Clannad - Episode 24

I had completely forgotten about this, actually. It seems like an absolute age since Clannad “finished”, so this long-awaited twenty-forth episode kind of hit me from out of the blue. This episode focused around Tomoyo in what I’ve gathered is an alternate version of the Clannad universe, following her path from the original Clannad game. As such, the story mainly focused around the difficulties faced by the now dating delinquent-and-highschool-president couple as they sped on towards their graduation. More…

Zero no Tsukaima: Princess no Rondo - Episode 2

As if we weren’t already very well aware, those crazy Japanese animators just thought they’d make absolutely sure we know exactly what Zero no Tsukaima: Princess no Rondo is all about. Just in case you might have thought it had a centrally cohesive plot, or something exotic like that.

On that note, I’m not going to be quite so harsh as I maybe came across in my last post about the series. There were some sweet moments in episode two, for sure. Take the re-summoning ceremony-chant thing, for example, which ended in an all too natural kiss between Saito and Louise. The dynamics in that relationship really are insane! One minute Louise is chasing the poor fellow around with a wooden stick, the next she’s hugging him from behind and pledging her adoration - as indirectly as possible, albeit. Still, that tsundere personality is one of the main reasons for Zero no Tsukaima’s popularity, so who am I to bad mouth those bipolar outbursts of affection? More…

Itazura na Kiss - Episode 14

Waaaah! It finally happened! Irie finally gave in to Kotoko’s persistent pestering and agreed to marry her. But, man that episode moved quickly! So much happened that even the OP was forgone just to gain that brief extra minute-and-a-half. For once, though, I’m not going to complain about pacing. I simply enjoyed this too much.

I never followed the original Itazura na Kiss manga - something I regret more and more with each passing episode of the anime - but at the same time I’m glad for not knowing what’s going to happen next. I mean, I really didn’t see that wedding happening. At least not until the series finale. At a guess, I probably would have said that the rain scene would result in tears (the sad type) and perhaps Kotoko would have settled for Kinnosuke. It would have made for a predictable ending, sure, with Kotoko and Irie finally realising their suppressed feelings for one another sometime around episode twenty-three. In fact, this episode could have slotted in later on pretty inconspicuously. More…