Sacred Seven Episode 6

Well…things are finally happening. This episode starts with Arma pissing off Ruri because he doesn’t want to have lunch with her. Later, while driving home, Kagami gets distracted by Fei, who he appeared to run over, and in the meantime, Kijima kidnaps Ruri. He plans to use Ruri to create more of the serum he needs to maintain his mind while a Darkstone. Well, predictably Arma’s going to have to decide soon what Ruri means to him, as Kenmi informs him that the serum that they have can prevent him from becoming a Darkstone (which was what Ruri was doing). I’ve still yet to see Ruri do anything useful, which is kind of annoying. So…for now, I’ll keep watching.

Sacred Seven Episode 5

So, in this episode, the gang goes camping in a mountain. And you guessed it…when they reach the campsite, Arma senses a Darkstone from the pyramid near the campsite. Kagami goes to investigate and Hellbrick senses the Darkstone as they go deeper into the pyramid. The Darkstone awakens and Ruri runs to help Kagami with Arma chasing after her. However, the ground opens up (Kamine Island, anyone?) and the two fall in. Kagami manages to find Ruri, but the pyramid rearranges itself, separating them from Hellbrick. They get surrounded by the Darkstone’s minions, and Ruri orders Kagami to fire his super laser, but Kagami refuses, afraid that she will be caught in the blast. However, Arma shows up and after getting a gem from Ruri, beats the crap out of the Darkstone. Yeah…this might be one of those series that I drop. I was seriously expecting more out of this. Also, gg subs is annoying me. The battles are depressingly short, which is okay if there is decent stuff going on in the rest of the episode, but sadly, that is not the case. The shows are becoming very routine: normal school activity leads to finding a Darkstone leads to Arma transforming and beating it up. Unless it impresses me next week, this show will probably drop (also, the transformation thing is getting old).

Sacred Seven Episode 4

Arma gets busted!! But not really…It’s a good thing his suit looks like a power rangers outfit. Let me explain. Ruri and Arma are helping with the school festival when Hellbrick senses another Darkstone. Kagami wants to keep it a secret from Ruri and take care of it himself, but Arma senses it too. Kagami runs off to deal with the Darkstone and Arma tricks Ruri into transforming him into his power suit by saying he needs some training. However, Arma’s classmate walks in just as he finishes transforming (awkward). However, she think he’s just in a costume and has him advertise for them. Arma and Kagami give chase to the Darkstone, but it multiplies, causing them to split up. Kagami manages to kill his target, but Arma’s target causes some havoc by breaking the base of a monument that was being built for the festival. Arma manages to save the guys on top, though, showing the school that he isn’t a bad person. Meanwhile, the Darkstone turns itself into a bomb, but Kagami launches it into the air before it is able to explode. After some outlandish acting, Kagami manages to convince the school that the entire thing was an act for a movie. The next day, the school festival goes off without a hitch. I liked that this episode isn’t quite as serious as the other ones, what with the “romance” between Arma and Ruri (even though it was probably caused by Ruri’s drink), and Kagami’s acting prowess. Also, it turns out that Ruri does need a new gem every time Arma transforms, but she has quite the stash (including some cheap ones for random practice runs…only 140 million yen!). Still looking forward to continuing this one!

Sacred Seven Episode 3

FINALLY! I’ve been waiting to find out what that evil-looking Darkstone was. Turns out he’s from a facility that researches Sacred Seven and his name is Kijima Knight (pretty cool name). Also, he confirms that Ruri is a Lightstone (which I kinda figured). The battles are a bit more epic in this episode, which made me a bit happier. However, something’s been bugging me. Ruri uses a new stone for Arma every episode. Does she need to keep getting new ones for each of his transformations? Because if so, that’s gonna be a pain for sure. Anyways, this series still seems pretty cool.

Sacred Seven Episode 2

So, with the new episode out, I’m gonna try to avoid any huge spoilers. This episode reveals a lot of info that the first episode didn’t really have the time to cover. First off, they talk about Hellbrick and the origin of the stones that Arma and Ruri use. The power is called Sacred Seven and it manifests differently for each person, making them either a Darkstone or a Lightstone (no one pulled any muscles thinking about that one). They also reveal the reason that Ruri created the organization that fights against the Darkstones (they don’t explain why they’re all combat maids, though). We also see a strange guy who seems to be a Darkstone or something…He’s fully armored, like Arma when he’s transformed except with a full mask. There were glimpses of him in the first episode as well, and the preview made it look like we might find out more about him in the next episode. Finally, it’s revealed that Arma has a past with Ruri, although the circumstances aren’t fully explained. This episode was pretty cool because of all the stuff you learn about the setting of the series. The battle between Arma and the Darkstone is depressingly short in this episode, but I guess that was to be expected with all of the things they had to introduce. It looks like there are gonna be some sweet battles in the next episode, so I look forward to it.

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!