Giant Killing - Episode 19

If you thought the Nagoya Grand Palace game was nerve-racking, then you might want to take a deep breath as we look set to enter another match of mammoth importance for East Tokyo United, this time against an even more fearsome opponent - Unbeaten Osaka Gunners, who enjoy a brand of "total football" which makes use of four forward players and which saw them run out 8-0 winners in their last game.

Against such tough, offensive opposition, you might expect Tatsumi to look towards an even more defensive formation that usual, but in fact the exact opposite would be true, with the manager unveiling his tactics to a stunned squad. Although we aren't afforded the exact details at this point, it's clear that this will be a more attacking ETU than the one we've been used to so far this season, although as Tatsumi points out their opponents have four attacking players and ETU will be sticking with a traditional back four, so they aren't short of numbers at the back on paper.


Now that the players have been appraised of the side's game plan, the rest of the episode concentrates with building up to this big match, taking in every element of the pre-game atmosphere from the fans entering the stadium, a handful of supporters spotting the Japanese national coach making his way into the ground (which offers up a club versus country argument of its own, with ETU supporters wishing they had a national player in their side while Gunners fans bemoan losing so many of their stars to international duty on a regular basis), and a meeting between the two opposing coaches as they try to feel one another out regarding their confidence and plans for the game via a few mind games hidden beneath their seemingly polite conversation. Come the end of the instalment we see the fans cheering each ETU player as the squad is revealed on the big screen, only to witness the shock of the fans as they realise that the team's normal 4-5-1 formation has been switched for a more attacking 4-4-2.

While I'm in a state of nervous tension waiting to get down to the actual football and for this big match to start, there was as always plenty to intrigue and fascinate here. From the little things like that aforementioned club versus country argument, there's also a whole plethora of things to consider from a tactical point of view that I could go on about at length but won't here - needless to say it could make for a nail-biting but entertaining spectacle when it comes to the game itself. However, arguably topping the bill this episode was the brief but oddly intense pre-match exchange between Tatsumi and Dulfer - we're all used to seeing the mind games of football managers in the press and before, during and after games while those individuals are in the spotlight, but what happens when those managers meet behind closed doors? It's something I've often wondered about, and I can't help but feel that it's probably a little less dramatic and laced in importance than Giant Killing would like to imagine, but it certainly makes for a continuation of this show's intriguing nature, and I can't gripe about that.

Shiki - Episode 5

Come the end of Shiki's previous episode, we were finally beginning to get to the root of the spate of mysterious deaths which have plagued its village, as we saw the seemingly returned from the dead Megumi putting in an appearance and getting her teeth (quite literally) into Tohru.

Or did we? Revisiting those events again, we see Natsuno waking up from what appears to be little more than another of his nightmares, in turn waking Tohru to find that everything appears to be just fine. Everything, that is, until Tohru stops turning up at school and instead spends his time lounging around in his room as though in a trance, before eventually dying like so many before him. Of course, Natsuno is still unable to properly connect his "dream" with the reality of the situation, and even the arrival of a postcard from Megumi doesn't seem to faze him.


Away from all of this, young priest Muroi is continuing to investigate these deaths himself, quickly noting an obvious connection between many of them, as it transpires that many of these individuals quite their jobs (or attempted to) just days before dying. How this ties into the deaths themselves remains unanswered, but it's suddenly another piece in the puzzle... as it seems will be Masao come the end of this episode, as his childish whining and attention-seeking look likely to be near their end, for which I am eternally thankful.

After that slow start to the series, things are certainly starting to move within this series, although still at a relatively pedestrian pace, much like a stingy friend dishing out sweets one at a time rather than giving you a handful to enjoy in a single hit. To be honest, for me personally it's still too early even now to decide whether those proverbial sweets are tasty enough to warrant savouring on an individual basis, but for now I'm willing to chew on them and wait to see if the after taste makes it all worthwhile. Anyway, enough of my confectionary-laden analogies; if nothing else I took great pleasure in seeing Masao get his come-uppance - an occurrence that can only make this series infinitely better, God he was annoying even in the realms of deliberately annoying anime characters. I really just hope that I have something rather more concrete to write about next episode, otherwise I'm going to have to find even more ways to compare Shiki to chocolate. Hmm... Maybe Megumi is like a chocolate bar that's past its sell by date - It comes back to haunt you days after you thought you'd gotten away with worrying about it?

Amagami SS - Episode 6

After introducing us to frizzy-haired Kaoru Tanamachi last episode (seriously, since when did that become "sex hair"?), this second instalment of her particular arc of Amagami SS finds her in contemplative mood regarding her relationship with Tachibana, although she still refuses to admit that she's in love with him.


Regardless, Kaoru's interest in romantic goings-on seems to have been fired, as she continues to get herself involved with Keiko's one sided interest with one of her class mates - A situation which escalates into Kaoru getting violent, which certainly seems to be her forte at regular intervals. This in itself indirectly leads to a discussion between Tachibana and Tanamachi which ends with the latter suggesting that the relationship between the two is in need of "a change", before... well, I'm not sure what she was trying to do, but it ends in a decidedly awkward accidental "kiss" between them. Of course, there's only one way to resolve this kind of embarrassment and tension between two people, and that's to let the guy kiss your belly button. No, really, it is, and I can only thank this anime for opening my eyes to the conflict resolution possibilities of this long-forgotten act.

That's right, as per the opening story arc with its even more ridiculous tale of back-of-knee kissing, this time around we get belly button kissing instead, which to be fair Kaoru makes slightly less of a big deal of while the whole thing seems at least a little sexier, despite being a bizarre thing to do (to your friend in a library at least). Anyhow, who am I to argue about such things, as it seems to clear the air between Kaoru and Junichi, and their relationship seems improved come the end of the episode before a moment of completely random drama pops out of the blue for no other reason than to elongate this particular story.

While I am enjoying this story arc thus far more than Haruka's (largely because the female in question this time around is at least only partially mentally unhinged), this entire series does continue to reek of dating sim clichés, from dialogue that seems to have been picked out by a random visual novel conversation generator through to the entirely random drama that I just mentioned which serves no purpose than to add a little more human interest to what would otherwise threaten to be a pretty flat story. Still, however dull the rest of the series might be, at least we can now start a sweepstake on what body parts Junichi will be kissing in the other four story arcs to come. So come on guys, place your bets!

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi - Episode 6

From the happy and cheery atmosphere that usually kicks off a new episode of Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi, the beginning of this sixth instalment of the series seems to have found everybody with rather a lot on their plate. Indeed, all of these worries seem to be related to one person - Onigashima's student council president Shirou Hitsujikai.

Given the shock seen on Ryouko's face when she came face to face with Hitsujikai, it's more than a little understandable that her mind is distracted by his appearance, and via this episode we're granted some further little clues into the history between the two of them. These are clues that Ryoushi would love to be party to no doubt, worried as he is about Ryouko and her history. Indeed, his worry is such that he seeks to find out more via Ringo, to no avail as she quite rightly points out that if he wants to know then Ryouko has to trust him enough to tell him directly.


Much of the rest of the episode therefore focuses on solidifying the back story between Ryouko and Ringo - How the latter got to know the former, and how the two became friends thanks to Ringo's dogged perseverance in the face of Ryouko's distant and unfriendly behaviour, which was an issue even then on account of her past travails.

This made for an instalment which really didn't move things forward to any particular degree, nor did it tell us anything that we couldn't have extrapolated for ourselves, but nonetheless it actually made for an enjoyably touching episode when it came to examining the relationship between Ryouko and Ringo that actually moved me a little more than I would otherwise have expected - J.C. Staff certainly seem to be good at getting the emotional tone of their shows right if nothing else. This episode also perhaps worked simply by being a departure from the stories offered up in previous weeks; it felt almost oddly luxurious to actually spend some time getting to know characters a little better in a series which has wasted little time on doing so previously. Perhaps things are looking up for this little show after a sub-par beginning after all?

K-ON!! - Episode 18

While the culture festival seems to be a staple part of any school-based anime diet, it is perhaps of more relevance to a show like K-ON!! given the importance of such an event upon the light music club. However, it appears that this time around there's going to be more to worry about than just a music performance...

The reason for this is that the class inhabited by most of the girls has elected to perform a play - Romeo and Juliet to be precise, and guess who has the lead role? Yep, that's right, Mio has been voted to take Romeo's role (cue a so bad it's good Ro-mio joke from Yui) much to her horror, while Ritsu of all people has been voted to take Juliet's part to complete that particular double act.


Needless to say, early rehearsals for these two don't go so well (although Yui's turn as "Tree G" seems to be almost masterful), with Mio proving far too shy to have any kind of stage prescence while Ritsu isn't exactly the most feminine of Juliets. Ritsu in particular refuses to give up however, and eventually it looks as though the pair of them have nailed their roles... until Mio is up in front of the rest of the class, where she crumbles again.

This takes us to a session of "special training", which involves all of the girls (although the focus is of course on Mio) working as waitresses in a rather up-market cafe. It seems that even this isn't enough to turn things around particularly, so will all be well for the actual performance of the play itself? Who knows, we're going to have to tune in next week to find out.

Although the musical side of things has taken a complete back seat this episode (it's barely even referenced), that's never really been a problem for this series and it proves not to be once again. While this instalment overall was great fun to watch, it had a few truly stand-out moments, not least Satoshi's spit-take moment which is possibly the greatest ever to grace an anime, Yui's cheese pen and Mio's attempt to imagine a world (or at least a classroom) where everybody is Ritsu. In short then, there were quite a few laugh out loud moments here, and that's what I cherish most from K-ON!! in an episode that made the best of the personalities of its central characters while still holding more in its proverbial entertainment tank to keep things moving. I genuinely thought that making this series twenty-six episodes long was a really bad idea; looks like I've been proved wrong so far.

HEROMAN - Episode 19

With their supposed vacation well and truly cut short by an attack from random evil tentacle things, this nineteenth episode of HEROMAN finds the group in rather a tight spot - Not only have they mostly been separated, but even worse Heroman himself is nowhere to be found.

This leaves Joey with the task of protecting Lina and the research scientist they've picked up along the way alone, and thankfully he's up to the task courtesy of the powers granted him by his controller. Indeed, it seems as though Joey is well and truly up to taking the lead and solving this problem all by himself... outwardly at least, whereas internally he feels decidedly naked without Heroman at his side.


We're soon treated to an explanation as to what these killer vines are all about, and needless to say it's all part of a government research project on a biological weapon which has gotten out of hand. The only way to stop the vines is to destroy their power source, and so that's exactly what Joey sets out to the do in the face of suggestions that they should head for the island's air strip, although not before locating and rescuing Heroman. Once the entire group are reunited, an assault on the vines power source begins, bringing us our usual dose of Heroman-centric action as they save the day once again. Hurrah!

The one thing that still isn't explained to us at the end of this particular story arc is whether it has anything to do with the show's wider plot - I'd like to think that there is, and there seems to be a hint or two in that general direction, but it's difficult to be certain (especially when the next episode preview looks even more daft than this current story). This slightly disjointed feel from the major plot device served up a couple of episodes back still bugs me a little, and the vines weren't exactly the most fascinating of enemies no matter their abilities, but this instalment did about as much as it could with the concept I guess while still leaving it open to tie into more important matters. I'm still left itching to get back to the heart of the matter regarding Will though, and no matter how I frame it this felt a little too much like a distraction from that to me.

Strike Witches 2 - Episode 5

Disaster! The girls of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing have run out of rice! This means that it's time for a shopping trip, thus setting up the story for this fifth episode of Strike Witches 2.

Tasked with making the shopping run to Romagna are Lucchini (for her local knowledge, of course), Shirley (as she's the only one who can drive a truck) and Miyafuji (because she somehow has to be part of every episode, no matter what). Lynette is also supposed to tag along, but declines for reasons that we soon discover, and that are pretty obvious when you consider who is behind the wheel. The requests for items to purchase on this shopping trip also soon come flooding in from various members of the team, leaving those involved with a pretty hefty list to worry about.


Of course, that isn't all they have to worry about, as before we know it Lucchini goes missing as she races off to rescue a "damsel in distress", befriends her, and ends up taking her on a tour of the city. Inevitably, the episode ends with a Neuroi attack that our three heroines have to see off, while Lucchini's friend Maria also turns out to be far more important than first acknowledged courtesy of a decidedly predictable twist in the tale.

While there were a couple of laugh out loud moments in the midst of what was a broadly fun episode, this instalment of Strike Witches 2 did suffer on account of its predictability - You could see various plot points coming a mile off, leaving the episode to tick along without anything to grab the viewer's attention or take them outside of their comfort zone. I suppose you could argue that this is entirely the point of a show like this, and it certainly wasn't a complete write-off in entertainment terms, but at least previous instalments have progressed in a way which wasn't entirely mapped out early on. So, this was probably the least spectacular episode of Strike Witches 2 so far, although to be honest I'm not entirely sure what more I was expecting of it...