Dog Days 04 — Explosions Galore!

Dog Days,

Another fun episode of Dog Days. The characters in this show are just such a joy to watch. In this episode, Ricotta’s appearance was spectacular. First she apologizes for not being much help. Then Shinku and Eclair begin a charge against the enemy fortress by themselves, as Eclair tells the story of a lone knight who defeated an entire army. Then, right as they are about to engage the enemy army, Ricotta blasts the living daylights out of the enemy army with artillery. And later she does a combo move with the ninja and drops grenades on them. I’m always partial to explosions, and explosions caused by cute mad scientist dog girls can only be an improvement.

Shinku and Eclair continue to be a great pair, equaling each other in both hotheadedness and idiocy. The part where they both told the other to go ahead while they take on the enemy themselves was a great take on that overused device. The ensuing argument and complaints from the enemy leader only made it better.

This show is the funnest thing I’ve seen in a long while. If I had any complaints, they could stand to make the princess a bit more interesting in comparison to the other characters. Right now she is comparatively boring. Also, why did Shinku and Eclair suddenly become so weak looking when they were fighting in the castle courtyard? What happened to their energy beams and crazy Parkour moves? Their fight with the guards through the princess’ mirror looked rather pathetic.


Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai 02 — Nokemon

Ano Hana,

So far, Ano Hana is my favorite show of the spring season. I think it’s something everyone can relate to— growing up and changing. The friends you once had as a child you grow apart from. The audacity of trying to bring your childhood friends back together makes for some interesting chemistry.

I really like the characters for both Anjou and Hisakawa. Hisakawa is just plain awesome, quitting school to fulfill his dream of traveling the world, believing in the ghost stories of his friend he hasn’t seen since they were children, and asking a girl to play Pokemon with him.

Anjou is leading a double life, which I really appreciate if the creators can pull it off convincingly. On one side, she hangs out with the “slutty girls” as Tsurumi calls them. But then she also works at a video game store, carefully organizes everything she owns in bins, has a crush on a guy who doesn’t go to school, and is happy to spend an afternoon playing Pokemon.  I think most people have multiple “personalities” of sorts to fit the occasion (at least I do) but most stories will simplify people into having a single face.  Anjou’s also a tsundere of sorts, but to an extent that’s believable in an actual person— getting mad at Jinta for not going to school and generally being an idiot, and turning bright red when they brush elbows. So she isn’t a Taiga or Louise, but has her moments.

The Nokemon certainly brought back some memories as well. It makes me feel old when she said that the Gold version was ancient. I had Blue and then Yellow, and was beginning to grow  out of it find other interests as Silver was coming out…

Puella Shoujo Madoka Magica 12 — Yuri Trans-Am

Puella Shoujo Madoka Magica,

As predicted, Madoka makes a wish not bounded by logic and becomes a Godess, defeating witches before they are born so that the magical girls can live happily. It was a satisfying ending which left everything resolved, but a bit too much Shinbo. Also the Gurren-Lagannesque galactic sized battle and the Trans-Am yuri scene were not strictly necessary.

While the middle of the episode was lackluster, particularly the Trans-Am scene and extended epilogue, the beginning and the end were well done. I especially liked the twist at the end where the witches are replaced by magical beasts and Homura works together with Kyuubey to fight them. It’s nice to see that it isn’t all happily ever after.

But overall, the finale was surprisingly straight forward and predictable, and lacked the twists and turns which made the earlier episodes so enjoyable, so I must say I was a bit disappointed.

Puella Shoujo Madoka Magica 11 — Livestock

Puella Shoujo Madoka Magica,

Shaft made good use of the extra time they had to make the last two episodes, and it really shows. This entire episode was simply gorgeous from start to finish. Homura’s battle was especially great— although it’s unclear who wrought more carnage on the city, Homura or the witch.

Kyuubey further explained the Incubators’ interactions with humans, spanning from prehistory to the present day, without which humans would still be living naked in caves. The humans are like cattle to the incubators, and without them would still be living naked in caves. But the Incubators treat the humans as sentient beings, and get their consent first. They link the Incubator’s interactions with Prometheus, Joan de Arc, and the Creation of man (at least that’s what I caught on my first watch through).

Perhaps the most interesting revelation from this entire conversation is that some Incubators do develop emotions, and are treated as mentally insane. Ironically, Kyuubey seems to say that the Incubators would not have problems with entropy if they themselves had emotions. It reminded me of Raymond Smullyan’s Planet Without Laughter— give it a read if you haven’t already, it’s short. Any explanation I give of the story won’t do it justice.

Homura’s Sysyphean struggle to save Madoka is further developed, as Kyuubey reveals that it is hopeless and self-defeating. But in his explanation to Madoka, he may have revealed a way to escape the fate of magical girls. “Any wish bound by logic can be twisted.” Perhaps there is a way out if Madoka can make a wish not bound by logic.

On an administrative note, I’m back from a trip and will be playing catch-up for the next few days.

Infinite Kanako

Discussion,

I can only imagine that Kanako’s version of Infinite Stratos would have been a tremendous improvement. We’d get a main character that wasn’t a spineless wuss. The IS battles could be replaced with a side-scrolling seafood shooter with Matsurika as mid-boss and Maria as the final boss. And best of all, with lesbians our bipartite love graph could be replaced with a complete graph for exponentially more possibilities. Germany X France, anyone? Too bad France would surrender quickly. (sorry, couldn’t resist)