First half of this episode is a Midori no Hibi parody combined with a softball game. Koyuki, of course, immediately realizes that something’s up when Natsumi shows up in school with her hand bandaged. In any case, this is a Giroro Gains Natsumi Brownie Points half-ep. The real meat for me was in the second half when Sylvee, a ninja of the inter-galatic Moonlight clan, hunts down Koyuki and threatens Natsumi to get to her.
Giroro saves the day blah blah but it was also Koyuki who came up with the idea of disguising him as a hand support by adding a wristband to the melded couple. As to be expected of the well-balanced and non-neurotic Koyuki, she didn’t mind at all and there was no psychotic “I wish I was her right hand too” wish.
On the way to school, another Natsumi-san glomp LOL (BTW by ep 98, Natsumi seems much more at ease with Koyuki’s glomping) but the merriment turns to stress when she feels someone is watching her. Koyuki refuses Sylvee’s challenge because she has no reason to fight her. Moreever Dororo had told her that the Moonlight Clan and the Keronians were on friendly terms. She responds mainly by trying to escape.
She finds herself on the roof of the Hinata home and sneaks into Natsumi’s room to bid a possible silent farewell - she’s being chased to the ends of her limits but is gratified that Natsumi calls out her name in her sleep.
Things nearly escalate out of control when Sylvee implicitly threatens Natsumi to get Koyuki to fight seriously. This has its intended effect and beyond when Koyuki unleashes her deadliest but also suicidal technique. Dororo arrives just in time to save them both and turns out Sylvee was talent-scouting Koyuki for membership in moonlight. In any case, because of Koyuki’s obvious devotion to Natsumi, Sylvee also realizes that she won’t join the clan. The sun rises on another day, the rivers flow on and Koyuki happily goes to school together with the blissfully ignorant Natsumi.
It always surprises me how much SUNRISE can fight into less than fifteen minutes and it still feels like a complete story that adds to the overall narrative and characterization. Until the appearance of the Keron Special Force in Ep 101, this has probably been the most serious we’ve seen Koyuki. The plot itself was well supported by nice touches like the music and Koyuki removing her mask during her night visit to Natsumi - though having Koyuki shout out the names of her various techniques’ still felt silly but it’s mainly because I find it hard not to laugh at anything with the words “ninpo” or “jutsu” post-Onsokumaru. :P
Crazy glomping lesbian Ninjas FTW.
I just wish someone would sub these faster.. :D I rather like Koyuki for her utter devotion, yet her sanity and unhurried manner make her a refreshing contrast to some of the neurotics who usually fill her role in other series…
They’re already subbing Keroro at warp speed! In any case, when it comes to subbing, I prefer quality over speed.
True, but one can wish, can’t they? I was hoping to see these ‘featured’ eps somewhere, subbed or DLable - since most of them are too old to be found on the recent sites.
Haesslich, exactly why I like Koyuki and think she and Natsumi are very good together. About the subbing, kudoes to Doremi-Keroro for working so quickly (even if I don’t dl them…) I wonder if the presence of officially translated manga and an abundance of Chinese subs is helping the process along? In any case, it’s great that Keroro has come from zero to at least two sub groups working on it at a steady pace - and I think Jason Miao deserves a lot of credit for raising wider interest in this series.
Zyl: I mean, compared to Kaorin from Azumanga, half the cast of Strawberry Panic, or any other show which has female admirers (which includes this one)… she’s NORMAL. Absolutely normal, outside of being a ninja with a scent-based attraction. She’s devoted without being a stalker, balances Natsumi’s personality out well, and provides a friendly rival all in one cute package that even Natsumi at her worst can’t get upset at. I just wish I had a Koyuki of my own, really. ;)
And yeah, Jason Miao did raise awareness of it, even if he’s stopped blogging about the series - but it’s one of Sunrise’s most consistent works to date… in that they manage to out-Gundam Gundam, and keep things funny.
I just wish I had a Koyuki of my own, really. ;)
Ditto. :)
Well, after purging my HDisk of Fate/Stay Night( definitely NOT on my to-buy DVD list), I had some spare space. I was wondering what to watch next and it was either “Keroro Gunso” or “Nanoha( 1st Season)”. Decided to go with Keroro first. I must be mad. I chose frogs over magical girls.
Summer 2006 appears to be slim pickings, so I guess this is the best time for me to catch up on older completed series. I am still torturing myself with Naruto-fillers. Good grief… I’m glad I stopped buying the DVDs for this series. I hate incomplete collections, but I hate buying episodes that I detest, even more.
Dropped “AMG!Season2″. When I start getting more interested in the dirt between the keys on my keyboard, I know it is time to let go. Alas…
Dropped YumeTsuki. It’s not actually that bad, but it was starting to get a bit repetitive, and space is premium. I may give it another chance when the series is complete, so that I can marathon it instead.
My heart sank more than 20,000 leagues when I saw the retail price for the SHaruhi DVDs. The total cost of the collection is HOW MUCH again? By the tears of Gaia, I spend less on my main hobby( model kits) in two months, let alone for anime. BUT I MUST HAVE IT. Curse you KyoAni! For exploiting my fanboyism!
Cheers.
Skane: I didn’t even bother AMG2 following past Ep 4 - the manga did a better job than this… a MUCH better job. I might get the batch torrent when the time comes, or rent the DVD, but that’s it. It’s not worth following on a once-every-few-weeks basis.
I’d suggest finding an anime convention to get the Haruhi DVDs imported, however… if you can establish a good relationship with a supplier. Also, H&C 2 may be worth following, given that they’ve made sure it’s only like 12-13 episodes, which means they SHOULD be able to use manga material for most of it, although they’ve got a new team working it.
Zyl: She’s sane, she’s cute, she has ninja skills to protect you. And she’s devoted - and old fashioned country girl, as it were. What more do you need? ;)
An old fashioned, rather. Damn these typos.
Well, just finished watching up to Ep10 of Keroro Gunso. :) Ep09 is my favourite so far. The entrance of Saburo into the Keroro’s ’secret’ base was soooo a parody/homage of Kaworu’s descent to EVA-02, right down to the music used, and the pose during his descent. The voice was also strikingly familiar… too familiar, and after a quick search on Anime New Network, I was proven right. The VA for Saburo and Kaworu is the same.
Akira Ishida
And wait, what is this? He was also Athrun?!?! What the fish? Gaara? Xellos? He was the VA for those people?
/me bows in worship.
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Teenage Aki in the second part of Ep09 also rocks so hard. I so want to thank her for screwing around with Momoko’s mind.
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Too early for me to root for any of the main characters… yet. Especially since not all the cast have been revealed.
On the Human side, Natsumi is in the lead so far. On the Keroro side, Giroro has a huge lead.
Cheers.
Indeed. After Jason Miao and Zyl started blogging it, I ended up DLing everything available… even if I can’t find certain episodes (66, 81) on the usual sites. Great series, so far - it’s funny and it does Gundam parodies better than just about any other series I can think of, right down to the cinematography and the music involved. :D