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It seems like everyone loves Zero no Tsukaima, as its second season nabbed 20% of the 1.2k votes. Higurashi’s sequel came second, which was unfortunate as I was hoping for a larger fan base. Third was a surprise, being Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, a series which I have only seen three episodes of. Seeing the results, I have to say I’m a lot more interested in that show now than previously. Anyway, the next poll asks if you think there will be any more filler arcs from now until the end of the Hueco Mundo arc, which should be beginning soon. It’s a simple yes or no question. I personally think ‘no’ as from here on out, there’s no stopping or turning back. xD

Popularity: 25% [?]

Rating: 6/10 & 7/10

Impressions:

Man, how long has this fight been going for? And it only gets interesting at the end of episode 23…not to mention Kakashi and Naruto are STILL chasing Deidara, while Gai’s team are STILL meaninglessly fighting their copies. Sasori’s past was well and truly dragged out, making the episode such a bore. I think I’m just going to accept that the pacing is not going to change. These two episodes covers an amazingly low number of chapters…or more specifically, two and a half. What happened to the 3-4 chapters per episode that Naruto once followed? Ah well. Starting from the next episode, I will have completely accepted this horrendous pacing.

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Popularity: 18% [?]

Rating: 7.6/10

Impressions:

Dammit, I had thought Luppi (Grimjaww’s replacement) was a girl all this time, and it turns out he’s supposed to be a bishounen. Either than or ’she’ has a really unfeminine voice. Well okay, that’s not what really bothers me. The thing that does is how he manages to become the 6th espada. Shouldn’t the 7th espada have ascended to 6th, instead of some random coming in? For manga readers, you’ll also know the massive power difference between Luppi and a real espada. All I can think of is that Aizen has already planned that little ‘healing’ incident in the future, and made Luppi an espada just for the laughs of it.

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Popularity: 29% [?]

Rating: 7/10

Impressions:

It seems like only the conclusions of the episodes are leading somewhere, with the last minute of this ep devoted to informing viewers that the WORMs are back. The ship Kouryu is also mentioned, which is pretty significant as that’s the same ship Sky Girls uses in the OAV. Hopefully, the girls will be able to get on the ship before another 3 or so episodes about nothing, as the pacing is definitely becoming far too slow. The next episode will be an onsen one, which usually induces character relationship development, although what happens at an onsen usually fails to take effect on the characters’ personalities in future episodes.

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Popularity: 10% [?]

Rating: 7.5/10 & 8/10

Impressions:

Episode 4 left me quite surprised due to the sudden face-off between the two main characters of the show—I had thought they would discover each other’s identities, but thankfully, they didn’t. It ended rather abruptly, but I guess it wouldn’t be very fitting to have some ‘boss battle’ at this stage of the show. Even so, Daisuke’s power disappoints me a little, as he fails to show how good his rank dictates. Rina’s mushi is a lot more impressive, though I guess Daisuke’s has that feeling of uniqueness around it. Oh and speaking of the two, apparently Rina is focused more on Centi than Daisuke…ahh how disappointing. xD

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Popularity: 13% [?]

Rating: 8.5/10

Impressions:

Is it just me, or is this episode of Lucky Star just a tad crazier than all the others? It feels like the energy has been upped significantly, and the comedy has somewhat morphed from the usual verbal jokes to the extremely exaggerated ones. I think I’d have to say that this is my favourite episode so far. A lot of the jokes are short as well, though just as sweet. The episode places Tamura in the spotlight for some time as well, and she’s probably become my favourite character now. She’s just like Kona-chan, except not nearly as composed, which is a good thing for entertainment purposes.

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Popularity: 23% [?]

Rating: 8/10

Impressions:

Although I know of most of Higurashi’s secrets, I can’t say I know what’s going to happen specifically in this arc. But with its name being Minagoroshi-hen (massacre arc), and with the Takano’s ‘Yama Inu’ on the prowl, I have high beliefs that everyone is going to die a pretty bloody death this time round. I think it’s clear that Takano is the mastermind behind as this, with the Yama Inu being under her control, and also being the ones who have killed Rika repeatedly over the years. A key aspect of saving everyone in the next arc might be Rika remembering how she dies, though personally I place my faith in Rika’s friends and not her alone.

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Popularity: 23% [?]

I first read about this on AniDB, and it interested me quite a bit as the display image reminded me of sola (something I really enjoyed). The summary is kinda generic, but I did not feel it would become any form of comedy harem or anything. Upon visiting the official site, the same insert music used in this prologue began to play, and I think anyone who hears it would agree that this show isn’t going to be some mediocre game conversion that would be forgotten as soon as it finished. Well I’m hoping anyway. As for now, I’m getting some serious sola and School Days vibes. This short video can be found on TokyoTosho. If you want, you can download the insert music here.

Popularity: 13% [?]