When the first started zooming out, I thought it was a heart. 😮

Kamisama no Memochou – 12 (END) [spoiler]

Memochou was one of my favorite anime of the summer season and I thought the ending was handled quite nicely. I was spot on that the episode would end with Ayaka waking up, but that was almost obvious. I am disappointed that she didn’t die, but the ending of the arc itself was pretty dramatic, which made up for it. I didn’t expect for them to commit suicide by OD’ing on their drugs. Narumi’s new found dedication for being a NEET detective drove the arc. I was impressed when he volunteered to take Angel Fix. That whole scene was trippy even to the viewers. Also it was pretty crazy watching him flip out in the end beating the crap out of Toshi. I am not sure I was 100% behind what Alice said to Hakamizaka. The whole line of seeing God’s Note Pad felt more like a way to get us to understand the name of the series more, but it ended up feeling somewhat wonky and forced more than anything else. Maybe a more dramatic line like, “I’m not an angel, I’m the devil here to take you to hell” or something would’ve felt more impacting. I do think that the scene on the roof was a great way to conclude the anime. The animation was really clean and the emotional power of the scene was nicely delivered.

With all that said and done, I still feel like this anime was really good. Detractors of the anime just didn’t give it a chance or they just couldn’t get past the fact that it was a good JC Staff anime. Most of the arcs kept my interest and only the panty thief episode was bad. Narumi for me was the big draw for Memochou. I don’t think he was a particularly great character. If anything he reeked of normalcy, but that was the point. The series was about his growth and his development as a character. Memochou did a great job developing him and that is what stands out to me. I did like Alice too and I am disappointed that we didn’t get to any of her back story. I feel like there had to be some kind of significant event to get her to becoming a NEET Detective. I would also like to see how the rest of her crew got together. We can only hope that the series has been successful enough for JC Staff to come back for another season, otherwise I’ll have to start picking up the light novels.[/spoiler]

This wasn't in episode 12, but after I saw Alice in her corset I felt like a pedophile because she is freaken hawt~

Ikoku Meiro no Croisée – 12 (END)  [spoiler]

I might not have talked about Croisée for the Anime Times, but it is a show that surprised me when I watched it for the Anime Preview. It wasn’t a show that stood out, but it was pleasant to watch on a week by week basis. I doubt I could’ve sat through all 12 episodes at once, but weekly it worked out just fine. The ending really left much to be desired because they never did clear up some things about the story, but it left a warm feeling about it that worked just fine for the anime. At first I couldn’t get behind Claude’s character because he was so hostile and bitter, but after learning about his failed relationship with Camille and now finding out about his father’s death I am really starting to like him, even if it is the ending. Overall the show was good, but nothing special. I wouldn’t mind seeing another season of this series just because I would love to know if Camille and Claude ever get together. A better end to the series would be them eloping, while Yune travels back to Japan with Alice following her.[/spoiler]

Hanasaku Iroha – 26 (END)  [spoiler]

I felt like I started to lose interest in this anime as it progressed, but overall I think I liked the ending, especially the insert song that played throughout the festival. Honestly, I didn’t like the fact that they still closed Kissuiso at the end even if it is only temporary. I don’t understand why Enishi had to study more before he took over. He has been working at the Inn his whole life, plus right now Kissuiso has a chance to recover thanks to the article that was written. Anyway, I did like seeing them all split up and start taking their own paths, especially Ohana going back to Tokyo. Ohana finally confessing to Kou was like a sweet release. Took all 26 episodes for that to happen and it was great watching her just blurt it out in front of the Yakisoba cart. Hanasaku Iroha was a coming of age story for Ohana and it really was fun to watch. I was a bit disappointed because when I first started watching the series Amu-chan said it was going to consist of her growing up, which would’ve been more interesting to see, but I still did enjoy it. It would be nice if an OVA came out that was like 5 years later. We could get to see Ohana finally coming back to Kissuiso and how the rest of the character’s lives turned out.[/spoiler]

I tried this, but all I got was snot all over my floor.

Nichijou – 26 (END)  [spoiler]

To be perfectly honest, I did not like the first 13 episodes of Nichijou very much. There were a few gags that made me laugh pretty hard, but overall it just was not that funny to me. However, either the show grew on me or after the change of Nano going to school I really started to like Nichijou. The gags started to be funnier and I enjoyed the second half of the anime quite a bit. This episode’s gags were pretty good. I enjoyed the Pumpkin segment a lot. It was so random and perfectly delivered. I also thought the scene with Yuuko causing all that good luck was really fun. I was half expecting those ants to start worshiping her. The final scene tried hard to be touching, but I don’t know if I quite got there, but overall I still liked it.[/spoiler]

Ilas has some hops.

Dantalian no Shoka – 11  [spoiler]

It is kind of sad that my favorite episodes of this series happens to be the ones that lack Dalian. This episode was pretty interesting because it was a flashback to Hughy before he met her. I will admit that I was a bit confused during parts of the episode because I didn’t understand what all was going on. Somehow I missed when Ilas which from Britain to Germany in the war. I did like how they used historically accurate planes and emblems. I also did a bit of research to see if Basketball was actually played in the UK during WWI and you might be surprised to find out it was. In fact it was, however, it wasn’t until America’s arrival in the war did it gain popularity amongst the British soldiers. Getting back to the episode, we finally get a look at the other Lolibrary walking around. I like how it was a misdirect that Ilas was going to become her Guardian. I still am unsure on how Hughy got the other copy of the book nor do I understand how he learned to use it, but it was interesting finding out that he did have some knowledge about the subject before meeting Dalian. There is only one episode left and I am curious about how they are going to end it. I expect some kind of confrontation from the Lolibrary’s and their Guardians.

And yes, I just came up with the word Lolibrary as I was writing this post. Too bad I didn’t think of it sooner. It could’ve become a fad.[/spoiler]

Mawaru Penguindrum – 11  [spoiler]

Despite Amuro’s tweet, I don’t really think anything major happened in episode 11. I did enjoy watching Ringo shove a sweaty frog into her face, but more than anything this episode was more of a culmination of everything that has already happened and it set us up for something big to get revealed in the next episode. Kanba’s confrontation of Masako was fantastic. Fueled mostly by the fact that even her penguin is in loved with Kanba’s penguin, I really like her side of the story. I am curious to find out what Kanba was talking about. There is so much “that” place, “that” thing, and “those” people that I get irritated at times while watching Penguindrum. People don’t actually say those things unless they are hiding something from someone in the room or listening to their conversation, not when they are alone. It is just a way to keep the mystery alive to the audience and I don’t like it when it gets over used that much. I really just want to start learning about what is going on.

The other side of the episode was Ringo finally coming to terms with her feelings. I thought it was funny how fast Tabuki confessed to Ringo after she gave him the potion. It was hilarious however watching Tabuki go insane from it trying to break through the door to get to her. I don’t know why Yuri didn’t freak out when she came into the room. I know she knew that Ringo wanted to be with Tabuki and in a sadistic way invited Ringo to everything, but watching Tabuki break through the door screaming “I love you Ringo!” should’ve invoked more emotions from her. I am thinking that Yuri might also be connected somehow to all of this because people that calm are way too suspicious.[/spoiler]