A mad bomber continues to terrorize the city and Mikoto encounters a familiar person.

Impressions:

Well it goes to show that even people who appear to be victims can be worse than the ones who bullied them. It’s not like I can’t understand being angry about being picked on. But instead of getting help for venting toward those who hurt him he instead directed his wrath to members of Judgment. It’s like bombing the police because you got robbed. Obviously a group like Judgment is there to help people but they can’t be everywhere, not even Kuroko. There are 2.3 million people living in that city. Even if you think of there being at least 177 Judgment branches that’s not nearly enough people to cover everyone at every moment. Just stumbling onto a crime in progress isn’t exactly common. It’s as much up to the victims as anyone to report what happens and get help for themselves. Besides you can’t spare any sympathy for that guy. He was getting his kicks from hurting people and even put an explosive into the arms of a little girl. There wasn’t any fear of her saying anything since he expected her and Uiharu to die in the blast. Being victimized is bad but all he became was a pathetic killer.

Touma timed his reappearance into the series pretty well. Just have to love the timing of popping in behind Mikoto when she was seeing how she might look in those pajamas. Her tastes just are never appreciated by those around her. I thought having him guide the little girl there was a good enough way to get Touma around and tie the situation from last episode together. He did a good job jumping in when Mikoto fumbled the coin. I guess blasting the bomb was her only hope, since really her powers aren’t really good for pure defence. The one thing I don’t get is Touma hiding his role in it. Sure it’s fine that he’s not seeking glory but he could have just stood there in front of where the blast was and would have gotten some credit. After all it puts Mikoto in the tough position of being thanked by everyone for saving them when she didn’t really do anything.

We are getting the position of those without power here. Saten is feeling down because Uiharu and Kuroko are busy with Judgment work that involves having some power and Mikoto is the Railgun. Being a level 0 in a city like this has to be tough. It’s not like she has bad motives, she just doesn’t want to feel left out. Mikoto is someone that worked her way up so she shows there is hope even if you are a low level. Everyone just has to work with what they have and keep trying I suppose.

Anyways episode ended without any more people getting hurt. You can imagine there were some losses with all those bombs going off and targeting Judgment members. Having special abilities and living in an advanced city isn’t all positive. A good episode that didn’t have a ton of flashy action, but still had some dangerous situations in it.

It is definitely hard to find the words here. Things ever since Kagakagari lost his burial doll and Christina have just continued to escalate. That continued with the recent events including the appearance of the Natsume Tomoharu from the first world. I’m really glad that I kept on following this series because it has proven to be a pretty amazing ride in the second season. I guess now that things have been set up they feel like giving the answers and just blowing us all away in the process.

Impressions:

I suppose a good place to start is with the Natsume from the first world. We already got a glimpse into what happened to him earlier in the series when Tomo had that flashback. Everything just went wrong with that experiment and sent his whole world toward annihilation. So he came back to accomplish his goal for the sake of Misao. Kanade even became his burial doll in order to make sure they succeeded. Yet absolutely nothing turned out the way it was planned. That plane crash completely threw everything off. Tomoharu from the Second World (Tomo2) died from the crash and Misao was badly hurt. So Misao was turned into a burial doll in order to save Tomo2’s life. I can only wonder how Tomo1 felt to have Misao thinking he was a demon and begging him to save Tomo2’s life. Everything was thrown off by Tooru. Yeah I was completely blindsided about her role in all of this. I can’t believe all this was done to go back to a third world and live happily with Tooru’s sister. I think Tomo1 was just too confident. He did have Hagane which was the best Asura Machina one could have but he should have been more careful. He stayed hidden for so long that he was careless and he and Kanade are gone. I really felt bad for the both of them and the other Misao. They lost so much and tried so hard only to fall before the very end of it. It’s just sad and definitely will make this one series I won’t forget.

But it wasn’t only Tomo1 who fell here. Shuri was also brutally stabbed by Tooru and then crushed by the Ice Phoenix. She fought with all she could for those she cared about and had to watch her sister who had become a burial doll be destroyed. Really I never would have expected a character like her to actually get killed. Shuri just seemed like the type that would find a way to keep going and then crush you with an explosive when you thought she was done for.

It’s hard to believe characters who were proven to be such powerhouses have just dropped easily. You was actually doing quite well until it was revealed the enemy was Tooru. That was just enough of a distraction to throw her off and it lead to her loss. Everyone who went down was just caught unaware or was just careless. In the end I suppose that’s good enough to win sometimes.

Sooner or later you expect Tomoharu will make a contract with Kanade and become an Asura Cryin. Really it’d be impressive if the main character managed avoiding the series name forever. Besides she really has pushed herself to the limit. If Tomoharu doesn’t make that contract then Kanade will die. Of course we know that power is not without consequences. Any feelings that Tomo has for Kanade will be lost over time as she uses her powers.

Anyways this situation has really gotten messy. Tomoharu has had to stand and watch people he cares about be lost. Not to mention as Tomo1 predicted he failed and now it’s up to his spare. Will just have to see the consequences of Hagane’s power going out of control. It seems they ended up in the Third World, but will have to wait and see. I’m not sure how everything is going to be resolved at this point.

Mustang visits Madam Christmas while Ed and Al resolve to recover their bodies.

Impressions:

Anyways was Scar really expecting anyone to buy the whole “disfigure to disguise” thing? I mean he’s a wanted man with a giant X on his forehead. Stealth is not exactly going to be their friend here. Not to mention they have a little girl with an even smaller panda. Would Marcoh seriously be expected to threaten their secrecy? Scar just did it because he was pissed off. Seems like the hell that is Marcoh’s life will continue on.

Well it seems Mustang is starting to get his second wind. He really took a heavy hit with losing so many of his subordinates in the latest string of events. Just about lost everything but the queen in that last round. But it appears he still has some moves to make although he has to be much more obscure or risk the safety of Riza. But appears Roy has many places he can turn to when in a pinch.

It was also a nice talk with Ed and Mustang. Ed certainly doesn’t want him or Riza to get killed. Though not sure how well the continuing to owe Mustang something will work out in the end. At least it sent the message about his feelings. They have certainly butted heads at times but that doesn’t mean they want each other to fall off a cliff. Hopefully they both get what they are after and survive this.

Definitely bad news for everyone that Kimbley is out there. That guy is completely out of his mind and not someone you want wandering the streets like that. He really would go and annihilate a town if he got the chance to. For now his target is Scar which conveniently allows for a showdown regarding the past.

We’re continuing to move along so the next episode should be pretty good.

Marcoh and Riza discuss Ishbal and the tragic truth of the past is revealed.

Impressions:

Wow this episode was pretty amazing and really threw some heavy things out there. I hadn’t even considered this part of Mustang’s plan. True that just getting the seat of power won’t change everything. If he doesn’t get power out of the military’s hands then things will never really change. Yet doing so could very well lead to his execution. No one in their right mind would do this kind of thing since it would be suicide. Yet Mustang cares so much about the country and doing the right thing. I can’t believe the incredible determination he and Riza have. For the sake of doing what they believe is right they will walk that road for the sake of those alive and those who’s lives they have taken. I really hope they find another way since they are two great characters in this series.

The past between Riza and Roy really do go far back. I was blown away that he was her father’s pupil and eventually they both joined the military. What was even more surprising was having her father’s research on her back. Well I suppose that’s a fairly safe place and she would never lose it. No wonder those two care about each other so much. They really go far back and have lost a lot together.

It was also nice to see Hughes again. A sad fate that he had to die like that. He was a good man who wanted the same future Mustang did. They were all damaged by that Ishbal event. Though suppose it proves some things never change in terms of how he was gushing over Gracia.

I guess Marcoh finally got what he wanted. He wanted to be punished for his crimes and Scar did so. He would rather die than be used again to do something horrific. It’s sad that he had to die like that alone in that cell. At least he managed to pass on what he knew and what had been done. I hope Scar does go wild on the homunculi a little bit. At the same time I hope he doesn’t survive to the end of the series. He’s just a creature of vengeance who has committed his own terrible acts. Scar won’t stop until he dies which means someone will have to take him out. I don’t know if it will be a homunculus or if that role will fall to Ed who may have to cross that line.

On a bit more light-hearted note it was nice to pull the love card on Ed like that. Poor guy was completely blown away and embarrassed by that one. Sadly unlike Winry it will probably take that guy some time to admit to himself what he really feels. Besides while Al doesn’t have his body he probably wouldn’t even consider it since he’d probably feel it was unfair. Anyways it seems that Al is getting a fan. He was really bragging about himself to May Chang who has moved on, haha.

So now the question becomes what will everyone do? Ed and Al still have their bodies to deal with, although I keep thinking Ed will be stuck like that. The whole homunculi situation is just overwhelming and then you have the hostages. In the end they just have to move one step at a time. Their bodies need to be reclaimed but also they need to gain the ability to fight back. So that means eastern alchemy is the key for them to have any chance at all.

Mikoto spends the day as a Judgment recruit and a dangerous esper is plotting behind the scenes.

Impressions:

While this as a pretty light hearted episode I still enjoyed watching it. Probably since it was almost entirely focused on Mikoto and showing why she is better suited to doing things on her own instead of joining Judgment. The rules and proper code of conduct just isn’t the kind of thing she is good with. If someone upsets her it’s a whole lot easier to just shock them. Since she isn’t part of the organization they don’t get a bad reputation of excessive force.

The bug thing was pretty hilarious even if they used it three separate times. The great biribiri was completely terrified by the bugs. Not that I can really blame her since especially finding one in that confined space would scare most people. Although since she can shock just about anything into oblivion there is less reason to be worried. Still knowing you can handle something and being able to shelve that natural fear are two different things. Safe to say Mikoto isn’t really suited for average work like giving directions. Again she has my sympathies since I have a terrible sense of direction. Those kindergarten kids are just evil. They know that you can’t do anything to them without looking like the bad guy so they can pull stupid stunts like that.

Anyways the episode got really good after the ED with that situation in the store. That poor guy did a good thing by defending the civilian even at the cost of his own safety. Guess when you join a group like Judgment it means you are accepting the risks that come with it. No clue what kind of ability he had, but in the end it’s tough to deal with a massive explosion at close range. Not sure if he’s dead or just severely injured, but this is definitely the first time the series has gotten this serious. You can bet the hunt will be on for that guy who did this. It went from small pranks to injuring or killing people. The line has been crossed here.

Anyways glad the series is starting to pick up. I think they have done a good job setting up the universe and the characters. Now it seems they are truly getting into the major story arc and that’s a really good thing.

Some might call it odd to make a post wishing yourself a happy birthday, but oh well! I really feel my birthday is a good point for reflection over what has happened the past year. Not to mention it lines up well with anime because my blogging here started in the fall season last year. Quite a bit has happened over the past year. But there is no doubt I’m glad to have helped blogging here since it’s only increased my interest in anime and wanting to express those thoughts better. So while I’m a year older want to say thank you to everyone who has read and commented to my posts.

So hopefully there will be many more birthdays celebrated on the site as the years go by. Not to worry though, I will be adding some actual anime related posts quite soon. As the character above are making clear it’s time to enjoy some cake.

This season so far has a lot going for it. As far as the singing sisters’ story, I think it will be pretty interesting. Right now it seems to be the closest thing to a plot that this show has. That was one of the main things that bothered me about the first season. While it was still fun to watch and I liked the show, it seemed like it didn’t really go anywhere. It was just random traveling, randomly with different people, until they had a small skirmish at the end. However here, with this season, they seem to really have some things going. They have these three sisters who have the magic book which we learn is evil. So it seems like there is going to be a story about trying to stoop the book, along the way continually utilizing a new, male character, which is very rare in this EROGE adaption anime….Anyways, there is also the story about the sword. However that seems almost to be there just as an excuse to have Touka as a character and for everyone to have a reason for leaving the village in the first place. It doesn’t seem like something that will end up being that serious. It mainly is the book thing. I’m just curious about the guy mainly.

I do find it very interesting that they have introduced Kada. I always thought it was weird from the first season that this series is originally an ero game visual novel. I have the CGs for it and they would definitely tend to suggest the presence of a guy, which for the most part has been absent from the anime. Kada finally seems like a character that cold maybe fill that role, as he isn’t the evil scumbag guy the last season had for the final couple of episodes. Still, they have already actually parted ways, at least temporarily, so I’m not sure how much they will end up traveling and being together. I think his roe lint he series is definitely not over completely, but without him constantly being with the others I feel he won’t be that much of a character presence, which is too bad.

I have to say that at the start of this show, I wasn’t too excited or thrilled. It seemed rather average. It wasn’t going to e a show I disliked, but not really one that had much going for it either. However with the introduction of Tomoe and Miyako things seem like they’ve really stepped up and things have not only simply gotten more interesting, but the show in general seems to be a bit better. Even disregarding having the show actually focus on something, taking seriously the relationships or anything, having more characters definitely livens things up. Previously, with only Kazama and Sumi, even with the other girl, it wasn’t very exciting. It was kind of boring, which was originally what put me off of liking the show more. But with their introductions, things are livelier, more interesting, and could actually lead to some better development, since they are the first and only people to know that Sumi likes girls, and Kazama in particular.

I am really curious as to what they are going to do with this whole Akemi thing as well. If they are going to continue on with this whole girl’s club thing, he/she will obviously have to be a bigger part of the show in general, as she’s their fifth member. Right now, the show seems to be doing pretty good without them actually having the club. But it is a topic they keep ringing up, so it seems like its important enough to the characters for them to at least bring up the issue. I really hope they do bring in Akemi to the story a bit more. The dynamic there is just so interesting. Kazama likes girls, likes a guy dressed up as a girl who likes Sumi, who likes Kazama. It’s a perfect love triangle and with yuri elements, it’s an actual triangle, with one person liking the next, not just two separate people liking one. That’s not a triangle damnit; it’s a straight line with three points. THIS is a triangle.

Yuuto holds a Christmas party.

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Impressions:

This episode was just filled with the blushingly sweet moments that I love about this series. The episode wasn’t full of a lot of absolutely hilarious moments or anything like that, and no real serious drama happened, but it was mainly just about the characters having fun, and then in the end Yuuto and Haruka spending a lot of time together. Although STILL nothing has really happened between the two of them. They haven’t kissed, neither one has said to the other or to themselves really that they actually like the other, when they were alone together it was just full of moments that were just sweet and cute and made you blush. It is just fun to watch.

On a somewhat related note I do wish they would hurry up and just kiss already damnit. At least do SOMETHING. Admit to yourself at least that you like the other person. After one whole season they are still practically nowhere in the relationship. Hell, even Shinna seems to almost have backed off, as she’s done very little these past couple of episodes, not even just to mope about not being with Yuuto. I really just want something more concrete to happen soon. Not that the show isn’t good now, it would just be so much better if their relationship were to develop further.

Inuyasha goes to find the person who made the sword Daiki.

Impressions:

This episode, like all of them, had a LOT of content in it. As I thought they weren’t done with that whole Daiki sword thing, which was very interesting to see in this episode. Not only did they go and find the person who made this Daiki sword, he had another more powerful an complete one, Inuyasha then proceeded to fight some demon who wanted it, then fought the guy who had the sword. It wasn’t a normal simple fight either. Although it started very quick it seemed very intense. He was very close to losing Tessaiga altogether it seemed. Hell, at the end of the fight he won while using the sword in its skinny rusted form. So he then won it and then goes on to fight what seems to be the main bad guy right now, Moryomu-whatever. Things were just going really fast, it was almost hard to keep track.

I didn’t quite understand what was going on until Naraku was talking at the end, that Inuyahsa’s sword was hurting him with every attack. I thought it was just trying to absorb energy and there just happened to be too much to do it normally. However that doesn’t seem to be the case. Even Inuyahsa at the end was wondering what the hell was going on with his sword, which was exactly my question. They just kind of threw in this whole energy absorbing dragon scale thing really fast; I hope they elaborate on it a bit more. It’s almost as if this series is moving too fast, which is just sop weird to say for the series “Inuyahsa” considering the previous fillers.

Yuuto gets a part time job so he can buy Haruka a present.

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Impressions:

I thought this episode was pretty good. Although technically it followed a clichéd situation where the character works really hard at some part time job to get money for a present for some girl, it was still very unique. It wasn’t working some construction job the episode didn’t even focus on him being tired from that job and missing spending time with said girl, it took the situation but really did its own thing with it which was fun to see. Touka was a very fun character. Although, I didn’t see her in the OP at all, even as a small side character so I don’t think we will see her again, it was still a nice little distraction.

I did like the small amount of parody humor they had in this episode, though I figured they would have done a lot more. I’m not sure what their limitations on licensing is or anything but this would have been the perfect episode for a Hayate no Gotoku parody joke thrown in at least once. However the only joke they seemed to do was a Toradora one. Which, don’t get me wrong, was very funny. It obviously fit since it’s the same voice actress as Taiga and they have similar bodies. Though honestly, Touka here seemed nowhere near as underdeveloped as Taiga or even as she keep talking about herself in the episode.

Shippo goes through a demon fox examination and Sesshomaru looks to get a new sword.

Impressions:

I’m still continually surprised and impressed with this series. They keep moving rather fast and I’m very glad for it. After 300 or so episodes it’s nice to see them not move at a snail’s pace. Even no after the first couple of introductory episodes they seem to be fitting a lot into one episode. Some humor story about Shippo and an exam, Inuyasha and some sword Daiki which he doesn’t seem to be done with yet, and then Sesshomaru all of a sudden getting a super kick ass sword which now seems to make him absolutely invincible. While the Shippo thing was mainly there for entertainment, it didn’t really seem to have much influence on plot, it was still funny to watch, and there were other parts of the episode that did progress things.

I am really am interested in where they are going to go with the whole Sesshomaru thing. Right now he really does seem to be the most powerful one. His previously healing sword now seems unstoppable. It’s the same as the wind tunnel almost. It seems like it doesn’t matter how strong the enemy is he can just slice them and send them to some other dimension or send half of them to another dimension, thus killing them. What’s interesting I found was that he seemed to really actually care about Kagura dying. He seems like he’s going to go for some revenge, using the new sword on the amalygam demon guy who is giant and just absorbing other people. I wish they would take this opportunity to actually develop the character a bit, as so far this seems like one of the best opportunities to do so.

Wrath explains the hostage situation to the Elric brothers and Ran Fan gets an update about Ling.

Impressions:

This episode can easily be described as aftermath. I mean they pretty much just dealt with what happened after such a major incident. As expected the main characters are in hell right now since they can’t really make any big moves. The homunculi have managed to take numerous hostages on them so any rash actions will mean their immediate deaths. Ed can’t even resign since Winry would be killed as the consequence. Mustang has Riza to worry about not to mention the rest of his men who are being split apart. Havoc on the other hand can’t go anywhere due to his situation and Armstrong will still be around so he still has limited allies. The main problem is Riza being so close to Wrath that he has to be extremely careful about what he does.

I was surprised but impressed with Armstrong in this one. I hadn’t considered that he had such suffering haunting him although he was part of the Ishbal extermination. You can’t blame the guy for just stepping away from the whole situation. Really he couldn’t fight against it and it has to be better than staying and taking part in a slaughter you don’t believe in. Still can understand his feelings and desire to not back away this time. People he cares about along with the people are in danger and he can hardly run away and hope for the best. Besides Mustang and the others will need all the help they can get and that guy is definitely help. Nice of Armstrong to take over for Riza so she could go to the bathroom. He was in there for a really long time and can imagine her not moving an inch until he came back out again.

Damn Wrath nearly had another body on his kill list. He just makes it a habit of stabbing Al doesn’t he? Good thing May Chang is small or she would have been killed as well. What an insane guy doing such things. While you knew it was probable it was still confirmed that May Chang is also royalty in Xing. I can’t believe the stupidity of her and Ran Fan, choosing to fight when their bodies are in such rough shape. That doctor is one frightening person though.

Think that Al will send Ran Fan over to Winry if only so she will have a little bit of protection. It was nice of Ed to make that call. It must have been a nice surprise for Winry to actually have him contact her for something that wasn’t him being in trouble. Of course it was about her being in danger, but I’m sure she appreciated it. Considering she recently figured out her feelings it meant even more for her. I’m really worried with her out there by herself although not being in Central is the best for now.

Ling proves that he really is still in there. Writing the message to Ran Fan and even taking over for an instant to yell at Wrath. He is without a doubt one amazing person. The fact that Ling is actually biding his time and waiting to take over just blows me away. I think Greed is impressed as well and doesn’t mind since he likes greed and wanting to take over that kind of body for his ambitions is one greedy thing to do.

I can understand Marcoh wanting to be killed so he wouldn’t cause any more deaths. The man has been haunted ever since for what he did. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind dying for just those sins, but also if they want him to commit even greater sins then he would obviously want death. Of course Scar probably doesn’t mind long as he gets his information. These events just get more complicated for him since he would never have considered so much being behind this.

For now it seems Ed has a path to follow. There is a chance to recover Al’s body and hopefully May Chang can teach him about Eastern Alchemy so he can still fight against that ‘father’ and the homunculi no matter what happens. These events have been amazing and it’s almost sad to compare this to the original series.

Ed, Ling, and Envy escape from Gluttony and land in the middle of enemy territory.

Impressions:

Well this situation was about as dramatic and unstable as I was expecting it to be. After all Ed and Ling did just pop out in the middle of the enemy stronghold. Though I suppose the start was a shock for everyone with that guy healing up Ed and Al. Plus his reaction really revealed his close connection to Hohenheim. At this point I suppose you could call him a twin or something like that. Either way they are both clearly not normal. From the reaction from Ling and May Chang he is pretty weird and there is something very strange about his body. Though I suppose that was obvious when he had a third eye that cried out a philosopher stone. Not to mention he’s the ‘father’ of beings that have been around for centuries. There are a lot of questions around that guy and Hohenheim. It makes sense the brothers would call themselves Elric since Ed doesn’t want anything to do with Hohenheim.

But things just got crazier as the episode went along. That guy somehow stopped Ed and Al from using alchemy. After that he turned Ling in to the new Greed. It seems he has the ability to control whether memories are transferred to the body or not. Makes sense since he recreated someone that he had destroyed earlier. On the positive Ling is still inside there somewhere. Although it would seem that only Ran Fan has any chance of getting through to him in there. I can understand him going so far and there wasn’t much of a choice anyways. I just hope that guy can be saved. The weird thing is I didn’t at all notice Ling standing with the homunculus in the new OP. Must have not been paying close enough attention.

Even Scar turned up on the scene and found out the truth about Ishbal. It kind of annoys me that he was any help to Ed and Al considering what he has done. Guess it’s a question of what he is going to do from this point on? Is he just going to keep working on killing the brothers and State Alchemists or focus on the homunculus? I guess he would go after those who started the whole thing first. Still I’m really hoping they don’t try and turn him into anything but another enemy. That Envy fired the first shot doesn’t change what he has done and continued to do since that horrible event.

It was a good thing that Scar and May Chang weren’t affected by whatever that guy did. I suppose it’s because May Chang uses eastern alchemy and Scar’s is unique as well. Whatever it was the guy did it was clearly focused on stopping the type that Ed and Al were using. Either way that guy is a major foe and is difficult to do anything against since he can just block and counter so easily.

Now I wonder what everyone will do next. Mustang has been completely blocked and against that power there isn’t much Ed or Al can do. They really could use some help here but I’m just not sure where it’s going to come from with another ally in Ling being lost. Not a great situation they are all in right now.

Kuroko and Uiharu have a fight which brings up a promise made in the past.

Impressions:

Well this was a fairly good episode. Really I didn’t end up having very strong feelings about it one way or the other. It was good for Uiharu and Kuroko character development and let us see just how they got to where they are now. It seems Kuroko was always the type that would jump into things and be reckless, whether it is about her affections toward Mikoto or dealing with crimes. It certainly didn’t go well for her in the past or in the present with her not taking consideration the fact there could be multiple criminals. Her usage of teleportation has gotten better but apparently she still makes the same mistakes. It was an unnecessary risk considering they were right outside Judgment and could have waited for some backup to arrive. Maybe that hit by the door she took will remind her to listen to Uiharu and not act so rashly. Well it is Kuroko so sadly can’t say there is much of a chance there.

Well on the positive this episode proved there might be guys in Judgment. Honestly I was wondering since pretty much every single member we’ve seen so far has been a girl. Though of course this is a series where nearly every character period has been a girl except for the villains which have been predominantly male. That first crook will really have to live in shame getting owned by a really small girl. Kuroko obviously has skills, but no one wants to get beaten by a kid. That one crook had a pretty good ability and was smart about how he acted. He didn’t make his presence known until his partner was down and could even escape if necessary. Of course he didn’t expect a certain railgun to come to the rescue.

The series continues to show off some interesting abilities. First we had the x-ray vision which found the gun in the first place and then the Equal Speed ability which while not that fast was pretty efficient. If you couldn’t destroy them they would keep moving and could probably penetrate just about anything. It would seriously be bad to get hit by that.

So it wasn’t a bad episode though didn’t have much Mikoto in it. At the very least it seems next episode will focus more on the present than the past.

I’m not even sure what to say after the conclusion of this round. I feel so manipulated….This is definitely the best of all the rounds so far considering the depth and what went on outside of the game board. While I may not like everything that went down there is no doubt it was really well done. At least for now I’ll be certain not to trust anyone ever again, haha.

Impressions:

But really I was completely owned here. You can’t just do that to people! Pulling the whole sympathetic thing, making us feel bad for Beatrice, having a last stand battle, and then revealing it was all a trick. Curse you Beatrice! Thought it was going down my normal path of liking characters that initially I hated once I could understand them better. Instead it was just a gigantic lie to trick Battler into giving up. If she couldn’t just use the murders to convince him then she would use this new technique. Just really frustrates me that I couldn’t see through it. There is only one way to deal with this situation. Have to barricade the defences and completely refuse to believe anything that comes out of Beatrice’s mouth. Gah, just sucks when you get trolled like that. I’ve never been the type to take being tricked lightly so won’t lower my dislike of Beatrice ever again.

While I don’t think Battler would have signed especially after their behaviour got suspicious it was still a good save by Ange. Bernkastel really brought in a powerful piece here. Besides she needs a chance above 0% to create her miracle. This gives a chance that wouldn’t be possible with Battler fighting alone there. I somewhat expected this with Ange’s appearance in the last episode and the OP. Beatrice has supreme control over that island but she doesn’t have control outside it. Bernkastel clearly isn’t limited by location or time so she could go and bring Ange into this.

Ange is a pretty interesting character though we’ve only seen her for a short time. You can only imagine what she had gone through over the years with her parents and brother having died during that incident. Probably the only thing that kept her alive was waiting for Eva to die and wanting the truth. Eva took the truth to the grave and so Ange could never have it. Not surprised she would feel like dying so at least she could go and see them. Some nice kicks she delivered to those goats and Virgilia. The only thing that bothers me is Bernkastel being a bit vague on what beating Beatrice would get Ange. Hopefully that miracle will allow her to bring her family back and change the tragic result. Anyways it seems that the whole pointing while saying “it’s no good” is a genetic thing. Well either that or Battler did it so much at home that Ange made it a habit.

Of course it just brings more questions about the truth of events. The cigarettes really helped to cut up the alibi that Eva might have had in regards to Maria and Rosa’s deaths. Very well could have just stepped out of the room using some excuse or Hideyoshi wanted to smoke so she left to give him room. Either way it was shown earlier she doesn’t like smoking so no way it would have been done by her husband while she was in there. She might not have been able to sneak out the gun so had to kill those two using more hands on methods. Could have snuck up on them or been non-threatening before killing Rosa and then grabbing a fleeing Maria and choking her to death. Eva also left to rest while the three went out to get supplies. Would be possible to sneak out and kill them all before coming back to her room. While I’d hate to think she could callously kill her husband and child anything is possible. Could have been so angry about George being willing to involve himself with someone of Shannon’s standing that she would rather get rid of him. After all being the head was the most important thing to her.

On the other hand there is the Nanjo problem. It was pretty tightly tied up with the red words. Of course I’m leaning toward something like multiple personalities. Then she could go on a killing spree without actively knowing about it. The damage to Jessica’s eyes could have been intentional. She did look very disturbed when pulling the gun on Battler like that. But the red seemed to make it so Eva wouldn’t have time being with Battler. Maybe she knocked him out, but it said she was under Battler’s constant surveillance….Figuring out the truth is a pain to be sure. At the very least seems clear she killed Battler and is probable for Rosa, Maria, Kyrie, Rudolf, and Hideyoshi. Not going to examine each death but she does seem pretty likely for being responsible. The fact she was alive in 1998 is enough to make her the prime suspect.

A less serious topic is the motivations of Lambdadelta. It seems this whole affair might have been her doing. It might be possible that she pulled Beatrice into the whole affair to lure Bernkastel in. Bern made it clear she was bored and looking for entertainment. Lambdadelta could have had Beatrice set up this game for the sake of getting Bernkastel to participate. Clearly she has feelings toward Bernkastel. She was probably quite upset that Bern won the last game and thus didn’t have to pay attention to her any longer. The way she was talking to Beatrice seems to hint at it. She wants Beatrice to keep winning indefinitely and thus having Bernkastel struggle indefinitely. You can tell the type of person Bernkastel is in that she won’t quit until victory. Thus if she can never win she will keep on fighting and Lambdadelta can continue to enjoy it.

This was a huge round and I’m impressed how good a job was done in tricking people. I will put full support behind Battler and Ange. They have been dragged into this situation and will have to fight with everything they have to get out of it.

Mikoto meets an urban legend and has a showdown against Touma.

Impressions:

This is why Mikoto is such a great character. She doesn’t use something lame like a knife, axe, or anything mundane. She uses chainswords and chainwhips. I mean turning iron into a flexible blade that will easily cut whatever it touches is just a great ability. Just as a sword it’s bad enough but can also turn into a whip which means you’re not getting away without at least losing a limb or two.

Anyways it was definitely an entertaining fight to watch. Of course it was pretty one sided since Touma couldn’t actually attack. Probably one of the best moments was once he had an opening and just couldn’t do anything since Mikoto looked so scared. That was probably her most effective move against him. Since really with her unable to use electricity it would be like picking on a helpless girl. It was pretty comical how he followed it up with pretending to be taken out. He probably hoped she would let it be, but she was probably upset he wasn’t going at her seriously. So really there is no winning and just running for his life was all Touma could do there.

I think the most telling thing was the peaceful smile she had while sleeping. Probably not often she can just cut loose and completely exhaust herself. Since Touma can take anything she dishes out there is no reason to feel bad for not going easy.

Really this episode was just the best so far in the series and had great moments from start to finish. I like the first meeting between Mikoto and Touma since it is so fitting for them. She was probably bothered that no one would step forward to deal with those guys. Just because she can handle herself doesn’t mean people shouldn’t do anything. Touma was the idiot who stepped in to try and help. I can’t believe she ruined his brilliant strategy, haha. Overall it worked well since she took out the goons and he didn’t get beaten up by them. Now that was a fated meeting.

We got to meet the weird scientist who clearly doesn’t get any sleep. Clearly she has some interest in Mikoto and it’s hard to say what kind of person she is. Except the fact she clearly has no inhibitions and will just take off her clothes if she wants to. She did a great job getting Mikoto embarrassed and calling her a tsun, tsun, tsunjire. Guess someone who works off logic can analyze her pretty well.

Kuroko was done well in this episode with her limited insanity. In moderation she’s a pretty funny character though nearly gave herself a concussion. Guess she doesn’t like the idea that Mikoto would take off her clothes for anyone else but Kuroko.

Top notch episode overall. I also feel we should mourn the loss of Touma’s eggs. Truly tragic to wait in line for the special and then have them ruined.

I really think this continuation is surpassing the first season in terms of the emotions and just how exciting the each episode is. With Kyomu Satomi out to get Kagakagari it meant a lot of trouble was going to result. I just didn’t expect events to get this serious this quickly.

Impressions:

I can understand why Tomoharu has been trying so hard to avoid using Kurogane. Really if Kanade wanted Tomo to stop using it so much all she had to do was tell him what would happen to Misao. After that it’s been pretty impossible for him to use it. Just knowing that fighting would drain away her soul pretty much stopped him from doing anything. The downside is without Kurogane he can’t do anything. Kanade has tried to pick up the slack but she just doesn’t have the strength to keep it up. Even worse the contract that seemed possible for the future has proved to have its own downsides. Like the Asura Machina draining away the burial doll’s existence the compensation for the contract is feelings of love. So if Tomo actually made the contract eventually his feelings would fade toward Kanade and he’d probably end up using her like Kagakagari did with Christina. In the end Tomo used Kurogane but the main problem still remains. Fighting has too high a price and yet there doesn’t seem to be any immediate solution to his problems.

Kagakagari really did develop into an anti-hero by the end here. He wasn’t such a bad guy, but simply put saving those he cared about above everyone else. It was that desire to free Kotori from being a burial doll that fueled his actions. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about Christina either but the more he used the contract the less feelings of love for her affected his decisions. In the ideal he would have freed Kotori and they all would have left the stage to live in peace. But things didn’t work out like that and now Kagakagari is alone. I’m not sure what he is going to do at this point. He put everything on the line including becoming Asura Cryin and yet it didn’t work. That gamble failed and he lost both of the people he cared about. It’s sad to imagine what he will do at this point. I wouldn’t be surprised if he just ended his life since he’s lost it all and given up on the future. Losing the two most important people to him at once like would be difficult to deal with. Maybe we will see him later but it doesn’t seem that likely.

It really amazes me how worthless Kyomu Satomi is. Of course he’s not important enough to be final villain level, just a really evil guy. He doesn’t care at all about anyone except himself. Those he works with don’t matter, the lives of innocents don’t matter, and even his burial doll doesn’t matter. As long as he is living that’s all that matters for him. To be honest I thought that ice woman should have just stabbed him through the chest instead of Bismuth. He used Nina as a hostage which actually stopped Kagakagari and was the reason Christina and Kotori were lost. Not to mention he had no issues with killing Tomo and the others to hide the evidence and take that trunk as a trophy. Hopefully we don’t see him again. It’s probably wrong but I was pretty satisfied when he was in agony after Bismuth was impaled. He’s the type you can feel no sympathy for.

Anyways I wonder where Tomoharu goes from here? He still needs to find a way to free Misao from Kurogane before it’s too late. Not to mention we have the mysterious influence of his brother who showed up only to vanish again. Time is running out and a solution has to be found quickly.

Saten and Uihara visit the Gardens of Education and get involved in an incident.

Impressions:

Well I think this episode has some important points that they can run with moving forward. The key part is a girl who was clearly using her abilities at a level above what she was supposed to be capable of. Considering there was a recent system scan, I find it hard to believe she just managed to improve her ability that much. At the very least it’s something unusual and something to keep an eye on as the series moves forward.

The disappointing part was how weak a villain Miho turned out to be. I mean going around and messing up people’s eyebrows was silly enough. But doing it just because a girl from Tokiwadai ended up going out with her boyfriend who dumped her was a bit much. Not that I’m saying she should have done this but it would have made more sense to focus on her ex-boyfriend and the girl in particular. Instead she went around attacking people just because they went to the school. It was pretty silly but could actually have been more serious. Knocking people out with stun guns could have caused them to hit their heads and get injured. They actually lucked out with just the silly eyebrows.

I’m just hoping the situations they get into further in the show will be more serious. At least this one was more serious than the Kuroko obsessed one from last week. Hopefully Touma comes back into the picture since he does have the ability to get Mikoto riled up. Considering the person was attacking with a stun gun it wasn’t exactly a tense situation for Mikoto. All she had to do was stand there and be unimpressed.

Not a bad start to the series really. They managed to get two of the lead characters introduced and started to delve into the world for this series a little bit. Really was just an episode to show what those two could do and the place of magic. Definitely some contrasting abilities with Natsu’s dragon slayer magic and Lucy’s type of summoning.

Impressions:

I suppose one thing that might be a concern is the intensity of the facial expressions. For some of the serious scenes they didn’t seem to go as far as they could have. The character designs especially for Natsu do have a resemblance for One Piece so maybe they didn’t want to show extremely serious faces which would increase the comparison. But they are different series so I hope the animators do put in a serious effort in terms of helping the characters express themselves. The voice actors do a great job here but they can only do so much. It’s the combination of the art and the voices that really bring the characters to life. I’m also wondering how Natsu’s fighting style will work when it comes to some of the major battles? They seemed to go with a style of focusing on the character then pulling back for the explosions. Hopefully they can tone down the effects to just get to the action between the characters fighting.

Besides a few complaints it was a pretty good opening episode. They did what you need to do in terms of showing what kinds of people we are dealing with and the basis for the world. I’m pretty interested in a world that has magic integrated in this way. It can be used as a career like any skill and the guild system shows that. It’s just that we will see some magical situations surrounding the characters. Of course we should also see some crazy levels of destruction since Natsu can make a mess as showed in this episode. Of course part of the damage came from Aquarius who has quite the attitude. Actually aiming to wash her summoner to the shore and then rubbing in the fact she has a boyfriend while Lucy clearly doesn’t.

Here’s hoping this will just be a fun series to follow. There promises to be action and some comical moments along the way. At the very least we can enjoy watching the members of Fairy Tail destroy the area they happen to be fighting in and get chased out of town by soldiers.