Gantz 331

More Gantzers answer the call of the Tokyo team, while Kurono #1 deals with the troopers summoned by his hostage.

This is what you get for trying to sneak up on me, ya big lug!

Summary:
At the Gantz apartment, a girl and two more guys are transmitted into the room. Meanwhile at the alien apartment, Tae has woken the alien girl in an effort to get her to check on the sick Shun, but the alien girls thinks Tae wants attention and holds Tae in her arms and goes back to the sleep.

Elsewhere in the city ship, Kurono #1 finds himself surrounded by a squad of troopers. Fra advices Kurono to give up, but Kurono pulls out his weapons and battles the troopers. After killing all the troopers, Kurono orders Fra to put on one of the trooper suits.

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This chapter shows that Kurono #1 is still the man, and confirms that the regular alien troopers suck. It was one against a dozen, and Kurono still had no trouble taking down all of the troopers with basic Gantz weapons (he seemed to have lost his H-gun). And thus Kurono #1's current adventure of finding an exit from the city ship will continue, and we'll see where that's going.

Meanwhile, a few more people answered the call from the Tokyo Team. Joining the group are two young lads and a hot girl, and not surprisingly Kurono #2 has his attention on the hot girl even if he does have Reika. I wonder how many out-of-town Gantzers are going to join the group, but ultimately more characters right now means more people to kill off later. Speaking of deaths, Shun looks like he is close to biting the dust, but at this point who cares? It's not like he was ever important.

Thoughts on Mobile Suit Gundam 00: A Wakening of the Trailblazer

I just watched the Gundam 00 movie, also known as Gundams vs. Aliens for the first time EVER!! That sentence is just to give you a taste of how ridiculous the movie was. By ridiculous I don't really mean bad, just far removed from reality (even for Gundam). Still, I found the movie to be pretty entertaining and here are my thoughts on it.

Post contains some spoilers, so read at your own discretion.

Those of us who watched the Gundam 00 anime to the end saw the movie announcement and the somewhat ominous last screen pointing towards Jupiter hinting of something extraterrestrial, but I'm mildly surprised and amused that Sunrise actually followed through by bringing actual alien lifeforms into the movie. I think it's the first time any official Gundam anime has had live aliens in broad daylight, so it is somewhat of an occasion. The story basically is that alien life forms appear out of Jupiter and they don't seem to be friendly. The appearance of aliens falls in line with Aeolia's plans, and thus Setsuna and Celestial Being are trying to find a solution to the situation while the Earth Federation finds itself under increasing threat by the aliens.

In other words, A Wakening of the Trailblazer makes no attempts to be realistic and becomes even more ridiculous as the film goes on. The ending of the movie was the culmination of all the crazy stuff that went on and it's a bit far out, but after thinking about it I don't think the movie ending is any worse than what happened in the anime series towards the end. Everyone remembers how Setsuna became the messiah and how twin-drive Trans-Am brought world peace and cured incurable diseases right? A Wakening of the Trailblazer goes off into that general direction, and I thought the ending was somewhat fitting given what happened in the series and also the message that Gundam 00 tries so hard in an over the top way to convey.

So the plot of A Wakening of the Trailblazer is a bit preposterous, but there are plenty of other things to like about the film. First of all, the film has better pacing than the Gundam 00 anime series and the story steadily built up towards the final battle without any doldrums in the middle. Another thing I liked is that all of the surviving cast (along with some of the deceased) are back, and despite the large number of characters all of them managed to do something other than just show their faces. In particular, I liked Katy and Patrick who are still the happy couple, and I also liked how Billy finally got over Sumeragi and has a hot colleague (appearing to be a nicer version of Nena Trinity) falling all over him. I am a bit disappointed in Setsuna though, mostly because he wasn't too impressive in the fights, but he is still expressionless savior of the world.

Speaking of the fights, the action is undoubtedly the strongest aspect of the movie and Sunrise didn't spare any expense animating the space battles. The battles were fast-paced and chaotic, and sometimes it was even borderline overwhelming just with the sheer amount of stuff that was shooting and getting blown up on screen at the same time. It's dazzling and dizzying at the same time, and I loved it. The new mobile weapons also looked good, although there wasn't much in the way of brand new abilities.

Overall, I enjoyed watching A Wakening of the Trailblazer. Sure, the plot didn't make much sense, but I wasn't expecting much given what happened in the Gundam 00 series. I mainly wanted to see Gundams and a lot of stuff being blasted into bits in spectacular fashion, and A Wakening of the Trailblazer delivers those in spades. It certainly wasn't boring and had a lot of action, and to me that's a pretty decent movie.

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Other random notes:

• The in-universe movie that Saji was watching about the battle between Celestial Being and A-LAWS was pretty hilarious. They actually got Setsuna's look right but got the other three Gundam Meisters all wrong. It was like Power Rangers with Gundams, and the funniest thing was that the actual final battle (or the second to last episode of the series) was even more over-the-top than the in-universe movie.
• The random grey-haired Innovator pilot with the giant mobile armor was kind of pointless, but he blew up a lot of stuff so I can't complain too much.
• Now that we've had the Gundam 00 movie, where is that Gundam SEED movie you promised us, Sunrise?

Claymore 111

Anastasia and three companions try to survive against the Awakened Beings.

I'm disappointed. I thought she could actually hover...

Summary:
The strange men around the four Claymores all transform into Awakened Beings and start to attack. One of the weaker Claymores Phina is hit by an attack. Anastasia comes to Phina's rescue, but she is kept busy by all the other enemies. Keira goes to check on the injured Phina while Nike is driven back by the monster. Realizing that they are getting surrounded, Nike tosses Phina and Keira towards an Awakened but the two Claymores do a strange flip in the air to clear the monster. Nike is now surrounded by enemies, but Anastasia get her out of harm's way. The Awakened Beings notice something and start slashing around themselves. Keira doesn't get it at first, but Nike explains that Anastasia attached very fine hair to the Awakened Beings and the surrounding rocks. The hairs don't impede the monster's movements, but it's enough to allow Anastasia and Nike to seemingly hover and change directions in mid-air. Unfortunately, the monsters have figured it out, and Anastasia tells the other three Claymores to run while she holds off the monsters. However, Nike decides to stay with Anastasia and tells Keira to escape with Phina. Keira starts running but soon she runs into a group of people in black.

Back at the battle, Anastasia and Nike aren't faring too well against the monsters and Anastasia is hit. Nike wonders if this is the moment that they die, but suddenly all the of Awakened Beings are sliced up, and Deneve, Helen and company appear and declare that they are going to crush everything that stands in their way.

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As expected, the Northern Survivors plus Dietrich come to the rescue of Anastasia's group, and I'm glad that happened since it'd be a shame for Anastasia to die so quickly. This chapter was just the battle and the rescue, so we still don't know where all the Awakened Beings came from and who set them upon the northern path. One thing we do know now though is how Anastasia's "hovering" works. It's an impressive power to the untrained eye, but as Anastasia herself said the trick is pretty useless once the opponents figure it out. Anastasia uses her own hair as the threads, so those beautiful locks aren't just for show. I suppose she uses her youki to make her hair extra thin and/or stretchable.

Next chapter, Deneve and company will probably take care of the monsters, and we'll see how Anastasia and her friends will react. The Claymores are no match against our heroines, but they might take some convincing to join the cause.

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt - Final Thoughts

My second and last final impressions post for the Fall 2010 season is for Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, a series from the unpredictable minds at Gainax which turned out to be one of the most unique and not to mention lewdest anime series I have watched in recent memory.

Brief Description of the Series:
Two angel sisters, Panty Anarchy (a sex fiend) and Stocking Anarchy (a sweets addict), are kicked out of Heaven for bad behavior. Panty and Stocking are sent to Daten City to be supervised by Reverend Garterbelt, and in order to get back into Heaven the sisters have to earn enough Heaven coins by killing monsters called Ghosts that terrorize the city.

Thoughts:
Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt is a series that stood out because it's so different than most other anime that's out there. Animated mostly in an American cartoon style, PSG is a hectic and unpredictable show that tried its best to be as vulgar and indecent as possible, and it was very successful in that regards with loads of sex and poop jokes. Other than the vulgarity, there was quite a bit of action, a lot of parodies/homages (the series itself can be considered a parody/homage of American cartoons) and some "experimental" elements consisting of non-standard storytelling and animation. It's a very strange mix, but then again the creators supposedly came up with the concept for this series while they were drunk.

The point is PSG is quite a unique series, and overall I enjoyed watching the series. I don't mind low brow humor (if it's funny), and so I wasn't turned off all of Panty and Stocking's jokes about sex and poop. I am also an action fan, and PSG showed itself to be more than capable of delivering fast paced action and had some very entertaining fights. Due to the experimental nature of the show, not all parts of PSG were good. Some segment were plain bizarre, while other segments were only so-so (ex a number of the movie parodies), but when PSG was good it was crazy, fun and awesome. It was just one of those shows that you watch for brainless entertainment, and more often than not it would provide the amusement. Panty and Stocking is not a show for everyone, but I'd recommend it because it has that ability to be mindlessly fun.

Here is my list of PSG highlights in no particular order:

• The first battle between Panty/Stocking and their demon counterparts Scanty/Kneesocks. It was the best battle in the whole series.
• The music video for "D City Rock". Parodies in Panty and Stocking weren't always good, but the music video was a gem. The song wasn't half bad either.
• The second to last episode with the Romeo and Juliet movie parody, because Geek Boy finally got laid (or was about to). Also it was the one movie parody that worked well in the series.
• The final battle. It wasn't as good as the first battle between the angel and demon sisters, but it was a fitting way to close out the season.
• The first episode which introduced the cast and set the tone for the rest of the show. Also had some one of the better action sequences in the series with the speed demon segment.

And my list of strange and WTF moments:

• The ending. Gainax is trolling us, but I certainly wouldn't mind a second season.
• The segment with the sperm Ghosts. Just plain bizarre.
• The segment with the old salaryman and the different animation style. At the beginning I wasn't sure if I was watching the right show.
• Chuck of the Future.

Angel Beats! Special and Another Epilogue

Angel Beats!, a show about the afterlife I would describe as pretty but messy, is back with an additional epilogue and a special episode. While the additional epilogue is somewhat "serious" (by the standards of the show), the special episode is way on the other side of the spectrum.


Additional Epilogue Summary:
Otonashi has taken over Kanade/Tenshi's role at the afterlife school and encourages a non-NPC male student to do something about his own situation.

The SSS' most ambitious adventure yet: a holy mission to meet God.

Scary face after eating too much sugar/caffeine no. 1.

Scary face after eating too much sugar/caffeine no. 2.

Special Episode Summary:
Taking place somewhere in the middle of the series (after Iwasawa's departure but before Naoi joins the group), Yuri outlines a brand new battle plan to the SSS. Named the "High Tension" plan, the plan calls for group members to act excited and happy all the time. Yuri thinks the plan will confuse Tenshi as all the students are happy but are not disappearing, and Yuri hopes this will lead Tenshi to consult her boss God. Yuri then plans to follow Tenshi and she and her comrades will finally be able to meet God. Yuri cuts herself out of the plan because she has to keep track of Tenshi, but if any other member fails to follow the plan then they are not allowed to eat for a week.

Bystanders should get off the racetrack.

Scary face after eating too much sugar/caffeine no. 3.

No doubt about it: Yuri is evil.

And thus, the other members of SSS except Otonashi spend the whole day doing crazy stuff and acting like they had too much sugar and/or caffeine in order to maintain the "tension". The whole thing culminates into an impromptu sports festival at dusk, and to Yuri's delight Tenshi appears to be somewhat concerned. After overhearing that Tenshi was going to consult someone, Yuri and comrades follow Tenshi into the underground but discovers that Tenshi only went to an underground greenhouse to tend to some vegetables. Displeased by the failure, Yuri bars the other SSS members from eating for a week and they all die of hunger by the end of the week.

Maximum meter reading!!! It's over 9000!!!!

If you need proof about Yuri's evilness, you only need to look at this scene.

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If you were hoping for some extra elements to the main story and answers to some of the burning questions, you certainly won't find any of those in these specials. The additional epilogue shows Otonashi sticking to his word of staying in the world and helping other souls, but it doesn't add anything that we didn't already know. As for the special episode, it was all an attempt at comedy, but it wasn't even that good of a comedic episode when compared to some of the regular episodes in the series. Having all the characters scream at the top of their lungs for the entire episode was more annoying than funny. The only thing that amused me was how evil Yuri was this episode, making her underlings act crazy for a whole day and then starving them to death at the end. As Yusa said, Yuri certainly has the makings of becoming an entertaining villain. She has the evil villainess laugh and also has the crazy schemes.

Anyways, the new extras weren't bad, but I wasn't too impressed either. It seems like we may never find out exactly how the afterlife works in Angel Beats! or the histories of some of the other SSS members... at least not by just watching the anime.

Naruto 522

Kakashi's group vs. the zombies.

Just when you thought there couldn't be more zombies...

Summary:
Using Orochimaru's chakra extracted from Anko, Kabuto exerts a stronger binding on the zombies that are facing Kakashi's group. Zabuza and Haku resist as much as they can but Kabuto eventually wins complete control. The four zombies attack and they take out a number of ninjas from Kakashi's forces. To further tip the battle in favor of his zombie forces, Kabuto gets two of the zombies to summon the other six of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist (which Zabuza was a member).

Meanwhile Juugo and Suigetsu escape from a prison somewhere inside the Shinobi Army camp.

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When there are zombies, the situation often leads to more zombies and that was the case in this chapter. It was a pretty standard combat chapter without much in the way of developments. Kabuto exerts more control, and the zombies are now mindless killing machines. We saw some scrubs from the Shinobi Army getting killed, and that'll probably happen a lot more as the war heats up. I wonder when we'll see a named character (who's still alive) die in battle. We still have to see how the good guys are going to overcome Kabuto's zombies which are now even more hax than before.

One Piece 609

Luffy's group run into both the Neptune Army and Hammond's group.

Sanji has fallen to such a sad state over the last two years.

Summary:
Luffy and crewmates are hanging out with the mermaids. Luffy wants to visit Jinbei and asks Keimi about where to find him, but Keimi states that Jinbei is not around. Suddenly, the quintuplets arrive to warn the group that a royal ship is approaching, and Luffy and comrades are hidden by the mermaids. Shortly after, a royal gondola arrives with the three merman princes of the Neptune Army led by first son Fukaboshi, and the royals are here after hearing reports of someone entering the island illegally. The mermaids manage to convince Fukaboshi that whatever he is looking for isn't here, but just as the royals turn around to leave Sanji has an explosive nosebleed due to being held to close to the bosom of one of the mermaids. This attracts the attention Fukaboshi who deploys his knights. Nearby, Hammond and some henchmen are also looking at the situation.

Realizing that Sanji has lost a lot of blood, Chopper, Luffy and Usopp ask the merfolk to donate blood as Sanji has the rare RH- blood type. Hammond reveals himself at this point and states that no fishman or merfolk would give blood to a human due to bad blood between the races. Hammond then demands Luffy come with him to see his captain Hodi Jones, but Luffy refuses and knocks out Hammond's group. Taking advantage of the commotion, Keimi steals the royal gondola and takes Luffy and company towards town where there are humans who might be a match. As the group take off towards town, Keimi starts to doubt herself as there haven't been many human visitors lately and there are rumors about a big shadow spreading through the kingdom. Meanwhile back at the mermaids' place, Fukaboshi reveals that his group actually wants to give Luffy a message from Jinbei.

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Sanji... I knew the mermaids would be bad news for his nosebleed, and holding it in just made things worse. Oda is really sticking with this nosebleed thing and making it a legitimate weakness for Sanji instead of just using it as a joke, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing. Anyways, Jinbei is finally mentioned, and the Neptune Army and the princes don't sound like the bad guys if they are on good terms with Jinbei. The New Fishman Pirates are still pretty shady, but it's unknown if they are the true culprits behind whatever bad things are happening to Fishmen Island. The arc is still in its early stages, and we don't even know what's going on with the rest of the Straw Hats yet.

Bleach 432

Ginjou shows off his powers to Ichigo.

That trick must be popular at the parties.

Summary:
At Xcution's bar, Ichigo demands to know what Ginjou's group wants by helping him regain his shinigami powers, but Ginjou tells Ichigo to calm down and take a seat. Ginjou then proceeds to explain that his group is composed of humans with special abilities, and they can manipulate the "souls" of matter for their benefit. To demonstrate, Ginjou drinks his liquor by making the liquid fly into his mouth and also turns the cross on his necklace into a large sword. At this moment, Riruka returns with Chad in tow, and Chad and Ichigo are surprised to see each other.

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This is strange day for a Bleach chapter, but I'm not complaining. Not a lot happening in this chapter, but Chad appearing and seemingly cooperating with Ginjou's group is nice little development. Chad's comment towards Riruka was funny too. He must be popular with the ladies lol. If Ginjou's group is recruiting Chad, then it's less likely that they are responsible for the attack on Uryuu, but nothing is for sure at this point. After the revelation last chapter, Ginjou managed to deflect Ichigo's questions and proceeds to explain a bunch of stuff that we already know (about the group being composed of people with special powers). It would have been nice if Ginjou talked about his motivations (even if he is lying), but the series is probably saving that juicy reveal for later. Still, it'll be interesting to see where Bleach is going with this.

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls - Final Thoughts

The Fall 2010 anime season is coming to an end, and that means it's time to write some final thoughts posts on series that I watched and didn't blog. This post is for Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls, a girl-on-girl fighting/fan-service series that started off with some promise but just kept going downhill.

Brief Description of the series:
In an alternate modern Japan still ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate, a girl falls out of sky into a guy's arm, kisses him and transforms into a bad-ass master samurai. The guy (male protagonist and sword instructor Muneakira) can now kiss other girls and make them into master samurai as well, and now Muneakira and his female companion have to uncover plots and save Japan from destruction.

Thoughts:
I picked up this show expecting something along the lines of Queen's Blade or Sekirei, but Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls actually had a pretty good first two episodes. There was the distinctive but appealing inky art style and special effects, and the female character designs were pretty attractive. The episodes did a decent job setting up the environment. Added to that, the debut fight of Jubei (the female lead) was actually well-animated and with good moves from the combatant and no cloth-shredding. What's more, the male protagonist Muneakira, being a sword instructor and all, looked like he might not be completely useless. Things certainly looked promising from that point, but unfortunately the first two episodes were the best part of the show.

After that, Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls treated us to string of episodes that became more and more filler-ish. First few of these were about Muneakira adding two more girls to his harem which still had something to do with the overall story, but then the rest was more random side stories and/or fan service comedy that were pretty forgettable. The action scenes were still not bad, but they become increasingly rare. It's not that the show has completely forgotten about its plot, but the progress was extremely slow until the last three or four episodes.

When the time came to wrap the show up with the final battle against evil, Hyakka Ryouran did not manage to pull itself together. Yoshiko had a ridiculous plot, and then the evil bitch Gisen just randomly showed up and started doing stuff. I wasn't expecting too much from the story at that point, but I was also disappointed by the action. There was a fair bit of fighting, but the quality was considerable lower than what we've seen in the previous battles. A lot of the combat was just flashes of inky lines and streaks flying around in the sky instead of the more detailed exchanges we saw earlier in the show. The fact that Muneakira turned out to be nearly useless certainly didn't help. While better than the wandering episodes in the middle, the last few episodes failed to impress and the show couldn't quite end on a high note.

Overall, Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls turned out to be another one of those shows that couldn't live up to its potential. It kind of reminds me of Occult Academy from the previous season which was another show with a good beginning but ruined by filler-ish episodes in the middle, but Occult Academy had better quality overall. So as it stands, Hyakka Ryouran is tolerable to watch, but nowhere near what I would call a good show.

To Aru Majutsu no Index II 12

Touma, Motoharu and Stiyl are still trying to track down Oriana.

Who's the adult and who's the kid here?

Summary:
After bumping into and shaking off Index, Touma meets up with Motoharu to talk about where Oriana could have gone. Motoharu explains that St. Peter's Cross uses star light for power and so Oriana is probably searching for the best location to put the cross in the city. This also means that they have until dusk to stop the plan. The two then receive a phone call from Orsola who confirms the theory, and also gives the two a list of location in Japan where the cross can be activated. Meanwhile, Oriana calls Lidvia and the two agree that it's unfortunate that Aisa got hurt, but that doesn't stop them from going ahead with the plan.

Kuroko likes everything Misaka.

At a mall, Mikoto is hanging out with her mother and Kuroko. Down on the main level, Touma and Motoharu meets up with Stiyl who managed to stabilize Aisa's wounds and shake off Komoe. Motoharu explains that the best location for Oriana to set up the cross is at an experimental airfield inside the 23rd District as the location has an obstructed view of the constellations. The 23rd District has a lot of security, but Motoharu calls in some connections to change the security details a bit so that the three of them can sneak in. Meanwhile, in an open area somewhere in the city, Lidvia sets down St. Peter's Cross.

Lidvia is pretty strong being able to carry a large metal object like this.

Don't worry guys. I will use my own body to test if this fence is electrified.

Touma, Motoharu and Stiyl take the subway to the 23rd District. The trio sneak by to some warehouses, but there is still an open area between the warehouses and the fence surrounding the airfield. Touma and Stiyl wonder how they are going to sneak across, but Motoharu explains that they can take advantage of the busy air traffic as a commercial airport is located nearby. The three run to towards the fence, but Motoharu gets fried by a spell tag Oriana left on the fence. Touma and Stiyl makes it through, but both are tossed around by Oriana. With Stiyl seemingly knocked out, Touma is left to face Oriana on his own and Touma proceeds to give his hero speech.

Around and around Stiyl goes. When he'll stop nobody knows.

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For an episode that featured mostly talking, this wasn't too bad, but it wasn't exactly good because it was mostly talking. Most of the episode was focused on explaining how Lidvia and Oriana's plan is supposed to work and Touma and friends figuring it out. The magic talk was as boring as usual, but at least I managed to get the gist of how the cross works, so it wasn't the most confusing talk Index has ever had. I didn't really get what Motoharu was talking about with regards to sneak into the airfield though, but it was kind of funny that he got shocked by Oriana's electric fence. I also found it strange that Last Order's voice was heard through one of the scenes but she didn't appear on screen. Not sure what that was about.

Anyways, the atmosphere of the chase and the sense of urgency were still present in this episode, but the thing with finding Oriana is getting a bit long in the tooth. This story arc has been dragging out a little too long, but thankfully this should end next episode probably with Touma punching Oriana and possibly Lidvia in the face several times. Oriana has proven herself to be a dangerous opponent, and hopefully the battles next episode will make up for all the fruitless chases in the previous episodes.


On an unrelated subject, Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate the occasion. Have a safe and happy holidays.

Gantz 330

The Tokyo team get some help from other Japanese Gantzers.

No Takeda. Reika is dating that short guy over there to your left.

Summary:
The tall guy with long dark hair who teleported to the apartment introduces himself as Takeda Hyouma from the Kanagawa team. Takeda greets all the Tokyo team members and it's very apparent that he is a Reika fan. After Takeda makes his round, another Gantzer is transported into the room. The new Gantzer, a short blond guy, introduces himself as Maeshima Ryuuji from Hiroshima and states that he wants to save as many people as he can.

At the alien apartment, Tae wakes up and discovers that Shun is very sick from eating some bad food. Tae pounds on the tank walls to try to alert the alien girl, but the alien girl is fast asleep.

Elsewhere in the alien city ship, Kurono #1 tells the alien woman Fra to get close to a nearby trooper. Fra gets close to the trooper but turns off the translator app, and Kurono can't tell that Fra is telling the trooper that she is being held hostage. Kurono then spots a squad of troopers approaching and realizes he is in trouble.

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A bit of progress here and there in this chapter. The Tokyo team managed to recruit two new Gantzers so far. Takeda seem to be here for Reika and appears to be friendly guy, but his preference for Reika may lead to some friction between him and Kurono #2. As for the second guy, he's short but looks like a fighter, and we'll see if his real goal is to save people.

In other news, Shun is sick but I don't know how important that's going to be. I guess Shun will turn out to be one more tragedy for Tae to witness, but Shun himself isn't exactly important. Finally, Kurono #1 is going to see some action again now that he is surrounded by troopers. It'll be a tough fight since Kurono is on his own, but he has the skills to take down the troopers. Still, having Kurono #1 wandering around like this is a bit pointless, but he might be doing that for a while or at least until his teammates start thinking about him.

Motto To Love-Ru 12 (Finale)

The second season of To Love-Ru ends with a trip to the water park.

Guys have no place snooping in on girl talks.

Summary:
Haruna reveals to Lala that she also likes Rito, and afterward neither Lala nor Haruna know what to say to each other. Rito unintentionally walks in on the girls and Lala has to send him away with a giant robot pigeon so that he doesn't overhear the conversation. After Rito has been sent away, Lala apologizes to Haruna for being selfish and never noticing Haruna's feelings for Rito, but Haruna tells Lala that the reason she is revealing her intentions is because she doesn't want to hide her feeling from her good friend. Lala then takes Haruna's hand and thanks Haruna for her willingness to communicate her feelings. Lala grabs Haruna by the shoulders and states that she will support Haruna's love, but at the same time she'll support her own love too. Lala smiles at Haruna and says that neither of them should be afraid to express their feelings. Haruna wonders if this is the best thing to do, but Lala is cheered up by her own suggestion.

Momo seems to be enjoying herself at the water park... a little too much in fact.

I'm impressed that Rito is only slightly bruised after belly flopping from the 10m dive board.

The next day at Mikado-sensei's clinic, an aquatic alien reports that he had lost his dangerous pet. Meanwhile, Lala phones up all of her friends and invites them to go visit the brand new water park. Almost every character shows up in the water park including even Kyouko and Run who are there to perform a concert. While the girls play around, Saruyama remarks that Rito can now talk to girls in swimsuits without fainting, and hypothesizes that this has something to do with Lala staying in Rito's house. Rito then stares at Lala in the pool and wonders if Saruyama's words are true. While everyone is having fun in the water park, a pair of prowling eyes emerges from one of the pools.

The mineralun agrees that Haruna is yummy.

If you can get both, why not get both?

As Kyouko and Run are performing their concert at the water park, the perverted principal charges at them but is knocked away by a slimy tentacle. Slimy tentacles then start groping Kyouko and Run, but the two starlets escape thanks to Kyouko's fire. At another park of the park, Rito is sitting on the edge the pool watching Haruna and Lala play with each other. Rito is now undecided as to which girl he likes more, and Momo emerges between Rito's legs (from the pool) and starts teasing Rito. Suddenly, the two of them are grabbed by a slimy tentacle and lifted off the ground, and the others spot a big blobby creature emerging from the waters. Nana identifies the creature as Mineralun, a rare, primitive alien aquatic creature, and Oshizu remembers from Mikado-sensei's clinic that an alien lost a pet that fits the description. The alien goes on to grab some of the other girls, but they are cut free by Yami. Momo also frees herself and Rito with her tail laser, and this sends Rito tumbling into Nana who then sends Rito flying for his indiscretion. Since the Mineralun is a liquid life form, Yami won't be able to cut it, and Nana states that the creature is too dumb to be talked to. While everyone is busy talking, the Mineralun snatches Haruna and swallows her into its liquid body, and it also engulfs Lala with a big wave. The two girls are unable to swim out and start to drown. Without thinking about himself, Rito jumps into mineralun and tosses both Lala and Haruna back out, but he becomes trapped inside the mineralun's watery body. Nana suggests that the mineralun can be defeated if its nucleus is attacked, and Yami dives into action by transforming into a mermaid. Inside the mineralun, Yami quickly finds the nucleus and whacks it with a hammer. With the mineralun dazed, Lala pulls out an energy sword and slices open the alien amoeba, thereby freeing the unconscious Rito. While he is recovering in Lala and Haruna's arms, Rito realizes that he loves both Lala and Haruna. Soon after, Mikado-sensei arrives with the owner of the mineralun to take now platter-sized amoeba away.

Awesome Yami moment. Black Cat fans, eat your heart out.

We'll see if they ever get to this stage.

Near the changing room at the water park, Rito manages to get a moment alone with Lala in front of the changing room. Rito confesses his love to Lala, but states that he also likes another girl, but Lala already knows that it's Haruna. While Rito is flustered, Lala is very happy since Rito admitted that he likes her and assures Rito that he can marry as many girls as he wants once he marries her and becomes the king of the universe. Lala then sends Rito on his way to confess to Haruna by strapping him to a jet pack. After a run-in with Yami, Rito find Haruna is about to confess. Nearby, Oshizu tries to use her mind powers to bring Rito and Haruna together, but she gets distracted by Celine and ends up ripping off Haruna's bikini. Haruna runs off to fix her bikini, but Rito has his eyes closed and ends up saying “I love you” to Nana, Yui, Run, and Misato-sensei. Lala arrives and suggest that Rito marry everybody, and Rito is in even more trouble than ever. To be continued (?)

The troubles continue.

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It's appropriate that the last episode of Motto To Love-Ru covers the material from the final four chapters of the original To Love manga series plus segments from two earlier plot development chapters. This episode was the only episode of this season where the entire episode was one continuous story instead of three unrelated segments, although it wasn't significantly better than the other episodes due to how the abrupt ending of the original manga series. There was plenty of fan service, some groping, Rito playing hero, and a bit of the rare relationship development. Those things together made for an okay season finale, but wasn't anything to write home about.

Overall, Motto To Love-Ru was an alright show. There isn't much in the way of plot or action, but there was plenty of ecchi-ness and some decent comedic moments. This season of the show was much more consistent than the first season and the OVAs. Production quality has gone up, and there were no more extremely crappy anime-original stories, and that adds up to a pretty significant improvement. The three manga chapters per episode format was not exactly creative, but at least the episodes were watchable which can't be said for some of the first season and OVA episodes. The only thing I complained about a lot was the censoring, but that was a bit of entertainment on its own given now that there is nothing in the story for me to rant about.

So in the end, nothing was really resolved, but there are some developments in the central love triangle. Rito now admits that he likes both Haruna and Lala, and Lala knows that Haruna likes Rito as well. Those who follow To Love knows that the story is continuing in To Love-Ru Darkness, but it'll be a while before that series accumulates enough material to be made into an anime series. They can always make more OVAs though, as there are still plenty of chapters from the original To Love manga which haven't been covered yet by the anime.

Sekirei 109

Minato let the Disciplinary Squad take Uzume away and Miya returns to the inn.

You crazy kids! Look what you did to my inn while I was gone!

Summary:
Minato asks Natsuo what MBI will do with Uzume after they take her back. Natsuo explains that retrieval is normally Takami's job, but she is busy taking care of Chiho. Natsuo explains that Uzume's body is still alive, and Minato needs to hand her over so Uzume can receive proper treatment and put into storage.

Minato hands over Uzume and watches as MBI's helicopters fly away. At this moment, Miya returns and she can sense that Uzume is gone. Minato argues that Uzume's body is still alive, but Miya states that the Uzume they knew is gone forever. Miya then proceed to hand back the jinki (that Homura had given her for safekeeping) back to Minato, and Minato suddenly sees Miya completed naked. Minato wonders what Miya really is, and Miya asks if Minato has the courage to be the hero of hope.

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This actually came out a couple days ago, but I was too busy with my final exams to blog. Anyways, it's a really short chapter this time, and the fact that we had to wait a month for it makes it even worse. With only 11 pages, not much can really happen. So Minato hands over Uzume without fighting the Disciplinary Squad, but that's not necessarily a bad thing since Minato really should be busting Higa's chops instead. Miya's return makes for some interesting possibilities, but Minato doesn't have all the jinkis so he can't claim Miya as the prize just yet (if she is indeed the prize). It'd be hilarious though if the first thing Miya said upon returning is to scold Minato for damaging the inn. Hopefully she'll make a comment on that later.

Supposedly the next chapter is a "special" chapter, so chances are it'll be another month before we are back on the current storyline. Ugh.

To Aru Majutsu no Index II 11

Touma and company try to catch Oriana but aren't having much luck.

Should listen to your mother Mikoto. It appears Touma is like his dad and prefer girls with larger bosoms.

Summary:
Touma has lunch with Index, his parents, Mikoto and Misuzu, and during the meal Index complains about all the attractive females around Touma, Misuzu teases Mikoto about her lack of growth in the chest area and Shiina catches Touya peeking at Misuzu's bosom once again. Meanwhile, Oriana is still wandering about the city waiting for the right moment to go ahead with the plan and chatting with her boss Lidvia using spell tags.

Mikoto finally learns the proper way to handle Touma.

After the lunch, Kuroko catches up to Mikoto, and the two misinterpret a scene between Index and Touma (Touma was hugging Index by the waist to see if she got fatter) and Touma is chased away. Touma manage to shake Mikoto and Kuroko, but she is then met by Aisa who wants him to help Komoe who is having trouble stopping Stiyl from smoking. Suddenly Touma gets a phone call from Motoharu asking help to track Oriana down, and Touma and Stiyl run off, leaving Aisa to deal with Komoe.

Stiyl demonstrates a variation of Monkey in the Middle that involves juggling.

Motoharu to Oriana: Your leg is so soft and smooth. What kind of moisturizer do you use?

Since Stiyl doesn't know how to set up a tracking spell on his own, Motoharu is left with the task and directs Touma and Stiyl via cell phone. Touma and Stiyl close in on Oriana, but suddenly Oriana changes directions and heads right towards Motoharu, and Stiyl and Touma don't know where Motoharu is. Oriana locates Motoahru and after brief battle Motoharu is wounded, but he managed to take down Oriana's barrier and tells Oriana that he had used magic to call for Kaori's help. The prospect of fighting a saint takes Oriana aback a bit, and this allows Motoharu to create a smoke screen to make the getaway. Motoharu is too hurt to use the tracking spell, but he does give Stiyl his current location using the cell phone and reveals that he lied Oriana about calling for help.

Another of Touma's harem candidates goes down. Touma is now understandably pissed.

Oriana flees from the scene of the battle with Motoharu and wanders into a park where she bumps in Komoe and Aisa, causing Komoe to spill water onto Aisa's shirt. Oriana spots the cross Aisa is wearing and thinks Aisa is a Necessarius magician, and thus Oriana uses a spell that badly wounds Aisa. Touma and Stiyl are on their way to Motoharu's location when they spot the commotion around Aisa who is lying a pool of blood. Stiyl uses a spell to drive the onlookers away and tells Touma that the only thing they can do is stop Oriana, but Stiyl then spots Komoe trying to use the healing spell Index taught her. Stiyl then decides to stay and help Komoe with the spell, and Touma, now with even more motivation, is tasked with stopping Oriana.

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Wasn't expecting much this week after the seeing the preview that seemed all over the place, but this episode turned out to be alright even though it was still a bit all over the place, especially with Aisa randomly receiving a blood-letting from Oriana. There was also Stiyl calling Orsola and Sherry Cromwell about some sort of coded message and I'm not really sure what that was either. Despite this, things weren't too bad after Touma shook off the girls and the chase started again, because at least the atmosphere of the chase is there and Touma now has even more motivation to punch Oriana some more.

There was plenty of things to nitpick on though. Firstly, it was somewhat strange that both Touma and Stiyl wandered off after the action of the previous episode and left Motoharu himself to try to spot Oriana. Touma had an excuse because he went to meet his parents for lunch, but why did Stiyl wander off on his own? Just for some smokes and a phone call? Anyways, the trio isn't very well organized this episode as the team also didn't bother to communicate Motoharu's location and Motoharu ended up having to take on Oriana by himself. Motoharu has better fighting skills than Touma, but without the Imagine Breaker he didn't stand much of a chance. I did like how this fight started sans a speech from either party, and that's probably one of the benefits of not having Touma in a fight. The brief battle between Motoharu and Oriana was decent, but it was weird how during one sequence where Oriana sat down on the floor for what looked like a low kick, but then Motoharu went and grabbed her leg and ended up getting kicked in the face. No idea what Motoharu was trying to do there... unless all he wanted to do was give Oriana's leg a feel. At least Motoharu managed to lie his way to safety though.

Overall, not much progress from the good guy's perspective. Oriana is still free, and now Aisa is hurt and Motoharu is more hurt. The only thing this can lead to is Touma saving the day by punching Oriana (and perhaps her boss too?) some more in the face at the last possible moment before Academy City is turned into Roman Catholic territory. As long as the series cut down on the speeches and focus more on the chase and the fighting then things should be alright.

Deadman Wonderland 39-B

Another "B" chapter from Deadman Wonderland where Ganta continues to battle the Red Man.

The final battle...?

Summary:
The Red Man destroys the floor where Ganta is standing. As Ganta falls into the hole, he thinks about all the people that the Red Man has taken from him and becomes enraged. Ganta fires his Ganta Gun at the Red Man. The Red Man tries to block the projectile but Ganta's attack flies right through the Red Man's Branch of Sin and grazes the Red Man, causing the mask to fall off. As Ganta falls further down, he catches a glimpse of the Red Man's face and is shocked to see Shiro behind the mask.

Some time afterwards, Makina's side has collected the bodies of the dead in a gym and quarantined the rest of the Forgeries. Makina's comrades wonder if the operation can be counted as a success, but then they realize that the Red Man is still on the loose. Meanwhile, a physically and emotionally battered Ganta stands at the doorway of the gym as the dead bodies (include Azami's) are carried out, and he is unable to do anything other than stare blankly ahead.

In a secret room somewhere, Sakigami and the twins are watching over the sleeping Shiro and Sakigami wonders why Shiro let Ganta and the others live. Sakigami then states that Ganta's powers are as abnormal as Shiro's and all the key pieces are in place.

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Lol there I was looking for chapter 40 when they came out with 39-B. I thought after 38 and 38-B they weren't going to pull one of these again, but turns out this might become a habit. Anyways, this chapter was THE big moment where Ganta finally learns that Shiro is the Red Man. The set up leading up to the big reveal was quite nice, but instead of moving straight on to the final battle though, the series abruptly cut to the aftermath after Shiro and Sakigami decide to retreat. It's one way to make the series longer, and also gives some time for Ganta to overcome his emotional scars, but I kind of wanted to see what Ganta would do if the Red Man didn't retreat. The final battle has been delayed, but eventually Shiro and Ganta will have to battle each other for real, and I'm looking forward to see how much drama that'll generate.

Naruto 521

Kabuto finishes explaining the zombie technique to Madara while the war continues.

A volcano that spits out naked men is a sight to behold.

Summary:
Kabuto explains that the zombie technique has no downsides except fame and the only ways to stop it are to seal all the resurrected souls or to control Kabuto himself and make him release the jutsu. Madara is not entirely satisfied but allows Kabuto to leave, and Kabuto thinks that he's invincible with his zombie technique and another secret jutsu. After Kabuto is gone, Black Zetsu appears and confirms that Kabuto has been planted with White Zetsu's spores. Madara then sends Black Zetsu off to his own tasks.

Meanwhile, the war continues on. Chuukichi joins up with another group of zombies. Elsewhere, the division led by Kitsuchi (the father of Kurotsuchi) engages the the thousands of white Zetsus after forcing the Zetsus onto the surface. At another location, Sai and the ambush squad are knocked out of the sky by Haku, but Kakashi's group arrive to make the save. Kakashi, Haku and Zabuza catch up on some old times, but back at the evil lair Kabuto changes up the zombie technique with help from Anko's body.

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Kabuto and Madara haven't come to blows just yet, but the backstabbing has probably already begun. Kabuto is still confident he can get Madara with a secret technique, while Madara has spores planted on Kabuto. Watching the uneasy alliance between these two is a bit more entertaining than the fights that went on, and hopefully the next round of battles will be better. The Shinobi Army is likely in trouble since the Zetsus probably can't be killed easily either, and Kabuto is also doing something to the zombies. We'll see if passing on will still work on Haku and Zabuza, but some of the zombies will probably have to be sealed or immobilized. The battles between secondary characters can probably last quite a while given how many of them are in the series, so it might be a long time before Naruto comes out and saves the day.

One Piece 608

The Straw Hats reach Fishman Island but the crew is separated once again.

Welcome to paradise.

Summary:
Luffy emphatically tells Hammond that he isn't going to serve under the "New Fishman Pirates". As Hammond gets ready to sic his sea monsters on the Straw Hats, Franky activates the Coup de Burst and the Sunny blasts right past the sea monsters and into the giant bubble of Fishman Island. The ship loses its own coating upon going through the first bubble, but crew realize that their speed will carry them through the next bubble layer and into the enclosed waters within the Island. The Sunny bursts through and the crew members are separated by the currents.

Luffy wakes up and finds himself being watched over by Sanji, Usopp, Chopper and a quintuplet of small mermaids. It turns out the four Straw Hats were swept into the Mermaid Cove and were saved by the mermaids and brought to Keimi's apartment. With the Straw Hats' clothes dried, Keimi takes Luffy and company outside for a little tour, and during the tour Keimi explains that Hacchin is back in the rough Fishman District while her starfish Pappug is now a rich designer living in the good part of town. Keimi then takes her guests to meet the other mermaids and Sanji is both overjoyed and struggling to stay upright at the same time. While the Straw Hats are taking in their surroundings, a couple of mermaids also wonder about the barrel carrying Caribou.

In a place in the Fishman District known as "Noah", Hammond reports to his boss about the Straw Hats, and the boss tells Hammond to bring Luffy to him.

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As expected, the Straw Hats escape from Hammond and the sea monsters and make it into Fishman Island, but the crew is separated once again. Luffy's group lucked out (especially Sanji) and made it into the mermaid part of town, but the rest of the crew have probably been swept to the not-so-nice parts of island. Sanji's reactions to all the pretty mermaids were a bit disappointing though. The Newkamas really did a number on him. The New Fishman Pirates seem to be the bad guys for now, but there is another force called the Neptune Army and it sounds like both sides are trying to recruit strong fighters into their groups. The Straw Hats might find themselves in the midst of a power struggle. If it was the usual One Piece, then one side is clearly the bad guys and the Straw Hats will end up helping the good guys, but I wonder what will the Straw Hats do if both sides are equally undesirable.

Bleach 431

Ichigo meets Ginjou at Xcution's hideout.

One benefit of joining our group is that you get free drinks at our full service bar. Bet ya that none of the clubs you've joined had a bar this nice huh?

Summary:
Ichigo calls the number on the card, and after following some instructions to dial and redial some numbers he finally reaches Ginjou, and the two agree to meet up tomorrow night at 8 at a dirty apartment building. The next day at school, Orihime asks if Ichigo has seen Chad as Chad doesn't appear to be around. Orihime asks if Ichigo wants to go with her to check on Chad, but Ichigo declines as he has to meet Ginjou in the evening. Later in the day, Orihime visits Chad's apartment but no one is home. Orihime decides to leave some bread and a message at the door and prays that Chad hasn't been attacked.

At night, Ichigo meets up with Ginjou at the agreed upon location. Ginjou leads Ichigo into a building's elevator and asks Ichigo to swipe his black card at a door. The door opens and inside is a cushy bar along with three of Ginjou's comrades. Before getting to talking about what Ichigo wants (finding who attacked Uryuu), Ginjou explains that the purpose of his group is to help Ichigo get back his shinigami powers.

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We all kind of knew Ichigo was going to get his shinigami powers back sooner or later, but I found it funny that Ginjou's group is formed for that very purpose. Of course, Ginjou and company probably have other motives, but it's now more or less confirmed that Ichigo is going to get his powers back at the end of this arc. Ginjou's group probably want something that only Ichigo (with shinigami powers) can get for them, and we'll just have to wait and see if these guys are doing it for good or evil. Either way, Ginjou is in control of the situation right now and is manipulating Ichigo into getting what he wants.

Other Ichigo joining the gang, Chad has gone missing, but there is nothing to worry about as good guys never die in Bleach. It'd be funny if Chad turns up to be perfectly fine a couple chapters later, but that would ruin the suspense the series is trying to build in this arc.

Motto To Love-Ru 11

Mikan gets jealous of Momo; after being sprayed by Celine's pollen, Yami forces Rito to go on a date with her; and Nana visits Haruna's apartment after saving Malone.


Part 1 Summary:
Mikan and her two friends are walking home from school, and her friends wonder why the popular Mikan doesn't go out with any guys. One of Mikan's friends suggests that it's because Mikan has a really cool brother, and this gets Mikan all flustered. Later at home, Mikan finds Rito and the Devilukean sisters playing video games together, and Mikan becomes a little concerned when she sees Momo draped all over Rito. Afterwards, Mikan gives Momo a friendly warning about not sticking to Rito too closely. Mikan wonders what Mikan is up to by sneaking into Rito's room at night, but Momo just laughs it off without providing a real answer. Mikan finds Momo's actions very suspicious and decides to do some investigating.

Marshmallows that bite.

Late at night when everyone else is asleep, Mikan sneaks onto Rito's bed because she wants to catch Momo in the act. Some time later, Momo still hasn't shown up and Mikan turns her attention to the sleeping Rito. Mikan playfully pokes Rito in the face, but to Mikan's surprise Rito turns around grabs her hips, thinking they are marshmallows. Mikan eventually gets Rito to let go by pinching his face, and she starts wondering what she's trying to do by sneaking onto Rito's bed. Suddenly lightning flashes outside the house and Mikan becomes frightened. As if by instinct, the sleeping Rito turns around again and holds Mikan in his arms while telling Mikan not to be scared. Mikan then remembers that Rito had always comforted her when she was scared of thunder and lightning and she slowly dozes off.

In the morning, Rito wakes up and is surprised to find Mikan sleeping beside him, and Mikan realized that she must have fell asleep. To both of their surprise, Momo pops up beside the bed and starts making fun of Mikan. Mikan tells Momo to stop misinterpreting situations, while Rito wonders what's going on with the two girls.

Two is a company; three is a crowd.

Lol borrow... it's like Rito is Lala's pet or something.

Part 2 Summary:
Celine had gotten drunk after drinking cola from the fridge, and now she is running on the streets with Rito and Lala trying to catch her. Celine runs into a park where Yami is sitting on a bench and she sprays Yami with her pollen. Lala grabs Celine and goes home, but Rito is “borrowed” by Yami who is now infatuated with Rito thanks to Celine's pollen. Yami first decides to treat Rito to some taikyaki. After seeing a woman feed a taiyaki to her boyfriend, Yami tries it herself and jams a half dozen taiyakis into Rito's mouth. Rito has to go to a washroom to clear his mouth, and afterwards Rito notices that Yami has changed her outfit. Yami explains that she used her transformation ability to change her clothing and asks what Rito thinks, and Rito states that the clothes suit Yami. Yami and Rito continue to walk together and Yami gets embarrassed by Rito's glances. A person bumps into Rito from behind, and Rito ends up groping Yami. Yami would have normally pulverized Rito, but in her current state Yami instead gets real close to Rito and wants to experience a kiss. Despite the temptation, Rito manages to hold his ground and push Yami away. At this moment, the effects of Celine's pollen wears off, and Yami instinctively slaps Rito away. Now back to her normal self, Yami wonders why Rito declined the kiss, and Rito states that it would have been hurtful since Yami wasn't in the right state of mind. Yami calls Rito an idiot for thinking of the person who wants to kill him, but she flashes a smile and states that she likes idiot. Because of Rito's good performance, Yami promises that when it comes to the time to kill Rito, she'll give him a quick and painless death.

Good to have you back, normal Yami.

Part 3 Summary:
Rito wakes up in the morning and finds a Devilukean tail in his hands belonging to Momo, and Nana walks into the scene soon after and starts yelling at Rito. Later in the morning, Nana asks Momo what she sees in a perverted guy like Rito, but Momo doesn't give a satisfying answer. To let off some steam, Nana goes out for a walk. As she walks, the only thing she can think about is how Rito is weak and useless, although she does admit that Rito did put his life on the line to save Lala during the watermelon debacle. Nana then turns her attention to a small dog walking alone on the streets. The dog starts crossing a street, but he fails to notice an approaching car. Nana dives into action and pulls the dog out of harm's way, but her momentum carries her and the dog into the nearby river. After getting back on dry land, Nana talks to the dog (Nana can talk to animals), and the dog identifies himself as the Boston terrier Malone Sairenji. Nana seems to recall hearing the name Sairenji somewhere but she can't quite remember who it is. Anyways, Malone explains that he got seperated from his owner when they were out for a walk, and now he is lost in the city. Nana decides to help the cute doggie find his owner, so she asks him to describe his owner. Much to Nana's chagrin, Malone describes his owner in terms of her scent and her love life, and he lets slip that his owner seems to like someone named Rito Yuuki. At this moment, Haruna appears on the scene looking for Malone, and she is surprised to see Nana and Malone together. From what Malone just told her, Nana realizes that if Haruna is Malone's owner, then that must mean that Haruna likes Rito.

Malone wanted to repay Nana for saving his life.

Nana has followed Haruna back to her apartment, where Haruna offered to wash and dry Nana's wet clothes. As the clothes are being washed, Nana meets Haruna's older sister Akiho. Akiho immediately pulls Nana into her arms and comments on how the little princess is a cutie just like Lala. Haruna tells her sister to stop, but Akiho teases Haruna by saying that Haruna liked to be hugged when whe was little. Through these interactions, Nana realizes that Haruna loves Akiho, just like how Nana herself loves Lala. Haruna's dog Maron inserts himself into the conversation by grabbing hold of Nana's tail. After Haruna removes Maron from Nana, Akiho leaves the apartment for a date (hinted to be with Yu Kotegawa, Yui's older brother). Now that Akiho is gone, Nana asks Haruna about her feelings for Rito. Haruna is shocked that Nana knows about her feelings, and Nana reveals that she heard it from Maron. Nana doesn't understand why Lala and Haruna like Rito, since Rito seems to be just an average guy who doesn't stand out. Haruna states that she likes Rito because she always have a warm and calm feeling when she's Rito. As expected, the young Nana doesn't get what Haruna means, so Haruna suggests to Nana to spend more time with Rito. Nana changes topics and asks why Haruna hasn't confessed her feelings. Haruna admits to Nana that part of the reason is that she doesn't want to lose Lala as a friend. Deep in her own heart, Haruna questions herself about whether she can be a true friend to Lala if she doesn't reveal her true feelings.

Haruna, I thought you were a nice girl, but here you are abusing your dog. I'm disappointed.

After her clothes have been dried, Nana departs from Haruna's apartment to go back to Rito's house, but she is forced to seek shelter when it starts to rain. To Nana's surprise, Rito has come out to look for her. As Rito hands Nana an umbrella, Nana takes a moment to think about what Haruna said about the warm and calm feeling when she's with Rito. However, the young Devilukean princess quickly snaps out of it and once again belittles Rito in typical fashion.

After her conversation with Nana, Haruna is seriously considering telling Lala that she also likes Rito. The next day at school, Haruna is sitting outside alone when Lala arrives to check on her. Lala had noticed from Haruna didn't look quite right from before, and thought that Haruna might have a fever. Seeing Lala's genuine show of friendship, Haruna decides that she can't hide her feelings any longer. Haruna musters up all of her courage and reveals to Lala that she also likes Rito.

It's a declaration of war!!!

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Two random stories for the first two segments just like usual, but the long last segment actually had some plot development in regards to the love triangle between Rito, Lala, and Haruna, which can only mean that the series is nearing its end. The last segment was a combination of parts from three manga chapters, and there are one or two after that which directly follows up to what happened at the end of this episode. It's one of the few moments in the whole series where there was actually some progress in the relationships, so I guess enjoy it while it lasts lol. As for where things will go after Haruna's declaration to Lala, well... I won't ruin it for those who haven't read the manga. Judging from the previews, it looks this season of To Love will probably end next week with the episode covering the last few chapters of the manga.

While the last segment was more serious in nature, the first two segments were the usual cute and amusing stories. Mikan has plenty of reasons to feel threatened by Momo, but I don't think Mikan can do much about Momo given how devious the latter is. This was proven in the segment where Momo turned Mikan's sting attempt around so she gets to make fun of Mikan at the end. As for the butt groping by Rito on Mikan, I'm sure the doujin circles given that scenario a lot of coverage lol. This is probably not the end of the little conflicts between Mikan and Momo though. Moving on to the second segment, it's always fun to see Yami acting moe once in a while, but the best moment was when she recovered and immediately sent Rito sprawling with a slap. Yami's feelings towards Rito are still unclear at this point, but things will gradually go one way or the other in the Darkness manga.

To Aru Majutsu no Index II 10

Touma and Motoharu tries to intercept Oriana.

Isn't bus bombing a terrorist activity?

Hot girls like to play hard to get, and Oriana is no exception.

Summary:
With Oriana's counter spell tag removed, Stiyl can use magic again, and he using the tracking spell to located Oriana and gives the info to Touma and Motoharu. Touma and Motoharu catch up to Oriana who tries to escape via bus, but Stiyl has left runes on all the buses and detonates the rune since no one else was on the bus. Oriana survives and uses a spell to incapacitate Motoharu, and Touma is unable to dispel the attack and thus has to face Oriana on his own. After Touma gives his hero speech, Oriana uses one new spell after another to toss Touma around and also whacks Touma with the object she is carrying, but Touma uses his tried and true method of running straight at the opponent and manages to punch Oriana in the face, causing her shirt to unbutton. Oriana is down but not out, and she quickly escapes to a bridge above but leaves the object she was carrying behind. Before running away, Oriana tells Touma that her spell on Motoharu is only temporary.

Touma increases his "girls punched" total to 3.

Bet you really want some ice cream right now.

After the battle, Touma phones Stiyl who tells Touma to destroy the Stab Sword Oriana is supposedly transporting. Touma unwraps the object Oriana was carrying and discovers that it's just a sign. Back at England, the Royal Museum informs Laura that the Stab Sword doesn't actually exist, and the sword object is actually an artifact called Pietro's Cross. Back in Academy City, Stiyl explains to Touma and Motoharu that Pietro's Cross can put Academy City under the control of the Roman Catholics, and that would upset the balance of magic and science so Oriana must be stopped. Touma wanders off on his own thinking about things and is spotted by Index. Index tries to show off her cheerleader outfit to Touma, but Touma doesn't quite get it and ends up earning several knuckle sandwiches from Index.

Since biting can lead to accidental kisses, using fists is a better idea.

See there Mikoto. If you can develop a demonic aura then Touma will be under your control.

Elsewhere in the city, Touma's parents run into Misuzu Misaka again and Misuzu introduces Mikoto and Touma's parents to each other. The two families agree to have lunch together, and during the conversation Touma's dad is bumped into by Oriana who has changed to a different outfit. Later, Touma and Index meet up with Touma's parents along with Misuzu and Mikoto at a restaurant. Mikoto and Index almost end up having a catfight, and Touma and Index are surprised that Misuzu is actually Mikoto's mother.

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Touma fights Oriana and punches in the face as expected, but the story arc isn't quite over yet. The battle between Touma and Oriana was decent enough and Oriana was handling Touma quite well by hitting him from different directions. Unfortunately, the ending to the battle was not too as good as Oriana just screwed up and went for a passive/reactive type of spell which allowed Touma to run in and punch her in the face. Touma was rather careless after landing the hit and just let Oriana get back up and whisk herself out of reach. Touma has a good punch, but he should have known by now that most people don't get knocked out by just one shot (the only person I remember who was KOed with just one punch was Stiyl).

The truth about Oriana and her employer's mission has been revealed, but strangely Touma is now back to dealing with his family and female companions instead of helping Stiyl and Motoharu stop Oriana. The stuff between Touma and Index was so-so, but it was kind of fun once Mikoto and Misuzu were added to the mix. I loved Mikoto commented "like father like son" after seeing Touma's dad ogle Oriana, and it's funny because her observation is completely correct even though she didn't see Touma's initial run-in with Oriana. The preview for next week looks rather offbeat with Aisa appearing, Komoe talking to Stiyl and getting dirty, and Kuroko trying to run Touma down with her wheelchair. Motoharu will fight Oriana, but he is probably going to have an even harder time given he has no Imagine Breaker to bail him out.