Annotated Anime: Fall 2011 Week 7

11:30 PM on 11.09.2011   |   Josh Tolentino

Welcome to another weekly edition of Annotated Anime, the weekly recap that possesses the Future Diary "Anime Annotations", which records all our editors' diary entries for the last week's worth of anime, including the last episodes of Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere, Wagnaria'!!, Persona 4, Chihayafuru, Shana, Fate/Zero, Idolm@ster, Guilty Crown, Mawaru Penguindrum, UN-GO, Haganai, Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi, C3, Bakuman, Phi Brain, and Beelzebub. We're also surprised to see that it has picked up coverage of Mirai Nikki!

Waitaminute! This isn't a "Future" diary at all! It's a regular (yet glorious), temporally-correct recap post! We're all about to be murdered!

Josh Tolentino

Mirai Nikki episodes 1-5

You may have read Jeff's first impressions of the show here, and I'll add that my first impression of Mirai Nikki is positive, thanks to Norio Wakamoto. He makes any character better, even that really stupid bishop dude from Index.

Also, they're very good at having every character look just like they're going to go all anime crazy-eyes. It's a skill!

With that said, I somewhat regret not picking this up later. I'll admit that I haven't seen all of Death Note yet, but Mirai Nikki seems a good deal less "realistic" than what people tell me that show was like, which is to my taste. All things considered, I'm not a huge fan of yandere and murder mysteries. Shows about battling over discount food and plots I can't understand are more my speed. It's probably why I waited so long to start recapping this in the first place.

In any case, it seems that the whole thing isn't just limited to cellphones, but includes scrolls and pocket memo recorders, too. That scroll must be really hard to manage. A single puncture and poof, you've been imploded (though thankfully Sixth went out more gracefully than Third). And what about water damage? And what happens if the cellphones' batteries run down? No one in the show has had to plug in yet, but God forbid if my Future Diary had to go on my current phone. I'd implode before the day was out!

The memo recorder seems way more convenient though. You could hook it up to a bluetooth headset and then you wouldn't need to glance at the screen every seven seconds.

Lastly, the side-diaries and brief explanations at the end are what really help the plot along. I'd be pretty lost and forced to just roll with it if Murmur weren't around to set everything straight. She, along with the occasional, seemingly out-of-place frames of people laughing or brief "anime" comedy panels, help everyone remember that hey, this show has a sense of humor. I appreciate that.

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere episode 5

I still don't know what's going on, but I do know that they just killed off the most entertaining character in the show so far, namely the android magical maid. She left gracefully, and the whole bit where what's left of her torso clings onto her masters' shoulders through the ensuing fight is quite memorable.

I may not be able to follow what's really going on yet (though helpful commenter Guilhermekinni has been aiding me in getting a hold on the premise), but I can say that I appreciate the show's visual style when it comes to making fights look all fancy.

[Accelerate to 17000% on The Anime Network and Crunchyroll]

Idolm@ster episode 18

Finally, the Ritsuko episode. Everyone who's been keeping their green glowsticks for just such an occasion can feel free to bust them out. I still think she looks better in a pantsuit, though.

I like how Azusa delivered the whole video message thing at the opener. It made the concerts feel like, well, actual concerts, because that's the sort of sh*t that happens when you're in the live business. At least, that's what I'll assume. It also seems to differentiate the anime from the game, since obviously in the game you can't have the idol you picked take time off. Or can you? I've never played and actual gameplay information is surprisingly scarce.

Next week, more nefarious 961 plotting! And Takane!

[Deliver your own "I'm sick, meet my stand-in" message on Crunchyroll]

Pedro Cortes

Persona 4 Episode 5

The episode starts with one of Yu's classmates going in for a kiss and a convention, which a very flustered Yu left tongue-tied. Backing up a couple of days, Chie decides to introduce Yu to one of the school teams in hopes of having him join a club. He's introduced to Ichijo and Nagase, respectively from the soccer and basketball teams. The combined begging of Chie, Ichijo and Nagase convince Yu to play B-ball for the school. Yu meets Ebihara Ai, the confessing lass from the beginning of the episode who also happens to be the team's manager. She ditches right away, showing that she isn't the most diligent of ladies. Then again, the rest of the players leave early too, so it looks like they're all slackers.

The next day, Yu bumps into Ai in the halls and the two ditch class. Later during practice, Ai overhears the other members talking some yang behind her back and she leaves. Yu gives chase and she confesses that she has the hots for Ichijo. She ropes Yu into asking about Ichijo's interests, which reveals that Ichijo has the hots for Chie, which is completely understandable in my book. He asks for Yu's help and leaves. Yu lifts up a nearby box, revealing an eves-dropping Ai. She freaks out and tries to leap off the roof. Yu gets her to open up and is kind of forced to be her temporary boyfriend.

Ai is…difficult, to say the least. It's pretty funny seeing Yu so flustered when dealing with her, especially considering how calm and cool he's been made out to be so far. Yosuke misconstrues Chie's concern with budding affection and makes things more complicated by getting her involved with the basketball team too. Ichijo tells the team that they have a practice game coming up, but tells Yu in private that this might be his last game, and if he wins he'll confess to Chie. Well, the game is an unmitigated disaster, with the team sucking and the girls fighting off to the side. After the game, Ichijo reveals that he'll keep playing, if only because he hates losing. As the group of them are walking home, Ai lets Yu off the fake boyfriend hook and gives him their PuriKura photos as a moment.

I really like that this took some time to flesh out some of the social links from the game. Considering the sheer amount of people you can interact with in Persona 4, it would've been frustrating if they didn't try to go into some of those people in the course of the show. From the shadows of the preview, it looks like we might be meeting ol' Kanji next week, which I'm looking forward to!

[Love yerself them balls on Crunchyroll and The Anime Network]

Chris Walden

Bakuman Season 2 Episode 6

Silly Mashiro! It seems that with all the excitement over serialization and competing with Eiji he has forgotten to eat, sleep and who knows what else. He is rushed to hospital with his female-but-not-Azuki assistant, who hangs around until Takagi, Mashiro's mom, Miura and Hattori turn up. They find out that due to malnutrition, he will be having surgery to remove part of his liver. As if that wasn't bad enough, he will be hospitalised for three months, putting Detective Trap's future into jeopardy. Miura ends up feeling guilty about what has happened for no reason, but I'm cool with that. I'd blame him anyway, just for not being Hattori. 

However, Mashiro refuses to let this ruin the future of Trap, so he decides to keep working while in hospital. Takagi, having tentatively agreed to bring in the manuscripts when talking to Mashiro on the phone, seeks help from Kaya about what he should do. After falcon slapping him off a swing, she arranges a surprise hospital visit from Azuki, which shakes up Mashiro. Unfortunately her feminine charm and promises of marriage aren't enough for him to stop drawing traps, so she instead eggs him on. I think it's meant to show understanding between the two, but considering his health and the pain he is in, it just seems like a mother getting angry. 

"You wanted to draw the manuscript, so you damn well better do it!"

Wagnaria'!! Episode 6

After a terrible attempt at cleaning from Yamada, both Satou and Taneshima are left with colds. Dressed like Dr. Ned and unable to work, they are sent home while the manager calls for reinforcements. We then get the introduction of two new characters, non-identical twins Yohei and Mitsuki. They were both members of the managers gang back at school, so they seemingly take orders happily from her. Tsundere twins get. 

This causes a fair amount of chaos in the restaurant, with Mitsuki being a huge clutz and Yohei not understanding personal space. They also fight pretty often, but they carry pictures of each other on them, so you have to wonder if their relationship will be looked at in more detail in a later episode. 

In the latter half of the episode, Takanashi and Inami fall out. This is because Takanashi is a prat and misunderstands Inami's position when the manager tries to be nice and stop making the two look out for each other. This causes Takanashi to bear a grudge for over a week, being a jerk to pretty much everyone. Don't get me wrong, I don't care much for Inami, but damn. They do eventually make up, but not without a few dog comments from Takanashi and a pretty brutal left jab from Inami. Deservedly too! 

[Wagnaria'!! is cooking up a storm on Crunchyroll!]

C3 Episode 6

I don't dislike C3. Just want to clear that up before I say this and it gets misinterpreted, but I really don't like the school scenes. The action, when it happens, is really good. The show looks stunning, and quite obviously has some budding new artists involved. I just find the school scenes so dull that I tend to switch off during them. However, this may be down to my own tastes and I don't doubt that people will disagree with me, but that's cool. 

We were introduced to a few new characters in this episode, namely the ditzy Sakuramaira. Her family had come into possession of another cursed object, which is discovered to have escaped the suitcase it was dumped in. We soon meet the object at hand, a human-like doll known as Saverenti that has the ability to launch dolls armed with nasty things at people, as well as chant in glorious Engrish. 

She escapes, but the regulars spend some good montage-like scenes searching for her. It's not really a surprise that she ran away though. She claims to hate humans, and to be honest this is fully justified considering she is being passed about in a suitcase. However, she seems to have her own reasons besides revenge for attacking people, so I'm going to hazard a guess that she'll become a regular good character further down the line. Sakuramaira, while not exactly the epitome of originality, is a seemingly fun character. In summary, not my favourite episode but not terrible either. I just want ridiculous weapons being thrown about the place again!

[C3 screams on Niconico.com!]

Phi Brain Episode 6

Kaito is still in his slump, being unable to solve even the most simple puzzles. After a good few moments of moping about, Cubic arrives and abducts him. He wakes up to find the whole crew stood around him while he is tied to a table. After running some tests, Cubic announces that every time Kaito uses his crazy geass-like powers, he is in danger of killing himself. The reason he can't do puzzles is to do with his body rejecting such a life-threatening state, which in a sense is valid yet ridiculous. Well, it would be if it wasn't Phi Brain. 

Right on cue, Kaito receives another puzzle request via his crazy PDA, which Gammon takes up. Kaito isn't particularly happy about it, but at least Gammon can look at sudoku without screaming. However, determined to reclaim his puzzling mojo, he shouts 'puzzle time!'. He then runs after Gammon. 

Here we meet yet another (surprise!) crazy looking puzzle giver. I don't know what her name is, but she looks a bit like a Reimu cosplayer, so that'll do. Unfortunately for us non-Japanese-savvy viewers, the no doubt epic battle of puzzling wit is lost to us. It looks impressive though! Something to do with kanji and elements... If nothing else, I'll be interested to see how localisation will effect scenes like this. 

After Gammon messes up and starts getting eaten by sand, Kaito manages to return to his puzzle solving form, rescuing him from sand rash, further embarrassment and certain death. At the conclusion, Kaito collapses, Gammon and the Reimu cosplayer make silly faces, and the afro villain also says a few lines. I don't care if the rest of Phi Brain is like this, I want more! Look out for my final impressions in nineteen weeks time, which will no doubt be filled purely with my top twenty-five silly faces. No, really. 

[You can catch Phi Brain fever on The Anime Network!]

Kristina Pino

Beelzebub Episode 41

Yikes,  Hecadoth did a real number on Hilda and Oga. Looks like a lot of people are going to have to shape up real quick to fight these Behemoth servants, and the cat's out of the bag for Saotome sensei.

I was wondering why they kept showing Al but never really did anything with him, until I suppose he figured out what was going on and summoned the doctor again. It's nice to see some old characters come back, and from the post-credit preview, it would seem that Aoi's gramps is finally coming into play now that Oga needs to train some. I'm guessing from this point on, Aoi's going to have to be involved? It's pretty much unavoidable at this point, after she's gotten herself into all this. Izumi warned her, too.

That was a really ballsy move on Oga's part, although cliche'd, to do the whole, "get pierced to get closer" move. I should have probably expected it when he started talking to himself about the spear and distance. That guy Saotome is crazy strong, though. I wonder what'll happen later when he's in some sort of tough fight? Will Behemoth himself come to the Human World? I'm sure you folks who read the manga know what's up.

[Catch Beelzebub simulcasting on Crunchyroll!]

Haganai Episode 5

I so glad that Kobato finally made her move! Now the club is complete, right? And of course, now Maria has someone more age appropriate to bicker with instead of Yozora, who is still my favorite character so far, by the way.

Do they ever explain how Maria, a 10 year old, became faculty at a high school? And a nun, no less? I've been wondering for a while. It would have made sense if she was just young-looking like Hagu (Honey and Clover), but if she really is 10...

Lastly, I couldn't help but laugh throughout the virtual reality gaming segment with SAGA XIV. They really nailed it. I'm liking this show for the parodies more and more since it's just plain fun (yes, even the obvious line from Sena towards the end there referencing OreImo). I also love that Kobato jumped in at the end there to try to protect Kodaka when Maria had fallen asleep during healing duty. I hadn't realized it at first, but there's no one else on the show that goes, "kukuku...," which was the dead give-away! 

I'm looking forward to next week. I'm also looking forward to daydreaming about a figure of Yozora in that Rose Warrior outfit. So. Cute.

Sekakoi2 Episode 5

Whoa! Progress! Ritsu actually took a leap for Takano! Too bad that while things look all rosy now, they aren't necessarily going to stay that way; since, you know.

Ritsu is going through some complicated stuff. Not only is he dealing with some irrational despair over this whole situation with Takano, he's also got some crazy complex due to his father giving him the push to his current job (and apparently, lots of other things). That's some deep stuff right there. Thankfully, Takano's either a super genius or his helpless 'reaction' to go running to Yokozawa for comfort worked to his favor in getting a confession out of Ritsu. I mean, he said the magic words...he turned down Anne and doesn't want Takano to rely on this other guy. It's not direct, but it's a start, I suppose.

Takano also has noticed that Ritsu is stressed out about wanting to do things for himself. I think eventually, he'll be appreciated for trying to help Ritsu out, too.

We won't have the pleasure of seeing what's next during next week's episode since we're finally going to check up on what Yuu and Chiaki are up to. I really like their story, though, so no complaints here.

The only other commentary I really have is, I do really like the way that Nakamura draws women. It's not the usual fare and the colors work really well. It always surprises me when I see a girl from the comic show up in the animation.

[Watch Sekakoi streaming on Crunchyroll!]

Jeff Chuang

Mawaru Penguindrum Episode 17

For once, we're treated with some explanation. It feels like everything is finally coming together, with that last piece (as far as we know!) being Keiju Tabuki. Too bad it also throws in that predictable cliff-hanger at the end, as it did for almost every previous episode. It's like the Marunochi train line chart shown during the CM break; we've made a turn towards the end.

The highlight must be the showdown between Masako and Yuri--two cars, now! Dashing ladies in front of headlights at night, armed to the teeth with sophistry and weapons that make no sense. Is this the essence of Utena's dueling ideals, now fought over halves of books that make wishes come true?

On a more visceral level, the first half of this week's installment put together a comfortable scene between the three siblings. It almost made me want to forget the rest of the show, much like Shoma's sentiments. Except that I welcome the Survival Strategy, of course.

Setting up Tabuki as the villain in this sense seems a little too contrived, but hopefully when the inevitable episode about his back story pop up, we will finally get the full picture. Ikuhara, please don't disappoint!

Un-go Episode 4

Little did I know last week that we have a two-parter. Un-go is much better for it; it answered the burning questions I had (pun intended), and the motivation all pans out wonderfully. Again, the series isn't about the how but much more about what prompted the way people act. It's about what drives them to burn people, I guess?

With the masked victims it was clear that somebody who was dead probably wasn't, so when we see the family elder Komamori being hidden away and manipulating things behind closed doors with his software puppet Kazamori, it's only expected. What wasn't expected is Kazamori's uninhibited nature, which runs quite contrary to his outer functionality as the proxy head of the family and corporation. It's all a little disturbing, even if it is just a side lesson on Un-go's outlook on humanity.

It's a little more amusing to see that how the various murders were a matter of covering up Komamori's access to RAI. They were closer to murders of convenience rather than because someone wants to hide a secret. I guess there was that, too, but the reason for hiding is an interesting, if selfish, double-edged sword.

Most interestingly this week is the introduction of Kazamori as a persistent character, who will now double as AI master and someone in a robot body. It is a pretty clever way to work in a plot that originally was written for the Meiji era!

[Catch Un-go on Crunchyroll!]

Hiroko Yamamura

Guilty Crown Episode 4

We catch up with Shu soon after he has just been betrayed by his supposed friend. He is taken in for questioning by a surprisingly convincing and charming captain. I think the most appealing and uneasy aspect of the show for me is you just have no idea what anyone's intentions are. From what I garner, this was a huge part of Code Geass, but unfortunately I didn't get far enough into that series to know.

The show had a nice pace going on this episode, a bit heavy on dialog for my tastes, but not bad. I really wish they would focus on Inori more. She really has all the things needed to make this show off the hook. Maybe they could maker her a bit less Ayanami-ish, but she still cool, and boy can the girl jump.

When Shu's in trouble why doesn't he just keep pulling things out of people? I couldn't quite tell this episode but it looks like he can have at least two weapons pulled at once! Handy!  Also when the acton turns on, the show's animation seems to increase in quality. Is someone else doing it? I'm not complaining!

I'm still digging the show. I know a lot of you are turned off by its slightly generic approach, but I guess that's what I kind of find contorting about it. You could have easily aired this in the 90's and it would have been a hit. I guess I'm just old…

[Guilty Crown streams at Funimation]

Elliot Gay

Fate/Zero Episode 6

With the battle royal from the past few weeks having wrapped itself up quite nicely, this week saw Fate/Zero taking on a slightly slower pace. As a transitional episode I felt it worked beautifully, beginning with the excellent confrontation between Saber and the always pleasant Caster. Our delusional serial killer seems to believe that Saber is actually Jeanne d’Arc. She reveals her true identity to him, unbeknownst of the dark servant watching from the shadows. Fighting words are exchanged and Caster retreats for the time being.

The location then shifts to a large apartment building. It is here that we are introduced to Kayneth’s partner (?) Sola-Ui, and her strange fixation on Lancer. My bet is that it’s his charm in action. In any case, Kiritsugu and Maiya put a plan into action to assassinate Kayneth by blowing up the entire building. With the job seemingly complete, Maiya is attacked by a blade wielding Kirei. She manages to escape relatively unharmed, though Kirei seems to be on to Kiritsugu's tricks.

Back at the church, Gilgamesh has taken a deep interest in the detached Kirei. A deal is struck between the two, with Kirei hoping to find a reason as to why he was chosen for this war and what exactly he wants out of it

I think the slower pace of the episode works as well as it does because of the amount of action we've seen recently. There’s some excellent character work on display here, and the short stand-off between Kirei and Maiya was exciting exciting if not a bit stressful. Production quality remains consistent and I continue to count the days until an official soundtrack gets released. Soon please.

[Fate/Zero streams on Nico Nico]

Shakugan no Shana Final Episode 5

Wait, more plot? Actual plot in Shakugan no Shana? Get out of town!

We pick up with Shana waking up in an unfamiliar room. Apparently she’s been Bal Masque’s… hostage for a little while now according to some comments her captors make. Our charming former hero Yuji approaches her and is shocked to find that she’s less than pleased to be anywhere near him. Shana’s disgusted reaction towards him seemed to really hit home, causing Yuji to have something of a minor freak out.

Meanwhile Bal Masque seems perfectly aware that their revived God might not actually be completely in control of the two beings at odds inside of him. Much of the episode is spent with them plotting mysterious things that for the time being make no sense to the audience. Spoilers: it’s probably a super big plan that will cause untold amounts of destruction. If it’s not, I’ll eat my hand or something equally as ridiculous.

The most interesting part of the episode for me at least, was the flashback showing a young Shana and Shiro, the skeleton man. I felt he was tragically underused over the past couple of seasons and I’m looking forward to learning more about his relationship with our Flame Haze. 

Marcus Speer

Chihayafuru Episode 5

Chihayafuru does not mess around when it comes to pacing. Five episodes in and already Arata is back on his feet and ready to play karuta with his old feiends again. However, Chihaya and Taichi's trip wasn't without the drama.

Up until his own karuta tournament that would send him into Class A, Arata was taking care of hs mentor/grandfather after suffering a stroke, until he died when Arata wasn't there for him. And even though Chihaya brought him out of his shell, there's still no doubt that Arata will struggle with the game that caused his grandfather to die.

In retrospect, Chihayafuru this week sounds so cheesy, yet I really do applaud the series for not dragging out how moppy and depressed Arata is. With 20+ episodes, it'd be really interesting to see where this series will go.