Star Driver 19

Star Driver,

In which Takuto and Sugata go on a date. Wako tags along as the third wheel. Takuto learns that Wako aced her rape defense course, and Takuto defeats a stealth bomber.

When this show began, I actually found Wako to be somewhat annoying. Compared to all the other crazy members of the cast, she didn’t really seem to offer much. Her only outstanding characteristic was her normalcy (as evidenced by her hair style, which is one of the most realistic in the series). It’s quite spectacular the way the creators have managed to develop Wako into one of the most likable characters in the show.

The main thing that sells her for me is how she manages to simultaneously be such an honest, straightforward person while also being a trickster. She loves teasing her friend and has quite the wicked grin. And she can go from nearly crying at receiving birthday presents to complaining about how cheap they are in a matter of a seconds. As a bonus, her BL fantasies are hilarious (a certain other show this season could learn a thing or two from this…). In so many other shows, the tendency is to make characters whose actions all derive from a single set of personality traits. But Wako is able to be two contradictory things at once, and her multi-faceted personality makes her much more interesting to watch. It’s much more believable as well – consistency has never been a strong point of humans in my experience (not to mention, consistency is boring).

In this episode Wako reveals another facet of her personality – as someone who’s willing to pull a knife on one of her best friends. I’m looking forward to seeing where this will lead.

My only complaint is that the two new villains still annoy me. I just can’t take them seriously when all they’ve done so far is pull pranks and make out with each other. We really need some turnover in the Kiraboshi next week, and based on the preview it looks like we’re going to get it.

Takuto also battled a stealth bomber this week. It’s not quite at the level of a flying whale but we’re getting close. Still, I love the battles in this show. Every time Takuto powers up it’s so ridiculous that I go into a laughing fit which I can’t recover from until the mushroom cloud disperses.

Onii-chan no Koto… 06

Onii-chan no Koto,

In which Nao and Iroha begin the counteroffensive against Kondou. This episode mostly fell flat for me. I think the main issue is that the jokes are getting old and being repeated over and over again. Yes, we realize Iroha is a stalker. Yes, we realize Nao is also a stalker and a pervert. It was funny the first few times (in some cases, it still is, like the scene where they both thought how scary the other one is) but it can only remain funny for episode after episode if they intersperse it with something else. And there isn’t really much there – in addition to the lack of jokes, the entire plot for this episode consisted of more of Nao and Iroha stalking Shuusuke, followed by getting in bed with Shuusuke, followed by stalking Shuusuke, followed by more stalking of Shuusuke with brief BL interludes.

A few of the jokes were mildly amusing- I liked the Monster reference, the saleswomen’s smirk, the brief background hijack by Nao’s friends, and Shuusuke’s BL fantasies with the club president. But they were few and far between. I think the main problem is that all Shuusuke did this episode was let himself be lead around by Kondou to look at her stockings. When he actually takes some initiative the show is much more entertaining.

Additionally, Nao and Iroha’s unholy alliance makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. Why are they getting along so well? Sure, they’re both crazy stalkers, but you’d think that would be a cause of conflict and not friendship… And why does Kondou not seem to be at all surprised to see two girls wrapped around Shuusuke in his bed? These characters just don’t make any sense to me…

I guess the big leading question for the next episode is what kind of affection Kondou has for Shuusuke. I have no idea, but I doubt it’s anything wholesome.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica 06

Puella Shoujo Madoka Magica,

Damn, I really didn’t see that one coming. So it turns out that the souls of magical girls are transferred from their bodies into their gems, and the bodies are just shells which shut down when the soul gets a hundred meters away. Apparently Homura knew this as well but didn’t tell them – one would think this would be a good way to convince them not to become magical girls, no? Even Kyoko wasn’t aware of this, and it seems like she’ll be a bit less combative for the time being. We also learn that Kyuubey eats the grief seeds after they absorb the darkness from the gems (souls) of the magical girls.

Kyuubey also seems to have some ideas as to who Homura is. My current crackpot theory: Homura is actually Madoka, who made a wish to stop people from becoming magical girls (including herself and her friends, and maybe Mani too) and was able to go back in time to fulfill her wish. Hopefully the truth will be even less predictable.

It seems like Mani isn’t actually dead too since her gem wasn’t broken. I wonder if Homura has her gem, or does Kyuubey? And we still don’t know what the other purpose of the grief seeds is for magical girls. We know that Kyuubey eats them, but why do Mani and Homura want to find them? Sayaka didn’t seem to benefit from Kyuubey eating the grief seed. I guess they want more power, but still, it seems there is something more to it…

Madoka’s mom gave quite the pertinent advice this episode. Although Madoka’s best idea at doing something bad was pretty laughably non-bad. But the effects were certainly quite good…

Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka? 05

Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka,


This episode continued in the good trend they started in the last episode of more humor and less actual plot and fanservice. Well, there was a lot of fanservice, but it was more directed for humorous purposes (i.e., the opening scene, Haruna’s attempt at transformation). Surprisingly the plot isn’t as horrible as these things usually go though.

The show this reminds me of the post is Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaoh – it has the same random sense of humor. That show started out really strong but then got bogged down with a terrible semblance of a plot and increasing levels of GARness – especially that superhero guy. We can only hope that Kore wa Zombie Desu ka won’t take the same path and will continue not to take itself too seriously.

The comedy continues to be top-notch- Ayumu’s cuteness jokes, Haruna’s obliviousness and Sera’s (accurate) insults. They are using the same jokes over and over again, but it hasn’t gotten old quite yet. Ayumu’s choice of date spot was classic, and Sera’s stab through the middle of Ayumu’s chest sealed the icing on the cake.

It was pretty obvious that Kyoko would end up being a psycho, but still, I applaud all usage of insane girls. And the way they kept piling titles on her was pretty funny. She also knows Haruna except Haruna doesn’t know her (that phone conversation did have a purpose, but it was still way too long). I really hope this doesn’t follow one of those “let’s all get along plots!” and she joins Ayumu’s harem, but I have a sinking feeling that she will…

Star Driver 18

Star Driver,

The jokes in this episode all really hit the right spot! The sequence with the class rep was the best part. After she told Takuto that wanting to be an idol was childish, and it cut to her singing at Karaoke, complete with dancing and hand motions, I was completely cracking up. This was funny enough, but after a minute of dancing when Takuto walked in as a waiter was just priceless. The timing was just perfect.

One thing that still bothers me though is those two new villains. I just can’t take them seriously. So far the most villainous things they’ve done are challenge Wako to a volleyball match and crash a party. It’s not really their villainousness that I can’t take seriously though; it’s more their entire existence. So far all they’ve done is play pranks and act like lesbians.

But really, the best part of this episode was the trolling.