
Welcome to your Late Edition of this week's Annotated Anime, the Japantor weekly recap that's really, really tsundere for K-ON!!. Brad Rice will never admit it, though. Look, sleeping Mugi!
In today's Late Edition, Bleach once again undermines itself, Ookami-san and Her Seven Companions becomes Ookami-san and Her Seven Maids, Amagami SS threatens to kill Brad, and Karen resigns from the student council.
Don't forget to check out the Early Edition for more sexy recap action! It's a great thing to do while waiting for Starcraft II to unlock. Hurry up, Blizzard. Good god, you're killing me here! Unlock already! DO IT DO IT DO IT!
Josh Tolentino
Bleach episode 280

If last week's episode was intended to set up the Visored as a bunch of SERIOUS BUSINESS bad-ass party-crashers, then this week's episode was intended to undermine all that. How, you ask? Comedy scenes, of course!
Well, things are serious at first, as Hisagi continues his emotional histrionics over Tousen's betrayal. But things take a turn for the screechy when Hiyori calls Hitsugaya bald, and Lisa suspects him to be a secret yuri-fan. Yes, I don't quite get it either.
Meanwhile, Starrk continues to anally finger his guns. In front of Love and Rose. Awkward!
The last bastion of coolness remains, surprisingly, in Hachigen's kido, which forms a really kick-ass gate that restricts Barragan long enough for Soifon to stick a cruise missile up his skeletal ass. We'll see how it turns out next episode.
[Spoiler: Barragan laughs it off.]
[You can watch the Bleach simulcast on Crunchyroll]
Ookami-san and Her Seven Companions episode 4

This week's fairy tale reference is The Crane Wife, a Japanese folk tale involving a crane that, like Otsuu the maid, also had a fetish for reciprocity. But instead of some valuable silk, the repayment this time is in sexy personal maid services heaped upon an unwilling Ryoushi. Cue stress and slapstick.
Eventually, things take a turn for the awkward, as the rest of the bank decides to help Otsuu work out her personal issues by...becoming her personal maids for the day. Yup. Oh, and the boys get to wear the maid outfits as well. Score!
The show gains extra moe points from me for a certain scene, where Ryouko stumbling over the prim-and-proper speech patterns required for maid-ittude. It's a joke that only works if you've got a bit of Japanese listening skill, but it's cute!
In truth, I'm still conflicted about how I want this show to evolve. Do I want it to exercise more ambition and become a smart, emotionally involving romance show (i.e. Toradora!) at the risk of falling flat, or play it safe and remain the light, fluffy comedy that it is? Given the show's short duration and setting, I just don't see the former happening right now, sadly. Here's to hoping it pans out. And hey, Neko Neko Knuckles!
Brad Rice
K-ON!! episode 14
Oh, poor poor Azunyan. You're trying so hard to be a responsible member of the Keion Club, but you're quickly adopting the lacksidasical personalities of Yui, Mugi, and Ritsu -- even some of Mio's bad habits are falling in there. What is a girl like you to do?
In my professional opinion, killing yourself might be best.
As you can see, the Jazz club is doing all the things that you want to be doing, like playing instruments, being serious about music and acting like productive members of society should.
The show is once again in a downward spiral, with the plot becoming less and less -- to the point that it's just one joke stretched over a full episode. It's like the first episodes of Lucky Star all over again! Just think about that.
Amagami SS episode 4
HHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.
This episode was incredibly straightforward, sappy and predictable, but oh my god, did it ever give me the warmest and fuzziest feeling in my heart. A date on Christmas Eve means only one thing, and this is the whole lead up to that.
Really, this show is going to be filled with nothing but warm and fuzzy feelings. I'm not loving this show because it's something exceptional in and of itself, but it has the unique ability to evoke a whole host of warm and fuzzy memories of romance.
My favorite show of the season thus far, I must admit.
Karen Leslie
Seitokai Yakuindomo episode 4
In this episode, it's Shino's birthday, so gutter-brained advisor-lady gets her a vibrator, pixellated to protect our virgin eyes, and it looks for a moment like Suzu might be doing something very naughty to Tsuda's lower extremities, but actually she's just drinking milk...uh, and a bunch of other sexual-but-not-really-funny jokes occur along the way. There's a part involving Shino and Tsuda walking home in the rain together that's almost very sweet, but it gets kind of lost in the shuffle.
I don't know why, but it seems like whatever soothing, hypnotic effect that this show was having on me for a while has worn off, and now I'm just bored. While the class trip in episode 3 wasn't fascinating or anything, it gave the show a chance to portray some different locales and scenarios and the, ahem, "deer-mounting scene" was certainly memorable. But I don't think I can put up with watching these characters make the same jokes in the club room for another eight episodes (well, I could, but I don't think I'm going to.) The shock-value appeal has worn off on me, and even though I like Shino's attitude- she and Yamada from B Gata H Kei definitely need to hang out- the humor has gotten too predictable, with one or two highly racy jokes per episode and a few barely funny, almost non-jokes stringing them together.
Seitokai Yakuindomo, you had potential, but I'm done. Admittedly, I will miss the ED, which has grown on me tremendously despite its strangeness. Maybe I'll just watch the ending animation once a week and leave it at that.