iDOLM@STER Episode 9

This episode starts out with the three girls from Ryuuguu Komachi acting in a detective-style film. They return to 765 Pro to find that the pudding Iori prepared for them has gone missing. Ami and Mami go into detective mode to try to find the culprit. They get close to finding out who it is, but Ami is forced to go to an audition, so Mami takes the Producer to stake out the dance place where Hibiki is (because she’s the suspect). However, they find out that she is long gone. Meanwhile, Ami is talking about the drama they were filming earlier on a radio broadcast when she realizes that the incident with the pudding is occurring in the same manner. Because of that, she realizes that the true culprit isn’t Hibiki and she yells to Mami to run, but at that moment, Takane comes from behind Mami to capture her…and kill a cockroach. Ami and Mami finally figure out that it was Miki who ate the pudding (and she admits to this immediately). However, the reason she ate it was because her own food was missing, caused by Ami and Mami. Everyone realizes that Ami and Mami have been eating their food a lot and chases them out. However, it is revealed at the end of the episode that Miki only ate one of the pudding cups, the rest of which were eaten by…Azusa! This episode kind of made me go “ehh…what?”

iDOLM@STER Episode 8

Alright, finally finishing up the stuff from yesterday. We start off with Makoto and Azusa being hired for a job in a wedding magazine, with Azusa in a wedding gown and Makoto in a tux. Azusa takes a phone call and finds herself outside when she finishes. Another woman in a similar dress runs into her, dropping a box that Azusa picks up. A bunch of men in suits show up and mistake Azusa for the bride and drag her off. Makoto shows up just ask Azusa is being forced into a car that drives off. The men realize that they have taken the wrong girl and kick Azusa out on the street. Azusa opens the box to find a ring with a ridiculously large gem on it. The men also realize that she has this ring and rush off to find her again. While Azusa deals with various things trying to get back like an old lady and some lost kids, Makoto and the men in suits frantically search around for her. While Makoto ends up fighting with the men in suits, Azusa is asked to watch over a divination stand and meets the groom of the bride from the beginning of the episode. Azusa gets on a Ferris Wheel by mistake and sees the bride, chasing after her to return the ring. Meanwhile Makoto and the men in suits also find Azusa and chase after her. The result is a large crowd following Azusa as she finally returns the ring. After meeting the groom, the bride finally agrees to marry him (what a shallow girl). This episode had so many insert songs…

iDOLM@STER Episode 7

Finally, I’m all caught up. I need to plan less things to do on Thursdays. Anyways, this week’s episode starts with a reporter at Iori’s mansion who is trying to report about Iori’s father, but she tries to promote herself and 765 Pro. Later, Iori and Hibiki decide to go to Yayoi’s house for dinner. They all go shopping and Iori shows off how spoiled she is at home. They finally reach Yayoi’s house, where they meet all of her siblings. Hibiki hits it off well with them and even Iori starts to enjoy herself. Iori talks with who seems to be Yayoi’s eldest younger brother, who tells her that he likes to help Yayoi out whenever he can because she’s so busy (aww). They all sit down for dinner and, after a short interruption from a blown fuse, dig in. Iori is hesitant at first because they’re only eating beans, but starts to enjoy it when she finally tries it. The eldest brother Chousuke gets angry at Yayoi when she lectures him for hitting his brother for trying to take his food, though, and runs off. Iori and Hibiki manage to convince Yayoi to go after him and search for him. Yayoi and Hibiki are unable to find Chousuke and Yayoi begins to worry, but the Producer appears to comfort her, having been called by Iori. After talking with the Producer, Iori realizes that Chousuke is still hiding in the house and finds him in the shed. She talks with him, comparing him to herself, and makes him realize that he shouldn’t be running. After a touching reunion with Yayoi, the rest of the gang starts to head home.

Kind of a cute episode. Why doesn’t Iori have pigtails? Sigh…way to bust the stereotype. Anyways, apologies for the tardiness of these posts, but I think I managed to get them done in good time.

iDOLM@STER Episode 6

This episode is like the episode of priceless expressions or something. So in this episode, Iori, Azusa, and Ami are chosen for Ryuuguu Komachi, which is Ritsuko’s project idea. With his competitive spirit engaged, the Producer decides to try his best to give the rest of the girls their own projects so they don’t lose to Ryuuguu Komachi. However, he becomes a tad overzealous and makes a lot of mistakes. He ends up matching girls with jobs that aren’t suited for them. He double books Hibiki, and Miki offers to replace her. She ends up being late, but she is able to learn the dance just from watching Makoto do it once, so the show ends up being a success. The girls all get together to watch Iori, Azusa, and Ami perform and it turns out well. This episode was pretty interesting, especially with surprise genius Miki. To be honest, I semi-expected it, but it was still cool.

I cracked up seeing Hamzou in this pose

iDOLM@STER Episode 5

We start this episode with a broken air conditioner at the studio, which triggers a trip to the beach (the obligatory beach episode!). We (the audience) are treated to random scenes on the beach with all of the girls, as well as an insert song (which sounded pretty good to me). Takane also shows off her impressive eating capabilities (what an intriguing character). After a long day at the beach, the girls go to stay at an old-fashioned inn. They chill, have an outdoor barbeque, and shoot off some fireworks. Afterwards, everyone goes to take a bath. The Producer, being the only guy, gets a nice bath to himself and Hamzou. Or so he thinks, as Miki walks in. The rest of the night, the girls talk and bond, but not too much else happens. But then again, it’s a beach episode, so just sit back and enjoy. When they get back, the President announces a new mystery project called Ryuugyuu Komachi (wonder what that is). Anyways…not much to say. Onward!

IDOLM@STER Episode 4

In this episode, some of the girls go on a show called Kero Kero Kitchen. The show is sort of a battle of chefs, which disappoints Chihaya because she had wanted the chance to sing. Her performance ends up being lackluster and she disappears during the commercial break. The Producer is able to find her by herself singing. After talking with the Producer, Chihaya decides to give the cooking show another try. Chihaya and Haruka don’t end up winning (I dunno how the judges decided when they didn’t eat the dishes), but the show ends up turning out well. I was kind of expecting the Producer to do something extravagant at the end like show up at Chihaya’s house with a bunch of the girls (Chihaya lives alone), but nothing like that happened. Oh well. It looks like next week is the obligatory beach episode, though.

iDOLM@STER Episode 3

Alright, so in this episode, the Producer (who still hasn’t been named) gets the girls a job, the first one he’s been able to get for them. However, it turns out to be in a small town. This episode seems to focus on Yukiho, who is afraid of men (even the Producer). She also reveals that she’s afraid of dogs as well (yeesh, what a pain). She’s able to get past all of these (with a little help from the Producer) and get on stage, though. She even finds out something about the Producer’s fears too. The event turns out to be a success, and the everyone makes the long trip back to the studio. So, I guess this show is gonna go through each of the girls and their individual issues or something? I dunno, but I’ll keep watching to find out.

Mayo Chiki, Mawaru Penguindrum, and iDOLM@STER Episode 2

Mayo Chiki

So this week, we get to see more of the feminine side of Subaru, as she is forced by Kanade to go out on a date with Jirou to help get him used to being around girls. Mostly, this episode is about the two of them bonding.

Mawaru Penguindrum

In this episode, the boys start out on their journey to find the Penguin Drum. Their strange benefactor tells them that there is a girl that is suspected of having it and they spend the day tailing her. The coolest part of this episode is definitely the penguins, which the boys use to do reconnaissance because they can’t be seen. Also, did I mention that the opening and ending themes are amazing?

iDOLM@STER

In this episode, they focus more on the younger girls while they redo a photo shoot. Not much to say about it. Mostly just goofy behavior and stuff.

Summer Season Begins

So, a lot of new series have started this week, so I’m gonna give my preliminary thoughts on them.

The first is Ro-Kyu-Bu. The protagonist, Hasegawa Subaru, is a former basketball player who is convinced by his aunt to coach an elementary school girls basketball team. The members of this team are Tomoka Minato, an experienced basketball player, Maho Misawa, an energetic girl, Airi Kashii, a shy girl who looks older than she really is and is incredibly sensitive of that, Saki Nagatsuka, presumed to be the smart one of the group (because of the glasses), and Hinata Hakamada, who acts very polite and a tad naive. So after seeing the first two episodes, I’m a little wary of a loli relationship popping up between Subaru and Tomoka. So far, it’s been a pretty cute story, though. We’ll see how it turns out.

Next, we have Kamisama Dolls. The protagonist, Kyouhei, moves out of his hometown to work in Tokyo. After drinking quite a bit one night, he and his friend Shiba find a dead body in an elevator. However, Kyouhei can’t help thinking the way of death is a little familiar. When he gets home, he runs into his sister Utao, who has followed him to the city with her “Doll”. The Dolls are believed to be some sort of god that can fight for them. However, another acquaintance of Kyouhei’s named Aki appears with his own Doll. It turns out Aki is responsible for the dead guy in the elevator, having broken free of his imprisonment at Kyouhei’s hometown to follow Kyouhei to Tokyo and wreak havoc. I have to say, the concept of this series is pretty interesting and I look forward to seeing where it goes. It will definitely be interesting to see if Kyouhei helps to fight Aki or if he just relies on Utao.

Next up we have Mawaru Penguindrum. This anime kind of made me go “what the heck?” when I saw it. The story centers around three siblings, Kanba, Shouma, and Himari. Himari is very sickly, so the other two tend to take care of her. While at the aquarium, Himari collapses, and after being rushed to the hospital, dies. However, while the two brothers are grieving, she suddenly gets up from her bed, having come back to life somehow. A miracle, right? But as Yuko always says, there has to be equal compensation to grant a wish. The next day, a box arrives filled with ice and three weird blue objects frozen within it. You guessed it, they’re penguins. One penguin for each of the siblings, and only they can see them. These penguins help around, doing things like cooking or grabbing forgotten items. The siblings find out that in return for their sister’s life, they must find the Penguindrum….weird. This series has a pretty crazy concept, but the penguins are pretty cool and it looks like it will be good. Guess there’s only one way to find out.

Still quite a few to go, but I’m gonna go through the next couple pretty quickly. First up, we have Ikoku Meiro no Croisee. This series actually takes place in Paris. A girl, Yune, comes to Paris to learn more about Western society. She stays with Claude, who owns an ironwork shop. This anime was pretty cute…I kind of threw me off because you could never tell if someone was speaking actual Japanese or if they’re speaking “French”. Next up, we have Mayo Chiki. Sakamachi Kinjirou has a problem where he has a nosebleed if he’s touched by a girl, and will even pass out if they keep touching him. One day at school, he finds out that insanely popular butler of Suzutsuki Kanade, Konoe Subaru, is actually a girl who is pretending to be a male butler as a test to prove a woman can be a butler. This anime’s got a familiar feel to it and I’m interested to see how it will distinguish itself. Next up is The iDOLM@STER, which follows 13 girls who are on the path to becoming idols. The first episode only introduced the girls, and they have some unique personalities. It seems like a good one to watch. And next is Sacred Seven, which follows the story of Arma Tandoji. He is feared at school because of an incident in the past where he injured many people. However, one day a mysterious girl, Ruri Alba, arrives at his home to ask for his help. Although he refuses, he is thrown into the conflict, awakening his inner power. However, he cannot control this power well, until Ruri steps in and gives him her gemstone, allowing him to use his power to its fullest potential. I have high hopes for this anime (mostly because Arma has Lelouch’s face). Alma also looks like a power ranger when he transforms, which is pretty cool. Lastly of the short reviews, we have Yuru Yuri, which follows 4 middle school girls in their…well, life. Basically similar to Lucky Star or K-On!, but with its own approach to the idea. Decent comedy.

Next up, we have Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi. Taito, the protagonist, finds himself having dreams, all of which have the same girl in it. However, he shrugs this off and tries to go on with his school life as usual. However, on the way home one day, he is run over by a truck. However, strangely, he doesn’t die. At this point, he remembers the girl from his dream as a girl from his past named Himea Saito, and runs off to find her. Their reunion is not the happiest of reunions, though…Because Himea is a vampire, this anime seems to have a Rosario + Vampire feel to it. I’m not sure what to expect yet, but it seems to be kicking off with some action as you will see from the first episode.

Finally, we have Kamisama no Memochou. The protagonist of this anime, Narumi Fujishima, is a rather bland guy who doesn’t like to draw attention to himself. One of his classmates, Ayaka Shinozaki, notices him, though, and invites him to join the Gardening Club with her. Later, she takes him to meet Alice, a detective who solves cases without leaving her home. Narumi is suddenly thrown into the case, dealing with a missing girl. After he helps solve the case, Alice decides to hire him as an assistant. This anime definitely looks sweet. It’s also a 40 minute long episode O.o. But yeah, it was interesting. Reminded me a bit of Detective Conan, but less childish.

There were a few more series that I watched, but they were either 5 minute long episodes, or it was Blade, which wasn’t that impressive. This was definitely a long one, and I’ll probably add in pictures later so it’s not just a huge block of text. Looking forward to this season!