Phi Brain Kami no Puzzle -12-13 - Fool's Puzzle

I'm not gunna lie, I have been procrastinating posting these last two episodes for quite a while, and I think that reflects my oppinion of the show. Phi Brain just doesn't have anything that interests me all that much to keep me up to date with it. I can't really explain why I don't like the show all that much, but there isn't really anything that I dislike in particular. Hopefully I'll come up with some reasons in my review post.

Because a fool made it.

Episode 12 was probably one of the slowest paced episodes thus far, however it was a great return for Rook and an even greater set up for the next episode. All in all the episode was boring as hell and served as a set up for episode 13 where Kaito and Rook attempt the Fool's Puzzle.

One thing that bugged me was how easy it was for Rook to trick Kaito into following him to England in so that Rook can test Kaito's skills in the most dangerous puzzle so far. We finally see the majority of Kaito and Rook's past, however I felt this was just a lame excuse to info dump their past on us. Looking back on it, the episode fell flat of expectations as it was just way to easy for Rook to snatch Kaito away from his friends. Ana and the others had some suspicions about Rook but nothing developed from it. It would have been nice to see a confrontation of some sort between Rook and a member of Kaito's gang about Rook's intentions, but instead they all sat down and did nothing.

How the hell did he kick the saw?

Episode 13 proceeded to be of minor excitement, but a big welcome to some actual danger instead of the stupid dangers in the previous puzzles. The Fool's Puzzle is some sort of tower where elevators serve as the puzzle in order to reach the top before fire and giant saws take your life. Honestly I felt this puzzle fell short of it's built up expectations, If you have an episode dedicated only to setting up a puzzle, then the puzzle better damn well be epic, and this puzzle fell short of my expectations. The puzzle started with a scene where we can see all the skulls of previous solvers who have attempted this puzzle, Kaito even felt nothing but death and murderous intentions from the puzzle. This was good, a great set up for the puzzle since all the other puzzles in this show are blown up Sudoku's or other small time puzzles.

Unfortunately after seeing the giant saws and fire, in the end Kaito is simply using elevators to reach the top within a time limit while avoiding spinning saws. There was no real puzzle or traps, just a simple timed race to the top. Rook was even able to easily move about and save Kaito from the Tower with ease, as if it was all just a show and not the murderous puzzle we were lead to believe it was.

Rook is an awesome character, wish I could say the same for Kaito. 

At this point I don't know where we stand, Kaito has just failed Rook's test but was spared, I suppose we will see more puzzles from Rook? The next episode appears to be Edison's episode, although I can't see how this could be any good unless he is able to mess with Rook like he says he will. I find these last two episodes were a big let down, we didn't get anywhere, if anything we just had an info dump on Kaito and Rook's past. The reunion of Kaito and Rook was pretty poor, Kaito has had no character progression at all these last few episodes and it really hurts to throw him in with Rook when we don't have much of a connection with the main character for such critical moment in 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

Phi Brain Kami no Puzzle - 10 - The Queen has Arrived

So awesome.

This was a great episode which introduced us to a new character, we also get to see a heavy Gammon presence throughout the episode. Gammon was in much need of screen time after Nonoha and Anna were taking the spotlight next to Kaito. The best thing about the episode was the relationships between Gammon and Elena, as well as a good lesson on friendship.

Elena's introduction was awesome, she displays her high and mighty superiority above a struggling Takeda on her puzzle game show. Forcing Takeda to beg on his knees for a hint to her puzzle, she quickly laughs at him without giving him any helpful hints. I couldn't have asked for a better intro, not only did it reveal Elena's character, but we also get some much needed info on the puzzle as it directly relates to her Sage Puzzle she has in store for later. Elena was portrayed very well, with her personal issues of not knowing what friendship is after  living a life of the rich and famous all alone.

Kaito's love for her puzzles sparked some more obvious jealousy from Nonoha, I really can't wait to see how their relationship will end up, if it even goes anywhere
.

Gammon acting all BOSS like with his "rescuing" of Elena

Gammon had plenty of awesome screen time, showing a different side to him than normal. We usually see Gammon acting cocky while joking about without much depth into his emotions or character. This episode was a great showcase for Gammon to reveal how he actually cares for his friends, and we see the comparison between him and Elena which brings out Gammon's soft side for his friendship with Kaito and Nonoha. I was actually surprised with how Elena might seem to care for Gammon, as she was shocked to learn that he was one of her targets, as well as she tried to stop her deadly puzzle to save them.

The whole "friendship" thing is usually done as a big cliche, but the way it was introduced, explored, and finalized within the awesome test of the Sage puzzle really kept me on edge. I don't know if what I just said makes any sense, but I felt that the episode really drove the point home that trust and believing in each other can pay off in the end.

An awesome display of sacrificing your friends for your own survival in this test.

The puzzle was well explained (imo) in the beginning and end of the episode to help us grip what it meant for Nonoha and Gammon to be restrictions towards Kaito's ability to solve of the Sage Puzzle. Kaito, Gammon, and Nonoha could have easily sacrificed each other in order to escape, but they remained true to their friendship and believed in each other to make it through the rather thrilling puzzle.

I was very happy with  this episode, and it was definitely one of the best we've seen in a while. I am looking forward to next week where we continue our battle with Elena, I really hope she joins Kaito's group in the end.

~Djr7

Phi Brain Kami no Puzzle - 09 - Cross Dressing, and an Apple

Kaito cross dressing still looks less feminine than Anna.

We are now 9 episodes into the Phi series, and while I have not been all that thrilled on their many lame puzzles, the show has been very enjoyable nonetheless. Initially I thought the show would have to rely heavily on it's puzzles to keep me interested, however with the lack of any real creative or interesting puzzles to blow my mind, I find myself still tuning in each Sunday night to see Kaito and the gang. I can't put my finger on the main cause of my affiliation with the show, but I think it's the overall balance of characters, plot, and somewhat interesting puzzles. One thing I will say, is how I enjoy the character relationships and quirks they all have.

This episode was a bit of hit and miss, the puzzle was super terrible and there was practically no story or plot development whatsoever, at least the last episode had a message. I was, however, very happy with the amount of info revealed about the Principle and Jikugawa being involved with the POG. As it turns out, I was totally spot on with Jikugawa being Minotaur. These two characters don't get a lot of screen time, nor a lot of importance, as Kaito usually steals the show. It was a nice change of focus to learn more behind the Principle and Jikugawa. 

Actual emotion and involvement from Jikugawa is welcomed.

The episode revolves around a bunch of school activities for a festival being held, oh what a perfect time for the evil villain to strike, and strike he did. The thing I don't understand is why Herbert is wearing a mask, it isn't concealing his identity or anything, so really what is the point of it? His attempt to kill Kaito through his so-called "murderous" puzzle was a pretty pathetic attempt, plus he could have caused a lot of destruction if the fire had spread outside the tent to the surrounding forest and school. What was with the puzzle anyway? The puzzle was a simple "truth and lies" riddle where princess Kaito had to figure out how many of the gnomes were telling the truth and which were telling lies to free prince Nonoha. This puzzle wasn't even complete, and Herbert left out the information needed to solve the puzzle, but thankfully Jikugawa comes to his rescue and fills Kaito in on the missing info.  

Gammon continues on his path to win the heart of Nonoha, by cross dressing. EPIC!

There was some funny stuff between the characters, like how Nonoha didn't want to enter Anna into the cross dressing beauty pageant, since she was afraid Kaito would get "funny ideas". Seeing Kaito and Gammon enter the pageant was a bit funny, but it was even more hilarious when they announced that Anna, who didn't even enter, won. Of course they HAD to pick Anna, I mean, he clearly deserved the title without even trying.  

I was happy, yet unsatisfied with the episode, at least it was a good improvement on the Principle and Jikugawa's characters. It will be interesting to see how the two will continue to involve themselves with Kaito's group with the POG on alert.

~Djr7 

Phi Brain Kami no Puzzle - 08 - The Resort's Friendly Puzzle

The episode was actually called "Crab! Hot Springs! Puzzle King!", but it should have been called the "Meh, it was OK" episode. This episode was one of those side episodes, meaning it wasn't your fan-based episode, but it also wasn't really a plot driven, or character revealing episode. If I were to explain the episode, I would simply say it was a wake-up call to some of our own issues in the real world. The episode explores the beauty of nature and the invasion of construction and human development. I just realized I said "episode" 8 times in that paragraph; I deserve to given the look of disappointment from my fellow bloggers.

This guy always cracks me up

It was a somewhat funny episode with the return of the self proclaimed "Puzzle King". The only kick I got out of this episode was the humor between Kaito and the "Puzzle King", as well as the lesson learned about nature and true beauty.

This week's installment of Phi Brain was as much of a character revealing episode for Anna, as last week's episode was a character progression for Nonoha; meaning that it really didn't tell us anything we already knew of Anna's character.

This week's Sage puzzle turned out to not even be a real Sage puzzle in the least. There was absolutely no danger whatsoever, aside from Kaito falling and being saved by the forest animals that Nonoha and Anna are riding.

Super happy crabs, me want

Another Nonoha clip of her developing feelings of Kaito. This time, Nonoha explicitly shows a connection with her heart and Kaito, except Crabs fills her mind immediately. I am actually pleased that the show doesn't seem to try any serious relationship drama issues, and instead takes light of these portrayals of love from Nonoha.

More screen time for Anna, the episode had plenty of emotional connections between him and nature. Anna was somehow able to paint a landscape that she not only never saw, but the painting's content didn't even exist at the moment. He is a pretty weird individual, and no matter how many times I look at it, he still looks like a girl to me.

There really wasn't much to say about this episode, I want to return to Kaito solving dangerous puzzles with more screen time from Rook. I've had enough of these pointless and rather boring non-plot installments.

~Djr7

Phi Brain Kami no Puzzzle - 07 - Nonoha's Title

Great expressions Gammon and Kaito.

It was a rather pointless episode, I wonder what possessed the producers to give us an episode dedicated to Nonoha when there was nothing to improve upon her character at this point. I have enjoyed the amount of exposure Nonoha and Gammon have had throughout the season thus far, and so I wonder what the point was for this episode since Nonoha has had plenty of screen time already. I hope we get back on track with Rook and Kaito, although I did enjoy the new nemesis Herbert and how he is a bit more evil than the others, I suppose.

There really was no progression in the plot, I mean, the only thing that happened was a new leader of the POG was announced to replace Rook. I was not very happy with the lack of any explanation for the changing of the guard. Rook is clearly the more important character here, so shouldn't he be the leader of the Japan POG in order to reaffirm his higher status among everyone? If Rook becomes a mere pawn amongst the POG, then this clearly puts him on a lower level, showing that defeating him is no big deal, it's like a BOSS character becoming a sub-boss character, you become a mere stepping stone towards the real opponent. I'm sure this temporary change will blow over soon though, Rook makes a pretty good enemy.

We finally get some insight behind the meaning of the puzzles, well at least HIS thoughts.

Since were on the topic of villains and bosses, who came up with the new enemy's name? Herbert Muller, the name should be feared across the POG! Who can take a guy who's name is Herbert seriously, it's like giving a genius the name Ricky Bobby (Talladega Nights movie). Would you still fear Lord Voldemort if his name was Lord George?

I'm thinking the opposite.

Taking a look at Nonoha, there really wasn't much to say, sure the episode was named in regards to her, but we didn't really learn anything new about her character. There were a series of sports events for Nonoha in which she was constantly thinking about the potential "love letter" addressed to Kaito. We have already seen this throughout the show and since there was no confession from Nonoha, the episode remains pointless.

The one good thing about the episode was the danger of the puzzle from Mrs. Madoka. After revealing her reason for presenting the sage puzzle to Kaito, Madoka involves the children before realizing how dangerous Sage Puzzle truly are. Mrs. Madoka's character was initially a mystery, we did not know if she was evil, or just a confused victim herself. It's always nice to have a few mystery characters thrown in for added suspense since we don't know who's side they are on. I think this was the first time I felt despair during the puzzle, there were several moments when the building started falling apart, threatening the lives of the children. I kept thinking to myself, "this can't end well".  The music for the puzzle was excellent, and reassured any despair, suspense, and potential unfortunate endings that could have happened, it was the highlight of the episode. Hopefully next week will be better and gets back on track with the plot, although by the looks of it, it wont.

~Djr7

Phi Brain Kami no Puzzle - 06 - Revival Towards the Light

Episode 6 was a bit of a disappointment. Don't get me wrong here, the show was good, but easy to predict. I made a few assumptions as to what this episode would be like after episode 5, it turns out I was completely right. This episode was, in a nutshell, Kaito feeling depressed; he has a few flashbacks to his days of old, and finally he breaks free of his mental state and returns to normal. He only returns back to normal when placed in a position where his friend's lives are counting on him to solve a puzzle. Those were my assumptions, and I was unhappy that there wasn't much else going on in the episode that strayed from my guesses.

Too many times have I seen a protagonist follow in Kaito's steps as they become depressed, and end up returning to normal with some help from friends, as well as facing a challenge in the presence of danger. I suppose we can't re-write the book every time and come up with new ways to go about doing this, but at least throw some new material in there to keep it fresh.

About the only thing that came as a surprise was the thorough explanation as to why Kaito couldn't solve puzzles. Because Orpheus can cause 100% of the brain to focus on puzzles, it can utilize Kaito's emotions to solve puzzles. When Kaito is in such an emotional state, it can backfire and could end up killing him. At least that's what I understood from explanation during the episode.

Once again we had plenty of Nonoha scenes where she shows how caring she is for Kaito. Even Gammon appears upset that his rival won't be his rival if he breaks down. Kaito slowly comes around to socialize with his friends, but he is far from being able to solve puzzles. The trio attend the newest challenge from POG, but before they know it, Gammon has fallen into a trap with Nonoha trying to hold on to him. Kaito is left wondering what he can do to save his friends.

With Kaito overwhelmed with emotions, Orpheus activates, causing another Reverse Berserk. Just before Kaito is about to break, he decides not to run away from his emotions any more, and stands strong to save his friends and solve the puzzle.

Looking at this week's puzzle, it was a new and fresh puzzle that we haven't seen yet. I think I've given up on expecting super awesome puzzles, since this week's puzzle wasn't much different than matching elements to the given icons.

 We did get to see how clever Rook can be, since he devised a scenario for Kaito's friends to be endangered, forcing Kaito to solve the puzzle if he wanted to rescue his friends while under such emotional stress. It will be interesting to see how Rook will continue to play a role in developing Kaito's puzzle solving skills in preparation for the Divine Puzzle. Next week it appears it will be an all Nonoha episode, filled with kindergarten kids as the possible Givers. I suppose the POG is already looking to it's future by gathering members at such a young age, and I bet these kids could do better than some of the Givers we've seen already. It's just an assumption so don't hold me to it.

Phi Brain Kami no Puzzle - 05 - Invitation from a Nightmare

I want to turn this into a meme.

This week's episode was, in my opinion, the best so far. We finally see the POG as a real threat with their dangerous puzzles and rather sick joke they play on Kaito, forcing him to recall the incident with his past. All the previous episodes at this point appear as introductions to the characters, and now it looks like the actual plot and battle between Kaito and Rook is about to begin.

More mention of the Phi Brain, I almost forgot about it, mainly since we still have no idea what it is. The Divine Puzzle appears to be the ultimate puzzle, perhaps the Phi Brain could be the reward of such a puzzle. After a surprise visit from one of the top members of the POG, Bishop invites Kaito and co. to meet with the head of POG and ask whatever questions they have. It seems this is a pretty ahrmless situation, so there has to be a catch.

Surprisingly enough, Jikugawa and the principle had nothing to do with the events of this episode, which I acknowledged as a step towards the real story of Phi Brain Kami no Puzzle, since we have enough knowledge of our characters to proceed. I still think that Jikugawa was Minotaur from the first puzzle, since we have seen the end result for each Giver so far besides him.

Oh Gammon, no matter how hard you try, you will always be a side character. The episode was full of Gammon trying to get Nonoha's attention, except he was ignored and forever shall be, since Nonoha was already baking cookies for Kaito back when they were little. I was happy with the amount of side humor from Gammon, we didn't enough of him in the last episode and he is growing on me as quite the amusing guy.

Those spotlights don't make up for it's lack of presentation.

We actually get to see the Divine Puzzle, well, actually we get to see a box with the words "Puzzle of God" on it, which didn't appear very secretive or all that special. It was almost as if the POG didn't know where to put the hyped-up puzzle, and decided to just leave it out in the open in their base.

Who relaxes with puzzles? 

I would demand something more extravagant than some puzzles to help me relax. Carrying on, We find out that not only did Kaito study at some geniuses only school in England, but the principle at his current school is his legal guardian! As the first two puzzles appear to be the same ones Kaito solved back in England, Gammon puts his skills to the test to hopefully win the praise of the POG, but also to impress Nonoha.

At this point I already knew a trap was imminent, judging by Kaito's expression and Rook's use of puzzles. Kaito appears to be confused as to why these exact puzzles from England are here, as this would lead to a traumatic breakdown from Kaito. I was very close to yelling at my T.V. that it was Rook from Kaito's past who was behind this, of course that would only make me look stupid and raise questions about me.

Kaito's breakdown was pretty serious.

When they introduced the final puzzle, Kaito has a flashback of his parents attempting the exact same puzzle, only to fall and perish. Kaito has a breakdown at the sudden recollection of his parent's death, blaming himself for not realizing it was a puzzle soon enough. Luckily, Gammon and Nonoha are able to survive the sudden death trap while Kaito's true feelings emerge about hating puzzles. There was mention of this in the last episode with Ana pointing out his inner hate for puzzles. We get to see a side of Kaito that is very much human, his true feelings for puzzles are revealed which explains his desire to solve the murderous puzzles that also took his parents' lives. Unfortunately for Kaito, the mental shock of this puzzle forces Rook to cancel their meeting. Kaito suddenly looses all desire to solve puzzles as he is taken back to the school.
Wow, this was a very powerful ending, Kaito's breakdown shows a much more personal side to him than his tough genius exterior.

Evangelion! 

This was a great episode that showed us more of Kaito's character and past. All this ties in nicely with Rook, although I still feel like we need a better introduction to him with all his screen time. Gammon amuses me quite a lot and I was happy with his abundant screen time. I was pleased to see the principle, and Jikugawa's reaction to the POG, showing us that they might not be a part of the POG as I had initially thought. I look forward to Phi Brain from now on is it will most likely develop the relationship between Rook and Kaito, as well as some side story events for the other characters to gain some screen time with possible Nonoha relationship. The next episode looks to build from these events. Kaito's resolution and help from Orpheus will no doubt break him out of his mental bind, to probably save his friends from a deadly puzzle.

~Djr7

Phai Brain Kami no Puzzle - 04 - The Girl of the Secret Room

A few brief things before I dive into the episode itself.
I am really starting to love the opening theme; it's one of the few enjoyable songs compared to some of the other shows this season. I will not go into detail about why exactly I am beginning to endlessly enjoy the song, since that would require a post on it's own, and that just might be a future topic I would work on. I will stop myself from going any further and just say that I enjoy it for being kind of techno/industrial-ish. Here's a link for anyone wanting a listen.
The facial art style is starting to bother me a bit, I know I said it wasn't that big of a deal in the first episode, but now its bugging me with how it lacks quality, then again I think i'm trying to compare to the expensive Guilty Crown budget.

Overall, I find the show's progression to be quite balanced and evenly distributed, there is a good mix and flow of characters, plot devices, puzzles, and side comedy, with small bits of Nonoha's love interest with Kaito. This episode was by far my favorite, I even enjoyed the puzzle, mainly because it had nothing to do with the regular puzzles we have been seeing, and it was on a much more personal level. The puzzle's theme fit the character it revolved around, rather than another lame Sudoku that doesn't require any originality, even the prize at the end and background history between the old lady and her deceased famous artist husband was felt as a happy ending.
 

I don't think Kaito will be taking any of the treasures this time.

I was happy that Kaito didn't need the Orpheus band to help him out with the puzzle, it shows that he is still Einstein without the use of the rest of his brain, since he goes above and beyond everyone else whenever he unlocks his full potential, which seems OP since no one else can do this.

Birds, cats, what else does Ana attract and talk with?

This episode introduces what could possibly be our final important character, I'm not including white afro guy, since we have already seen a bit of him and it's obvious we are due for his true introduction. Ana Gram, the name itself means a play on words and it can sum up how they were able to solve the Sage puzzle by rearranging the art works on the wall. Ana, is the newest cooky chick that appears as a rival to Nonoha for Kaito's love interest. Ana goes by the title of Da Vinci, for her creative and ingenious works of art. Ana is an oddball who can talk with animals and doesn't mind it when stray cats start climbing her. It seems she will fill the weirdo role for the show. It actually turns out that Ana is a guy, even I was shocked by this, I mean, he clearly looks like a girl, I guess this just adds to the list of his cooky-ness.

I think it has EVERYTHING to do with you Kaito. 

A bit of humor is added with Nonoha using a "sucker for girls" Gammon, to look into the building in an attempt to find out what Kaito and Ana are up to. Clearly showing her interest in Kaito and her temporary jealousy for Ana spending time with him alone.

Who the hell takes a bath in front of a giant window anyone can see into?

Looking forward to more info on Rook's character, as well as how our band of heroes will all be working together to solve tougher Sage puzzles. I still hope we don't see anymore Sudoku or other sort of stupid everyday common puzzle with a deadly twist.

~Djr7