Posted inFirst Impressions Mawaru Penguindrum

Mawaru Penguindrum – 03

「そして華麗に私を食べて・・・」 (Soshite Karei ni Watashi wo Tabete...)
"Then Eat Me Splendidly"

Interestingly enough, seeing a cat run into a penguin and a fish smack a girl on her big forehead doesn't seem all that weird anymore after two episodes of Mawaru Penguindrum. I had no idea what to make of that commercial before the series started airing and now it seems like a completely ordinary scene, as does the murder-like one involving a huge pot of curry.

Posted inBLOOD-C First Impressions

BLOOD-C – 03

「ひとはいさ」 (Hito wa Isa)
"With People..."

I'm not too sure how to take Nene and Nono's complaints about how boring their small town is, because it felt like CLAMP was trying to tell us that Blood-C's been purposely uneventful so far. It was as if they were mocking us by saying they're going to tell this story their way and that they could care less about any bandwagoners who have already hopped off.

Posted inFirst Impressions Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi

Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi – 03

「《月》が揺れるプールサイド」 ((Suki) ga Yureru Puuru Saido)
"(Month) of the Poolside Swing"

It must absolutely suck to be Haruka right now. Besides getting dropped on a moment's notice when a new girl appears, I feel so bad that she's trying to hard when there's so much working against her -- and it's not like these are thing she could even deal with!

Posted inDantalian no Shoka First Impressions

Dantalian no Shoka – 02

「胎児の書」 (Taiji no Sho)
"Book of the Fetus"

Huey and Dalian appear to be both smart and knowledgeable, and despite a few stereotypical nods towards the tsundere from Dalian they're refreshingly free of the "male and female lead" baggage we see in most anime. She's a demon, and he's a rather callous and hard man who's seen far too much death, apparently. I guess a world war and family tragedy can turn anyone from Kana Hanazawa into a cold-hearted badass.

Posted inFirst Impressions Usagi Drop

Usagi Drop – 03

「ダイキチの決めたこと 」 (Daikichi no Kimetakoto) “Daikichi’s Decision”

I burst out laughing in the first minute of this episode when Daikichi smashed Rin’s head into the ceiling, probably because it was so unexpected and reminded me of when I was little and my uncle hoisted me up into the air -- I almost had my head chopped off by the ceiling fan.

Posted inFirst Impressions NO.6

NO.6 – 03

「生と死と」 (Sei to Shi to)
"Life and Death"

NO.6 feels very much like an anime that was produced at the time the first novel of this series was written - 1999. And I'll give credit to BONES for being true to that.

Posted inFirst Impressions Kami-sama Dolls

Kami-sama Dolls – 03

「攻め来たるは・・・」 (Semekitaru wa...)
"The One who Comes Attacking is..."

I didn't expect to see Suou (Sendai Eri) again, but she sure made an immediate impact, snapping back at Utao's cold behavior toward her goodhearted head and cheek rubbing. The latter made wonder if the series is intentionally trying to make Utao come off as a pet of sorts, especially with all the squeamish noises that Fukuen Misato was making.

Posted inFirst Impressions Steins;Gate

Steins;Gate – 16

「犠牲壊死」 (Gisei Eshi Nekurōshisu)
"Sacrificial Necrosis"

The theorizing and postulating and guessing and spoiling is going to be gangbusters after this episode - it'll happen in blog comments and forums and everywhere Steins:Gate is sold. I'm not going to ignore it by any means, but the main point I want to get across here is this - that was an absolutely fantastic and emotionally powerful episode.

Posted inFirst Impressions Natsume Yuujin-chou

Natsume Yuujin-chou San – 03

「偽りの友人」 (Itsuwari no Yūjin)
"False Friend"

This is what Natsume Yuujinchou is. It's snapshots from the life of lonely, often doomed humans and youkai passing through this life, and the impact their brief moments of interaction - and those with Natsume himself - have on them. There's comfort in these small moments of connection, but it rarely lasts. Ultimately, even youkai leave this world as they come into it - alone.