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a stt hajnal (Anya no Akatsuki)
"Dawn of the Dark Night"
There was no deux ex machina to give us a good ending, but the whole parallel worlds bit had its fair share of conveniences. The previous episode turned out to be a complete fake-out, with the majority of it being the bad outcome Kakeru foresaw with his Eye of Aeon.
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(Yakusoku Desu )
"It's a Promise "
Two seasons and 24 episodes later, we find ourselves at the end of the second run of Nogizaka Haruka. Things are left pretty open-ended for a possible third season, but whether or not we'll get one is anyone's guess. Here, the story concludes with a Nogizaka-funded trip to the hot springs, where Yuuto finds himself stranded out in a snowstorm with Haruka.
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() (Nogaruru Koto Kanawanu Rasen Kairou (Kusari))
"The Spiraling Cloister (Chain) of No Escape"
It's almost as if AIC ASTA's just flaunting their capabilities now. In addition to having a new ending theme/sequence each week, they've gone and tweaked the opening with some extra sound effects. When a studio has time to do all that, it sure gives me the impression they have this project in the bag. The story is well on track too, with Nymph's whole collar situation nearing its climax.
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(Reedaa Man)
"Radar Man"
"A professional manga artist and a pervert!?" Why Hajime acted so surprised about that I don't know, because those sure seem to go hand-in-hand a lot lately. I got a good chuckle from that, but this episode really shines with Kobayashi Yuu and Koshimizu Ami making guest appearances. Knowing Yuu's role as Mariya in Maria Holic, the craziness she can exude is well-suited for director Shinbou Akiyuki's works, much like it is here.
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(Aka to Midori no Ribon)
"Red and Green Ribbons"
Zazie is definitely the grouch of the holidays. With the Letter Bees dressing up as Holy Night messengers (i.e Santa) and delivering presents to less fortunate kids up north, he wasn't enjoying it one bit and made sure Lag knew every step of the way. While the two of them team up for this special occasion, Niche is unhappy about being force to stay at the Bee-Hive, but finds some dingo companionship in Wasiolka.
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(Nande mo Nai)
"It's Nothing"
It's just a hunch on my part, but Sumika x Ushio feels really close now. With Azusa aware of how they really feel about one another and taking a step back from Sumika, it's only a matter of time before Ushio realizes as well. Azusa handles herself quite gracefully after Tomoe offers a few words of wisdom, but oddly enough, a trip to the pool is what got us there.
