To Aru Majutsu no Index II - Episode 21

With Academy City about to go to Hell in a handbasket and chaos all over the shop, To Aru Majutsu no Index II continues with what we can realistically only refer to as "the good bit".

With Accelerator still on the rampage in his search for Last Order, he finds himself receiving a phone call from Touma, leading to the two pooling their knowledge of her possible whereabouts... or not as the case may be, with Accelerator keen to seek her out himself without any outside interference.  Certainly, our anti-hero here still has quite a lot of power to throw around, and speaking of throwing things around said power extends to chucking an entire skyscraper at the Imaginary District's Fifth Facility, not that it has any effect whatsoever.

While Vento of the Front still looks a little poorly and with people passing out everywhere out of the blue, it's that Fifth Facility which becomes the focus of the episode, as it seeks to up its game while using Hyouka Kazakiri as its centrepiece via a frightening blend of Last Order, science and magic which creates an "angel" which looks set to put everyone in the vicinity at risk - a fact which sees both the Misaka network and Mikoto Misaka seeking to join the fray.

To be honest, I'm a little bit lost in the intricacies of the plot at this juncture (I clearly wasn't paying enough attention to the first season back in the day), but at the same time I don't really care as this story arc is doing what To Aru Majutsu no Index II does best - using its most kick-ass characters in action set piece after action set piece against a backdrop of chaos, destruction and danger.  This is the point where the series turns away from trying to provide over-blown fan service or "smart" story-telling and becomes a popcorn anime where you can watch your favourite character look all brave and awesome while cheering them on overly loudly in front of your TV screen... and you know what?  I wish the Index franchise did this more often.

Fractale - Episode 7

Clain may be enjoying the digital camera given to him last episode, but as Fractale's seventh instalment begins he doesn't have much time to enjoy such antiquated luxuries.

In fact, the next thing we know Clain wakes up next to a beautiful woman... a woman who turns out to be a Doppel, as it's revealed that Clain is now in a place called Xanadu, which is as the name suggests is currently Fractale's utopia, pretty much the only place where the Fractale system is functioning completely and properly.  We're then filled in somewhat as to why Clain (and Nessa) have ended up in Xanadu, before Clain finds himself given a guided tour of this incredibly, if almost entirely false, city filled with the Doppels of actual people enjoying their lives vicariously via such mechanisms.

Elsewhere, Phryne and Enri are out on the hunt to find Clain following his aircraft crash; a search which leads them to what appears to be a bit of a paradise in the eyes of Lost Millennium, but a location which itself ultimately proves to be linked to Xanadu, filled with residents who enjoy playing at living a simple laugh while getting their thrills from those aforementioned Doppels within the city.  Come the end of the episode things very much come to the head, with peril aplenty for both Clain and Phryne just as they're reunited.

As seems to have become the pattern with Fractale, a sharp and well-focused episode is followed by something decidedly less so, and ergo last week's decently realised instalment is followed by this week's rather more clumsy (and less satisfyingly animated) affair.  That isn't to say that it does a bad job so much as an unconvincing one, rushing into getting its characters into the right place to continue its story in a most unsatisfying fashion.  This is rather a shame in fact, as once it manoeuvres everyone into place it has rather a lot to say as you might expect of this series, throwing out the pros and cons of both the Fractale system and Lost Millennium's point of view (as well as that of those in-between), before finally revealing just why Nessa is such a big deal before dealing out a shocking finale that has echoes of episode three about it.

There's a lot to take in here therefore, but rather like the Fractale system itself it's at risk of getting bogged down in a world that doesn't feel realistic enough to draw you in on this occasion, a problem that certainly isn't helped by such a rushed start to this episode.  I really want to like this episode a lot for what it's trying to do and portray, but this time around it just hasn't quite got it right.  That shocking cliffhanger however could well pave the way to a far more stellar episode next week once again.

Gosick - Episode 9

Having solved the mysteries of Horowitz and, more importantly, cleared the name of Victorique's mother, normal service is renewed as this next story arc of Gosick begins, with Avril obsessing over ghost stories and VIctorique desperate for some way of staving off boredom.

Enter Kujo, who has at least one item of interest for Victorique - a kimono, sent for her from Kujo's sister.  While Victorique's staunch refusal to be instructed on how to wear said garment comes back to bite her in the form of her catching a cold, Kujo himself heads off on what looks set to be a jolly shopping trip to the capital of Saubreme despite Victorique's absence and the misfortune of meeting Grevil on the train ride.

This being Gosick however, it goes without saying that Kujo manages to find himself entwined in a mystery and some less than innocent goings-on, as a case of mistaken identity against him leads to him being sent first to the lavish top floor of a department store where this mistake comes to light (albeit not before Kujo gets a glimpse of what he assumes is a replica "blue rose" diamond, and then to the basement where he finds a real, live girl inside a box in the midst of numerous mannequins.  Under the girls instructions Kujo looks to get the police involved, calling up Grevil to check out the scene only to find that nothing is as he remembered it.  Is he going crazy or is something more malicious at work?  Methinks we don't need a wellspring of wisdom to figure that one out...

As the beginnings of another mystery goes this is a pretty solid start to the latest story arc - it feels a little forced in places (namely in getting Kujo injected into whatever nefarious deeds are going on), but it has an interesting enough little set-up behind it thus far.  Even when Kujo and Victorique are separated it's their dynamic that stands tall over everything else within the series (although arguably it's Victorique's sneeze that wins the day on this occasion), but as the previous arc proved it works best when paired with an interesting story in the first place; let's just hope that's what we're building up to here.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Episode 9

Given her journey into the depths of depression and despair throughout the past couple of episodes, the writing was pretty much on the wall for Sayaka come the ending to last week's instalment, leaving it as little surprise that her transformation into a witch is completed as episode nine begins.

Despite the danger involved, Kyoko decides to rescue Sayaka's limp body from the aftermath of this transformation, before finding herself helped out by Homura whose arrival is as timely as ever.  Of course, the next step is to deliver the bad news to Madoka, which Homura does in her usual matter-of-fact tone while also revealing that final all-important fact about being a magical girl, that being that your Soul Gem will turn into a Grief Seed once it is sufficiently tainted.

This naturally leads on the next inevitable question... why?  Kyubey duly delivers the spiel to Madoka here, calmly explaining that humans are turned into magical girls and then allowed to become witches by an alien power simply to act as their power source - in essence, magical girls are little more than human batteries with emotion for lithium, and with Madoka as a potential Duracell Ultra Plus Supreme in the eyes of our emotive furry friend.

While Sayaka's death appears about as cut and dried as you can get, Kyoko refuses to give up on her fellow magical girl, hoping that Madoka's voice may awaken the real Sayaka within the witch that now exists in her place.  Thus, the two of them journey into the heart of Sayaka's dimension of grief in the hope of somehow restoring her humanity, but to no avail - again, Homura has to step in to retrieve Madoka before it's too late, while Kyoko's fate is the final seal upon the brief love-hate relationship she enjoyed with Sayaka.

It's really hard to know what more there is to say about Puella Magi Madoka Magica, but this episode proves if we didn't already know that it's a series that most certainly isn't afraid to pull its punches and reveal the full, brutal consequences for the action of each character.  This makes for as dark a viewing experience as you can imagine even without Kyubey's emotionless, chillingly logic-based way of thinking, while these final episodes look set to offer up some near impossible choices for both Madoka and Homura - choices that look likely to reflect the dream sequence which opened the entire series, which itself offers up some intriguing possibilities for what is about to be revealed in the weeks to come.  Whatever else it has left up its sleeve, at this juncture I can't imagine it doing anything but further strengthening the impact of this already incredible series.

Kimi ni Todoke 2nd Season - Episode 8

Although last week's episode seemed to be bringing both Sawako and Shouta's realisation that there might just have been a bit of a misunderstanding between them closer towards the light, there's still an undoubted gulf between them as episode eight kicks off.

While Kazehaya still seems convinced that he thought too much of himself and Kuronuma still hasn't completely got a grip on her feelings at all, there's little time to spare to ponder such thoughts as the school's culture festival looms large, taking us into a good old-fashioned montage (featuring the show's really quite wonderful opening theme) as the days count down and the hard work ramps up, with Chizu's birthday sandwiched somewhere in the middle of it all.

Eventually, the big day arrives of course, and Sawako's black magic cafe seems to be doing a roaring trade in jealous, bitchy girls preoccupied with their various love rivalries, leaving Sawako herself in the rather odd position of counselling said girls in how best to go about their romantic business; something she seems to be rather good at truth be told.  Still, although these discussions with her "clients" perhaps help to grease the wheels of her mind, it's Ken (again) who sees fit to stick his oar in with a rather rambling monologue which as per usual makes it hard to determine who (if anybody's) side he's actually on.  Still, for all of that rambling he does point out one very important thing - that it's Sawako who has built up a wall between herself and Kazehaya, deliberately or otherwise; a fact that finally seeps into her brain and leads her to a very determined and un-Sawako-esque conclusion.  Is there really a love confession on the horizon?

Of course, that question is one we'll have to leave until next week's episode as it teases us once again with a cliff-hanger - something that Kimi ni Todoke really seems to be revelling in doing this season.  Not that I'm complaining, as once again this was an enjoyable episode - absolutely beautifully animated at times, and effortlessly entertaining even though this particular instalment wasn't packed to the rafters with drama or comedy, rather allowing itself to just drift along under its own steam.  Of course, if we're honest it's that closing scene is what lifts this episode up from the average into something entirely more important, but now I shall have to simply take a deep breath and being another week's wait to find out what ridiculous misunderstandings will emerge from Sawako and Kazehaya's latest conversation... assuming they actually get as far as speaking to one another, that is.

Wandering Son - Episode 7

With the school culture festival and its play out of the way, it's back to normality for episode seven of Wandering Son... and a rather harsh reality it is too for Nitori as this instalment begins and puberty begins to take its toll on him.

With his sister being as unhelpful as ever in the face of Nitori's outbreak of spots, it's her friend Anna who he instead turns to for advice, finding her to be surprisingly kind and helpful compared to that cold and slightly scary exterior that he kept his distance from previously.  From simply asking for help with his complexion and face cleansing routine, something a little bit deeper builds between them pair of them, and before we know it Nitori has rather bravely confessed his love to Anna, leading to the two beginning to date.

While this is quite the shock to all those who hear it, needless to say it's Takatsuki and Chiba who take the news the hardest.  Takatsuki is first to hear the news from the mouth of Nitori himself, and although she takes the news pretty coolly outwardly there's an obvious and immediate change in her relationship with her friend, as Nitori finds himself subject to her behaving in a detached manner as Takatsuki does her utmost to avoid him.  It's also Takatsuki who informs Chiba of Nitori's budding romance, and in contrast to her supposed love rival Chiba simply loses the will to do anything much, refusing to go to school and going as far as to tell her mother that she wants to quit.  Of course, this leaves Takatsuki feeling rather guilty about the whole thing, but is an uneasy truce-cum-friendship really going to build up between this pair of girls?

As per the rest of this series so far, Wandering Son's fourth episode is as beautiful to look at as ever, to the point where even Nitori's pimples are somehow aesthetically pleasing.  That aside, this instalment really shows the strength of this show beyond its gender issues, instead portraying some good old-fashioned teenage love drama which barely touched upon Nitori's proclivities at all - this could have been a story of love, friendship and jealousy from any bunch of individuals, and it works tremendously well at blending its very human realities with drama and humour almost effortlessly to make for a great slice of life outing.  In short, this was a pretty beautiful episode of Wandering Son both inside and out, and it seems to have found itself a story arc that proves that it has far more strings to its bow than cross-dressing alone.

Durarara!! - Episode 25 (Completed)

If there's one thing that can be agreed upon, it's that the world needs more Durarara in animated form.  For now though, in lieu of a second season proper, we'll simply have to content ourselves with this second of two special episodes.

At the centre of this episode is Shizuo's brother Yuuhei Hanejima (to give him his screen name, aka Kazuka Heiwajima in actuality), who has been commissioned by his slightly oddball manager to spend a day on the streets of Ikuebukuro on a public holiday in an attempt to find the area's cutest couple - a hunt incidentally taking place on a day when Mikado and Anri are going to see a movie on a date that isn't a date but is a date really and they both know it.

Of course, this wannabe couple ends up in front of Yuuhei's camera screw (although not half as much as Simon in the name of free advertising), but their stumbling yet adorable is soon overshadowed - first by a jealous attacker who looks to stab Yuuhei but soon feels Shizuo's wrath, before Shizuo himself becomes the centre of attention thanks to Izaya's usual knack of winding him up something chronic, this time with the help of his cute yet slightly disturbing twin sisters.  Needless to say, all sorts of chaos ensues, which probably proves good for TV ratings in Kazuka's case yet a fraught but enjoyable for most of the other regular characters who make an appearance in this episode.

While this bonus episode does little to move things on from the (rather disappointing) end of the series proper with some incredibly brief exceptions, you can't really deny that this outing was absolute, outright daft fun that clearly had a great time throwing most of its bevy of characters into a largely pointless melting pot in the name of comedy, the odd smart one-liner and lots of good visual gags.  It says a lot of Durarara's strengths that it can do something like this and get away with it utterly, and I can't really begrudge it for doing so - let's just hope its popularity translates into that much-needed second season.