I was LOL when Yuki took out the kiddie electronic keyboard with microphone. And when she started belting out ‘Paradise Lost’ against the simplified tune, I just lost it. Great seiyuu in-joke. And that Ga-Rei Zero OP song was my second favourite thing from the series. Other songs I’d love to hear on the Yuki Minfong Ho repetorie would be Junpaku Sanctuary, mokutt minami growing (LOL) and, of course, Yuki, Muon, Madobe nite. Suggestions for duet with Achakura?

But I was still surprised that a song from an anime by another studio (in this case, AIC Spirits & asread). Yeah I know KyoAni did that too for the Lucky Star EDs with the closed karaoke room door but I don’t think those were recent anime. Paradise Lost was comparatively much more recent. Other animes, like Hayate no Gotoku, seem to take great pains only to sample its own music – minimize royalty payouts and maximize pimpage of own stuff?

©2012 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.

I was arguing with Stripey that Ga-Rei Zero has been disappointing. Because Kagura was whiny – definitely not a Good Job from Minorin here. The middle part was just dumb. See also #2-5 in Baka Raptor’s post. *But* having just read tjhan raging on the manga (which I didn’t pick up because I thought the art was fugly), I’m starting to think that Ga-Rei Zero was another case of asread being able to make the most out of rather poor source material so I’ll still give it Good Job overall. But not as far as declaring it the top series for Fall 08.

However balance has been restored returned to the Force in Minami Ke Okaeri! Everyone is lovable again – at least for the first four episodes that I’ve seen. I’m wondering who should I credit/blame? Okawari shared the same director and series composer as SHUFFLE! – Hosada Naoto and Suzuki Masashi – could it be that their forte is eroge conversion? They scored a lot of points in my book by going for the non-obvious ending. But without another asread eroge conversion to test this hypothesis against, it’s hard to say this way or that. Ga-Rei Zero was a joint effort with AIC Spirits and I’m too lazy to track down whose staff did what. Anyone more industrious? Details, on ANN, are still scant about the team behind Okaeri but I hope the asread team led by director Oikawa Kei will keep up the Good Job!

Picking one favourite moment from each of the four episodes thus far:

The pen divination scene was nice especially Kana’s wonderful potential future husband. (This must be totali‘s geass at work, dammit!) Honorary mention for Haruka’s hair toss in the OP. Yes, Oneechan x Hair toss = WIN.

Devil Chiaki and Curry Fairy Song has captured the hearts of moyism, Kurogane and Suguru but forcing myself to choose one, Hosoka is Dah Curry Man. What I especially liked how it serendipitously helped Chiaki out of her pinch and that she, with real childlike innocence, actually took to this weird but essentially harmless display pretty well rather than having the more grown up kimochi warui response.

Ringo no Hako (Box of Apples) is something I could totally relate to. There was a potluck get together at my home when everyone, and I mean everyone, brought Old Chang Kee curry puffs. We had over 40 freaking curry puffs. And no beer. No beer!! Enough to make grown men weep. ;_; Anyway, loved the mystery before Uchida opened the box. And it stood up very well to rewatching. Including the aftermath for Uchida and Touma. Aaah, Uchida is so lovably stupid that I’m never tired of her. And I could just about start to believe that Mizuki Nana voices Touma from the way she skipped into her house, full of anticipation of the pudding from that store beside the station. Well, until she used the ore pronoun again. *cue Index glass shatter eyecatch*

Doggy Kana, Chiaki, Haruka and Touma FTW. Taiga has just got to see this. Of course, this leads to the Iron Claw scene that the OP has previewed already. Iron Claw is indeed the proper waza of the Oneesama! Do you know of any other users besides Tama-nee and Haruka? Honorable mention also for Kana’s ominous speculation that Haruka could like Natsuki and Chiaki’s initial OH SHI- D: reaction.

I dearly hope the goodness can be sustained right till the end of Okaeri and keenly await the return of the One, the Only, the Mako-chan.

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To Aru no Majutsu no Index

My former hot favourite, it has been weighed down by extended dialogue, conversation, exposition. I’m moderating my expectations and buying into Aroduc’s forecast of ‘another episode or two of mediocrity before it gets good for 6-8 episodes and then finishes sort of awkwardly.’ And his proposed solution. But that’s for another post.

ToraDora

Though Stripey has abandoned this series, Evirus’s title hit the nail on the head WRT to how this series has made a strong comeback. Ami’s definitely the missing spice all this while, a catalyst that has speeded up and enriched the inter-chara dynamics. Loved her speech to her stalker that personality doesn’t matter if She’s Got The Look. But it’s precisely because of it’s the Power of her Dark Side that I’m looking forward to forthcoming episodes.

Kannagi

The lead-in and build-up have been pretty consistent. We’re introduced to the core relationship between Nagi and Jin first. The rest of the cast gets inducted at a reasonable pace and we’re starting to see the complete ensemble bounce off each other in credible and enjoyable ways.

Ga-rei Zero

Interesting use of the ‘starting in the middle’ device for the first two episodes and then going back chronologically to lead back up to the climatic point at the end of the second episode. I’ll like how it’s been handled thus far; we know how where all this is going to lead to but we don’t know how. The details of everyday life and relationships become ominous signs for the coming avalanche.

The voice was struggling to articulate words that Maxi heard without realising they were a warning: they were foretelling the radical change that his life was about to undergo. It is normal he did not understand this, because these discreet signs that destiny sends us can only be read with the passage of time, when it is already too late for them to act as a proper warning…

Edgardo Cozarinsky, The Moldavian Pimp

And what a pumped up Minorin OP!

Mouryou no Hakou

This is very disorientating, there’s definitely strong momentum but it doesn’t seem to obey the normal laws of physics. And, the possibility of yuri aside, I seem to be drawn to it for the exact same reasons that Author is repelled by it.

Well, I did enjoy The King in Yellow precisely because it was macabre, dripping with peeling decay, the vanished echo of lost glory and the crying and laughter of mental illness. Certainly agree with Keiri that this is the dark gem of fall.

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