A new year is about to start in 26 some odd days…and no Mako-cakes will not be reclaiming his manhood.

Well another year has almost past and overall it was pretty good. Much fun was had, many gut busting laughs occurred, and memories both good and bad were made. So here are some poorly laid out thoughts on 2008 even if Fall is not over. I might do one for fall once all is said and done, but even so this post is already rather long. I hope you all had a fun year watching anime, no matter what your genre. Feel free to add some of your own stuff as this is hardly exhaustive, otherwise relive the rage relive the joy, savor Shinichiro’s tears one more time.

Outstanding Lasses

Noe Isurugi (True Tears)

Poor Noe never did find love by series end, but still helping others does make her a better person…

Poor Noe never did find love in the end, but she did help along a couple idiots find happiness. While Shin and Hiromi were content with going nowhere fast, Noe leapt out of a tree and changed every thing, Shin art was thunderstruck, Hiromi was threatened, Ai-chan was forced to face reality, and Nobuse gained the courage to carry on. Still for holding back her true tears for a while after Shin poured out all of his, Noe was an Outstanding Lass for being that selfless and not so vile as to beg a rival for any sort of help or pity points. Besides, Jibeta appreciates her mercy. I hope she finds a good guy some day that understands how great she really is, who knows maybe one of her new friends has yuri tendencies, perhaps both…

Sheryl Nome (Macross Frontier)

By series end this was no idle boast…

I for one was pleasantly surprised when Sheryl stopped being a haughty diva with a bad attitude and became a brave young lass. For a character that was never meant to be much more than Ranka’s older sister figure, Sheryl like the great Misa took on a life of her own and compelled Kawamori to make some changes after episode five. Who have thought that underneath that haughty hostility was one of the more memorable Macross women to ever exist. If you told me that Sheryl would be saving people towards the end I would have laughed my ass off during the early eps. She was on top of the world fell to rock bottom and still with a bit of hime help was able to pull herself together to sing on the Bridge of Battle Frontier. She even sent of Mikhail with style, and risked her own life for the sake of others. Were she a lesser woman Grace’s revenge would have been complete over the Nome family. For believing in the power of her own song and helping out Ranka, and her rather thick headed hime, Sheryl prove to be an Outstanding Lass of the highest order.

Klein Klan (Macross Frontier)

She’s no Sinagporean that’s for sure.

Poor Klan lost her Mikhail, but she did mourn in her own way, the Meltran way. For some one who had her own fair share of grief it was most noble of her to try and help Mikhail’s friends now that he was gone. Besides some one still had to take care of the kids. As the only person that command Alto-hime’s respect I say she did pretty well in putting hime on the right path, she did prevent Sheryl from running away at least. After all only a foolish miclone picks a fight with a Meltran, those armor piercing slaps are the least weapons of their formidable arsenal. Alto-hime is very fortunate to have such an Outsanding Lass as his onee-sama. I hope Kawamori gives her a happy ending of her own someday, next Macross perhaps?

Katie (Gundam 00)

Still waiting for a Gundam 00 College Years spin off. I bet Katie was a Bio Major, and Prince Ali had a blast in theology class as well as chemistry. Bushido Bob was probably in Japanese studies and president of the anime club, and poor Patrick was still trying to pass his entrance exam. As for Sumeragi…Partying 101?

Poor Katie has her hands full with an irritable XO, an Innovator conspiracy, a devoted book dumb suitor, a pill popping yuri pilot, and a cosplaying ace to deal with. All of this while having to lead her brave band of men and women against CB and their magic GN particles that almost put Minovsky Particles to shame. Life is tough Katie, but never has the thought of defeat or angst crossed her mind. Even if she one of the unsung heroes of Gundam 00 I think Katie is an Upstanding Lass for not adding to the wangst that CB and Kataron keep pumping out. I wish her the best of luck so that Prince Ali might be put on the fastest route to kill more terrorists. Besides she made Patrick a man and mildly dangerous to the point that Patrick was actually able to cripple Lockon Mk I and filled Tieria full of lose for the second season. The Power of LOVE is indeed a curious thing…

Touma Minami (Minami-ke)

The really surprising thing is that Touma is technically being groped…

It’s hard to think for oneself and doubly hard to think for some other half wit as well. One cannot help but admire the camaraderie that Touma has for fellow cross dresser Mako-cakes. That swim suit gambit was damn clever and even greater deeds were done to protect Mako-cakes’ identity even as Touma had little reason to do so. Friends will do a lot of things for you, but few would genuinely help you cross dress for your lustful ambitions. When Mako-cakes was about to give up on going to the pool, Touma pulled through so Mako-cakes could see Haruka in a bathing suit, incidentally Haruka was tossed in optimal proximity to his last known position in the pool. For going above and beyond what a friend would normally do, Touma is an Outstanding Lass.

Sakura (Wagaya no Oinari-sama)

I bet she’d make a great writer, rated G and otherwise!

While Hosaka was under delivering on fantasies this year, it fell upon poor Sakura to fill in the gap. She did so magnificently providing plenty of imaginary fanservice. Oh the power of the girl’s imagination. Even if she was the only normal of the lot, she was able to kick ass and get a hell of a ride home thanks to Kuu-chan. Maybe one day she’ll realize that she only has one rival, but until then may her imagination run riot, Haruhi-sama knows that a fertile mind is more interesting than reality.

Louise Halevy (Gundam 00)

While Piloting Sumltron…with Soma in her arms…and sharing a passionate kiss.

Haruhi-sama knows how much I hated Louise in season one as the stupid air head with her undeserved wealth and poor choice in men. How gloriously she has changed since her family’s run in with Nena. In fact she has exceeded all expectations and has not become the morality pet that I dreaded would be. Joining the yuri side of things was awfully nice of Louise as is her proper attitude about kicking CB and Kataron’s ass to avenge herself against the protectors of Nena. May Prince Ali help Louise achieve the revenge she has so long been denied. Long may her yuri love for Soma power her fighting spirit, and may the pile of dead terrorists be tall in her quest for justice. Outstanding Louise just outstanding, may the superior pilots of the Federation teach you all they know.

Excellent Evil

Hayami-sempai (Minami-ke)

Sorry Kana, but your cooperation is not neccessary…I don’t know what happened, but I can tell.

It is always more fun with Hayami-sempai, her juice is much more fun than Akkiko’s jamu with far more interesting results. Besides where Maki lacked the chutzpah to fight Hosaka, Hayami slapped the guy over the stolen bento, she even kicked him hard. While there are many ways to be evil a great malicious being knows precisely where to apply their trade. Given that Hayami has few wants, her treatment of Hosaka carried the hallmarks of excellent evil. No one is safe from Hayami-sempai, even the smartest fall to her juice, and while Kana never takes a sip, we all know that even juiced Hayami is a force to be reckoned with. No one seriously thinks Hayami spared Kana…I may not know, but I sure as hell can dream.

Grace O’Conner (Macross Frontier)

I am proud of that technological terror, delicious villain is delicious and evil. ALL HAIL GRACE!

Who could have suspected a Kikoku Inoue voiced character was the real villain, still evil Belldandy is deliciously evil. Grace does it all, from managing and helping ruin the careers of idols to piloting a VF-27 Grace’s skills are many. One cannot help but appreciate how close she was in getting her vengeance on her erstwhile researchers. She made and broke Sheryl with Ranshe’s precious bugs and used Ranshe’s kids like pawns. Sure she was helped by the fact that Ranka was in way over her head, but in crafting her own nii-san as Ranka’s Prince in a Valkyrie was the most malicious and terrible thing that could be done. The only thing that could have made it worse was if Ranka was with Brera’s child, thankfully for Ranka that fate was avoided. Lord Grace was almost Queen of the Galaxy and used the descendants of her enemies to do it had she succeeded the name of Nome and Mei would have been cursed for all time. Fire could not stop her, dimension eater could not stop her, and if you think that Grace was killed by Alto-hime with Mikhail’s gun…well Grace has been dead before. With any luck Miss Kikoku Inoue will bless us again with her evil voice may her legacy be as enduring as Kamijin’s.

Kana Minami (Minami-ke)

Don’t underestimate the cruelty of Kana…

Being smart is not all its cracked up to be, and without a doubt Kana has wrought more havoc and broken more lives than your typical stupid girl. Kana not only gets to defeat Chiaki more often than not, and has also taken control of Chiaki’s clique of friends. The continued success of the Mako-cakes experiment is absolutely diabolical, Kana doesn’t have to do much more than give Mako-cakes a nudge and the rest just follows. From inadvertently leading on Fujioka to ruining any hope Mako-cakes has of ever being a guy again Kana may not know it, but if she was even a bit smarter the world might be dancing to her tune. Unless of course there was some one even more evil…

Haruka Minami (Minami-ke)

What occurred that dreadful I can never say for I am bound by wards and oaths of a terrible power, but I tell you this, when we say Haruka is AMAZING that applies to everything…

It’s always the kind and gentle ones who wreak terrible vengeance once you push their kindness to the breaking point. Like her Banchou legends it is hard to discern truth from legend, no one knows what Haruka did to Chiaki and Kana that day and neither have ever spoken of it…perhaps there are things in this world that are simply too terrible to mention.

Upstanding Blokes

Patrick Colasour (Gundam 00)

Patrick can fit only a limited number of thoughts in his head, and most of those some how involve Katie.

Sure the man is an idiot, but given how the series he’s in is stocked with characters with emotional baggage with loads of emotional turmoil Patrick is still the only real good guy in the series. He hasn’t done anything evil and his reason for fighting is the only honest one and the only one associated with love. Besides the more screen time he sucks up the less Haptism and Marie get to rear their hateful visages. Never will you see any angsting on the part of old Patrick, he doesn’t know much and he doesn’t give two shits what other people think. If nothing else the man is persistent and has been pursing the love of his life for over four years, that right there is loyalty and devotion of the highest order. If nothing else he annoys the hell out of CB fanatics because Patrick is better than Tieria. Patrick is like root beer he’s bubbly, happy, and the more you watch the more you begin to like the fact that he also takes time away from Saji, Marie, Haptism, Mariana, and Desu-Yellow. He’s not only upstanding for piloting for his Katie, but he’s insidiously happy as well.

Saotome Alto (Macross Frontier)

Hime takes after his mother.

While almost universally panned by every rabid shipper that followed Macross Frontier, my Alto-hime was still a reliable one in that he honored his promise to stick with Sheryl who lost everything, going against his boss, his crew, and losing for a time his VF-25. Furthermore he chose bros over hoes and remained a friend to Luca and saved him from the curse of Kak’s colors instead of running away with Ranka. Most importantly of all hime did not have the high level of emotional baggage that seems to plague mecha protagonists these days. Hime trolled the shippers and for that he is a most Upstanding Bloke. Besides I tell you all again the triangle was resolved it all depends on how sharp your ears are…

Nobuse (True Tears)

When can his glory fade?
O the wild charge he made!
All the world wonder’d.
Honour the charge he made!
Honour the Green Brigade,
Noble Nobuse!

Poor noble Nobuse got caught in a love triangle, were he a lesser man he would have killed his best friend turned rival in a fit of rage. He could have done it two since Nobuse was able to see off two interlopers with but a glance, truly that reputation was hard earned and done over a veritable mountain of vanquished foes! Instead of destroying his friendship this Upstanding Bloke took an altogether different path and not only spared his rival a beating, but also saved his ass from getting beat by others. Never sparing himself he even sought out a curse so that his beloved Ai-chan could get a clean break. In the end his undying love was felt and he got the start that should have been his the first time. While there are some who may still hate Nobuse for giving Ai-chan happiness, such miscreants ignore the fact that Nobuse was a better man than his best friend. He was decisive, where Shin hesitated, he was strong where Shin was weak, and he never set eyes on anyone else. His heart was inviolable and for such strength of character Nobuse is an Upstanding Bloke.

Prince Ali (Gundam 00)

God knows ’twere better to be deep
Pillowed in silk and scented down,
Where love throbs out in blissful sleep,
Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,
Where hushed awakenings are dear . . .
But you’ve a rendezvous with Death
At midnight in some flaming town,
When Spring trips north again this year,
And I to my pledged word am true,
You shall fail that rendezvous.

In this Noble Prince of Kurdistan is the will of Tomino reborn, while death’s door has become a Sunrise joke, Prince Ali has come forth to restore its permanence and cull the fat from a bloated cast. He kills not for some false morality, but for his own fun and it cannot be denied that it was Prince Ali who did the most noble thing in Gundam 00 so far by killing off roughly 66% of Team Trinity and giving Nena a taste of her own medicine. Truly Prince Ali has done more for the good guys than CB did all season and then some, after all it’s not as if Jihad-kun and his buddies killed any one who deserved it, hell even Ribbons one upped them when he gave Corner a broken heart… Also while the killing of Kinue was rather unnecessary it did set her soul free to be reborn in Macross Frontier as Sheryl Nome, a fair trade by any account. No genetic engineering will be found in prince Ali, for he is a GOD OF WAR who honed his martial prowess the old fashioned way,  neither super soldier, newtype, nor Innovator, Prince Ali is 100% Bad Ass Normal. For killing off the greatest number of villains in S1, Prince Ali is an Upstanding Bloke.

Mako-cakes (Minami-ke)

Meido has changed…

It’s indistinguishable…(courtesy of Comrade Haesslich)

While Mako-cakes hasn’t done much more than give us all a good laugh, I think that in itself was service enough. Lord knows many of us will never see meido in the same way again and Mako-cakes has broken many an otaku. May Mako-cakes show us all how there is no price too high to get into the home of your crush, and incidentally attain more female company without being a loser harem animu lead. Oddly enough it is nothing short of astounding that this not so book smart kid has such discipline. Had it been anyone else the pretense would have ended long ago with some thing unseemly happening. For maintaining the pretense of being a girl and out girling Chiaki Mako-cakes is an upstanding bloke, more so because he has yet to jump Haruka despite ample opportunity to do so, Mako-cakes is an Upstanding Bloke.

Ozma Lee (Macross Frontier)

The cake was excellent by the way…

When the death flags were flying high and the hearts of fans stopped at the sight of his bloodied cockpit, Kawamori trolled every one with pineapple cakey. It was brilliantly done on the part of Ozma despite the womanizing myth it seems that baking might advert the bane of aces. He was a terrible squadron leader that failed to convince his crew to follow his lead, but he was a decent enough guy to Cathy who almost married that Leon fellow. If nothing else he’s upstanding because he broke the pineapple curse, nuff said.

Bobby (Macross Frontier)

Don’t worry Cathy Bobby will adopt you!

Bobby may have given up on love, but one can’t argue with the quality of his parenting nor the quality of his children. Along with Cathy he actually went to a pre-battle sale that made total sense 80% off everything is something no one in their right mind could pass up. Bobby even had a big enough heart to help out poor Cathy after she lost her dad. He did after all help raise the smartest crop of bridge crew we have seen this year that was not cursed with the stupid. For that alone Bobby is an Upstanding Bloke, besides I am not stupid enough offend the only ace cap ship helmsman of the year.

Memorable Moments (mecha and otherwise)

Hiromi wins twice (True Tears)

Cry, CRY! CRY some more!

Ugh…I wish I could forget about that false hope they instilled in me. Here’s to Hiromi not losing her lead, just remember how much you both owe Noe for stirring up the stagnant waters between you two.

Macross Frontier two part Finale (Macross Frontier)

My Happiest Moment of the Year.

Oh yes Kawamori ultimate troll against the shippers and delivery of the mecha battle to beat of 2008. If you believe that new age hippie in that he made a harem ending that is all fine and well, but if you had the Macross OSTs looping for a while now you will have noticed that the end of Prolgue F was only played for Sheryl and Alto-hime, moreover Battle Frontier capped off its score with the same tune slightly mixed. Thus were Sheryl and Alto-hime blessed by Battle Frontier, and every true fan of Macross will concur that Battle Frontier knows best. So that was the end in musical terms that Kawamori has been touting for 25 years, Battle Frontier hath mused and only a fool would argue with a big bad capital ship with huge Macross Canon after you realize Kawamori is rather eccentric and always high on something in public. When Battle Galaxy was previewed the end was no longer in doubt and we finally saw two and a quarter Macross class vessels duking it out to the death. The way was cleared the character shots were rushed to make way for Battle Frontier and Battle Galaxy as well as a host of ghosts, valkyries, ships, and bugs. It was epic and had ever real mecha fan on the floor twitching violently upon its conclusion after the sensory overload and GODLY mecha action that had been cooking in Kawamori’s hookah for 25 years. Epic fan wank to go with EPIC TROLL for Kawamori. If your mecha sense was not firing on all cylinders you are no fan of mecha.

Metal Gear Rex vs Metal Gear Ray (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots)

I wish I was that good… (Spoilers!)

When I first saw the MGS4 trailers my jaw dropped when I got a hint that this was possible. Sure it was really the end…but it was at least on par if not slightly better than the old man fight. It was so much fun to play, slightly hard at first, but by Tsuruya’s fang it was everything I wanted it to be. Sure Liquid was a cheap bastard, but a few AT missiles can take care of that…Thank you Mr. Kojima, I am satisfied with your conclusion of the Metal Gear Saga. I can also stop egging people on to send you death threats motivational letters to your office since MGS3 ended.

Liberty Prime (Fallout 3)

Better dead than Red. (Spoilers)

What more needs to be said about one of the most definitive mecha moments in gaming for 2008. Western mecha may not be as popular as it once was but mein gott I dare say Liberty Prime has the most personality of any mecha this year. It certainly has more motivation to liberate Alaska than Gundam 00 has for helping Jihad-kun. Sure the Liberty Prime was no Zaku but hell it lobbed nukes like grenades and has some of the most awesome lines ever in anything mecha. Without a doubt Liberty Prime had one of the most just causes of any mecha, it did not pretend to fight for world peace or any such BS, but was completely honest about what it would do…destroy all communists. The only people who did not have their mecha fancy tickled were agents of the Red Menace. We all know what Liberty Prime has to say about that…

Mako-cakes’ continuing slide (Minami-ke)

Just friends? Maybe more…?

For some reason watching a character slowly become something else is at times hypnotic, I bet many of us could not help but watch with terrified glee at how Mako-cakes became more and more girl than boy. It’s like a black hole the viewer is simply drawn in and cannot escape after reaching the point of no return. Kana has scarred the poor guy soon to be gal for life, and I doubt any of us would be surprised if Mako-cakes signed up for gender reassignment. Thankfully for him at least his slow slide into femininity has gotten him more female company than most boys his age, oddly enough those in on the secret don’t seem to mind at all and Uchida along with Touma seem keen on keeping Mako-cakes as is, so at least Mako-cakes has some faint hope for someone to take him in if Haruka spurns him. Funny how it was all his love for Haruka that made him what he is today, one cannot help but wonder if Mako-cakes even remembers his original objective. Scary thing is…I bet he kept that bag of clothes. So much for his wild manliness that cannot be contained… Hopefully next year there won’t be a damned Fuyuki.

Death of Team Trinity and the coming of Yazan’s heir (Gundam 00)

Now it gets fun…

I am still a cautiously optimistic about Gundam 00 despite my dismay and disgust at the sight of Desu-Yellow and Saji. However it has been some time since Gundam power levels have been taken down to the low that they have, I wish the Gundam 00 team the best, and at least for now they can console themselves that they have beaten out SEED (even if they aren’t getting as high ratings, at least Fukuda is out of the way) for the time being (Marie withstanding). Still the destruction of Team Trinity was by far a high point and presaged how Celestial Being has been doing less good for the world than Prince Ali. If nothing else it does feel as if Tomino is back in charge of things and with any luck Prince Ali will kill even more useless cast members. It was an awesome Gundam jack that made Anavel Gato look like an amateur and the losers of Cosmic Era look like a bunch sissies. Prince Ali simply flew up and kicked the shit out them BY HIMSELF, only the heir of Yazan Gable could be this bad ass, and when you are Prince Ali you don’t need no Permit the reputation says it all. Such a pity that the traitor Jihad-kun saved Nena from justice… The conclusion for season one was good, but this was the moment when Gundam 00 really started firing on all cylinders, the tech gap had been bridged and Ali had delivered the Earth Sphere from the depredations of the Trinities. It’s worth noting that after Prince Ali slew Johann the only wedding intervened on was that of the hated Azadistani occupier.

I can hear the fangirls kyaaing already…

Funny thing when a supposedly plot-driven episode turns out to be a double dose of fanservice hiding in the bushes, don’t you think? Oh well, who couldn’t use a few extra laughs? Call me crazy, but Wagaya’s latest escapade struck me as a thinly veiled excuse to derail into a few fangirl-pandering bathhouse jokes for a change (and rightly so — for being a dual-sexed character, Kuu-chan owes the female audience big time.)

I jumped the gun last week when I assumed that Youkai-Baba would be a central figure in the latest sideplot, which she was, but she wasn’t the ’star of the show’ that I had in mind. You see, I was under the mistaken impression that Noboru and Tohru would be paying a visit to Youkai-baba. You know, at her house. Actually, a sneaky department store lottery was responsible for dictating the setting of this so-called “vacation” — a middle-of-nowhere hot springs resort town, where an equally nondescript conflict and resolution can lazily unfold. Youkai-baba just shows up out of the blue.

None of Wagaya’s cast managed to snag the spotlight for longer than a few seconds during this rather evenly matched battle royale of lulz. I say Youkai-Baba came out on top, but then again, you know how I feel about Youkai-Babas. Oh, and for those of you that are at their wit’s end anticipating this anime’s main arc, be patient, because the next episode’s preview offers ample reason to keep hope alive (more on this later.)

But I digress. Here I am carving out my own, self-prophesied grave cubbyhole as a plot-obsessed otaku when we have another scrumptious slice of life, courtesy of Oinari-sama. Nevermind the ridiculous premise, or the fact that Tohru-kun has officially morphed into a Level 54 Lemming. Let’s just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Impressions, Lulz, and All The Rest

So we start out at a depaato, and Kuu-chan being her usual, curious and ebullient self, tries her ‘Oinari-sama luck’ at a lottery. She wants the “Flavor of Fall Set,” whatever the hell that is, but her sledgehammer luck pulverizes this little game of chance on the first try and claims nothing less than first prize: a vacation getaway to a hot springs resort!!!

I usually rail about stills, but this one is simply gorgeous. Maybe it’s the colors…

Come on Kuugen, just do your Jedi mindtrick on her like you do everyone else!

Gimme!

That innocent/surprised act won’t fool me.

The whole gang winds up hopping on a train out to some random hot springs town, looneybird otou-san included. This being their first vacation together is due cause for papa to temporarily relinquish his busy schedule of managing the household finances doing whatever it is exactly that he does, to join his sons.

At first glance, I thought some random oji-san took it upon himself to talk to Noboru and his friends, but then I remembered it was Noboru’s father! Silly me. I’m so used to otou-san’s carefree giggle that this comparatively normal shot of him caught me off guard. Yea, I guess he’s coming along too ^_^.

ARGH, not again! Kou-sama’s honor shall be redeemed! Even at the cost of my life!

The party arrives at the hot springs. Much to Kuu-chan’s chagrin, guess who decides to tag along on the family vacation?

“Thanks and, uh… you… too?”

Good old otou-san decided to open his mouth about the trip and even invited Obaba-chan along without asking anyone else. Sure, he’s the adult of the house and all, but let’s keep in mind that he’s not the one that won the lottery. (But who can resist a smile like that?) I guess it didn’t occur to him that Youkai-baba and Kuu-chan have a mutual bone to pick, even though Kuu-chan made her latest vow to the Mizuchi brothers of her (his?) own accord. Really, I’m wondering if the old buzzard is going to try to seal Kuugen away again or something. But the thing is, we have not been given any clear indication as to when Tohru and Noboru will stop being harassed by youkai. So unless Youkai-baba is cooking up some secret plan to launch a counterattack against the youkai or intends to teach the brothers’ about their bloodline’s power (Mizu – water, Chi – blood?), I’ll begrudgingly admit that her presence does not serve much purpose for the time being.

No comment.

“Damn you, Zexcs!”

Meanwhile, Granny disciplines Kou-chan. About what, I’m not exactly sure. Frankly, I think she’s just venting her anxieties and frustrations about Kuu-chan, although we really can’t blame her, because she has had a very long history with Tenko Kuugen. She didn’t seal the fox away for no good reason. She must have sealed the fox away for a good reason.

Kou-sama’s honor shall be redeemed! Even at the cost of my life!

About this time, Episode 12 props up its flimsy little plot. Apparently Tohru-kun hasn’t yet learned from his hundreds of encounters with youkai, not to trust strange individuals and not to unwittingly hand over his Mana. This makes things rather convenient for the animators though. Just have Tohru-kun walk into another trap and they’ve got an entire episode prepared. I’ll be blunt — I don’t give a DAMN about the Zashiki-warashi conflict and for the stated reasons, I am simply going to skim over this week’s demon incident. What do I want? I want to see Kuu-chan and Kou-chan kick some youkai ass! Come on Wagaya, bring out the big guns!

Dude noooo

Strike two.

Strike three. Come on, Tohru! You should know better.

Everyone else *conveniently* decides to hit the town while Tohru stays behind. I really feel like slapping the entire family (sans Kou-chan, who seems to be the only one that keeps her wits about her in the midst of all this chaos) for leaving Tohru-kun behind, especially Youkai-baba, who spent all that time fussing about Kuu-chan while a REAL problem slipped beneath her radar.

“Cuz the boy-on-boy thing won’t work, Noboru-kuuuun.”

Saku-chan, you need to step it up!

If you got off Kuu-chan’s back for a second, you might realize that there’re more important things to worry about.

I suppose this next scene roughly translates to Youkai-baba and Kuu-chan resolving their grudge. Be that the case, it’s a tenuous truce at best. More importantly, Youkai-baba shows her skills.

(We all know what’s coming next.)

Baba no pwnage, part 1.

Baba no pwnage, part 2.

Baba no pwnage, part 3.

Awwwww!

The remainder cascades into another by-the-book monster encounter. Actually, it’s not even a battle. ‘Slap on the hand’ would be a better description. As expected, the nimble sound score gradually builds a horrifying aural mood only to dissolve the built-up tension when the party gets back to the resort and we realize that the demon is really nothing more than a little girl (notice the giant, ghostly toys.) I was a little bit disappointed that Tohru’s plight once again revealed itself to be a red herring. Wagaya’s talent for toying with the emotions, though no less skillful, felt a bit tedious here. On the bright side, Kou-chan manages to redeem herself TWICE before everything is finished, first by being the only one to notice that Tohru-kun is alone, and second, by, well… you’ll see. Those parts included, I’m just gonna cover the highlights from here on out.

THANK YOU, Kou-chan! I don’t care what Youkai-baba says, the mamorime is on top of her game!

Ayakashi.

Anyone else feeling the Akira vibes?

ANTI-MOE REDEMPTION!

They just HAD to go there. Avert your filthy eyes from Kou-sama’s holy countenance, you swine!

Of course, we wind up back at the men’s bath for a second round of nude-jokes.

IIIIIIYAAAAAA MINAIDEYO!

The fox bares her fangs for little Noboru-kun.

So blah blah blah, little Zashiki warashi-chan just wanted to play, so she innocently stole Tohru-kun’s soul, similar to what happened to Doumeki-kun in the first season of xxxHOLiC. After everything is resolved, the group decides to celebrate. What troubles me about this situation is that a supposedly “powerful demon” went undetected by Obaba-sama and Kuu-chan.

Party time. Here we have another beautiful scenery shot. This episode had a lot of those, like the picturesque still from the beginning.

At the afterparty.

Muhahaha, I bet you thought they wouldn’t break something this time. No episode of Wagaya is complete without something getting broken and Noboru-kun screaming about the damage fees.

Dude nooooo

Token boob-shot. Fanboys worry not! The great Oinari-sama hasn’t forgetten you!

Next Episode:

The next episode supposedly has something to do with Kuu-chan masquerading as a high-school girl. Saku-strangelove will be back in the game too, competing for Noboru-kun’s affection. Whatever. More than that, I’m really interested to see this grey-haired fox character that we get a significant preview of in the OP. When characters from the OP suddenly appear, it’s usually a safe bet that something interesting is about to happen.

The Mighty Bargain Hunter stalks his prey.

There are good fillers and there are bad fillers. Some build characters. Others build budget. Wagaya’s latest installment thankfully belongs to the former, pausing for a nice slice of life before the next story arc and giving new meaning to the expression ‘comic relief’. Kou-chan works overtime to make Episode 11 into an unforgettable lolfest, so I’ll forgive her for shattering a whole chinaset’s worth of dishes in a single day.

Episode 11 also grants some long overdue screen time to male Kuu-chan, nudges along Saku-chan’s budding relationship with Noboru-kun, and even squeezes in a few deeply touching Kou/Noboru moments. No battles, no backstory, no bawling, no boobs — just a whole lot of laughs. (I apologize ahead of time for the crappy image quality.)

You know, I was just thinking that it had been an awfully long time since Kou-chan broke something. T_T

Impressions:

Ya don’t say…

This episode is actually crafted around a rather serious premise, as the mamorime FINALLY takes a step back and reminisces on her klutziness. Quite ‘intriguing’ how a character capable of volume-management youkai ass-kicking can turn around and be so clumsy with minor tasks like washing dishes and cleaning clothes, don’t you think?

It’s pretty easy to be all manly when you aren’t running from demons, eh?

Even if we chalk it up to, “oh, she’s a fighter, not a seamstress” or somesuch, that does not explain why the ill-equipped Guardian Lady is squarepegged into the second-shift role of housewife-in-training. To me, the answer seems to be that Wagaya insists on having Kou-chan double as a warrior and a vulnerable female, as has been the case with many modern lady characters (Meryl from MGS, anyone? How about “Two-Hands”?). This is of course leaving aside the fact that the Mizuchi household is a strange beast (in what other household does the firstborn son get stuck managing the family finances while the father sits around and chuckles?)

…Just an observation; I’ll leave my rant at that ^^; And don’t get me wrong — Kou-chan is OFFICIALLY my favorite character in this anime!

“Strangelove”

Saku-chan is also back to her usual, spaztastic self, trying to calculate Noboru-kun’s every movement in her spare time. Now that Noboru-kun is aware of her feelings, things may move a bit more quickly between the two of them — that is, if he manages to make time for anything other than sale-hunting and bookkeeping.

I can see where this marriage is headed.

We also get to see another dimension of Sakura’s character developed, as a genuinely concerned friend of Kou-chan. She’s definitely growing closer to the Mizuchi troupe, but it’s still kind of hard to say whether or not she will ultimately ‘join the team’. I wouldn’t be surprised if, a little further into the series, she becomes involved in a slightly dangerous situation where it doesn’t make sense for Kuu-chan to MIB her again.

But in the meantime, the focus is on Kou-chan. Per Sakura’s suggestion to work part-time, the Guardian Lady gets her first arubaito with the hopes that she will be able to remunerate penny-pinching Noboru for the window damages and other past blunders.

Kou-chan: “I will bring mega-lulz this time… Even at the cost of my life.”

Of course, Tenko-dono gets in on the action too.

Anyone would be able to guess by now that Kou’s first employment experience winds up being a ridiculous disaster, but it is so hilarious that I completely forgot how annoyed I was at her for dropping dishes every two seconds. I call this episode, “Moushiwakegozaimasen!”, because that’s all the characters seem to know how to say for a good stretch of time.

Okay, let’s think about this for a minute. Kou-chan is clumsy. She breaks many, many dishes back at home. So to pay for it, she decides to get a part-time job that involves (::drumroll::) *even more dishes*. Hmm….

Oh yes, and finally, male Kuu-chan receives some much-needed character development. A little bit of screen time was all that was needed to make him feel more like another side of Kuu-chan rather than some random bishounen that appears every five episodes to appease the lady fans. I’m pleased, and really hoping to see some more of him in the future.

Mr. Kakkoii makes the fangirls swoon.

“Inconvenient,” you say? Don’t forget that you and your brother are probably still being targeted, Noboru-kun.

This ep ends on an emotional note. Even though Kou-chan’s attempts to earn some money back failed miserably, Noboru-kun convinces her not to move out of the house (i.e. into the tree in the backyard.) I’m equal parts touched and insulted, touched at the mamorime’s dedication to serve, but insulted that she was forced to endure so much humiliation. Oh well. I’m sure Kou-sama will return to her usual ass-kicking self in the coming episodes. Until then I will wait patiently.

So, not a whole lot to say, but definitely a lot to see. Episode 11 has too many lulz to round up here. If you haven’t seen it yet, go watch the rest and laugh.

Next Episode:

O-hisashiburi desu ne, Ba-chan! It appears that the Mizuchi brothers will be paying a visit to Youkai Baba. Knowing her, there will probably be more than a few surprises in store.

Oh, Guardian Girls just wanna have fun.

It turns out that Reverse Circle won’t be our golden ticket to Wagaya’s backstory after all — at least for the time being. Episode 10 ties the latest arc up into a neat little package and kicks it aside to make room for the next sub-plot, so there isn’t a whole lot of action or character development to be seen here. Nevertheless, Episode 10 is still rather enjoyable; the plot direction makes a few deft feints towards the sinister before delivering the final blow. And it was definitely worth the wait to see Kou-chan drunk!

The ‘Mubyou incident’ picks up where it left off in Episode 9, with Tohru-kun grilling Mubyou, and Kuu-chan and Ebisu trying to figure out why the hell there are two Mubyous on the scene. Setting aside my incessant, ‘next-big-thing’ hankerings for plot development, I have to admit that I am impressed at how the director wound so much tension around what would ultimately prove to be a nonevent (more on this later.) For the time being, I’ll turn a blind eye to some obvious inconsistencies surrounding Mubyou’s puppet-hands.

Lies, all lies! Don’t you believe her Tohru-kun!

Oh really.

It isn’t long before we know which Mubyou is the fake and which is the real one. Seriously, it would be a sorry state of affairs if an emotionally-unstable brat like fake-Mubyou could become the ruling god of a district. (Notice also, the connection between fake-Mubyou’s hand-puppets and her true identity.) What remains to be seen is a conclusive explanation for all this madness. Little Tohru-kun gets awesome points for putting up with psycho-Mubyou for as long as he does, but his actions don’t quite convince me that he is beginning to break his lemmingesque tendencies.

Not always, just sometimes!

Might I recommend counseling?

Meanwhile, the fireworks party rages on. Much to the chagrin of our dear Saku-chan, Kou-chan assumes the added responsibility of meeting Wagaya’s newly instated boob-shot quota… (Apparently Kuugen is too busy fighting at the moment.) If Sakura wasn’t clawing Noboru-kun’s eyes out, she might notice that he’s not exactly worried about the Guardian Lady’s chest — hell, they live together in the same apartment after all! It might help, too, if Kuu-chan stopped MIBing Sakura after every magic battle. I’ve actually been looking forward to Sakura permanently joining the Mizuchi brothers in their supernatural misadventures, but whether or not that will actually happen is another question.

Smashed Kou-chan keeps the party going. No episode of Wagaya is complete with Kou-lulz.

And we all know what comes next…!

Notice the impassive look on Noboru’s face.

“Eyes on the prize.”

Our token conflict finally rolls around when Kuu-chan discovers that Tohru-kun has been taken hostage by the doppelgänger and gallops off to kick some ass. We have yet to learn what exactly about Kuugen’s past keeps her so fixated on protecting Tohru, but at least the answers will be coming soon, now that the series has broken into one of its lengthier story arcs.

“I use Crest Double-Whitening.”

*Sigh* Tohru-kun, when will you ever learn?

I’m… not exactly sure what she was trying to prove by having Kuu-chan fight the real Mubyou. …Yea, not quite sure, there… Actually, I was thinking that maybe she would try to get real-Mubyou in a pinch and then rush in and save her, and then finally real-Mubyou would notice how valuable she was — except, that does not explain why fake-Mubyou tried to have one of her guardian-beast hand-puppets eat real-Mubyou for dinner at the beginning of Episode 9.

“Crazy like a fox.”

Kuugen’s cunning once again pays off as she bluffs puppet-Mubyou and manages to reflect the fire spell. In the process, puppet-Mubyou’s dirty little secret is revealed…

The cat is out of the bag: fake-Mubyou is actually a body-double/stand-in puppet for real Mubyou, the “Wandering God” who travels from district to district. I’ll spare you the details behind puppet-Mubyou’s plot to disobey her master and do… something… in order to win her praise. Let’s write it off as low self-esteem. As for where and how she was created, and why she is the way she is (emotionally-sensitive, unreliable, impulsive) — who can say? Let us not so hastily forget past references to the ‘God of Gods’; perhaps explanations will follow as we learn more about this individual.

I’m sorry, but puppet-Mubyou got off WAY too easy.

Concluding this little mystery was not half as exciting as the roundabout route the past few episodes took to get here, the sort of skillful plot manipulation that will lull viewers into a false sense of security with a series of tidy conflict/resolution tradeoffs before it lays a real problem on the table. The Reverse Circle may have been a red herring, but there is no guarantee that the next major sidestory will end just as harmlessly.

“Not so loooud…”

“Get with it!”

Kou-chan sobers up, the power returns to Ebisu’s district, and the Reverse Circle winds up in the hands of the Mizuchi clan. All is well, for now. ^^

Episode 11 Preview: Oinari-sama. Goes into Service

Episode 11 will feature more of Kuu-chan and Kou-chan’s struggles to adapt to modern life with the Mizuchi brothers. I just hope Kou-chan doesn’t break any more dishes. Raws are out for those who want more info!

Greetings from the wee hours of the morning! Hunting feverishly for a decent, unclaimed anime to blog, I wound up scoping out Wagaya. Guess I’m a sucker for anything remotely fantasy related…

Episode #09 is a welcome change of pace after eight episodes of rinse-and-repeat monster battles with little indication of an overriding plot direction, just in time to quell my outrage at the fact that ‘Youkai Baba’ probably won’t be showing her face again anytime soon.

No, Ba-chan isn’t back yet, but I think Wagaya is finally taking a break from the lulz to head somewhere interesting. The Reverse Circle incident is turning out to be much more serious than I would have expected, especially for some lame, over-sized magic bracelet that we haven’t even seen in action. And Mubyou’s glum countenance hints strongly at unresolved business with her fellow divine beings… Who is this so-called “god of gods” anyway?

This episode gave me the impression that Wagaya is just about done scattering its backstory threads — the question is, has it paced itself well enough to tie them up neatly? Personally I cannot imagine what kind of connection Mubyou’s Reverse Circle hunt will have with Kuu-chan’s/Ebisu’s/Miyako’s past (assuming that there is a connection in the first place O_O;). Needless to say, I am definitely curious to see how everything turns out.

Impressions:

This was the most satisfying episode yet, even if it was composed almost entirely of magic-hurling action. Now that it’s “god against god”, the fights are a bit more intricate, though they don’t seem to give a damn about elemental manipulation… maybe that’s youkai territory.

Noboru-kun launches into one of his usual freakouts — this time, over the tanuki god that shows up at his door. Actually, its an owl. If the fight in the beginning wasn’t enough to dispel any lingering suspicions that Tanuki-chan is a nothing more than a youkai, then this scene confirms it. Ah yes, and for once, Kou-chan isn’t in the kitchen dropping dishes. There’s a fine line between endearing and infuriating.

This show has a real fetish for baiting people. I’d like to think that Kou-chan isn’t quite as air headed as Touru-kun, but then again…

Call me crazy, but I still don’t see the purpose of having a male version of Kuugen, especially when female Kuu-chan is so much more charming. This is only his second appearance in nine episodes, and it’s way too short leave any kind of meaningful impression.

Yes, the fan service meter is officially on the rise. I have a theory that the amount of fan service in non-harem/ecchi anime has a positive correlation to the intensity of the plot, but I’ll save that for another time XD. Having one or two sparsely-arranged bishou shots of male Kuu-chan for female fans is a slap in the face, considering the way Wagaya drools over his foxy female alter ego.

Yes, Saku-chan too. Nothing is sacred as far as ratings are concerned.

I was pretty shocked when Kuu-chan lost her nerve and decided to rip the tanuki-owl a new one. This marks the rather unanticipated beginning of a major battle that lasts until the end of the episode. Wagaya is very skilled at slipping between moods, what with its impeccable sound score, so it wasn’t a huge surprise when the plot suddenly lunged in an unexpected direction. Still, I wonder if Kuu-chan’s ire was simply the result of her capricious nature, or if she had some other motivation behind starting this fight.

Meanwhile, Noboru-kun enjoys summer night of fireworks with his classmates. Although I’m not exactly sure what purpose it will serve in driving the story forward, the fireworks scene provides a nice contrast to Kuu-chan’s heated battle.

Noboru-kun finally notices Saku-chan ‘neath the summer moonlight. Must be the yukata ^^. Maybe now she’ll stop acting like a spaz…

…NAH!

WTF, the director took the most roundabout way to get a beer into Kou-chan’s hands. She just *happens* to perform a random exorcism on some drunk dudes who *happen* to have a case of beer on hand. How convenient! Maybe the animators had a few themselves when they were drafting the storyboards.

Still, it was worth having to suspend my intelligence, uh, I mean, ‘disbelief’, to see Kou-chan drunk. Leave it to Kou-chan to bring the lulz! Kou-chan: “I will bring the lulz. Even at the cost of my life.” Who knows, perhaps in her drunkenness she will make some heartwarming confession to Saku-chan. This is one of her first experiences of friendship.

The last time we saw Kuu-chan go toe-to-toe with a god (Ebisu, not counting her skirmish with Mubyou), she nearly got stomped because she was so weak from performing the Mitama Okuri. This time, she manages to hold her own against Tanuki-chan. What I find very interesting is how Kuu-chan makes such a big deal about having to follow orders from the Mizuchi brothers, and yet she can ignore them when she decides its time to send someone to an early grave. *Sigh* just as Ba-chan said…

Ironically, the damage to the surrounding neighborhood escalates when Ebisu joins the fray to prevent his land from being demolished. The gods in Wagaya are easily the most mysterious characters. It’s hard to say whether they are benevolent or ill-intentioned, and it definitely doesn’t help that they each have explosive tempers. Ebisu is out for blood for the time being.

After 20 minutes of emotional meanderings, episode nine returns to its original premise — the Reverse Circle. The innocence in Touru-kun’s eyes made me want to melt. Somehow, this human child is the only one perceptive enough to understand that the Reverse Circle is an item of deep and possibly tragic significance to Mubyou and the other gods. It was impressive how the story sunk back into the seriousness that it began with.

Mubyou is damn lucky that Touru-kun is on her side, especially after she tried to perform brain surgery on him a few episodes back.

Next Episode:

TWO MUBYOUS!?