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Rating: 8.9/10

Impressions:

Sorry for the delay again, my capped internet prevented me from getting this episode quickly. Due to this, it will probably be the same for the next episode. Speaking of which, episode 131 looks like it will be pretty mediocre quality (and also the last episode of this mini arc). However, it still doesn’t look like the fillers will be ending. Is this going to turn out something like the current D.Gray-man? I sure hope not. Episode 132 should also see a new ending theme (doesn’t seem like long since that last ED change, does it?) Anyway if you’re wondering why I no longer have any pictures from the manga, it’s because these episodes are anime-original.

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Popularity: 29% [?]

Rating: 9/10

Impressions:

Sorry for the delay, I had been waiting for Shinsen’s subs. I should be able to catch up pretty quickly though, as Darker than Black is pretty high on my priorities list. Anyway, this episode itself isn’t exactly bad, though I like this arc the least as it has little to do with any of the main characters. Hei’s appearance is well called for, though just action doesn’t exactly cut it. Mini stories should be confined to comedy and/or slice-of-life shows. Usually in a 24-26 season series, the first half is comprised mainly of similar short stories, though these usually amount to something larger, or introduce/develop characters. This hasn’t been the case for this show.

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Popularity: 14% [?]

Rating: 9/10

Impressions:

This episode’s quality is quite low compared to the last episode, but I had never expected the high budget to be maintained for all the episodes to come. Story-wise, Hayate no Gotoku has returned to the manga, featuring a trip to visit Nagi’s grandfather. His depiction as a commoner gardener is quite hilarious, though something I’m sure many would easily be able to see through without reading the manga. I didn’t pick up many of the parodies (I suck at this sort of thing anyway), though overall the episode is still pretty funny. Nagi’s grandfather may be a generic old fart, but he’s a funny one at that.

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Popularity: 10% [?]

Rating: 9.7/10

Impressions:

This is unsurprisingly one of my favourite episodes so far. I had been impressed by the character development that this part of the story contains when I read the manga, and am equally impressed that the producers managed to make a good story out of it. Of course, some things were changed as usual, but the general point of the story is easily maintained. It’s pretty nice to see Suzu surrounded by all her friends, especially as she expresses quite a bit of loneliness unintentionally. She must be appreciating Ikuto’s company a lot at the moment, even if she has yet to develop any romantic feelings for him.

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Popularity: 12% [?]

Rating: 8.7/10

Impressions:

Being mostly an action episode, this episode is a lot more exciting than the previous ones. Naruto and co. as well as Gai’s team finally get some action, and it’s a good thing that Akatsuki actually seem to be human and are able to be defeated. However, the battle suffers from too much talking and the poor execution of Gai’s memory failure gag xD! It’s a good thing that fighting can always be dragged out without much consequence, unless it’s overdone far too much, such as the initial battle between Deidara and Gaara (which did not start this new Naruto series very well). Hopefully the battle will continue to be well animated and exciting, and not be stretched too much.

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Popularity: 16% [?]

Rating: 7.3/10

Impressions:

I’m still quite obsessed with the OP (I love it), but it’s disappointing to see such a nice opening theme followed by nothing but non-manga material anime, which in my opinion isn’t very good at all. It’s understandable that the producers want to give all the characters a few episodes of their own, but if they had just followed the manga, Miranda and others would have received their spotlights nonetheless. I was hoping Miranda would have turned out to be less of a klutz than she has, due to the last scenes in the end of the Miranda arc, where she’s depicted to be quite the successful woman.

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Popularity: 13% [?]

Rating: 9.4/10

Impressions:

With the show ending soon, it should be apparent that this showdown will be the final one. The problem with serious shows is that events and endings are more impacting, so if an undesirable thing occurs (death of L, or the ending which I am dreading), it takes a lot to get over. Anyway, this episode covers 4 chapters again, and as usual a lot of stuff is missed. Regardless though, the show has been very interesting at this point, even though the detailed thought processes of the two powers (one of which is far superior to the other but gets cheated in the end…) aren’t apparent. It would be nice to see exactly how both Near and Light are taking things.

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Popularity: 28% [?]

Rating: 9.5/10

Impressions:

Although this episode wasn’t as funny as the last few, it definitely has its share of awesome moments. Lucky Channel and the mobile phone gags are amongst the funniest in this episode, but I am much more impressed by the Kagami and Tsukasa changing hairstyles and the picture of Kona-chan’s insanely young-looking and cute mother. She reminds of when Kona-chan goes into onee-sama mode and starts saying ‘gokigenyo’ a few episodes back. Kagami’s comment on whether or not Kona-chan’s mother was legal at the time is especially awesome. Not to mention, so are Kona-chan’s attempts at naming the twins (I really like Kyou-chan and Hihi-chan xD).

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Popularity: 25% [?]