I was sick last week. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. I'm not being paid to write this people. We have some changes, including one at the top. Just a couple of weeks left...
1. Robotics;Notes [last week: 2]: Uh oh, things are serious, well, serious to the point where Aki is giving the villain a speech of how robots save the world. But then Kimijima Kou makes it even MORE serious by having Airi turn the gun on herself, before it's stolen away by a goddamn parrot because Robotics;Notes. To the end, you're just ridiculous. And Kona. She's still... herself. She's even more herself than usual.
And holy shit, the GIANT ROBOT is important to the plot. Now let's call for everyone's help (without alerting the bad guys somehow, but whatever), and complete the spirit bomb. Two episodes left here.
Score: 9.7
2. Minami-ke [1]: The way this show jumps around in the year is enough to make one dizzy. This wasn't as funny as I was expecting it to be, though Haruka fanservice always gets the AP stamp of approval. It fell out of first place. I did not see that coming.
Score: 9.5
3. Toriko [3] - Was on break this week. Slackers.
Score: 8.2
4. Little Busters [4]: This episode made me laugh because I'm a terrible person. After the WHO declared that anyone not directly in the way of the Fukushima explosion was exposed to a whole 3 extra CT-scans of radiation per year (as opposed to the third-arm growing amounts that were being breathlessly reported), I can only imagine the HORRORS that the Tevua rocket explosion caused... maybe like a spent fuel rod at the bottom of a pool amount for anyone not right up against the site.
Kud was falling out of her voice for a good portion of the episode here. Also, Kud is adorable. Next week she's in danger. Anybody that hurts Kud is going to get a beating.
Score: 7.8
5. Magi [6] - Sinbad is the best, but Morgiana is the second best. That's still hefty praise. Judal is a piece of work. His defeat is going to be enjoyable, whenever that actually happens.
Score: 7.6
6. Tomodachi Sukunai [5]: The chairman's... an interesting fellow. Can we write Yozora out of the show now, or at the very least make her grow her hair out again? There was nothing outrageous this week, which is a disappointment. Not even from Rika.
Score: 7.6
7. Psycho-pass [10]: Akane is now aware of the Sibyl System's identity, and she's less than thrilled. She's even making demands to the System, or Else. Right on, Akane. Makishima is going through with his plan to destroy the food supply, with Kogami right behind him ready to off him. Yes, I'm totally rooting for Makishima to destroy the food supply. I may be a terrible person, but we knew that when the rocket holding Kud's mother exploded and I laughed.
This show has surged in the second half and has an outside shot of placing 4th. Maybe two shows a year are able to make a leap from the 5s back to the mid 7s.
Score: 7.4
8. Rock Lee [7]: A relatively tame episode this week. Neji is trying to destroy White Day because he doesn't want Hinata's heart broken (I understand, Neji), and Shikamaru wants to destroy it because it's a nuisance and he's preposterously lazy. They don't succeed. Orochimaru is also around doing Orochimaru stuff. I'm asking this show to go all out on the wackiness for the last couple of weeks - but that doesn't mean Rock Lee in a two-piece swimsuit.
Score: 6.9
9. Tamako Market [9] - Tamako's dad wins best character of the show award, displacing deadpan Kanna. She tried, but I mean that was just a really good scene with Tamako's dad up and singing and everything. I guess he should have been the focus all along. I still want to give points to this show for having Anko like the glasses kid, even though that's not how that ever works - but then again Tamako has glasses so perhaps Anko ends up with them as well. Poor girls, glasses are terrible, as Shiori can probably tell you.
I finally figured out what it is about this show. It's pretty boring, but it makes some spectacular out-of-context .gifs. That... seems to be a KyoAni specialty, doesn't it? Also it stays in 9th while other shows ping-pong around it because it's just so... nondescript.
Score: 6.8
10. ZKC [8]: The Unlimited: I'm not really sure what's going on anymore thanks to that unnecessary two-episode flashback, but it looks like Hyobu is going to pass on killing Hinomiya for now so they can work together and rescue Yugiri, taken by some branch of the US Military. Poor Yugiri. I'm not sure the writers know what they're doing anymore, and I'm kind of expecting their next Hayate installment to be a world class disaster.
Score: 6.6
11. Mondaijitachi [12]: You know an episode is off to a not-so-good start when the action is suspended and everyone is forced to the negotiation room by the unnecessary fanservice character. And it really is basically 15 minutes of trying to solve an unnecessary riddle and then five minutes of kind of fighting and then Asuka has a mech somehow. Izayoi remains the only character worth watching here. The ending animation continues to be hilarious.
Score: 5.9
12. Shinsekai Yori [11]: Holy shit, the Vashta Nerada. And Shun! Shun still has a part to play in this grand adventure, which makes me glad. I was beginning to worry there was literally no point to the first half of the entire series. He might be just a mirage or a Yakomaru-induced hallucination, but he did exist, dammit. And now I'm rooting for Yakomaru to be eaten by the Vashta Nerada.
Score: 5.9
13. Maoyuu [14]: ...had a recap episode 9 episodes into a 12 episode series? That's a new one. Should I be offended by this? We at least did get some Hero Hug Pillow recap (that thing is so goofy looking, I love it). Maybe this is more than 12 episodes. That would make sense. I don't know though. We'll find out soon enough.
Score: 4.9
14. Good Job Club [13] - I don't know what it is with this show and hairbrushing, and I don't know what it is with this show and costumes. I do know that it's one of many shows struggling to keep me interested at this point, and it's made easier by the fact that I can see the finish line. All of these characters except Megumi need to be stuffed in a Tevua rocket and exploded. Megumi's mix of blobularity is sufficient to remain.
Score: 4.8
15. Vividred Operation [15]: So... all the monsters are dead now? We're safe to hold a fanservice episode for Himawari about eight years before it's necessary?
It's good that they have a move called Final Operation, I would hate to see the plan if that didn't actually work.
Score: 4.6
It's time to start looking at what's out there to watch in the Spring, with it being just under a month away. Rock Lee is calling it a day after a year of... stuff, while Shinsekai Yori, Psychopass, Little Busters and Robotics;Notes are hanging it up after half a year, and a few other shows are one and done. I still don't know what's a full show and what's a 5-minute thing for next season, but the tentative list is as follows:
Toriko (continuing on for 8th cour)
Magi (continuing on for 3rd cour to my knowledge)
Railgun 2 (this one could actually be good, it could also be Kurokotastic)
Oreimo 2 (I am a masochist, apparently)
Hayate 4 (maybe it'll be a comedy this time!)
Nyarlko 2 (please keep being wacky)
Devil Survivor 2 (not actually a sequel, just Japan being weird)
Yuyushiki, Aiura (one or both of these is probably a 3-minute joke)
That's 9 things, and we always like to do 10 (and spring is always a packed season) so I'm sure more will come up in the next couple of weeks.
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