lathspel

This show has made me tear up more than once, and it has been really pretty, if not particularly deep. I'll miss the mindless distraction and infrequent awesome battle scenes, but not the relatively flat relationships. I will miss Asuna, I really liked the combination of VA and character design. Kirito, in contrast, was a little too much wish fulfillment for me.

Parasite starts this weekend - new forum request is in the works. I'm starting to enjoy making these up, after only seeing the teaser: All Episodes Thread: In the Right Place, At The Right Time Trust No One: The Character Thread Give Me A Hand: Small Talk Edit: that was fast, new forum is there already: http://forums.previously.tv/forum/2116-parasyte/

I liked this ep, but it's getting a little predicable that everyone has a doppelgänger, to enable others to work out their issues. It seems like we've done that several times on this show.

It was ok, nice that Asuna worked things out. I actually appreciated that this one was a bit low on the action scale - I didn't have to look up often from my recent pastime of plucking our slow-shedding rabbit. (It's hard to tell, but I think he was keeping an eye on the VR bunnies in this ep.)

Agreed, it's a trope fest. It wouldn't be so obvious if the show didn't move fast and cover so much ground. Poor characterization is more obvious if you cram it in. Anybody else hoping the members of Night Raid would bring up the principle of equivalent exchange when Tatsumi started talking about bringing his friends back? I'm curious if the boss's arm is an Imperial Arm, as it were. I want Tatsumi to ask. I really like Sheele's VA, Jessica Boone. I don't remember her from anything else on Toonami.

So was it Rita's older guy partner, who left, that was stopping the circus people from going bad? Or that was going on all the time and Rita and Hatchin just hadn't gotten involved. They didn't actually have to name the Madam "Michiko" (or call her "the Madam" for that matter). I think we would've figured it out OK. I did love the shot where Hatchin bounces and slides down the balloon. The animation right then felt very whimsical, almost Ghibli, unlike the other action sequences on this show.

That episode was off the hook. Nice to see Finn's thorn come in handy again.

I enjoyed Mozu and Kiwi's reactions in the background (first half of the episode). The art style has really opened up since those first few episodes, hasn't it?

I figured Zanko would have some kind of sword arms, so that Tatsumi could get it. It was a nice turn that this wasn't the case, it's the first time this show hasn't been predictable. We don't know that Tatsumi didn't grab it, I guess, so it could be an amusing subplot later.

Michiko looks like crap but is not dead, because Atsuko still values their history somehow. Satoshi also seems to survive, although probably is not happy with his former deputy, Sideshow Bob. Last episode and this one - all about growing up and how we choose to become the adults we are. Hana's friend Rita with some very pointed references in particular - was that some veiled pubescent one-ups-womanship? They did a great job using the same VA (?) for 10-year-old Hiroshi as they have for Hana, and he looked almost the same. He has the LBOD tattoo on his arm also. No wonder Michiko recognized Hana right away. Seems like we might even see Hiroshi (only mostly dead!) before this is all done, although maybe he will not live up to Michiko's expectations?

I like that you could see the rain clouds sneaking up for a couple minutes before the last breath. It's enough of a trope that I watch for it. I really want to know about the techno dystopia where the leader of the Alatsuki was. That looked neat!

The Akatsuki get called back home to seal the two-tails, while Asuma smokes his last one. Asuma mentioned in the flashback that each of his shinobi would get their own squads. But that doesn't seem to have happened - Shikamaru was on Asuma's squad, while Choji and Ino were on the same squad. Unless that was only during the current Akatsuki emergency?

I'm definitely missing some pacing here - seems like a team member's back story should take least two episodes. Perhaps they knew it was only a one season deal? Or Mai is not going to live long. I am enjoying Tatsumi's mental asides - as a running gag it adds some humor to offset the crazy angst of the setting for this show.

Yeah, that's what's really going to bother Shikamaru for years after this I bet. I'm feeling good that I called Hidan being only mostly dead (if that). It tempers my bad feelings about Asuma's end (although, not having watched Naruto all the way through, I don't have a super strong attachment to him). I know I don't have a lot of shinobi training, but if I find that my opponent's decapitated head can still talk, and my other opponent starts to reattach it, you can bet I'm going to try and break that up. That part was psychically painful to watch.

That's also what I was wondering about - did Nami get all of her treasure off the ship? I can't remember if she spent it all in Water 7 or not. There were no flashbacks to Foxy, and that's OK.

It's a good question - if you start getting frostbite in the real world, will your dive gear warn you? I'm not spoilered, but my theory is that Zekken is another digital artifact like the "daughter". That's what Kirito means by full-time. I'm hoping Asuna gets the story on her own so we can avoid Kirito mansplaining it first.

Catching up. Three episodes back, Kakashi calls Yamato "Tenzo" in a moment of panic. Did we know that was Yamato's real name before? I liked the symmetry in the most recent episode - both Hidan and Shikamaru effectively steal their opponents' bodies, although in very different ways. I'm guessing it's not quite so easy to kill an immortal guy, but going for the head removal was still the best option. Hidan's face close ups while in Jutsu mode were a bit Mayuri Kurotsuchi I thought.

Yawn. Sometimes this show really goes in for exposition to build up a character, rather than letting you actually see what they are like. Also, the opening and closing title are working hard to ruin any mystery that's been established about Zekan. Hopefully it gets more interesting next time.

I agree, it did seem a bit generic - even to the point that you can guess the characters' personality types from just the group shot. That said, I'm liking the concept and hope the execution improves. The Capital looming in the background brings Honnouji Academy to mind... but I'm hoping against hope that it's really a Gunmen after all! Edit: speaking of FMA, didn't that really cover the "innocents in the danger of the Capital" better than anyone could have? I guess we'll see where it goes.

And it is live, just in time. http://forums.previously.tv/forum/1983-akame-ga-kill/

I forgot to mention last week that I enjoyed the symmetry of the marine with the loudspeaker. First he ruins Franky's day by reporting that the FF were all destroyed. But then he reports that Lucci is defeated as well. You might say he's "fair and balanced" ;) . This week - I expected dolphins, not the Going Merry. I also liked that it was Robin who saves Luffy at the end.

I dunno, the part where Gamagouri was the ultimate shield for Mako was pretty epic too. Good episode, and a reasonable way to close out (no pun intended) the insanity that was KLK.

I had heard of Caliburn, but only through a subplot from Homestuck. In an even nerdier opinion, Caliburn's presence in a Scandinavian-based mythos could make sense, if ALO is some representation of the conflict over the British Isles, which pitted the Welsh/Britons against the Anglo-Saxons, who shared some kinship with the Scandinavians. Some of the aspects of ALO seem derived from Old English culture, although it was probably just intended to be generic high fantasy.

I will request an Akame go Kill forum, once I think of a few good thread titles.

I'm enjoying (or at least appreciating?) the running gag that Chiriku's corpse is getting more bedraggled the farther the Akatsuki haul it. So why do the leaf shinobi allow a bounty collection site within their territory, if some of them are on it?