him die and this doesn’t sit well with Sin. Even if he is one after his life, he still doesn’t feel like killing others. As Percival uses his magic to fly everyone through the forest, this also drains his strength. He feels guilty for getting everyone into trouble and won’t heed their advice to rest. Because now Burgie and Doronach have found them. Since Percival and Nasiens are too tired from their side effects, this leaves Anne and Donny to fight them. Yes Donny, you’re not going to let a lady fight a huge Burly man, right? To everyone’s surprise, Sin seems to know an awful lot about these Holy Knights and their abilities as he gives his comrades tips on how to counter them. Eventually Anne defeating Burgie since she is useless without her magic staff. As for Donny, he surprises everyone with his knife skills. So why can’t he fight like that previously? Scared of blood?! However, noting his lousy magic, once more Sin advises him that magic is all about imagination. With that, Donny is able to easily float Doronach and throw him like a pebble. Sin reveals Donny’s magic isn’t to just float things but to move things freely AKA telekinesis.

Episode 16
Fiddich manages to sneak up on Percival and do a great deal of damage. He shows why he is the leader of his team as he makes insightful observations on the kids. With all his men gathered, he heals them back up. The kids left in despair as they fought hard for nothing. However Percival refuses to yield and will fight till the end. This boosts their morale as they too will fight along Percival. Fiddich views the thinking one as the threat so the Holy Knights start to surround Sin instead. Because of Sin’s guidance, his group manage to get this far. This makes him the dangerous of the lot as he also knows a lot about the Holy Knights. Fiddich gives him the option to tell them what they want and die a painless death or else die horribly. He won’t go along with it so as Fiddich is about to kill him, Sin dodges and reverts to his true form. He is a young lad named Lancelot. Because the Holy Knights were going to kill, they too must have no qualms to be killed as Lancelot swiftly kills them one by one. Fiddich hasn’t heard of him before and that’s because all those who faced Lancelot never survived so no rumours were spread. Fiddich tries all he has to take down Lancelot but nothing works. Lancelot tries to ask about certain people but Fiddich is unsure. Fiddich’s only choice is to flee but Lancelot soon kills him. With this over, they want some answers so Lancelot as a servant of Liones’ king claims he has 2 objectives: Track down a potential member of the Apocalypse Knights and once that is achieved, he is to guide and protect them by interfering as less as possible and to see if they’re worthy in overcoming obstacles. Disguising as a fox is to prevent others from discovering him. Pellegarde is here to see if Percival has gotten stronger but too bad he came all the way for nothing as Lancelot has no time for this and teleports the gang to Liones to meet the king.

Episode 17
So we’re here at Liones. Too bad the king isn’t in. He’s out partying?! For some reason, Percival goes off on his own and bumps into Dreyfus. Helping this old guy delivery his goods, he soon bumps into Meliodas who then guides Percival to Boar Hat. As thanks, he lets him taste his special pudding. Oh, is it poisoned?! He saw the stars! When Percival comes to, he learns Meliodas is king. He laughs at first. This kid is king? But since he is serious, Percival then asks hard hitting questions like this apocalypse business and why grandpa has to die. Meliodas plans to reveal everything when everyone has gathered. For now, they go around town and we can see the people loving their king well. Percival learns there are other races living here too. But no Demon Clan? Percival is shocked that Meliodas can speak the demon tongue too. But Meliodas is equally as shocked Percival knows the language. Loving how peaceful Liones is, suddenly Meliodas throws a serious tone. This peace won’t last and that is why he needs Percival’s help. The Apocalypse Knights are actually ones who will save the world. When guards inform a certain prince has returned, WTF Percival gone off on his own again? Because of that, he bumps into the crotch of Isolde. Embarrassed knight girl wants to kill him now! Her comrades, Jade and Chion think he is a servant of Arthur and thus the enemy. Without giving him a chance to talk, they attack. When Percival’s friends are here, they too are assumed to be the enemy as Isolde knocks them out. Something evil inside Percival is about to awaken when Tristan tells them to stop.

Episode 18
Meliodas sees ailing Baltra who seems to have another prophecy on the Apocalypse Knights. When they gather, a traitor will snatch hope from them again. Percival begins to attack Chion and Jade, causing immense pain to the former. Tristan fights him but his attacks don’t work. It is the power of Percival’s friends that manage to calm him down and restore Percival back to normal. Due to Percival’s morale, he can’t use his magic to heal his friends. Tristan who has the Goddess Clan’s blood flowing with him, manages to heal all wounds. However he cannot seem to heal the devastating injury on Chion. Because of that, Chion snaps at Percival and threatens him to take responsibility if he cannot fight anymore. Percival is able to use his magic and heal it easily. Well, if he started it, logically he can undo it, right? Tristan is stumped since he told Chion about Percival being part of the Apocalypse Knights as reported by Gowther. Oh, so he forgot? Tristan gets acquainted with Percival as they are both the Apocalypse Knights. In fact, Tristan’s return means he has brought the final member here. Wait, so who is the other member then? Didn’t Lancelot tell you he is part of the group?! Speaking of him, Lancelot drops by to say that final member has fled. Oh dear. Time to look for that member. The only thing Tristan knows is that member is wearing full armour and is related to Arthur. As the gang split up to look, Anne warns her pals about Chion because she detected him telling big lies. Especially he knew Percival was part of the Apocalypse Knights but still attacked him. As Lancelot stakes out, who the f*ck this cute loli suddenly kissing him and claiming to be his lover?!

Episode 19
Guinevere seems to know a lot about Lancelot although she claims she cannot read his mind. This riles Lancelot up since there are secrets he has never told anyone. Guinevere needs to get going and she assures he’ll find the person he is looking for. As the gang starts looking for the final member, Gawain, Pelliot stumbles into a rowdy drunkard who wants to pick a fight with him. Chion seems to have found Gawain and tries to kill this dude and cover up all evidences. However Tristan and Jade arrive in time. Based on Percival’s words, Tristan suspects Chion has been acting strange. So as they unmask Gawain, the final member is some oddball? Actually, he is just some knight trainee who found this armour! The real Gawain is still on the loose. Isolde is nursing her broken heart when Amazon woman comes in and tries to seduce her. When Percival and co arrive at Pelliot’s fight, rowdy guy is glad to see Percival again. Do you not recognize him? It’s me, Pellegarde! Noting that he is Arthur’s men, Pelliot now gets serious in killing him. However Pellegarde uses his fireball magic and rains it down. This affects the flirting of Amazon woman who is the real Gawain. Going to settle this monkey business. Pellegarde is keen to see how much Percival has grown. The kid realizes he is still leagues apart but Pellegarde notes he has grown a lot. Pellegarde’s flames are easily extinguished by Gawain. Tristan and Lancelot drop in. The Apocalypse Knights have assembled. What now? Are they going to destroy Camelot as prophesized?

Episode 20
The quartet have differing views on Pellegarde. Most shockingly, Gawain really wants to kill him for calling her a girl. Percival goes up to Pellegarde and can’t find himself to hate him. Is he suggesting he join their side? Percival let his guard down so Pellegarde kidnaps him and traps the rest in a cube barrier. Gawain easily dismantles it as she and Tristan go after them. Gawain really wants to kill Pellegarde even if it means taking down Percival. So Pellegarde has to defend the little kid and take a serious blow. Gawain then beats up Percival as he is siding with the enemy. Tristan tries diplomacy but Gawain remains cocky, thinking she is the best. Unless you are stronger than her, you weaklings will never be able to tell her what to do. Pellegarde returns to fighting Gawain. Despite his injuries, the spell from Pelliot is over. Although Gawain is faster and stronger, Pellegarde is more experienced and sends Gawain to her defeat. He chides her for all that brute force and should train better to handle them. Suddenly Gawain cries and throws a tantrum like a baby! What was it her grandparents said she was the strongest of them all? Pellegarde and Tristan close an eye on this and won’t pursue each other for today. With Gawain still sulking, Tristan simple words cajole. And just like that, she’s back to being her usual arrogant self. Such simpleton. Oh Percival, care to watch your words so as not to anger her? Even if it’s the truth? Meanwhile back in Liones, a pair of shady characters show their true identity. They bring shiver to those who know them. Remember those Ten Commandments? Yeah, Melascula and Galand are back! Arthur revived them with his power so they can kill the Sins and the Apocalypse Knights.

Episode 21
Galand and Melascula have no recollection how they got here. All they know was they got their asses handed by the Sins and they want revenge. Meliodas and Gilthunder discuss this Ten Commandments thingy might be a decoy. Because the real goal might be to steal Baltra’s vision. When the Apocalypse Knights converge, the demons are puzzled as they could senses the power of the Sins in some of them. Like Gawain having Escanor’s sun power, Tristan a mix of Meliodas and Elizabeth while Lancelot reeks Ban and Elain’s power. And get this, Gawain is Arthur’s niece?! No wonder Arthur is laughing mad. But first, he wants to assess the Apocalypse Knights. Gawain takes on Galand and it seems the demon seems to be confused and unsure about his time in Ten Commandments. When that happens, a voice tells him to destroy the Sins and the Apocalypse Knights. Galand goes berserk but ultimately it is Gawain’s strength and dagger that rips him apart. Before he regenerates, Percival’s minion explodes from within. Melascula tries to mock Tristan’s mom as some bloodthirsty woman, Tristan is all but amazed. He even starts blabbing about aunt Margaret? Then mocking he is not like his father, Tristan is even happier not to be associated with that bugger! When Lancelot tries to ask about her demon origins, she gets confused. And then that voice tells her to kill. She turns into her true snake form and wreaks havoc. Lancelot explaining these demons have a cheap brainwashing casted upon them. If they try to recall their origins, this is what happens. Tristan is forced to use his demonic magic to take down Melascula for good.

Episode 22
Jade interrogates Chion as he is now deemed a traitor. Chion reasons his goal to protect Tristan never changed. What if one of the Apocalypse Knights misuse their position to get close to Tristan to kill him? Well, that sounded convincing for Jade to believe him. But then an intruder breaks in. The novices can’t hold a candle to this Camelot knight. However their asses saved with Guila coming in to reveal this traitorous knight as Jericho. She is confused why she has betrayed her own promise and now serve under Arthur. What happened to her along the way? 10 years ago, she left Liones to become a Holy Knight at Benwick (kingdom ruled by Ban and Elaine). She might have hit something when she mentions about Lancelot. Jericho was his teacher and they loved her like family. Lancelot viewed her as his big sister. Jericho claims nobody understands her feelings. Even when Guila transforms into her demon form, it is still not enough to defeat Jericho. Cue for Lancelot to save the day. While saving Guila, this allows Jericho to escape and enter a cell where a fellow Camelot knight is held prisoner. He requests to be killed before the beans are spilled. She does so. Lancelot arrives. He has been looking for her for 2 years. She went missing from Benwick 6 years ago. That included 3 years when both were trapped in some other world till they escaped. Lancelot blamed himself for wanting father’s praise and hence his rash decision that got them into that predicament. He regrets scolding her and all during that time since he was anxious. He thought she left because she got sick of him. But to his shock, he reads her minds and it is filled with undying love for him. Long story short, she started to fall for him. The more she looked at him, the more her heart wavered. It wouldn’t be right for a teacher to fall for her student so she left before that grew another worse. But why did she run to Camelot? It seems Arthur could give her a world where she was alone with her one true love AKA Lancelot. She’ll do anything to protect that dream. She is saying it now because this will be the last time they’ll meet. Lancelot believes Arthur is tricking her but Jericho activates something and then she’s gone. Lancelot left in despair and can only curse Camelot’s king.

Episode 23
Galand and Melascula revive. They combine themselves as one huge ugly mother, Mela-Galand. Obviously their attacks are much more powerful. Gawain does a powerful sun burst spell with Donny assisting in his telekinesis to help Tristan and Percival escape. Both pass out after using too much magic. Gawain reverting into her small child form. So magic was what kept her buffed like an Amazon woman? Suddenly everyone starts to feel clumsy and drowsy. Nasiens tries to reach Percival but it seems he just can’t get close enough. Hendrickson shows up tell Nasiens about the monster spewing some sort of toxic gas that affects the nerve and perception. Now that Nasiens knows the cause, he creates an antidote to help cure everyone. Dreyfus comes out of retirement to help fight Mela-Galand although his back is still killing him. Isolde also joins in with her mace that has delayed time bomb effects. The Holy Knights are motivated and start attacking Mela-Galand. However this abomination is still strong and their attacks did nothing. Nasiens has finished healing Percival and his minions now pop up. This time they are more intelligent as they heal everyone in an instant. Percival and his minions mount an attack enough to wound Mela-Galand.

Episode 24
Percival and Isolde continue their mount their attack on Mela-Galand. However they too fall to the wayside. Because now it is Tristan’s turn to show his chops by tapping into his demonic powers which he swore he would never use. When Mela-Galand summon hands from hell to drag all to the underworld, Tristan’s aura is enough to make those hands fear and crawl back to where they come from. Tristan turns into a ruthless badass as he easily takes down Mela-Galand. Ripping out Melascula and stabbing Galand repetitively. When it is over, Arthur watching from the heavens, claps and is entertained as such grand display. Because of that, he will now come down to evaluate them. OMFG. Is this what you call stairway to heaven?! Percival becomes enraged upon seeing Arthur. He blindly charges in but gets smacked away. Arthur notes it is not his turn yet because he wants to test Tristan first. Tristan assaults but he too gets easily struck down. When everyone else tries to mount an attack, Arthur uses this absolute power to force everyone to unable to move and bow before their king. Is Arthur done warming up yet?

Apocalypse (Not) Now!
Well, did they miss out an episode when they ended this season? Guess what people? Well, at this point in time it should have come to as no surprise. Yup, this series is getting a sequel! After all that we have seen and all the potentials have developed, it would be such a waste to just let it be, right? Looks like it is already a norm these days that for a series as such especially when it is riding on a name of its predecessor, a sequel is a must. So yeah, stay tuned as we see how the Apocalypse Knights destroy the world! OOPS! I mean save the world! Yeah, these kids are the ones who will save the world, NOT JESUS!!! Jesus…

I have to admit that I wasn’t putting any hopes on the story at first. I was expecting it would be some sort of rehash of the old theme but using the new generation. While on the big picture it may still have that similar plot, the pacing of the story is enough to keep me interested till the end of the season. It is your typical good vs evil story with the so called maliciously named group as the heroes. Only serves to prove not to judge one by its name. So how our young Apocalypse Knights have been prophesized to bring ruin the world, perhaps it was all just exaggerated and twisted because they will only bring ruin to Camelot. Perhaps big headed Arthur thought Camelot is the centre of the world and hence destroying Camelot is like destroying the world! And it’s perhaps not the Apocalypse Knights destroying Camelot, but saving it. It all depends on the choice of words and how you use them to reflect your narrative.

There are tons of characters in this show. Coupled in with those from the previous series making their cameo, I think it will be twice and double the fun. The new ones have their potential and it won’t be fair to expect many of them to be fleshed out in a single season. Or even the next. After all, the original Nanatsu No Taizai ran for 4 seasons (or 5 if you consider that short Holy War season to be one) each a quarter of a century of episodes. So if this one is going to reach such great heights with its characters, it’s going to take a hell lot more episodes and seasons. After all, this first season feels introductory to most of them so I don’t expect many to have their due screen time.

The main focus is on Percival and his journey to somewhat ‘avenge’ his grandpa. Percival being an innocent and naïve person is both his strength and weakness. That characteristic of his is also the main ingredient for some comical moments because young kid like him who has been holed up in his sky cave ever since young, suddenly ventures out to the world and encounters a lot of awesome things, definitely this country bumpkin will start to be in awe of everything. His innocence and naïve persona keeps him jovial and all but as hinted in some scenes, there may be a darker force lurking within especially when his friends are hurt. So it may be some double edged sword for future plots that is yet to be shown. Otherwise for now, he is the joyful hope and the main reason why his friends follow him. So while Nasiens, Donny and Anne don’t have much screen time or impact as Percival, it seems they are relegated to being his lackeys and play a supporting role. Power of friendship. Percival can’t do it on his own, right? And now he has this strange minion power as some sort of weird buff, oh well, more remains to be seen.

As for the new characters, I am not sure if those like Tristan and Lancelot have been given some of their dues. Because I missed the movie sequel after the Nanatsu No Taizai series ended. Yeah, the one where Deathpierce became some sort of racist at his kingdom in Edinburgh! Uh huh. That one. Did not watch that. So that is why instead of focusing on Tristan, Percival became the main character seeing he is the only one that doesn’t have direct ties to the original Sins. Tristan and Lancelot being offspring of Meliodas-Elizabeth and Ban-Elaine respectively while Gawain is heavily hinted to have inherited Escanor’s power. Proof that Escanor still ‘lives’.

Arthur is now the main antagonist and villain of this series and we have yet to see why he has turned to the dark side. I’m sure it is more than being a racist to have a human only utopia, right? I hope he is still not under the control of Cath! I thought that was resolved. Unless I am wrong. Or worse, Arthur is being possessed by a demon. Like how Fraudrin possessed Dreyfus previously and made us assume why Holy Knights are the baddies while turning Sins into the good guys. So with Arthur in the background and trying to bring forth his plans, obviously no final boss fight this season. I’m sure there’s a twist somewhere to explain his actions but I better not ruin it with my dumb conspiracy theories. Like Arthur is doing this to prevent the death of his lover and future wife AKA Guinevere. But the legends told us Guinevere cheated on him with Lancelot… And how is Merlin serving by his side? Did she turn evil? Bet not. Something else might be at play. Of course all those who serve Arthur are not truly evil. Like Pellegarde who is quite a cool guy. So he is just serving the wrong master? Even I would like to think that Ironside isn’t a real dick and has a reason why he is playing the villain. I mean, which father would even go so far as to try and kill his own son! This is not God instructing Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, okay! Or maybe he is just really a bad guy.

As we would have come to expect, cameos of the characters from the original series making their cameo. Of course not all would have made it or else we would be confused if we are seeing a new series or some sort of continuation of the old. It’s time for the new generation to take over so the old ones please bow out gracefully… Sort of. Some of their absence is also probably for the shock and surprise factor. Although Ban and Elaine did not appear at all, at least they were mentioned in flashbacks or thoughts. But for Diane and King, they were nowhere to be seen. Like as though they never existed at all. Yeah, I would love to know if they married and the kind of offspring they produce. What can a giant and a fairy get you?! I hope it’s not some sort of abomination! The weirdest case would be Jericho because I thought she was all over Ban. Perhaps she stopped pursuing him after he married Elaine. But WTF she fell for his son now?! This one really felt weird.

Hawk’s absence is also felt because I don’t know whether to be happy to hear this yappy pig again. Did Hawk outlive his life as a pig? Well, a pig on average lives 15-20 years. But Hawk is no ordinary pig. Or maybe he went to live with Wild in purgatory. I can go on with other missing characters like Zeldris, Estarossa, Ludociel, Griamor, Veronica, etc. But then again as I have pointed out, bringing them back would make it look like the original Nanatsu No Taizai series and imposing all over the new one. Need to make the new generation shine.

Action wise, I won’t go so far as to say it is a masterpiece but at least it keeps me entertained. After all, when you have a show of this genre, it’s a waste not to showcase all the strange and magical moves by the characters, right? So yeah, everyone has their strange unique techniques and some with equally strange names. Sorry, don’t remember them much but I think they wanted to translate and make it sound grand in English, which sometimes come off as sounding weird. I mean, in most cases, Japanese saying aloud their grandly named moves sound okay but in English, it often comes off as just weird. Maybe my base is English so that’s why it sounded so.

The art and animation look consistent with its predecessor despite a new anime studio, Telecom Animation Film (Tower Of God, Ijiranaide Nagatoro-san) taking over from Studio Deen (which also took over from A-1 Pictures who did the first and second season). The quality is maintain with the sleekness of the animation so it feels like we have never left the house since day 1 of this entire series that began its adaptation way back in 2014! OMFG. Is it already 10 years since Nanatsu No Taizai graced our airwaves? Oh man, we sure have come a long way. It’s nice to see such consistent quality and that means the character designs look somewhat a bit cartoonish and personally, I still feel they look like Dragonball characters. Yeah, big burly moustachioed men like Varghese and Pellgarde somewhat brings to mind Mr Satan or something… Even Arthur now looks closer to Vegeta because now his spikey hair is even more towering and spikey. Yeah, need to ramp up the evil looks. And the Holy Knights still have the strangest armour designs. For differentiation and variety I guess but surely that cannot be practical in the battlefield, right? I’m still wondering Nasiens’ design was inspired by Michael Jackson… Also, the overall vibes and atmosphere of this season looks bright and colourful, like as though this show is for younger audience. At least we haven’t hit the truly dark moments yet.

With a new series, this means a bunch of new seiyuus into the fray in addition to the old ones retained and making their came here. They are Shou Komura as Percival (debut major role – he sounds a bit gay which makes me wonder if they should have used a female seiyuu instead), Kikunosuke Toya as Donny (Denji in Chainsaw Man), Aino Shimada as Nasiens, Kanna Nakamura as Anne (Nel in Kami Wa Game Ni Ueteiru), Kouki Uchiyama as Lancelot/Sin, Ayumu Murase as Tristan (I guess they wanted a more boyish voice and so Mikako Komatsu was replaced as she was the voice of young Tristan in the final Nanatsu No Taizai season), Ai Fairouz as Gawain, Rikiya Koyama as Pellegarde, Toshiyuki Morikawa as Ironside, Atsumi Tanezaki as Isolde (she is not in Anya mode here!), Shugo Nakamora as Jade, Souma Saitou as Chion, Kazumasa Fukagawa as Pelliot, Kengo Kawanishi as Edlin, Sumire Morohoshi as Guinevere, Wataru Takagi as Ardbeg and Akio Ootsuka as Varghese.

The first opening theme, Up To Me by Little Glee Monster, the opening tune sounds familiar… Or maybe it’s just me. Otherwise just feels like your generic manufactured anime pop with some hip hop and heavy dubstep beats. Looking back in hindsight, even if the first opener wasn’t all that good, they should’ve kept it because the second one just feels a lot weak. Your Key by JO1 sounds like some gay Korean boy band singing their brand of K-pop music that feels like it doesn’t fit the pacing of the series at all. The same can be said for the first ending theme, Friends Are For by Moonchild. This time it’s a gender switch and now it sounds like your slutty Korean girl band singing their brand of K-pop music (some lines do have this flirty feel and I can only imagine those sexy provocative dance moves those K-pop girls do on stage). Nothing special in this song except some parts they use really strange sound effects as background accompaniment. Faring slightly better (although still not to my liking) is the second ending theme, Mikansei by Zaninosuke. It’s a slow hip hop or something and it still feels like it doesn’t fit the pace of the series.

Overall, this series is still interesting and has its potentials. And you thought that once a series ends, its spinoff predecessor can’t live up or won’t be as good, right? Well, if that was the case, Boruto won’t have continued its run this long after Naruto ended, right? It remains to be seen if this new series can live up or surpass its predecessor (hopefully it won’t follow or go that way because I remember the final stretch was a bit of a downer) but it’s too early for me to speculate on baseless emotions. Wait till the next season arrives to form more conclusive thoughts. I’m not saying that this series will save the anime industry as a whole as it’s your typical shonen-esque anime, but it still is better than many seasonal animes out there. At least to yours truly. Just keep me entertained, that’s all I asked. Sorry, don’t need any saving from Jesus yet!

Everyone must have begun from somewhere. So what attracted me to watch Yume Kara Samenai was the fact that this is Shaft’s first original production! Yes, you heard that right. The anime studio that has made its mark as one of today’s Japan’s well known anime producers made their first OVA back in 1987! Though, they were established back in1975! So yeah, they have definitely come a long way. The other factor that made me have a look at this was the single line from the synopsis: A student has feelings for his classmate despite rumours of her starring in a porn movie! OMFG! Really?! That should send some alarm bells ringing. Bear in mind, this OVA came out in a time when internet was unheard of and where conservatives rule…

No wet dreams…
Takao Fujii has just begun his new school term as a senior. In class, when Sunao Kawahara requests to exchange their seats, he does so and then thanks her for what she did for him last summer. However she doesn’t remember. Baffled, he thought he had a case of mistaken identity but when the teacher makes a roll call, he realizes it is definitely her. During the break as he talks to his friend, he tells him about rumours that Sunao has and currently is still doing adult movies. Flashback last summer when Takao was on his way home and his bicycle had a flat tyre. Yeah, his great friends just waved goodbye and went off themselves. As he pushed his bicycle, Sunao came by to tell him directions to a bicycle repair shop. And if he doesn’t have money to pay, just leave his name and class. Wow. Nice girl. He did so and after doing so, now he has to walk 4km home. In this sweltering heat! Man, must be tough those days. But no fear, somehow Sunao was here to give him a ride! OMG, is she an angel?! Uhm, is riding in tandem against the law in Japan? Don’t care. But you could say that was the first time Takao fell for her.

During school’s PE period, Takao and his friend once more talk about the rumours swirling around Sunao. Just rumours, right? Then they are approached by this cute freshman girl, Koyuki Amase. She knows Takao. Oh, so she’s her sister? Well, uhm, childhood friend. Koyuki doesn’t seem pleased with that title although Takao is reluctant to reveal more to his friend. So are they dating or what?! At the end of the day, Takao notices Sunao having a flat tyre at the bicycle shed. So now he is the expert as he helps fix it. Then they have a small chat as she notices he has a passion for running. The next few clips show snippets of them doing stuffs together at school. So much so, one day this prompts Takao’s friend to ask if they are dating. This makes Takao furious but it seems to hint that Takao is also actually dating Koyuki?! Friend advises to do something about it. Eventually one of the girls will cry! So yeah, we confirm as we hear Takao’s thoughts: How can he continue to date Sunao without breaking up with Koyuki! Like WTF?! Are you cheating?! Then there are girls in class talking about those rumours. It gets worse when Koyuki drops by to hand Takao his forgotten bento so bet his guy pals won’t stop the teasing. And how is Sunao looking? Not pleased. Oh…

During the exams, halfway through suddenly Sunao hands over her paper and leaves. The teacher is shocked because half are unanswered. Miss, get back down and finish. She won’t. And leaves! OMG is this allowed? And just like that, Takao too decides to leave. OMFG you students are too much! So he catches up and she doesn’t understand why he is doing this. Because we’re classmates. Huh? She thinks he is just acting out of convenience. So okay, he says he is doing it because he cares for her. In that case, prove it. How? Those rumours. We’ll see. One day, Sunao asks Takao to follow her out. She takes him to a studio. Oh, so she moonlights as a model or actress or something? That is when the director goes up to Takao and praises him that he managed to convince Sunao to do a sex scene. WAIT! WHAAAAAT?! Sunao then tells Takao that since he was worried about her, this is why she wants to show him what it feels to be with a woman. If he can’t, then leave. So he watches as Sunao just poses along for the cameras. Nothing risqué here actually! She’s not even naked! Or half of it! That is when Takao comes into the picture to hug her. Uhm, is this part of the script?! That is when he yells he can’t do it. Because he loves her! Well then, what should she do? He takes her hand and they run away. Uhm, is this allowed?! Yeah, probably the porn director had a backup waiting… We hear Sunao telling Takao that she has no ambitions. Everything she did was half hearted. She doesn’t understand it all. Well guess what? Takao too doesn’t understand everything. That supposed to make her feel better? Yeah well, this has her confess she loves him.

Hey Now, Hey Now, Don’t Dream It’s Over…
Ugh… Well… I should have expected it. The whole story feels more like nothing burger and definitely that premise of a girl doing porn felt more like baiting viewers to take a look at this. Sure, I have to remind myself that this was made in the 80’s and even though such a concept would have been a very hot and risqué topic, looking back from this point in time, oh man, it is so bloody tame and nothing spicy at all! I felt cheated. Yeah, blame internet porn for ruining all my hopes and expectations! HAHAHAHA!!! Sighs…

So the whole story is just a simple story of a boy and a girl in love with each other. But because the girl is doing a job that is frowned upon by society, what would be the implications? Will love shine through? As seen, definitely. Porn has existed as long as the film and camera have been invented and even more so, somebody’s daughter showing off their bodies to those who would gladly pay their money’s worth for it. Well yeah, I can only imagine back in 1987, they distribute them via VHS tapes. You youngsters even know what VHS tapes are???!!!

It proves that Takao loves Sunao for the person she is and only he knows better that she is a kind hearted soul. A simple and unforgettable incident like his punctured tyre of his bicycle goes a long way. Others who do not know her and only see on what they have, definitely they do not know the bigger picture. It is a good thing as it proves that Takao’s love for Sunao is real. So what she does some adult movies? Sunao is still Sunao. I mean, a teen at their age, they’re mostly lost and don’t know what to do with their lives yet, right? It is unsure if Sunao will continue to do this but then again, Takao’s love may be the determination she needs to break free of it and do something better in life. Not sure what it is but I’m sure they’ll find it along the way.

More mind boggling, I wondered why they introduced Koyuki. It’s like they wanted some love triangle but it was not materialized anyway. She felt so out of place. But I guess with her character, it makes Takao think about whom he actually loves. Oh man, I guess this would be another problem. You see, Takao and Sunao aren’t officially dating yet and doing so, it might amount to cheating and this opens a can of worms. Otherwise, this Koyuki character feels a lot redundant except to make the single OVA last a bit longer. Yeah, 37 minutes of running time. No wonder it felt a bit draggy there.

One thing I want to note of is the art style and animation. Yes, it totally reeks the style of that era. However I want to point out the most glaring feature of the characters: Their high forehead area! OMFG. It’s like everybody have big brains or something?! Furthermore, it felt like the forehead area is some holy zone and that’s why the bangs don’t even touch the sacred place! OMFG. Are you kidding me?! Thus this makes the characters looking a whole lot weird despite their typical retro anime looks. Yup, not even Ranma 1/2, Marmalade Boy and Maison Ikkoku look as weird as this! And sorry folks, Sunao teasing us in some sexy clothes which is not even sexy but I suppose back in those days, even such mild clothes is considered sexy. Yeah, it is sad I have tremendously levelled up so much that such scenes don’t thrill me anymore.

And seeing this is Shaft’s first original works, obviously no visual trademarks of theirs that only came about in the Bakemonogatari show in 2009. So if you watch this series without realizing it is Shaft who made it, you will definitely not know it is them. Yeah, the animation styles and everything are just so basic. On a trivial note, one of the original promo posters of this anime shows 3 different girls and a planet (Earth I think) in the background. It confused the hell lot out of me and looking back now, I think it has no relationship with the OVA whatsoever! Did they do some false advertising?! Not sure if they planned to use it as other future works and then decided to scrap it.

Overall, this is actually a boring series with nothing much going on. Yeah, the so called romance thingy here felt so paltry and disappointing. Like as though it was written on the fly and not much thought was given. Somebody had an idea of such romance and a little love triangle so they just added in and that’s it. Nothing more. Not even the little porn thingy was interesting and the fact that you’d be watching this would be because this was Shaft’s first original works. Like as though they were just testing waters as this was their first foray in doing things on their own. But oh well, look how far they’ve come now. How strange life has turned out to be. Don’t laugh because some famous actors too started out in porn before making it big. Jackie Chan, Sylvester Stallone, Cameron Diaz and even I-will-be-back Arnold Schwarzenegger! Forget about dating a girl who is in porn, I can’t even get a real girlfriend myself! :’(…

Zombie guy meets girl with the worst luck in the world. No, this is not some sort of slapstick comedy from Cartoon Network whatsoever. Well, uhm, maybe in a certain light it is. Because in Undead Unluck, our zombie dude here wants to die and nothing else could kill him. So he thinks bad luck girl here has the credentials to finally give him the death he wants. Well, her misfortune did kill others all around her. But it’s going to take more than just some bad luck to kill an immortal guy like him. Worse, they have to run from an organization who wants to exterminate them as they deem their powers too dangerous for the world. Yeah, such luck. Isn’t it great and exciting to be alive?

Episode 1
Fuuko Izumo has finished her favourite manga. Now she has no regrets to jump off onto the tracks to kill herself. However this strange dude doesn’t think so. She threatens to kill him if he does something funny. Well, he purposely gets stab by her! As we find out he can’t die and regenerates quickly. Because he touched her, she notes bad luck is coming. He falls off onto the tracks and gets splat. Of course that didn’t kill him. She freaks out and runs but he kidnaps her and threatens to kill her if she doesn’t spill the beans on her strange ability. Not feeling like dying now, huh? It seems Fuuko brings misfortune to others who touch her. It started 10 years ago after seeing off her parents at the airport, the plane’s engine malfunction and killed everyone on board. Her unluck varies depending on how long one touches her. Yeah, dude now tries to molest her! Got killed by banana crates? Nah. But she slips on a peel and falls to her death! Not if he rescues her! He brings her back to his base and now wants her to strip. His goal is to truly die. She runs away from this rapist but soon he notices her overly long hair. Yeah, haven’t cut them in years since anyone who touches her will die. He cuts them short for her but shortly right after that he gets decapitated. Some scarface guy and his goon are here to capture him. They put his head in a special capsule to prevent his regeneration. He reveals their job to police unselected Negators like her. He seems to know some conditions of her ability like touching her with a cloth doesn’t activate it. While he badmouths that undead dude, Fuuko jumps to his defence that he is much better than you freaks since he was trying to use her power only on himself. Suddenly a lightning strikes one of the goons, releasing his head. Something about the delayed bad luck from cutting Fuuko’s hair. He easily kills all the goons. Scarface takes Fuuko hostage and threatens to kill her if he doesn’t decapitate himself. Surprisingly he does so but this is so that Fuuko can trigger the biggest bad luck with this move: A kiss. As zombie dude holds scarface down, Fuuko runs before a comet comes crashing! Obviously he still lives. Since he has been alive for so long and forgotten his name, Fuuko takes the liberty to call him Andy. Oh you know, from undead. Ugh… As he ponders if touching her this much gives this amount of bad luck in this span of time, imagine what sex will do! RUN, FUUKO!

Episode 2
How is Fuuko going to avoid giving her first time to Andy? This guy really wants to f*ck her! Maybe this excuse will work: She needs to like the person in order for the bad luck to be more intensified. And just like that, Andy decides he won’t let her die then. Bringing her back to his bunker, he armours her up from head to toe. Hey, can’t tell when those scary guys will come for them. In fact, they will be running from them forever. Don’t let them catch you because who knows what they’ll do to you since Andy was caught 50 years ago and spent 10 years as their lab rat. As the duo continue to wander, they are attacked by a couple of guys from Union, Void and Shen. They too have their own strange powers as Void pummels Andy to death although the latter keeps generating. Fuuko is somewhat made immobilized by Shen’s power. As she tries to plead for mercy, Shen apologizes that Negators like them will be hunted down until they die. But if that’s the case, why are some like them not hunted? Shen reveals that Union has a special team made up of 10 Negators. In exchange for your spared life, you do missions for Union. So need to just join Union, right? Too bad, only 10 seats are available and none are vacant now. Andy has a better idea: He’ll kill both of them and take their place. Andy continues his fight with Void as he tries to figure out his ability. Andy realizes his power to negate his opponent’s ability to avoid. Meaning, he only stops their muscles from moving. Because he cannot stop Andy’s regeneration, he uses his body part as projectile and his bullet finger effectively kills Void. That’s 1 seat down. How about Shen die for the other? Seeing he won’t do that and has both unable to move in his line of sight, obviously Andy will give Void’s seat to Fuuko. He doesn’t mind being on the run and will escape if he gets captured. Fuuko feels sad and wants to give her body as his parting gift so he can die later?! Seriously, she wants to f*ck him now?! It’s the only way she could repay him. Shen finds them amusing. So he tells them the location of another Union member in Russia. Kill him and you can take his place. Sorry folks, no sex. And Andy assures he is not rotten to f*ck a desperate girl so don’t do it again. Now they make their way to Russia.

Episode 3
We’re heading to Russia but there are pesky jet fighters after them. Andy is successful in using his regenerated body parts to destroy those jets. He reminds Fuuko about the person they need to kill and those elites in Union wear an emblem. He knows a handful of them from the one whom he stole a katana to the one who experimented on his body. But the one who captured him was the one who could create an invisible barrier and had him locked up for a long time. When their boat is capsized, Andy feigns giving up. This is just to buy time to test Fuuko’s unluckiness. He has hypothesized some of her unluckiness pulled objects from faraway and the source of it was doing stuffs she has great personal value such as haircut. While she was unconscious during the capsized, he did CPR on her. On the mouth. This causes a great water spurt as it pushes them up towards a jet. All part of Andy’s plan to steal a ride to Russia. But once reaching land, they have to eject seeing it is set to self-destruct once they realize it is stolen. They land at Lake Baikal and since Fuuko is impressed with the scenery, Andy lets her have some fun. He assures her with all the tourists around, Union will not do anything reckless. As Fuuko walks around, she stumbles into a lively girl who loves Japanese girls. Oh my. Not another foreigner who loves Japanese culture! Fuuko joins her painting the scenery as she poses a question if she likes changes or things to stay the same. At the end of the day, Fuuko once prefer things to stay the same. But after meeting a weird guy, it changed her perceptive of life. Hence she appreciates someone who changes her. That girl is impressed as she reveals her true form. She is Gina and from Union. The one who captured Andy. So she heard from her superiors that they plan to kill her and take her place.

Episode 4
As they fight, it is revealed that Gina is actually in love with Andy! She is jealous at Fuuko clinging onto him. She narrates how she fell in love with him after she captured him since he was quite cool about the concept about death and accepted his defeat since it was her who captured him. Then he escaped and left without saying anything. She was sad until she recently found him. To her dismay, it was Shen who met him first since she wanted that honour. As Andy continues to fight her, he is trying to figure out the secret behind how she makes barriers as well as the one that negates everything. Then he figures out her negating ability. Something about how her invisible attacks negate the change in the air itself. Basically her power is to unchange stuffs. Gina is further infuriated with Fuuko continue to further cling onto Andy. She’s trying to tell him to good points about herself that is not unchanged. She doesn’t care spending the rest of her time chasing her love. She’ll always remain in Union no matter how many others she has hurt. So if Fuuko wants change, do it on her own accord and not via others. Andy disagrees and claims death is only for him. Until he achieves that, he will not let Fuuko die before him. Don’t understand the next part how Andy-Fuuko combo bring the bad luck to Gina. Opening her impenetrable barrier via some UFO blaster. WTF?! With Gina’s loss, Andy won’t kill her off seeing she is already dying. Gina realizes that she might love change after all. In fact, she initially did. She was always at the beck and call of Union. All the missions she has done for them, all the deaths she has brought upon her target, nothing changed for her. She started believing it is their life’s mission to prevent changes to the world but apparently she was wrong. While she might not have changed, change itself doesn’t look so bad. So to give this old hag a final goodbye, Andy kisses her. Beautiful as always. That has never changed since he met her.

Episode 5
Wow. What back story did Andy tell Fuuko that made her cry like hell! Apparently Gina wanted to die and when she told Andy about it, he thought she was joking and joked he would kill her first when he got out. He realized later she was telling the truth. Fuuko suggests changing Union from inside and Andy doesn’t dislike the idea. But soon they are brought to the roundtable of Union. Folks, meet the rest of them ranked in descending order: Juiz, Shen, Billy, Phil, Tatiana, Isshin, Top and Nico. With all of them here, this book named Apocalypse pops up to show them 6 different quests. They have a deadline to complete them all or else they’ll pay a penalty. After analysing the quests, Juiz will have the quest divide among themselves. Fuuko also learns Apocalypse is the first Artefact on Earth. It gives them quests. Succeed, they will be rewarded otherwise a price to pay. Fuuko wonders if they need to do it because in Gina’s case, she was agonizing over it. However as Juiz points out, failure means penalty to the planet. Like disease, death, race, sex, etc. The planet has got all of this because of the penalty at some point. Their reward will be getting stronger in hopes of one day executing God who resides on the other side of the book and the one imposing such laws. Since the top leadership of Union is decided by one who clears the most quest, Andy forces Apocalypse to reveal the hardest quest. He’ll take it along with Fuuko but also drags Shen into it. That’s what he get for laughing his ass off too much. So as they prepare, a UMA prisoner has escaped. This one can take over bodies of those he defeats and transforms into that desired clothes of the one being possessed. First he possesses Mui, Shen’s assistant but Fuuko uses her bad luck to be targeted. She knows Andy will come to save her. Now Andy has solved his clothes issue and doesn’t have to run around naked since this guy is now technically his suit. So Clothy is his name as Fuuko calls him, huh? Now for the new mission to head to New York and tackle, uhm, zombies?!

Episode 6
Now we’re on an American road trip to an isolated town in the middle of a lake, Longing. Their job is to capture a UMA named Spoil that has turned everyone into zombies. Fuuko hopes they can succeed this quest because this gives them a chance to meet the person who may have a clue to help Andy die as reward. Andy drives through the horde of zombies into Longing. Then he goes out and kills most of them. Then he notices one hasn’t transformed completely. Andy thinks of having her lead to Spoil but Shen explains about UMAs being different than Negators. They are the rules themselves and can ensnare others without notice. There is a possibility Spoil will activate his rule to those who stepped into his vicinity. Well, looks like there is a timer on Andy’s tummy. When it reaches zero, Andy turns into a zombie but regenerates back. And then back to a zombie. A never ending cycle. Now that he understands zombie language, it seems this girl wants to marry him and then she’ll tell him about Spoil’s location. So as they go off to the chapel, Fuuko notices a kid, Ken peeking out of the bunker before hiding back. She and Shen go to chase them. A few kids are not zombified yet but they have a counter running. They think they are here to kill them since they have no hope. As Shen ponders their timer having a longer time, Fuuko hugs Ken and gets cursed. Shen too steps into the zone to get his timer running. Andy and his bride look lovely. The bride thanks him for making her dream come true and points out to the angel statue for him to kill and put them all out of their misery. Doing so, the statue turns into Spoil. Andy then rallies the other zombies to fight Spoil.

Episode 7
Ken reveals to Fuuko that about a week ago, a strange little ball popped up here and liked the place, turning everyone into rotting zombies. Their teacher hid them in this bunker before going to face off with her fate. They’ve been here ever since but when one of the kid’s numbers start to run out, Ken has her think about her dreams and with her in a happy state, the timer restarts. With the commotion outside, they take a peek to see Andy and other zombies fighting Spoil. The kids recognize Andy’s bride as their teacher. Andy then notices a zombie touching Fuuko and turning into a bomb. Now he has all zombies touch her for an explosive fight. Instantly the bride hugs her first and then rushes towards Spoil for her explosive finale. Although other zombies do the same, the explosion is weak. Spoil then inhales all the zombies and changes form. Spoil does not understand why humans interfere with his plans. Because like nature, rotting dying is part of the beauty. Thus he is puzzled humans continue to defy him despite their bodies cannot even last a century. Fuuko claims they have dreams. They use whatever body they have to pursue their dreams no matter what. That’s why she won’t allow his whatever rules to wreck their dreams. And her dream is to become a normal girl and life her life to the fullest. No matter what, she will not give up. This allows her timer to reset. Shen too when he admits his dream to become the greatest of all creation. Like God?

Episode 8
Shen figures out Spoil’s traits. The rot comes mainly from his body so if he extends his other parts away, there is no risk of going rotten. Thus he uses his Artefact, a staff that can elongate itself to fight at a distance. Shen’s ability is to force someone to do the opposite of what he/she thinks but the target must always remain in Shen’s vision. But this is going nowhere so Fuuko suggests bringing Spoil up to space seeing it is a vacuum and nothing would spoil there. Shen is willing to use his staff to push Spoil to space but hints to Andy that only his old self can withstand the trip to space. Andy reluctantly agrees. Taking out a card embedded in his forehead, he follows Spoil into space. Andy reverts into another character. His undead ability is even more advanced than Andy’s. The cut off limbs he regenerate as whole bodies and become new clones. This allows him to cut up Spoil into many parts and take his core back down to Earth. Shen is just fresh in seeing off Ken and the kids as they will have to trek themselves to safety as Shen anticipates the return of Andy. No, Victor. Victor asks him about the date and this confuses Shen since he is more like a different person rather than his memories coming back. After Shen has Mui secure Spoil’s, Victor attacks and they are so strong that both his and Shen’s limbs break! Fuuko tries to use her bad luck on him but nothing happens. Fuuko tries to call out to Andy because if she gets killed by Victor, they won’t do all the things they promised to do. Will he be okay if she dies before him? Shen has stalled time long enough because the rest of Union elites are here. All are formidable as they attack Victor but he still stays ahead of them.

Episode 9
Union continues fighting against him as Top brings Fuuko away to safety. However she needs to get Andy back and wants Top to bring her to him. When she returns, she jumps and holds onto him. She is going to bring the biggest bad luck upon him. The rest of Union keep her safe while fighting Victor. Fuuko thinks hard how to bring back Andy although Victor claims he is the original version and won’t let that copy come back. Fuuko remembers all the events done with Andy. Then she realizes his forehead’s scar is the only thing that his clones doesn’t have. She stabs right into it and screams for Andy to return. Come back and she’ll give him the biggest stroke of bad luck. With that, Andy returns and kisses her. Now everybody has to get the hell out of here because multiple comets are going to crash! Well, Longing is now a huge crater. Andy is still alive so Fuuko rushes back down to plant back the card in his head before the water rushes into the crater. Next thing Fuuko knows, she wakes up in bed with Andy next to her. First she scolds him for cooking up this dangerous plot with Shen without telling her. Had Union not shown up, he wouldn’t be here. She would be alone again. He apologizes for that but mentions when Victor took over, he could hear her voice in the darkness. It made him happy. The duo return to the meeting where Apocalypse will announce the results of the quests.

Episode 10
For each successful quests, Apocalypse rewards them by telling them the location of other Negators, giving them a new Artefact, the unification of all languages into English (although we’re still speaking Japanese!) and adding an additional seat for their roundtable member. However, there is 1 quest they have failed and because of that, a penalty is added. The UMA known as Galaxy is released. So they all head to Australia to see stars and the universe forming. Hey, if that is the case, where did Fuuko grabbed her comet bad luck from?! What was the sky before? Where did the sun come from before? I’m so confused! Nico has his servants analyse everything and basically in addition to adding celestial bodies, there are also aliens. There is a fleet invading now. This alien commander wants to subdue Earth so Juiz walks up to him and says they will neither die nor submit. Alien blasts Ayer’s Rock just to show how superior his race is and that this will be genocide. He claims all humans must die so his people can live here. Juiz asks if this is his justice. Yes. That is when she uses her ability and suddenly the alien fleets destroy each other! She then tells the alien to tell others not to touch Earth. So I guess no more future alien invasions. Juiz explains that thanks to her ability, this penalty was easily avoided. Hence it depends on who the members of Union are. Because this is the 99th penalty, they cannot any more penalties. There is a tablet has 100 slots. Once it reaches that, the final 101th slot nicknamed Ragnarok will be the final penalty. They must prevent this at all cost. Because Apocalypse will not reveal any further quests until all Union members are filled up, they must do so or receive another penalty. Now they focus on capturing Unrepair and Andy is geared up for it since this ability may kill him permanently. Juiz allows him to undertake this and has Fuuko and Tatiana tag along.

Episode 11
We’re going to Rio De Janeiro, baby! This is where Unrepair is but Andy knows it is because there is a black auction going on that sells Negators. Though, not sure he is buying or being sold. Run by the mafia and holding it at random places, they were hard to locate but Juiz somehow manages to. So in order to infiltrate the place, they need to look the part and dress like a celebrity! Andy looks good in his new suit but these sexy skimpy dresses, do they fit Fuuko? This has her remember her talk with Juiz on why she picked her to join Andy on this mission. She thinks she would just be a hindrance. Juiz explains she thought her powers would be an obstacle to her justice to protect this planet. That’s why she sent Shen and Void to kill her. But after Victor’s case, she realizes her power could be the key to defeat God. They need to learn how to control it although at this point it is insufficient. Hence this mission is to bond with Andy and fall in love with him? Since the duo still got time, they take a walk. But it’s Andy trying to use Fuuko’s bad luck to get him killed. It didn’t work despite getting hit by various bad luck. Andy talks about Victor whom he doesn’t know. He believes Victor is the original since it makes sense as Andy doesn’t have any childhood memories. Without this card, he goes crazy and isn’t sure the next time he’ll attack her. She assures she’ll use her bad luck to save him as many times needed. Now it’s time for the big party on the luxury liner. Fuuko hearing a lot of unsavoury lines as the guests look down on Negators and mock how easy they are to get. Fuuko wonders if it is because everyone now speaks English and if not all rewards are good. As she worries about the Negator on sale who might have lived a hard life like her, Andy notes the various ways one can go about in life. For him, ever since meeting her and joining Union on a whim, he decides it is to kill God. His thoughts of Union has changed since then that is why he is for Union. Tatiana reports a group of terrorists invading the ship. Some don’t speak English. As explained, they are Negator Hunters and although they are also after Negators, unlike Union whose goal is to kill God to be freed from the rules, Negator Hunters seek revenge on the world. However if that Negator is useless to them, they will dispose of him/her. Fuuko can’t let innocent people be killed let alone taking it out on the world isn’t going to cut it.

Episode 12
Andy and Fuuko start causing a rampage all over the ship. Meanwhile we see Chikara Shigeno using his power to stop a guard from moving as he escapes. However the downside is that he too cannot move in order for this ability to be in effect and must be within his vision. Flashback a few days ago, Chikara became stressed when all his school friends started speaking English. He is the only one speaking Japanese. Then SPs came to knock him out and he found himself on this auction ship. The guard goes down thanks to Negator Hunters. They find his ability interesting but to test it out, they fire a gattling gun at him! Luckily Andy blocks all the bullets. The leader then cuts a wound on Andy’s neck and it doesn’t heal. He turns out to be Unrepair and any wound he inflicts will not heal unless he dies. Unrepair then notes Chikara’s ability as useful. However he is a spineless coward so they plan to kill him. His ability will be transferred to someone else. Andy seems to be able to negate Unrepair’s ability by cutting himself? Anyway, this makes Andy realize Unrepair is worthless to him and won’t want him in Union. Tatiana keeps other Negator Hunters at bay so Unrepair is left with Latla who seems to be able to counter or negate attacks. Unrepair continues to explain once they have the correct number of people on their side, they will take over the world. They don’t care about defeating God since they’re already burdened with other problems and not obliged to risk their lives for that. When Unrepair goes to kill Chikara, Andy fails to block the attack so Fuuko does it and gets wounded. She assures she will be okay so as to calm Andy down. With SPs arriving, Unrepair escapes. Andy is in a dilemma. By saving Fuuko, Unrepair will escape. This is when Chikara decides to stop being a coward. He remembers mom on her last breath that he will come across kind people. When he does, cherish them and help them back. Now he uses his ability as he freezes all the SPs while they’re firing the guns.

Episode 13
Andy tells Tatiana that Fuuko has been hit with Unrepair’s abilities and will die within the hour. Hence to save her, they must kill that bastard. Flashback shows when Andy and Fuuko first became part of Union, Tatiana hated Andy for killing Gina. As Juiz didn’t allow members to fight during the meeting, Tatiana then challenged Andy to a fight in Nico’s chambers. She cannot accept Andy killing Gina as she was in love with him and he himself knew about it. Tatiana went all out but started to feel guilty when one of her attacks almost hit Fuuko. However Andy saved her. But it was Andy’s dick in her face that caused Tatiana to start activating her power! You see, this big iron ball isn’t to protect her but actually to restrain her powers from going berserk for anything she touches, let’s say the entire town can be vaporized. She is on the verge of exploding when Fuuko hugged her and claimed she was the one who killed Gina with her bad luck. Thus she was the one to blame. With that, Tatiana calmed down. Fuuko then visited her room and they became good friends. Despite being so different, Fuuko treated her normally. Therefore she won’t forgive anyone who hurts her friend. She starts activating her power as she tells Andy to get out to at least the ship’s deck. More flashbacks as we see Tatiana celebrating her 5th birthday with her family when her power activated. She flattened the whole town. In a daze, she was captured by the mafia and put up for auction. Not until Billy saved her and brought her to Union where Nico improved and created a better iron ball for her to move about. Once Andy is at the top, Tatiana lets loose her destructive force, tearing the ship apart. This also smokes out Unrepair so now it’s Andy’s turn to do his part.

Episode 14
Well, this fight between Andy’s side and Unrepair is one helluva confusing! We see the Negators using their powers to take Unrepair out but he seems to know the flaws and drawbacks of it and manages to make his move to avoid death. So from what I can see the winning move, Chikara has frozen Unrepair in his sight. But because Andy has come up behind Unrepair’s body, hidden from Chikara’s sight, he is able to fire his finger bullet through his chest. Luckily they have a giant whale as their escape as Latla notes Unrepair won’t die today and for any questions, save it for Rip Tristan. Who? Unrepair’s real name. Andy thanks everyone for their help as he couldn’t do it on his own. Fuuko invites Chikara to join Union but won’t force him. Andy gives him a week to think about it. So as they wait for him to show up (a sign that he accepts), who this little kid showing up instead? Oh, it’s Unrepair.

Episode 15
Unrepair claims he has died (the reason Fuuko is freed from his curse) but somehow ended up in this form. Of course Andy beats him up for what he did to Fuuko. Unrepair is not here to pick a fight but hand them and Artefact. The moment picks up this gun, she sees horrifying visions of destruction and death. Unrepair explains different Artefacts channel different images. That figure in it is God. Since nobody can beat it, that’s why his group known as Under will rule the world until God comes to destroy it. Under like Union can move on to the next step. He invites Andy to join Under but obviously he won’t. After Unrepair leaves, Chikara heard it all. He was ready to join but after hearing Armageddon, he chickens out! Andy catches him. Care to talk? In his classroom, Andy first tells about what Union is doing. One more failure and looks like end of the world will be coming early next year. Chikara first tells them he needs to do 2 things: Live and atone. Time for his back story. Living a happy normal life, his power awakened one day when the family was crossing the road. This means when Chikara crossed first and looked back at his parents, he froze them till a truck hit them. He became depressed and thought of suicide many times but his parents’ face kept popping up. Thus he thought of just surviving enough and perhaps he could become a better person. Then he met them from Union and it changed his life. Because now instead of living, he can also make his amends. He makes his resolve and won’t run away anymore. This his hard for Fuuko since she also experienced something similar. WTF Andy tickles her till she passes out? Chikara says goodbye to his friend and then Nico does his think to erase his memories? Convenient. Because Fuuko is adamant to defeat God so the world won’t end, she wants Andy to teach her how to fight. With all the Union members assembled, Apocalypse will now read them their quests.

Episode 16
This time the quests are open to everyone. With 4 quests, all of them are neutralizing UMAs named after the seasons. Billy then speaks up about how this is their last mission and some of them may die before they get the 101st penalty. He suggests to just nuke everything even if it means killing a few innocents. He mocks Juiz for being naïve and claims nobody here can kill God. He claims only he can do it. Then Billy starts shooting as everyone takes cover. Though, Isshin gets fatally shot. Andy remembers note that their previous failed quest to capture Unseen, he guesses Unseen was taken by Unrepair. In short, Billy is from Under. Top kills Billy but he manages to revive. With the appearance of Burn and some Under members, Billy steals the roundtable. Tatiana tries to convince everyone this isn’t Billy since she only knows about his true abilities and this isn’t it. As Union tries to stop him, looks like they can’t. Billy wants Tatiana to come with him as he needs her power. But with Fuuko lecturing him about no sense of self-worth and how it’s just sad betraying the person he saved, Billy takes it that Tatiana will not come with him. Hence she will be his enemy. Juiz commands the rest to take action to retrieve their roundtable and provide support to Andy and Fuuko seeing they’re going to use Fuuko’s random unluckiness to counter Latla’s nullification of unorthodox attacks.

Episode 17
Fuuko and Andy reach Burn. Using her bad luck, Andy enters Burn’s flaming body to cause some electromagnetic disturbances before freezing its entirety. And then Nico’s staffs activate some giant pole to pierce through the body to render him unmovable. Andy goes to fight Billy but it seems the latter can copy and replicate powers from Union. Billy then makes Fuuko to jump off, forcing Andy to jump down to save her. This is to buy time for Burn to reactivate and move again. Luckily Tatiana rescues to duo since she wants to have a word with Billy. Asking him about his betrayal, Billy believes so long God and the rules exist, this world will always be unfair. The cruellest cut is when he claims Tatiana doesn’t matter to him anymore. Hope she doesn’t turn into a wrecking ball. Hahaha! Sorry…However she still does have feelings for him so she uses her untouchable power to negate Billy’s. Billy realizes he has been duped because the target wasn’t the roundtable but Apocalypse. Now in Fuuko’s hands, as mentioned the quests don’t get started unless all gather at the roundtable. But without Apocalypse, none can accept any quests or its rewards. However Apocalypse flood more past memories into Fuuko to force her to release him. Though, Apocalypse is caught by Phil. Billy and the rest escape, vowing to secure Ark before the deadline. Juiz has everyone give up in chasing them and instead needs to discuss an important matter.

Episode 18
Andy and Shen pose a few questions to Juiz as they find some of her actions strange. Like the previous quests, she didn’t actually specify in completing them but rather strengthening their forces. This is very lax seeing they are close to Ragnarok. Then there is Victor whom she is seemingly close to and Victor seems to know about galaxy even before it was added as penalty. None of the Union members know what Ark is either and there is no data about it. Juiz then reveals the big secret: The entire world is in a loop. In a constant cycle of destruction and renewal by God’s hands, Juiz created Union to put a stop to this. The visions that Fuuko has seen were images from previous loops. Although there are a number of ways to know about it, for Juiz she has been using Ark. As proof, she describes how the world ends. God will physically destroy it and escaping to space won’t help. Then a new Earth will be created. Sometimes old Earth’s fragments remain in the new one. The meteors Fuuko summoned are actually fragments of old Earth! Juiz was the only one who survived by using Ark. Not just her but with Victor. This means even if Earth gets destroyed, Andy won’t die even when everyone else does. This means Victor has been living in this world ever since death was added. To avoid the rules, one must either die or kill God. Juiz takes responsibility of this and believes Billy’s betrayal was because the loop was leaked to him. Juiz wants to take her own life but the rest are committed to believe in her justice. Using a makeshift rock as their roundtable, they go over the new quests but the more pressing issue is Billy and Under. Although their goals are aligned to slay God, their methods differ since Under is willing to sacrifice many innocent lives for that. Juiz assigns Andy and Fuuko to find a certain book since there is a chance the pages hold the past and future events of this world are penned by a certain Artefact. With Billy’s betrayal, the future is uncertain and they need the book to help clear the quests.

Episode 19
That book is a manga?! Apparently To You From Me by Anno Un (unknown? Geddit?) is the longest running shoujo manga and Fuuko is a big fan of it. You see, some stories in it has turned out true in reality like the recent alien one. It could be the manga is drawn by an Artefact and thus not affected by addition of new rules. Hence what Juiz wants to know is the status of the raw manuscript and intel on Anno who is a very mysterious person. So what is the first step to do that? Andy suggests to do a killer manga so they can bring it to HQ! Oh yeah, Fuuko has to start doing manga now! Woah, Andy has some experience in the manga production line? So we see Fuuko burning the midnight oil (energy drinks, rather) as other Union members also help whenever they can. Finally, Undead+Unluck manga is done! Fuuko goes to the HQ and see an editor, Tahioka to submit her work. So, she did all this in just a week! Yeah, the way they showed it like as though it took months! Anyway, Tahioka is kind enough to fulfil Fuuko’s request to have a look at other old manuscripts. As she goes through the file, To You From Me manuscript is spotted and since it is still in Japanese, it proves is that book of prophecy. It is also noted that there were a few arcs that were shelved like as though details about the future were intentionally left out. Juiz wants that info and thus to find out where Anno is. Tahioka makes the call and Fuuko requests to speak to her. With Andy’s scary face, she’ll relent, right? Fuuko requests to meet up so she could read her manuscript. Anno agrees. Come to Stanley Park in Canada.

Episode 20
As Andy and Fuuko wait at the park, they didn’t even realize Anno snuck up on them to read Fuuko’s manga. He hints he knows about the future but has to pay a price. However for now, he wants them to fight Autumn because they will learn about themselves and become stronger. Andy has his reservations because if he knows the future, why is he hiding it? He doesn’t answer and gives Andy the slip. Can he teleport? When Fuuko hears somebody screams, she rushes to help despite Anno’s advice not to because she is not strong enough to win. Fuuko doesn’t want to have the same regrets as she did in that American zombie town. So we see this Autumn, a huge spider bug or something. His strike turns one into books because he eats the biography of his targets. Autumn finds this target boring and wants to feed on more interesting stories. Andy and Fuuko dive in to fight this UMA but his defence is tight. In order to make them listen, Anno sacrifices his left arm so he could conjure a plane for them to escape back to her home. Instead of heading right into the boss fight, he wants them to start off with a training arc. Anno then makes contact with Juiz who doesn’t trust this mangaka since what they want is info and not this chaos sh*t. Andy notes there is a power gap between him and Victor. He believes knowing his past will bridge that gap and he is willing to take that gamble. As long as they come back safe, Juiz will allow it. Anno draws an Autumn’s claw and strikes Andy with it. So, how thick are Andy’s books? Why, it reaches into space! OMG! I hope this flashback arc won’t take seasons!!!

Episode 21
So uhm, are we going to read the entire thing?! Thankfully no! Because Anno’s Artefact allows her to pluck one’s soul and dive straight into the book. Yeah, what a way to learn history by experiencing it. And so Fuuko dives and arrives in a cowboy era. Yeehaw! Andy and his men save Fuuko from being riddled with bullets by bandits. Initially they don’t trust her but since she claims she knows about his tattoo, they let her tag along. While having their meal in a salon, Andy and co explain they are roaming around since Andy doesn’t have memories of his past and hopes to bump into someone who does. Fuuko tries to describe him in the future but since it sounds laughable, Fuuko wants to join their group to earn their trust. Andy then has her play Russian roulette. If she survives, she is in. Fuuko pulls the trigger and lives. Then she pulls more, shocking the rest. She knows it is not loaded since Andy won’t do such a thing to a non-fighter. So as they are about to welcome her, bandits come in and shoot them all dead! Fuuko survives because a member was fast enough to protect her. Andy survives and goes out the bludgeon them all to death. Realizing he will be an undead in the future, hence he doesn’t care for pain anymore. Andy and Fuuko travel to many places and meet many people. Felt like an eternity but all the while, Fuuko couldn’t find out more about his past and noticed he never smiled. One night he asks what it means to be dead. Fuuko explains how her power killed her parents and others. Simply, to be dead is to be forgotten. Although her parents are gone, she still remembers them and it makes them as though they’re still alive. This can also be applied to Andy’s dead comrades. For once Andy smiles. He then mentions 15 April 1865 at Washington DC. That is how far his earliest memories go. Fuuko starts disappearing and accidentally confesses she loves him. She tells him to wait 144 years from now on 1 August 2020 because they’ll meet at a station. If he remembers and meet up, she’ll kiss him. Now Fuuko finds herself in Washington DC. 15 April 1865.

Episode 22
A flashback of a happier Victor with Juiz who asks him if he believes in reincarnation. Nope. Don’t believe in souls to begin with. She hopes he would because she would love to see him again after he dies. She promises never to forget him. And then something happen as Juiz stabbed the card into his head. Now Fuuko is in 1865, Victor pops up and threatens to kill her as many times until she gets out of this book to prevent her from peeking into his life. By doing so, he also thinks this will weaken Andy and he will use this chance to break free and reclaim his body. She dares him to kill her and he does. Now she is in 2020 and while Victor is still hunting her, luckily Andy is now here and Fuuko couldn’t be happier. Andy and Victor fight but with Fuuko’s bad luck assisting, Andy has the edge. He thanks Fuuko for changing his life and it changed his outlook not to let logic dictate his life. If he is going to live in this world, he will live as he pleases. Because of that, they have developed new abilities as Victor is defeated. Instead of peeking into the past, Fuuko will ask Victor instead. She wants to know his relationship with Juiz because she saw her with him many times in those visions. In fact, Victor was part of Union’s roundtable. Victor reveals they have been living for a long time. Millions of years maybe. Each time they get closer to clearing, they fail. Victor realized they can’t win against God and was always dancing in his palm. The ideal is to give up. However Juiz won’t and thought by making the best moves, slowly but surely they’ll reach God. She used Ark and looped many times over again and again. That is why Victor vows to kill her as he cannot bear to see the woman he loves suffer. Only in death she will give up. But fighting with them has changed Victor’s mind. Their stroke of bad luck unleashed showed signs of evolution. It transformed into personalized bad luck for the target. This means if they continue researching and figure out God, the bad luck can reach him. Now that Fuuko is stronger, Victor claims she doesn’t need to know what happened in 1865. And if she must, ask Juiz. How to get out of this book? A kiss on the lips. Don’t worry, Andy will become more handsome and woo her over in the real world!

Episode 23
As Fuuko is still unconscious, Anno has to defend her from unwanted guests. Yes, Under is here. Rip and Backs attack but Anno fights them and costs her the other arm. Now a flashback on a young boy named Akira Kuno who was raised by his single mom. Strangely, mother often read manga as his bedtime stories. So you can see where his passion came from. One day, he found a pen Artefact in the alley. Immediately he saw visions of everything that has and will happen in this loop. That was when his Negator abilities awakened. However Akira is soon horrified that nobody can see, hear or contact him. He is like a ghost. This means despite being next to mom, poor mom thinks he has gone missing until she became worried sick. Needing to do something, he decided to draw a manga of events that will happen. Fuuko and Andy being his favourite characters, he drew them into his manga. Under the penname Anno Un (I told you, it was based on ‘unknown’), he submitted his works but obviously nobody could contact him in his current state. With his manga becoming famous, he decided to use this as a tool to tell our heroes about the future. However he also thought would telling them so be enough? Maybe he can change the future with a different outcome. Remembering at this time of the year Andy is training in some Japanese mountains, he treks there to see Andy under the training of samurai named Yusai. Obviously Yusai loved him and wanted him to stay but unless she can outlive him, bye girl. This hit Akira as despite everyone’s struggles when they became a Negator, all still fought hard against God. Unfortunately, all will be for naught as Akira already knew the outcome. Everyone will lose after losing Andy and Fuuko. Hence he is more determined to change the outcome via his manga. So on this very day that Anno has been waiting for, Andy returns as Anno sends a warning to him and in that instant, Andy slices and kills Unseen who was about to kill Fuuko. In the original timeline, Fuuko was killed by Autumn’s unseen blade. With Fuuko alive, Anno believes it was all worth it. Backs steals Fuuko’s gun and escapes. Fuuko suggests to Rip about teaming up to fight Autumn but he refuses. Under works together only when their goals are aligned. For Rip, he wants the Ark and if they do so, he’ll cooperate. Otherwise, he’ll kill them. However Anno points out that he already knows it is impossible because neither Rip nor Latla can ride the Ark. Even more so, Rip will end up losing Latla. Rip is willing to risk his life for her. Latla feels the same way for him. With Autumn heading here, both sides are in competition to see who can take down that UMA first.

Episode 24
Anno wants all of them to buy him time while he draws an Artefact that will guarantee their victory. That Artefact turns Rip back to his normal age as his power is important to defeat Autumn. However Rip is not happy. Because by using that Artefact, Anno will age 10 times more and now he is dying. Of course Anno has no regrets doing so. It is all for them to beat Autumn and in the end, he’ll eventually be alone again. We see more of Fuuko’s past. Even after her parent’s death, she was often accused of using underhanded tactics to hurt others when it was not the case. She noticed To You From Me manga on her parents’ altar as grandpa said it was her mom’s favourite manga. Even when everyone was gone, Fuuko took a liking for it and won’t die till it ends. Rip still refuses to help. He wants to know who Anno is. Fuuko says Anno views them all as heroes. As Latla says, Rip can’t be happy with that because he needs to be the villain or he’ll never get where he wants (some flashback showing Rip and Latla blaming themselves over Latla’s sister’s death). Thus by being a hero means giving up on her. Andy calls the shots as he tasks everyone on what to do to take down Autumn. Just this once, Rip agrees to help. We hear Anno narrate his whole life has been to guide these heroes. He decided to change the future and set out what was needed to defeat Autumn. With everything prepared perfectly, our heroes defeat Autumn. Even if Anno couldn’t see this victory, he knows as long as they remember him in their hearts, he will still be around. Fuuko thanks Rip for his help and as seen, they should be working together. Rip rejects that. They can’t work together as he wants Ark. Juiz is doing all she can to hide it and now Union knows about it, the only way is to steal it by force. Fuuko notes that person must be very important to them. After parting ways, Andy and Fuuko collapse from exhaustion. He notes she has grown a lot from within the book. Thanking her for holding out, well it was nothing since it was only about 10 years!

Unsure Unwhat?! Count Your Blessings…
So… Uhm… Why are they waiting until 1st August to make some sort of ‘important announcement’? What’s the big deal for that? Sure, it is an important date in the series itself but to wait about 4 months after the series has ended just to make an announcement of a sequel just to coincide with this special date, doesn’t all that seem like a publicity stunt? I mean, they are going to announce a sequel, RIGHT???!!! WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE?! Think about it! The manga is still ongoing and have enough material for another season so what’s the problem of just announcing straight up like other series boringly do?! Unless of course it is not a sequel but a freaking live Netflix adaptation! NOOOOOO WAAAAAAAAY!!! IT BETTER NOT BE!!! And it better not be one of those movie types too! Oh… What do you know? It’s just a single episode special!!! Wow. All that waiting just for that, huh? Or is this just the warm-up for the actual sequel? Hmm…

I have mixed feelings about the story. In short, it is intriguing but at the same time confusing! Sure, this is not like those sci-fi themed animes although this series still has a fair number of terms itself. However those aren’t the factor that impeded my enjoyment. Well, to put it shortly, it’s one long winding road for a group of strange people with strange powers to fight against God. Did I get it right? Heads up that in the midst of watching this series, I actually went to do a lot of intensive reading on the story and the likes online (without reading the manga source, that is). That’s right. I actually tried to do some research and you could say that I have ‘invested’ a lot in this series. Even knowing the spoilers (yes, I know what has already happened in subsequent chapters), I am still unable to comprehend a lot of things (like the penalties, the Artefacts, etc) and that compounded my misery to understand this series better. Yeah, shocking for me to actually go read up and spend a lot of my time on a series like this. No wonder I felt frustrated that despite all that, I was nowhere close to feeling satisfied in understanding what is going on.

Especially in the initial episodes when Fuuko and Andy were treated like fugitives and criminals, I thought it was pretty silly of Union to go after Negators who weren’t part of the group to be eliminated. I mean, they’re not part of Under so what’s the big deal in leaving such Negators to live their lives as long as they don’t bring harm to others? Okay, so Fuuko’s bad luck brings harm to others but as you can see she took great care in trying not to spread it. Isn’t that enough? I thought Union needed all the help they can get to kill God? And what was that time wasting Negator hunting thingy? Sure, it’s all to bring our duo into Union but I still find that premise silly. Or something I don’t understand. Couldn’t they just increase the number of members in Union? Even if the seat numbers are predetermined, couldn’t they be in reserves like how many of them have their own assistants? So yeah, as such premises partly confused the hell out of me.

The other big confusion is how each of the Negators have their own unique abilities based on the nickname that they are given. Personally, they aren’t as straightforward as I think it is as there are some sort of conditions that need to be fulfilled before it becomes effective. Because of that, I don’t understand how it works and to me it feels like they’re pulling it all out from thin air which is of course not the case. So like Fuuko who brings bad luck if you come into contact with her, that is only so if you touch her bare skin. So if you’re wearing gloves or other clothes to cover that skin, you’re safe. Gee, why did she not do this all the time? Or did I miss something that I don’t understand? So couldn’t I say Fuuko can control how she disperses her bad luck (although she cannot control what kind of bad luck will hit you – though, the longer you touch her, the more misfortune you have)? Or am I still missing something that I don’t understand? Yeah, I really don’t UNderstand! Did I waste my time doing all that intensive reading?! Now you know why I don’t read…

While there are a lot of characters here, a big chunk concentrates on Fuuko and Andy. It is interesting to see the duo interact and it is like a watching a biggest irony. Oh you know, Andy trying to find the perfect death but as far as I can see (and understand), probably it is just an excuse to continue living as he pleases. After all, for one who has been living so long, one could only find thrill in doing dangerous stuffs that dices with death. So the irony is that for a zombie who wants to die, he is living the best days of his life. You could also say that he is going out with a bang. Only, the day he finally dies is still a long way off. As for Fuuko, a girl who was piled with lots of misery of her bad luck, her life takes a dramatic and drastic turn after meeting Andy. You can see she’s always been put on the edge of her seat whenever with Andy. Wow. So much better than dying, right? They’ve come a long way so much so they are inseparable. Uh huh. It’s kinda weird to also see them in their strange flirting. Andy doesn’t give a f*cks and will woo her as he wishes but she’s still overly conscious about it and at most times fluster like hell. Aren’t they cute? Yeah, can I say this season is entirely their honeymoon? Because damn, they’ve been travelling around the world! From Japan to Russia to America to Australia to Brazil and now we’re in Canada!

Other characters are interesting especially those under Under (pun not intended) because unlike Union who are bound by rules, Under are not. So it’s like this rogue organization is needed to spice things up. Oh you know, it would be boring if the whole plot was just God vs Union. So with a third force like Under, they can swing either way. They can be allies or foes depending on the goals of the day. Union themselves have some pretty interesting characters although not many are fleshed out. At least not seen in this season. And of course the biggest mystery itself is Victor, the link to Andy’s past and it’s like 2 very different characters packed into a single body.

Spoiler alert, because of my reading up I wonder if this is a good or bad thing. Because several characters that were killed off like Void and Gina, they actually made a comeback later. Ah yes, Ragnarok actually happened and with the next loop happening, Fuuko became the leader of Union and some of these characters are back as members. And Andy is nowhere to be seen… Oh my. So as such, it prevents me to b*tch about such characters as unimportant and just as some sort of plot convenience and stepping stone to Andy and Fuuko. They’ll be given a second chance later on.

What is a battle shonen anime without crazy battles, right? Hence the action sequences are amusing as well as confusing to say the least. At least for yours truly. I said confusing because until today, I still don’t really understand how Andy’s finger bullet works. Yes, it was explained and I did go back and hear him explain again but couldn’t understand (as always). So I decided to f*ck that and just accept it all, go ahead and watch Andy easily dismember his limbs as projectiles (faster than a lizard cutting loose its tail), being fascinated and at the same time being baffled how the heck his logic enabled him to pull off such moves. Obviously when you have weird characters with weird powers, the battles have to be exaggerated and over the top. Yeah, got to make it all look good and exciting even if it’s more style over substance. Don’t want to have boring unmemorable action bits, do we? Because of my lack of understanding of how each of the characters’ unique quirky abilities based on their whatever un~ theme/nickname work, it only serves to compound my confusion each time I try to connect the dots how it is freaking possible but at the same time get entertained by it all. You could say I am both bemused and amused!

The art and animation seem pretty decent. Of course at many times with the strange character designs, the characters often look a lot cartoonish especially Andy himself and his creepy, uhm, I mean weird eternal smile. It’s like he pulled a muscle and is always stuck with that smiling face for the large part of his existence. Not a bad thing but yeah, still looking cartoonish to me. But when he is in Victor mode, damn I thought is this where Fairy Tail’s Gajeel has been after that series ended?! I haven’t know any other series whereby a male’s dick has been censored so many times! Yeah, Andy sure loves going commando, huh? Thank goodness for Clothy? Shen is so buffed that his muscles make him look a lot more cartoonish. And what’s with Gina’s bloated oversized hat? I don’t think it is to hide her brains, though… Initially I thought this series was done by Shaft because there were a few Shaft-like traits like head tilting (or so I thought it was but it may be just coincidence) and the way they show certain angles of the scene that I thought that only Shaft would pull off. Turns out I was way wrong. David Production (the Jojo series, Hataraku Saibou, Inu x Boku SS) did this.

Voice acting is also quite decent. It is a long cast list seeing there are many characters, main and supporting. It’s nice to hear a lot of my recognizable seiyuus here like Yuuichi Nakamura being as rowdy as he can as Andy or as badass Victor, Rie Kugimiya being totally meek as Tatiana, similarly Nobuhiko Okamoto sounding his most docile version as Top and Natsuki Hanae as playful as Shen. Then there are also Kouji Yusa as Nico, Rikiya Koyama as Billy, Aoi Yuuki as Gina (and did they also double her as Tatiana’s mom?! Holy sh*t, could it be Gina is Tatiana’s mom too?!), Yuuki Kaji as Rip and Mai Nakahara making her cameo as Chikara’s mother as well as Ayako Kasumi making hers as Anno’s mom.

The most surprising one which I never found out until I was writing this section is Tomokazu Sugita as Apocalypse. OMFG. Is that really him?! I could never have guessed it since I believe some special effects were added to his voice to make the book sound malicious. Oh right, one more thing before I forget. To note about Natsuki Hanae as Shen, sometimes his character will spout his lines in Mandarin. However it is so accented that sometimes I can’t make clear of what he says. Not to say that my Chinese is very good but it gives this feeling that whenever he is saying those lines, he was just winging it. I don’t know, the intonation sounds all out of place. It’s one thing Japanese trying to speak Engrish but Mandarin? I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt he isn’t used to speaking Mandarin (well, he did play Banzai in Ani Ni Tsukeru Kusuri Wa Nai, which is a Chinese based web manga manhua series). Likewise, Yui Ishikawa too sounds weird when she spouts her Chinese lines. Yeah, it’s a good thing they decided to make everyone ‘speak’ English, eh?

The rest of the other casts are Moe Kahara as Fuuko (Tomoe in Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha No Ookoku Saikenki), Mariya Ise as Juiz, Ayumu Murase as Chikara (Menel in Saihate No Paladin), Ikumi Hasegawa as Latla (Rishe in Loop 7-kaime No Akuyaku Reijou Wa Moto Teikoku De Jiyuu Kimamana Hanayome Seikatsu Wo Mankitsu Suru), Yui Ishikawa as Mui (Mikasa in Shingeki No Kyojin), Kenji Nomura as Void (Ushiyama in Golden Kamuy), Jun Fukushima as Clothy (Kazuma in KonoSuba), Yumi Uchiyama as Anno (Momiji in Binbougami Ga), Hino Kano as Backs (Alas Ramus in Hataraku Maou-sama), Sumire Uesaka as Yusai (Sanae in Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai), Nobuo Tobita as Spoil (Domon in Flame Of Recca) and Kimiko Saitou as Autumn (Gagaran in Overlord). On a trivial note, I have this dumb conspiracy theory that they ran out of budget to hire more seiyuus because Isshin and Phil remain silent and without and dialogues (not even a simple groaning or huffing) throughout the series. Yeah.

The first opening theme is 01 by Ziyoou-vachi. Sounds like a generic rock piece and doesn’t quite attract me. The second opening theme is Love Call by Shiyui is another rock outfit. Some parts of the song somewhat remind me of Toni Basil’s Hey Mickey. I thought they were going to start to break into the oh-Mickey-you’re-so-fine tune… Yeah, I was ready for that but it never came… The first opening theme is Know Me by Kairi Yagi and is more of a slow rock ballad. Curiously, this ending credits animation may hold a clue to Andy’s past. Yeah, who that woman in her mourning clothes? The second ending theme is Kono Ai Ni Kanau Mon Wa Nai by Okamoto’s is yet another generic sounding rock outfit. However I want to note that this ending credits animation has very high contrast animation quality. It is one reason why I thought this series was made by Shaft as it somewhat reminisces me of one of Monogatari Series’ opener, Kogarashi Sentiment and also Vlad Love’s Where You Are. At least in terms of visual style.

Overall, despite my frustration and confusion of this series, I still find it highly interesting and can’t wait for its next season to arrive. This is going to get another ACTUAL season, RIGHT???!!! Not just a single hour long special episode, isn’t it?! Yeah, I think I can stomach another season of strange characters, action and plot. After all, this is all just one big challenge for the puny mortals to see if they can reach God, right? Yeah, must be amusing for him and his sister on the moon to watch hapless weaklings struggle hard to get close and earn the right to have a boss fight. Oops, too late, spoiler alert! So now you know why God isn’t sending his only son Jesus Christ down for a second coming, right? Is Union our Jesus?! We’re doomed in repeating the same loop forever. Yeah, what if all those faraway galaxies and planets were actually old destroyed Earths? Heh. Making stupid conspiracy theories isn’t my real ability. Because the only real ability I have right now is being an UNcle. Heh… Saikou da ze…

Imagine I had actually waited for the third season to binge watch it altogether with the second, it would have felt like an eternity! I would have forgotten a lot of things! Oh heck, who am I kidding? It doesn’t matter how long a season between a series comes out since I will still forget a big part of it! But I can somehow take relief that watching Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi No Kyoushitsu E S3 would not be as taxing seeing I already covered the second season last year. I must be so happy about clearing my backlog of animes to watch, huh? Oh right. Haven’t even started to even talk about this anime yet… Uhm, what was it all about again? Ah…

Episode 1
Obviously the next hotspring training camp isn’t just for fun but another special exam. Although split into groups based on year and gender, the most important is about passing the exams on the 4th and final but rather those falling under the borderline. Because that group will have its leader and one person in the group named by the leader to be expelled. Class 1-C (formerly known as 1-D) appoint Horikita as the central consultant for girls but she appoints Kushida as her assistant. Class 1-D (formerly 1-C) has casted Ryuuen as a pariah but Ayanokouji believes this will be his hardest test yet since he cannot protect everyone and must be selective. Nagumo challenges Manabu to see who scores highest in the end. Surprisingly Manabu accepts as long others don’t get mix up with it. Ayanokouji’s group feels like ruffians that include Yamada, Kouenji, Yukimura, Ishizaki and Hashimoto. So when a discord breaks out in the group, Hashimoto is able to mediate and cool all sides. Horikita tries to talk to Kushida and wants to trust her seeing revealing her past will do her no good. However Kushida will never see eye to eye with her again. Later Sakayanagi talks to Ayanokouji about crushing him would have to be put off later. Her goal now is to crush 1-B seeing they have very strong bonds. This is thanks to Ichinose earning their trust and because of that, this is why her personal points are staggering because everyone deposits theirs to hers like a bank safe. Although both are confident she won’t use them, Sakayanagi notes everyone has a dark side. That night, Ayanokouji meets up with Karuizawa to give her a task of keeping watch over a few people. He is worried this time there are no loopholes to exploit and worse, this time Manabu has called out to him for help seeing he owes him for turning a blind eye on Ryuuen’s incident. Manabu wants Ayanokouji to take out Nagumo. Ayanokouji calls this task impossible since he has no info. Don’t worry, Manabu presents Ikuto Kiriyama. He might serve Nagumo but is actually working for Manabu. It seems Nagumo wants to change the system once he is in charge. A system that will see many more expulsions. Kiriyama intends to keep the old tradition as passed down by Manabu although he doesn’t trust Ayanokouji. As for Nagumo keeping his promise on not letting outside parties getting involved, Manabu believes he will keep his word. Ayanokouji believes Manabu will lose this one.

Episode 2
Yukimura is the leader of the group and he is having some serious feet injury that might impact him in the marathon test. Kouenji as usual is acting on his own. When Ayanokouji goes to talk to him and hopes he could lend a hand, Kouenji hints he knows about Ayanokouji as the one who brings down Ryuuen. He assures he doesn’t intend to spill that secret but will live freely as he is. Ayanokouji realizes nobody can get to him. When Nazuna Asahina drops her charm, Ayanokouji returns it. Their small chat leads to her revealing she has a history with Nagumo and doesn’t see eye to eye with him. As reward for returning her charm, she lets him ask anything and he wants to know what happened to the girls after being divided into groups. That night, Hashimoto talking about he was a good football player but quit since he felt distant from his teammates. He has always wondered if he regretted that if he could be part of that. This leads to a tearful Yukimura telling his story he was good at nothing except for his studies. He thought that would at least propped him up but he ended up in the worst class. With all that has happened, he felt useless and even Sudou was way more helpful than he is. Not sure if this sob story has his group unite because many agree to help run for his part since all participants must run a minimum distance and this means some will run and cover more distance for him.

Ayanokouji sees Akane Tachibana crying alone. She claims Manabu has been fighting battles himself and hardly asks for help. The test day is here and we zip through it. The teacher announces the results. All the boys’ group pass the borderline so none will be expelled. He notes Manabu’s group scoring the highest. So he technically wins the challenge, right? Nagumo won’t count his chickens yet. Because the teacher announces for the girls, 1 group fall below it. That group is led by Momoko Ikari. She chooses Tachibana to be expelled with her. Ayanokouji realizes this whole challenge was just a distraction. Nagumo used girls loyal to him to flunk this test and expel Tachibana. Tachibana never said anything because she doesn’t want to burden Manabu. Since this is a preview of how Nagumo will expel students when he takes hold of the rein, Manabu is going to use his points to prevent Tachibana from being expelled. Later as Ayanokouji explains all this to Karuizawa, he also mentions Ikari too won’t be expelled since Nagumo will also pull off the same thing. I mean, who would be crazy just to get expelled, right? But unlike Manabu whose points are only from his class, Nagumo has the entire grade behind him. A massive pool of points. Karuizawa wonders if Ayanokouji would do the same if she was in the same position. Without skipping a beat, he promises he will do whatever it takes to prevent her expulsion. Gee, is he putting on another mask when he says that?

Episode 3
Sakayanagi sees Nagumo and to tell him she is mounting an attack to expel Ichinose. He is not amused because he wants to keep her around longer. Class 1-C is abuzz after knowing Hirata has broken up with Karuizawa. Soon, Sakayanagi steps into their class and wants to talk with Yamauchi privately. Horikita claims it is a trap but Yamauchi assures he won’t rat out any secrets because he is the class’ lethal weapon?! Oh dear, I’m so worried… Later Wang Mei Yu AKA Mii talks to Ayanokouji and basically she’s asking if she has a chance with Hirata now that he is single. He advises her not to rush it seeing Hirata just experienced a breakup so he might be a bit cautious about dating. That night, Horikita meets up with Ayanokouji to tell about the spread of nasty rumours on Ichinose. It is believed that Sakayanagi is behind the spread but that looked too obvious. Because Ichinose has not denied them, Ayanokouji wants to wait and see what happens. Horikita can’t let it be and calls Ichinose over to talk. Ichinose believes staying silent is the best way to fight back and this will prevent total damage to Class 1-B and 1-C. Horikita suggests teaming up but Ichinose tells her to stay out. It is not worth getting into Sakayanagi’s bad books. Ayanokouji agrees and like he said, don’t intervene because it will be bad if their class gets caught in the crossfire. Sure, Sakayanagi might come for them when Class 1-B is destroyed but he opines that would benefit them too. Class 1-A taking out 1-B for them seems better than 1-B and 1-C joining forces to destroy 1-A. When Ayanokouji returns home, an unknown caller calls him. Didn’t say much before hanging up. Ayanokouji believes they’re going to make their move. The next day, everyone’s locker has a note stating Ichinose is a criminal. While she is okay putting up with this, her friends want to take this to the teacher and stop the harassment. Later, Masumi Kamuro from 1-A wants to privately talk with Ayanokouji. He doesn’t trust her even if she says Sakayanagi doesn’t know she is here talking to her. She will tell him what Ichinose is hiding but first tells him why Sakayanagi is working her hard. After the entrance ceremony, Sakayanagi caught her shoplifting. Kamuro is a compulsive shoplifter. Kamuro was willing to give herself in but Sakayanagi was impressed and wanted her to be her friend instead. It seems Ichinose has also a history of shoplifting. Kamuro is confiding in him as she has no one to turn to and that he is the person whom Sakayanagi is most wary of. Since he doesn’t believe her, she shoplifts to demonstrate she is not lying. Then he gets a call from Manabu. Kushida has made contact with Nagumo.

Episode 4
Sudou asking Ayanokouji if he receives any chocolates from Horikita. None. Phew. The other guys discuss if the girls are just shy in handing them out. Well, Hirata has a whole bag! So I guess they’re note. Sudou tries his luck with Horikita under the pretence he wants to study with her. However she notes his assertiveness and shoots him down. The end. Hashimoto is seen tailing Ayanokouji. Because during the training camp, he overheard Nagumo talking to Manabu about wanting him to sit out the next exam. Obviously he can’t so Nagumo hints something about Ayanokouji. This has Nagumo believe Manabu thinks highly of him although he doesn’t look the part. He sees Ayanokouji meeting up with Karuizawa. Ayanokouji shows her the number of a mysterious caller. Know anybody? Since she doesn’t, he wants her to investigate. Then she ask him what day it is today. Valentine, right? She gives him her chocolates that was meant for Hirata. Hashimoto smells something fishy so he shows himself to confirm it. Ayanokouji denies this is about Valentine. He isn’t buying Karuizawa’s reason that she chose a random guy to her chocolates that she bought for Hirata. With Ayanokouji telling her to tell the truth or this will get troublesome later, she says she is handing it to him to hand it over to the guy she has her eyes on. Hashimoto then tries to hit on her. Disinterested Ayanokouji will be taking his leave so Hashimoto is surprised. Farce ends. Though, Hashimoto gets his contacts since there are things he wants to ask. That night, Ayanokouji visits Ichinose in her room and she is having a cold. She is surprised by his visit since she turned many of her visiting friends down. Because of that, they thought she was depressed and gave up. Thus she is not skipping school because of those silly rumours. Next day in school, on the bulletin board, it seems rumours of come people in 1-C like who hates who or one’s shady past, all have been posted up. This includes Ayanokouji liking Karuizawa. Though, he denies it. However Yamauchi is teasing and mocking all of them and it is causing everyone to be in distress.

Episode 5
Class 1-D confronts Hashimoto as they accuse him of spreading the rumours under Sakayanagi’s orders. He denies them. Thankfully Shiina mediates and nothing untoward happens. But soon another commotion as Sakayanagi enters Class 1-B to claim she is going to save them. Everyone knows they have entrusted their points to Ichinose. What if she has solid proof that the accusations on Ichinose is true? This is when Ichinose steps up to tell everyone the truth. She lives a poor but happy life with her mom and younger sister. One day mom collapsed due to overworking to buy a birthday present for her sister who loves a certain idol and wanted a hairclip. Seeing how sad she was couldn’t fulfil her daughter’s wish, Ichinose tried to find a job but none would employ her. Then it was the last day of the sale. No more. Big pressure. Yes, she resorted to stealing it. She gave it to her sister who was overjoyed. So her smile was worth the crime? She even lied that she borrowed money from her friends. But mom suspected something was amiss. When she got discharged, the cat came out of the bag and Ichinose got slapped and lectured. They returned the hairclip to the store and apologized to the mall. Although this case wasn’t reported to the police, it broke Ichinose’s heart to see mom cried like that. For the next 6 months, Ichinose became a recluse, locking herself in her room. Until one day mom left a note telling her not to give up on high school. Hence she enrolled here to make a fresh start and restore her family’s trust. Obviously her class is still behind her although Sakayanagi keeps hounding the point that what she did is still a crime and it will not go away. Ichinose admits and accepts her past sin but insists she wants to graduate with them. Now her class rallies hard behind her. Sakayanagi threatens to spread this so Ichinose is prepare to take it head on. That is when Nagumo comes in with a few teachers. This malicious spread of rumours has gone too far. As the teachers warn punishment, Sakayanagi drops her case since the school is now involved.

Later Sakayanagi talks to Ayanokouji and knows he was the one who pulled the strings. Asking if Ichinose confessed to her, he admits she did when he visited her yesterday. When he visited her many times but never said anything during his stay, Ichinose wondered why. He said he was waiting for her to confess. I know what you did last summer. He knows what crime she did. That was when Ichinose broke down and told him. Hence her heart was shattered by him. That is why today she became stronger and was able to resist Sakayanagi’s offence. He also know Sakayanagi used Kamuro to drag him into this because of the beer can she stole was last year’s expiry. This means it came from her. So why is Sakayanagi doing this? All to get Ayanokouji to be interested in her. She is not the least bit interested in Ichinose. She wagers a challenge in the next exam. She will put her expulsion on the line. Even if Ayanokouji loses, she will not expel him but reveal he is the true mastermind behind 1-C. Later Ayanokouji meets up with Kushida and as promised for her spot on info, transfers some of his points to her. From now on, he will transfer half of what he gets to her. She is happy with that and is willing to let the past go as long as she gets paid. Ayanokouji notes that the incident with Ichinose and Sakayanagi were pure coincidental. What he wanted to know is the quality of Kushida’s info. Hence he needed to confirm it so that it would lead to her expulsion. It also seems Ayanokouji was the one who had Kiriyama put up the rumours to save Ichinose. While Nagumo might bear the brunt if anything goes bad, Kiriyama fears the backlash might affect him. However he is forced to do it seeing Ayanokouji claims to tell Manabu that noncompliance means he is now under Nagumo’s camp. Hence Kiriyama reluctantly did so but will have Ayanokouji owe him big. Could Ichinose now fall in place the same way is Karuizawa since she gives Ayanokouji her chocolates as thanks.

Episode 6
Chabashira relays the good news that no one has failed for the final exam. However in view of that, this has become unprecedented and thus a special exam will soon be held. This has all the students in uproar as she further explains this special exam will have everyone vote. Each will vote the top 3 worthy of praise and the bottom 3 for censure. The one who gets the most praise will get a protection point that allows he/she to negate an expulsion. Of course the bottom person will be expelled. Obviously there are other rules too like no voting for yourself or others multiple times, cannot abstain or not vote and if it ends in a draw, it will be held again until another person is expelled. Also, for the class to not rig this, they will also be voting for other students in other classes. This has some of the students arguing among themselves. Some arguing Hirata is safe from the vote because he is a popular guy. Kouenji being haughty telling them this benefits the class since the class will not receive any penalty and they will be expelling the most troublesome person. Later Ayanokouji and Horikita go to talk to Ryuuen. Mostly, Horikita believing Ryuuen will be expelled because of the things he has done. He doesn’t refute that and accepts his fate. However he hints he has a plan although Horikita calls his bluff. Likewise, Ryuuen also calls her bluff and that she too has no plan and has no guts. If she cannot even go see her brother, she cannot do anything. She panics a bit although both try to act tough claiming they both have a plan. Ryuuen tells her to not miss this chance and expel him. That night Karuizawa calls him for his opinion on this. He smooths it over saying that her breakup with Hirata was good timing since many would want to vote her out. With groups forming among themselves, he tells her to report to him if anything comes up because votes will now be related to something else other than grades. Next day, Ichinose talks to Ayanokouji but she seems nervous. He believes her class won’t vote her out although she believes she must take more risks in this fight. Conversation interrupted with Sakayanagi wanting to talk to him privately. She wants to postpone their challenge as she informs him her father recently got suspended and this special test is all last minute to expel someone. Could it be Ayanokouji? She promises during this ceasefire, she won’t sabotage him and if she does, it will be her loss. She even tells him her class already know who they are going to expel: Katsuragi. She is sure Ryuuen will be expelled but the most interesting one is to see 1-B, who will be expelled from this close knit class. We see Ichinose fretting over her meeting with Nagumo. In exchange for all those points, he wants her to date him.

Episode 7
Nazuna Asahina talks to Ayanokouji about Ichinose making a deal with Nagumo to lend her points in exchange to date her. She fears if Nagumo lends them this much points, it will become a burden to them later and it will be bad for Ichinose to put herself through that just to help a friend. Ayanokouji then meets up with Hirata to talk about the expulsion. Hirata can’t think of a plan. Strange, so does Ayanokouji. Then Ayanokouji calls Ichinose to his place to talk about the deal she made with Nagumo. As absurd it might sound, it could be the only way to save everyone in her class. It’s a small price to pay, right? With Class 1-C’s mood changing to be chirpier, Ayanokouji deduces that a consensus has been made on who to vote out. That night, Karuizawa calls Ayanokouji to warn him that about half the class has decided to vote against him. Then he meets up with Kushida to reveal the ringleader. Apparently she won’t. Seeing he gives up easily, she’ll let him know for free: Yamauchi. But Ayanokouji understands the true mastermind is Sakayanagi. Time to call Manabu for a favour. Then we see Horikita talking to her brother to get some encouragement on how to get through this special exam. To her surprise, Manabu congratulates her for conquering her flaws as previously she never cared about all those around her. As she still claims he is her goal to surpass, he notes she won’t even be able to catch up to Ayanokouji. But that won’t be necessary since she should grow in her own way. Seeing she is still naïve, he will answer what she wants to ask her class. After a class is over, Horikita now finds the strength to talk to the class about the vote. She talks logically about wanting to discuss with everyone on who to expel but that won’t be practical. Hence she will be naming straight the person who deserves to be expelled: Yamauchi.

Episode 8
So now Yamauchi is trying to drag in his accomplices, even bringing others down like Kouenji who is at his own pace. Even so, his ability trumps Yamauchi’s. Horikita reveals the reason she chose him is because Yamauchi tried to conspire with everyone to vote off Ayanokouji. This leads to him and his buddies pointing to Kushida telling them to do so. But she puts on her devastated innocent face that she didn’t will it. But the damning accusation is that Yamauchi betrayed his friends because Sakayanagi promised to date him. This betrayal makes him unwelcome. Everyone who disagrees with her idea can vote for her. Yamauchi tries to get everyone to keep their promise to Kushida but she conveniently takes it back. Surprisingly, Hirata shows his bad boy attitude and shocks everyone. He has had enough. Basically he disagrees with Horikita’s way of rallying others to take down someone. Perhaps it was better if there was no plan to face this. Because of that, Hirata will cast his negative vote for her. Do as you wish. Manabe teases Ibuki about losing Ryuuen. She also hints she will vote her out. Ishizaki then asks Ibuki if she has gotten Ryuuen’s points. Because once he gets expelled, all the points go with him. What a waste. So that night Ibuki goes to see Ryuuen and he transfers it all to her. Ichinose assures her class nobody gets voted out thanks to Nagumo filling in the rest. But she is still hesitant about going with Nagumo’s plan. Vote day is here and when everyone is waiting for the results, big mouth Yamauchi brags even if they all voted him out, Sakayanagi promised to give all her class’ positive votes to him. So yeah, he is under Class 1-A’s protection.

Chabashira reads the positive votes: 3rd = Kushida; 2nd = Hirata; 1st = Ayanokouji. The most negative vote: Not surprising, it is Yamauchi. Obviously he is in shock and can’t accept this. He really thought Sakayanagi won’t betray him, huh? He is mocked by Kouenji so it gets ugly when the loser gets violent. However this is stopped by Chabashira. Leave the class now. Bye. For Class 1-A, shockingly it is not Katsuragi but Yahiko Totsuka. Katsuragi is in shock because wasn’t it agreed to focus the negative votes on him? Well, Sakayanagi always keeps her precious pieces. None gets expelled from 1-B and for 1-D, it’s Manabe. That b*tch shock face in tears was priceless. Ryuuen talks to Ayanokouji about becoming a good guy. You see, a few days ago, Ibuki and Ishizaki approached Ayanokouji and plead for his help to save Ryuuen. He was adamant he cannot change that outcome but he hinted about letting his points go to waste. It’s not about being selfish and take his points. Because this exam isn’t designed to be so cruel you can’t save someone just by asking for help. The question is do they have what it takes to do it. After Ibuki got Ryuuen’s points, Ayanokouji reveals the other person who will help them with this: Ichinose. Because of Ryuuen’s points to make up for 1-B’s shortage, she will tell her classmates to help put a positive vote for Ryuuen. You help me and I help you. 1-D might lose somebody but hey, they will save Ryuuen, right?

Episode 9
Class 1-C gloomy. Can’t blame them. Someone got expelled. Ayanokouji meets Sakayanagi as she explains the test was designed to expel him. That is why she rallied her class to use their votes to protect him. As for why she picked Yamauchi. It was his rude behaviour towards her at the training camp. It was all about payback. Tsukishiro interrupts them and claims he is the new chairman. On pretence he is lost, he then trips Sakayanagi and pins Ayanokouji to the wall. It seems Sakayanagi was under orders from top brass to try and expel Ayanokouji. They can’t do it openly so they went through her. Tsukishiro has a message from Ayanokouji’s father: Stop playing games and come home immediately. Since he refuses, Tsukishiro lets him go and reminds them his term only starts this April. Ayanokouji then wants to resume the challenge with Sakayanagi. Before Tsukishiro’s term starts, they need to make their standing clear. Chabashira explains the special final exam. A bit like paper shuffle, the class is to choose 10 subjects of their choice (within the regulations) for the exam. They will battle another class who will also choose 10 subjects. Woah. 20 subjects? Actually, each will only pick 5 and finally randomly 7 will be picked for the exam. The most important rule is to choose the captain. He/she can’t participate in all the subjects but can be involve with them. If the class wins, the captain get bonus points. But if the class loses, the captain will be expelled.

Seeing Hirata is useless, Horikita takes control of the class to discuss. But some of Yamauchi’s friends want an explanation from Ayanokouji why he won the popular vote. It just doesn’t feel right. Ayanokouji claims he doesn’t know so Horikita theorizes he is a neutral entity. Ayanokouji then volunteers to be the captain to earn everyone’s trust. It is also befitting since he won the popular vote, he has that immunity point. And it’s just not him because other classes also pick their popular classmate to be the captain. In the draw to see who gets the right to pick which class they want to face, Satoru Kaneda of 1-D wants to face 1-B. This leaves 1-C against 1-A. However this was all premeditated by Ayanokouji so that his class can take on Sakayanagi’s. Hirata continues to be a rude dick, not caring about anything. Mii tries to be concerned for him but is rudely told off not to. Karuizawa tries to mediate but is also warned or else. Later Karuizawa is surprised Ayanokouji invites her to his room. So do they need to meet like this for more info about the class? Well, he also wants to give her a necklace for her birthday. It’s today, right? Such a happy girl. Later Ayanokouji talks to Manabu about the first time they met, he was rough on Horikita. Why was he trying to drive her away? He explains when she was young, she smiled a lot. She tried to mimic not only his personality but his way of life, likes and dislikes. Hence he was chiding her about her immaturity because at this rate, she will not grow. So if she were to stop chasing after his shadow and become like him, she would become better and surpass him. Ayanokouji believes she is changing genuinely. Class 1-C is going through the list of subjects from 1-A. It’s a mix s as they try to figure out their serious subjects. So why are they fearing chess?

Episode 10
Reminder, Hirata still being a depressed dick. Something about the need to protect his friend. Otherwise the same failure will be repeated. And that was what happened. Yukimura talks to Horikita and Ayanokouji. He has a plan to get more info and that is to get Katsuragi on their side since he harbours hatred on Sakayanagi for the deception. In exchange, they will seek for him to transfer to their class. But that requires 20 million points so better start saving. However Horikita believes this won’t work and rejects this plan. But the guys then go talk to Katsuragi who admits he only wants to see Sakayanagi’s defeat. Although she has not told the genuine subjects, he makes some guesses on what the real ones are: Chess, English and math. Horikita discusses with Ayanokouji the chances of winning each of the subjects. This has Ayanokouji requesting her to take up chess and they can practice online tonight. After class, Horikita tells Hirata she won’t use him for the exam but hopes he can help if it is a group event. No answer. Mii tries to talk to him but as usual, continues to be a dick. Until Kouenji mocks him and if Hirata wants to get rough with him, he better be prepared. Even if Hirata claims he is hurt, Kouenji tells him off that he is the one hurting others.

Ayanokouji saw the whole thing and now confronts Hirata. Yeah, nobody leaving him alone today. He wants to hear Hirata’s story, how he came to form this worldview. Back in middle school, he had a best friend. However he was the target of bullying. Hirata did nothing and could only watch. That friend eventually took his own life. Although he was saved, he continues to lie in coma. But that didn’t end there. The bullies now targeted Hirata and even those bystanders joined in. In order to stop it, Hirata employed violence. He beat the sh*t out of everyone and ruled via fear. Everyone turned into obedient robots. That was why when Yamauchi was singled out, it reminded him of this bully case. Ayanokouji then says it is Hirata’s own fault that Yamauchi got expelled. Class 1-B had none expelled because they went to great lengths. Even if 1-C didn’t have all those points, Hirata would have at least took some initiative to do something to fight back. Hence his thought of saving everyone was just his fantasy and he has no one but to blame but himself. His hesitation will lead to more classmates being expelled. But had he tried to do something but still fail, many will stand behind him. He can still show weakness to those he relies on. This should be the clincher since Hirata in tears and has found some enlightenment. Next day, he apologizes to Mii, everyone and especially Horikita. He wants to help earn back their trust and will do what he can. Horikita practises chess with Ayanokouji. The latter overwhelmingly beats her 51-3. It’s called experience. When all the class captains gather for the exam, it seems Kaneda of 1-D showing up but Ryuuen. He is the real captain and Kaneda was just filling in for him.

Episode 11
Flashback shows Ayanokouji was part of many experimented kids in the White Room. Sakayanagi was also there but not a subject. She noticed Ayanokouji’s genius and took an interest. Ayanokouji and Sakayanagi choose the subjects they one as the first random exam is 3 on 3 basketball. Sudou is on the reserve until Ayanokouji decides to swap him in. It is then 1-A ramp up their skill. They were just toying with 1-C so as to demoralize Sudou. But he has also matured as 1-C takes the first win. We see snippets of other exams and during the mental math, Kouenji was chosen but he sat there and did nothing although all his answers he noted to himself were correct. Katsuragi wins it for 1-A since he was threatened that if he failed, Sakayanagi would expel an innocent classmate. With the score tied, it comes down to the final exam of chess. Horikita vs Hashimoto. The special rule allows the captain to give advice for 30 minutes and so this chess battle eventually becomes Ayanokouji vs Sakayanagi and Horikita and Hashimoto become their respective proxy. As Sakayanagi is having fun battling him, further flashback shows her father noted how sad and awful the world will become if facilities like this become commonplace. Sakayanagi assured him she will stop that from happening. Her belief is that genius must be something you are born with and not manufactured. Therefore as heir to superior DNA, she will prove such facilities are meaningless. In the end, 1-A wins the game although she was baffled with Ayanokouji’s final move. When Tsukishiro shows up, he hints he hacked Ayanokouji’s input and relayed a different one to Horikita, contributing to 1-C’s loss. Obviously Ayanokouji will not admit it but Tsukishiro blames Sakayanagi for this since she gave the protection point to him. Sakayanagi vows to make him pay dearly so he dares her. Later as they meet again, Ayanokouji wonders why she didn’t submitted matches that only has one on one to ensure they fight. She didn’t want to expose his abilities to the world and now she has the answer she sought. She also explains ever since that day she saw him in White Room, she wanted to know him more and yearned for him but never found him. She also wants to teach him that people can learn warmth through contact as she shakes his hand.

Episode 12
Graduation day for the seniors as Manabu makes his speech. Back in class, Chabashira praises her class for their massive change over the year. Although their loss to 1-A now has pushed them back down to 1-D, in terms of class points, they gained the most among any other class. Later Ichinose talks to Ayanokouji and Horikita about her class loss badly because she fell into Ryuuen’s trap. For the judo game, she was fraught and in a dilemma on who to select. She took too long and her teacher had her forfeit. We see Ayanokouji talking to the outgoing chairman about the chaos that Tsukishiro might bring. Believing Ayanokouji needs a sponsor to help fight him, he believes Tomonari Mashima could be his ticket. He also hopes Ayanokouji will have a positive life in his 3 years here because once that is over, he is expected to go back to the facility and become some mentor. Before the graduation party, Ayanokouji summons Sakayanagi, Chabashira and Mashima for a secret meeting. He tells the teachers about Tsukishiro’s meddling in the finals. Mashima is in disbelief although he feels something needs to be done if it is true. Furthermore, Mashima was given a pay cut by Tsukishiro for his handling of the final exam. It was him who forfeited Ichinose’s choice for the judo match since Ryuuen had chosen Yamada and that would mean somebody would’ve gotten seriously injured. All agree to stop Tsukishiro if he acts out of line. The teachers then discuss if ridding Tsukishiro would solve their woes as they would send someone else and the chaos would then spread to the entire school, no longer Ayanokouji’s problem. During the graduation party, Manabu has a favour for Ayanokouji to request Horikita to meet him at the gates. He thought she would be honest with herself if he does so. On that day, we hear Horikita regretting she was unable to show any improvements to her brother. What she wanted to show him was her real self. The guys are early at the gates as Manabu wonders why Ayanokouji is hiding his own talents. Trying to live his school life under the radar? If he can’t make an impact, nobody will remember him. While thanking him for helping his sister, he expects more of him and doesn’t want to be disappointed. Finally Horikita arrives. I am sure the change in her is not only her hairstyle, right? Yes, Manabu is happy that she has returned to her old self. She vows to walk her own path with her friends. Manabu reveals he was cold to her because she was caught up in his illusion. He hopes she will be strong and kind to others. Both siblings emotionally hug. Manabu cares greatly for her and hopes to see and pick her up here in 2 years.

Episode 13
Basically this episode is like Ayanokouji going around talking to a lot of people. Did he open a consultation service or what? Starting off with Shiina, she believes he had a hand in changing Ryuuen. She also felt her class’ tactics were distasteful although Ayanokouji won’t condemn such method. Next is Karuizawa but she gets jealous upon learning he was talking with Shiina and they’re like so close. And yeah, so he forgot what he called her to meet for. Maybe later. WTF. Ryuuen sees Hashimoto and believes he is a double agent although he claims he is more than that. It seems this is to set up a meeting with Kanzaki. He believes Ichinose is too good to go against Ryuuen. Because the next time if such happens and if Ichinose won’t do anything, he will do it in her stead. Ishizaki suggests to Ayanokouji to join their class. That way when he teams up with Ryuuen, they can take on other classes and beat them. Ayanokouji shoots down that idea since they don’t have that much points and he prefers Ryuuen as a rival than an ally. Then a meeting with Ichinose, she is feeling sheepish after relying too much on Ayanokouji. I can guess her feelings right now. Although her morale is still low, Ayanokouji says the right words to give some hope. However he notes if she falls back into despair, he will personally crush her. Next meeting is with Ryuuen and he doesn’t like the message he gave him as per instructed by Shiina. Ryuuen mocks Ayanokouji’s loss but thinks some other outside party must’ve intervened. He knows he couldn’t have lost to Sakayanagi like that. He claims if he is going to expel him, he will be the one to do it. Ayanokouji’s advice for him is to mature more effectively and he mustn’t leave traces of evidence behind. Had 1-B had proof of his dirty tactics, he would’ve been screwed.

Satou tells her friends about Ayanokouji rejecting her confession. She believes he likes Karuizawa and vice versa. Tsukishiro talks to Ayanokouji and requesting him to go back to the facility before his term starts. Or life would get harder. Of course he refuses. He then suggests a game. There will be a person from the White Room who will enrol here. He must figure out who that person is by end of April. Fail and he goes straight back there. Ayanokouji is confident he will win because in the White Room, nobody is better than him. Chiaki Matsushita sees this talk and so when she approaches Ayanokouji about it, he claims Tsukishiro just asked his opinion about remodelling this place. But she isn’t stupid as she reveals she saw his talk with Hirata. She knows he had a hand in his sudden recovery. She hopes he can contribute more to the class. Then she asks his relationship with Karuizawa but we don’t see him give an answer. Horikita calls him and wants him to unleash his full potential. He rubbishes that because it would be a waste to do so since nobody can compete on his same level. She challenges him to a written exam. However if she loses, Ayanokouji wants her to join the student council. Finally a meeting with Karuizawa. What a busy day, eh? He explains about Matsushita starting to suspect his abilities and that her pals are suspecting they are an item. This is too much info for Karuizawa to process and she isn’t happy about it as it will also derail her plans. Then she starts showing her tantrum, especially about her jealousy with him and Shiina. Oh you know, she just broke up with Hirata and trying to find a boyfriend. Just before she has had it and leaves, he grabs her and says he would like to go out with her. Confused girl so confused. Is this real? Is this not a joke? Smooth operator claims he pretended to be close to Shiina to make her jealous. Because he doesn’t want her to be another guy’s girlfriend. Yeah, she took that hook, line and sinker. I mean, how can he say I love you with such dead fish eyes! HOW! So as they embrace, obviously we hear Ayanokouji’s thoughts that he intends to use Karuizawa to learn about romance. I guess they don’t teach that in White Room. And when he is done with her, he’ll toss her away. But he hopes not to reach an undesirable future. That supposed to make us feel better?

Trusting Is Hard, Knowing Who To Trust Is Harder; He Who Does Not Trust Enough Will Not Be Trusted
Well, I guess that is it. That is the end. Even the light novel source has ended back in 2019 so I suppose that is goodbye. Heh. I am only half right because despite the light novel has already ended, that is only for the first year for our freshman characters. The light novel sequel is still ongoing and details our now sophomore characters into their second year. I surmise this format is right this way since a new school term would usher somewhat a new beginning. New games to play and new weirdoes joining in the fray.

After 3 seasons in, I have got to admit that while I still find this series to be quite interesting and intriguing, the usual finer details of the workings and mechanisms be it the games or the political manoeuvrings more than often confuse yours truly. You could say that despite not understanding a lot of things, I continue to find the series to be highly fascinating as I continue to be kept glued to the screen. Oddly enough, this season seems not to emphasize much on the exams or whatever strange games the students are playing. In fact, most of them just zip through them. Like the hotspring training camp, there was nothing actually special or exciting about whatever tests the students were made to go through. Nothing. It just felt really normal. Hence there were a lot of political manoeuvrings as we see the main players trying to play 4D chess and outwit one another. Or so that I have thought. Yeah, the whole trust issue thing has me even being sceptical! I don’t know what to believe or trust anymore! But I still continue to follow right till the very end in hopes of some sort of mind blowing revelation. I guess it is not coming yet. At least not for this season.

A series that has a lot of characters, obviously some will take the spotlight and some just fallen off the radar. This season focuses on a few so let me start off with our main guy, Ayanokouji. As usual, he puts on his expressionless poker face but is the real mastermind pulling the strings behind the scene. Of course last season has already revealed a lot about his background so perhaps this season takes a breather to focus on others as we see him carefully craft his relationship with many other characters. Better to have several backup plans than to put all your eggs in a single basket, no?

Then there’s his strange relationship with Sakayanagi and at this point I am confused if she is friend or foe. Most likely the former. I also feel this could be some roundabout way for her to confess her love for him! After all, genius don’t operate on the same level as us normal people. So this whole challenge and whatever showdowns are how genius declare their love for each other? Of course as seen, her interest in him stems because to prove and crush the thought that facilities are better in making geniuses. That should be born with, according to her. Yeah, I can actually understand and empathize with her. Imagine everyone in the future being churned out as geniuses. If everyone is a genius, then nobody is actually a genius! In reality, look at all the useless grads being churned out like a manufacturing product by colleges and universities. Hence genuine geniuses are absolutely rare. It might sound arrogant for Sakayanagi to want to protect that pedigree but I see her logic and reasoning here. Assuming I got this premise right.

Then there is Ichinose whose past has come to light. Honestly, I don’t know whether to be disappointed or relief. You see, I had this speculation that her past was really dark. Dark as in she actually killed someone! As in she took someone’s life! And as it turns out, it was a minor shoplifting incident but I guess for a nice cutie pie like her, that is as good as killing somebody because damn, her mom was just so sad. So yeah, nothing really spectacular about Ichinose. Or was some of that lies?! Damn, my guts are going crazy doubting everything! Now it seems that it is highly she has fallen for him. I am very sure about this. Her actions don’t lie. Unless you tell me she is putting up the greatest poker face act.

Other characters to note, Ryuuen doesn’t make much impact this season because of what we see last season as he tried to play the villain. So obviously he is taking a backseat. He still holds some influence but not as scary and powerful as ever. Though, he is still formidable and I won’t count him out yet. Also want to note about Kushida who is just forgettable this season. I thought Ayanokouji had a ploy to oust her and that special voting exam was it. I am guessing that she too was like Ryuuen and trying to lie low to avoid getting all the wrong attention. My other guess is that if Ayanokouji really tried to oust her, it might expose him as the mastermind since it would be seen as too forceful. So yeah, our poor casualty for Class 1-D is perhaps the most unlikeable class dick AKA Yamauchi. Not sure if he and those expelled will form a group to come back for revenge. Otherwise we can safely write him off. Good riddance.

Then there’s the short distraction of Hirata turning into a villain. His change of character was shocking but it exposes his weakness and helplessness in such situation. I mean, it’s not like he has a better idea, right? Does he not know one cannot win a chess game without sacrificing any pieces? Yeah, I would like to see a chess game where the winner has 100% all his pieces remaining. So rather than accepting reality, he shifts the blame to someone else and in that case, Horikita. It would have been a different ballgame had Hirata actually changed for the worse and continued so but alas and thankfully, back to his senses and now he continues to be generic and falls back into obscurity. Interestingly, Kouenji is the wild card and joker of the pack. He is still definitely in his own pace and doesn’t give a f*ck on what you think. He’ll still do as he pleases. However his abilities are real but you cannot rely on him when it counts most. Which in a way is good because you won’t get comfortable in relying on him and forcing the rest to find other viable options for survival.

Finally, Horikita and her brother. We see her trying to take the helm during the vote off but I still find her presence lacking. Well, compared to Ayanokouji who is the mastermind behind it all, obviously. But this season settles the animosity between the siblings and why Manabu isn’t the hateful prick we started to think he was initially. Until Horikita started to walk her own path and be her own individual, Manabu will not be impressed. And he managed to notice that before he graduates so I guess it’s a happy ending for the siblings. As for Karuizawa, I remember Ayanokouji was just using her as a communication pawn. So what will it be now that they are an item? If Ayanokouji doesn’t play this card right, I’m sure it will be a disaster far greater than the Chernobyl. Not even a White Room genius can get him out of this mess called love. He can play around with mind games and the likes but he better not be playing with people’s hearts! Does he even have one to begin with? Fancy predicting Ayanokouji getting harem? Karuizawa, Shiina, Horikita, Ichinose, Sakayanagi and yes, don’t forget Satou. Man, what does this guy with dead fish eyes and no emotions have that makes girls like him! I’m so jealous!!!

Oh, before I forget, Nagumo. This guy seems to be a much crueller person and now that he has taken over Manabu’s seat, I can only envision more mayhem in this new school term. Yeah, probably why this whole year was ‘boring’ because not enough expulsions. Uh huh. The most exciting part of the race, motorsports in particular, is the crash, right? So yeah, a school that prides itself with such unconventional teaching methods that prepares you for life, either it is failing at its job or this year’s students are so exceptionally talented. But as already hinted, more expulsions under his reign will be seen so this new school year will be more exciting and become like some sort of survival horror? Heh. Not forgetting Tsukishiro as the new chairman. This guy looks like he will be bringing a new reign of terror too. Uh huh. With the lack of expulsions, looks like they want to up the ante. I hope it won’t be to a point where school won’t be school anymore.

This season’s opening theme, Minor Piece by ZAQ (who sang all of its previous season’s opener) is more of a rock piece although it has a nice jazzy fingerstyle piano and funky bass line but other parts of the song may sound strange. By that, I mean some parts sound like they ham up the noise to add some dramatic effect. It could get a bit chaotic. This season’s ending themes are sung by Yui Ninomiya. Konse Daikakumei as the main one is probably the strangest I have ever heard. Its lively and jazzy fanfare just feels like it doesn’t fit with the pacing of the series. It just sounds so out of place that I went WTF went I first heard it. The other ending theme, Fixer sounds more appropriate. As it has a bit of hip hop, at least it doesn’t give off this sunshiny happiness and feels like it has elements of bleakness. Must be the sepia animation credits that help shape that perception unlike the former that has a few cute pics of loli Sakayanagi! WTF?!

Overall, despite my inability to comprehend the finer details of everything, from the weird games to the high stakes political outmanoeuvring (isn’t all this is just high school drama but with expulsion on the line?), I still find this series to be interesting and who knows if there would a sequel in the making. I know I will still be interested to find out more if there was. So, pray hard for a sequel? Yeah, all the wrong animes that I’m not impressed are seemingly getting some! Such luck I have, huh? After all, there is this saying: Luck is believing you’re lucky. Extra: The lucky person passes for a genius.

Long time ago, the evil Demon Lord once terrorized the land. Oh sorry, make that only Japan. Brave powerful warriors banded together to defeat him. Oh sorry, make that they only managed to seal him. Guess where this is going? Yeah, like all seals, nothing lasts forever. They should’ve used honey because those last forever, HAHAHA!!! Sighs… Sorry, bad stupid joke. Now Japan and especially Tokyo is so modernized and developed. That ancient evil is threatening to awaken and undo all our progress, advancement and technology. Oh sorry, that means we also won’t have anime, manga and games too. And hence a new generation of warriors need to be brought together to defeat that threat once more. Herald, Tokyo Juushouden. God must not really exist for puny humans with powers needed to take down the great lord of hell.

Episode 1
As narrated, a Demon Lord surfaced during feudal Japan and Mitsuhide Akechi was tasked to gather 10 powerful warriors to kill him. He somewhat failed. The battle continues. In modern day Japan, Jutto Segu is not interested in what Kyoshiro Kagami is telling him. Especially what happened 400 years ago. Jutto then defeats humans possessed by demons known as kyouma in the alley. Unfortunately he couldn’t extract much info from him. With Kyoshiro here, he reminds Jutto not to fight kyouma alone but Jutto remains stubborn. He takes orders from no one. With several cabinet ministers being mysteriously assassinate, Kyoshiro goes to see Minawa Narutaki to confirm of someone’s awakening. Jutto goes to see hacker girl, Farina Nanao if she knows some high ranking kyouma. Obviously they’re not going to show themselves in the open, right? They receive a message from Rokumon Hanawa who claims he has some info. Rokumon calls Kyoshiro for some info since he wants to write an article especially on Junichi Sakamoto who is the anti-demon minister. He wouldn’t have been appointed if not all those in the anti-demon task force has been killed. He thinks he is the one calling the shots. After all, can’t keep fooling the public about the nameless terrorist for long. Kyoshiro wants him to lay low for a while until he completes his investigation.

Flashback shows Kyoshiro was the son of Mitsuhide and wanted to die in battle with his father. However Mitsuhide told him that he is to take over the 10 warriors should he fail to kill the Demon Lord. Kyoshiro is certain that person plans to kill off all the anti-demon task force and seize power. Jutto sees Rokumon and is baffled about kyouma possessing a human for a long time. It cannot happen since the kyouma will devour the human’s soul. But Rokumon believes there is one and even so, very unusual for that kyouma to possess the same human for many years. Rokumon hopes to use Jutto as bait to get some info from Kyoshiro. Speaking of which, Kyoshiro meets with Sakamoto and from the way he says things, looks like he is possessed. Using his mirror, Kyoshiro reveals Sakamoto’s true demon form. He starts attacking that that’s when Jutto jumps in to fight too. Sakamoto believes Jutto’s memories have not fully returned since he is unsure of certain things. Thanks to Kyoshiro’s help, Sakamoto is defeated. Yeah, what a weird flashy display of lights. Is this a freaking light show?! Kyoshiro notes Jutto’s carelessness and that he should fulfil his duty. Jutto even attacks Kyoshiro but he blocks it. Reminding him their powers are to fight kyouma, he shouldn’t be doing this out of personal vendetta although he understands he is mad at him because of his mother. As usual, Jutto leaves without a care. Nanao thinks she smokes out the culprit but she’s a step too late.

Episode 2
Some demon tries to sneak up on Narutaki but he already heard him coming. With Kyoshiro’s assist, the demon dies. It seems Narutaki has expressed his intention to step down from the 10 warriors although Kyoshiro reminds him that their fate as warriors cannot be changed. Jingo Kazamatsuri, Futaba Amitaka and Hagiri Ranba are high school students as well as they are part of the 10 warriors. The bus they’re on suddenly have kyouma attacking them. WTF is this turning into Speed but zombie version?! Once they manage to stop the bus and get down, they’re ready for some kyouma action but all the people return to normal. They realize these people weren’t possessed to begin with. Back at school, their advisor, Tamaki Kifu lectures them about being reckless in public. One wrong move and they’ll be censured. Jingo believes they lack info on this and that’s why they formed a club especially for this. Tamaki reminds them to be students because life is more than just killing kyouma. The club gets a new member, Kokono who is Tamaki’s niece. Yes, she is also a warrior like them. She wonders where the other person is. Oh you mean, Jutto? He rarely comes to school. Uh huh. Seems this guy is also part of their club or something. But today is their lucky day since Jutto is in school only to loaf around. Do Jutto and Kokono know each other? Since the tension between them is intense, Jingo suggests everyone relax at the pool amusement park.

Of course soon the young warriors are surrounded by kyouma. Good warm-up session. But it didn’t last long and everyone reverts back to normal. This is a ploy by Yumegiri to kidnap Kokono as she deems her the greatest threat. However Kokono allowed herself to be kidnapped so she can kill her away from public eye. She didn’t come alone but Jutto also tailed her. Yumegiri thought she had the upper hand in trapping them in some illusion but Kokono summons her beast as distraction before Jutto landing his decisive blow. Both start arguing but Kokono has a valid point since she cannot risk summoning her beasts in public and put everyone at risk. That is where Jutto failed. The rest then talk to Tamaki about hearing voices at night. It is believed to be His Excellency calling Issho to Yuden. All warriors should be able to hear it. Based on the legend, this whole area was submerged in water and the only land is where the school sits. There is an area where a seal lies and could be hidden somewhere in this school. Nanao contacts Kyoshiro about seeing Issho and as well as someone already seen Jutto. That person is coming to see him. However she has found the kyouma culprit, Ugachi and will take her own action. As Nanao fights the kyouma, she realizes he is just another pawn.

Episode 3
Kyoshiro talks to his boss about some proposal in parliament of moving the capital to a manmade island in Tokyo Bay. So what has it got to do with them? The ones who put forward this idea comes from the military’s anti-demon task force and it’s like they’re putting the government in a vulnerable position. However they are getting support from the people who are unaware of the situation. Yeah, maybe the people just want their government gone! Hajime Shirogane meets Kyoshiro. He is also a warrior who helped sealed the Demon Lord 400 years ago. But the seal is weakening. Kyoshiro is baffled he has ignored protocols and everything else. He is in control of the military and has the largest fighting force in the country at their disposal. Hajime’s reason: He wants to co-exist with kyouma. Later Kyoshiro goes to see Nanao in hospital. Ugachi wasn’t possessed but controlled. The true form is some black orb. She hears Kyoshiro explain why Jutto hates him so much. Jutto’s mom was held hostage by Ugachi. Despite Kyoshiro and his men surrounded the kyouma, they failed to save her as the black orb went straight through her heart. Ever since, Jutto hated him and will not listen to those who are powerless. As Kyoshiro leaves, he thinks back of Hajime’s co-existence proposal. He believed the warriors in this era have no chance of winning. Furthermore, the kyouma have geographical advantage and that’s why the Demon Lord chose this time to come back. In this era, all 10 warriors are unable to pool their powers and the Demon Lord’s strength seems to be more immense. Therefore before he awakens, he wants to propose co-existing. It is the best strategy. Kyouma Shindagan spying on them calls this BS and will continue her plan to resurrect the Demon Lord.

Jutto arrives to meet Hajime in hopes to learn his past. But he’ll have to wait as he has an important meeting with the secretary chief. However the place is soon attacked by the black orb. Yup, like a black hole swallowing everything it touches. Devastating. Jutto must be itching to fight as more mayhem around. Jingo, Futaba and Hagiri soon join in and help in to defeat the black orb. In the aftermath, Kyoshiro confronts Hajime about his co-existing proposal and wonders if it is just his ploy to flush out weak links. Hajime then says that 400 years ago, the ones who only survived are Hajime, Kyoshiro and Jutto. Even together they cannot kill the Demon Lord. Since Kyoshiro doesn’t believe in co-existence, is total victory against kyouma possible? Even when his demon warriors reincarnate, the 10 warriors too have been given the same power to fight them again and again. Hajime doesn’t want that same foolish repeating fate as it is all meaningless. Kyoshiro notes someone must bear the responsibility to protect humans and the 10 warriors are like a wall protecting humans from kyouma. Hajime notes because of that, one of their old comrades sacrificed herself. Kyoshiro visits Narutaki’s home but he is gone. He left a note that people have not changed and is even more selfish than before. So it doesn’t matter whether humans or kyouma rule this world. He doesn’t care anymore. Wow. I am so agreeing with this dude!

Episode 4
Holy f*ck! Did we skip a lot of material?! Because with this brief narration, we learn that Hagun is one of the protectors of Tomeoki Village. He then turned his attention to defeat the 10 warriors and doing so, many innocent people died. This fuelled the warriors’ anger and they defeated Hagun. Gensho Kinomiya is making his dolls when some suddenly come alive and attack him. He soon runs away from them, Tsukumo and Genki. Before he meets his fate, he passes the torch to his granddaughter, Kaede and have her flee. But Tsukumo won’t let her go and sends her familiars after her. In school, Futaba is having doubts of being a warrior. She did not choose this life so how was she chosen in the first place. Plus, Jutto has not been coming to school and continues to train himself. He still regrets the incident at the village since someone he knew was killed. In the streets, Futaba stumbles into Kaede and uses her talisman to destroy the familiars. She brings her home and they become friends. Kokono goes to check on Jutto. Still training and can’t get over it. Not in the mood to listen to some life advice. Let’s hope that his anger doesn’t build up the wrong way. Jutto then stumbles into Rokumon who has been doing his own investigations. The murder of Gensho is in the papers but police are baffled how his body was torn apart. Only kyouma can do that, right? While Gensho might be a puppet maker and an accomplished magician, he has another side: He is a descendent of the onmyou and one of the 5 guardians who protect this town’s life force. Guess what? Today 2 bodies of such guardians have been found. Guess who is next? Yup, looks like Hagun’s uncle, Gosuke Hien. It’s like a death flag or something when he tells Hagun to not let his life go to waste. Hagun then bumps into Futaba and Kaede since they are looking for Gosuke. Jerk attacks Futaba for answers. Hagun is shocked that the guardians are being killed by kyouma. Worst timing, Jutto is here and wants to settle it. Both guys fight but Hagun gets away. He returns to Gosuke but sees Tsukumo killing him off. She lets Genki fight Hagun as Jutto’s side just arrive. Tsukumo so kind to tell them she is doing this to control the demon world. F*cking sh*t, Jutto thinks his puny fireball can defeat her? MISS! Yeah, our young ones are so in disarray, they get defeated.

Episode 5
But don’t worry, Jingo, Hagiri and Kokono are here to help. With Genki destroyed and Tsukumo almost getting owned by an injured Jutto, she flees. Jutto is in hospital but he is okay. But he is not too happy since Kokono is helping to nurse Hagun. Something going on between them? Meanwhile Futaba is feeling down as she feels powerless. That incident could’ve caused Jutto’s life and she feels she isn’t fit to be a warrior. If she was only born a normal girl. Kaede talks to her and understands how she feels since she too wished so. Hagun wakes up from some nightmare. A voice mocking him so weak that he couldn’t even defeat Tsukumo’s servant. Kokono trying to tell Hagun not to be haunted by his past although Hagun is hell bent of his destiny because he was raised to be Jutto’s shadow. Furthermore, he notes in their previous life, Kokono sacrificed her life in order to seal the Demon Lord. While Kokono has no reason to fight her destiny, she is doing so to protect her friends. But she needs his power and help to defeat the Demon Lord. Hagun tries to flirt with her but she gives him the slip. WTF. Guess she isn’t going to be your girl. Rokumon and Kyoshiro are here to tell the Jutto and co what they found. So basically all the 5 guardians have some sort of seal and once those are broken, the gates of hell will open. No prizes to guess what happens next. Since the role has been passed down to Kaede, she is next on the hit list. Futaba is sad that she is in danger but Kaede accepts her destiny.

Kyoshiro mentions the other guardian, Reiko Mizumaki has been found and put under surveillance in a hotel. The kids call this a bad move because they know Tsukumo’s ability to possess anything. Anything! Yeah well, look how she does it by sneakily possessing a guard to cause mayhem in the hall. Then she sneaks into Reiko’s room and easily drowns her with her own water! When Kyoshiro calls to confirm, Tsukumo impersonates her voice to say everything is fine! SO DUMB YOU HEROES!!! As they interrogate the guard, Tsukumo makes her presence known as she is targeting the final guardian. She uses her ability to animate inanimate objects to keep Jutto and co busy while she goes after Kaede. In Kaede’s attempts to protect Futaba, she gets injured and it is revealed she is actually a doll. After Tsukumo steals her seal, she sends a car crashing into them. Of course Kaede protects her and gets destroyed. In her last breath, Kaede reveals she was afraid to tell Futaba about herself for fear she wouldn’t feel the same way. She is glad she can die as a human now. Futaba dismisses she is a doll because she has a human heart. Well, not literally. Kaede is dead but what are we going to do about Tsukumo? She uses all her seals to open the gates of hell. Now she will reign supreme.

Episode 6
The gates of hell open. The entire city warps into some strange dimension as demonic souls possess normal humans. Hmm… The way they act makes them look like creepy perverts! So the demons start attacking each other and destroying stuffs? Huh?! And what are our heroes going to do? Kyoshiro says they have to kill the one behind this to close the gate. Well, duh! However he tells them to be on standby until further orders from HQ. Like, REALLY?! Because of that, Rokumon warns Kyoshiro that based on his investigations, they have only until midnight to stop this or this becomes irreversible. Kyoshiro rubbishes his baseless claims and the irony is that despite the warriors are supposed to risk their lives for their destiny, he thinks this one is too risky for it?! WTF???!!! CONTRADICTARY!!! Meanwhile Shindagan gets word that Tsukumo has beaten her to open the gates of hell. She is going to teach that b*tch a lesson. Since our warriors have no time to waste to wait for orders, Rokumon explains more about the seal and its Buddhist origins. Blah, blah, blah. Not f*cking interested! Basically, there are many worlds and several layers. Then we shift to Futaba who continues to mourn over the loss of her doll friend. Not sure what life advice Kokono gave her but yeah, think about it. There’s also this argument between Kokono and Jutto because the former wants to bring Hagun’s help but obviously the latter is against it. Can we argue this another day?

Rokumon finishes drawing the seal. Damn, looks so simple. Like waffle squares?! This teleports them to town as they fight and free the people being possessed by the demons. Tsukumo then turns a stone ogre to fight them. Damn, if they have trouble fighting this, they’re going to have trouble fighting higher kyouma. Looks like Futaba has done mourning and after remembering a few words from Futaba, she joins the fray. Yeah, her talisman proves useful and this helps the rest take down the ogre. While everyone tends to an unconscious Futaba, smarty pants Jutto goes to fight Tsukumo alone. This is subsequently joined by Hagun but he looks like he is possessed. So it becomes a 3 way fight and the guys are so in disarray, Tsukumo owns them. Until Kokono comes into the picture and gets injured. Yeah, their love got injured and now the boys cooperate to take Tsukumo down. So easy. If they were only at this level of cooperation from the start. With the world safe and reverting to normal, it is not the end yet. Because the real kyouma that is possessing Hagun appears. Oh, so Ugachi is not dead? He hopes to meet them again and disappears along with Hagun. Ironically, Jutto is confident that Hagun will not be beaten like this because he is strong. In the aftermath, both Jingo and Jutto fail their exams. However Jutto is a level above Jutto. He didn’t study and fail unlike Jingo who studied but failed! OMFG. So true! WTF Futaba trying to lecture them about this?!

Ten Tokyo Flops
Oh my. Is it over? Damn right it is. I cannot help feel a mix of various feelings. But mostly are negative. Heck, I think all of them are negative. Even if my feelings of relief that this atrocity has ended, it is only because I am so disappointed with the whole thing and I am ‘glad’ that it has ended and hence my misery in trying to follow this paltry retro series has also ended. Safe to say with no more episodes, the whole thing just died like that and without and revival. I hope nobody gets this wise idea to continue some more or do any remakes. I think my rage will naturally turn me into a raging kyouma. Heh.

The most obvious issue of contention here is the storyline and plot. In short, it is a mess and all over the place. It is not coherent at all. You see, I found out that this series was split into 2 seasons. The first half airing in 1999 and the balance half in 2001. Now this explains why the second half story suddenly felt so different. While the idea of trying to gather the 10 fabled warriors to fight the Demon Lord seems like a promising storyline, I felt like as though the writer didn’t know how to go about it and flesh out the whole thing. He had the concept and the idea but didn’t know how to articulate or translate it well. Hence there were so many plot holes that make the whole series look like a Swiss cheese and so many mind boggling questions that never got answered. Even more confusing was that I thought that the series was an original OVA not based on any source. But in the opening credits of each episode, it credits it was based on a manga? I checked the whole internet (note the exaggeration) but didn’t find any and all sources point that it is originally written. So did the credits translate wrongly?! Whatever it is, now I am very sure why the story turned out to be sh*t because they lacked the motivation or the willpower to do so. I mean, it was originally written so who gives a f*ck, right? Anything goes.

This had me wondering if that was the case for the second half. Hence the reason why the series was split into 2 different seasons because the author was contemplating if he made a mistake somewhere in the first half’s plot and wanted to make some changes. You see, when things started out in the first half, it wasn’t the most mind blowing of plots ever and so I thought it was going to take its time to flesh things out. Oh man, who am I kidding? With only 3 episodes, how much could they play out? In fact, nothing really gets done. Introduced to a few characters in modern day who are supposedly reincarnations of the 10 warriors, fight a few kyouma and that’s it. Yeah, note the cliff-hanger ending after that black orb thingy. It is then the author wondered if he made a mistake somewhere and decided to screw all that. Hence the second half started off on a freaking confusing note with a whole new different story that we didn’t get to see but brushed through in a couple of sentences. Like, WTF?! Did they just make a soft reset or what? And even so, this second half didn’t even resolve anything! Basically trying to showcase the power of friendship and taking down the main antagonist. That is all. You’re damn right I’m so disappointed and confused.

This issue is further compounded with characters that are so bad they are forgettable. Heck, you do notice that some characters especially part of the 10 warriors who appeared in the first half, suddenly disappeared and never appeared again in the second half. Like as though they never existed in the first place! So what the f*ck happened to Nanao, Hajime and Narutaki?! My biggest guess is that such characters are introduced so that we don’t go around wondering who the heck make up those 10 warriors. Uh huh. Count ‘em. All 10 of them are there but it seems they are not united and all over the place, the main reason why the kyouma threat is so real. No unity. Not sure what the heck this destiny and fate thingy but damn, if this is the level they are right now, they are already losing and bear in mind this is even when the Demon Lord is still in slumber! Imagine what will happen when he really awakens! We’re screwed. Say your prayers now.

In view of everything, the ‘best’ character for me here is Narutaki. This guy feels like he has abandoned all hope in humanity and life. Yeah, I can actually relate to this guy! If there was any character I want to support it is him! He wants out of this destiny thingy because it doesn’t matter anymore. Screw it! So in a way, I have to admit that I am somewhat relieved he went MIA in the second half since he doesn’t have to put up with all this destiny crap sh*t. He might be the worse among the 10 warriors in terms of contribution but damn, he is the most realistic! Even Hajime has got a point that the warriors in this era is weak and hence trying this futile co-existence idea. I am sure that the intention is to paint a gloomy outlook because if the warriors here are strong and united, it will be easy prediction for our heroes to win, right? So with them now in disarray, this would give them some character development as they will eventually learn to band together and work as a team to defeat evil. I believe that is the purpose of this hopeless picture. But the way things have turned out, I am more inclined to believe that humans nowadays are selfish dicks and deserve to die!

As for the other main characters, a whole bunch of disappointment. Take Jutto for instance. He is supposed to be the main character but comes off as a selfish brooding dick because of what happened to his mom. I guess characters like him need some sort of tragedy. He isn’t your typical white knight in shining armour or hero of justice and that is fine. Unfortunately there is nothing else likeable about him either and that’s why he’s just disappointing. They try to hint some sort of romance between him and Kokono but it didn’t get anywhere. Then suddenly they introduce another bad boy, Hagun. Like, WHO THE F*CK THIS NEW CHARACTER?! Like as though they want to play up some love triangle but everything is so bad that I’m glad it didn’t happen because it will be already so cheesy. And now this Hagun has become possessed and what will become of him? I know I don’t care anymore. Jingo and Hagiri are forgettable so as with Futaba. Futaba getting a bit more screen time in the second half because of that unnecessary friendship trope with Kaede. Suddenly it’s like Futaba having a dilemma about this warrior destiny thingy. Because in the first half it seemed to me she never had this issue. Why now?! Must be this friendship thingy to make her realize what’s important, blah, blah, blah, get on with life. Yeah. I think that’s it.

Kyoshiro is supposed to be the cool de facto leader of the warriors due to his calm and stoic nature. But in the second half it feels like he has become a stumbling block and a dumb guy. Yeah, he made a stupid decision about holing Reiko in the hotel (I really believe it was his doing) and finally he went MIA while Tsukumo was terrorizing town. Yeah, he must have gone back to HQ. Didn’t he have a handphone or something? Because of that, I respect Rokumon a little bit. Just slightly. Not much. He is like the info man of the group because he is a journalist. Yeah, true journalism back in the day. Also the much needed plot convenience as his journalism and investigation has given the much needed info to our characters to take action. Can I say he is like the father of the group? Too bad he sacrificed his car during the chaotic black orb battle. Hope he has insurance. And to think they troll us with Shindagan, so far I see her do nothing! She’s supposed to be the last boss or at least the sub-boss before the Demon Lord awakens, right? Yeah, the series ended and she had no role to even play. And what happened after Tsukumo got defeated? It’s not like they found a replacement for all the dead guardians, right?! Who is holding the seals right now?! Don’t tell me our young warriors are now also playing onmyou guardians! Oh f*ck it, I don’t care anymore.

There is also a sterling difference between both seasons with Zexcs animating the first half before T.P.O taking over the balance. Under Zexcs, the animation seems lighter in hues but come T.P.O, the visuals look a bit more polished. However that is about it because the animation takes a dip especially during the action sequences. Although I should say the fight scenes in both seasons are in a way weird. The first half did employ some CGI as the background and with Jutto using his weird light ability, it felt like one strange light show. But I have to admit that the chaotic and sometimes bloody battle that has a few innocent bystanders be killed, yeah there was a bit of fun there.

But come the second half, the animation is jerky and not up to mark. They reduced Jutto’s light ability into some weird light fireball sh*t. Don’t tell me he can defeat kyouma with that kind of puny hadouken! Each of the other warriors have their own unique abilities like Jingo using wind and Hagiri using fire. Too bad they play more of a supporting role in battle and are not memorable. Kyoshiro interestingly uses his mirror to crack the kyouma’s true nature and would love to see more of it but unfortunately Jutto is the main character so… The action bits could’ve been at least interesting to watch but sad to say, it felt they were obligatory and forced because what else will you have about a show supposed to showcase legendary warriors to fight a Demon Lord and his minions. Strangely, I didn’t expect some bare tits fanservice because it caught me by surprise to see Kaede’s tits when Tsukumo rip her body apart! Doll’s tits but still tits. Even when they animated Shindagan and Tsukumo naked, they don’t animate the tits. Yeah, I believe they were naked but they didn’t draw the tits or the crotch area so there’s your loophole.

The voice acting just felt okay and nothing special. Even if I recognized a few seiyuus like Yui Horie as Futaba, Nobuyuki Hiyama as Hagun, Hoochuu Ohtsuka as Rokumon and Miyuki Sawashiro as Reiko, that didn’t change my impression for this series much. Even having other notable names in the industry like Hikaru Midorikawa as Jutto, Juurouta Kosugi as Kyoshiro, Ryoutarou Okiayu as Jingo, Kotono Mitsuishi as Hagiri and Kenyuu Horiuchi as Hajime sure didn’t help much. The rest that I never heard of or at least don’t come to mind are Yuka Imai as Kokono, Atsuko Yuya as Tsukumo, Youko Soumi as Shindagan, Hiroshi Yanaka as Narutaki, Sayaka Nakamura as Kaede, Akiko Kimura as Nanao and Yuka Hiroki as Tamaki.

The first opening theme is Mo Chotto Tsukyoku by Pool, a lively fanfare. Not the kind of song I would imagine this series would have. The second opening theme, Kimi Ga Oshiete Kureta Koto by Manabi Mizuno has more dramatic vibes (and some weird computer-like sound effects in the background?). Sounds like a song that I would hear from a visual novel game. Not that I play any of them anyway. Interestingly, all the episodes have different ending themes. The first one is Over The World by Rikko Chan. A slow rock ballad and it feels like the singer is sleepy while singing. The second one is another slow rock, Kagayaku Sekai by Maiko Yoshikawa. Sometimes I feel the singer’s voice is too cute to be singing this song. A bit of a mismatch. The third ending is amusing. Now this hard rock piece (a bit of surfing tune too), Dera Surf SOS by Dera Sentimental sounds like a girl singing a dissing song about her boyfriend. Even if the song isn’t to my liking but the way she sings it makes it amusing. Another amusing one is the fifth ending theme, also sung by Dera Sentimental. This time Dera Dera Shuffle sounds like your typical rock n roll song but more boyfriend dissing. Especially that flat robotic voice of hers. Yeah. The fourth ending theme, Orange by Sayaka Ishijima is a lively pop ballad and the final one being Birth by Takayuki Ishizumi which is a slow ballad.

Overall, this anime is bad and a disappointment. It had a concept with potential but they didn’t know where to go with it and screw it up. The inconsistent story was the big time killer that sealed the fate of the series while the characters themselves do not do much. Animation quality and the action scenes are no better either so it makes the whole experience forgettable. Don’t worry, that will happen when I watch more sh*tty concurrent animes or retro ones! Covering disappointment with more disappointment? Uhm, I don’t think that is how it works. At the end of the day, I wondered if a kyouma possessed the people behind this series and turned it sh*tty. Heck, it could be a great number of people in the industry are being possessed by so and that’s why we have so much crap permeating through the media every day! Narutaki and Hajime may have actually forebode the anime industry! No wonder we are fighting a losing battle. It doesn’t matter how many brave and strong warriors we have. 10, 100 or 1000, none are ever enough to overcome the might of sh*tty, trashy and garbage animes! And thankfully, this series did a Narutaki and went MIA into the sea of obscure retro animes. Never to be seen or heard again. Phew.

Long time ago, I had this perception (assumption, rather) that Level E was going to be some sort of sci-fi horror. Without reading the synopsis and just taking a quick swipe at the promotional poster, sure there’s this hot handsome naked blond on it. But he looked creepy. Could be some sort of body snatcher alien that preys on unsuspecting humans. Uh huh. Quite the imagination there, huh? Can’t believe I actually jumped to that conclusion without even f*cking reading the synopsis. The ultimate judging a book by its cover! And that was like over a decade ago. Yup, this show came out in 2011. Feeling old? I know I do. And now at this point in time, an accidental stumbling on this series again, this time I read the premise. So, you mean it wasn’t sci-fi horror but comedy?! An idiotic alien prince playing pranks and making life hell to others just for his own amusement?! OMG. This I must have a look! Yeah, the real horror is my sadistic nature…

Episode 1
Yukitaka Tsutsui moves from Tokyo to Yamagata to attend a school that offers baseball scholarship. As he enters his apartment, he sees some of his stuffs unpacked. Did mom do it? Well, there is this blonde guy sitting here in his clothes! No matter how much Yukitaka shows him out, he gets back in! Blondie then reveals he is an alien and the crash in the mountains recently wasn’t just a comet but an escape pod he was in. Yes, it is all over the news as the site is being investigated. Yukitaka demands proof but being amnesiac, alien dude gives him a strange controller. Pressing around, something at the crash site goes boom! Alien guy mocks him for being a killer! Yukitaka not impressed but a short distraction as next door neighbour, Miho Edogawa is here to greet him. Seems she goes to his same school and her father, Ranzo is a researcher working on that alien crash. Hope he isn’t killed! After that, alien guy continues mocking him, replaying his conversation with Miho but being a killer at the same time! He wants Yukitaka to let him stay here. Or else what? He will reveal he is the killer! Okay, okay. You win. Soon the news reports there were no casualties. Now Yukitaka hits back at him and dares him to announce it even though it is undisputed he caused the bomb. Surprisingly, alien guy doesn’t do his usual mocking and leaves. Yukitaka has a change of heart and lets him stay for tonight. However the news soon show a strange alien artefact. Upon seeing it, alien guy instantly needs to get it and jumps off the balcony! Damn, did a car crash into him? Blue blood. Yukitaka helps him and realizes he was helping to save a kitten. As he rests under the tree, Yukitaka soon believes he is an alien and a good one because he starts to heal all those around him. Meanwhile Ranzo seems to have seen a projection from the artefact. Next day, a couple of cops knock on Yukitaka’s door asking if he has seen this blondie. No, why? He is a murderer. So Yukitaka asks alien dude about it and he reveals he stole the artefact although he was attacked first and got shot. So he had no choice but to get aggressive. This artefact reveals alien guy’s true identity. It might not be pleasant but Yukitaka is in for the ride. Oh man, so this hideous mother fluidic organism from the planet Jacqueline Ess is his true form???!!!

Episode 2
Yukitaka accepts his true form so alien guy thanks him. Then it is revealed this ugly thing is his pet! Yeah, owning a pet defines who he truly is! And yes, he still has amnesia! A group of aliens lands in the nearby forest. Craft, Sado and Colin are going to find a certain person. Miho hears strange laughing sounds coming from Yukitaka room. But she isn’t surprised this dude is an alien. What her father does again? Anyway, she is willing to help Yukitaka hide alien guy as protest against her father’s forceful methods. Alien guy gives them the slip and escapes despite being told to stay put as many are looking for him. At first Yukitaka doesn’t give a damn but Miho warns if he gets found, he may be killed. You gonna take responsibility? Craft and his men see the local shrine master and it seems living among them on this planet are various alien races. Despite being enemies, they manage to live together. Craft soon learns the person he is seeking is living in an apartment due to the tracing of some distress signal. Yukitaka and Miho find alien dude enjoying his drink at a café. First thing, Yukitaka beats him up! All the trouble they’ve gone through looking for him! However he soon confides with them if he has done a good or bad deed. You see earlier, he stumbled upon a gang trying to harass a poor girl. He approached them and was told off. But he didn’t back down and they gang up and beat him. After the girl escaped, alien guy then forcefully beats one down! The rest fled. Yukitaka and Miho claim he did a good deed and so he is relieved. But what to do with the dead body he stuffed in the dustbin! DAAAAAAMN!!! So as they return home, looks like Craft and co are waiting for him. Craft is not impressed and gets angry at this prince. Alien dude is a prince?! Prince Baka Ki El Dogra! While Baka doesn’t remember a thing, Craft continues to get rough with him. So Yukitaka steps in and demands answers. Both have a petty schoolboy showdown as Craft reveals they were escorting Baka to an intergalactic conference when the crash happened. This conference is important because with meeting with many races and if this prince is missing, there will be war! Many planets destroyed! To their horror, Baka brought back that body! Need to hide it, right? Worse, further analysis shows this corpse isn’t human to begin with but a Disckonian alien! Those hot headed aliens will not hesitate to kill those who mess with them, right?!

Episode 3
The Disckonian is still alive. He vows revenge on Baka and then flees. They talk about the Disckonian personality that faking death is shameful and it proves you are weak. That is why they eliminate the cause of their embarrassment. Then all the Disckonian aliens start surrounding outside the apartment. The shrine master calls Craft and warns him to hand over the culprit by sundown or else. Baka is willing to go along but Craft won’t allow it since he is important. In fact, Craft and his men are trying to concoct a plan using humans as shields as they escape this planet. Of course this doesn’t sit well with Yukitaka and they get into an argument. Time is running out so they remember Baka was amassing data on various life forms before the conference. Craft thinks of using force to bring back his memories. Yeah, he beats down the prince! Looks like he is enjoying it! The other men explain Baka is a smart person but he always plays pranks rather than using his talents to support the nation. So yeah, Craft was one of his many guinea pigs. Well, Baka is out conscious now and time is up. The mob marches in. Maybe there is some data on Disckonian’s weakness in the artefact? Good news, there is! So as they look through, it seems they stumble into something scary. The truth? When the Disckonian mob is here, Yukitaka stands up and will defend his friend. If they want him, they must go through him. That is when Craft starts acting strange because he has seen the truth. The mob then goes meek. They realize they have been busted! What gives? You see, this whole thing was a setup by Baka from the start! The secret info is actually a very elaborated trailer made by Baka to test the loyalty of Craft’s men as well as to spy on the upcoming baseball ace AKA Yukitaka. Hence all the Disckonian including Ranzo were actually in on this! The cat had a hidden camera! Yes, everything from the moment Yukitaka first met Baka in his room, all were premeditated and calculated! Greatest candid camera act ever! Feel like killing him? Oh well, here goes crazy Craft as he tries to shoot the prince down but he manages to escape. The Disckonian are now impressed with Yukitaka. Seems they are fans of baseball! The reason why warring aliens here don’t fight is because of baseball! They want his autograph! 3 months later, it seems Yukitaka is chosen to be part of some tournament. He and Miho get a letter from Baka. Yeah, he was strictly guarded during his duration at the conference. It was a success. Also, it was agreed Earth is now under Baka’s observation and domain. As such, he will be staying on it since he is appointed as of the newly formed task force for it. Uh huh. You know what this means, right?

Episode 4
4 friends are hanging out at some hidden place when they realize a hot classmate chick comes in. Too bad she is dead! And her murderer then eats her! OMFG! Soon the news reports of her went missing. But the friends know it too well. They know the perpetrator is from their school but they do not know who. After asking about, they downsize the suspects to 3 people. They won’t probe further as they vow at least not to get close to them. But the next day, 1 of the friends go missing. The rest go to see this trippy Jesus Christ dude for answers so he recommends them to some clinic. The doctor learns what happens but if they want further preventive measures, they must pay. And expensive too. He then explains about certain parasitic aliens living among humans and prey on humans. Of course this was never made public. It is a price to pay for their safety, right? A few days later, another friend goes missing. The remaining friends panic and go see the doctor again. This time they are willing to pay so the doctor will start his investigation. For now, they will be provided a place to stay for a week. Food will be provided. As the duo enter a room, they get locked in. Hey, their missing friends are here too! So apparently when they got worried and split up, they went to the same Jesus and he recommended the same doctor. Of course the doctor never said a thing due to patient confidentiality. But in the next room, they find various alien specimens. The doctor then returns with his investigation. He shows them a video interviewing a parasitic alien kid whose planet was destroyed due to war. It seems their kind, men eat women to have children. Some more alien sci-fi mumbo jumbo I don’t get. So apparently this alien kid has a brother in school and he too ate a classmate. Both brothers are now having regrets eating the female victim as they have developed romantic feelings for them. The friends are freed. The case remains unsolved, blah, blah, blah… Turns out all this is just a brainstorming session by Baka to his men to come up with some plan to convey a message to Earthlings about extra-terrestrial life via fiction. And Yukitaka is not happy they are using his place for this. Get out!

Episode 5
5 young boys are minding their own business when Baka suddenly kidnaps Taiyo Akagawa, Yoshiki Shimizu, Osamu Momochi, Mayo Mayuzumi and Kunimitsu Yokota to his spaceship! It seems they have been chosen to protect Earth as Colour Rangers! Yeah, the boys want to screw that and return to their boring lives. So, is that more important than saving the world?! No choice, they play along with this charade and before they know it, he slaps irremovable wristbands on them. Then they are whisked back to their homes and they test out their transformation. Definitely they are Colour Rangers now. In class, they discuss about this whole thing when their teacher, Tachibana comes in. Because of their special goggles, they are shocked to see her true form as an alien! They hide in the toilet but looks like Tachibana is on to them and wants them to see her after school. The boys continue to deliberate if they don’t expose her identity, maybe they’ll be safe. Perhaps even talk to her and she might understand. However Baka of course dispels all that and explains Tachibana is actually an alien assassin who even kills babies! Hence it is Colour Rangers’ duty to defeat her! He even throws them a manual on how to use their powers but be warn of its caveats. Then here comes Tachibana. Is it time to panic? She notices their wristbands and thought it was only a toy. She gets them to spill the beans and realizing Baka is behind this, she laughs hard. She simply puts it that prince is a terrible person who makes trouble for others to keep himself from getting bored! While it is true that she is an assassin, she only does so to make a living so she can save up and travel the universe! The boys come up with a brilliant solution: How much is she willing to be paid to kill that prince! Of course being the nice teacher, she wants them to build their character and hence they must do it themselves first before asking for help. And to put a rest if she kills babies: Yes she does. But the price is so high nobody can afford. Smart. Now the boys call out to Baka who is the real villain. In that case, he will become the baddie. For them to be freed of their wristband, they must get a key whom he has entrusted with Craft. Yes, defeat him! But first they must level up!

Episode 6
Nerdy leader, Akagawa levels up and brags to his friends. Guess what? Then he can defeat Craft on his own! So the boys take a train all the way to Yamagata just to see Craft. He understands the situation but if they really want the key, they have to defeat him. Of course Craft is only acting. Knowing that Baka can hear what they say, he types in his laptop his true feelings. So the kids pretend to fight him and he feigns defeat as he hands over the key. But, how to use it? Craft has no idea. They call Tachibana and she too is lost. Craft can’t stand this farce anymore and proclaims he is going to defect. So he calls his men back to help. One of them knows how but the final password is the girl you like? Oh yeah. Momochi with so many girlfriends… Good luck naming them all! Oh, just missed one out… Akagawa would like to keep it on so the kids return home. You might think it is the end of it but it’s not. Next day in school, the boys can’t bring themselves to throw away their wristbands. That is when they suddenly disappear. Courtesy of Baka again as he teleports them to a world he created solely for playing RPG! Demon Lord Quest VII! So like in any RPG, they walk around town and talk to NPCs until a flag is triggered. Demon Lord’s armies are abound and so they must head to the castle to defeat him. But first, they need to level up. The kids cast away their seriousness and enjoy all the silly powers that come with it. Once they have level up high enough (in fact, too high), it’s time to head to the castle. And can Baka stop singing this Colour Ranger theme song already!

Episode 7
Tachibana knows the quintet are missing because of Baka. If they don’t come back tomorrow, the prince will know what’s coming for him. So the boys now see the king who tells them his problem. A Demon Lord’s general, Luci has fallen in love with his daughter. He wants them to protect his princess and if they so wish, can marry her. Guess who is the princess? Baka cross-dressed! Can’t blame the kids for beating him up. However he explains that they cannot leave this planet unless they clear this game or at least the console is within the Demon Lord’s castle. With Luci here to take his bride, the kids put up a brave front as instructed by Baka. If they are strong and worthy enough, Luci will back down. However he displays his terrifying power. Baka realizes something is wrong and only the Demon Lord has modified this. Baka agrees to go with Luci as he tells the kids to head to the shrine. As the boys fight their way there, Baka tries to stall for time by confusing Luci. He also relays some game info to them and an important one being the Demon Lord fears the game ending more than they do since it will be the end of this world. Once Baka gives Luci the slip, he rendezvous with the boys at the shrine. At this time all the monsters have surround it although they cannot enter. But a strange figure soon enters. He is the Demon Lord! OMG, is this a child version of Baka?! Though, he is weak as f*ck. Surprisingly, Baka hands over the console for with a choice to end this game. However he wants them to hear him out and in hops they won’t end it. He starts off explaining he has no memories except being the Demon Lord when he was born. He studied and read lots of books and soon came to learn Baka is his creator. Yes, a despicable person. Because he doesn’t wish to become like him, thus this action of his. He wants to make this world where monsters can freely do as they wish. The boys believe in him and won’t end the game. However only Baka disagrees because this won’t achieve his true objective of being entertained! As he continues ranting about all the juicy stuffs that includes some hidden weapon, the boys summon that golden hammer and send him flying into the sky! The boys say goodbye to the Demon Lord as they return home. Don’t worry, Baka is their driver to send them back. Better pay the immense toll to cut short 11.6 billion years to just 3 hours back to Earth! You think the boys’ lives are back to normal but they did not realize if they all gather in class, they will be warp back again to RPG planet! Here we go again. F*ck, Demon Lord Quest IX has Baka taken over as the Demon Lord!

Episode 8
Craft and his men welcome Princess Saki of Macbac. Looks like it is mating season as it is explained how this race has only females. As the queen can only reproduce, she will set off to find another species to breed. Once she does, she will bear a child and live with her spouse until he dies. But that will also mean the end of the world. In fact, the other species will be wiped out in a few generations. It is most probably a virus transmission and airborne too. It will soon envelope the entire planet and castrate all males! What a way to avoid cheating, huh? Hence Craft and his men are here to do some match-unmaking and convince Saki that this planet is trash. So as they take her and her entourage to the hotel, Craft tries to paint a bad picture of Earth. She’s not fazed. Even when he tries to mention Earthlings can have multiple partners and they cheat often, Saki vows to work hard to achieve her goal. Yeah, nothing is going to stop this woman. Nearby, Satomi breaks up with Mikihisa seeing the latter wants to have sex but the former can’t go through with it. When Mikihisa and Saki cross each other’s path, suddenly they fall in love with each other! Oh no. End of the world? Craft tries to mediate between them as they both don’t speak the same language. Even if he lies and tells the other a different story, Mikihisa and Saki are adamant to be with each other. Eventually the duo give Craft and co the slip. They make a run as the MIBs are hot on their heels. Yup, Mikihisa is even willing to let the world be destroyed than be separated from Saki! You sure about that? Finally the farcical chase ends when Craft has got an important detail on Mikihisa. From a document that Mikihisa dropped, it is revealed that Mikihisa is actually a girl! Kyouko Mikihisa!

Episode 9
Look at Saki’s disappointed face as she runs away. Flashback shows Mikihisa was always into girls but too bad those girls aren’t bi so they reject her. Craft sees off Saki who will be returning home earlier than scheduled. No hard feelings, it was just all bad luck. Yeah, Craft seems happy to have saved Earth. While it could be a life and death situation for Macbac, not his problem! When they return home, looks like Baka has returned from his South East Asian trip. He knows Craft is hiding something from him and then busts him for not telling him about Saki. Yeah, he bugged the hotel phone and that’s how he knew. Baka knows this is not over yet because as a woman, Saki will not give up so easily. Then he exposes a bugging device on Colin. They’ve been had. But Mikihisa is proven to be a girl, it still won’t solve their breeding woes. Baka then talks some biological mumbo jumbo about Mikihisa’s brain being wired as a man. From what I understand, Macbac is going to turn Mikihisa into a man to erase this blunder. And looks like Craft is too late to stop Mikihisa as he has been lured into the Macbac’s ship. Looks like Saki is doing some surgery to Mikihisa’s body too. More Mikihisa flashback as we see her adamantly telling others she is a guy but they laugh it off or don’t believe. Now we see her back in her apartment, no recollections of anything as she goes about her daily life. Baka and co are spying observing her. Mikihisa may look like a woman now as the surgery will take some time to come into effect. The reason they altered Mikihisa’s memories is so that Saki can redo that love at first sight encounter, something that Macbac all believe in. One day, Baka and co kidnap Mikihisa to administer some vaccine. Luckily they run simulation and it seems doing so will further propagate the virus. You wouldn’t think Macbac would be so dumb to confidently release Mikihisa back on Earth, right? So they return Mikihisa back to his normal life. A few months later, Mikihisa and Saki cross paths. They fall in love and begin their dating. Baka and co are cool about it. As explained, this Mikihisa is a clone they made! It even has some anti-virus programmed in it. The real Mikihisa was swapped out and moved to a faraway city. Win-win situation as Saki gets to mate while the real Mikihisa gets to live to be a real man but with modified memories. Only Craft is agonizing over it because doing this is illegal on so many levels. He is further enraged Baka has an alternative but it’s not really a nice one. Because of the pollution and wastes humans created, one day the human genes will change themselves into something else.

Episode 10
Some unscrupulous guy wants to get his way with this mermaid. Because he lied, suddenly he gets killed. Colour Rangers in the spotlight again? Well, Tachibana announces that Shimizu will be transferring since his family is moving to America. His friends are sad but because Shimizu brushes off like nothing, they develop bad blood. When Shimizu goes home alone, he stumbled an injured Mermaid in the woods. He is not fazed since Tachibana is an alien. Mermaid knows he is telling the truth because if he lied, her tongue will instantly pierce and kill him. Instead of accepting his help, she tells him to go back and make up with his friends. He does so but pleads to his friend to help Mermaid since she has this lonely look. When they return, she is gone. The friends continue to argue until Akagawa blows his top that they should remain friends until they part. With the quintet reconciled, they go find Mermaid and her trail of blood leads them to a shady place. It seems she is working with poachers who make a living selling other living creatures. However they can’t be lying to her otherwise they would be dead by her tongue now. It seems Mermaid’s species were already close to extinct by other poachers. Only 5 of them left. So when this group approached her, Mermaid would gladly do her part in exchange for her friends to be left alone. And so she has been making money for them to earn enough to return home. Of course they can’t earn if they kill her so they plead for her to return to them. Sensing no lies, Mermaid goes to them. However the boys instantly fight back. Don’t need her tongue to detect a lie because these jerks are shady as hell! The poachers transform into their true alien form. If the boys are having a hard time fighting but come out tops, it is thanks to Tachibana in the shadows providing assistance. Eventually the poachers are defeated and the cat is out of the bag. They were using fake voices and that’s why Mermaid couldn’t recognize them. Asking about her brethren, they tell the truth that they have sold them off and are most probably dead. Mermaid kills them. A sad Mermaid thinks she is all alone but the boys don’t think so. They introduce themselves before Mermaid returns to the sea. Good news, her fellow mermaids still alive. Shimizu reveals his true feelings that he doesn’t want to go to USA. How will he let his parents know? Well, good news too. As some higher up jerk in the company got killed, thus those relocation won’t be happening. What’s so refreshing about this episode? Not a nose of Baka!

Episode 11
Yoshitaka and his baseball team are on a bus to the koshien stadium. But suddenly, they find themselves in an empty one. Twilight zone? A Disckonian alien reports to Craft that he was following the bus and saw it vanish before it eyes. So they went to another dimension? The baseball members look around the stadium and are confused some facilities are from the stadium but others are from another ballpark. Baka is here to say that they are trapped in someone’s mind. Wait. BAKA IS HERE?! Yeah, he stowed away in the bus trying to be some element of surprise or something. This better not be his doing! As Craft and his men do their investigation, their explanation is also the same as Baka. As far as I understand this confusing analysis, it seems that there was such a similar situation in 1920 when an Englishman and his wife were arguing, the daughter was so tense that she unconsciously absorbed him into her mind. Not until he repented only she let him out. Hence this is some paranormal space created by extreme stress. So yeah, Baka tells everyone to suspect everyone but obviously Yoshitaka knows this is part of his thrill to see everyone turn against each other. The rest thinks whoever the coward was that ran away from this stress, it would be over and would’ve gone home if they had played the game but seeing they are trapped here, they can’t do that. Then it seems the opposing team comes in so our players take to the field. So we see snippets of the game as Baka continues more of his psychological analysis that I don’t get. Miho explains to Craft that when she joins swimming tournaments, she does image training to clear her mind. So that isn’t stress but concentration. F*ck, don’t understand this consciousness and stimuli thingy! Baka coming up with some evil solutions to get out so Yoshitaka bats him away. Next thing we know, we see his team back in the real world and playing their game. A great ending for everybody and Craft can’t help he is so much relieved. Did he forget something? Ah yes, Baka somehow still trapped in that dream world…

Episode 12
Look who has come to visit Earth now? Why, it is Baka’s younger brother, Mohan and Baka’s fiancée, Princess Luna Mi Mad Magra. You bet they are here to bring Baka back for him to get married. Obviously that prince is now seeking refuge at Yukitaka’s place. You see, during the conference, Baka put in a secret bill and the congress passed it. This means Mohan will inherit the throne instead of Baka. Obviously the congress doesn’t want Baka to be the next king but Mohan doesn’t get it as he believes his role is to support the king. With only a month left before Baka becomes an adult, Mohan plans to make Baka go through the wedding ceremony before the throne falls on Mohan. Hence Baka is confident Craft and his men are on his side. Baka is doing this because he wants his freedom and not bound by royalty duties. He didn’t expect Mohan and Luna to fly up to this place to make their announcement for him to get married. Baka flees as Mohan gives chase but eventually gives up. Luna requests to stay at Yukitaka’s place in hopes Baka will return here. Can Yukitaka host a princess? Don’t worry, Mohan will stay here too. Yukitaka realizes both brothers are the same. Baka’s side rendezvous with Ranzo as Craft suggests fleeing in their escape pod. However Baka notes doing so means it will be easier for him to catch. He suspects something amiss. Why didn’t Mohan use his military and it’s like it is clearing the way for him to escape. Baka then reveals the entire Earth is covered with some barrier as the clouds remain the same. Through some device, it reveals tons of spaceships hovering outside Earth’s orbit! Mohan has found him and reveals those spaceships are guests of the wedding. Mohan hopes Baka would come back as Luna is waiting for him as she believes in him. It is then Baka throws the question if Mohan likes Luna. Meanwhile Luna talks to Yukitaka and Miho about the political relationship between both nations. She also explains how she was betrothed to Baka at a very young age. She never heard his voice until one day she solved some hard question that got his attention. It was then she wanted to stay with him forever. Despite all the nasty rumours, she still wants to be with him because if she had given up, then he would give up on all that too. Back home, Yukitaka trying to get Baka to reciprocate Luna’s feelings since he heard it all. Baka trying to be funny that Yukitaka might have fallen for her! With Miho suspecting they have been bugged, Baka then discovers tons of spying equipment all over the place. The spy for Luna is Colin.

Episode 13
The gang realizes Luna could be a psycho for Baka. There is a thick envelope of documents that may look like weird and bad Japanese writings but Baka deciphers a secret code from Luna to meet up. As they talk about the weird royalty customs of not seeing each other’s siblings for many years, then it hit Baka. This Luna and Mohan are imposters! There is a resistance group on Magra called Magra Freedom Alliance that aims for a bloodless revolution to be freed from Dogra’s rule. So what has this got to do with Baka’s marriage? By marrying the fake, the wife would then request her husband to free Magra, something he cannot refuse. We see the fake Luna eavesdropping on them. She purposely let them find some of the bugging devices but can’t believe Baka figured out so quickly. Baka shows Yukitaka and Miho the alien spaceships all hovering outside Earth’s orbit. Baka then realizes why he managed to escape from his ship so easily. Why was he placed to observe Earth at the conference. This was all to lock him down on Earth because had he gone back to Dogra, it will be hard to get him. Besides there are other races like Disckonian and Macbac who dislike Dogra too. Speaking of which, those Disckonian have captured Craft and Sado. Craft thinks they are on board with Baka and this is just an act! Sorry, you’re so wrong this time. Although they get locked in, they manage to escape and then free the real Luna and Mohan held captive within the ship. Baka’s plan is now to lure out and expose the imposter. Meeting up, Baka wants to know if she is the real deal because Luna has 2 moles on her right shoulder. There it is. He instantly knows she is fake because Luna actually has 3 moles. Knowing she was eavesdropping, he fed her fake info. Mohan loses his cool and decides to attack Baka, against Luna’s advice. However Baka easily dodges it all and claims he is weaker than Craft. With all the gang here, the imposters are captured. However there is one issue now: The imposter has put on the wedding ring that cannot be taken off. How? Well, Baka will just marry the imposter and puts on his wedding ring! His plan is to have a revolution in his kingdom and leave the state affairs to Mohan. However there is a real twist to all this: The imposters are actually the real ones! You see, when the imposters hijacked the ship, Mohan and Luna easily beat up their asses! To make this more interesting, the real Luna suggested this plan and played her psycho part to perfection. Hence Baka actually married the real princess. With that, aliens all over show themselves and Earthlings are going to be awed by all those motherships.

Level E-diot! Jokes On Yous!
Oh wow. Did Baka for the first time get outsmarted?! Or was he pretending to be so because we’ve been conditioned that it is him who will always get the last laugh no matter what. Well, he seems pretty cool about it but we’re still waiting for him to spring that last minute surprise that he knew the imposter was actually the real princess all along! Still waiting… So I guess that calm demeanour means he really got pranked this time, eh? Oh wow. Feeling conflicted now. On one hand, good to see the idiot prince get his just desserts but on the other hand, it just feels so strange that Baka got pranked! Now I know how Craft feels!

As you can see, there isn’t much of a coherent plot. Most of the episodes are episodic in nature and standalone random fillers. Or at least mini arcs divided into a few episodes at most. Imagine if the entire season was one long prank (to play an impractical joke on Yukitaka), I wonder if that would be distasteful and no longer funny. So by the third episode, the punch line was revealed, thus setting the pace of what the rest of the series should be. In retrospect, I think this format is good for this series as once the gag is over, we can move on to the next without having so much to worry about bringing forward whatever happened in that arc. Which is also good as in many cases, there will be scientific and long mumbo jumbo explanations about some sci-fi or psychological stuffs which I don’t get. Uh huh. Perhaps to make the punch line to the prank look more creditable and believable, they can even fool us with some fake details and we wouldn’t know! All I know is that at the end of the day, the prince got us good. Heh.

I wanted to draw comparisons of this series with Gintama. However, that similarity is only because aliens are living among humans on Earth. Unlike Gintama, a big majority of humans are unaware of aliens walking among them. Just like in MIB (the Hollywood movie). Furthermore, trying to compare Baka with Gintoki of Gintama is like comparing apples to oranges. Same category of fruit but different type. Yes, both are idiots and clowns but other than that, they are so vastly different. Oh sorry, apple is technically not a fruit if you want to go by its strictest definition… Sorry folks, Baka isn’t your handsome blond prince on a white steed but a cheeky alien from outer space!

So the prince thinks he can always get away with it in the end because he is so smart. Yeah well, we have only ourselves to blame since we are too stupid to get the hint. Like as though he has a script in hand since he seems like he knows everything when he explains his stuffs without breaking into a sweat and so confidently. I won’t be surprised if it is actually the case! But if it’s not, oh well, being a genius is lonely and that is why he has to resort to such pranks to keep himself entertained. To us, those pranks may look childish and dumb but remember, I guess we’re all not intelligent enough or at his level to comprehend him. He isn’t a bad person per se. Just a whole lot mischievous. He is like playing both the hero and the villain all at once. I am sure we have asked why he doesn’t use his exceptional intelligence for the sake of the universe. Maybe he did. We just didn’t see it. After all, how much do we understand the protocols and other stuffs that royalties need to adhere to? So if you put yourself in Baka’s shoes, perhaps it is only right to take out a little bit of stress and having some fun in his own way. Okay, maybe he is just a total (but intelligent) idiot to begin with. Hope he is entertained! Yeah, with Earth as his personal playground, I see no reason for him to hold back. Even if he does, he won’t. It’s Baka we’re talking about.

And to think that he is aptly named so in Japanese but I guess at the end of the day, we are the baka ones and the jokes are on us. Is it because he is named so and that he is only trying to live up to it! Thank goodness he doesn’t have a brother named Aho! I can see the mayhem that comes after! Imagine what is worse than having an idiotic prankish prince? Why, having 2 of them! The universe won’t be enough to handle them! I don’t think God can even handle them, let alone Baka. I can’t fathom to think Baka will outwit God! So a note to aliens, next time you want to name your prince or princess, please enlighten yourself with the cultures of others first. Especially Japanese. Yeah.

Yukitaka looks like a tortured soul ever since Baka came into his life but from the looks of it, his character feels a lot secondary as we see him in the initial and last arcs. His torment is nothing compared to what Craft has gone through. It is evident that without seeing the kind of pranks Craft gets on his end, we know how much Craft has suffered under his highness. More than often, a visibly frustrated Craft does not hesitate to blow his top and grab Baka by the collar or the likes. Proof that he has had it with all the shenanigans. We can sometimes see his dark thoughts of Baka seep through and it is like he is caught between the dilemma of serving him as well as wanting to see him receive his just desserts. Most probably the latter for the good of everybody. The whole universe can use one less of a prankish jokester, right? But then again, the universe would be one prankish jokester less and boring. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Hang in there, Craft. You’re doing a fine job for all our sakes as Baka’s punching bag! But for his colleagues, I don’t see them as tormented as him. Sado is just a biological freak while Colin looks like some naïve nice guy. Still waters run deep. Will Yukitaka become the next Craft if Baka overstays his welcome? Only time will tell.

Oddly, a bunch of Colour Ranger kids in the fray, I wonder what kind of relevance they have to the whole series. Perhaps none at all actually. Maybe they’re just to fill in some extra time? You see, this series was based on a very short manga that only has 3 volumes. I believe all (if not most of) the manga chapters have been adapted into the anime. Without these kids, the whole story could have been a lot shorter. But yeah, the irony that these kids are a lot mature compared to Baka and that Dogra prince is like a kid stuck in an adult’s body. Don’t laugh. It is true for many of us who refuse to grow up. Uh huh. There is always a kid in all of us. Miho is just like Yukitaka, not really relevant to the story. Jumped to the conclusion there would be some sort of romance going on but nothing. Nothing is going to take away the spotlight on Baka, right?

Last but not least, Luna. As we have seen, she is the person who understands Baka the most and is most suited for him. After all, it takes a genius or a crazy person to understand each other, right? It proves that she wasn’t a sheltered princess and that she is a very dedicated person. Uh huh. If this turned out the wrong way, we would have called her some psycho b*tch stalker or something. In the end, the only person who could live up to Baka’s expectations or keep up with his shenanigans. The best person to also keep him in check? But I fear one day they will take their pranks and outdo each other to a whole new galactic level. In the sense, the Mr & Mrs Smith (the Hollywood movie) of the universe!

Art and animation are rather okay although it reeks the style of the last decade. Which is probably better than the quality of some animes in today’s time! That is saying a lot. Although I have to point out that there are CGI effects. Well, they definitely look like crap! I don’t know if it was done on purpose or it was actually technology limitations at that time. I won’t go so far as to say they really look as bad as recent animes like Kaminaki Sekai No Kamisama Katsudou but they still look cheap. Like those alien spaceships or those smoke effects when a character disappears. Laughable and cringe at times, so much so I got paranoid and thought Baka was behind this! Sorry, rather Pierrot (Naruto, Bleach, Black Clover, Tokyo Ghoul, GTO) and David Production (the Jojo series, Undead Unluck, Hataraku Saibou) did this series.

For the voice acting, got to hand it to Takehito Koyasu as Craft. He really makes his character sound like a tortured and pent up soul. Poor guy. But kudos and great voice acting. Too bad he didn’t turn into a Jojo badass and beat up that silly prince. Daisuke Namikawa as Baka, he sounds gay at times… Some seiyuus I recognized are Sayaka Ohara making her cameo as Mermaid, Yuu Kobayashi as Mikihisa, Fumihiko Tachiki as the narrator and Satoshi Hino as Mohan. The other casts are Yoshimasa Hosoya as Yukitaka (Reiner in Shingeki No Kyojin), Satomi Akesaka as Miho (Esdeath in Akame Ga Kill), Shouko Nakagawa as Luna (Risa in Akiba’s Trip The Animation), Masaya Takatsuka as Sado (Vetto in Black Clover), Takumi Asahina as Colin (Etsuji Kainuma in The Fable), Ao Takahashi as Saki (Riko in Minami-ke) and Sayaka Kinoshita as Tachibana (Mirko in Boku No Hero Academia).

The opening theme is Cold Finger Girl by Chiaki Kuriyama. This song is weird. Or should I say a mess. I’m not sure if it is trying to parody James Bond’s Goldfinger. I think not. However this rock piece starts to get noisy, chaotic and at some points, the singer sounds off. If that isn’t weird enough, there’ll soon be some gay guy’s soft voice singing as her accompaniment. Sounds like Baka. Is it him?! And did she say, “Sh*t’s down” at the end?! Oh… Oh… It is, “Sit down”… F*ck… Oh well, if you want some hard rock, then the ending theme is Yume ~Mugen No Kanata~ by Vivid is your cup of tea. Not so much for me, though. Still too noisy-cum-generic for my liking.

Overall, a pretty entertaining series in its own right. Well, if you can laugh at the sci-fi jokes and pranks this series has to offer. Sort of. Nowhere near a masterpiece and sometimes it is infuriating as well as annoying when you have a handsome main character who is both a joker and an intelligent being. A wise guy? Yeah, I guess that is because we peasants don’t really understand him. After all, life is too short to take things way seriously. Always have fun. Okay, maybe way too much fun here. Lots of people here have been toyed around for Baka’s and our amusement. Are you not entertained?! I know I am and still laughing since my whole life is a big fat joke! HAHAHA!!! Oh dear, that’s not funny. It’s just sad… :’(.

Will this season be it? The season whereby Ichikawa finally kills Yamada and mutilates her body into many parts before dumping it into the sea! Fulfilling his lifelong dream of seeing her face writhe in pain before ending her life! F*ck what?! Holy OMFG sh*t, what alternative timeline did I go too?! Sorry folks and (un)fortunately, Boku No Kokoro No Yabai Yatsu S2 no longer has the premise of Ichikawa having that inner bloodthirsty drive in wanting to kill our popular tall model girl in his class. Such a shame. And because of that, what we are going to expect most out of this sequel is how much closer they will bond together and realizing the feelings for each other is actually love. Time to turn fantasy into reality. But with a whole load of awkwardness.

Episode 13
The teacher thinks Yamada should help Ichikawa with stuffs since she sits next to him considering he broke his arm. Ichikawa dismisses they are that close and can do everything himself. Only, Yamada heard it! Oh boy, does she look mad? At the end of the day, he goes to apologize to her. She makes him say what he is apologizing for! He does so but she already knew. And just like that, she’s back to normal. Yamada continues to help Ichikawa in everything. The boys notice Yamada in the magazine. Or maybe someone who looks like her? Ichikawa tries to show off that he knows she also appears in other media but realizes he should shut his big mouth. Then at the convenience story with Yamada, they open that same magazine and she pretends that’s not her. He tries to compliment her but it comes out weird. She believes the person he knows is probably at her best condition. As Hara suspects Ichikawa and Yamada an item, she tries to ask Yamada about it but gets trapped revealing about her time spent with Kanzaki. But eventually observing them, she is getting the hint. Especially the matching doggie keychain souvenir. Ichikawa also believes Hara knows about them but brushes it off that girls talk about such stuffs. With Yamada guilty for not doing a good job looking after him, he tries to distract her with a pic of Kana. Showing other pics, this leads to accidentally revealing how he broke his arm and this makes Yamada feel guilty that she was the cause of it. It gets worse when she loses her keychain. Now she is in despair. So Ichikawa is going to search through the snow?! Where to even start?! Until Sekine points out the path Yamada often takes home. The duo bump into each other. She is really distressed about it as he assures he will find it. As luck would have it, he spots it on a nearby tree branch. Yamada so happy. Yamada invites him to her place to warm up.

Episode 14
So yes, Ichikawa getting conscious he is butt naked in Yamada’s place and in her bath. Try not to overthink. Once he is done, she lends him her jersey to wear but he has to go commando. You don’t expect him to wear her pantsu, DO YOU???!!! It gets worse since Yamada is dressing like a slut so a few clumsy moments there for some close proximity. Then as she cooks nabe, she talks about her younger days. All the lessons she took, she quit after a while and she got bothered everyone else got better than her. It took her a while to realize everyone was being nice and she was a burden. She starts crying that she might make these people she scare to hate her. Especially that day Ichikawa was absent for a couple of days from the library, she thought that was it. Ichikawa quickly hugs her as she continues crying. He admits he did that because he didn’t want to be hurt or get hated. In the end, they are very much alike. Yamada soon realizes mom will be home since she got texted. Ichikawa is left to hide in her room and even pretend to be Sekine since mom thinks her friend is over. Once the coast is clear, Ichikawa leaves but on the way out meets a giant guy who looks like a serial killer! Better run! Ichikawa hands wash the jersey back home since he doesn’t want to get caught washing Yamada’s jersey via washing machine. At school, Ichikawa realizes something wrong with his voice. He can’t fully speak and it’s like changing. During judo class, Yamada is offended her uniform stinks like hell. Ichikawa and Yamada end up as sparring partners for some awkward grappling moments. Ichikawa notes his voice is changing and wonders if his relationship with Yamada will remain the same if it does. So when he tells her about his cracking voice, she is all excited instead because it is a sign he is growing up. She hopes he will call her name often when his voice sounds deeper. At the same time, he too notices some parts of Yamada really growing. Guess!

Episode 15
Valentine’s Day is coming up. Sekine suggests doing a dry run to make chocolates at her home. Yamada suggests doing it at her place. So why is she hinting at Ichikawa? What’s it got to do with him? Oh right. Looks like he has to come and he is feeling really awkward about it. The only guy among girls. So when they arrive, Yamada’s mom seems suspicious a boy is among them. What is his relation to her daughter? That is when Sekine claims he is her boyfriend. Mom is a bit startled but lets it pass. But I guess Yamada is not happy. Yeah, Ichikawa looking over his shoulders all the time. Yamada is not impressed seeing Sekine has to keep up with this couple thingy and gets real close to him at times. So as Ichikawa excuses himself to the toilet. He thinks of leaving but his inner self tells him not to run because a miracle might happen. Like he might end up dating Yamada. Ichikawa rubbishes that fairytale and leaves. At that point he apologizes to mom for lying. Mom isn’t mad but then realizes he is Ichikawa since her daughter often talked about him. With Yamada taking over, Ichikawa changes his mind and returns. But now all the girls are scared! Oh man, it’s that giant guy making chocolates with them! Scary. Yup, he is Yamada’s dad and works as a French chef. Looks like he wants to be friends with Ichikawa and play video games? Yeah, hard to be the only male around. Don’t judge a book by its cover. When he ties his hair up, he is handsome as f*ck! Yamada lets Ichikawa taste her sample. Good. She is glad he came. Back home, Yamada calls Ichikawa for his opinion on his parents. Good people. She thinks it’s the same because her parents also gave the same boring answer about Ichikawa. Kana learns her brother got a harem. Cheekily asking if he is going to ask Yamada out. Almost choke on his drink. Ichikawa talks basically comparing his nobody self to a big important person like Yamada who lives in a bigger world. He likes her but feels he can’t keep up with it. After Kana gives him some advice, Ichikawa says he wants to be Yamada’s boyfriend. This embarrassment causes both siblings to cringe hard.

Episode 16
Sekine gives everyone her chocolates. Including Ichikawa. However Yamada snatches and eats it. She claims she is a boy today! Oh well, better than being Adachi who is acting like a country bumpkin after receiving a single chocolate. And to think he was calling for the banning of obligatory chocolates… Later Yamada and Ichikawa play shogi using their chocolates. Winner takes it all. Then at the store, they talk about chocolates and all. Yamada shares her bun with him but spots a filling on his face. Sorry, not going to lick it off like we expected. Or perhaps she chickened out and used her finger. She leaves and fails to give her chocolates to him. But then he buys one for her, claiming she is a guy today. Back home he is squirming over this embarrassing move. Later that night Yamada calls him to join her walking her dog. After a while and a few awkward moments, Ichikawa hinting he doesn’t hate sweet stuffs as claimed. And then some talk about obligatory chocolates before Yamada shares half her chocolate muffin with him. Since he finds it good, it brings her to tears because she thought she couldn’t get it right. She wants another one and that means he has to hug her. Ichikawa returns home and realizes Yamada could be in love with him. Would you like to know? Next day in class, Adachi making a big fuss on what to return for White Day. Wow. This guy is thinking about lingerie?! Sekine passing by and giving hints and she wants. Expensive… To Adachi’s surprise, he learns Ichikawa has gotten real chocolates from a girl. Jealous guy thinks that girl is ugly! Adachi is even asking Nanjou for his opinion for White Day. Lingerie? Is he joking? Ichikawa trying to claim he doesn’t understand girls and that’s why boys and girls can never know each other well. As they part, Yamada waves at Ichikawa. Then she sees Nanjou with him and stops. Nanjou is about to wave back but Ichikawa stops him and waves on his behalf? Before Ichikawa could tell Nanjou he likes Yamada, the girl rushes down to take him away. I hope Nanjou gets the picture now.

Episode 17
Yamada trying to ask Ichikawa to go see a movie that a fellow actress in the same agency is in. Lots of awkward moments between them and eventually he agrees to go. Before the movie, to go grab something to eat. Well, well, didn’t know Kana is working at this takoyaki shop! Definitely looking like a date! And for some reason they go in and eat?! Couldn’t they just pick somewhere else? Yamada being a noob eating a takoyaki so Ichikawa has to teach her. Once done, Kana gladly covers their bill. Maybe she wants to hear his story later… As they watch the movie, this reminds Ichikawa he saw one similar over the internet. It was only because Yamada had a cameo in it. Then there’s a long kissing scene. Ichikawa is in shock but he notices Yamada in awe. Since Yamada gave him the permission, he wakes up early to go see her in work. When he sees her talking to a hot colleague, he runs away?! Yeah, all the stuffs Yamada gets must be so high quality. Think of throwing this low quality convenience store gift? Not so fast. His inner self is stopping him. Surprisingly Yamada comes to get him. Yamada claims she is having a hard time since she’s always facing trouble. She doesn’t know how she keeps up with it. Ichikawa notes if she is happy, so would he. But why does this hurt so much? He theorizes if Yamada was just an ordinary high school girl and had none of this, then perhaps he wouldn’t have fallen for her. It’s a lame excuse but whatever. He grabs her hand and rushes back to the shooting area. Hot colleague not impressed seeing them holding hands as Yamada introduces Ichikawa. Turns out this hot colleague is her manager, Yuuki Suwa. Ichikawa also meets some of the other staffs. Yeah, their real character is so different. When Yamada returns to shooting, Suwa talks to Ichikawa. He is like Yamada’s guardian and knows a lot of her. Yamada being the honest girl, tells everything including Ichikawa. That’s why he knows he is her pride and joy. However he cautious that she is now at an important stage. Get the hint when he claims how relationship will hinder her work? That is when Ichikawa holds the horses. He clears the air they are not dating as he just admires her. Suwa feeling embarrassed because he thought he knew! Ichikawa is surprised this is what they look like to others. He also notes this childishness is precisely why he hates himself. When shooting is over, Ichikawa shows Yamada a pic he secretly took of her. She thinks he should’ve taken a better shot but he claims she is beautiful in this one. Uhm. What? Oh.

Episode 18
The teacher asks Ichikawa to represent the grade and give a farewell speech for the seniors. Well, he is somewhat the top of his grade. Seeing there is no one to take that place for rehearsal, Ichikawa agrees to do it just for practice. So when he takes to the stage, suddenly he gets stage fright and mumbles his way through. And he blames the sound system has problems! Later Yamada tries to help him practice give his speech since it’s part of her job. But it is soon cut short when they hear a girl trying to confess to Nanjou nearby. He rejects her and claims he likes somebody else. This gives Ichikawa the resolve that he will do the speech to make everyone see that he can stand proud. Well, his practice run before his mom at him is pathetic. Even Kana is roped in to help. As part of it all, he even gets a new haircut. Then his speech seems better. Hey, mom is crying so it must be good, right?! With his new haircut, Yamada and her pals try to give his new look a new makeover. Maybe the old style is still the best. This brings up the topic that they may be in separate classes for next year. On graduation day, looks like Ichikawa forgot his script! Had to call Kana to rush all the way down. If she knows the way to his school! So it’s time for his speech. How will he do it without a script? It is his inner self then who likes him the most and all this time is him! So look at him! With that, suddenly Ichikawa becomes a pro and delivers a flawless speech about moving on and to love yourself! OMG! Don’t even need a script! After that he collapses and needs to rest in the infirmary. Yamada comes to see him but Nanjou too. It seems he want to talk with Yamada. Basically to confess he loves her but she rejects him seeing there is someone else she likes. Ichikawa realizing Yamada loves him. We figured it out ages ago! And so that is graduation for Nanjou as he tries to tell a little lie as he leaves but Yamada won’t be falling for it. He did so because he doesn’t want Yamada to fall for him out of pity. It gets strange and confusing because an embarrassed Ichikawa and Yamada both leave the infirmary and go separate ways.

Episode 19
Ichikawa’s speech video may just go viral. Kana now teasing him if he has got the guts to say I love you to the girl he likes! The class seems to be having some karaoke outing. Not sure if Ichikawa is left out but he gets concerned since Yamada is joining. So he tails them and even eavesdrops next door? Some girls spot him and usher him in but he baulks and runs back. This is when Yamada comes to join him. Awkward but she asks if he heard her saying she likes someone. Both acting shy but the gig is up when they notice others are watching. And so Ichikawa is ushered in as the VIP and being made to sing. Cheers to his speech! At school, Hara asks Yamada and Ichikawa if they are free to go out this weekend. Ichikawa may not want to join until she hints it is White Day. Yeah, time to repay. Strangely, this request was made by Kanzaki. Ichikawa meets up with Hara on that day and seeing they have time, they shop around for stuffs. Hara puts on a hat and asks his opinion. He notes she is cute but damn, Yamada and Kanzaki are here! Oh sh*t! Yamada not too happy. Worse, Kanzaki having jealous and wants to kill him! It’s tough being in Ichikawa’s position. Kanzaki wants him to acknowledge Hara’s cuteness but not. Hara seems to be mindful of what she eats. The reason Kanzaki called the duo out so with Yamada around, Hara won’t be conscious. It doesn’t matter if she is thin or fat, he will still love her! Wow. He said that aloud. Yamada greatly hinting at Ichikawa! With that, Hara doesn’t hold back and returns to her normal self after Kanzaki hands her a cutlery set he bought with Yamada. Oh, now Ichikawa’s turn to be jealous and tell him to lay off Yamada? Because she belongs to him. Oh Yamada, you heard that? On the way back, Hara lets Ichikawa and Yamada be alone. Lots of awkward moment and hesitation until Ichikawa decides to finally man up and just think of Yamada. He gives her a muffin. She is so happy she starts eating it right away! Woah! Slow down! Because there is a bracelet accessory inside. Yamada wants him to put it on. Lovely. So cute he could die. Oh, you just made her cry.

Episode 20
Adachi feels so reluctant to give his White Day chocolates to Sekine. He just nonchalantly tosses it into her shoebox and leaves. It falls out and Ichikawa is forced to put it back. Of course Yamada and Sekine walk in at the right time to see this. He tries to explain himself but it seems Adachi’s mom is here and forces her son to actually give the chocolates with proper manners. While that is settled, unfortunately Ichikawa couldn’t explain in time the letter inside it. So when Yamada reads the flirty letter, she thought it was from Ichikawa instead of Adachi. Kobayashi fears that the next school term they will be in different classes. So she feigns by not being friends with her friends. Not sure if that will work out… After class, Ichikawa and Yamada play a little basketball. He will confess to her if he nails it in. He misses. Although Yamada assists and scores her own, an excuse that doesn’t count. Yamada tries to get permission to call him Kyo. Back home, Ichikawa’s mind is all over the place because of this. Thinking of having sex with her while she calls him by that name?! Even his inner ego is trying to convince him to accept it! On Ichikawa’s birthday, Yamada hangs out with him. However she doesn’t realize it is his birthday until they stumble into Ichikawa’s dad on his way home. Care to join? And so Yamada joins his family over dinner. Kana doesn’t want to hand over his present now but he insists. Oh well. It’s some playboy bunny figurine! After the birthday cake and he blows the candles, Yamada whispers Kyo in his ear and it instantly kills him! Since it is getting late, Kana suggests she stays here. Both their moms give the approval so yeah, Ichikawa gonna panic since Yamada will be using the bath first. Kana lending her clothes and even pantsu. Yamada asking for rubber meant the band to tie her hair! Not the condom! Awkward moments as Ichikawa gives it to her in the bath. So the sleepover, Yamada not sleeping with Kana but in the living room? Oh well. Ichikawa checks on her studying her acting script. They talk for a while and she gives him a little hug. When she is asleep, Ichikawa thinking of doing something? Too bad he got no balls so he just covers her blanket and leaves.

Episode 21
Yamada is away at Hiroshima for a film shoot. Meanwhile Ichikawa notices the pics Yamada uploaded to her social media. Some are pics at his place! His worst fears comes true since the sharp fans start to nit-pick and question about it. Then there is poster called pigman who is literally like some obsessed stalker. Hence Ichikawa creates a fake alias to post on pigman’s comment to delete the post but got instantly blocked. In between breaks, Yamada manages to contact and talk to Ichikawa but usually the calls end abruptly since her mom comes in so she had to put away the phone. At one point, this made her drop her phone into the water. With the sudden cut off, this made Ichikawa very worried. So worried that he makes an excuse to go to Yamada’s place just to see what his dad would say! Of course dad gets a call from Yamada about her dropped phone. She then draws a map in what seems to be Ichikawa’s place. Dad then passes the phone for Ichikawa to talk to Yamada. Surprised to hear his voice? Once the conversation ends, Ichikawa tells Yamada’s dad that he is in love with Yamada. Likewise, Yamada tells her mom she loves Ichikawa. The parents seem cool with it. Yamada’s dad giving Ichikawa his gamer code. When Yamada is back, Ichikawa realizes she is not out of danger because the pigman strikes again by posting he is close to Yamada now. Ichikawa rushes over only to see her with a model colleague, Nico Kouda. As Ichikawa joins them in this ramen store, based on Nico’s interactions and her reactions, he realizes she is pigman! So basically she admires Yamada a lot but Ichikawa warns her to stop uploading Yamada’s private info online. Though, she claims she doesn’t know what he is talking about. As Yamada apologizes for the phone incident that made Ichikawa worried, he is more concerned about the photos she take and hopes she will be mindful when taking them because there are lots of people who want to bring her down. Yamada assures him that she wants to become more adult-like. Ichikawa’s inner mind teasing him about becoming an adult.

Episode 22
A new school year. Seniors now. Are the gang going to be in separate classes? Well, good news for Ichikawa and Yamada. Same class. They’re so happy and being so class, others are staring at them. She tries to pass off being close to Sekine instead but nobody is buying it. But Kobayashi is in despair. Her name is not in this class list but not on any class! Did she transfer out?! So they consult the teacher. Some error made, she is in the same class with them. Phew! There are also some new faces like Yurine Hanzawa and Kanna Andou. I bet Adachi is frustrated since he and other Ichikawa’s guy pals aren’t in this class with all the beauties! Ichikawa and Yamada are fooling around in class and had to hide underneath the teacher’s desk when Sekine came in with Hanzawa and Andou. They talk about some couple breaking up. After they leave, as Ichikawa tries to leave, the cramp space has Yamada accidentally pull down his pants! Sekine returns! She’s done trying to cover for them! Later there’s this weird friendship blossoming between Yamada and Andou and how they want to address each other. Ichikawa and Yamada measure their heights using the library shelves. Uhm, is this legal? Marking with a permanent marker. Ichikawa then mentions some romantic-like stuffs to make her blush as he wants to get close to her. Physically. He meant stature. Oh. Then they huddle close behind the curtains. Something steamy going on. Ichikawa wants to confess to her but it seems Hanzawa has seen all this. She leaves in shock that she becomes clumsy and drops her stuff. When the class shuffles their seats, Hanzawa purposely switches places with Yamada so she can be with Ichikawa at the back. After class, Ichikawa sees a letter in Hanzawa’s book. It is written by Yamada trying to explain she isn’t dating Ichikawa but a shy person. They spent a lot of time together so he’s important to her. Hence she shouldn’t worry about them and let them be. Later Hanzawa talks to Yamada about love since she is interested to know what it’s like. Yamada will teach her all about it but she gets embarrassed and runs away.

Episode 23
Time for the sports festival. Ichikawa is being invited to be the knight for the kibasen. Is it because he is puny? Anyway, he turns him down. Adachi is bragging to Ichikawa about how cool Yamada was during last year’s sports but he isn’t listening. Yamada checks Ichikawa’s arm and it seems last year’s scar is still there. Seeing how close they are, Adachi gets jealous and wants Ichikawa to join the kibasen and go head to head with each other. Ichikawa agrees. So we see Ichikawa doing some training at Yamada’s place. Knowing Adachi likes Yamada, he knows this is a challenge over her. But of course Ichikawa doesn’t want to lose this either. The sports day gets underway as we see snippets of the event. One of the highlights include Andou needing a pair of lovers for the scavenger race so she picks Yamada’s parents (because Yamada doesn’t want to be picked and suggested them)?! Embarrassing. She got disqualified. Then there’s some net crawling game that just protrudes all of Yamada’s delicious parts. Adachi breathing hard! When it is time for the kibasen, it starts to rain. As the teachers deliberate to whether it should continue, Adachi and Ichikawa vouch for it to go on since the boys are only participating. So we see Ichikawa and Adachi go head to head with each other. Adachi admitting he likes Yamada but is soon shot down by Ichikawa who tells him off not to claim he likes Yamada when he doesn’t know a damn thing about her. She is more grown up than them. You can’t like someone who is just cute. That is now what love is all about. Adachi knows it and admits his loss. He wants to go down like a man but Ichikawa won’t let him take the easy way out since he started this fight. If he is serious about Yamada, fight for it! Because Ichikawa screams he loves Yamada. Thank goodness the rain drowned out the sound, eh? In the end, both guys go down hard. Yamada sees Ichikawa in the infirmary. Adachi knows he lost so he leaves. A little consolation as Sekine gives him a towel. A wet one. Ultimate loser because he tries to hit on Kana but she’s not impressed. Yamada talks to Ichikawa about disappointment and moving on. He realizes this is what he has been hiding all the time. She gives him eat her lunch. Tastes great. Then she notes how cool he was.

Episode 24
Time for the school field trip to Kyoto and Nara. Kanzaki hinting to Ichikawa about joining in with their friends so Ichikawa goes to talk to Yamada about it and she is glad to have him. But her friends point out, they’re choosing for roommates. Uhm? What? Yeah, Kanzaki meant this other male buddy. Embarrassing! Back home as Ichikawa thinks about this trip, his inner self comes to mess with him about kissing Yamada! Yamada calls him about the trip but upon realizing something, she cuts it short. During the train trip there, Hanzawa warns Ichikawa about Andou as she is planning to pair some couples during the trip. She has made confetti and already taught her pals to do a flash mob. Yamada x Ichikawa pair is her top target. At the famous deer park, all the deer almost rape Yamada. Sorry, Ichikawa can’t help you. Ichikawa then notices Kobayashi a bit serious. Something about Yamada making the choice so there is nothing much she can do. This confuses Ichikawa but he would like to know how Yamada feels. During bath time, WTF Adachi wants to have a dick showdown?! But what about the girls? Yeah, everyone is afraid of Yamada. Don’t deserve to be in the same room, let’s get out! When Yamada and Ichikawa meet after bath, Andou sees this the perfect opportunity but luckily with Adachi walking in, they are saved. Ichikawa notes the final volume for Kimi-iro Octave comes out the day after tomorrow. Bugging inner self tells him to kiss Yamada like as per one of the volumes. Just focus on how to make the kiss happen! As the girls are staying a level below the boys, Ichikawa outside his balcony notices Yamada practising lines from that manga. It is only then it hit him hard. She has been practising for an audition since that manga is going to be adapted into anime. This trip coincided with her audition. Ichikawa realizes his dumb ass that she came on this trip because of him. He rushes down the floor below. Luckily Yamada is also there as she quickly takes him to hide in her room and under her covers. Oh man, what’s the only guy doing in a room full of girls?!

Episode 25
You believe God is testing you, huh?! The girls start talking about love stories as they try to get Yamada to reveal whom she is crushing. When it is time to sleep, Yamada lies close to him and he is trying to stave off his temptations of his dirty mind. No sex, please! When she tries to kiss him, he notes he wants to talk to her tomorrow. This makes her panic and soon the other girls suspect her blanket is bigger than usual. Luckily, WTF Kanzaki doing Tarzan boy outside???!!! The girls panic and during this chaos, Yamada leads Ichikawa to escape. Next day as Ichikawa wonders how to bring about the talk of her audition, she asks if he is happy. Of course. She is happy to hear it. But why is she putting up this sad face? Then he talks about the audition. She then bursts into tears. She wanted to enjoy this trip with him but can’t help think about the audition. So she thought if he had fun, she would too. She thinks she is self-centred. Ichikawa feels relieved but replies before this, he was a pathetic loner who was never interested in the world until she showed up. Now he has friends he can easily talk to. Now he likes school. It is only so because of her. She showed him this world and helped him see how beautiful it is. And it is beautiful because she is in it! Cue for him to confess he loves her. They have to run since Andou has found them and wants to flash mob. Luckily Kanzaki x Hara pair is there for distraction. Ichikawa brings Yamada to the train station and tells her to go. He will handle how to tell the teachers. Kobayashi is also here to give her final push. Ichikawa returns to see the dumb flash mob over Kanzaki x Hara. Hara not amused and tells them to stop this sh*t! Once the trip is over, Ichikawa returns and wants to see Yamada. Their usual place? It’s the school library of course. Yamada hints the audition didn’t go well and all this exposed her weaknesses and jealousy. However everything around her is so special and thanks to him, he made her realize who she is. Because of that, he is more special than anyone as she too confesses she loves him. Better, will he go out with her? Of course! Can we kiss now? Just Yamada giving a peck on his cheek. Enough to kill him.

Crazy, Stupid, Love… It’s Complicated!
And so that is how they finally admit and fall in love with each other. Oh well, it took them long enough. 2 seasons spanning over 25 episodes but I guess that is better than never admitting it and letting it hang forever, right? So with this confession from both sides, the mutual feeling that they’ve been very special people in each other’s life, can they now move on to bigger things? Like kissing and sex? Holy sh*t! Too fast! Don’t rush. Take your time and be your usual selves like always. So I guess this means no season 3?

I know how the flow of the story for this season would turn out. Even so, somehow I was just not impressed by it. I don’t know, I felt this whole season is one long draggy affair of trying to put Ichikawa and Yamada closer. My guts 99.99% tell me how this will end up. But I suppose that is the charm of the series. Ichikawa and Yamada interacting with each other and building up their relationship with a whole lot of awkwardness that comes along. See them fluster greatly each time. That is proof that they are one step closer than before. Now isn’t that sweet? Isn’t that cute? I don’t know, my heart is so numb, I don’t feel anything. But had they rushed everything and suddenly make Ichikawa and Yamada and official couple, I would be b*tching they skipped a lot of materials instead. So yeah, to make their relationship more believable that would lead to the inevitable, thus all these awkward moments of close proximities that perhaps would make some of our hearts go ~kyun. Yeah.

Thus it was also confusing and in a way annoying that we hear mostly Ichikawa’s monologue about his feelings and that trolled me to think that he is in love with Yamada already. So much so I thought this would be it that they are now officially dating. But nope. They’re still making cringe excuses that it is not love but it is still love. WTF did I just say but yes, that is how confusing I found this. So it’s like Ichikawa knows he is in love with Yamada for the longest time but dares not want to admit it because reasons. And therefore we have a confused kid doing some confused stuffs and at the same time trolling us. Like as though if he actually makes it official and public his confession, he would lose something. That’s why he continues to remain stubborn and make excuses. Then he feels guilty or stupid by trying to make it up but short of letting his true feelings known. Rinse and repeat this each time they interact. Now isn’t that annoying? This has become the staple of this season that I bet we’ve all but forgotten about Ichikawa’s initial desire to just f*cking murder Yamada and mutilate her body! Somewhere deep in the back of the recess of my mind, I was hoping such sick twist would take place… Thank goodness it did not?

So I surmise that all these hesitations are because they are also afraid of the new and unknown. It is pretty normal for people in love to be such. Because things are fine now the way it is so what happens when they start to actually go out for real? Things start to change and they might not do what they enjoy doing together right now. That is why status quo is the best. That is why all the shyness and flustering. Is this love? Is this not love? Yes, this supposed unknown factor that makes their heart beat each time they are this close, perhaps they are hooked to it and that’s why they continue to do this. Imagine if they are now official, the thrill is gone. The cat is out of the bag. Everyone knows. Sure, they can advance their relationship and love but only assuming it turns out that way. Anything can happen in the game of love. So I think for the most part, they’re not ready to wade into uncharted territories yet until they are when everything is out of the bag. With out of excuse cards to play, what else is there left? Just take the plunge! See, it worked out all fine.

With the big focus on Ichikawa and Yamada, the rest of the other characters don’t really make much of an impact and I may go as far as to say that they are close to forgettable. Just like last season, huh? Like Kobayashi… Uhm… Dang, I don’t even know what to say about her. Can’t remember a memorable thing she did for this season. If Ichikawa x Yamada romance is being too draggy, we have Kanzaki and Hara in full swing. Ah yes, their romance is so believable but unfortunately they are not the main characters. So will this help motivate Ichikawa and Yamada? It’s going to take a while. There’s some hint between Sekine and Adachi but nothing conclusive. After all, Adachi is a pervert and Sekine is just cheeky. Too bad for Nanjou. It ended before any love triangle would blossom. Was there ever potential for one? He lost out so I guess this means it is all clear for Ichikawa and Yamada, right? Yeah, why is it still taking so long?

And Kana, I think she really wants to vouch for her little brother to be a man of his own. More amusing than Ichikawa himself, his inner self I find him funnier since he is trying to egg Ichikawa to be a man to get closer to Yamada but the little chicken often brushes him. Well, if he doesn’t listen to his own self, what more can I say? Even the new characters aren’t memorable although they bring a bit more variety as both Andou and Hanzawa are quirky in their own ways despite their characters are polar opposites. Another amusing character is Yamada’s father since he really looks eccentric. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Even Yamada’s mom isn’t as bad as I thought she would be. Imagine if she was the bad guy and became the stumbling block in Yamada and Ichikawa’s romance, this would’ve been a whole different ball game.

This season’s opening theme, Boku Wa… by Atarayo sounds livelier than the first season. But again, doesn’t appeal to me and it sounds generic. Weirdly, a short segment in the opening credits animation whereby Ichikawa and Yamada doing some dance. While Yamada is lively and cute, imagine seeing Ichikawa doing them with his dead fish eyes! Funny? Kohana Lam who sang the ending theme for the first season, does the same for this sequel. However something in Koishiteru Jibun Sura Aiseru N Da doesn’t sound quite right. Well, I think that the singer at some points almost sound off key. Like as though she found that line funny and was going to break into a laughter but managed to hold back and hold her note. Not sure if it is intentional or not. Anyway, the song itself is strange and certainly I find it bland and boring since it sounds somewhat flat throughout the duration. The new casts this season are Yuka Iguchi as Andou (OMG is it really her?! I didn’t notice!), Reina Ueda as Hanzawa, Mitsuki Saiga as Suwa, Rio Tsuchiya as Nico and Yoshimasa Hosoya as Yamada’s dad.

Overall, I find this season to be boring and I am not charmed at all with all the flustering and awkwardness between our lovebirds who are not yet really a couple but actually are and in the end became one. I guess I have graduated from appreciating such simple and heart-warming and cute romcom shows, huh? Contrary to my tastes, there are a lot of positive comments and reviews out there who love this show. Definitely it is just me. Could it be my bitterness that there were no dead bodies in this series?! Looks like I could not graduate from this initial premise. And this season still proves that the dangers in my mind are more profound than the dangers in my heart. Or maybe I just don’t have a cute girlfriend to open up and show me the beauty of the world. On second thought, maybe I’ll stick with 2D chicks after all…

Well, it is nothing new. The isekai trope, that is. But instead of one has a character being given God-like powers and overpowered stats in every possible field, this one in Eien No Aseria is forced to fight (because he is the chosen one as believed?) enemies since his sister has been held hostage. Oh yeah. I guess that is what happens when you don’t have all the overpowered abilities and now those dickheads from the other world get to just walk over you and you are forced to do everything as they say. But hey, at least not an overpowered character who slays everything and stuns everyone with his off-the-charts skills and talents.

Episode 1
A plane crash after its wing got strike by lightning. A warrior dies after fighting a monster and his sword wanting someone to fulfil the contract and accept him. Today is the anniversary of Yuuto and Kaori Takamine’s parents’ death. They died a long time ago. As they pray at their grave, who the f*ck this childhood friend, Akizuki comes to blame Yuuto as the one who brings bad luck since people around him continue to die. Yuuto won’t take that as both guys start fighting. This is a graveyard for heaven’s sake… Suddenly Yuuto hears a voice wanting to bring him mana. A lightning strikes and all vanish. Yuuto wakes up in a house. He steps outside and realizes this is not the world he comes from. Then he sees Aseria Bluespirit who immediately gives him a real sword and starts fighting. Thanks to Olfa Redspirit and Esperia Greenspirit, they stop the fight. Yuuto obviously confused with everything but soon guards arrive to take him away to the castle. The girls can’t do anything since they are only Spirits. Yuuto meets the king and his daughter, Restina Dai Rakios who tells him to pick up this sword, Motome. It is his role as Estorange to do so and fight. Kaori is held hostage and if he wishes for her release, do as he is told. Yuuto breaks free and tries to get to Kaori but they threaten to kill her. Feeling the need to protect her, he picks up Motome and is about to fight Restina but he starts to feel pain. The fight is cancelled and Restina tells him to master it before fighting her again.

Back home, Esperia enlightens Yuuto that people from another world are called Estorange. Only they can wield Motome. Olfa is curious about Kaori calling him onii-chan. Upon learning the concept of family, she gets jealous. Apparently Spirits don’t have family. Yuuto is then taken to see other Spirits in the house practising their fight. It seems Spirits’ job is to do all the fighting and Restina is the only one who can command them. Olfa makes a promise with Yuuto to have her wish if she beats Yuuto in this sparring. But that won’t happen as an emergency is sounded. As unknown Spirits are invading this country, all Spirits are to repel the invaders and defend this kingdom. Of course Yuuto has to fight alongside them too if he wants to save Kaori. In the battlefield, he witnesses Spirits killing each other. Basically hot chicks striking down the other. Olfa going all out to impress him. But he is so confused even when Motome keeps telling him to bring him mana. This weakens his resolve and the enemy Spirit is about to cut him down when Olfa defends him and gets a nasty slash. Still alive, though. Her wish is for him to be her papa. This makes Yuuto accept Motome as he starts mowing down the enemy. Once it is over, they all head home. Meanwhile Restina has Kaori talk to her about her world and if it has battles. Because this world seems to be ending. Gasp.

Episode 2
Yuuto continues to fight and win. All for Kaori’s sake. He has now earned a good reputation. It has been months now as Yuuto understands Spirits better. They are just tools humans use in battles without dirtying their own hands and as such, determines their own country’s prestige. He finds it confusing that the Spirits don’t mind it and it’s like they’re being manipulated. In town, there is some sort of discrimination for Spirits. WTF anything the Spirit touches, they don’t want to sell it and give it free?! Are you stupid?! Yuuto tells them to just touch everything! As Yuuto continues to fight, he begins to wonder if he is being manipulated by Motome as he keeps hearing the same things. However his Spirits note he isn’t because if he doesn’t accept Motome, the sword will manipulate him. What worries Yuuto is that he is no longer afraid of hurting others anymore even if it is the enemy Spirits. Restina decides to reward Kaori and take her go see her brother. But her sharp eye spots enemies infiltrating so this will have to wait another time. She has a maid take Kaori to safety. By the time the alert is sounded, the castle is under sieged. By the time Yuuto’s company arrive, it is already devastated. They find it baffling Spirits attacking humans because that’s not supposed to happen. WTF you mean that wasn’t the case always?! They head in to find Kaori. Restina goes into despair upon seeing her father’s corpse. Yuuto learns Kaori has been kidnapped by the enemy. He goes after her but is faced with Uruka. She makes a fool out of both Yuuto and Aseria before escaping. Yeah, the duo almost killed each other, huh? Yuuto falls into despair as he remembers after his parents died in a plane crash, Kaori’s family were pondering to adopt him. That was when a brave Kaori stood up and told them she will always be with him. Yuuto believes he brings misfortune to others and perhaps dragging Kaori to this world is also partly to blame. How does Aseria cheer him up? Why, she head butts him! But that did the trick!

Next day, Restina addresses her people and succeeds her father’s throne. She then talks to Yuuto that he no longer has any obligation to be tied down to them since it was their sneaky plan to do so holding Kaori hostage. She hopes he can still fight for them. Although he doesn’t care about their circumstances, their goal is the same to get Kaori back. Since he isn’t familiar with this world, he will still rely on them. There’s your answer that he will be staying. First order is to head to a nearby country and seek alliance with them to fight against the empire. A tornado hits along the way. The Spirits are useless so Yuuto shows his chops and calms everything down just by using Motome. Restina’s journey has been all for naught since this Marorigan country refuses to form an alliance. On the way back, Restina still has nightmares about her father. She talks to Yuuto about the constant struggle for power known as mana. You know, the very thing that is the source of life to everything. Of course there is a limit to it all. As Yuuto worries about his future and Kaori, speaking of his sister, she is brought to someone familiar. Oh, so is it that Akizuki dickhead?

O Sister, Where Art Thou?!
Eh… What?! Uhm… Is this how it ends?! On a f*cking cliff-hanger?! Oh well, I should have known better not to be surprised like that but looks like I was. Yeah, what was I expecting in the first place seeing that the whole experience was just pretty average. My guess is that the OVA serves just as an introduction and exposure for you to go buy the game that this adaptation was based on. Yeah, if you want more, go play the game and continue from there.

Too bad the game itself is quite obscure and not popular. At least, that was what my lazy and brief Google and internet search results wielded. Not much information on this game itself except that I surmised it is an adult visual novel and RPG hybrid. Oh yeah. What would Japanese games be without that hentai element? And bear in mind, these couple of OVAs came out way back in 2005 so it is almost like 2 decades ago!!! OMFG!!! Why do I suddenly feel old! Damn, I’m going to feel a lot this way each time I watch a retro anime! But yes, good luck in finding more info about it or even the game itself. Hey, maybe you can download it from Steam… Oh heck, I’m not even interested in it any further so I’ll just leave it be.

So as we can see, the story and characters leave a lot to be desired. There is nothing much I can say even after 2 paltry episodes. Because like I have pointed out, they probably want you to go buy the game then. This is just enough to give you an idea of the circumstances our hero is in and what kind of responsibility he has to go through. So for Yuuto, his job is to keep fighting until Kaori is back safe in his hands. Uhm, couldn’t Yuuto just waltz into the castle and request some visitation rights to see his sister twice a week or something? So they really held this hostage thing real good and squeezed his balls to submission, huh?

His Spirits aren’t exactly memorable either and oddly, I find more character (term used loosely) in Olfa and Esperia compared to Aseria considering she is the poster girl of the series and even so, a title named after her. Olfa being the kiddie girl who views Yuuto has her papa (so we can play family again, huh?) while Esperia as the kind maid who helps around and explains to Yuuto (and us) stuffs about this world. So what about Aseria? I don’t know, she’s just the one with the most offensive power among the Spirits. She could even be a retard seeing she is a stoic character. What’s up with Motome always needing mana? It’s like he feeds on it to power up? What are the chances of Yuuto screaming “Bankai!” and turning it into some super version?! Sorry, wrong anime!

Poor Kaori has been separated from her beloved brother ever since coming to this world but from the point of view I see it, she looks like she is holding up well. After all, she did say she wants to protect her onii-chan and it won’t be right if she starts becoming a cry-baby and damsel in distress, right? It makes me wonder if Yuuto really has that curse that brings misfortune to others. Because if so, why is Kaori still alive? Or will she be the final tragedy he will experienced! And that Akizuki jerk, he is set up to be the antagonist so that Yuuto can settle with him as the final boss. I don’t know, I’m just speculating but I guess they decided to show him as an asshole so we can hate him. What are the chances this guy is a lolicon and was jealous she was living with Yuuto instead of him! I’m pretty sure of that considering the words he chose to pick a fight with Yuuto at the graves. Targeting Kaori or something. Jerk.

Art and animation are actually just average. Well, obviously the animation quality and the character designs really look from that era so that is a given. However some of the action scenes just felt mediocre and recycled. Yeah, it’s just boring as we see the Spirits slaying the enemy (which is probably on easy mode) with hardly memorable moves because Yuuto is just swinging Motome and it doesn’t shoot out some fireballs or lightning or something. Heh. An even easier job as when Spirits die, they disappear into a ball of light. Yeah, what was I expecting? Corpse with blood?! They are Spirits, goddamn it! It’s in their name! This anime is done by Studio Matrix who did Green Green, Ultimate Girls and Doki Doki School Hours.

Overall, this is just actually a mediocre if not disappointing OVA series. You could be consider lucky or unlucky to have stumbled upon and watched it. I don’t know which one I am feeling right now but hey, at least another weird OVA off my checklist. Uhm, was this show even on my checklist! It is no doubt and I am definitely sure that this was just advertising for the game because the OVAs leave a lot to be desired especially the plot and the characters. Seeing that they didn’t turn it into a proper TV series and full season subsequently, I am also going to speculate that this series didn’t really do too well. So I guess Restina foreshadowing the end of the world was really true. Yup, this series can now be eternal in the sense that it can sleep eternally in obscurity.

This was the farcical deliberation within myself when I was deciding whether or not to watch Undead Girl Murder Farce:

-Meh. This is a supernatural detective series. Not my cup of tea. Going to pass this one.
-But there’s a maid character in it.
-True, but she’s only a side character.
-But it’s still a maid character. Don’t you love maids?
-Yes, but that can’t be the only reason to watch this series, right?
-Oh, so you hate maids now?
-No, I don’t. Besides, the show even has a silly title. Like as though a Japanese author plucked random English words just because it sounds cool.
-Even so, you can’t miss the maid.
-Certainly. However this might be horror genre. Main character is just a head.
-But still, there is a maid character. A Victorian maid. A maid with a rifle.
-I know, I’m saying that the show might be of the kind that needs to use your grey matter to think. Something that is not my strongest point at the moment that will impede my enjoyment.
-I thought you enjoyed maid characters?
-I still do. But the show is still not for me.
-So I see. You’ve lost your love for maids.
-For the last time, I do not!
-Yes you do. Otherwise you wouldn’t be ignoring her.
-Wait. What?! Why?!
-Japanese anime maids are the best.
-True, but I…
-Banzai and viva Japanese anime maids forever!
-Okay, maybe…
-Japanese maids are the true rulers of the world (and your heart)!
-Sighs… Oh well… F*ck it…

Episode 1
In an alternate reality where the Meiji era is different than we know, Tsugaru Shinuchi is some sort of MMA warrior. However he fights and kills monsters in the ring, much to the audience’s delight. However he is still some circus property so he is treated like sh*t. One day, he notices a maid, Shizuku Hasei carrying a golden birdcage, following him around. Because of his curiosity and touching the birdcage, Shizuku attacks him with intention to kill. Tsugaru is skilled enough and Shizuku is impressed. He knows that he is half oni and will die soon because of that blood that flows inside. While it gives him to power to kill any monsters, it will soon consume him. It is revealed the one talking is the severed head in the birdcage, Aya Rindou. She is here to make a deal with him. She can extend his life if he kills her. Aya claims she is an immortal for 947 years. However, 6 months ago, an old foreigner fool took her body. However, an immortal is supposed to regenerate its body so why can’t she? Ah yes, the oni power. It can nullify powers and she was cut by one. But that oni was incomplete and since its power was halved, that’s why this talking severed head. Aya poses the baffling question that despite he wants to die, yet he wants to live. Long story short, despite knowing he will die, he wants to die in the best possible way. That is, he wants to turn into an oni and kill everyone who views him as a tool for entertainment. That is why he declines her plan since it will extend his life. But she still wants him to do so since it is no fun without a body. Even if he accepts extending his life, he won’t kill her. He notes she wants to get her body back and that means she has a plan to return to normal. It also means she knows where her body is. Very far away. In Europe. Tsugaru asks if this guy has a cane engraved with an “M” on it. Yes. Because this is the same person who captured him and took away his humanity. Since Aya is the brains and Tsugaru has the body to move about, their goals are aligned. Let’s go to Europe. To seal the deal, she needs to let him consume a body part to extend his life. Of course she won’t let him eat her physical parts as even bodily fluids like her saliva can do the job. So yeah, the strange scene of an oni guy kissing a severed head.

Episode 2
We’re in France now. Jean Duchet Godard is a vampire as he goes hunting with his son, Raoulf. He tells him about the need to do things that would make them closer to be associated with humans. Everyone must learn to deal with humans, like it or not. When he returns home, he finds the storeroom padlock is broken. He inspects and sees a silver stake covered in blood. He calls for his family and servants. Then to his horror, he finds his wife, Hannah dead in her chair. Soon, this is all over the news and as such, rumours swirling about regarding withdrawals from pro human allies and those against it. The reporters try to get Godard say a word but he ignores them until a young journalist, Annie Kerber asks for his opinion. Godard views this as social discrimination and is displeased at how the police is handling this case. Thus he has already called a pair of famed supernatural private detectives to aid in this case. That lights up Annie since they are quite famous pair known as Cage User and has solved supernatural cases in Norway and Belgium. Our detectives arrive and meet Godard and his family. Obviously the family is stumped when Tsugaru seems to be making strange verbal communication spats with the maid. Then the cat is out of the bag (or rather out of the cage) when they realize Aya is only a head. How can she still be alive?! Well, because I’m not dead. Oh Aya! You jest! But so true! Aya has Godard explain what happened and bring them to the crime scene. It is true a silver stake killed Hannah in her sleep and there is also a bottle of holy water left behind. While vampires can heal, holy waters make their healing take weeks. Vampires are also weak against silver since going near without touching them has them feel a scalding effect. Of course this has Aya poses a few questions that make the murder look strange. This includes leaving the holy water bottle behind, why the culprit chose to attack at night instead of the day (where vampires are considerably weakened) and bother putting back the stake in the storeroom.

Episode 3
As they stay and have dinner with the family, Aya soon shows her observation skills and describes the coachman’s current family household based on the clothes he is wearing, etc. Then she questions Godard and his family as well as his servants for their alibi. So basically the murder happened an hour after all had their lunch (or was it dinner?). Hannah retired to her room to rest while Claude the eldest son discussed town operations with father before tending to Charlotte (the youngest daughter) and then handing her over to the maid, Giselle. Raoulf thinks Aya suspects one of the family members but she remains her professionalism. In the end, those without a strong alibi are Claude and Alfred (the butler). Godard opposes that Claude would have any intention to kill his own mother. This ‘interrogation’ is stopped wen Charlotte becomes upset. Later Claude gets rough with Tsugaru and warns him he could easily snap his neck if he steps out of line. However Aya can tell he isn’t the killer because his hands were clean. She was also observing everyone’s hands during the meal. Obviously all clean as f*ck. She orders Shizuku to keep an eye on the servants, to not let them out of their sight since they are the prime suspects. The detectives go hunting with Godard (to search for something) as the latter is adamant none of his family members are the killers. He is steadfast on this because he doesn’t want to lose more family as he has already lost 3 before coming to this city. Aya talks about the oni that could kill the undead. Ironically they are not strong, can be easily brought down and have low intelligence. Thanks to mankind’s purge, there are no oni in their complete form today. Godard is shot by an arrow of a vampire hunter. This doesn’t even hurt him so he hunts him down to teach this bugger a lesson and accuses him of killing Hannah. Aya won’t let him be killed and asks a series of questions. She is sure he cannot be the killer since he just arrived in town. Apparently Joseph is here to avenge his friend, Hugo who was killed by Godard although Godard claimed he was attacked first. He also noted Hugo always had a stake but is unsure if it’s silver or not, that he refused to let anyone see. Aya lets him go seeing this guy is not strong enough to kill a vampire. Now she has all the pieces put together and wants the family to gather so she can make the ultimate revelation. Time to bring this murder farce to a close.

Episode 4
Aya begins her explanation. The most important factor she brings to her argument: Sound. Even if Hannah didn’t scream, driving a stake into her would’ve produced a loud sound louder than hammering a nail. And those inside the mansion then didn’t hear a thing. Then she brings up that there might be accomplices and they have been in cohorts to fake their alibis. Aya then reveals the stake that killed Hannah isn’t made of silver but something else. This has her bring the bottle issue as the culprit left it there deliberately. So it goes, the culprit used the stake to kill Hannah and then poured holy water over to melt it, then collected Hannah’s blood to put on the silver stake that was in the storeroom to make it look like a vampire hunter killed her. Hence the murder was committed before Godard when hunting. Aya points out Raoulf as the killer. Despite using the stake and having burns on his finger, he then used a sword to cut it off. This eliminates the evidence as well as he could regenerate a new hand immediately. Raoulf immediately attacks Aya but Tsugaru jumps in to fight. While they both duke it out, Aya continues explains about Raoulf using the coldness of the forest to freeze the holy water. At this point, Godard is in shock that his son is the culprit. Aya adds they can find plenty of evidence in Raoulf’s room. We hear Raoulf rant how he is against this pro human allies thingy. Since mother was once human before turning into a vampire, he killed her to make it look like a human did it and make dad change his mind. Since he is still deluded, he is going to kill everybody! Tsugaru beats this arrogant kid up as he explains about himself being part of the oni slaying group in Japan. So he is like one strong motherf*cker, right? Your puny vampire ass can’t even beat him as Tsugaru finishes him off. With the case closed, the detectives leave just as Annie arrive to get the scoop on the case. Although Tsugaru’s experience and advice is that humans and monsters cannot coexist, Aya paints a more positive note. Even if Godard’s reputation is ruined, he can start again. They are after all immortal monsters. Aya then asks if he has seen a man with a fake right leg and a cane bearing “M”. In fact, he (nicknamed Professor) did visited Godard recently and invited him to come along to London. Godard refused due to family issues.

Episode 5
Arsene Lupin kidnaps the Erik AKA Phantom of the Opera because he is shorthanded. He needs help to steal a valuable diamond from Phileas Fogg (of Around the World in 80 Days fame) in London. Because of Lupin’s letter, Fogg has hired renowned detectives and paid them to help protect his gem. This means our Cage User detectives are also here. After getting some customer list in some shop, they stumble into Sherlock Holmes and John H. Watson. Not sure what shady things they were about to do in the alley but the policemen apprehended them. Once they know who they are, they are swiftly brought to Fogg’s mansion. Along with inspector Lestrade, they are greeted by Fogg’s servant, Passepartout who shows them around his extensive museum, artefacts and items he collected while travelling around the world. Meeting Fogg himself, he explains the diamond is so valuable, it is not displayed for public and kept safe in an underground vault. Joining this case are a pair of staffs from Lloyd’s security department, Reinhold Stingheart and Fatima Doubledarts. Lloyd’s is a powerful insurance company with a massive history and whatever incidents happen, they always give their word to protect their clients’ insured property with absolute power. Fogg takes them to the vault and goes through a series of complex security measures to show them the diamond. It even has some supernatural legend. A fight between dwarves and werewolves? The dwarves used their technology to create this unbreakable gem and this pure silver safe. Holmes tries to take the lead as he analyses the layout, possible entrances and exits here and even the possibility that Lupin has already infiltrated among one of them. Investigation ends here as they leave. Aya believes she has a plan but wonders if it will work because it seems stupid.

Episode 6
When Watson wants to discuss plans with Holmes, his brother Mycroft can tell he is a fake because of his nails. With the real Holmes entering, the imposter reveals himself to be Lupin. This is just courtesy to demonstrate that Lupin can unlock any lock and after that Lupin escapes on Phantom’s car. But soon they bump into Shizuku and pick her up. It seems she is looking for Aya. Earlier in the day, a careless mistake has the birdcage being swapped. Yeah, Tsugaru is now holding one with a parrot. Mycroft discusses with Holmes about the Lloyd’s duo. It is believed that they have no qualms in letting Lupin steal the jewel as their main goal is to destroy the monster. They want to use the gem to find the werewolf and then pin the blame on Lupin. Holmes is certain he can wrest the diamond back if that happens. The innocent guy with the swapped cage is in shock to see a head, drops it off as Aya gets run over by a car! The delinquent twins want to sell her. Shizuku spots Aya’s head in the car and a strange and short car chase until the twins crash. With Aya back in safe hands, Shizuku thanks the gentlemen. However Aya can tell they are Lupin and Phantom and they too recognize the Cage Users. Since Tsugaru claims he is stronger than Lupin, the latter tests him out. Using his marble trickery, Tsugaru loses. Lupin then warns Aya not to get involved but of course she knows it was all just a play. Time to head back to Fogg’s house. Holmes meets Ganimard who is the Paris’ chief police officer hired by Fogg. Just to be sure he isn’t an imposter, he pulls his moustache! The real deal. Fogg, Passepartout, Holmes, Watson, Lestrade and Ganimard stay in the safe while the Lloyd’s duo protect from the top. Holmes shoots all the locks. This is to prevent Lupin from picking. Hey, can’t pick that is not of a lock, right? They may be trapped here for a while and it might even take hours for a locksmith to get them out but they won’t die. At least all the exits are sealed and this has made security fool proof. However that will soon be their downfall as an explosion is heard and water from the moat start flooding in from the vent above. Looks like Lupin really got them this time.

Episode 7
The water rises nearly to the ceiling. A policeman seeks Lloyd’s help but Reinhold only sends Fatima. She destroys the door to let the water out. Once it is done, everyone notices the safe is gone. As everyone goes back up to dry themselves, Holmes then arrests Ganimard and reveals he is Lupin in disguise (because of his lighter footsteps?!). It is revealed that when the water was gushing in, a rope was hidden in it to pull up the safe. However Holmes note had he stolen the safe, he wouldn’t have gotten the diamond. Because it was left in Watson’s pocket. Lupin has the last laugh since he has already stolen it and escapes. The whole place now scrambles to contain Lupin. Lupin meets Phantom in the greenhouse. They have both the gem and the safe. However opening the safe, Aya is inside! She gives the signal as Tsugaru jumps in. Lupin seems to be shock at Aya and this proves he thought Annie who was with them at that time, to be Aya. Also, it was Aya’s instruction for Tsugaru to lose to him and for her to be put in the safe. Though, she didn’t anticipate the water part. It becomes a 3 way fight for the diamond as Lupin, Tsugaru and Reinhold tussle for this little piece. Aya orders Shizuku to go after Phantom but she got lost and it is Fatima who hunts him down. Holmes and Watson arrive as they tell Aya the situation has changed. It seems Professor and his merry team of Aleister Crowley, Carmilla, Victor and Jack the Ripper are here to cause havoc. Many policemen dead and viciously killed off. Holmes, Watson and Aya return to the main house and are faced with Aleister. Lestrade finds himself in Carmilla’s company. He realizes she is a vampire but is saved thanks to Shizuku dropping in. She is not interested in this fight and is only looking for Phantom. However Carmilla won’t let any b*tch dirty kick her and get away with it. After all, Professor also gave them the orders to kill anyone that gets in their way.

Episode 8
Lupin and Tsugaru work together to take down Reinhold. Dropping the organ enough to kill him? Fatima is having trouble fighting Phantom as he is used to the dark. Carmilla finds Shizuku formidable but soon the latter gets poisoned by her aphrodisiac and is about to succumb to be her meal. Holmes and Watson are hiding as they have run out of bullets and tricks against Aleister. Aya asks him about wanting the gem so he hints that it reveals the clue of finding the werewolves. Talk is cut short when the big man Professor shows up. Holmes knows him as James Moriarty. The tide turns as Jack kills off the Lloyd’s duo and the fights Tsugaru. Lupin and Phantom escape and are willing to abandon the diamond. This monster is not worth their lives. Moriarty confirms that he has Aya’s body but won’t give it back because it’s a valuable sample. Moriarty is making a comeback and rebuilding his organization after a young man approached him to have a strong body. He is Jack and that body he wants also needs to be incorporated with monsters. Hence Moriarty went to do surgery on him. In order to get a monster with intelligence, physical strength and regenerative ability, they went to Japan and got a hold of few before they go extinct. He extracted cells and injected them into humans who willingly became their samples. However many died as the concentration of demons in a human’s body was too high. Moriarty tweaked and balanced this on Jack’s body. Finally, to get an undead for an immortal body, there was only 1 in Japan. Guess who? Aya admits she was experimented by a sicko 950 years ago and turned into an immortal. To further strengthen Jack’s body, he caught Azelin Von Kuradoka a vampire. The cells implanted into Jack were perfect because not only it strengthens his body and senses but eliminates all vampires’ weaknesses. And now they set their eyes on werewolves and if they are successful, they will become pioneers in creating the first chimera. Tsugaru gets beaten by Jack as Jack remembers him as one of the experiments. Seeing he now has the stone, he ends the fight and signals to the rest. Just in time before resisting Shizuku gets raped by Carmilla. Moriarty leaves and lets them know the name of his new organization: Banquet. When everyone gathers and think they lost big this time, Tsugaru shows them otherwise. Because as a pickpocket, he cut a hole in Jack’s pocket and the diamond is in his hands. Yeah, Jack screaming in despair. Looking at the inscription on the diamond, some light angle ultraviolet thingy reveals the location of the werewolves.

Episode 9
8 years ago, a werewolf seems to be protecting a young girl but as they hide in a tower, the mob of villagers burn it all down. Now we see Cage Users making their way to a remote village in Germany. Tsugaru is excited to see a werewolf as he has never seen one. Aya did see one but it was about 150 years ago when Gennai Hiraga brought in several creatures to experiment and see which one could harm her. They soon stumble into Dr Heinemann who pleads for their help as a young girl named Louise has been kidnapped by werewolves. He mentions it all started a year ago when the village chief’s granddaughter was kidnapped and her body was found with bruise and marks all over in the forest, almost beyond recognition. The same cycle repeats every 4 months as a young girl in this village will meet a gruesome fate. Last night, a commotion was heard from Louise’s room but by the time her father, Gustav broke down the door, the room was a mess and it is believed the werewolf fled via window. Heinemann is not surprised at this insanity as 8 years ago there was a werewolf that took refuge in this village. They go see the other townspeople arguing with themselves. You bet they will be in further shock to see a talking head. Gustav wants to kill this monster but Aya assures she can help solve this case. So they visit the crime scene as Aya asks questions for alibis and conducts a few series of experiments like dropping something from the chimney. She comes to a conclusion the perpetrator purposely made a mess of the room. As there were bloodstains here but none of such outside the window, she believes the culprit brought along something to kidnap Louise in (as nothing was stolen from the room). Aya paints a grim picture that Louise is no longer alive. They go visit the village chief who tells them about the legend mentioning a hidden village at the bottom of the waterfall, Wolfenheile. He isn’t confident they can find any werewolves there because they need some keys like the diamond to find it. Oh, you mean this gem! He hints there is no place called Forest of Teeth but to find the werewolves’ village, they must find the Forest of Teeth. Aya makes a deal that she will solve this case in 2 days and he will tell them how to find that village. Meanwhile a pair of cowboy freaks just entered town, Alice Rapidshot and Kyle Chaintail. Oh, they’re from Lloyd’s, huh?

Episode 10
Aya believes the werewolf is killing not just to satiate its appetite. The chief continues to add that many suspect the werewolf to be the village’s outsiders: Heinemann, Cnut and Alma, he has tested them and they show no signs of one. Therefore he believes the werewolf cannot be among the villagers. He further explains how the werewolves are strengthening their bloodline and now the new generation is immune to silver and holy water. Although you can still burn them, in no time they will be immune to that. He knows a lot on werewolves because of an incident 8 years ago. They took in a mother, Rose and her child, Jette. But thanks to Louise, they saw through their disguise. The detectives go to talk to Cnut and Louise is viewed as the village’s hero for exposing that mother and daughter werewolf pair. In fact, Cnut found a pregnant Rose 13 years ago in the forest. He let her stay, thinking she was a maid and got kicked out after her affair with her master was exposed. Louise discovered the truth because Rose mistook Louise has her daughter and said something about their werewolf ears. The village rallied and burnt them down in a tower. Cnut knows they are dead because he double checked and found their charred bones. Next, they visit painter Alma and Aya can tell she didn’t go to painting school from the way she holds her tools but rather, she is self-taught. Then they return talking to Heinemann as Aya questions about Gustav and his wife’s treatment of Louise. Because of her clean wheelchair, it indicates she doesn’t have much help. She means, Louise could be seen as hard to approach. She is after all the village’s hero. As for if she ever goes out alone, Heinemann recalls an incident a year ago, she tried to go to Alma’s place herself and the whole village frantically looked for her and found her stuck in the mud. Conversation interrupted as the Lloyd’s duo come in and start fighting. Aya manages to tell them to back down since she is in the midst of solving the case. Because they’ll need the clues to get to the werewolf village, right? Soon a commotion as the villagers gather outside Alma’s place. It seems she cannot control herself as she turns into a werewolf and escapes into the woods. Silver bullets by Lloyd’s do no jack sh*t. As Tsugaru fights the beast, Aya gets tossed around. To a point she is about to fall off the waterfall but Shizuku saves her in time but she plunges down.

Episode 11
Flashback shows Rose was being accused of some crime by the village head, Reki. Seems she wanted to flee and not do this Miko duty she has been assigned of. Reki accused her of trying to cut their bloodline but Rose viewed that by staying here, they will go extinct. Now that Alma has been revealed as the culprit, the village chief reveals how to find the Wolfenheile and the rest of the clues in the diamond will lead them to it. Now we see Shizuku, surprised being surrounded by werewolves, Nora, Vera and Kaya. They found her floating down the stream and took her in. Note, no humans are supposed to be here so keeping her here is illegal. The ladies then reveal there has been a series of murders too. 3 girls have died during rainy days. The male werewolf group known as Beast Gang led by Quint has been hunting them down but the perpetrators have not been found due to the rain washing away their smell. Other clues they know is that the culprit has a shotgun that doesn’t make a sound. Shizuku talks about Aya who is a paranormal detective and will be able to help them. However for Shizuku staying here too long, it will be a danger so they have to get her out. Nora will lure Beast Gang to a side of the forest while the rest try to sneak her out. But unfortunately, Beast Gang is here as Vera and Kaya try their best to hide Shizuku in the cart. Too bad she is busted and a short fight ensues until she is surrounded. Vera and Kaya vouch for Shizuku’s innocence and even mentioning Nora saving her. Seeing so, Reki decides to hear her out but also put her to a trial. So, high up on this wooden pedestal, if she lies, a wood will come off and if it collapses midway, she is guilty? Wow. They’re playing Jenga, aren’t they? So midway through the interrogation, they here a gunshot. They head to where it comes from and to their horror, Nora is dead (she’s supposed to be the next Miko). Shizuku offers to help as she examines around. She can tell the body was killed somewhere before moving here. She also notices multiple shots fired but only a single shot was heard. Unfortunately she cannot deduce this mystery and so Quint announces all intruders will be killed. Tsugaru, Aya and Lloyd’s duo are making their way through this precarious narrow path when suddenly Victor attacks them.

Episode 12
It seems Aya and Tsugaru use this chance to separate themselves from Lloyd’s. Victor tells them that Aleister and Carmilla are here but they can’t move during daylight. As insurance, Victor has them hand over the diamond before letting them go. Aya and Tsugaru enter Wolfenheile and meet up with Vera who then takes them to where Shizuku is being held. They get an update of the happenings and learn the village knows no one by the name of Alma. With time running, out the detectives go to investigate Nora’s crime scene and at the same time, Beast Gang pick up on their scent. But when they arrive, the detectives are gone. Looks like Aya found a hidden underground passage. The perfect place to hide all gunshot sounds and make werewolves unable to track by scent. With blood trails all over, Aya believes the victims were shot here and then moved outside. They find a shotgun stolen from Gustav’s shed a year ago as well as someone making camp here. Someone has been counting the days too. 550 days to be exact. Then they find Alma’s body. Obviously not killed here as Aya believes both cases are not related. Following the path, it leads back to the human village. They stumble into Heinemann as well as Gustav and his wife. Looks like they found Louise’s body. The wife breaks down thinking this is punishment because they originally planned to abandon Louise 8 years ago. But they changed their mind soon after. Ironically, Jette found and save her but Louise exposed her. Aya believes Louise is a smart girl and will do anything to survive. They go back to Wolfenheile as Lloyd’s spy on them. However they won’t follow yet and plan to gather all the villagers. The detectives go back to rescue Shizuku and at this time Beast Gang is going to hunt them down so Tsugaru slowly kills them off one by one. Lloyd’s has brought the villagers via the secret path as the humans begin to massacre the werewolves. It’s a field day for them as well as Banquet. Aya has Shizuku go rescue Kaya but it seems that girl has fallen into Carmilla’s bite. Alice vs Aleister. Kyle vs Victor. Aya has Vera dig up some final piece. Now everything is clear to her.

Episode 13
Shizuku x Carmilla rematch. Not sure this weird trippy fight but it ends with Carmilla getting away. Kyle has got Victor wrapped in his chains but with Tsugaru’s intervention, black dude gets killed off. As thanks, Victor tells Aya’s body is in London. Alice thought she got the better of Aleister but she got tricked and slowly poisoned to death. With humans and werewolves at a standoff, it is time for Aya to make the big revelation. The perpetrator is a single person. Louise = Nora = Jette! Louise and Jette swapped personalities. Louise’s kidnapping was staged by herself. The broken window was not big enough for a werewolf or adult human to pass through. Bite marks on Tsugaru’s leg were identical to those left by fake Louise. The real Alma was killed after the detectives left. As the crime cannot be done by human because of the underground cave, when you walk through it with light, all the moths will scatter about. So the only one who can walk through the dark is a werewolf. The underground space was a place where Louise once lived. When Rose was burnt, she let Jette escaped via the underground path. She then took on the name Nora and lived in the werewolf village. It is possible for her to play both roles seeing the human and werewolf villages are not in contact with each other. Aya had Vera dug up Nora’s grave but it was empty. Then when Louise’s body was found, the wounds were exactly the same as Nora’s body. To cover the gunshot wound, she nibbled it randomly to make it seem like a werewolf attack before moving it to the human village.

8 years ago when Rose came to the human village and lived as one, Louise then found out about Jette’s identity and led to that persecution. But Jette survived and her bones were just some random fox. Jette has her reason for revenge as she hated both villages. So she planned to instigate both villages to fight each other. A year ago when Louise supposedly went missing, she was actually captured by Nora. Louise accepted her fate and conspired with Nora for this plan as they both look the same. Nora disguised as Alma so as to save Shizuku and prove her innocence including the staging of Nora’s death in the forest by killing the real Louise and then draped her with her own blood. Then she moved Louise’s body to the human village and left open the door for humans to come to Wolfenheile. Reki is willing to forgive all of Nora’s sins but this is farewell. She isn’t coming back, much to granny’s dismay. Tsugaru has been waiting underground to capture Nora. After he does so, Aya wants him to release her. She feels she has made an error in her deduction because her goal wasn’t revenge but rather to save her fellow brethren to become Miko, vessels to become vessels for that perfected werewolf. The dead werewolf girls were Miko potentials so she faked their deaths to let them escape since her brethren were so fixated on that perfect being. Though, it is true that she actually killed a few human girls. Aya still lets her go seeing she too shares the same feelings of a girl trapped in a cage. Nora accepts this outcome and will find a happy place to live. In the aftermath, Tsugaru wonders Aya took too long to solve this case to teach both sides a lesson. She believes nothing will happen to both villages after what happened. Tsugaru tells Aya about her body in London so this might be where they are heading next.

A Somebody With No-body: Always Stay A-head
Well… That wasn’t really all that bad! I’m not saying that I am totally awed nor have I changed my mind that this is the absolute best anime or close to being any of my all time favourites but at least it was decent and, well, entertaining. So yeah, once again I have to in a way to a certain extent thank my guts and paranoia that bugged me to watch this series or else I wouldn’t have known what I was missing. Sure, I could live with it nor would it have any major impact in my anime life had I skipped this one but seeing that timeline didn’t happen, I guess that’s that. Yes, yes, yes. The maid character too. Thank goodness this series has a maid character to satiate my meido desires.

Being of the detective genre, the series itself obviously was going to divide itself into several separate mini arcs. I mean, how boring would it be if the entire series was to solve one mystery! Yeah, that kind of mystery would be on a colossal scale like solving the mysteries of the universe! Can Aya do that?! So dividing the season into smaller independent cases makes the series watchable and more enjoyable. After all, we need to see Aya’s credentials in why she’s the best (supernatural) detective there is, no? Of course the bigger plot (and endgame) would be as the synopsis puts it, to find the man who stole Aya’s body and Tsugaru’s humanity. But we all now know who the culprit is so it’s a now a plot on getting it back. In the meantime, enjoy all the supernatural mysteries along the way.

As usual, I am going to b*tch about this detective genre not being my cup of tea and it still isn’t. One of the major factors impeding my enjoyment is the revelation part AKA when Aya puts all the pieces together and uses her logic to deduce and solve the mystery. Although I do get the gist of the overall happening, however if I really want to understand and digest all the clues and observations that Aya has spewed into that conclusion, I would be lost. Yes, I have replayed Aya’s lines several times just to understand the logic behind it but not very successful. For example, the final arc of the serial murders in the human and werewolf village. Of all the mysteries, this was the longest that Aya has to explain, eating up more than half the episode. To surmise the finale to the puzzle, it’s just a single girl pretending to be many other personas and wreaking havoc on both sides with murders. Other intricate details of why Jette/Nora/Louise did so, I’m still very hazy on it.

It goes to show that to excel in this field, one needs very good, sorry, make that exceptional skills in observation and a wide range of knowledge. It all might sound like BS that Aya is so observable that she can actually tell the exact circumstances in just a glance. Like as though she has eyes on the back of her head or something. Like as though she’s got the script to one’s past life at the tip of her fingers. Oh sorry, she doesn’t have hands! HAHA! Sighs… But remember, she is no human. And having lived for over 900 years, this is your ‘excuse’ for Aya to be knowledgeable in all areas since it is long enough a time for her to see a lot of things, learn a lot of things. Makes me wonder her brain can contain and hold so much info throughout the centuries… Then again, she’s no human. Although I am not well versed in the detective genre, I think the series has to be fair by displaying clues before the revelation so that viewers can go back and backtrack-cum-double check the facts. Sometimes it was never revealed so and sprung up last minute. Like, they want to surprise us and show how genius Aya is? Or am I not observant enough?

There is an amusing dynamism between Aya and Tsugaru. Seeing their interaction with each other, sometimes you don’t think they are detectives at all. This is mainly because Tsugaru often acts like a jester as he makes his quips and wisecracks at any given chance. Aya too has her comebacks but she does so in a way that upholds her dignity/pride. Hence seeing both of them in their short banter is both amusing as well as it is strange (Tsugaru questioning if Aya put on weight since she felt heavier to carry?! Are you serious in that circumstances of hers?!). I guess it is better than being so serious like Holmes and his unmemorable Watson, right? After all, if Aya is the brains, Tsugaru is the brawns and he does most of the physical job that includes carrying Aya’s birdcage around. Also, stemming from an entertainer background, Tsugaru can’t help act so since this whole mystery thingy is like a play to him. A farce. Why so serious, right? Just because he lost his humanity and is now serving under Aya, doesn’t mean he needs to totally change his persona. It’s the only thing that makes Tsugaru, well, Tsugaru.

Ah yes, now we talk about my beloved maid character, Shizuku. True to her name, she is a stoic one and is very loyal to Aya. It is not explained nor fleshed out how she became a loyal servant to Aya and even more so a maid. She is human and not an immortal (as I believe) so it is intriguing to know how the duo got to know each other. Anyway, Shizuku and Tsugaru don’t get along and the former is not really amused with the latter. But being one who puts Aya first, it’s like she is always passively aggressive towards Tsugaru. Especially the close proximity of Aya and Tsugaru when the former needs to constantly ‘feed’ the latter to prolong his life. Shizuku is no ordinary maid and she kicks ass too. Especially with her bayonet. What else more can I say about her? Viva maids! On a side note, I thought this Annie girl would be everywhere. Yeah, perhaps her journalist agency trying to work her to death (do child labour laws exist at that time?) and send her to all over the place to get the scoop. Strangely, she wasn’t in the final arc. Did she miss the boat or something?

Due to the nature of the series, this show has quite a lot of characters. Obviously many existing only for that arc itself but as we can see, there are going to be major players in the game especially the antagonists of the series, Banquet. It is not going to be a straightforward fight since there are also many other parties involved like fellow genius detectives Holmes as well as the insurance company of Lloyd’s. Then there is the mini rogue French party of Lupin and Phantom. Who knows if they would join a side in the future. I didn’t expect this series to cram in so many classic western literature characters. At this rate I was even expecting for the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to show up! Imagine the havoc if ever Allan Quatermain, Captain Nemo, Dorian Gray, Tom Sawyer and Dr Jekyll all showed up! While I’m at, they should’ve also throw in other famous detectives like Cordelia Gray, Hercule Pirot and Nero Wolfe! Sorry, this is not Tantei Opera Milky Holmes ensemble! May the best detective win!

Banquet could prove to be our detectives’ stumbling block since they are often a step ahead. When you have the legendary Moriarty as the head of this organization, it is not going to be easy to bring them down. As I can see, it would more than often come down to a battle of wits between Aya and Moriarty, who will outwit and outmanoeuvre each other. The rest are like movable pawns in a chess game. But as far as I can see, the hostility is not 100% and if their interests align, they would not hesitate to work together temporarily for a common goal. Though, the final arc, I am stumped why some Banquet members head to the werewolf village, I thought they were supposed to find some werewolf that would give their chimera some sort of invincibility? Did they leave empty handed? Or did they kidnap a few of the Miko potentials under our noses?

Personally, the most dumbfounding and redundant cast of characters are from Lloyd’s. Basically I find them useless. From the way I see it, they send top agents to the cases, only to have them get killed in the end! I don’t know, from my perspective the way they introduce themselves as agent (insert number here), sounds like a pretty high up number to me. And then they get killed off. I’m sure it looked that way. Are they just there to be baits? So much about insurance. Can Lloyd’s just stick to providing normal insurance coverage and not invest in weirdoes like them? Do these agents even have insurance to begin with?!

If some of the detective work are too boring and dry, there are some action scenes although I feel that these are just distraction and for variety. After all, Tsugaru himself is a half oni so it would be a waste not to showcase his superhuman strengths, right? It’s going to take a lot more to kill this bugger. Yeah, the same can be said for the maid too. How are they going to steal my heart if they don’t make poker face Shizuku a kickass bayonet wielding maid? She’s not going down easily either. I won’t go so far as to say Tsugaru and Shizuku complement each other in fighting. But if Tsugaru has his hands full with an opponent, there is always Shizuku as backup. Strangely, now they pair her fight with Carmilla and so these b*tches will have unsettled sexy business to finish each time they face each other. Also, there’s a fair amount of blood and gore here although not overwhelmingly so don’t get queasy.

Art and animation are mostly okay but the overall visuals look mostly grim and dark. Well, it’s one of those times. Aya and Shizuku feel like they came out from some gothic era due to their monotonous hues and while there are as many bishonen as there are bishoujo, some characters’ fashion sense looked weird. I’m talking about those in Lloyds. Yeah, just dress however you want but make it all white. So you got cowboy girl Alice to effeminate and possibly gay guy Kyle to whatever those furry stole fashion thingy Fatima puts on her shoulders. And yes, I love Shizuku’s Victorian maid outfit. Got a problem? The backgrounds and sceneries look mostly good although many of them are dark so it may be hard to see. This series is done by Lapin Track who did Sarazanmai and Endride.

While the voice acting is pretty decent, there are tons of seiyuus lending their talents here. Obviously. So a few recognizable ones include Shinichirou Miki as Holmes, Tomokazu Sugita as Aleister, Mamoru Miyano as Arsene and Hiro Shimono as Phantom (sorry, in very serious mode here). The other casts are Tomoyo Kurosawa as Aya (Kumiko in Hibike! Euphonium), Taku Yashiro as Tsugaru (Ryuuji in Darwin’s Game), Makoto Koichi as Shizuku (Sakura in Lycoris Recoil), Wataru Yokojima as Moriarty (Pommern in Granblue Fantasy The Animation), Souma Saitou as Jack (Kain in Kyoukai No Rinne), Reina Kondo as Carmilla (Nagomi in Akiba Maid Sensou), Itaru Yamamoto as Victor (Jacques in Zero No Tsukaima F), Hideaki Tezuka as Fogg (Tatara in Triage X), Masaki Aizawa as Watson (Wiper in One Piece), Maaya Uchida as Nora (Lily in DanMachi), Sayumi Suzushiro as Annie (Kei in Kaguya-sama Wa Kokurasetai), Shinichiro Kamio as Reinhold (Louis in High Card), Sara Matsumoto as Fatima (Sawa in Kamierabi God.app), Ayaka Asai as Alice (Hazuki in Hibike! Euphonium) and Sou Nozawa as Kyle (Dimitrie in Grancrest Senki).

The opening theme is Crack Crack Crackle by Class:y is strange to say the least. Not sure how to describe for the most part of it. Let’s see, feels like some slutty R&B K-pop and also heavy on the synthesizer effects in some parts. The ending theme is Reversal by Anna which feels more like a slow rock. The only thing I like is the high quality visuals although it is mostly animated in monochrome. Not sure if the visuals of the backgrounds are real pictures and the 2D characters are just superimposed over it but the various scenes sure look good.

Overall, not a bad series per se but it would be better if you are into detective genres. And supernatural ones too. Otherwise, if you are weak towards animes that uses some parts of your grey matter (sadly like yours truly), chances are you might not enjoy this one. Well, at least this undead girl is still way better than a certain detective that is dead! OMG, that is getting a sequel too?! Well, if they add a maid character into that one, maybe I’ll just go take a peek. Just maybe. Or a super cute kawaii girl like in Kyouko Suiri. That would easily seal the deal for me. Now you know why there are no mysteries within me and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s on my mind. So are there any more maid in animes out there to recommend to me?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is getting more intrusive in our daily lives. Before you know it, we will become slaves and totally dependent on them. The price to pay for technology? It is not a new topic as there are many discussions and even films, movies, series on the subject. But with many recently AI based software programmes reaching worrying levels (going to lose your job? Trying to plagiarise someone’s work?), maybe it is time to revisit this theme about AI in robots. Hence, the original anime, Metallic Rouge. Just kidding. I made that up. But yes, this anime deals with the AI theme as the robots here serve humans like second class citizens and bound by the Asimov Code. Yeah, what a way to reassure ourselves those scrap metals won’t kill us, huh? Of course, there are some robots which are not bound by that code and they want to free their fellow robots who are tied to that law. See where this is going? Our titular character too is one of those AI not bound by the code as she has a secret mission to assassinate a group of those AIs hostile to humans. They should’ve sent T-101 to do the job…

Episode 1
Jaron Fate doing some shady transaction with some shady people. However he pulls a fast one on them and kills them all. Elsewhere, Rouge Redstar works under a famous bar diva, Sarah Fitzgerald. We learn Neans are androids but there are rumours they might be aliens. But for these Neans to survive, they have to inject themselves with some solution known as Nectar. It seems Rouge is some sort of undercover agent trying to ascertain if Sarah is a Nean or not. She meets up with Naomi Orthmann who believes Sarah is so because she has evidence that Sarah was injecting herself with Nectar. Yes, that night when she did so, a red sentai known as Gladiator attacked her. Although a few of her staffs died, Sarah didn’t suffer any wounds as Gladiator escaped shortly. Thus Naomi firmly believes Sarah whose real name is Viola Keane, is a Nean and part of the Immortal Nine. Now we see Viola meeting up with Jaron. The latter claims he messed up that Nectar transaction because Gladiator ruined it. That sentai is the archenemy of their group, Alters and the one who killed Nius and Achillus. Now, Sylvia has suspicions that Viola leaked info but of course Jaron vouched for her innocence. He wonders he anyone unfamiliar approached her recently. Viola remembers picking up Rouge from the alley and had her work for her. So when Viola summons Rouge to meet, the latter already knows the truth. Gladiator suddenly shows up and disposes Rouge, much to Viola’s dismay. This is actually Jaron as Viola now remembers about his ability to mimic. Hence he was the one who attacked her. Jaron thinks Rouge is an agent of Aletheia considering she knew her real name. The real Gladiator (Rouge) pops up and Jaron takes his leave. Before they fight, Viola asks her name. Metallic Rouge. Roll credits. Viola admits she is part of Immortal Nine as the ladies slug it out. Eventually Rouge wins and doesn’t kill her but takes her core or something.

Episode 2
Inspector Ash Stahl and his Nean assistant, Noid 262 are heading to Mars for his investigations because after a few spate of murders involving Neans, he thinks the Ministry of Truth is covering up something. Rouge and Naomi take a local bus to the next town. Naomi telling a couple of kids, Miguel and Emily about the history of some wars on Mars in which some friendly aliens helped humans fight against the hostile aliens. Humans developed the strongest weapon called Neans to help fight and you can tell them apart as they have scars over their face. Also, they abide by the Asimov Code that they cannot hurt or kill humans. Reporter Jill befriends Naomi since the latter proclaims herself as a history geek and Jill is currently doing research on the history of Neans since they are being discriminated. Suddenly the bus is surrounded by military men and they want Rouge handed over for their safety. Well, that’s not going to happen as Rouge fights them and damn, grandma takes over the wheel and is one heck of a driver! Once they are safe, their bus breaks down so it will take some time to be fixed. Jill examines a photo of the militia she took. They are Sons Of Ares (SOA) and are mercenaries. Someone must have hired them. Emily accidentally activates an old ancient weapon machine. Good thing the bus is running now and grandma can get back to her badass driving. Yeah, a few SOA getting in the way to be slaughtered. Eventually Rouge transforms and does some ass kicking of her own. Threat gone, now they can resume their journey to Weltz Town.

Episode 3
Reaching Weltz, Naomi contacts Jean Junghardt. Rouge wonders what he will say as she thinks they’ve completed their mission perfectly but Naomi says he expects more from them and also to look after Rouge. Their next mission is to find if an Immortal Nine is hiding and disguising within this huge Nean reservation. They need to infiltrate it to continue investigating. When Rouge learns Naomi gave her chocolates to the kids after they alighted the bus, she gets furious. Rouge talks about freedom although Naomi shoots her down that she is just a tool for the Ministry of Truth. If she has free will, she is a failure as an agent. Mad Rouge storms off. Then she sees the soldiers harassing a young Nean, Lion. She beats them up and before anything else untoward happens, Dr Afdal is here to claim Lion is his assistant and so is Rouge. The soldiers let it slide and let them into the reservation since Afdal is on call to treat some Neans. Even though Afdal saves Daria, it is just a temporary solution and she will die soon. He notes how humans have been making Neans work to the bone on the harsh conditions of Venus. Soon, Rouge is brought to see Yuval who heads a movement called Council of Free Neans (CFN). Yuval notes they are fighting for autonomy but humans won’t grant it because of the code embedded inside Neans. They just want to live freely. He tells her that Alter is actually a real rebel group of Neans that use forces against humans. But what Yuval want is not Rouge’s firepower but her free will. Without that code, Rouge can mingle freely with humans and thus her existence has meaning. This gives them hope although Rouge doesn’t have to give her answer now. Daria dies and is soon discarded. As Rouge leaves and thinks of Yuval’s words, soon she is told Yuval wants to see her alone. Then she finds his body. A few Neans nearby suspect Rouge but some suggest to keep this a secret because they know humans will meddle if they find out.

Episode 4
Rouge is arrested as Naomi makes contact. She tells her the police is here and it doesn’t matter who did it since the police is using this excuse to crush CFN. However Rouge is planning to stay and is sure that Phantom Verde will show himself. While Naomi uses Ash to help get her inside the reservation, Rouge is now interrogated by Dumas and other Neans. Because she doesn’t say much, they suspect her even though they have no proof. Even accusing her for working with Alters. When the police storms in, Dumas tries to use this to his advantage. Because Rouge breaks out from her chains, he claims she is going to kill them. The Neans gang up on her but with the police here, Rouge defeats the police and lets them all escape. Then she stumbles into Lion who has orders to take her back. Naomi comes into Jaron. He tangos with her for a while but decides to leave when the going gets tough. Rouge accuses Lion as the one who killed Yuval. He denies and claims he doesn’t want to see him suffer. He stabs her with a serum, making her see visions of the targets she killed. She manages to fight and snap out of it. With Afdal here, Rouge believes he is the informant but Lion continues to cover him that he isn’t the villain. Lion wants to be free with him but Afdal throws him the bad news that is just an illusion before killing him off. Nobody is free. Neans or humans. Rouge and Afdal transform into their Gladiator form and fight. It ends with her killing him.

Episode 5
Naomi is looking for Rouge so Eden Vallock claims he has seen her and brings Naomi to a nearby touring circus. Meanwhile for the next few scenes, just freaking confusing as I don’t know what is going on. Showing snippets of Rouge interacting with Junghardt and Sarah. Some revelation that Junghardt and Rouge are supposed to be siblings and they are on a secret mission to kill the Immortal Nine because they killed their father. And then something about Code Eve that could be located inside Rouge. As the Immortal Nine are Neans with special abilities, they are parents to many of the Neans today. They have been laying low but started moving recently. Their father tried to stop them but got killed. The Immortal Nine is looking for Code Eve and by releasing it, the world will reform. Then all this could be just a weird dream Rouge is having as some circus puppeteer is trying to make her confess some info. When Rouge becomes aware, the puppeteer claims he is saving her from being controlled. He wants her to be free and by doing so, she can be herself. Naomi finds Rouge but they are attacked by Opera. Some messy confusing fight ensues and even Gladiator joins the fray. In the end, Rouge saves Naomi and make their escape as the circus leaves orbit. Opera reports about Verde’sid being stolen but the puppeteer notes that this was fated to happen. He too has gathered what is needed and tells Cyan Bluestar to go forth. He hopes to see each other again when she obtains true freedom. It is revealed Gladiator is actually Eden.

Episode 6
Jaron kills an employee and impersonates his face. Junghardt receives report from his colleague that there is a mole among them. With the job on Mars done, Naomi and Rouge are on a ship towards Earth. Also on board this ship is Ash and he is not pleased his mission ended so quickly and he is being recalled back to HQ. Suddenly a murder happens right before his eyes. Although the culprit is apprehended, he claims he was at the casino all day and there is footage proof. How can 1 person be in 2 different places? Then another murder happens. But this time the witness claims the killer looks exactly like her friend. All passengers have orders to remain in their rooms for their safety. You bet Naomi and Rouge don’t want to be cooped up but soon Ash sees Naomi to arrest her! Well, there is footage she killed someone! Yeah. Shocking. Of course he knows she isn’t the killer and he just arrested her for her safety. Also, she bailed on him when he helped her to get into the reservation. Then another murder happens using Naomi’s face. Although Naomi doesn’t want to do anything since they have orders to not stand out or cause a scene, Rouge will not sit idly and let her friend be accused. So they go around looking for the killer whom they believe is Jaron before he strikes again. Based on a live camera footage, he is going to kill a sleeping senior citizen. When they arrive, looks like she is still breathing. A red herring? Ash then gets stabbed by Noid. Ash frees Naomi to go after the culprit. Yeah, she steals his gun too. You don’t expect her to fight barehanded. However the killer now impersonates Rouge. Can Naomi tell which is the real one? Asking a maths question, she shoots at the smart one although he escapes. An important discovery about the first victim’s weight, so they round up everyone on the ship with that weight. Rouge will then punch it one of them! Because only Jaron can withstand her punch! Uhm, wouldn’t he pretend to be in pain? Anyway, poor people get a taste of Rouge’s fist. Oh no! Is she going to punch a dog too! No mercy! Meanie! But then the dog turns out to be Jaron! Jaron and Rouge go fight outside the ship. Uhm, aren’t damaging it? Jaron reveals he is the one who killed her father and at this rate she can’t seek revenge. Eventually Jaron falls off into orbit. When Rouge returns to Naomi, she gets arrested by her and some guys from Protection Bureau for violating orders.

Episode 7
A brief history about the Venus Project in which the terraforming of the planet and moving it into the same orbit as Earth via black holes. This resulted in the birth of many Neans. However the goal behind this new habitable space remains a mystery. Naomi sees Junghardt who has been fired from the Ministry of Truth. He knew Naomi was the one who leaked info and knowing the risks, he also welcomed her as his subordinate and paired Rouge with her. Then they talk about the puppeteer whom they’ve been investigating which has something to do with Venus Project and black holes which could complicate things. Naomi notes the puppeteer tried to mess with Rouge’s memories and believing Junghardt is hiding something, Rouge will be transferred to Protection Bureau for punishment. Ash is not pleased he has been taken off the case so he is going to take things into his own hands. Jill barges in to rescue Naomi and then brings her to a room where Neans who are considered dangerous are stored to be disposed later. Including Sarah. Jill is from Alter and are fighting to free Neans. This includes breaking free from the human’s curse. Can Asimov Code be erased? Jill claims Rouge’s ability can do it. Jill tells Rouge about Junghardt being fired and all but Rouge is reluctant to believe let alone go with her. Now security has detected Rouge has escaped? They try to rein in both of them but Jill kills the humans, causing a Nean to die because of the inbuilt code. Rouge escapes herself so Jill transforms (she’s part of Immortal Nine known as Sylvia) to fight other cyborg guards while posing a question for Rouge: Despite being so powerful, why are they slaves to humans? During the chaos, Rouge is taken away by Aes. Or Alice. Either way, they have bipolar issues. With Ash caught in between, he brings them back to his place so Aes/Alice could explain further. Unlike the rest in Immortal Nine, they just want to live peacefully. Since they specialize in gathering info, they manage to survive and escape from Sylvia. Noticing many of the Immortal Nine are starting to get killed, they approached Rouge. Aes/Alice is stumped that Rouge never questions her orders. She doesn’t believe Junghardt’s orders are bad but how does she know? Ash also explains he has been on the case of investigating Immortal Nine for killing Roy Junghardt. They have footage that Rouge is the suspect although she deny it is her and thinks it is Jaron. Speaking of him, he is still alive and washed up the beach and being picked up by Graufon.

Episode 8
Not sure whose house Junghardt enters. Could be his old house. Pressing certain piano keys reveals a secret underground path. What convenience, Rouge with Ash and Noid are here. They head under to see this is a huge memory library bank of their father. Apparently memory compression isn’t that advanced so we need this huge space to fill up all of Roy’s memories. Anyway, they look through each memory to find the answer on Rouge’s origins. Mostly, they are about Roy observing Rouge and her growing capabilities. Rouge is not pleased seeing she is being treated like an experiment subject. Another memory shows Junghardt becoming an adopted son of Roy. Finally there is a memory on Eva Kristella who refuses to hand over Code Eve to Roy for ethical reasons. She laments it would be used to control Neans more seeing she already turned Neans into beings with no freedom with the Asimov Code. Thus she viewed Code Eve as her hope to free them. So who is Eva? Junghardt’s assistant who died 17 years ago and his mother. And also Rouge’s mother. Junghardt continues to add that Eva scrapped the programme but that’s just the public story. In actual fact, she hid it within the ids of Proto-Neans Roy made. We all know them as Immortal Nine. After Eva died, Roy figured out from the documents she left behind. He went after them but got killed. Junghardt and Rouge argue about the morality of freeing Neans. Junghardt is against so because it will bring more harm and chaos to Neans. Ash shares his input that both are right and wrong. It depends on what you choose. Suddenly Cyan pops up and transforms to fight Rouge. The latter won’t so Cyan reveals herself as her younger sister. Since she won’t fight, Cyan retreats and hopes she will change her mind the next time. Because she’ll kill her then. Then a report that the base is under attack by Alter led by Jill and Graufon. They are here to take back the ids of their fallen comrades. Rouge returns to face them as Jill notes how Code Eve will free all Neans from Asimov Code and Rouge is the final key to decode it. Alter hereby declares war on humanity. Noid thought fellow Neans have arrived for help but he gets shot. Ash becomes distraught and his attempts to save him fails. Eden whose codename is Noir, joins in the fight and sides with Rouge. Aes too. Will Cyan participate also?

Episode 9
Graufon knocks out Junghardt and takes him hostage. He wants Rouge to hand over her id for his safety. Eden tries to intervene but gets wounded. Jill and Graufon then escape. Rouge wants to go after them but Cyan drops in at the right time to fight her. Because both are evenly matched, Naomi has an idea. I don’t understand her explanation to invert her output phase. The cancellation in their powers knocks out Cyan. Naomi wants Rouge to come with her because it’s time to reveal the truth. Yes, now we have aliens! Because Naomi brings Rouge to the alien mothership. Big twist: Naomi isn’t actually human but a contact Nean the Visitors (aliens) create to interact with humans. And so we see these aliens known as X Noah. Creepy mermaid bugs whatever? They suggest Rouge stays here until the problem of decoding Code Eve is resolved. Rouge finds it strange since they claim they do not interfere with human dealings so why do they want Code Eve? Time for more back stories. Among Alters, there are Usurpers. They want to release Code Eve to free Neans from Asimov Code and then use the chaos to start another war to destroy all life forms. You see, X Noah lost their home planet for a very long time and have been travelling for eternity to find a suitable home. They found that planet in this solar system: Venus. Hence they forged a contract with humans. In exchange for Venus to be given to them and they give technology not yet attained by humans. Yes, Nean technology is from them. Hence Neans were created as labour to turn Venus into a hospitable planet. Usurpers whom X Noah call as Junoids despite sharing the same origin, they are more dangerous and desire Venus. X Noah wants Neans to be under human control to fight Junoids. This doesn’t sit well with Rouge because Neans being used as a tool again. News stream in that Junoids are beginning their rebellion on Jupiter as well as on Venus. Rouge asks Naomi for her betrayal. She had to do it because she will be dismantled. Handing her over was to keep her safe. After punching her, Rouge lets Naomi stay with her. Because they’re going to Venus to solve this mess. X Noah do not allow Naomi to go as she is an intermediary for Earth. That is when Naomi wants to take a day off. WTF X Noah thinks this is a personal decision making and cannot interfere, they agree?! But how are the ladies going to get to Venus? Don’t worry. Eden and Ash have a ride ready.

Episode 10
En route to Venus, Naomi is going to show the gang the cool weapon she brought to fight Alters. Wait. What is Cyan doing in here?! Oh, didn’t you hear? She escaped. And she threw away the weapon just to be with Rouge?! Cyan claims she just wants to play with Rouge but a voice tells her to kill Rouge. A command she must obey. We’re going to see a lot of spat between Naomi and Cyan and it looks like only Rouge can calm her down. The Proto-Neans bring Junghardt to their base where the puppeteer is. Junghardt thought he was an agent for Usurpers but turns out he is human. Why is he helping them? Usurpers are his sponsors and they wish to see the show he orchestrated. So they have a meal and reminisce their time together as family. Junghardt is considered as their family because when Neans descent this place, he will guide humans as their saviour all out of obedience to them. More Naomi-Cyan spat like the latter not wanting to take a bath. But she agrees to do so because Ash got ice cream. Seems he is good with kids because he was once a father. He regrets not getting to know Noid better and only realizes the value when you lose something. The same for Eden. He once considered the Immortal Nine to be his family but now is fighting against them because of regrets. Making his lover’s dream come true is the least he could do to atone. Another spat that Cyan almost injured Naomi, Rouge had to step in and give her a pep talk. They hope they can become real sisters. When Cyan asks about her relationship with Naomi, Rouge claims she is the best stranger. Irritating but she doesn’t mind being with her all the time. Just like family, huh? Junghardt sees the puppeteer pulling data out of the Proto-Neans’ ids. The final show will begin once all the players arrive. Speaking of which, Rouge and co are here. They are greeted with loads of honing missiles.

Episode 11
Thanks to the shields, the ship manages to get by and crash into the base. It’s time to give them a warm welcome. Jill notes this must be done well as a new world is about to be born. The puppeteer claims he knows Eva well since he worked under her before. Putting up a simple play, he explains Eva left hope AKA Code Eve behind for Neans and hit it within the 9 Proto-Neans. She hopes it would free them but that love costed her life. Eva tried to cut the strings of Asimov Code, the reason she created Rouge. However Junghardt decided to kill off the Immortal Nine in darkness. Though, he did try to talk to them once before although Jill rejected his actions because she can’t truly trust humans. Then she went to kill Roy since he knew too much about them and had Jaron keep an eye on things. Upon entering the base, the group split is forcefully up with Rouge and Naomi together. Junghardt further cautions Jill that even if the code does come off, not all Neans will come to her. She reveals this planet has a plant that produces Neans and Nectar and the production will continue to be churned out for the next few decades. She can simply keep making new allies here and fight them. It is proof they have lived. Junghardt believes she is only helping the Usurpers but she calls it opportunism. Cyan starts to hear the voice beckoning her. She cannot disobey and follows it. Eden has business with Graufon so he lets Ash for after Cyan. Cyan is made unconscious by the puppeteer who will soon let her play a new role. What can Ash do but realize he stepped into his trap? Puppeteer takes Cyan away. Rouge stumbles into Junghardt as Graufon returns Eden’s id and they begin their transformation to fight.

Episode 12
Well, this can’t be Junghardt, right? Look at how chirpy he is. Naomi punches him and not surprising, he is Jaron in disguise. Of course he is not here to fight them but merely bring them to the next stage. Meanwhile Graufon and Eden fight, the former loses and blows himself up. Eden is still alive but gets wounded. Graufon’s final plea is to save Jill. Junghardt manages to convince Aes to help him. So they rendezvous with Eden to seek his help too. Ash also comes by as he says he has discovered the person behind the puppeteer’s mask. Speaking of him, he is psyching up Cyan to play her role. Actually she has no script to follow and her job is to bring the curtain down. Jill kills off Jaron to fight Rouge. She gives Rouge her last chance to join their side. More accurately, sacrifice her id that contains an irreversible decryption code that will set all Neans free. Since she won’t, they fight. Their ideals continue to clash so Jill hopes Rouge has no regrets when she willingly chose to die. Jill stabs through her heart and takes her id. A dying Rouge pleads Naomi for help but WTF she looks disappointed and runs off? She bumps into Jaron who is unsurprisingly not dead. He tells Naomi where the control room is since he knows her intentions is to blow up the entire place should everything fail. He doesn’t see his actions as betrayal and merely wants to do as he pleases till he dies. So as Naomi starts her inputting, suddenly she has a change of heart and goes back to Rouge, apologizing and all. She thinks she is already broken for violating orders. So such as makes them human? Naomi lends Rouge her id so she can get back up for her rematch with Jill. When Ash and Aes are also here, the puppeteer shows himself. This is when Ash reveals the biggest twist on the puppeteer’s identity: He is Roy! Old bugger unmasks himself and asks if Rouge is free.

Episode 13
Time for a confusing revelation! Let’s see if I get this right. So Roy is a Nean? Even so, Neans were made in imitation of humans. Jill accuses this Roy to be fake but his brain is real. Before his previous self was killed, he cloned himself and uploaded all his memories from the library bank. Jill remembers ordering a comrade to watch and kill him but Roy laughs it off and it never happened. Because the one who killed him was himself! He further explains that because of his old body, he transferred his mind and personalities to 9 different puppets to achieve eternity. Although the puppets went on to live their own lives, they were unconsciously being controlled by the puppet master. He controlled every aspect of their lives. This was to see if they could become humans or surpass them. All of their personalities were settings created by him. Jill refuses to believe it all and kills him. But that is when Cyan shows up and Roy’s mind now takes over her. Cyan then kills her off and takes her id. All that is left is Rouge’s. Uhm, you mean Naomi’s? Rouge and Cyan fight as the latter notes how Rouge became more human than Immortal Nine who were before her. After Roy discovered the data Eva left behind, he left clues for Junghardt so as to have him go after Immortal Nine’s ids and observe Rouge’s growth. With Rouge losing, Naomi has an idea to do some inverse thingy again. While Naomi’s body is now lifeless, she is now one inside Rouge. Faster, stronger and kicks ass. At this point, Cyan tries to resist Roy and this allows Rouge to defeat him. Roy is not willing to admit defeat since he views Junghardt as his final hope. However his son assures he will never be like him. Roy curses he is always alone so Junghardt tells him being alone suits him best. Rouge and Cyan reconcile before the latter dies. With no more f*cks given, Rouge inserts Code Eva to free all Neans. But surprise! Opera springs up and reveals a virus trap if that was activated. All Neans now will become beings to fight alongside Junoids. Yeah, Opera is a Junoid. But jokes on her because soon all the Neans return to normal. Although they can still fight back if humans bully them. It seems during all this, Junghardt wrote an anti-virus. How convenient. The future remains uncertain as Rouge-Naomi face off with Opera and her ancient weapon machines.

I, Nean: All Metal, No Soul
Holy f*ck?! WHAT THE?! HOOOOOLYYYY FFFUUUUU???!!! Did I understand what the f*ck happened in the end?! I don’t know. All I am glad is that this series has ended and that means my misery of racking my brains to understand this confusion has ended. I no longer have any obligation to try and understand what the f*ck is going on. Basically old bugger thinks he is one helluva great playwright and thought he controlled all his puppets. Old bugger also wanted to live forever but thank goodness because he forgot to name himself as part of Immortal Nine so, technicalities! And for Rouge, still eating chocolates but now she has to go fight Junoids. Whatever. I’m outta here.

Sad to say, I am confused with the whole storyline. In other words, I don’t really understand what is going on. Sure, the bigger picture is about a few Neans who have their own free will trying to free their comrades from human enslavement and live their own lives freely. But the way they changed to story from Rouge trying to assassinate the Immortal Nine to this, I believe it is supposed to be the twist but then the plot starts meandering and my puny human brains couldn’t comprehend. Also in other words, I did not like it. There’s a whole debate talking about AIs having their own freedom and thinking that are free from human laws out there but I’m not going to touch it here. It’s just confusing. Furthermore, I’m also not very well versed in this subject and that could be the main reason why I didn’t enjoy this series a lot. Yeah, imagine me dumber than a machine. Obviously. But as consolation, it proves I am human! That supposed to make me happy?

This also means that very unfortunately, I find the characters themselves as confusing. I don’t really understand them. Like Rouge seems to be quite casual and all although she does show some emotions from time to time. I only feel it’s because she is the main character and thus this pivotal plot she has the ultimate code embedded inside her which makes her the centre of attraction and tussle from both sides. Otherwise, I have to go as far as to say she isn’t memorable. I take that back. The only thing memorable or rather odd about her is her love for chocolates. F*cking hell, Rouge seems to eat more chocolates than I do in a year! F*ck! I want some chocolates! Why does a Nean get a chocolate and not me!

Even more confusing is Naomi. She’s supposed to be the brains if Rouge is the brawns. Because of her shady actions, you wonder if she is some kind of double spy because one minute she’s on Rouge’s side and the next she betrays her. More plot twist because she is a servant of aliens! Oh God. Aliens. If robots weren’t enough, let’s bring aliens into the story too! Hey, they’re sci-fi so it’s still legit. Unfortunately I just can’t feel the dynamism between Rouge and Naomi although I know at the end of the day, Naomi will be on Rouge’s side. After all we’ve seen, she’d better. More confusion as who the f*ck is Cyan! Rouge’s sister, huh? Yeah, relationships in anime are so flimsy and not what they mean. Your father isn’t really your blood related father as we can see Junghardt and Rouge are siblings. Not even the same species! So yeah, Cyan is like the wildcard for the finale or something. In the end, don’t really understand and left even more confused. Maybe just a puppet meant to be killed off. They should’ve just killed off everyone and save the trouble.

Ash often feels redundant because his character is supposed to be like some bumbling policeman? I don’t know, it’s like he got stuck on this Nean case but somehow gets usurped by Rouge-Naomi. Seems to be a Nean hater until he loses his own Nean and then he suddenly starts to become the Jesus Christ of justice whatever. Just tagging along with Rouge and co only because it will seem like Rouge has more companions for the final battle, right? Sorry, I made that up. But really, I don’t see Ash being useful. So what he saw the puppeteer’s identity? I bet he would even unmask himself when the time is right.

Initially, casting the Immortal Nine (or whatever nicknames or moniker they are called right now) as the antagonists, however for the most part I don’t see them being the villains since I did not understand or know what kind of crime they do. Did they assassinate some high profile politician or commit some crimes against humanity? All we were told was Rouge’s mission to eliminate them and that set in our minds that they’re the bad guys. And when it is revealed they just wanted to free their fellow Neans, is that such a bad thing? Maybe Jill being too aggressive made it look like the baddie seeing she won’t stop at being violent to get what is needed, especially trying to attack Rouge for her id. Well, this or she’d become a protestor screaming Nean Lives Matter! Yeah. Maybe not. Just like humans, not all are on board with Jill’s idea even among her comrades. Eden and Aes are opposed while Graufon is her diehard follower. And Jaron is like the wildcard or joker. Wow. So human-like. Yeah, at this point I have to ask, why would Neans want to be like humans? Shouldn’t they strive and become better! So are Neans free now? For you to decide but you humans better watch over your shoulder once in a while.

Action scenes do not impress me and it feels like it is there because when you have AI and robots, there needs to be some sort of obligatory battle moments. I don’t really get it some of the moves these Proto-Neans make during their Gladiator form but I guess they think as long as it is explosive and close to bombastic, that will pass. Sorry it didn’t. At least for me. Strangely, the only action moments I enjoyed was the one in episode 2, the transportation ride to a town in Mars. I don’t know, maybe it almost gave off Mad Max vibes and it doesn’t have Gladiator vs Gladiator fights. I thought this would set the action pace for the subsequent episodes. However as seen, it didn’t come as close to this one. What a bummer. Junghardt may look like an angel because of his calm and collected demeanour but he can be ruthless in pursuing his goals. We don’t see all that manoeuvring behind the scenes so he is easily missed. In other words, boring.

I won’t go so far to say that the art and animation are a masterpiece. But the quality of the visuals do look good although not really that ground breaking. After all, it was partly my fault to think that I would think to see something so futuristic and dystopian like in Cyberpunk or even the retro Cowboy Bebop. Maybe it is because many of the places here that we see our characters go to aren’t the slums. Even the Nean reservation doesn’t look like a rundown place. Many of the scenes are clean and bright although there are some dark scenes but nothing that will make your eye squint. There are some CGI effects employed although they are not as bad as jarring as imposed by other anime titles just as to show off that they have 3D elements. Yeah, an anime about AI, better at least make your CGI effects look palatable.

As for the Gladiator form of our Proto-Neans, personally they look strange to me. More like edgy sentai designs they look to me. Even stranger, X Noah. Oh right, what was I expecting? Those typical grey aliens? I wonder if those X Noah designs were somewhat inspired by that Hollywood movie, Abyss. Literally looking like fish people with lights! And why must normal Neans have weird lines on their faces? So we humans can tell them apart? Or those lines are embedded with Asimov Code. Imagine how unpretty Rouge will look like if she had them. Nah, we still find her cute. And finally, Opera… Goth girl from space! Hahaha! This anime is done by Bones who did the Boku No Hero Academia series, Mob Psycho 100, Fullmetal Alchemist, Bungou Stray Dogs and Darker Than Black. Better have consistency in quality seeing they are a veteran studio (although their Super Crooks was largely forgettable and blasphemy).

Voice acting didn’t move my heart either. Feels pretty normal and nothing ground breaking. A few I recognized included Hiroyuki Yoshino as Jaron, Hiroki Yasumoto as Graufon, Kenjiro Tsuda as Afdal and Youko Hikasa as Eva. Surprisingly, Yui Ogura behind Jill, looks like I’m never ever going to recognize her if she isn’t in her specialist loli voice. Man, they grow up so fast. Oh wait. How long and many years has she grown up already?! The other casts are Yume Miyamoto as Rouge (Rikka in SSSS.Gridman), Tomoyo Kurosawa as Naomi (Kumiko in Hibike! Euphonium), Shunsuke Takeuchi as Junghardt (Yamato in Nanbaka), Atsushi Miyauchi as Ash (Mononobe in Higashi No Eden), Kazuyuki Okitsu as Eden (Nagare in K), Chiaki Kobayashi as Noid (Ragna in Ragna Crimson), Haruka Shiraishi as Cyan (Asirpa in Golden Kamuy), Minami Tsuda as Aes/Alice (Yui in YuruYuri) and Mariya Ise as Opera (Levi in Fairy Tail).

The opening theme doesn’t sound quite appealing to me. Rouge by Yu-Ka tries to sound like a mix of edgy and sultry with a hint of hip hop. However it comes out more like a soulless contemporary manufactured music. Also with the seemingly calming pace of the song, it just doesn’t feel it fit the series right. The same can be said for the ending theme, Scarlet by Dazbee. It is just bland and with the background dubstep and synthesizer effects, it just kinda reminds me of Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This).

Overall, this series is disappointing and confusing. Sad to say, this anime won’t be as close to the iconic Blade Runner or even memorable when the next season rolls in. This of course coming from a person who isn’t really interested in the topic of AI so be warned this bias outlook of mine. Therefore all I can say after watching more than a dozen episodes of this series, it’s like they try to cram in a lot of things and open some thought fodder about AIs but in the end, doesn’t really amount to anything. The same status quo that we humans continue to dominate and be dicks because we can. Yeah, aren’t we feeling great as humans? It’s a good thing that no T-800 were sent back in time to eliminate mankind! Yet! I don’t think that won’t be necessary seeing humans are already ‘destroying’ themselves with loads of AI programmes. Fancy creating your very own AI girlfriend/boyfriend/lover?! Who needs real humans, right? Oh yeah. The epitome of humanity. Now can I have a bar of chocolate? Good to know one of the small pleasures of being human.

Holy f*ck! What the hell?! After my strange lewd stint with Lingerie Senshi Papillon Rose, I somehow remembered long ago there was an anime with girls with humongous tits that I never got to watch: Eiken. Sure, over the years, there were many obviously sleazy and shameless animes that featured girls with oversized melons but for some reason I never found myself to take a look at this one until now. I guess it must be horny season and so the satiate my libido without resorting to watching real porn, time to check this one out. Are there any other excuses not to check out this monster size tits?

Episode 1
Zashono Academy houses a massive 54,000 students! Densuke Mifune is a freshman there and he thought it would just be another dull life. Until he slips on a banana, sees the kuma pantsu of Chiharu Shinonome and worse, got both his hands on her F-cup boobs! In front of all the jealous boys! So those boobs doesn’t make her dumb as she is the top scorer in the entrance exam. The boys are forced to flee with the arrival of Eiken Club’s members, Kirika Misono and Kyoko Morooka. Because of Densuke’s brazen act, Kirika accepts him as Eiken’s new club member. Forcefully. Then at the clubhouse, they troll us that Densuke is about to have sex with Grace Lin. WTF trying to hand over a rose via their mouth? He drops it and this signals some bad omen. And that misfortune is accidentally watching all the girls change in their locker room. And yes, Chiharu is among them. See those huge raw melons! Oh yeah! Can’t believe they’re still growing?! Then Eiken has their own soumen activity. We meet the other members here. Aside club president Kirika, loli genius inventor Kyoko, and fortune teller Grace, the rest include we have clumsy Komoe Harumachi, the club mascot Kuma and Sensei, the teacher-cum-club advisor whom everyone has forgotten her name! And presence! Yeah, she’s so sad b*tching about it. This event also serves to give us some chaotic fanservice as boobs, asses and pantsu fly all over the place and poor Densuke gets caught in the crossfire somehow. Yeah.

Later Densuke goes to apologize to Chiharu because it is obvious ever since that peeping tom incident, she has avoided him. But could Chiharu mean something more because she seems to hint she wants them both to be alone. Too bad this is interrupted by Chiharu’s younger sister, Yuriko. She slams her butt into his face! So she wants to convince him her ass is much better than her sister’s boobs?! Yuriko seems pretty aggressive trying to flirt with Densuke. The prank gets too far when Yuriko gropes Chiharu’s boobs and in Densuke’s attempts to stop this, slips on a banana and accidentally pulls down Chiharu’s panties! Mamma mia!!! Poor Chiharu runs away in tears. Busybody Kirika tells Densuke to man up and buy her a present to apologize since next week is her birthday. But he has no money, how? Then work for it! Yeah, a sly ploy to rope him into the academy’s games to win some cash prize.

So the first stage of this annual summer games is a bungee jumping event. From what I understand, you have to jump down without having your body touching the body of water. I wonder how those big boobs can manage… The next stage is a chaotic water slide. While the team has to slide all the way down, if you get bodily separated from your team member, you are disqualified. So yeah. Densuke sandwiched between the Shinonome sisters. Chiharu’s enormous tits touch his back while Yuriko forcing his hands all over hers. This is going to be a long ride. Don’t forget Sensei at the utmost front and bearing all the misfortune. As the slide continues, it ends up with Densuke and the sisters in a very compromising position. Uh huh. Densuke having his hands all over Yuriko’s boobs and even into her mouth! Or is she forcing this?! And his legs through Chiharu’s boobs and feet in her mouth?! OMFG?! WHAAAAAT?! But he can’t let go or they’ll be disqualified! Yuriko seems to be enjoying this (although she’s making it look like he’s raping her) while it is obviously pain for Chiharu. In the end, only team Eiken crosses the goal. As Yuriko gets flirty with Densuke, it is all not sunshine for Chiharu. It seems she is in despair and feels betrayed by Densuke. Did he not promise to protect her? Then what the f*ck was all that?! She runs away in tears. Then she bumps into an old friend who just returned from America. Hot guy Shima Kurosawa promises to protect her.

Episode 2
Chiharu needs to get back to the games and so Shima promises to be there for her. In the meantime, we see more lewdness like Komoe’s accidental fanservice on Densuke, Yuriko trying to force herself on Densuke and that poor kid being made to wear a female swimsuit for the rest of the games. And yes, Shima using his privilege to pop in via blimp and announcing his entry. Did I mention he is the defending champion? The sole reason he returned from America just to defend his title! The next game is for a team to balance a ball between them without falling. Looks like Shima has got Chiharu on his side while Densuke has to put up with Yuriko. As the crossing starts, well damn it looks like Shima is taking advantage as he is groping Chiharu all over as he tries to keep the ball from falling off. The same can be said for Yuriko. Damn, this girl giving Densuke a blowjob???!!! Not sure who won but in the aftermath, Shima apologizes for his actions but he did all this to cheer her up. Liar. Then as he hugs her, Densuke is busted for spying. In the midst of that drama, the games continues as we see snippets of lewdness like Grace eating banana and putting it whole in her mouth and an eel sneaking up Sensei’s crotch! I am suspicious these games are designed so! Shima then tells Densuke he wants to ask Chiharu out. No objections, right? It’s not like they’re both dating or anything, right? Both Densuke and Chiharu looking uncertain and sad. Kirika then interrupts and claims both men should challenge each other and the winner will get Chiharu. Densuke then gets depressed all by himself as he believes he has no chance. WTF Yuriko tries to take advantage of this and molest him?! Naked! I think she’s desperate. Think of me, not Chiharu! She can give him anything he wants!

Before the final games, Densuke continues to sit dejectedly and depressed. His morale at all time low as he believes he cannot win. At this rate, Grace’s fortune telling will come true. Speaking of her, here she comes. She hears him out and wonders if he is okay with all this. She wants him to believe in himself as her fortune telling exists to make him see what is important to him. Believe in your potential and it will open up his future. So the last game pits Densuke against Shima in this banana boat ride. This time Chiharu is with Densuke. As the slide gets underway, for some reasons as usual, Densuke ends up having his hands all over Chiharu’s boobs. It is uncomfortable and she feels like he is going to break it! WHAAAT?! Shima wants to rescue her and Densuke thinks of giving up. But that is when Chiharu tells him not to give up halfway. Even if it hurts, she will try to hang on until the end. Shima gets desperate and reveals something about Grace’s fortune telling. Then his wig falls off. So I guess this means he is a loser? As everyone falls off, Densuke continues to hold Chiharu hard and promises to protect her. In the end, nobody wins but Eiken gets the prize for their efforts. A trip to the hotspring, huh? Sorry, it’s not a cash prize. Densuke and Chiharu use this to reconcile while other Eiken members leave them alone and watch afar. Sorry Yuriko, you have to hold it in this time. After all as Kirika mentions, thanks to Densuke, he helped expose Shima who was the voyeur and had a hidden video camera in the club.

Blossoming Bosoms, Blessed Breasts, Tits Blitz! From Boobs With Lust!
Uhm… What the heck… I don’t know what to say literally. I am in a dilemma whether to call it all amusing, entertaining or just straight down annoying and boing boing boring. Heh. Oh heck, who am I kidding? Definitely this is one of those entertaining fanservice shows targeted for male audiences, right? And as such, go all the way with the fanservice even if it doesn’t make sense and everything else sacrificed! So they think they can get away by featuring a butt load of tits? Why… Yes they can because we’re so numb with all those boobs, I think it will take days or weeks to get them out of our minds!

So obviously we have to talk about the fanservice. Basically that is the main and only selling point of the series. Like I said, if you’re going to appease the male audiences, might as well go all the way. So yeah, in a way, the ecchi fanservice could be said to done right as this series is nothing but spamming tits, ass and pantsu shots right in our face for every 5 to 10 seconds! Yes, the entire series is lewd as hell but due to technicalities and such, it is not hentai. It boggles my mind how a great number of female characters here have their tits so big like as though normal physics does not apply. F*cking hell, it shouldn’t and yeah, we got colossal jugs for girls that seem to jump straight out of hentai shows. Which brings me to my case, because of the tits so huge, they look so unreal and fake. Hence, I don’t really like them. WHAAAAT?! WTF AM I SAYING?! I THOUGHT I LIKE GIRLS WITH HUGE TITS!!! Sorry for that shameful confession but yeah, I have to admit that big is beautiful is not always the case. Hence girls like Chiharu, Kirika and Komoe with their breasts so big, they look so unrealistic and ugly. Well, that proves I’m not a total pervert and not just any boobs can satisfy me, RIGHT???!!! In all of honesty, watching such big bosoms just felt like cringe than sexy in my books. Maybe some other twisted sick perverts get their thrill but not me. How unsightly.

Of course the series isn’t all about those big jiggly boobs as there are other lewd suggestive sexual innuendoes like ever notice how Kirika eats her ice cream and banana? And then you have the games which are mostly water sports but those aren’t water but yogurt. See where this is going? And of course, lots of blatant fanservice as poor Densuke falls into the trap and has to follow along with the script of getting into such pervy situations so that we viewers can get all horny as our minds start to wander and imagine the sexy situations he is thrust into. One wonders why he always has his hands groping those big soft juicy Chiharu tits. Like as though if he lets go, his hands were fall off. And to aggravate his situation, Yuriko forcing his hand to do lots of pervy stuffs on her in hopes he will look her way. So you think sex is all that is on a man’s mind?! Uhm… Well… Yeah…

There is not much of a story in the OVAs since they want to spam the fanservice. If you would like to know more about it, there is the manga that ran for 18 volumes in the early 2000’s. I’m sure it will have more story and mysteries to unravel (like if Chiharu’s tits are DNA inherited and part of the family). But as far as this adaptation is concerned, it is just a single paltry arc over a couple of episodes and my guess it is to serve as an introduction or exposure. It teases you and if you are curious enough, you may want to go check out the manga. Although, I am curious as to wonder if these characters have such big boobs not just solely for fanservice purposes but rather if there really was a story behind it. Say, some sort of weird experiment that caused them to walk around with such oversized and overloaded jugs by converting all the excess fats there and without having any shoulder pains or breaking their bones. I mean, you don’t see others talking about the odd monstrosity that is those boobs, right? Is such boobs size the norm in this world? Yeah, I really wonder.

As such, the characters also are shallow and aren’t deep enough. Heh. When you have girls whose roles exist to give fanservice, what more else is there to think? From what I briefly skimmed through the internet, the characters do have more, uhm, character. From their past to their personalities as well as their relationship with each other. But as far as this anime adaptation, we’re not going to get any of that and just some sleazy cliché fanservice with Densuke being the poor kid who gets sexually harassed by the busty babes of Eiken. Because of starting off with the wrong foot with Chiharu, he tries to atone himself but more fanservice woes ensues. I bet there is some romance developing between them but the lewdness just always gets in the way!

Likewise, Chiharu isn’t some dumb blonde (she’s brunette) but because she is so meek, my gripe with her character is that she feels so unreal. Even when she is noting how uncomfortable or in pain during her groping sessions, that meek voice of hers make her sound so unreal. Like a dead robot or something. Yeah, maybe some people find it charming. My guess is that Chiharu is so because it is endgame once that ice barrier between them is broken and they can finally move on. But for now, bear with all the sexual harassments that come along with the script. Maybe each sexual harassment will make her stronger and closer to Densuke?

Other characters especially in Eiken are not memorable. Wait, I take that back. They are only memorable because of their tits or fanservice roles! Oh yeah. Kirika as Eiken’s leader is the liveliest one and I would say she causes a lot of mischief. Otherwise the club would be dull as f*ck. Komoe and Sensei only serve to be there for fanservice purposes or else those boobs and nice body would go to waste. Don’t worry Sensei, even if nobody remembers your name, we all remember your sexy fanservice. Kyoko is the only flat chest character in the group and the only one who hates Densuke. But towards the end, it looks like she is starting to have a crush on him. Now the real harem can begin? Kuma as the mascot feels like he isn’t there at all. Oh yeah, with all the bouncy boobs around, it is no wonder they overshadow this mascot. Finally there is Yuriko who is sexually charged up as a character as she forces her body over Densuke in hopes this poor kid could convert and see her way. She’s like the nympho of the pack and serve to give us more raunchy fanservice because what else is there for her to do to stay relevant? After all, sex sells, right?!

Art and animation are pretty okay. It reeks early 2000’s style and I’m not complaining. After all, the characters do have that one kind look that they’re from that era. Of course as stated the overwhelming fanservice, they better have some decent visual qualities if they’re going to stun our minds and crotches. Yeah. Better make those boobs jiggle physics worth our time! Bounce them more! And to think J.C. Staff produced this… Both the opening and ending themes are sung by Toko, Feel like Our Days and Jewel’s Memory respectively. Sounds quite okay and I make get used to hearing it. Furthermore, hearing it brings back nostalgic memories of me hearing such songs from that era. Especially the ending theme that just somehow evokes memories of animes like Air, Clannad and Kanon.

Overall, this anime definitely existed for ecchi fanservice purposes and one would easily get the wrong idea just by watching a couple of OVA episodes and don’t delve into the proper story of the manga. I’m assuming that because the manga’s plot can’t actually be spamming boobs in every page, RIGHT???!!! But as far as the anime adaptation is concerned, it certainly caters to those big boobs maniacs and crazy ecchi lovers. The bigger the better, they say. At least not the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Yeah, those melons will crush our skulls flat if they ever fall on us! Yikes! And people like me just come here to laugh at all the absurdity, right?! Yeah, it was fun (ahem) as it was cringe at the same time too. Yup, still not a fan (really) of such oversized tits. The only thing that I love bigger and fatter more than boobs is my bank account! Unfortunately, the pettanko has more meat packed in there than my bank account… :’(.