Penguindrum 11 - The Threads of Fate

Wow, what an episode. To bad I had to watch it as a 288P 40MB video file, but I didn't want to wait. Epic stuff from start to finish. They threw in a bunch of new factors leaving you going zomgz. An extremely good episode, we finally get to see the Ringo arc nicely wrapped up with the new arc starting up with the better stalker. Not sure if I am slow on the uptake and missed it last episode, but I noticed the opener was changed a bit.

Mayo Chiki 11-12 - Randomness

So the climax came and went within these two episodes leaving the finale as just a fun episode. I wasn't expecting any serious story from this so not too disappointed. Oujo-sama always keeps me well entertained. I love anime like these but they are so damn hard to blog about D: At least it was out much earlier then usual this week. Now if only Penguindrum came out faster too...

Yuru Yuri Eps10-12 [END]

I'm actually kind of sad that this anime has come to an end; I really liked most of it. I found myself watching this even though I was in no shape to make a post; I'm sure that reveals my true feelings for it. Final review to come in a few days~

This batch was as randomly compiled as usual; the episodes didn't particularly have anything to do with each other. Ep10 dealt with the second-years going on their school trip to Kyoto, leaving the (lowly) first-years with no screentime. Ep11 actually felt like it should have been the final episode; it dealt with a changed Kyouko almost disbanding the Amusement Club. Compared to ep12, which was an all-character sleepover in the Tea Club room, it was just a better fit.

That helmet strap is pretty long...

Ep10 began with the first-years lamenting that they had no screentime, and then an immediate jump to Kyouko and Yui on the bus ride to Kyoto. Kyouko, in typical fashion, was extremely excited and had all sorts of zany ideas (including going mountain-climbing in Kyoto, which was ill-advised seeing as how the city isn't mountainous). She ended up getting carsick, though it seemed all cleared up as soon as the bus arrived at its destination.

Why are they all blushing?

Kyoto, being the historical capital of Japan, is obviously filled with lots of landmarks, like temples. Surprisingly, the girls all seemed rather interested to see all of them. Kyouko, Yui, Ayano and Chitose stayed together for the entire day, whereas Chizuru was only seen here and there (solidifying her presence as a side character...). Various scenes showed Kyouko being vibrant and energetic, with Ayano chastizing her (and barely hiding her own excitement).

Public baths seem pretty gross.

The hotel accommodations placed the four characters into the same room, and Kyouko was extremely excited to go to take a bath. (So every Japanese-style hotel has a large bath, hm...) Though Yui feared for Chitose's safety, her nosebleeds were kept to a minimum. Kyouko suffered ill effects when she walked into the sauna, coming out all fainty-fainty. That went away pretty fast, as she was ready to go to the gift store with the other girls later.

Why don't you just get contacts?!

The night ended with a pillow fight, though Kyouko and Ayano decided to amp it up by only allowing a throw of the pillow if it was accompanied with feminine-speak (since Japanese differentiates between masculine and feminine ways of speaking quite a lot). Overall, it wasn't that amusing of an episode. It's not like something was done wrong; it felt more like there was something missing. I didn't laugh that often, which was pretty annoying.

Ah, cooties. The worst disease known to children.

Ep11 began with a flashback to the group when they were elementary children, due to the photo albums that had been brought to the clubroom. The personality differences were astounding; Kyouko was shy and demure, whereas Yui was the "captain" of the group. Akari, as well, was extremely outgoing, with longer hair (causing the buns to look less weird). As expected, the group had accidentally met Chinatsu when younger, as she had come to visit her grandmother one day and attempted to take over the playground. It was cute to see the different personalities of the well-known characters.

Hearts as symbolism for pain?

The problem began as Kyouko came back after leaving the clubroom for a while. She was a completely different person - namely, she was as rule-following and shy as in her younger years. When the girls finally had enough (after she began studying Fermat's Last Theorem), they realized that the cause was a tumble down the stairs she had taken earlier, causing a personality change. After asking the Student Council for help, Chitose deduced that another head trauma would fix the first one, and even offered some tools. Yui, being constantly worried for Kyouko, decided to try a "wait-and-see" approach instead.

Maybe her long hair was actually the trick.

Although many things about the new Kyouko was good - she bothered Chinatsu and Chizuru a lot less, and didn't drag everyone around for random schemes - eventually the group had had enough. Ayano was overworking herself in order to make up for her absence, while Akari felt even more unnoticeable since Kyouko wasn't ignoring her anymore (as twisted as that sounds). All of this culminated in Kyouko, being the club leader, making the decision to disband the club.

The sad scene before the pain begins.

The idea was that Kyouko, wanting to follow rules, was appalled that the club was using the Tea Club room without permission, and went to Ayano to apologize, finishing with the declaration that she would soon disband the club. Meanwhile, the girls all individually had their revelations that they didn't want the new Kyouko. The final straw was when Kyouko explained away the disbanding by stating that the club did nothing anyway. Yui kicked into gear, unable to let Kyouko do something so drastic. It's only fitting, considering that she was the one to always take care of Kyouko in their childhood. It's obvious that she's still watching out for her best friend.

Or, you know, she could have just died from blunt trauma.

This episode seriously felt like it was a better fit for the finale instead of ep12. The threat of an end to joyful days (the disbandment, in this case) is often how anime end, anyway. However, this was only the penultimate episode, ending with Yui having bashed Kyouko's head once more, causing another bump that reverted her to her usual personality. Everyone seemed happy with this outcome, except for the "new and improved" Akari, who had tumbled down some stairs while off-screen. How great would it have been for the series to end with the characters all surrounding the "main" character, ready to pummel her back to normal? Sigh.

Job security is always hard to get.

Ep12 began with Mari (Yui's cousin) doing the intro instead of Akari, something the "main" character was actually very broken up about. Beyond that, Ayano and Chitose approached the club, questioning why they hadn't left yet, and came to the revelation that they were planning a sleepover (with the Rise and Nishigaki-sensei helping out already). The sleepover quickly turned quite epic, with all the members of the Student Council also attending (along with Chizuru, most likely so she wouldn't be alone at home).

Maybe I get the homework - but not the food request.

I don't know what the random magic girl clip at the beginning was, really; Mirukurun died (on the moon) with Rivarun quite beat-up about it. I can't even begin to think about how many magic girl anime they were making fun of. Anyway, Kyouko had special pyjamas for all the members of the Amusement Club - a cat for Chinatsu, a dog for Akari, a panda for Yui and a tomato (?) for herself. When all is said and done, the pyjamas seem quite cute but I imagine they're hard to sleep in. For one thing, as Kyouko encountered, how do you go to the bathroom easily?

That's actually a very special skill.

Once the remainder of the cast arrived, Kyouko began the night's festivities with a series of games, using papers drawn out of the multi-purpose box. Akari against Sakurako while playing Othello went extremely well for the former, seeing as how her moves were apparently masked by her unnoticeable existence. Surprisingly, Chinatsu against Himawari in a game of cosplaying went for the latter's favour, although Chinatsu has had more time and exposure with her character, mostly because Kyouko was being biased. Kyouko/Yui against Chitose/Chizuru in charades didn't work so well, since Yui was unable to properly get into Kyouko's frame of mind. Since Ayano didn't have anyone from the Amusement Club to go against, Rise filled in...in a science experiment concocted by Nishigaki-sensei. It wasn't shown who "won" that one...

The set-up reminds me of Arakawa Under the Bridge.

The project that Rise and Nishigaki-sensei had been working on earlier turned out to be a bathing facility, which the girls took turns in pairs to use. Akari, naturally, ended up getting in an accident involving her barrel rolling through the woods and falling into the river (with her still inside), causing Kyouko and Ayano to have to bathe in the same barrel. I'm surprised Akari lived through her ordeal... Dinner went well enough (though Chitose had taken multiple breaks during preparation to tend to her nosebleeds since she could apparently sense things happening outside); afterwards, Himawari and Sakurako headed out to get the futons and Chinatsu ran off to get Akari.

The Kissing Monster! Destructor of Sleepovers.

The scene was set for the second-years to be the victims of serious mauling, care of Chitose. After having some chocolate, some kind of traumatized demon came out of her, going around and kissing everyone. It caused pretty much the same kind of reaction as Chinatsu's previous jumping of Akari had; the scene was somewhat funny, but the connotations were hard for me to get passed. I hated the previous Chinatsu-Akari scene, after all. The only way to snap Chitose out of it was to "overload" her, which was achieved by Ayano kissing Kyouko. The resulting splatter was quite the sight.

Main character gets the last line.

With that, one of the more enjoyable anime of this season has come to an end. (Well, to be fair, it was actually a scene where Nishigaki-sensei had set up a bomb as an alarm, set to go off at 7:30, and Akari was the only one almost "killed".) I dislike how ep12 ended, and I still feel like ep11 would be a better fit as the finale. Oh well; I didn't actually expect perfection or anything.

~Aaro

3DS: September Update

Just to review the changes announced since the last post we were told the following:

- Price drop from 249.99 to 169.99.

- Ambassador program for those who bought the 3DS before August with free games.

- More info about new 3D games.

I have currently downloaded Metroid and Mario from the NES on my 3DS with the ambassador program for free, which prove to be good time killers while I transit downtown for classes.

What's new for the 3DS this time around? 

- FLAME RED 3DS is expected to be released sometime before Christmas for N.A. It's just a new colour for the 3DS with no difference in software or pricing. 

I still prefer my Aqua Blue.

- Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance to include Neku from "The World Ends With You" DS game.

  The game won't be out till spring for Japan and probably summer for N.A but there is no confirmed release date. 

This is actually catching my attentions as someone who has never played a KH game (due to my dislike for the Disney theme) but I will look more into this.

Mario Kart 7 to be released Dec. 4th 

Super Mario 3D Land to be releae on Nov. 13th 

That's it for this month, we'll see if there's any more big news in the coming months nearer Christmas.

On a final note for my personal 3DS news, been playing a lot of Pokemon lately and just picked up Devil Survivor Overclocked today and cant wait to start playing.  

Nichijou Ep23

The hassle of moving and a changed routine also had a strange side-effect - since Rho and I only see each other for a few hours each day (despite living together, oddly), we just had no time to watch Nichijou. But that changed; I grabbed her this morning and we watched ep23 and ep24 back-to-back. One less thing to catch up on!

This episode was incredibly big on the continuity, in a strangely School Rumble manner. A rather large scene later on in the episode was comprised on many smaller scenes, occurring with quick switches between characters that were all located at the same venue. The episode began with Yukko being the first in class (interestingly, with a bandaged hand from the dog bite in the previous episode) and doing some strange things (like pretending to be a stag beetle). Getting caught by Takasaki-sensei took the wind out of her sails and she ran out furiously, begging for confidentiality, just as Nano (running out of air) came out of her hiding spot in the curtains. I surmise she had also been doing strange things; it must be a necessity for those that arrive early.

So many injuries...

In the first scene after the OP, Mio once again fell prey to her elder sister's antics, with taste-tasting some freshly-made jam. However, it turned out to be so awful that it burned out Mio's senses. In an attempt to clear her palate, her sister offered her some steaming hot milk, which only really served to burn her tongue (and, after a moment of pondering, Mio realized that the coffee was just awful as well). After an accident involving having more of the jam (which was deceptively stored in an empty milk container in the fridge), Mio came to the understanding that the jam was made from fermented fish. (How disgusting... I mean, really.)

Absolutely. Who is this "president" whose office this is, anyway?

Sakurai-sensei's "good-natured" attempt at cleaning her younger brother's bedroom was halted quickly and suddenly with the discovery of an "adult magazine". Now, to be fair, I guess I can understand her thought process, but wow. She started flipping through it, even. When Makoto was confronted about it, he freaked out and started making up strange excuses, finally cumulating in the lie that it belonged to the club president. What is the basis of Sakurai-sensei announcing that he was too young for such things, anyway? I thought Japan was better with the repressed sexuality business; has it all been a lie?

Too eager, run slower!

This episode's Helvetica Standard was quite hilarious, seeing as I'm remembering the sports festival from The iDOLM@STER. It's really not fair to be passing a strip of cloth instead of a baton; the wind resistance turned out to be quite difficult. Speaking of shorts, though, this episode recalled the old shtick of featuring a specific location for a few seconds throughout the episode. This one was a riverbank, and the occurrence was that Yukko arrived to draw, with an easel and everything. There wasn't anything particularly funny about it, though (maybe I just didn't get it).

I wonder how long a dog bite takes to recover from.

The beginning of the next scene featured the classroom, potentially during a break between classes. Yukko and Mio approached Nano to talk about what had happened in the previous episode, with Professor and the dogs. (The continuity was quite interesting. Throughout the episode, Mio and Yukko were both seen with bandages wrapping their wounds.) Anyway, this conversation focused momentarily on Mai, though it wasn't touched on until much later.

Takasaki-sensei just wants whatever he can get, doesn't he.

A shift to the hallway showed Makoto questioning why Takasaki-sensei wouldn't be the advisor for the club, seeing as how he had won the challenge from a prior episode. Takasaki-sensei insisted that it was a draw, to which Makoto once again blackmailed him by threatening to announce the teacher's feelings for his sister. Takasaki-sensei went all the way to the clubroom with Makoto (where they found Daiku and Sekiguchi making a banner), but then once again chickened out and ran away.

I agree; he does look pretty weird without a mohawk.

The scene shifted to another part of the school, where Weboshi and Fecchan were on their way to the classroom so that Weboshi could confess to Nakanojo. As they spoke extensively about how great mohawks were, Takasaki-sensei and Makoto ran passed them towards the rooftop, where the camera also went. Makoto managed to bribe the teacher with a photo of his sister from her middle school graduation, appealing to the "hungry wolf". The scene slowly went back to Weboshi and Fecchan (while Daiku and Sekiguchi were seen parading outside in the rain with a recruitment banner), who were in for a special surprise since Nakanojo had effectively become bald once again.

I get that the seat was stolen, but why they did have to leave a stalk of broccoli?

I considered this scene to be the final amusing scene, which catalogued a very terrible day for Yukko. It started off minor, but then became really serious - sitting on wet paint? having your bicycle seat stolen? people falling asleep on you on the train? I didn't particularly understand the part with the kite, though... If the episode had ended here, I wouldn't have minded. Instead, I had to sit through a very confusing scene involving what may be my least favourite character - Mai.

...I just don't get it.

So what is her deal anyway? After hearing earlier in the class what fright her dogs had caused, she went to the Institute to make amends with Professor. She seemed to try really hard, not giving up until she succeeded in giving the little girl a present (a picture of a shark). She quietly left after that, going at "Mai pace" as always. I don't understand her at all. The scene wasn't funny; it was just a little heart-warming, at best. But I didn't expect that from Mai. What is going through her head?

The controller of a nation, 300yen.

This episode was interesting and, nearing the end of the series, is showing its similarities to School Rumble way too much for me to look passed it. It's not like all the scenes were funny; the interesting story-telling and continuity kept some slower scenes going (much like it's "predecessor"). I'm not adverse to seeing more of Mai, but I really couldn't stand her scene this time. I hope her next appearances are better.

~Aaro

Random Thoughts: Dead Space 2

I actually got one of the few art insignia's (yay me!).

I figure ill start doing random posts of current stuff that's happening even if it includes old stuff that i'm just picking up.
After building my awesome new computer that can run anything, (yes anything) I downloaded a bunch of PC games that I never really decided to actually buy. This (currently) includes Bullet Storm, Deus Ex, and Dead Space 2.

For starters, I'm only on the fourth chapter, whats wrong about this is I didn't even realize it, I mean, there was no indication that I am actually progressing through the game's narrative. At least in the first Dead Space you completed a chapter after fixing part of a ship (not much of a story) , fought some sort of "boss" character, and proceeded to the Tram station with a "Mission Complete!" announcement. There is none of that in the new one which kinda bothers me since I don't feel like I have done much, save for the one boss I had to kill (rather easily) at a random point in the game which was so random he could have popped up anywhere and I wouldn't have felt any different to the current mission.

The game starts out with Isaac, dealing with his dementia, no we don't care about the Necromorphs lets focus on Isaac for a sec.

The current setting and atmosphere is generally the exact same, the same walls, the same windows, the same god damn blood smears. I still haven't realized that I escaped the mental hospital area and entered the kiddie area and residents apartments (well not exactly true since it was a slightly smaller area).

The weapons appear to do a little more damage than Dead Space 1, as well as my inventory is constantly clogged with extra extra ammo since every enemy has about 20 rounds of assault rifle ammo  on them (why do they have ammo anyway?). the only thing that hasn't changed is the amount of damage I take early on, I mean its about the same, i'm constantly looking for health packs but I have so much ammo enemies wont get close enough unless they pop out of the vents behind me.

They actually introduced the small stuff for a story, (YAY!) so were now on a new location and Isaac is surrounded by Necromorphs, really? This bothered me since the first Dead Space was uncharted territory for a regular mechanic and unknown evils with all this horror and survival stuff happening, as well as a broken ship that was just falling apart. Now were thrown right into it without any mystery or new horror just a simple run n gun it seems with no insight (yet), into the whole Marker object and this dude whose trying to get me killed. On a fresher note, Isaac is dealing with his dementia where he sees his dead girlfriend and must reach a doctor to get help. Hey its a lot better than fixing a damn ship!

He's dead Jim

At least we're more intrigued by the main character who finally has a face and a voice rather than some robot looking mechanic who can kill Necromorphs successfully where trained military officers cant do anything.

Overall the game is the same, they didn't change anything it seems, but made some more interactive puzzles as well as newer content that makes the game feel fresh. This game is very fun while not as frighting as the original, but regardless they do a decent job of presenting us with a great game that anyone would enjoy if they played the first one, as well as new players to the series.

And that ends my Dead Space Rant, I look forward to finding out about the Marker, Isaac's dementia, the guy who's  apparently trying to kill me, and I guess the reason why there are Necromorphs near Saturn.

Science Tuesdays - A Look at World Line Travelling

This was a post I wanted to do for a while, seeing as this week and the next I have much more free time, I decided to do some more rant posts that I haven't done in a while. They did a good job explaining how the time travel worked and it was pretty much seamless but with any other established rules, the own writers break them creating plot holes. I like it when they explain how things work, but it takes solid writing to make sure you follow your own universe's rules.

The iDOLM@STER Ep11

With this episode, I'm all caught up on this anime. With the way this one ended, I'm looking forward to the next episode - just a little bit, though. This anime is still only so-so for me.

This episode was focused on Haruka, evident from the first moment when she walked in through the doors of the office in her school uniform. The story was that the president had decided to hold a concert consisting of the 765 idols, with the main attraction being Ryuuguu Komachi. As Producer broke this news to the girls, it came with new songs and new dance routines, leading to an episode full of Haruka trying hard.

I can only focus on the giant heart.

The girls began practising, though it was very difficult from the very beginning. Yukiho and Yayoi both had serious problems learning the dance routine, with Haruka having minor timing problems (that could turn into bigger problems, I guess). During a conversation between the dance instructor and Producer, Miki was against making the routine easier, since then the girls wouldn't be performing at their best. Slowly but surely, the other girls agreed and split up into three teams to help the three "problem idols".

Is that guy looking at her book?!

The singing also did not seem to go in Haruka's favour (though Mami seemed to have problems too). I wonder what her actual affinity is, with being an idol. As the girls spoke after practice, Haruka asked everyone else how they were studying for their exams, leading to the understanding that she was trying to do well in school alongside with being an idol. A montage of her trying hard ensued, along with her insert song. Once again, they showed an anime character studying anywhere and everywhere. Does that really work? I mean, the Japanese curriculum is very memorization-based, so I can't see how studying in bits and pieces like that can always work.

What a terrible rip-off of Sony.

The montage of a hard-working Haruka ended with her being so sleep-deprived that she fell during dance practice and hurt her ankle. Staying away from the usual shtick, it wasn't any kind of serious damage. However, Yayoi also messed up in her dancing (while Makoto treated Haruka's ankle), leading to the dance instructor conversing with Producer once again to make the routine easier. Yukiho talking about not being in the concert, so that she wouldn't drag everyone down, led to Takane speaking up and chastising her (and the girls as a whole) for not having the resolution to break through their personal barriers. Her straightforward words and unconventional way of speaking injected the girls with some more confidence.

They don't get a dance instructor?

The girls dropped by the nearby rehearsal studio where Ryuuguu Komachi and Ritsuko were, astounded at what they saw. I have to admit, the three girls of Ryuuguu Komachi seem quite adept at what they do. I'm sure it's because of the extensive practise they've undergone in the last few episodes (spanning a long time, I assume). Takane called it "awareness of the responsibility of being an idol" and just as the girls seemed down again, Haruka gave them confidence by honestly saying that she wanted to hurry up and get to their level already. I guess it's really easy to lose confidence, considering how many times it happened in pretty much the same scene.

That actually is kind of a scary thought.

Haruka kicked it into overdrive, staying behind after the other girls in order to practice her singing some more. Chihaya showed up to help her out, considering her own singing is more than acceptable for the level desired. I feel anxious every time this girl is on screen; I worry about her internal sadness. When she was shown earlier in the episode, I thought there would be a level of angst. However, finding out that she was helping Haruka out made me pretty happy. The session ended when Producer dropped by, letting them know of the time, and Haruka realized that she had missed her train for the night. (A good tie-in with the very first scene of the first episode, since Haruka travels quite a lot to get to work everyday.)

Boy? Girl?

Since Chihaya was also there and probably more so because she lives alone, she offered to let Haruka stay for the night. They ended up cooking the dish they had cooked a few episode back, during the TV competition, after Chihaya commented that she usually ate from the convenience store and took supplements to make up for lacking nutrients. This scene revealed a lot more about Chihaya than Haruka, I think, since we found out that Chihaya's parents recently divorced and she wanted some distance from them. The picture shown revealed more still - not only does Chihaya have a younger sibling, but she obviously is very close with him/her. (I think it's a boy, but can't be too sure...) It may not be the only photo she has, but it's the only one she's unpacked; everything else is "essential", like her CD player.

I wonder if Burger Queen is married to Burger King.

Another montage (though this time without a song) followed, of all the girls that night and the various things that they did. Chihaya and Haruka talked about why the latter was an idol (although this question was kind of already answered back in ep01) as the two of them studied for exams. The next day at practice saw a marked improvement in all of the girls, considering they had actually been able to get through the entire dance routine without any major mistakes. Haruka also ended up doing well in her exams, so it all ended well.

Those are some smart animals.

Well, actually, there was one more matter. It had been shown earlier in the episode, when Producer was first announcing the concert, but I hadn't really thought it was a big deal. Miki has been commenting for a few episodes that she wants to be a part of Ryuuguu Komachi, and she mentioned that her good performance in the concert would help. At the end of the episode, seeing that Ritsuko was present to see the properly-executed dance routine, she ran out to ask if she could be a part of Ryuuguu Komachi. Obviously, Ritsuko had no idea what she was talking about, mostly because Producer had half-heartedly spoken to her about it back then.

Begin the emo!

I don't know how I feel about Miki at this point. I have little sympathy because, as the viewer, I knew that Producer was only talking half-heartedly. I feel like she should have also asked Ritsuko for confirmation instead of going on one man's words. However, on the other hand, Producer is supposed to be in charge of her career, and so she obviously took it very seriously. Moreover, seeing the subject of her text, it seems as though Producer had more communication with her about this matter rather than just what was seen on screen. Judging from what the other idols were saying, she was working harder in the last little while, with a goal in mind. I don't think that's reason enough to stop coming to work without a word, though.

Happiness is fleeting.

It was a quick episode with less happening than in the last (or maybe I just felt that way, because I don't like Haruka and most likely zoned out). The next episode obviously needs to deal with the issue of Miki, especially given that the all-important concert is coming up, so it's something I'm looking forward to because of the reality involved.

~Aaro

The iDOLM@STER Ep10

Watching this last night when I was tired didn't go too far, so I watched it this morning when I was super-awake. I kind of wish I'd watched it while I was tired so I didn't soak so much of it in. I'm really not liking this anime at this point.

This episode was another all-focus one, as it was the annual sports festival. It's interesting to see that a lot of agencies compete together; I know that Johnny's Jimusho of Japan is large enough to hold their own. Anyway, 765 Productions was invited for the first time due to Ryuuguu Komachi's activities - once again, it's been shown that Ritsuko's in charge of something quite lucrative. I expected a happy-go-lucky episode, but this one chose to be filled with random new characters and angst, topped off with a happy ending. I probably despised it.

Takane is so uncouth sometimes.

The episode began as the sports festival was already underway. Iori and Makoto had been paired together in the 3-legged race, and had apparently fallen down. They were either fighting from the very beginning or had begun fighting after their unfortunate tumbling - either way, it was a theme that came back into play later on. Hibiki and Takane returned from their match, having won first place. I know that Hibiki had to run into some kind of "sandbox" for the flag, but what was Takane's role? What was she eating?

She looks like she might die.

The first match shown in the episode was actually Azusa in the bread-eating contest. She was dead last, apparently due to being a poor runner and because her giant chest hadn't been bound. I wonder if they even took the competition seriously to begin with... She got a lot of attention, mostly due to her chest size, but also because of her cute and loveable ways. She took the match at her own pace, taking a bite of the bread and cooing that it was sweet, which caused the audience to go wild and the TVs to interview her after the race. More publicity for Ryuuguu Komachi, I see.

...fun.

After Ritsuko took the three girls of Ryuuguu Komachi away to rehearse (since they would be singing sometime later in the day), the other girls became very fired up when they realized that this was their chance to be on TV and shine. A montage of some very strange games began - sitting on balloons to break them while wearing bloomers? really? - and the disgruntled girls were once again shown (the previous one being the girl that had won the bread-eating contest but got no screen-time due to Azusa's charms).

I wonder if they're villains. It's just not clear enough.

The introduction of the girl group Shinkan Shoujo is pretty much what led to me hating this episode so much. It was a typical story of people latching onto a well-known group, and thus their own personal value sky-rocketed. I understand that it's a different type of society in Japan, one where the group matters more than the individual, but I dislike the negativity that's shown in a lot of depictions. This 3-girl group embodied the typical "shoujo girl scorned" archetype, commenting that the idols of 765 Productions were getting too full of themselves and that they should do something about it.

How could she even lose balance and slam into Yayoi?

The girls of Shinkan Shoujo went to work, with the black-haired one (looking kind of like Chihaya) up against Yayoi in some kind of wig-wearing sack race. I have to comment that this girl's wig seemed quite unfair; it looked like it held onto her head really well. On top of that, it had absolutely nothing sticking out that could get caught in the various obstacles. Regardless of those facts, she ended up losing, taking second place because she veered off-course and slammed into Yayoi (working super hard in a ridiculous pink wig). Putting her plan (of sorts) into motion, she commented to Yayoi after the race that 765 Pro had no chance with a burden like her on the team. ...sigh.

Haruka defines "cute" as "clumsy".

With their efforts not particularly succeeding, especially when Haruka and Hibiki got a lot of attention in the cheerleading competition (due to Haruka falling and taking Hibiki with her), the girls turned to their producer, who revealed that it had been decided that they would win. Thus, he would have a talk with Producer so that the 765 idols could stop standing out so much (though it wasn't said in so many words). Before I move on, I have to comment that I still don't see Haruka's charm. Nothing.

Apparently, one of these is very close to a central character.

Another reason for my discourse with this anime is simply because it feels as though I picked it up in the middle of a story. Who are these three girls? Why wasn't it explained in the anime? Why do I need to look it up on my own time? It's like the nonsense of Hourou Musuko all over again. As far as I understand it, this anime is adapted from a game, wherein the player plays as Producer (the reason why he's unnamed in the anime, I guess). In that case, it makes sense that the story would pick up in the middle of things. However, I'm sure that, in the games, they explain things because Producer is new to the fray. In the anime, they really fail to explain things sometimes. I'm sure these three girls have some kind of back story to them, one that I just can't know for some reason. (Unless they reveal it in the next episode. Then I'm a little bit appeased.)

To a degree, it really was your own fault.

The plot point of Iori and Makoto's tiffs showed up again as the first match of the afternoon was a three-legged "borrowing" race. I still find it sad that the two can't get along and yet they were put together. For what reason? Why not Ami/Mami, who already act like they're joined together somewhere? Did you guys not want to win? Anyway, their fighting led to Makoto running at full-speed, something Iori couldn't keep up with, and the two of them fell. As Iori began to yell at Makoto, she realized that the tomboy had gotten hurt and immediately felt bad. Why? It wasn't really your fault. I don't understand the moral of the this story; if you're wrong, it's okay if you took some physical punishment for it? You were still wrong. You need to be told so you can change.

Forbidden on multiple levels, too.

A funny moment did occur when the trio from Shinkan Shoujo came to heckle Iori/Makoto again. Names-wise, the one with the two ponytails is Tsubame and the one with the lighter-coloured hair is Hikari. So, the unnamed girl began the jeering by commenting that they had fallen again. As Hikari began her lines, she caught sight of Makoto and instantly fell in love. This obviously knocked her out of the running, as she forgot what she had to say and instead forced her handkerchief onto Makoto, running away shyly after. This continued throughout the remainder of the episode, adding a little bit of joy to the otherwise mundane personalities.

Could he be any sleazier?

As the girls wondered what to do since Makoto was out of the running (literally) for the final race, they finally noticed Yayoi's depression and confronted her about it. I'm glad that this plot point didn't continue into the next episode; I didn't really want to have to watch one of the idols being so emo without a cause, especially when she had been so head-strong and wilful earlier. The girls resolved Yayoi's worries and Makoto decided to run despite her knee, while Shinkan Shoujo's manager met with Producer to give him some "hints" on how to proceed. I'm glad that Producer didn't hesitate at all in calling the president and asking if he had permission to do as he wanted (which was to not throw the game). He's still useless in many other ways, though. The scene was completed with Iori commenting to the manager that the main shareholder of his company was her family, thus taking away the threat of various cheating.

That's how it works.

The stage was set for the final race, which turned out to be an all-idol relay. (Does that mean that Shinkan Shoujo's production house also has other idols? If not, it's pretty unbalanced and to the favour of 765 Productions.) I lost focus as the girls began running, spouting various motivating phrases as the insert song played in the background. Iori was particularly interesting, though, as she and Makoto attempted to take back the lead that Yayoi had lost. Yayoi had become very downtrodden as she was running and Iori (the next runner) cheered her on. She then proceeded to pass one of the runners, commanding Makoto to pass the rest. How does that make sense?! Anyway, Makoto did end up passing all the runners, as expected, and 765 Productions took the win for the sports tournament as a whole.

Green hair? Really?

The only male idols of the anime so far were introduced this episode - Project Jupiter. One of the boys had been seen in an earlier episode, crashing into Haruka and being generally rude. (I hope I'm wrong when I assume that they'll fall in love after this point. I hope he's just rude, nothing more.) I don't see the attraction, but my comment more has to do with the wonder that is their song - Alice or Guilty. What does that even mean? I can't even find a semblance of any underlying symbolism.

I thought Yayoi did lots of grocery shopping...

Overall, it wasn't a bad episode. There just wasn't very many captivating points in it. My interest for this anime has really fallen. I don't feel like they're showing the reality of being an idol enough, though there are hints here and there, and I feel like there's a lot of story going on where I can't look. It's really killing this anime for me.

~Aaro