Anime Reviews: Bakuman Episode 20 - Cooperation and Conditions

Mashiro and Takagi discuss their new manga, and play around with ideas for characters and stories.  They decide to turn in ten names to Hattori with their new idea, before telling him that they are working together again.  Still thinking that the two year plan is in progress Hattori sent Takagi several boxes of reference material that he wants him to take his time and study.  Miyoshi volunteers to read and watch all the material and take notes on them.

Anime Reviews: Beelzebub Episode 06 - Toys Have Arrived From the Demon World/We Played Doctor

Watch the Show Here!

I have not been looking forward to reviewing this episode.  I did not want to watch it and kept putting it off as long as possible.  This episode, and what I saw from the previews, is the reason why all my reviews are coming in so late.  But I've finally decided I need to tackle this beast and just get caught up once and for all.  All I need to do now is write the four Beelzebub reviews I'm late on and I'll be completely caught up on my anime reviews for the first time since...ever.

Anime Reviews: Fairy Tail Episode 66 - The Power of Feelings

Watch the Show Here!

Surprisingly enough this episode starts with an arc recap.  Guess it's appropriate, given that we are approaching the climax of this arc, and why recap the last episode when you can recap the entire plot so far in preparation for the final confrontation?

Anime Reviews: Bakuman Episode 19 - Two and One

Every time I sit down to write one of these I am always frustrated by how little there is to say on an episode by episode basis.  Then I remember that if there is little to say, then I don't have to write as much and can get this done much faster.  So it's a question of convenience for me, or creating something worth reading.  Either way I think I have learned a valuable lesson from trying to review Bakuman on a weekly basis.  A slice of life series like Bakuman does not lend well to weekly reviews.  In the future I'll stick to reviewing action series like Fairy Tail, much more satisfying to write every week.  And if all goes well I'll be writing Fairy Tail reviews for a long, long time.

Anime Reviews: Beelzebub Episode 05 - Money Can Buy Anything

Watch the Show Here!

After another night of terrible sleep Oga wakes up to notice that he has a tattoo like mark on his hand.  Hilda explains that it is the Zebub Spell, a mark symbolizing the contract between him and Beel.  She explains that as Beel’s parent he functions as a vessel for his power.  So the more opponents Oga defeats, the larger the larger the mark on his hand will grow.

Anime Reviews: Fairy Tail Episode 65 - From Pegasus to The Fairies

Watch the Show Here!

Wendy manages to find Erza and Jellal.  None of them know how to stop Nirvana, which becomes a moot point as Nirvana finishes its preparations to fire and fires upon Caite Shelter.

Anime Reviews: Bakuman Episode 18 - Jealousy and Love

Fukuda reveals that he has some beef with how Jack runs things, and brings them up with the Editor Yujiro.  Who tells him to get serialized before talking about changing Jack.

Anime Reviews: Beelzebub Episode 04 - There Is One Second Before the Demon Lord's Flood Bursts Forth

Watch the Show Here!

Oga wakes up to Beel having flooded the entire house with his urine.  Oh boy, this is going to be an interesting one.  Fortunately the urine is different from human urine and is basically water.  Still, nasty.  Hilda puts on a device that diverts the urine to another dimension, and Oga decides that he needs to get his hands on some diapers.  So he runs down to the convenience store.

Anime Reviews: Fairy Tail Episode 64 - Zero

Watch the Show Here!

Erza and Midnight's fight continues, with all of Erza's sword strikes missing.  Then she lands a painful looking palm strike and sends Midnight flying into a wall.  Erza reveals that she has discovered two fatal weaknesses in Midnight's power.  The first being that he can't affect human bodies, only magic and inanimate objects, and the second that he can only use his magic in one area at a time.  Either to attack his opponent, or to deflect their magic and weapons.

Anime Reviews: Bakuman Episode 17 - Conceit and Kindness

Finally!  These are the characters that I’ve been waiting for!  Yes, I know that the only way that I could know about them is if I’ve been reading the manga online.  Well I would like to direct the attention of anyone that has a problem with that to the three volumes of Bakuman manga on my shelves.  Neither Viz, nor Shueisha, nor the original creators have lost any money on me.  They have all the money I am capable of giving them.  So I would like to tell all those who take issue with my online reading to respectfully go suck it.

Impulse Reviews - Anime: Cat Shit One: The Animated Series - Episode 1

Watch the Video Here!

Well, I think that these Impulse Review segments are going to evolve into something different from what I originally intended.  They won't always be there to review crappy things that I find, but sometimes something good that I find, and have a little space in my schedule to write something quick about.  Just keep in mind while reading these that they won't feature that much analysis, but instead will be mostly my first impressions of something I have just discovered.  I guess you could consider these impromptu editorials.  Or maybe not since they're actually reviews. 

Impulse Reviews - Manga: Narue no Sekai

This is a type of review that I, appropriately enough, came up with on the fly just now.  I was going to work on some other reviews that I've been putting off thanks to school, but I just read a manga that is so deplorably stupid that I had no choice but to get out my soap box and explain exactly how stupid it is, even the standards of other stupid manga.  Generally these reviews will be shorter things, and won't feature anything good, as I rarely am overcome by the impulse to write a sudden review about something I like.  I tend to let those sit for a while.  But in the case of my finding something so deplorable that I can't wait, and just have to sit down and type up why exactly this manga is stupid.

Anime Reviews: Beelzebub Episode 03 - Are There Any Strong, Ruthless Bastards Around?

Watch the Show Here!

Oga has a dream about Beel growing up into a full grown demon lord, while still riding on his back.  He goes everywhere trying to get food for him, but no one will let him into their restaurant.

Anime Reviews: Fairy Tail Episode 63 - It Is Your Words

Watch the Show Here!

At the beginning of this episode we get to see the Caite Shelter guild for the first time.  The guild knows that Nirvana is coming for them, and while the scene should be tense and foreboding we instead are treated to another example of misplaced comedy.  The chief has a strange way of starting a drink and then talking with his mouth full, spilling drink everywhere.  The gag isn't even really that funny, but the way it is used in the middle of a scene where we should be fearing for these characters makes it all the worse.  I've noticed this tendency to have comedy where no comedy should be in several anime, and it's a real shame.  Because when a scene like this is interrupted for bad comedy then the audience is dragged out from the narrative and can't possibly feel the urgency and worry that they should be feeling.