Two of the best shows of the season for me so far have been Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Medaka Box Abnormal, which rank at second and fourth place respectively in my personal rankings. They’re utterly ridiculous and over-the-top, but unlike others who enjoy the series for the humor of it, I largely enjoy them for non-ironic reasons. How can you take such ludicrous shows such as these and take them seriously? There are several reasons for this:

[EDIT: Not sure if this is evident in the post or not, but just to be clear: when I say "I can take these shows seriously", I mean as in "I enjoy it for how ridiculous it is, but not necessarily in a 'so bad it's good' kind of way."

My apologies for the confusing choice of words.]

First is the fact that both series are Parodies of Reaffirmation, in which they parody a genre through closely mimicking it, thus becoming apart of the genre itself; they make fun of a genre while at the same time stand as quality examples of the genre itself.

Fiction isn’t so binary as to be either “serious fiction” or “comedic fiction”, and like most things can be placed on a spectrum of how serious the series can reasonably be treated as. In order to exploit the silliness of its own setting without becoming bad, a series must first be self-aware of the its own limits–in other words, it has to be careful not to take itself too seriously. As parodies, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Medaka Box are clearly self-aware of themselves.

Second is that is that the story has to properly use Suspension of Disbelief, and to do that it must be consistent with the rules set up by it’s own setting–not necessarily the rules of the real world. It is contradictions and logical fallacies which break immersion, not the fantastical elements of a story.

The events within a TV series can be sheer nonsense compared to reality, but it can still seem believable so long as it makes sense within the context of the setting. As nonsensical as they seem at times, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Medaka Box adhere to the rules and setting of their respective universes, without any contradictions or logical fallacies–thus it’s easy to suspend disbelief upon viewing them.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, there has to be a genuinely well-written plot underneath all that absurdity. Bringing us back to Parody of Reaffirmation, if you strip away the extravagant presentation of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, than it’s a still a nicely-written series about one mans struggle to defeat his vampire step-brother.

So that gives us to three key traits that allow a ridiculous series to be taken seriously:

• Self-awareness of how ridiculous it is in the first place
• No contradictions or logical fallacies (Suspension of Disbelief)
• A good, well-written plot underneath the ridiculousness.

On this episode, Medaka stumbles upon an underground zoo and she wants to join Kikaijima for some animal sightseeing.

But then again, Medaka is not the focus for this episode… Sorry Medaka, but you have to sit you out again!

Although I noted Kikaijima’s dislike for animals, the fact that the animals living at the underground zoo are not scared of Medaka baffles me!

Anyways, this is an Akune episode where he face not one, but two Abnormals!

The one with the knife sticking out to her face is Youka Naze, the supervisor of the Flask Plan; and the other one handstanding at Youka’s head is Itami Koga, whose body was altered into Abnormal-levels thanks to Youka.

As you can see, Itami’s altered body is comparable to either Shigusa Takachiho or Medaka Kurokami, which is why Kouki’s destructive grappling techniques would not work on her.

But since Itami’s body was altered thanks to Youka, I wonder if she altered *ahem* Itami’s hymen to become stronger that no man would deflower her? Then again, that would be sick to imagine that!

Still, if Akune is in a bind thanks to Itami, then there’s Manager Maguro helping him out after flipping Youka’s skirt and look at her blue polka-dot panties.

Of course, he would save Akune on the next episode… Sorry Medaka, but you have to sit you out for next week!

Best episode of the week: Robotics;Notes

Anime trending up this week: Magi

Anime trending down this week:  Jormungand: Perfect Order

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! (Episode 6) – I’m not sure if this was intended or not, but Nibutani and Dekomori have usurped this anime from the grasps of Yuuta and Rikka.  The dynamic that these two characters share have swiftly become one of the best aspects of this anime, especially with Dekomori’s constantly harassment of Nibutani and the fact that she tries to keep her dual persona despite its increasing difficulty.  Not only that but with Nibutani’s character finally revealed, her character has flourished and she’s stolen Dekomori from Rikka’s side.  Now without Dekomori to support her in her comedic endeavors, Rikka is free to pursue her own story and developments with Yuuta.  Too bad that those serious storylines are nothing compared to the shared antics of Dekomori and Nibutani, and the now infrequent comedy by Rikka and Yuuta is now completely overshadowed by Dekomori and Nibutani.  Yeah, it seems that these two, along with Kumin, will carry the comedy of this anime while all the serious matters are knocked out by Rikka and Yuuta.  Too bad I’m only really enjoying this anime for its comedy (though hopefully Rikka’s story picks up soon).

Girls und Panzer (Episode 5) – Whenever a tank is defeated in battle or otherwise immobilized, a white flag raises signaling a surrender, to not be fired upon, and that the damaged tank is now out of the battle.  However, the white flags prepared for these tanks are unreasonably small and seem inadequate given the environmental circumstances of the battlefield, especially considering the amount of smoke and dust in these battles.  Not only that, but the flag could easily be detected from another shell, especially if multiple tanks are targeting one.  Then what do you do?  Keep firing on the tank, thinking it’s still in combat when it really isn’t?  Furthermore, some flags are not placed on top of the tank but on the side, meaning from certain angles, the flag isn’t even visible.  Whelp, sure sucks to be in that tank if the enemy can’t see you’re out.

Considering the amount of danger the girls are in during tank combat and the question of safety, why not implement something more modern that could prevent further damage to the tanks and protect the girls from potential hazards?  One simple option would be to have flashing lights pop up instead, something that would be easier to notice, even in certain battlefield conditions like smoke, fog, rain, what have you.  Not only that but having more than one light would make it possible to be seen from all angles or if one is damaged or whatever.  Hell, you could even combine it with the white flag if you want.  I don’t expect anything like this to happen, but I figure, sometime later on in the series, after our heroes are knocked out in a battle, that their evil opponent will continue to fire on them after combat is over, just because they’re evil and stuff.  Maybe then the whole white flag system will be revised and updated and safety put as a foremost concern, but until then, I suppose things are fine though nowhere near ideal.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Episode 6) – You’ve gotta feel bad for Speedwagon.  Everyone else around him has superhuman abilities and they’re fighting supernatural beings, like vampires and zombies, and he’s just there, tagging along for the fun.  Yeah, if something slightly bad happens during a battle, he’s a goner, yet he still sticks around JoJo and helps out in any way he can to see Dio’s demise.  Still, you wanna see the guy have some comparable fighting ability or something so that he could survive or help JoJo when he’s being overwhelmed in battle.  All he can do right now is just watch the carnage and act like a glorified announcer for the audience, which in turn is just himself.  We did see him attack JoJo way back in the second episode but that is nothing compared to what’s going on now, especially considering that even the almighty Ripple is ineffective at times.  Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s able to help out in battle sometime soon since his mission in life, now, is to support JoJo and his extermination of Dio.

Jormungand: Perfect Order (Episode 17) – Unrealistic and unsatisfying, the action in Jormungand this season has continued to disappoint, regardless of the characters or storyline present.  With this second season nearly halfway complete, I’ve realized that what I enjoy about this anime the most are when the anime isn’t in the middle of a firefight or battle or anything like that.  It doesn’t mean I’m enjoying the haphazard episodic content of the stories or the character-of-the-week, just that I enjoy the anime less whenever the guns are out and pumping each other, sorry, I mean the enemy only (save for one or two bullets), full of lead.  Yeah, somehow that’s the case for Jormungand.  Somehow it’s gotten the action so wrong that it is now the worst part of the anime.  A damn shame indeed.

K (Episode 6) – It’s rather amusing to think that, in the span of a day, everyone that knew who Shiro was doesn’t know him anymore and everyone that he’s met, such as Kurou, Neko, and everyone out to kill him, does (or so they think).  Yeah, think about that for a sec.  His only friends now are characters he’s met in the past day or so: Kurou and Neko.  They’re the only ones who know who he is now since Saruhiko monkeyed (get it?) around with the computer while on campus.  It’ll be interesting to see how everything plays out from this point forward, but it’s rather interesting to note that everyone in Shiro’s life up to this point are no longer in it and the two characters he just met are the only ones left.  And I suppose Saruhiko, too, but that’ll come later, I suppose.

Kamisama Kiss (Episode 6) – The sixth episode of Kamisama Kiss offered us the opportunity to contrast Nanami and Tomoe and see how truly different they are as characters.  With Tomoe disguised as Nanami for most of the episode, we were able to see how he reacted to the events of Nanami’s life as Nanami, but with his own personality and behaviors.  With this, we can compare his choices with Nanami’s choices to show how strongly their personalities and behaviors differ.  Perhaps the biggest difference between the two is how caring and compassionate Nanami is and how cold and introverted Tomoe is.  Look no further than their default faces with Tomoe often wearing a harsh yet emotionless expression and Nanami all bright and cheerful, complete with a smile or grin.  Beyond that, their attitudes are the complete opposite: Nanami is the young schoolgirl full of hope and optimism and Tomoe is the old man fraught with depression and despair.  So when we were able to see Tomoe step into Nanami’s life and act the way he did, it served as an excellent contrast to show how different the two characters are.  With this episode as an illustration, we can see how unique and polarized their relationship is and why there are often conflicts between the two.  Also, Tomoe disguised as Nanami is cuter/hotter than regular Nanami.  I hope we get to see her (him?) again soon!!

Little Busters! (Episode 6) – Like with many drama anime, problems are solved as quickly as flipping on or off a light switch.  Boom.  Done.  It doesn’t matter how severe or prolonged or damaging the problem is, as soon as the solution hits, BAM!, it’s over.  Where this hurts the most is in the character development, making light of their problem by having it resolved so quickly and so effortlessly.  As we saw with Komari, it just took a few minutes on the rooftop with a few colored pictures and her years of emotional agony, lapses in memory, and mental distress are gone.  Poof.  Gone.  Just like that.  It makes her problem seem so trivial, so easy, so… stupid, even.  It’s a problem seen again and again in anime and it’s rooted in lethargic character development.  If Little Busters! cared about Komari at all, her solution would be extended well into the next character arc, showing Komari overcome her problem through time and with effort.  Show her overcome this handicap as a person and accept her new life.  Don’t just be like “oh, wow, look, I have friends”, show her spending time with her friends that make her realize what a magnificent life she has.  Show her helping her other friends overcome their problems.  Everything else up to this point was fine, just the solution was over too quickly and everything is now alright.  No, that’s not alright.  This is the best opportunity you have for character development and you blew it.  And that, that, is sadder than anything Komari went through.

Medaka Box Abnormal (S2) (Episode 5) – Though Abnormals have been deemed ‘godly’ by the characters of Medaka Box, they seem rather human to me.  Perhaps it is because Abnormals are only god-like in one specific attribute and human in everything else?  Through they possess superhuman abilities and are able to accomplish more than any mere mortal, everything else about them is perfectly normal.  In fact, they’re more normal than abnormal.  Then again, if these characters had a number of crazy attributes, then they’d just be needlessly complex and convoluted.  And with them as they are now, special in only one area, that’s enough to be considered abnormal by most people.  Still, it’s not like these people are living gods or anything; they’re just humans who are really good at one thing in particular.

Psycho-Pass (Episode 5) – Is it just me or did they cryogenically freeze Masaoka back in the 1950s and recently unfreeze him?  Sure, yeah, he’s kinda that grey, old school detective character that doesn’t understand the new generation and all their electro-gadgets and whatcha-ma-jiggers while still being able to solve all these weird techno-crimes… but wasn’t he born in, like, 2070 or something?  You know, when the internet and everything else existed?  Like, after he was born, did he just skip childhood and become an cranky geezer at the age of 6?  How does he not know any of this stuff?  I can understand if he doesn’t like it, but he grew up with this stuff when he was a kid and teenager and adult and stuff.  Why doesn’t he understand this stuff?  Why is all this stuff so foreign to him and why does Akane, the spunky new detective with an attitude, gotta explain this stuff to him?  I don’t understand it except that his archetype doesn’t really fit in with this setting.  Now, if this were a 1960s/70s cop show… actually, no, this should be Police Squad instead.  Yeah… that’d be nice.

Shin Sekai Yori (Episode 7) – So, uh, what happened to everyone else during Saki and Satoru’s deadly ordeal?  Judging by the look of it, they probably had a nice picnic over the past few days and relaxed on the beach.  No, seriously, what happened to the other three after they were separated from Saki and Satoru?  I’m guessing they were able to escape the entire queer rat war going on and avoid any confrontation with anything dangerous, but those are only guesses on what didn’t happen.  I’m curious about what did happen, even if it isn’t much.  Sure, their clothes aren’t torn or raggedy and they still have their supplies and stuff, but what did they do between being separated and meeting up with Saki and Satoru at the lakefront.  I can only hope that this story isn’t passed over in the anime but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is given the time constraint the anime faces.

Also, just curious, anyone else think they have a connection between the Squealer from Shin Sekai Yori and Squealer from Animal Farm?  It stems from a thought I’m having in the revision/editing phase.  I might try to explore that a little later since I haven’t read anything on that possible association yet.

Sword Art Online (Episode 19) – Every time Recon fails or dies, I can’t help but smile.  He is such a pathetic, worthless character that whenever he does something that inadvertently kills him or troubles him in some way, I am happy.  I’d actually love it if every episode of SAO from here on out had some scene with him fumbling around, failing some mission, and being killed.  Yeah, his death is my satisfaction.  And I’m glad that they don’t die in real life in this game because that means we’ll get to see Recon die over and over and over and over again in ALO.  It’s not that I hate him for his timid, weak, and indecisive personality, but he’s my greatest satisfaction from these past few episodes was watching him die in battle, getting shut down by Lyfa when trying to be heroic, and dying, again, in the sewers to one arrow.  Yeah, one arrow.  If you’ve played a video game, you know how weak one arrow is.  And from a crossbow, too.  God, he’s pathetic… and I love every minute of it.

Section 1: Episodes watched today

• Sukinayo 5 – 6
• Medaka Box Abnormal 5

I just realised that I didn’t watch Sukinayo for 2 weeks already, should have watched one episode yesterday.
Episode 5 is just sweet. Not between Kurosawa and Mei though, but between Mei and Nagi. Bonding through lack of bonding is the best bonding ever!
Mei has dat motherly feel. Must be nice.
Episode 6: LOL EPIC DENY. Must feel bad to be denied right? Think you can get every guy just cos you some kawaii model? NOPE LOL. Kurosawa respect level up!
O gawd this model. Foes to school in casual clothes unlike everyone who are wearing school uniforms. WHY IS SHE SO PRIVILEGED?! Okay, so it turns out that she just didn’t get her uniform yet. Let’s see how slutty she is now that she’s officially a student of the school. Hmmm.. I wonder what happens now. It doesn’t look like Megumi is gonna let go of Kurosawa anytime soon, it’s all gonna be up to Mei to convey her feelings. Kurosawa seems to be wavering as well. No doubt he knows that Mei likes him, but because Mei has never actually reinforced it with words, he’s feeling sad that Mei might not like him. WHAT HAPPENS NOW?!

Next: Medaka Box
Did I mention that Medaka Box makes fun of cliches and use them even though they ridicule said cliches? It’s too hilarious, Medaka Box is just too good at doing that.
Emiya Shirou’s mind is ripping itself to shreds now.

*You could have read these mini-reviews in real time as I updated my status by following me on Twitter.

Sorry Medaka, you’ll have to retire once from this episode. You don’t want to worry Maguro-niichan to heck, don’t you?

Anyway, this is a Zenkichi episode where he faces third-year murdering machine Kei Munakata.

As you can see, Munakata can conceal and summon weapons from blades…

…to a freaking rocket launcher! I guess Medaka and the gang are fucked up big time!

Oh wait, Zenkichi just kick the hell out of Kei’s hands! Adding the fact that Zenkichi can survive from being partially impaled means that his badassery has turned to eleven!

Oh yes, and Kei Munakata lost the match thanks to his… UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!

Poor Munakata, hoist by his own blades…

But hey, all’s well that ends well for this episode. Even though Munakata was defeated, at least he now has a friend!

Now on to the next floor!

Okay, back on topic!

Episode 3:

This episode pretty much just served as an introduction to the next one.

So, after Maguro’s training, Zenkichi and Medaka are now able to resist Miyakonojou’s ‘Weight Words’. I really would’ve wanted to see what kind of training they went through. since it’s Maguro, I know it must’ve been hell-like, but unfortunately, even in the manga, their training wasn’t shown :/ We could’ve seen Maguro harassing his younger sister and getting beaten up afterwards XD Anyways, after the fail ‘date’ and learning about how the entire student body will serve as guinea pigs for the Flask Plan, Medaka and co. head underground. The entrance at the first floor was a huge door that would only open when you enter the correct 6 digit code. As expected, Medaka got through without breaking a sweat. I have no idea how the hell did she figure it out though. Oh well, this is Medaka we’re talking about, she isn’t normal after all. The best method though, was Akune’s. Since he and Zenkichi aren’t a genius like Medaka or as good as numbers as Kikaijima, the only way to get to the other side of the door is, of course, break down the door. That’s Akune, ‘The Destroyer’ for you. But I wonder, how did an iron candle stand break the huge, thick, metal door… (O.o)

Instead of using the elevator, Medaka and co. decided to take the stairs in order to observe the entire facility. That decision made them end up lost in the maze-like floor. Here, we saw Kikaijima’s special ability. This girl can seriously scream! Like what Zenkichi said (after his eardrums got nearly broken), when it comes to the lung capacity, their swimmer-turner-secretary stands atop their student council president. Her special skill improved later and she can actually use it in combat so it’s something to look forward to ;D When it comes to being amazing, well, Medaka is still number 1. She figured out the entire layout of the floor using the sound vibrations of Kikaijima’s scream. She really is a genius monster. Before reaching the stairs, the first opponent appears. Yosh! The battle against the Flask Plan begins!

Episode 4:

The first fight against the Front 6: Medaka vs Shigusa Takechiho.

I really like this fight mainly because I was  impressed with Medaka. Well, she’s always been impressive and all, but she fought mano-a-mano without turning into War God mode. While it was only an episode long fight, I still like it better than the fight against Unzen. Medaka was mostly just running amok during that time. Also, the mystery as to why she doesn’t judge when attacked was solved. It’s not that she ‘doesn’t', it’s she ‘can’t’. Medaka has no reflex at all, allowing her to completely control her body. A normal person would dodge, even without thinking, if he’s about to be hit by a ball or something, that’s Takechiho. Medaka on the other hand, is the opposite. I’ve always thought she was just being either stupid or being saint-like with the ‘You don’t have a reason to attack me therefore I have no reason to dodge’ principle.

In order to get the data about the Flask Plan from Takechiho, Medaka took a blow on the head, and gave up her left arm. Most of the reason for it though, is that she can’t dodge an attack from her opponent. This where she use the ‘Kurokami Phantom’ (I finally saw it animated!). It’s a powerful, high-speed attack that even Medaka ends up being damaged as well. That did end the first fight against the 13 Party, destroying even the Flask Plan data, but not the fight between Medaka and Takechiho. More than fighting, it was just two monsters ‘communicating’ with each other. We’ve seen stories like this, where a super strong guy only wants to fight against an opponent as strong as him. Rather than winning or losing, to Medaka and Takechiho, all it mattered was how fun it was to fight fair and square against someone on the same level as them. It reminds me of those shounen/high school mangas that whenever the delinquent main character faces a strong opponent, he’s more happy than worried. And the exchange of blows between Medaka and Takechiho was awesome, plus the sounds and voices of the seiyuus too. That fierce fist fight turned on Medaka’s reflexes, finishing Takechiho with an ankle drop.

So, the score is 1/0, with the Student Council leading. Next is Zenkichi’s time to shine

Ja~!

P.S. Again, gomenasai. This post sucks and not much pic. I am facing the same problem as most of the bloggers out there; Lack of time *facedesk*

Section 1: Episodes watched today

• Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun 6
• Joshiraku 13 (End)
• Medaka Box Abnormal 4

I’ll leave minecraft for tomorrow and I’ll just watch anime for tonight.
Best couple. EVER. I love how they’re both so honest and straightforward. However, being straight forever isn’t the best thing to be sometimes.
This sentence is very true though. In Singapore, pretty much everything, and I mean EVERYTHING is about grades. Social status is about grades, jobs are about grades, heck even your parent care more about your grades that you probably will as a student. In fact, the competition is so harsh here that every parent wants their kid in an ‘elite’ school. This breeds elitism and is bad for society. It brings up the next generation thinking that they’re ‘better’ than the rest when their character is akin to that of an animal. You know how animals like to show off to attract mates? Yea, it’s pretty much the same.

Next: Joshiraku end!
Finally finishing this one today.
I have no idea what to say about this episode, or the series in general. It’s just 4koma in rapid fire fashion.

Next: Medaka Box!
Time for some action! This boxer guy is quite impressive. His body is on autopilot and his brain doesn’t control his body. It’s the best fighting machine ever.
But yet against our even more impressive Student Council President, who can apparently turn off/on her reflexes at will, autopilot is a choice for her. I can’t recall if she actually did dodge Unzen’s superballs in the first season, but if she did, it would totally be in line with what this boxer says. Autopilot completely dodges everything that the body can perceive faster than the speed of sound, nearing the speed of light. The nerve signals are electron-transported and thus moving literally as fast as electricity. Even more so when our boxer does not have super-regeneration while Medaka heals a broken arm in a matter of minutes.

Best episode of the week: Girls und Panzer

Anime trending up this week: Kamisama Kiss

Anime trending down this week: Robotics;Notes

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! (Episode 5) – Remember those hordes of horny loser male background characters there were gawking over Nibutani during her cheerleader tryouts?  Or the fact that she was voted the cutest/prettiest girl in her class, making her the object of desire for the collective male conscious?  So where are they now, especially with the opportunity to see Nibutani wearing her school swimsuit while cleaning the pool?  Or rather, why hasn’t anyone noticed that she joined Rikka’s club and called into question her elegant and magnanimous personality and effectively labeled her a weirdo like Rikka?  Seems rather convenient that it hasn’t been brought up yet considering that you figure some loser stalker would’ve found out by now, but maybe I’m looking into this too much.  Maybe the guys that are chasing after her don’t care that she’s hanging out with a buncha crazies?  Or perhaps she placed a restraining order on her obsessive fan base so that it isn’t a problem anymore?  Either way, I do want her artificial, class-rep/cheerleader personality to be called into question at some point or another in the series, something to confront this dichotomy of her personalities.  Even better if it’s Rikka or Dekomori that’s there to aid her in this time of difficulty, too.

Girls und Panzer (Episode 4) – Though Girls und Panzer has done well through its first few episodes, the fourth stands alone as the most distinguishing and exceptional to date.  And while there has been some tank maneuvering and practice battles to date, the first authentic combat of the series really showcased what this anime is about and what it really can be.  What contributed to the effectiveness and brilliance of this episode are a number of aspects that the anime got right or excelled at.  The most noteworthy is how it depicted its clash between the two schools, providing us with tactics and details that weren’t essential to following the story but merely were present to enhance the situation the girls were in.  The battle animation, a delightful blend of 3-D tanks in a 2-D environment was surprisingly well done, especially with the number of varied shots for the scenes including a few birds-eye, first-person, pans, fixed, and many others.  Not only that, but the battle was entertaining, too, considering the jokes that were built-in to it to lighten up the fact that girls in tanks were trying to blow each other up.  All these aspects really embodied the lightheartedness of Girls und Panzer and made for the best episode to date.  I believe the anime knows that the tank combat is the best aspect of the series and that it wants to stick with this topic for a number of episodes now, moving to a tournament arc which should hopefully remove us from any boring school/family drama segments.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Episode 5) – Though Zeppeli and Speedwagon were concerned about how Dio freezing one’s blood effectively stopped them from harnessing their natural ripple and the prospect of frostbite, there was another concern on my mind.  Seeing as Dio was able to freeze the blood in their veins, Dio was essentially creating a block in their veins which is essentially the same as a medical complication from a forming clot known as a venous thromboembolism or VTE.  What this does is that it prevents the blood from returning to the heart meaning that the blood flowing into the area will begin to pool there making it swollen and painful (or even more painful than it already was).  In the event that they were able to heat the area and try to melt the blood, small parts of ice might dislodge from the clot and travel back to the heart and into the lungs where it would cause another medical complication, a pulmonary embolism (PE).  Here, a rupture could occur in the lungs leading them to be filled with fluid, leading to a reduction in breathing, blood oxygenation, and finally, death.  However, to say that this should be on their minds is rather naïve, especially considering that these complications probably weren’t really known at the time by the general public nor would these be more pressing or concerning than not being able to fight a formidable vampire.  Still, if this is ever brought up or anything, that’d be amazing for an anime of this caliber to provide such an unparalleled level of detail in its story and action.

Jormungand: Perfect Order (Episode 16) – Whether by design or not, the relationship between Koko and Jasper seems artificial, like they have some unresolved conflict buried deep in their past that prevents them from ever connecting as siblings or that they are so unfamiliar with each other that they don’t know how to behave as brother and sister.  I know that it isn’t a problem with the writing or story seeing as this problem isn’t reproduced anywhere else in the anime, but it’s a though that has crossed my mind several times even in the first part of the series that aired this past spring.  Though the relationship between the two is favorable (Jasper did send Jonah to Koko who she deeply loves and the two do work together rather than kill each other), it doesn’t seem like they really hit it off like we would expect family members to act.  That is to say, their relationship lacks that intimacy and familiarity that family relationships have.  Might this be a point worth exploring in the future, especially should Kasper end up playing the role of antagonist?  I certainly hope for such juicy details!

K (Episode 5) – Is it just me or is the fanservice in K kinda bad?  The main fault with the fanservice thus far is how Seri’s breasts always seem to be a bit lopsided or cockeyed or uneven whenever the camera shows her from an angle that isn’t straightforward.  I noticed it a few times in this episode, but this is hardly a new trend; there have been problems drawing her boobs since the very first episode.  Not only that, but her miniskirt reveals some butt-cleavage, too, which is a bit awkward considering that the skirt would somehow need to be skintight to pull off such a bizarre phenomenon.  It’s strange, it’s almost like this is the first anime to not understand fanservice or how to draw boobs properly or something.  Or that’s what I would say if this anime didn’t have Neko in it, the only other character to have any sort of ecchi fanservice to date (okay, besides Kukuri’s random and unnecessary pantyshot at the end).  Still, the fanservice in this anime feels off, almost like it is confused by the whole concept and doesn’t know how to utilize it properly.  Thankfully the fanservice is merely concentrated in just two of the four female characters (Seri and Neko compared to Anna and Kukuri) because placing it on every female character, especially Seri’s misaligned boobs or her impractical skirt, would be a disaster.  And the best way for K to redeem itself is to have more Neko!!

Kamisama Kiss (Episode 5) – Undervalued and underrated, Kamisama Kiss continues to bedazzle me with its simple narratives, endearing themes, and satisfying entertainment.  The anime is surprisingly charming with its attractive art style and lighthearted comedy, but where it impresses me the most is with its characterization of our protagonist, the homeless schoolgirl and ineffective Earth deity, Nanami.  Rather than be another blah-blah-blah shoujo romance, the plot of Kamisama Kiss focuses itself on showing how Nanami faces the difficulties of her new everyday life, whether it’s protecting herself from being kidnapped at school to matchmaking a goddess with a human.  And considering how inexperienced Nanami is currently, she struggles with these tasks and we see it as an audience.  But this is where Nanami and Kamisama Kiss shines its brightest; Nanami has an extraordinary, unparalleled attitude, seeing every challenge with a smile and always giving it her best.  Nanami doesn’t always succeed at her tasks at hand but she continues to win me over with her enchanting attitude and delightful personality.  I can only hope that Nanami’s outstanding personality continues to be awe-inspiring and wakes up everyone else to this anime to finally give it the attention and acclaim it deserves.

Little Busters! (Episode 5) – What I’d like to see from Little Busters! is for the anime to take a friendship approach to these story arcs rather than a romance approach.  How to accomplish this would be to have the entire Little Busters gang together to help Komari with her problem to successfully build-up her relationship with Riki and friends further than just Riki alone.  Not only that but Komari would be able to share the experience with everyone else and really develop the bonds between these secondary characters, too, who for the most part seem to be destined to irrelevance in the grand scheme of things.  What’s concerning about this trend is that it doesn’t seem to be the route the anime wants to take with its characterizations as this episode was mainly Riki and Komari alone the whole time.  I’m not going to complain if it goes for this romance approach over a friendship approach, but it isn’t the route I would take if I were producing or directing this anime.  Too bad the route I want is probably not in the game, either.

Medaka Box Abnormal (S2) (Episode 4) – In fights like, whenever there are superhuman abilities or special powers being utilized, I always appreciate an explanation like the ones provided to us in this episode of Medaka Box Abnormal.  Not only do they help explain the mechanisms and limitations for these abilities but they often play an essential role in the characterization of the fighter, especially for Medaka.  Although they often rely on pseudo-science, the explanations are always more enjoyable if they use some real world science in them, such as explaining actions through physiology or physics.  Either way, the fight was rather fun but the helpful explanations provided throughout really enriched the final product and made the episode meaningful to the story and worthwhile for Medaka’s character.  I can only hope the fighting continues from here on out.

Psycho-Pass (Episode 4) – With the setting continuing to be explored with every episode, with the fourth one looking at a virtually-reality internet and social media, I find the committee approach comprised of inspectors and enforcers to be purely fascinating.  Here we see two very different sets of people, professions, and personalities come together as a unit to gather clues, fight criminals, and solve crimes and mysteries.  It’s rather amusing to see how their dynamic works, too, especially with the enforcers being able to help quite a bit more in the analytical and decision aspect of the mysteries than just being there for physical work and fighting whoever confronts them.  It makes me wonder if other occupations are the same or if this is particular to the Public Safety Bureau or even possibly this unit.  Either way, I like how the team works together to solve the crimes at hand and how Akane is learning to function in this group despite being a novice at the whole detective thing.

Shin Sekai Yori (Episode 6) – Satoru’s motivations for continuing this war are entirely mysterious to me, especially since he’s risking the life of him and Saki for little or no gain.  Though it isn’t in Satoru’s personality to turn his back and flee in the face of danger, Saki has been pleading with him to ditch the queer rat army and return to their comfortable homes back in civilization, allowing them to survive this frightening ordeal and potentially reunite with their missing friends.  Still, Satoru marches forward for some unknown goal or reward, something that may ultimately cost him his life and Saki’s, too.  I suppose we may never know the true reasons or motivations for Satoru’s current actions, but I desperately want to know in order to understand his character and why the story has turned in the way it has.

Sword Art Online (Episode 18) – The vivid environments, depicted through gorgeous shots of scenery, landscapes, and cloud patterns are probably my favorite aspect of Sword Art Online.  The dazzling backdrops that are the setting for these online realities are often stunning and mesmerizing, creating a surreal paradise that is the main attraction of playing ALO and what continues to draw me into this anime, especially this arc more than the last.  Why I believe I’ll enjoy ALO more than SAO is because there seems to be a bit more emphasis on the world they’re playing in, principally based on the fact that you’re able to fly around it and that Suguha’s goal is to be able to fly endlessly through the world and enjoy its many wonders.  I can only pray that Sugu’s wish for limitless flight is granted to her and the audience before the story is over so that we can explore more of this beautiful game together.

And now, this arc called the Flask Plan has become the Game of Death, only downwards! Today’s match-up for Medaka is…

Third-year fight science researcher Shigusa Takachiho, known for his abnormal reflexes!

BTW Medaka, “bunshin” techniques wouldn’t work on him…

…since he can get you and broke an arm or two. Well, it’s gonna be an impossible match to win.

Then again, Medaka would do something drastic to win even if her body might explode in pain!

BTW, having Medaka’s staff is unnecessary on this fight and therefore became witnesses. Sorry Zenkichi, maybe next time!

Still breathing after surviving the wrath of “Medaka Phantom” and ready for Round 2, Takachiho? Well guess what…

Medaka doesn’t give a frig and drop-kick you in the head! This fight is now over!

With one opponent down, Medaka moves on to the next opponent… Of course, I am worried that Gainax might skip some members of the 13 Party.

Best episode of the week: Shin Sekai Yori

Anime trending up this week: Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!

Anime trending down this week: Sword Art Online

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! (Episode 4) – So how about this for an ending for Chuu2?  You know how the whole anime revolves around these delusions of grandeur dubbed ‘eighth grade syndrome’?  Well how about, after all these events and when the anime is gearing towards its finale, it turns out that Yuuta was suffering from chuunibyou and imagined everything that happened?  So in reality, instead of being surrounded by all these girls all the time, he’s really been alone throughout his first year of high school?  I’d love a twist like that but I don’t expect the series to ever make such a shocking or depressing conclusion despite it being the best thing that could possibly happen to this anime.

Girls und Panzer (Episode 3) – What makes Team Anko special compared to the other tank teams is not due to the fact that it has the legendary Miho on their side (ok, that’s part of it) but that it is the most diverse team at Oarai Girl’s High School.  Consider all the other teams and how their members all share similar traits in their personalities and behaviors.  With Anko, each girl has their own emotions, motivations, and reactions to everything associated with tanks.  Furthermore, instead of being in constant conflict with each other over their differences, the girls do their best to work together to make everything work together.  Though their diversity might seem like nothing more than five different characters adhering to five different archetypes, it does help provide variety, difficulties, and opportunities for growth for our protagonists given that each one brings a dissimilar personality and background to this specialized team.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Episode 4) – Considering that the Joestar estate was set ablaze and lay in ruin and ashes, I’m curious where and how JoJo lives.  Unless the family owned other property besides their mansion or had their wealth stored elsewhere, I’m wondering how much substance JoJo has to live off of.  I suppose this topic will be addressed eventually, but after seeing the rubble that was once his lavish home, I wonder  how he continues to live and if there are any cultural shocks that he must endure having to live in whatever substandard conditions he faces currently.

Jormungand: Perfect Order (Episode 15) – Without a doubt, the best part of this episode was seeing the range of emotions clearly depicted on Koko’s face throughout.  With everything progressing so quickly, the only way to truly explain Koko’s emotions and thoughts was through her facial expressions and this episode did a perfect job of capturing and detailing these.  It did a magnificent job of communicating these emotions to us without really any dialogue, thinking, or any type of exposition; it was entirely visual.  It’s a shame there aren’t more examples like this in Jormungand because this episode really highlighted how effective the animators are at presenting character emotion through their art and animation alone.

K (Episode 4) – Every time we’ve seen Neko transform from cat-form to human-form, she’s always been naked.  Not only that but it’s been well established that Neko refuses to wear clothes, citing that they’re uncomfortable to wear.  So fast-forward to the classroom scene when Neko appears in human-form for the first time in public… except she’s fully dressed in the school’s girl uniform.  How exactly does that happen?  Not only does is it peculiar that the only time she appears with clothes on is in the public classroom but the choice of clothes is strange, too.  How exactly did Shiro or Kurou obtain the schoolgirl uniform for her to wear?  Maybe they’re just lying around the school grounds like the boxers and panties in this episode?  Also calls into question where they’d get Neko’s underwear, too, unless Shiro is some sorta crossdresser or pervert and has these clothes stuffed away in his closet.  Either way, it’s strange that it happened and almost would’ve been better had Neko appeared in the classroom naked (and enacted the same kinda lackluster reaction that was reserved for Kurou).  That would’ve been hilarious, though K has already surpassed those expectations already.

Kamisama Kiss (Episode 4) – Not sure if this is an accurate impression, but are gods and deities regularly kidnapped from their shrines and married away or is it just Nanami because she’s a human?  I’m not sure how this whole religious world works, but so far it seems to function on stealing gods and deities from other shrines to make you own and then fighting to protect them from intruders and rivals and whatnot.  Or maybe this is all happening to Nanami since she’s inexperienced as a deity and defenseless to youkai and monsters.  It’s hard to say which the predominant one is since both factors seem to be major contributors to Nanami’s adventures of late.  Maybe we’ll see more when Nanami proves her worth as a deity of matchmaking and if the other youkai and monsters prey on her like they have recently.

Little Busters! (Episode 4) – Is it just me or does Kud seem like she’s a little too young for high school?  I mean, not only is she the shortest and youngest-looking of all the characters present, but she’d probably look shorter and younger compared to most middleschoolers in this anime given the basic character shapes and their general body structures.  I suppose it’s true that Kud could’ve skipped a few grades to get to high school, but she doesn’t seem to be a genius or excellent student given her initial behavior.  She actually seems like one of the slower characters in this anime which is surprising since we already have Masato, Komari, and Haruka.  So, yeah, I’m not sure how that works.  Either way, I suppose it is possible that she skipped a few grades, but given her adorable appearance and child-like behavior, middle school seems more appropriate for her.

Medaka Box Abnormal (S2) (Episode 3) – With the student council back together and ready for action, Medaka Box has a sense of regularity and familiarity returning to it.  The series is at its best with the main cast together, as evident by their few scenes together at the end, so the anime is moving in a positive direction with this Flask Plan arc.  However, one significant piece is still absent from the formula and that is Shiranui.  Her absence is probably the biggest disappointment of the new Medaka Box season thus far as she was easily the best character in the first season.  Hopefully she can worm her way back into the anime again soon since her inclusion would elevate this anime to be even better than the first season (as well as a number of other anime airing this season).

Psycho-Pass (Episode 3) – The indirect world-building going on in Psycho-Pass has revealed quite the remarkable setting thus far.  Of particular note is how the manufacturing plant, governed by the Ministry of Economy, was able to side-step the investigations by the Public Safety Bureau by citing missing productivity as a means to prevent them from questioning the staff regarding the string of recent murders.  Given the events in the first and second episodes, it appears as though the nation was under a police state system, one in which justice superseded all other aspects of life.  Apparently that’s not true when it comes to the economy and production.  Hell, the manufacturing plant was even taken off-line meaning the detectives and enforcers were effectively powerless and unable to enact the Sibyl System to solve the recurrent murders.  What this does is shake-up our idea of the setting a bit, shifting our idea of this being a police state first and foremost, one that constantly monitors your psychological state and can arrest you based on whatever pretty color you so happened to be today, to one that has tiers of government overseeing each other.  With this, we can see that the Ministry of Economy is above the Public Safety Bureau and even the all-knowing, all-powerful Sibyl System.  Makes you wonder how they were able to elevate themselves above the law of the land, especially with how godlike the Sibyl System is.

Shin Sekai Yori (Episode 5) – The fifth episode of Shin Sekai Yori featured numerous visual styles, showcasing many different animation designs and special effects that gave the episode a very detailed and thorough feel to it.  Perhaps the most significant change that occurred in this episode was how Saki and Satoru appeared to look older or more mature.  Not to complain on the inconsistency in how these characters were visualized, I actually preferred their developed appearances, especially since this episode was heavily sexualized (anyone else notice Saki had breasts for the first time?) and it was the most dramatic and tense to date.  Not only that but there were some creative uses of lighting and color in these various animation styles, which by now you should know is a personal favorite of mine.  The stark contrast between soft light and hard light in the various scenes really helped enrich the stress that the characters were exposed to, helping augment these new visual styles to fit the story and conflicts in an appropriate and meaningful manner.  What these new art styles were able to accomplish was enhancing the episode by giving it more weight which corresponded wonderfully with how significant this episode was.  And if the next episode preview at the end is any indication of what to expect next week, looks like we’ll be returning to the younger, more childish designs that we’ve seen through the first four episodes.  Should that be the case, then that just speaks to how the art styles made this episode even more distinctive than the rest of the series.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see if a new director and new animation director were used for this episode which allowed it to look so different and give the episode a bit more weight than normal.  A few of my favorite anime have done this before with different visual styles for an episode and they’ve all worked well in the past.  If that’s the case with this episode of Shin Sekai Yori, then this is no exception.  Bravo to Shin Sekai Yori for doing that, should that be the case.

Sword Art Online (Episode 17) – You know what would be a simple fix to make Sword Art Online significantly better without changing too much of the anime?  Eliminate all the stuff that happens in the real world.  Yeah, if this anime was just about Kirito playing with his friends in an MMO and having fun, SAO would be much more enjoyable.  But with the story as it is, with his sister wanting to bone him, his girlfriend in a coma and being stalked by the Fairy King (how dare you ruin my image of Takehito Koyasu!!), some random bullshit about mind control or something completely ridiculous and uncalled for, and only being able to do it in 7-days for some arbitrary reason, it really saps the fun and enjoyment out of the anime.  Instead of exploring these fantasy worlds, going on quests with friends, and having a good time, SAO tries to make everything dramatic and suspenseful with a bunch of random, meaningless shit that… well… is just random, meaningless shit.  Seriously, you have a great idea here with these MMOs and whatnot, don’t try too hard to wreck everything good that you have going for you.  Why?  Because you’re doing a fantastic job of making this anime worse with these new shitty story development.  Seriously, it’s like you give them a nice cup of black coffee and they dump all the sugar, cream, nutmeg, caramel syrup, walnuts, flour, and drink stirrers until the cup overflows, tips over, and are left with a sticky mess everywhere.  Yeah, that’s what SAO is like right now.

Looks like we have a challenger here. C:

*You could have read these mini-reviews in real time as I updated my status by following me on Twitter.

Section 1: Episodes watched today

• Hidamari Sketch! 4
• Medaka Box Abnormal 3
• K 3

Starting with Hidamari Sketch because I need my stress reliever.
This week is a swimming meet episode! That means we get to see how cool Miya, Sae and Nori is! The 3 sportier girls from the Hidamari Apartments didn’t disappoint. They did well in their respective events and won yay!
I love a girl who’s not afraid to eat! Well, not just not afraid to eat, but loves to eat as well!

Next: Medaka Box
Overnight training is over! Now they return to meet Oudo and his fancy rooftop date. Oudo is so strong that his words have effect, he’s almost like Eucliwood from KoreZombie. Except Eucliwood’s words are absolute and cannot be defied while Oudo’s seem to be losing their power.
They’re walking down the stairs to eventually reach the final Flask Plan floor. I wonder when they screw-guy will come in and wreck the party.. But judging from the title this season, I’m guessing they’re not going into the screw-guy’s part.

Lastly: K.
ARRGGHHHH SOO GAAYYYY. The ‘bromance’ in this anime is too strong, TOO STRONK I SAY. But the action is pretty decent, the art style is also there, although everyone is a friggin’ bishounen. Having a Kuro and Shiro pair IS DEFINITELY NOT COINCIDENCE, I CAN ALREADY SEE FUJOSHIS MAKING LOADS OF YAOI PAIRINGS AHRHHGHGHGHG.
The suddenly random ‘cute’ moments are also very disturbing. I’ll just continue watching because I’m curious as to what exactly is happening, and I also want to know what’s all this color-kings. ACCEL WORLD, HO!

After a day of training (off-screen, unfortunately), Medaka and Zenkichi are back with more “dashing” power!

Too bad that they’ll have to postpone the fight against Oudo Miyakonojou. What a bummer…

BTW, don’t forget to bring Kikaijima and Akune-sempai! The more that you have, the merrier you become on your quest to destroy the Flask Plan!

Anyways, there’s another fight on the next episode against a guy who knows fight science! Can’t be more bodacious than this!