Mirai Nikki Ep 12 - The Fall of Kurusu

Crazy man with a tiny knife.
This was a very intense episode with a lot of resolved issues that have been built up over the season thus far. With our battle royal between all the future diary holders, we haven't actually had a main villain or protagonist, as almost everyone opposes Yukkii in some way. Kurusu's careful plan to turn Yukkii into a criminal was pretty creative, but the amount of intensity Kurusu gave us was equal to that of a great villain. Kurusu's intense determination to wipe out Yukkii and Yuno was far greater than any of the diary holders so far.

Those eyes!
Kurusu's goal was originally to sacrifice himself and help Uryuu become god to save his son, but with the sudden change in plans, Uryuu needed to forego the alliance and side with Yukkii and Yuno instead. Kurusu decided that the only way to save his son would be to become god himself. Filled with a great amount of determination he went all out in a winner-take-all approach on the newly formed alliance. Kurusu really drove fear into Yukkii's heart more so than anyone else thus far imo. Kurusu had a dissapointing ending with his sudden loss of determination, but it did well to invoke a lot of climax leading up to his demise.
That look, "Go f**k yourself Kurusu!"
I loved the two standoff scenes with Kurusu, they both involved Yukkii and Yuno playing roles as the hostage and opposing force to Kurusu. Yuno really has her bad-ass moments when it comes to protecting Yukkii which I find very exciting.


Yukkii's ability to finally break free of his scared little boy personality allowed him to finally have some courage to change the future by his own hands after shooting Kurusu, even though the diary foretold Yuno being hit instead. Yukkii needed to step into the world of adults after being placed in an unfavorable position. He was able to show great determination, as we have seen subtle and minor changes in his personality and growth over the season.

Those faces crack me up.
Another chance meeting that could only be fate between Uryuu and Nichijima. The two are once again tied together, however this time Uryuu is able to persuade Nichijon to follow her lead as they work to entrap Kurusu and escape the Dead End flag. Uryuu carefullt recorded Kurusu's alliance talk about leaking her information and in doing so forces Nichijima to resign Kurusu as a detective. With Kurusu's role as detective at an end, so is his detective diary's use.


After resolving all of the issues with the police and Kurusu, Yukkii and Yuno were free to live some of their normal lives together. Yukki was finally able to confess his feelings toward Yuno, and it seemed like a happy ending indeed, until the sudden revealing of Yuno's true nature. Yuno is still psychotic, and I am very pleased with this. Yuno was introduced as a crazy stalker with psychotic issues, but later we are convinced that she is normal around Yukki and only does these things for Yukkii. If we followed this logic then Yuno should be normal with no more issues, however it seems Yuno is still a force not to be taken lightly, she still has psychotic plans in store for Yukkii and remains as the main problem for Yukkii to handle. Where does this leave Yukki, we thought everything was resolved with his acceptance of her love, but it seems the plot will thicken as the rest of the diary holders need to be revealed and Yuno is still a mystery case.


Akise will no doubt play an important role in what I believe to be the unveiling of those secret bodies in Yuno's house.

~Djr7

Last Exile: Fam 12 - Queen of Turan


Sorry for delays due to Christmas; Also I have been playing Catherine. Starting it off in hard mode is tough. Those tips they tell you at the end would have helped if I didn't need to figure it out on my own... This was a nice episode after that trash recap episode was got last week. We get to meet a bunch of other characters from the first season. They are clearly setting up the crazy mystery Russian faction to team up with the characters to beat the federation. Not a bad episodes with things finally moving pretty quickly.

Ben-To 12 - Orthrus' Weakness


This episode!!! OH GOD! I really didn't see this coming at all. All it was missing was animating the whole final fight, but I'll forgive them with such an awesome episode. My mind was blown away, I had no idea what to expect for this episode. An absolutely amazing finale, especially compared to Fate/Zero that I just watched.

Fate/Zero 13 - Clifhanger end...



What a TERRIBLE way to end the first season. I can see what they are trying to do, but this was just terrible. A horrible end for such a good anime so far. They should have kept it running as a great anime then to sell out like this. I should have saw this crap coming with that ridiculous Rin episode. Damn the way they ended this season makes me angry.

Un-Go - 11 - Finale


Honestly I was blown away by the final episode of Un-Go. The episode had just about everything I expected, and more. We had Shinjurou and Kaisho's ideals revealed, Shinjurou solving the case, a surprising villain, and an epic battle involving Inga.


The focus of the episode was centered around the party invitation from the deceased Kaisho. Almost everyone who had a name and screen time over the past few episodes showed up in what was to draw out the truth behind all the mysteries. Once everyone had taken their seats I was surprised to see the table flip over and reveal some weapons, pending a possible battle royal between the participants.



Shinjurou admits his deductions were wrong, he initially thought the real Kaisho was at home during the bombing, while an impostor with the use of Bettenou's powers showed up at the T.V studio. It turns out Shinjurou was cleverly tricked, as the real Kaisho was in fact at the studio while the mastermind appeared at home. It was necessary for the mastermind to appear at home to re-enforce Shinjurou's suspicion of Kaisho's involvement.




With the discovery of the true Kaisho, Shinjurou points out the problem with how Kaisho arrived at the studio. He arrived either via train or by his security. Mizuno who was the head of the security force said he drove him but he was lying, and ends up being a member of Full Circle who wanted Kaisho ousted. Mizuno had access to Kaisho's personal files and even stole a missile to shoot the studio, causing the explosion. Shinjurou also points out Kuramitsu's involvement, which was kinda obvious, since she leaked information about the microwave satellite and brought in a manipulated Inga. The handkerchief Shinjurou gave her ended up in Inga's possession, in order for that to happen, Kuramitsu must have been at the same location where Inga was taken, the same location where Bettenou and the real mastermind were.



Shinjurou was on a roll, but before he could continue, gunshots are heard and a frantic Hayami chases into the darkness only to fall into some sort of black hole. Kaisho emerges and everyone is surprised to see him, I was even more surprised to see Inga appear at Kaisho's command and attempt to force a truth out of Shinjurou, but this is where things start to backfire for this Kaisho. As it turns out Inga has already asked a question of Shinjurou, and Shinjurou finally explains the cause of Inga's manipulation. Bettenou told Inga that she was a god, and Inga cannot resist a god, therefore Inga is under Bettenou's command. Shinjurou goes on to explain that this Kaisho is actually Hayami, and he appeared to fall down the hole and appear as Kaisho by Bettenou's powers. I did not see Hayami as the mastermind behind this, were talking about a guy who arrested a fridge fro crying out loud. I think this was the first time the suspect was someone no one anticipated and was very surprising. The real Kaisho appears alive and well, helping Shinjurou expose Hayami, faking his own death to help solve the case.


All of the sudden an epic battle between Inga and Bettenou starts. Holy sh!t was I ever thrilled to see some action from this show, I was very happy with this random battle as Inga devours Bettenou's soul.


In the end Hayami and Kuramitsu wanted to crush Kaisho to take the lead of energy control of the country. We learn that JJ Systems was actually creating solar thermal energy which is to send energy all over the planet via microwave satellites, instead of solar energy. Kuramitsu followed ridiculous conspiracy theories to  end up wanting to take down Kaisho, while Hayami wanted Koyama to look up to him as she did with Kaisho. 


Kaisho ended up back to where we started, he is still an opposing force to Shinjurou with their contrasting ideals. Kaisho ended up taking several precautions to ensure that Shinjuou would expose Hayami, he even had Mizuno killed. Shinujurou might not agree with Kaisho's methods, but the two seem to enjoy their unique rivalry of each other. I think the ending was very well done to keep Shinjurou and Kaisho from having any change of behavior, they are the same characters we learned to enjoy from the beginning of the season.


The post-mystery clip showed Shinjurou calling out Rie, opening up to her and sharing his past. He explains that he follows Inga because Inga has taken the body of a person who once saved Shinjurou, but later passed away. The ending scenes show the clean up and construction of this post-war torn Japan steadily healing.

Will there be another season? I would love one, but there is a movie out that is a prequel to this season but no subs as of yet.

-soon to come, review and thoughts on the show

~Djr7

Phi Brain Kami no Puzzle - 11 - Elena Strikes Back


We finish up our Elena arc as she once again takes to the stage to test Kaito and co. I really like Elena's character, but I think I've had enough of her. The one thing about Phi Brain is that there is not a lot of strong elements that make me want to watch the show every week. Phi Brain has a good overall appeal but there is no single aspect of the show that really grabs my attention, and the only thing going for it now is the sure to be, unveiling of the final god puzzle, and some more screen time for Rook.

Good pep talk there herbert
With that being said, we have another heavy Elena episode, however this time we focus upon her gradual change to side with Kaito, while the evil mastermind Herbert, I'll give u all a second to once again laugh at his evil name. OK, the evil mastermind Herbert tries to push Elena into using more extreme methods into bringing down Kaito and prevent him from completing her newest puzzle.

Poor Elena
Flashbacks were used to show us more into Elena's past, and it's one that I think a lot of people can relate to. She had one of those parents that wanted their child to be a smash hit, being popular and able to make money. She was apparently unskilled at everything and looked down upon by her mother, until she found her true talent in puzzles, thus, receiving praise and affection from her parents. I guess this was the episodes only thing going for it, Kaito and the gang had a very dumb puzzle to solve while dodging flying grenade things in the process.

Add caption
I was very happy to see Herbert go in the end, he really was not the best villain, in fact, he flat out sucked. Herbert was unable to produce any half decent puzzles as the so called Head of Japan Branch for the POG. I can't tell you how happy I am to see Rook back in the mix, he is still very much a mystery, as we don't know anything about him other than his past with Kaito. Rook's one big time play was his ability to exploit Kaito's mental state with a puzzle involving Kaito's painful memory of his parents death, showing how a true antagonist should act.

Rook returns, with more authority.

~Djr7

C Cube 12 - Finale and Final Thoughts


After three months, we're finally at the end. The bulk of this last episode was the final battle, with a bit of of resolution and some hinting to the future. The Waas to look for in this episode was obviously one with the absurdly long name, Suicidal Beautification Reflector, or SBR. The thing as three abilities, how overpowered is that?! Alice pretty much takes control of the fight by making copies of herself, making it quite a lopsided battle. I wish they didn't censor Fear drilling the guts out of that Alice cone though.


But what kind of finale is it if characters from previous arcs don't show up? Shiraho and Sovereignty to the rescue! I was looking forward to them doing something amazing to turn the tide of the battle, but what I got was disappointment instead. Sovereignty used her doll-controlling powers to hurl the immobile Kuroe right at the mirror to destroy the SBR. What kind of cop-out was that? All those copies Alice couldn't defend on such a pitiful attempt to break the SBR? She just stood there and let it happen, and even had the audacity to act surprised afterwards!


Without the numbers on her side, she was pretty much done for. Fear magically snapped out of being reminded of her crazy old self and deals the finishing blow. Fear declared that even though humans are weak and worthless, she wanted to become like them because they could find happiness. Then we got the classic "humans didn't help me when I was in trouble" drivel from Alice before she was defeated.


Alice ended up escaping Haruaki's gang and falling into the arms of this guy. Despite his short amount of screen time, this guy looks to be a magnificent bastard; just look at his hat! This pretty much ends the season. In the end, they show the Families, members of the Lab Kingdom, and the protagonists: the three different factions in the C Cube universe. This is probably a nudge for the viewers to buy some BDs if they want a second season. I don't foresee it happening though, since the sales aren't very good.


To sum up this show in one word would be this: disappointing. After watching the trailer a couple months prior to the show's airing, I was expecting something different. I guess I should never really have high hopes for light novel adaptions, because there aren't many good ones out there. The positives for the show are definitely the visuals; Silver Link did really well with its Shaft-esque art direction. The fight scene animation and music weren't half bad either.


Ultimately, the show can be simplified into a generic supernatural harem with the gimmick of Fear's crazy faces. There was fanservice and there were battles; pretty much your bread and butter of the genre. Disappointed as I may be, I would still watch the second season if there's going to be one. I've invested enough into the show to care about what happens next to the characters. Overall, it wasn't an amazing show to watch, but wasn't a chore to do so either. I hope you enjoyed watching it more than I did though; I know these kinds of shows are right up some people's alleys.

EDIT: 13th episode to come with BDs.

Happy holidays.



-Bern

Un-Go - 10 - Kaisho's Death


Episode 11 was filled with twists and turns, explaining some events while introducing new twists to the mystery surrounding Kaisho. After a very unusual emo'ish mood displayed by Inga in episode 10, it seems he has abandoned Shinjurou. I find myself to be a huge Inga fan, but I am content with Kazamori's presence to fill in the void. Episode 10 ended with Yuuki planning to work with the DIET member to get Kaisho to tell the truth though voice modification so that Bettenou's powers were rendered ineffective, or something to that extent.


After all the previous mysteries this one really takes the cake with my curiosity of the tension between Kaisho and Shinjurou. These two have very different views on how to go about doing things, Kaisho seems to enjoy covering up the truth for what he thinks is the best method that works for him. Yuuki on the other hand wants to reveal everything, exposing the truth without much worry for the events to follow.

I really love Kaisho's view on things, "People tend to think the truth is hidden, and there are people who believe that only they have arrived at the truth, but there are an innumerable number of truths, being satisfied with just one truth, is no more than ceasing to think about it beyond that point". Yuuki easily points out that covering up the truth is in itself, a selfish thing to do, who can say that Kaisho's version of the truth works for everyone.


I found the DIET member Kuramitsu's performance during the foreign affairs interview to be quite amusing, she easily brought to light some classified information as well as getting underneath Kaisho's skin with her "playing dumb" method. We learn that Kaisho might not have actually been at the studio, as there was no security footage on the cameras on site, according to Kuramitsu. Once she called forth her third witness, Inga, I immediately began to think that Kuramitsu might be behind the mystery. Kurumitsu called Inga for a reason, and just before Inga was called, Bettenou is seen whispering something into Inga's ear, as if Kurumitsu ordered Bettenou to tell Inga who to force the truth out of.


The truth ended up being a huge deal, Kaisho's JJ Systems have been altering files on every computer their software has been installed on, being able to alter and implemented data to organize false proof to deal with political offenders with falsified crimes.

After the fiasco at the foreign affairs interview, Kaisho leaves us with a few clues before suddenly "suiciding" with a car bomb. Telling Shinjurou through Rie about something he would obviously have known, about Bettenous's obvious involvement. A few other clues were the handkerchief, and the unreleased Yonogahime song which leads Shinjurou to begin looking into Kuramitsu's past, suspecting of her involvement. Not only was this a big turn of events as the mystery re-defines itself to be even more complex than initially thought, Mr. Yajima and the Yonogahime music hacker guy we saw making appearances last episode appear to have some sort of involvement with this case.


After all these clues, Shinjurous visit to the novelist reveals how Bettenou has tricked everyone to thinking the body of Kaisho is genuine, while it is indeed fake, and that Kaisho is most likely still alive. Even after figuring all this out, Shinjurou receives an invitation to a party by non other than Kaisho himself.


Everything is coming together quite nicely, the mystery continues to grow and develop, which is what I have been waiting for after only seeing small periods of gripping mysteries throughout the season. The build up of the finale has me on my toes, I can't wait to see how this will all add up in the end with Shinjurou obviously making a triumphant deduction of the case.

~Djr7


Mawaru Penguindrum 24 - Seizon Senryaku Complete


After a long train ride, we finally reach the destination. It was a wild ride of an ending as everything finally comes together. The whole story revolving around the fate of the family and their purpose. I was on target for some of my predictions but ultimately missed the main point that pulled everything together, the apple. A very touching ending that has partially ruined Christmas! So sad T_T

Guilty Crown 11 - Undertakers 2.0, Now under new Management!


Another intense episode. It didn't make it awesome though, just how intense I was laughing throughout this whole episode. It was just laughs all around as we watched Shoe creating his own crime fighting squad and Gai's posse all alive "waiting" for Shoe to show up. I just found this episode a riot with their crazy drops of intense moments. As Bakuman has taught me, you can't beat serious humour!

Mashiro-Iro Symphony 12 - Mascot Characters need arcs too!


We finally have our finale for Mashiro. It has been a decent run, much better then I anticipated at least. A finale for a character that has had an abundance of screentime with no real focus. I don't think I seen another anime where they focused in on their mascot character before.

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon 12: Toori x Horizon & 2nd season?


Ran late for this post cause I didn’t know I had important plans on the day I’m supposed to write this. Anyway, Second to the last episode (-.-“). Why’d they decide to heat things up in the last episodes.


Continuing with the battle between Futayo and Muneshige, I felt the first round they had in episode 10 ended quite abruptly, then again none for the fights in that episode felt like they flowed right. Now Futayo, remembering something from her past build up the courage to win. So yeah, she won. I really was expecting something different other than Futayo getting back up and winning. Guess I was expecting more explosions to happen with Muneshiges armament. But by the end of the episode I was still very much satisfied.


So Toori gets to Horizons “prison cell” and the episode becomes a controversial and deep episode, the series has always been that way, I know I’m used to it and I like it. It looks like Horizon, because she lost her emotions, has decided to think though things has her automaton self and rejects the rescue of Toori. A good way to create a twisting plot and good story. Surprisingly enough, the director did a good job in this controversial episode.


Because of this, Toori gets into a debate trying to change that way Horizon thinks and declares that he will take over the world and take all the sin armaments. Now personally I like the idea of him trying to take the world, but what kind of king will he end up becoming? I find quite hard to see him as a king considering his character type. I think of it this way, Kings are supported by his underlings but in this case it is Toori, the leader, who supports his friends and brings out the best in them, he also trusts them completely even if it ends up making him look like a fool. This is what makes his friends look up to him as a leader. His ways are different but if you see it through a different angle then he is quite the leader.


Now most of the episode goes on with Toori and Horizon trying to convince ones opinion on the other. The words used at the beginning of the debate were thankfully not deep and easy to understand. I wished they could’ve done the same with explaining the other stuff. But I had to re watched the final parts of the episode to fully understand it. Guess that’s mostly my bad since I can only suck up and process so much information at once. But I got it. It’s quite hard to understand a long conversation if they mostly substitute their words and play with them to imply a deeper meaning. Got to read between the lines I guess.


Ribbon scene was unexpected...

Conclusion: We all must know by now the series is not a battle series and relies more on speech wars. And I like it! And thankfully this time the director did a good job of laying out how things would go so we would understand it.


Seeing the preview clips we see Motonubu Matsudaira on his phone and waves at the camera!? Spoiler much? This is either a flash back scene or he is actually a live. Now that would really suck unless there is some deeper plot behind it.

I heard these guys are the 8 Great Dragon Kings from some forums

Also, we see silhouettes of more characters!? For real?  That’s the last episode and they introduce new guys? Now that clearly implies a longer story. Pearz did mention that the Horizon series is doing quite well in Japan which might mean another series.

If you can read Japanese, please translate this~

So I did some research but there wasn’t much. There was only one very convincing forum topic up in MyAnimeList. Posted by “dtshyk”, he/she says that Horizon was, from the very beginning, a 2 season series. Just not back to back and the 2nd season should be aired on April 2012. This information was taken from an Animedia magazine (above pic) but in the e-Animedia official website the 2nd season is yet to be confirmed. So please, 2nd season FTW!


I just hope they end this season properly without hard cliffhangers even if its a prelude to a 2nd season...

OkamiSan~