This Week In Anime (August 9th, 2008)

The week’s biggest news I won’t be discussing (yet) is that Kaiba has ended. My mind refuses to acknowledge that the show spanned a mere 12 episodes over three months; somehow, it feels as if I’ve always been watching Kaiba, as if its twisted world has always existed and will continue to exist, in its own dimensional bubble, for as long as I watch anime. Strange, I know. Look for the complete review (and perhaps a spoiler-laden “post-mortem” entry) in the upcoming days.

Obligatory public service announcement over. Now then. Let’s get to the tits and the catgirls, shall we?

Kyouran Kazoku Nikki (episode 12)

A picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, a thousand mispronounced Japanese ones.

I hate when Kyouran Kazoku Nikki tries to be anything but raw, chaotic fun. The “drama” (see: any arc with Yuuka) is often so ridiculously thin and overplayed I want to punch my screen and yell, “MORE CATGIRLS! MORE UNDERAGE PIRATE LEADERS WITH PINK HAIR! MORE CHINESE ASSASSINS TURNED RESTAURANT CHEFS!”

Looks like I yelled loud enough last time.

This week’s crazy episode has almost no relevance to the preceding ones; the only family members we see are a cross-dressing Ginka as neighbor to Rindou, this episode’s protagonist, and Kyouka, who shows up near the end and fights off a bunch of incompetent soldiers. How? BICYCLE KICK TO THE FACE, YO!

Anyway, the real reason I am even mentioning this episode is that Rindou’s teacher (pictured above) is a pants-wettingly funny American who speaks Japanese with a Southern drawl thick enough to cut with a prog knife. His accent is so incomprehensible that at first I thought he’d been pulled straight out of a Peanuts cartoon… But then I caught a “wakarimasen” that came out as “wuhkahryemahssen”. Luckily I had a seat on the subway, but still nearly collapsed in a hysterical puddle, iPod in hand. If this is how we gaijins sound like when we attempt to speak Japanese… Wow, I am never ribbing on another Japanese speaker ever again for pronouncing his Ls as Rs.

As for the plot, it’s incredibly solid and fascinating, since it’s — hahahahaha, who am I kidding.

Sekirei (episode 06)

This week’s hilariously bad line of dialogue:

Uhm, I'm not a doctor, but I'll cop a feel -- I mean take a look -- I mean... ah, damnit.

Not only that, but near the beginning, Water Girl chases Minato and fires a volley of water spears that strike the pavement near him and explode. I wish I were kidding. Water + asphalt = BOOM! That’s a new law of anime physics I’d never heard of.

Also, it appears Minato has finished assembling his nipply harem. Now comes… fighting with other cleavage-happy harems, I suppose.

Code Geass (episode 17)

I say, old chap, is this what the young whippersnappers refer to as a "plot twist" these days? Spiffy stuff.

No matter what Code Geass’s legacy to the anime genre turns out to be, no one will ever be able to say that it didn’t try its best to surprise its viewers each and every week. I figured the two possible outcomes for this week’s meeting between Suzaku and Lelouch were a) Suzaku betrays Lelouch or b) Suzaku joins forces with Lelouch. Whaddyaknow! A little from column A, a little from column B, and once again Lelouch’s yelling in manly disbelief as Schneizel cockblocks him.

The Knight of One Bismarck turned out to be the badass I figured him to be at first sight — he pilots the Galahad and wields Excalibur, what more do you want? — but then there’s Gino, who seems to be taking a liking to Karen (he said with a disapproving frown). I’m suspicious of his motives for doing so but the girl’s alone behind enemy lines without a friend. She could do worse than to subvert the Empire’s military elite.

I am getting a little tired of the show’s constant back and forth between Schneizel and the Emperor. Hey Code Geass, can you please decide which one’s going to be Lelouch’s main antagonist once and for all? My vote would go to the Emperor: no matter how intelligent (and possibly fabulously gay) Schneizel is, the Emperor is experienced, savvy, and ruthless. Oh, and immortal too. The only way he could be more invincible (if that even makes sense?) is if he had tank treads and a pet ninja shark.

And now to mention two shows in passing:

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

I picked up the first season of this TV series, which aired last summer, after finding a glowing recommendation on a random blog. Boy oh boy, does the first episode ever deliver! The show boasts stylish animation, oodles of black humor, and two diametrically opposed protagonists (the titular despaired sensei, and his cheerful student who sees everything in a positive light). Heck, it even uses the original manga’s author’s face to cover its school girls’ modesty in an early spa fantasy:

THE FACE OF DESPAIR!

It’s a visually busy show, and I’m certain I’m missing at least one joke in every shot, but so far it’s proved its worth as a dark comedy. A second season aired during winter 2008 and there’s one OVA too. I’ll write a more detailed report after sinking my teeth into the first few episodes.

Someday’s Dreamers (episode 04)

Just in case you missed it, I snuck in a brief discussion of Someday’s Dreamers disguised as a Koihime Musou post on Wednesday. I promise this is the last time you hear me ramble about how terrific a show it is. For the week. Which ends tomorrow. Suckers!

-Mr. K

Today’s Karen is: MAXIN’ RELAXIN’