Category: Anime

Ongoing Investigations: Case #145

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Carnival Phantasm Season 2 has an all Saber related episode. Therefore Carnival Phantasm Season 2 is rated A++ with a side order of extra credit. But with all my horrible blatant prejudice aside Carnival Phantasm continues to be a series of in jokes piled on top of each other. There is some good material that does not rely on the mythology but there are few people who would be able to sit through what would otherwise be rather incomprehensible episodes otherwise. This set of episodes really favors the Fate side of things. Episode five is mostly Berserker running around wreaking havoc.  Episode six is sort of dodgy since it mostly revolves around the fact that Shinji often beats and rapes Sakura while Rider does her best to protect her in a faux soap opera. It is really is a dark type of humor that could easily turn people off. Episode seven is the only split episode with the first half being about Arcueid making okonomiyaki and the second half being about Caster’s love life. I wonder if this skit is enough to make people actually like Caster. Unlike Sakura she has never really been hated but mostly just ignored.  The eighth is all about Saber so I naturally enjoyed it immensely. They thankfully end the Phantasmoon story for the most part in episode 6. It was never that long but they were stretching what was originally a one page gag pretty far as it were.  I assume we will get one more Phantasmoon skit in season 3 but I think the break will go do it a world of good. Lancer continue to be the Kenny of the series dying in every episode. I have more to say but maybe I will save it for its own post. Other than that: ALTER! ALTER! ALTER!

 In volumes 27-28 of Kekkaishi we finally get confirmation, at least in part, of what Karasumori’s deal is. 27 is mostly battling the witches spell which threatens not just the sacred site but the surrounding city. But big surprises occur when Yoshimori is able to harness the mind-emptying technique that we’ve been so curious about. Along with this comes the reveal of his new familiar which leans towards creepy. Since all of this involves the head of the Organization and every major player I can only assume we have entered the final arc of the series. I still feel as though Yoshimori’s family has secrets lurking in its depths but we’ll have to wait and see.

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Black Rose Arc: All Killer but How Much Filler?

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There are many points that one can debate in Revolutionary Girl Utena due to the nature of how Kunihiko Ikuhara tells a story. Sometimes his imagery has a clear and obviously metaphor behind it and other times things are purposefully left vague so that audience can draw their own conclusions on what certain things mean. The exact nature of the power of Dios, what is real and what is illusion at the school, and what exactly happens to Utena at the end of show can all be debated back and forth. There are as many interpretations of Nanami’s Egg as stars in the sky. But oddly enough one of the oldest and fiercest debates I have seen people get into has nothing to do with any of the symbolism in the show itself. It is if the Black Rose Arc is filler or not. The dread word filler casts a icky cold chill on the heart of many an anime fan. Perhaps it makes them flash back in to horror of the unbroken train of 76 episodes of Naruto filler, the infamous Island Arc of Nadia, or the dreadful last few arcs of the Kenshin anime. The question is can you label the Black Rose Arc with the shameful title of filler?

Having been full engrossed in Utena a couple of times over now, I start to pick out certain aspects that I might not have otherwise. I’d say this is all for the better; my love has not waned for Nanami’s dramatics nor Chu Chu’s mischief. But there is a question that comes up now and again regarding the place the Black Rose arc has in the story. Breaking it down in certain ways can make it seem like filler, but I’m not so sure it really is.

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Fate/Zero TV #008: Alchemical Monofilament Falcon of Death

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An episode that is nothing but people trying to put massive holes in each other from start to finish. Hopefully this will calm the audience’s blood lust for a while. We also see a whole new side to certain characters who might not have seemed to be warriors doing some pretty awesome combat maneuvers. I will warn everyone that there was no Rider and Waver in this one. I want to let certain people down easy so they know what they are in store for. Don’t worry. I am sure when it comes down the real showdown with Caster we shall see the King of Conquerors in his full glory. But the King of Knights content is sufficient for me to be happy. And that is all that should really matter to anyone.

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