Posted inFirst Impressions Tegami Bachi

Letter Bee – 10

(Hikari no Shita)
"Under the Light"

The disgusting soup returns! We finally learn where Gauche got his questionable palette from as Sylvette proudly serves her original special soup. Appearance-wise it's deceivingly delicious, but Lag and Niche are quick to inform us otherwise. How something can look that good yet taste like total crap is beyond me, but that mystery is nothing compared to the one concerning Gauche.

Posted inAnime News CODE GEASS

New Code Geass Coming Soon?

So it looks like we can revive the discussion about whether Lelouch is dead or alive. According to a graphic on the mobile phone site for Code Geass, a new Geass project has been green-lit. Somehow, I'm not too shocked that this is happening, and really it was only a matter of time before Sunrise came back to this successful franchise. Two of the possibilities that came to mind are that it could be a direct sequel to R2, or it could be a completely different take, like Mai-Otome was to Mai-HiME. Astute observers will note that this announcement coincides with Lelouch's birthday. There's no word yet either whether it'll be an OVA or full series or what, but apparently there'll be more news in the new year.

Posted inFirst Impressions Nyan Koi!

Nyan Koi! – 10

(Aru Yoru no Dekigoto)
"The Incident That Night"

Magical shrine maidens fighting enraged artifact spirits? Not that I mind or anything when it's Kotone and Akari involved, but I feel like we're losing focus of a certain someone and his cat curse.

Posted inFirst Impressions Kampfer

Kampfer – 10

Falle (Hito Natsu no Keiken)
"Trap ~A Summer Experience~"

The "evil Kaede" look is proving to be quite sinister, yet dangerously alluring at the same time. It's definitely a nice change from her cute airheaded one. Problem is, it doesn't look like she has some forgivable split personality thing going on -- she's just a huge deceitful bitch. On the plus side, Natsuru lives out THE dream when he's forced into the women's public bath by a bunch of attractive girls.

Posted inManga Naruto (Manga)

Naruto 474 – And The Truth Comes Out


 

What a chapter. While the action may have died down (sorry shounen-fanatics), the story actually took a turn for the better. First off, Sai tells Naruto that all his friends have decided to kill Sasuke as well. It's for the sake of the world and all, but still a huge shock to Naruto when he hears that Sakura plans to kill him herself. Whether or not she can actually defeat a Kage/Jinchuuriki-level ninja is another story of course. It's too bad she wasn't born an Uchiha with a resolve like that though -- she'd be well on her way towards obtaining a Mangekyou.

After all the heated discussion before, I'm relieved to finally have it confirmed that Sakura's confession was merely her way of lifting a lifelong burden off Naruto. Yes she cares about him and thought this would make things easier on him, but I wouldn't be the least bit happy if I were in Naruto's shoes. Love may have been there, but evidently not the right kind, so it's still a pity/self-sacrificial confession in my eyes. It doesn't sit well with me that she tried to make him believe in a false love just to distract him from the matter at hand. So for that, kudos to Naruto for not buying it right from the onset.

Three cheers for Kakashi as the new acting Hokage? I'd so go for that over Danzou any day of the week, even though I find Kakashi's stamina and personal interest somewhat lacking for the position. His skills and character are definitely suited for the job though. As for the arrival of Gaara, I was happy to see him give Naruto some resolve on what to do about Sasuke, but his whole bit on becoming Kazekage long before Naruto's Hokage dream came off as a subtle shot. Obviously Gaara's way too serious to make jokes, especially seeing as he swore to protect Naruto with his life, but I laughed at the thought of him saying, "What's the holdup Naruto? I've been a Kage for so long already."

As usual, we have another great cliffhanger like this manga's well-known (hated?) for. While I'd be totally for another round of Sasuke vs Gaara after they've powered-up so much, Madara vs Danzou should be pretty good too. Out comes Danzou's right arm... another Uchiha body part he supposedly stole. Speaking of which, is anyone else a bit turned off by how stealing eyeballs and limbs is the "cool" way of powering up in this series? Whatever happened to promoting inner strength and doing things with your own abilities to young kids?