Shangri-la - Episode 16

With things finally starting to get interesting with regard to Karin and Medusa last episode, it seemed logical to follow up that interesting aspect of the story this time around. So logical in fact, that we hear absolutely nothing more about it in episode sixteen. Hmm.

Instead, what we get is Miko turned into the new vessel for Hiruko, which seemed like something of a relief (although it's a close-run thing between annoying transsexual and screaming banshee) until of course the tried and trusted old plot device of Miko's love for Lady Mikuni allowing him/her to overcome Hiruko's power kicks in, and we end up with... well, a kind of thinner, scrawnier version of Miko, basically. Oh, and did I mention that Lady Mikuni tried to invade Atlas with a few really rubbish soldiers and a hand-carried cart? Lelouch vi Brittania she ain't. This is all without mention the fact that Ryoko is invicible. Wait, nobody mentioned that before now? Ryoko is invincible - Even guns will jam in her prescence.


On the other side of the story, Kuniko returns home to the grateful cheers and hugs of all those she let down by calling off the attack on Atlas (clearly those hail storms have hit a few people rather too hard on the head), banishes her own granny to goodness knows where (real heroic behaviour that, regardless of the circumstances... besides, whose going to look after the server room now?), and then goes on the offensive against some giant killer man-made mushrooms. What, nobody mentioned those before either? Momoko is a trained botanist too. No, really. Stop laughing. Elsewhere, Kusanagi leaves the military (to stalk Kuniko, most probably) while Takehiko goes missing after losing all his manly credibility by crying into a little girl's shoe last week. All in a day's work for the Shangri-la script-writing team, who I can only assume have been consuming a few giant man-made mushrooms of their own.

Okay, I may be deliberately poking entirely too much fun at this particular episode, but I couldn't help but be amused at the numerous sudden revelations out of nowhere during this episode - Why did Momoko have no real interest in botany before this episode? Why is Ryoko invincible? Why had only young girls been used as Hiruko's vessel when any old fat guy will do? Why am I even asking these questions when I don't even particularly care any more? Will the question mark key on my laptop keyboard last the rest of this 'Blog entry