In this post, you’ll find blogs about: (mouse over screencaps for episode numbers)

Sora no Woto Episode 6 Durarara!! Episode 6 Kimi ni Todoke Episode 18

Once more, for those anime that are being covered more in-depth by other bloggers on the site, be sure to follow the links I’ve provided for each one.

Also, I was kind of hoping to do Katanagatari Episode Two today as well, but I couldn’t seem to find it anywhere. Maybe I’ll blog that next weekend instead. It’s not like I don’t have any time to squeeze it in between now and when the next episode comes out, obviously. ^_^;

Sora no Woto – Episode 6: Kanata’s Day Off – Hair Ties

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I like how Kanata doesn’t question the fact that Noel just knocked Kureha unconscious and then dragged her away. Naomi is thinking about how she’ll need to take some Windex to that spot later. Is it just me or does it look like Noel is enjoying this a little too much…? Stylin’ D’awwwww T-T That’s right, Kanata. Pretending to kill people to fool the mob is tiring work.

I like stuff where you get to see the same day from two different perspectives, and this episode was not only an example of that, but it somehow managed to get the two different stories presented in each perspective to nicely intertwine at different points, while still serving as their own, mostly standalone narratives. In particular, the two perspectives showcased the primary facets of Sora no Woto: it’s light-hearted, humorous side and the more melancholic aspect that can occasionally creep up. Despite the slightly serious undertones, the bit with Felicia and the gang trying to scare off a couple of mafia-types was an unusual example of the occasionally quirky humor of the series; although, it did leave me wondering if their little “business on the side” is really the only thing they were keeping from Kanata, or if the previous references to the fact that they were keeping something from Kanata are, once more, referring to something much darker. Also, while we’re on the subject, why the heck are they keeping their business secret from Kanata in the first place? I mean, they told Kureha about it, for Pete’s sake. I can’t really think of any rational reason why they wouldn’t let Kanata in on it as well. Meanwhile, on the more serious and melancholic side of things, we had the second part of the episode, with Kanata helping out Yumina and Mishio. In addition to being a nice, near-tear-inducing story in it’s own right, it also introduced another bit of info about the world of Sora no Woto in the form of the mysterious “Invisible Death” that apparently killed Mishio’s mother. It definitely sounds like some kind of disease but, considering the war-ravaged state of Sora no Woto’s world, I can’t help wondering if it was man-made. Oh, also, maybe that’s what killed Rio’s mom, too? She seemed to have wasted away as the result of some sort of sickness as well….

Once again, even if it did seem a bit too convenient at times, I still liked that everything in this episode managed to tie in together nicely and, ironically enough, Kanata and Rio seemed to lampshade all of the coincidences in this episode with their discussion about “destiny” at the end. :D

Durarara!! – Episode 6: Always on the Move

CC-K’s Durarara Episode 6 Blog Post

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These clowns obviously had no idea who they were fucking with! If this guy is Japanese, then Manzo the Saw is clearly American. “Yankee Doodle!” Not only was Selty watching a show about aliens, but whatever it was also had some pretty distinct, X-Files-like theme music. …what’s the opposite of siscon, again? Brocon? That doesn’t seem right…. I have no words. And once again, the King’s English fails me.

I was already looking foreword to seeing Kadota and his eccentric crew in action with this episode, but in an awesome twist, it turns out they’re actually members of the Dollars! No wonder Kida went to them for info last week! Also, I’m in concurrence with Kadota’s theory that Izaya is the actually the mysterious leader of the organization, and I’m even wondering if the Dollars existed before Izaya conscripted them. I’m thinking that the that whole idea of the Dollars is a bit of a stand alone complex kind of thing, where it just started out as a random rumor on the street as the proverbial “boogie man” among gang members and would-be gang-bangers, and Izaya decided to make it “real” to get himself some, er, “henchmen”. And while I’m on the subject of wild theories, once again, I got to wonder if Selty’s head is on the one girl with scar on her neck…or if it’s the head floating around in the jar at Yagiri Pharmaceutical. Or maybe they’re both her head and one was cloned or something. I wouldn’t put something like that past a company that is apparently experimenting on humans. As a side note, between Yagiri in this and the Umbrella Corporation from Resident Evil, what is it with the Japanese and evil pharmaceutical companies? :D Also, back to the episode, we finally got to see Namie Yagiri in this episode and, depending on how crazy and nasty she gets, she might be the first true “villain” of Durarara….

As expected, this was an especially entertaining episode that continued to provide some nice tidbits of information about the overall story and participating characters, and, in particular, showcased the unique brand of dark humor underlying Durarara, with both it’s clever wordplay and some of the occasionally disturbing, but still hilarious, scenes with the Dollars. :D

Kimi ni Todoke – Episode 18: Chizuru’s Love

Cidz’s Kimi ni Todoke Episode 18 Blog Post

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Because nothing says, “Good morning!” like a little molestation between friends. And now, a little something for the ladies! Was this scene necessary? Not really. Was this scene hilarious? Absolutely. I imagine that this is close to how Cidz is when she watches Kimi ni Todoke. XD I can’t be the only one who was hoping that Ayane’s little flashback would have ended with her socking the guy…. …is…is that supposed to be Tohru? It looks like someone threw Chizu’s hair on a male version of Kurumi….

Gah. It couldn’t be simple, could it? I mean, this is Kimi ni Todoke we’re talking about, after all. It simply has to have drama, doesn’t it? -_- And here, I was hoping that this episode would be a cut-and-dried Chizu x Ryuu affair, quickly returning to finally getting Sawako and Kazehaya together soon after. Silly me. :| Actually, alarms started to go off in my mind the instant Sawako came out and asked Chizu if she liked someone, and Chizu didn’t specifically mention a name right away. I did actually begin to grow worried that the discussion would end with the punchline that Chizu was actually talking about someone else. -_- Ah, well. I’m still convinced that Chizu x Ryuu is gonna happen, just obviously not right away; the one scene where the two were close enough to kiss seems to be lingering proof of that. ;) I’m wondering if Chizu might have been viewing Tohru through the rose-colored glasses of the past and it will turn out that he’s not as great of a guy as she remembers, or maybe it will turn out that he already has a girlfriend or something; he has apparently been gone for awhile now. Ah, and speaking of similar matters, then there’s the whole thing with poor Ayane and her deadbeat ex-boyfriend. I got to say, I was kind of surprised by the whole thing, since it was a little on the serious side for Kimi ni Todoke. I’m hoping the dude doesn’t end up coming back as some kind of deranged stalker or something…at any rate, that might also mean that we’ll have a couple Ayane-centered episodes in the future as well, resolving her own relationship issues, before things do finally switch back to Sawako and Kazehaya full-time. Oh, and then there was the whole scene with Joe confessing his love that came right the hell out of nowhere. I mean, I know it popped up again later on after the whole thing with Ayane and her ex, as a bit of comedy to relieve some of the seriousness, but it still came off as a bit of a Big Lipped Alligator Moment. :D

I know I shouldn’t have expected things to go so smoothly, considering the nature of the series I’m watching, but I am still disappointed that, in addition to waiting for Sawako and Kazehaya to FINALLY hook up, now we’ve got the drama between Chizu, Ryuu, and his brother to iron out first, too. Still, I suppose that all that drama will make their final, and presumably inevitable, pairing that much sweeter. ^_^