Rating: 7.6/10

Impressions:

The way this episode finishes—it makes me think that there’s a chance that Ikuto will return home at the end of the series. Or at least, he’ll probably get a choice, and decide on staying. The important thing that needs work on now, is his reason(s) for staying. I guess it’s pretty straightforward when it comes to the new bonds he has, but close interaction between him and the other characters are far from sufficient. It’s not like this show has a morning timeslot, so there’s no reason to not increase the intimacy between Ikuto and Suzu at least. I guess a part of why I like this episode goes to the focus on Ikuto-Suzu relations.

Rating: 8/10

Impressions:

Finally, an episode with some major character development. It really is heart-warming to see Ikuto and Suzu together. Ikuto might still want to return home, but I’d say he’s already feeling an obligation to stay with Suzu, who has no one else to call family. In the last few episodes, I doubt there will be much more development between the two. It’s not like Ikuto’s going to end up with anyone, and when it comes to Suzu, being family is probably the best option. Hopefully there won’t be a sequel, since all that’ll happen would be more random events that don’t achieve anything. The show should finish on a good note, and not try to come back for more.

Rating: 7.7/10

Impressions:

Machi never ceases to entertain me. And to think, she’s meant to be 18 or something. The fact that she stars in this episode is enough to make me rate it highly. The animation quality is also somewhat higher than usual, which is always a good thing for this show, due to its large amount of complicated movement, derived from the crazily ridiculous roots of the anime. But sadly, a Machi episode now means there won’t be one for a while. However, it also increases the chances of Suzu getting one, and boy, she certainly needs to get closer to Ikuto before the end of the series.

Rating: 7.5/10

Impressions:

Ahh, the more I listen to the second ED, the more I like it. I don’t think I’ve paid much attention to it until recently. I realised I never even bothered to download the single, which was a surprise, as I usually get all the ones related to the anime I watch. Anywaaay, this episode is actually pretty good, due to the impressive humour and quality. I love the idea of splitting the girls into separate rooms, which creates ample opportunity for each to participate in some sort of gag. The identity of what’s-his-face turns out to be Chikage’s mother, which I guess should have been an easy guess, though I seriously never considered it…

Rating: 6.5/10

Impressions:

Sorry for not posting much lately guys, I’ve been pretty busy and a bit bored with blogging in general. I definitely need to cut down on the number of shows I’m doing, and as quite a few are ending soon, I should be free of such a strain shortly. Anyway, this episode of Nagasarete Airantou certainly goes for a different approach, with a theme and plot of totally different tastes. I’m not sure the mystery/comedy duo works very well in this case, but at least being a two-episode arc, my interest was spiked at the end of the episode. There are quite a few nice scenes as well, with Machi getting Ikuto to fan her, and Ayane covered in blood.

Rating: 7.5/10

Impressions:

So from now on I won’t be able to tell whether an episode is manga-loyal or anime-original. Regardless though, this episode is pretty good, introducing a new character (who’s fun while it lasts, but hopefully won’t interfere too much with the Suzu x Ikuto think happening at the moment). Speaking of which, it seems like Suzu s starting to feel uneasy when other girls get near Ikuto, but chances are she doesn’t know why she’s feeling such things. Maybe Ikuto needs to fall on her and grab her chest as well to ‘inform’ her of her feelings. The fact that most of the girls have never fallen in love and don’t even know what it feels like makes for a pretty interesting character set, IMO.

Rating: 8/10

Impressions:

Ah yes, a great Chikage episode revolving around such a hilarious idea…Wow Nagasarete Airantou has definitely gotten a lot better now. The transformations are a great sight to see (Ponkatsu turning into a real pig is one of my favourites). The animal-to-human transformations are so cute sometimes, it makes me want them to stay in those forms. It’s a shame Panako-san doesn’t stay in her human form for longer—she would be an awesome addition to Ikuto’s harem, though she doesn’t seem to be the type to fight mercilessly for Ikuto (reminds me of Maria from Hayate no Gotoku).

Rating: 8/10

Impressions:

Mei Mei makes this episode win. So do the leaders of the four quadrants of the island fighting each other. It’s just so hilarious watching these large animals that you commonly see in children’s cartoons fighting each other Nagasarete Airantou style. But back to the first point: I never really thought about an Ikuto x Mei Mei pairing (maybe coz he’s destined to be with Suzu, if he’s to get together with anyone at least), but after watching this episode, I think my preferred choice of couple has changed to one with Mei Mei. Since this is about where I’ve read up to in the manga, I hope we’ll see a lot more of her in the future (how many episodes is this again?)

Overall, I found this to be a highly entertaining episode. This is probably one of the better episodes in the last few (or actually, going back on my entries, it seems this one ranked pretty highly). The next episode seems to be about Chikage and her magic. That’s actually the last part I’ve read in the manga, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes after that. Hopefully, the episodes to come will be as good as this one, or better, since this episode has raised my expectations quite a bit. I’m hoping for Suzu to start realising her feelings soon, as she doesn’t react much in this episode…

Rating: 7/10

Impressions:

This episode feels a bit pointless to me, though at least it retrieves Mei Mei from her state of extreme timidness, which was kinda annoying. The anime has finally gotten to the end of the manga which has been scanlated up to (from the last time I’ve checked), and surprisingly, that’s only about chapter 24. And to think, the manga has ten volumes currently and is still ongoing, although the anime has reached basically nothing. They really should get some development going, instead of random comedy shorts that don’t take the relationships anywhere. At this rate, there’ll probably be a sequel…or two.

Rating: 7.5/10

Impressions:

Finally, Nagasarete Airantou has moved on to a continuous arc, even though it still isn’t very long itself. This episode covers two chapters of the manga, but unfortunately there’s only one more chapter about Mei Mei to cover. They did change a few things around, one of which (unfortunately) occurs during Ikuto’s steak out. Prior to Toono’s first appearance as a thief, Machi actually tries to steal something, and Ikuto catches her. The two wind up in an awkward position, getting Suzu mad with jealousy. Ahh…that would have at least made for some Suzu development, and showed us that she does care about Ikuto slightly more than as a friend…

I wonder if Chikage’s mini-story will be covered after—it should only take an episode, but it will be an episode worth watching (for me anyway, since I like her ghastliness). Well this episode introduces a new ending theme, but the opening theme remains the same and so will probably not change throughout the show (as episode 14 marks the halfway point of a 26 episode series). As for the ED, I like the song and animation much better than “Say Cheese!”, though I find the latter to suit the actual show more. Even so though, I’d prefer to have “Koisuru Tenkizu” playing after each episode than “Say Cheese!”