Weekend Anime Rankings (Nov 21-27)

Here are the latest Top 10 Anime Rankings from the week of Nov 21-27th. Notable news here is One Piece making it back to the Top 5 spot while Detective Conan takes a dive down 3 places. The absense of Time Bokan 24 has allowed the latest Precure series to make it to the Top 10.

 

1. Sazae-san (14.2%)
2. Chibi Maruko-chan (10%)
3. Doraemon (8.6 %)
4. Crayon Shin-chan (8.2)
5. One Piece (7.3)
6. Dragon Ball Super (6.2)
7. Detective Conan (5.4)
8. Pokemon Sun & Moon 1 Hour Special (3.8)
9. Yokai Watch (3.7)
10. Mahou Tsukai Precure (3.4)

Steven Universe - Three Gems & A Baby Screenshots

Putting this one quickly because my hands are full with real life, again.

The 2 Minute Preview can be seen here.

New Series From The Studio Behind the Gumball Anime Episode

You probably never heard of Studio 4°C. You know, the studio behind the animation you see in Transformers Animated and the 2011 version of Thundercats? No? Perhaps this will.

 So now that you know that they did the awesome anime scene fro The Amazing World of Gumball episode "The Fury",  here's what the studio is up to. They've announced a new series of shorts that will debut in January of 2017. The series is titled "Sukiyaki Heroes" about a bunch ingredients used in your Sukiyaki dish come to life to protect Gunma prefecture from bad guys.

You can watch the trailer below:

Steven Universe would probably be happy to see this and wish for a crossover with Crying Breakfast Friends.

Drifters Ep 7-8 Thoughts

A double feature for this article as I review 2 episodes of Drifters, starting with Episode 6, where we see the long awaited battle between the Drifters Toyohisa, Nobunaga, and Yoichi, against the Ends Joan of Arc and Gilles de Rais.

The fight is basically divided into three - Joan goes one on one against Toyohisa; Gilles against Yoichi, and Joan's troops against Nobunaga. While it may seem odd that Nobunaga gets to take on grunts, considering he is more of a strategist than a fighter, this makes sense. Yoichi for his part, is been on the sidelines for much of this series and this episode pushes him a bit on the spotlight. Toyohisa meanwhile, questions Joan's gender upon their meeting, which plays a role with not just Joan's past, but also the outcome.

We then peer into Joan's past where she was executed via burning at the stake for being a witch and cross-dressing as a man, a charge that's pretty much close to her historical counterpart. Likely having been mocked as she was burned is what caused her sudden change of behavior, as well as giving her powers of fire. Gilles de Rais was only given a much shorter origin. This is probably because the real Gilles de Rais was apparently a child murderer whose modus operandi would bring in the ire of feminists if portrayed in the series.

Back to the battle, Gilles is dominating over Yoichi and even against Nobunaga's troops for being totally persistant and not slowing down after being hit by so many arrows. It is only when Abe no Seimei, the leader of the Octobrists (the ones who assist the Drifters, of which Olminu is part of), that the Drifters gain the upper hand. Using Butch Cassidy's Gatling Gun, Gilles was literally shredded into pieces by the rapid gunfire before turning into salt. This seems to imply that the Ends, in order to gain advantage over the Drifters, were given mystical powers likely from the Black Lord.

The best part of this episode is of course Toyohisa vs Joan. In truth, though, it was 2 on 1 as Olminu provided the much needed assist to Toyohisa to keep Joan from using her powers. However, upon realizing Joan's a woman, Toyohisa chose not to kill her as he finds it dishonorable to kill women. Joan is later rescued by the Black Lord's troops and escapes.

I'm somehow reminded of a scene in Gundam W where Chang Wufei chose not to kill Lucrezia Noin after their encounter, saying it's against his principle to kill women and weaklings. While Toyohisa's view on women dictates his decision not to kill them at all, in today's environment, such gesture would also be seen as a slap in the face, even though Toyohisa's beliefs are with good intentions. The guy was super pissed seeing the female Elves used as sex slaves by the Orte soldiers and have all but one executed.

Episode 8 continues in the aftermath of the last one. Yoichi is demoted back to being a sideliner after feeling helpless in failing to kill de Rais. He learns as well that his former master Yoshitsune, has seen the whole thing and gloats at him for his performance before disappearing. Not sure what Yoshitsune is actually planning, but he is on the Ends's side.

We then learn a bit about the Octobrist's leader, Abe no Seimei. Having existed long before even Yoichi's time period, he was one of the earliest Drifters to enter the new world and later formed the Octobrists to find and assist other Drifters in the war with the Ends. Although Seimei is knowledgeable about the Drifters themselves and the time periods they come from, as well as extensive knowledge of sorcery, he knows little else. Evident when Nobunaga goads him for not having enough knowledge to develop the Wild West firearm tech Butch and the Sundance Kid possess.

And yes, Nobunaga was totally in love with the Wild West tech and how it is several times more effective than the rifles built in his era. He is then determined to craft those weapons instead and is more motivated than ever to meet the Dwarves.

Through his conversation with Seimei, we learn the Drifters' ultimate plan for the new world - gaining allies from several demihumans fighting against the Orte Empire and establishing a multi-racial federation, allowing each race to have their own government, but overwatched by the military force with Toyohisa as the leader, as well as enforce the "Warrior Code" among everyone. This is just like the ambition McGillis Fareed wants in reforming Gjallarhorn in Iron Blooded Orphans. When Seimei asked why Toyohisa and not Nobunaga himself, the latter explains that his method of rule is what led to his eventual betrayal and demise, and doe not wish to see it happen a second time. While Toyohisa is inspirtational to the Elves, he lacks any experience in governing - a position Nobunaga willingly takes in as his top advisor.

Nobunaga's explanation on Toyohisa's charisma is shown in the final scenes when the Elves refuse to aid the Dwarves due to the eternal feud between the two races. Toyohisa decides to go alone with Yoichi and Nobunaga, to which his resolve aspires the Elves to follow him. Old Man Hannibal is left in Olminu's care while Butch and the Kid remain with Seimei.

Speaking of Hannibal, he and his friend/rival Scipio got separated during their escape. The latter ends up with a race of Wolfmen where the fighter pilot Naoshi Kanno establishes himself as a god. The seperation of the two strategists left Hannibal in a demented state, but shows a moment of badassery when Toyohisa attacks him and Hannibal points the sharp end of a stick right into Toyohisa's eye just as he was about to be cut down.

I personally have little care for the other Drifters mainly because the series gave very little focus on them, but it was cool to see that moment with Hannibal giving Toyohisa a lesson. Apparently, Hitler, who established the Orte Empire, was also a Drifter. I am aware that even in Japanese fiction, there is this weird fascination with Nazi Germany. But I cannot blame them seeing that they were allies before. This is even featured in Scipio's encounter with Kanno when, not having a common tongue, Scipio declared himself as Roman, to which Kanno figures he's from Italy, thus a part of the Axis forces - and beats him up anyway.

With just 4 episodes left, it is not likely that the series will be able to wrap things up. I'd like to know who the Black Lord is, as well as Murasaki and Easy, the ones who bring the Drifters and the Ends to the new world in the first place (we also don't know the name of the new world). Still, the series hasn't disappointed me so far and I'm expecting a bloodbath in Toyohisa's campaign to rescue the Dwarves next episode.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - Diamond is Unbreakable Ep. 35 Thoughts

This week's episode of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable (JBA: DiU) is, no pun intended, 'bizarre', as I had to actually watch it repeatedly to get a grasp as to what was going.

When we last saw JBA, Hayato Kawajiri has discovered that his father Kosaku (aka Yoshikakge Kira) isn't what he seems and throws a leverage that would keep Kosaku from killing him and his mother, Shinobu. However, in the very opening of the episode, we found out that Yoshikage already killed Hayato and hid his corpse. Then Yoshikage's father arrives and warns his son that the Joestars are now on to him. Yoshikage starts to panic as he has no intention of leaving Morioh until the Arrow, which gives anyone it hits a Stand, acts on its own and hits Yoshikage once again.

Full Disclosure: I never read the JBA manga, so I do not know if at some point, there would be an explanation with regards to the origins of the Bow and Arrow, as it was responsible for most of the Stand Users featured from Stardust Crusaders onwards. Obviously, the Joestars were never hit with the Arrow, but managed to have their own Stands anyway. Some say that was the result of the evolution of the Hamon/Ripple technique when Jonathan Joestar learned it from Will. A Zeppeli back in Phantom Blood.

Back to the episode, later on we see Hayato alive and well and is just about to start his day. He still remembers what happened the night he was killed, while he notices Kosaku with a new hairdo and full of confidence. He's so confident he revealed his real identity to Hayato and even claims that no one can rival him now. Hayato would later run into Rohan, who uses his Heaven's Door on Hayato to find out what he knows. Hayato, within his writing, warns Rohan not to go further. Rohan ignores and learns the truth.

Then out of nowhere, Killer Queen comes up and we learn that the Arrow gave Yoshikage a new ability for Killer Queen called "Bite The Dust", made to prevent Hayato from telling anyone Kosaku's true identity by killing those who do learn about it. So Rohan dies in the most horrible way possible just as the rest of the gang are gathering up.

After Rohan is killed, Hayato wakes up and realizes he's repeating the same event as before. Basically, each time Bites The Dust is activated, it turns back time by one hour, creating a time loop. So now Hayato is stuck in the time loop while Kosaku continues his business. This time loop may have also been the cause of Hayato somehow ending up alive after Kosaku kills him the night before.

I'm quite shocked Rohan ends up not only getting killed off, but is destined to die in each time loop. He's actually my most favorite character in Diamond is Unbreakable and it's gut-wrenching to see him in his fate, which is far worse than how half of Jotaro's group ended up in Stardust Crusaders. I wonder how will Hayato get out of this, given he knows nothing about stands, and how will the Joestars learn of not only Yoshikage's new identity, but also his new ability?

And speaking of Yoshikage, the guy continues to show how incredibly cunning he is and fearful is his Killer Queen. He's basically reached a point where he surpasses even DIO himself. Not to make a VS Battle discussion, but I cannot see how DIO would beat Yoshikage when the former can only stop time while the latter can create explosions and even trap his victims in an infinite time loop.

There's only a few episodes left in Diamond is Unbreakable, and wondering how the Joestars can overcome Yoshikage and his Killer Queen becomes even more interesting. I do hope the Joestars do finish Yoshikage off and avenge Rohan's death.

Justice League Action First Impressions

So after months and months of waiting, Justice League Action, which brings back the cast and crew of the Justice League series from Bruce Timm, finally debuts on Cartoon Network.....in the UK. Sorry, American viewers, you're gonna have to wait until mid-December for the series to officially debut there. However, it may be worth the wait, as the US premiere will be a four-part episode that features Shazam.

In case you don't know, unlike previous iterations of the Justice League series, Justice League Action (or JLA, for short), will have each episode lasting only 11 minutes long. This format has been the norm for Cartoon Network with their CN Original lineup, and more recently with the Powerpuff Girls and Ben 10 Reboots. JLA will also be much lighter in tone than its predecessors, though Kevin Conroy, who will reprise his role as Batman, assured fans that the elements that made Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited as great animated classics, will be retained in Justice League Action.

Word has it the UK is releasing episodes of JLA out of order, which gives the impression the series will air mostly stand-alone episodes mainly for syndication purposes, with a few to have an overarching plot as is the case of the US premiere. So I honestly have no idea what episodes the ones I saw are. If anyone knows the production code of the UK premiere episodes, please let me know.

The first episode of Justice League Action that I watched was "Power Outage". Here, Superman and Wonder Woman were taking down a villain named "Parasite", who has the power to absorb his victim's energy to increase his own. After Parasite is captured, he is seemingly killed by a meteor that contained the alien "Khalathoss" (I apologize for the improper spelling and pronunciation). Khalathoss has the ability to get stronger the more times he is attacked, as well as gain the powers of the said attacker, while draining the latter. So as Wonder Woman and Superman continue attacking Khalathoss, they gradually lose their powers while Khalathoss gains theirs and is getting stronger.

You would think Khalathoss is one really incredible foe that can give even Amazo and Doomsday a run for their money. But because this is a stand-alone episode, Khalathoss is taken care of very quickly, and quite easily. You see, Khalathoss is an alien that is very much tied to fire and magma. So Martian Manhunter was called in to have his powers absorbed by Khalathoss, because apparently Martians are 'allergic' to fire. Also Martian Manhunter is skinnier this time around and has a banter that would make him and Peter Parker best friends, as they'll spend all day telling jokes at each other.

Anyhow, the plan worked and Parasite was actually alive, just absorbed by Khalathoss. The two were contained and the episode ends with even more banter coming from Double-M.

The second episode I watched was titled "Nuclear Family Values" and introduces the properly named "Nuclear Family". Quick history from the episode reveals they were androids created as crash-test dummies for Nuclear explosion sites, but somehow gained sentience and intends to blow up a nuclear power plant to serve as their new residence. As the Justice League are unable to respond to the emergency, a non-registered member answers the call.

Enter Firestorm. Yes, the very same character you probably have seen in The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow in DC's Arrow-verse. Differences are that one half of Firestorm is Ronnie Raymond and not Jefferson Jackson, a totally different origin story, and the power to manipulate inorganic objects at an atomic level, such as turning radioactive steam into air freshener in one scene. He is also capable of absoring atomic energy and release it back at his enemies.

Honestly, I like this version of Firestorm better as he has far more abilities than the Arrow-verse version, and probably even more powerful than Justice League's Captain Atom. My criticisms of the character is that 1), his design is similar to Fireman from the Rockman/Megaman games. And 2), JLA is making Firestorm almost the counterpart to Deadpool in terms of non-stop talking. After defeating the Nuclear Family, Firestorm was immediately invited by the Holy Trinity to become a full-time member of the Justice League.

In terms of character design, they were good at the initial promo, but watching it now in the series, the designs appear more simplistic and not too detailed. They appear to be done in order to appeal to the much younger crowd, or to put more bluntly, the kids who love Teen Titans Go. The animation also isn't as fluid, as though a decision was made to have less frames in one second of animation, so the end product appears a little bit choppy. I can guess reasons for these is due to the show having a much smaller budget than the previous Justice League incarnations.

As for the lighter tone and humor in Justice League Action, this is where your mileage may vary. While I don't find anything wrong with it, the atmosphere does feel pretty weird when compared with the previous Justice League shows. Best I can describe JLA is that it's like watching Batman: The Brave and The Bold plus the Ben 10 Reboot. What is certain is that anyone expecting JLA to be dark and serious like the Bruce Timm shows and Young Justice, despite what Kevin Conroy has said, you are not going to find it in Justice League Action.

So is Justice League Action worth watching at all? That depends on whether or not you're ok with a lighter-toned Justice League. Consider the DC Rebirth event, which relaunches DC Comics with a much lighter tone, dominating in comic book sales, and is inching closer to beat Marvel. So if you like the direction DC Comics is heading, you could enjoy Justice League Action. Otherwise, no harm, no foul, as the series is mostly episodic and doesn't require you to watch nearly every episode.

Justice League Action is airing right now on Cartoon Network in the UK, with a US release sometime in mid-December.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Ep. 34 Thoughts

The Gundam Virar, formerly the Kimaris

With the episode titled "Vidar Rising", you'd think this will focus entirely on Gaelio (under the alias "Vidar") and his Gundam Frame (which shares his alias namesake). Well, we do get to see Gaelio in action, and his motivation for joining Rustal, which is obviously revenge. To be frank, I wasn'really impressed with the Gundam Vidar, in both its design and performance. It's not as intimidating as many other antagonist Mobile Suits in the Gundam franchise, such as the Sinanju in Gundam Unicorn, or the Tallgeese in Gundam W. Gaelio also refers to the Vidar as though it was a person, likely meaning his subordinate Ein, who met his fate at the hands of Mikazuki last season, may likely be inside the Vidar.

As expected, Tekkadan's decision to work with McGillis in return for control of Mars does not bode well with Teiwaz, though the big boss himself, McMurdo Barriston, sees this as an opportunity to profit big. Still, Naze warns Orga that he will have to eventually take on Teiwaz as well to complete his ambition, which may include a showdown between the two sworn brothers.

Probably why we get to see a shot what appears to be Orga's own personal MS (if not Eugene's) referred to as the "King's Throne". We also get to see the dugged up Gundam designated as "Flauros", with the other discovery being a support unit for it.

The King's Throne

The Gundam Flauros

A little bit of light-heartedness is inserted in this episode with the reveal that Merribit is dating Old Man Nady, much to the surprise of Chad, when everyone in Tekkadan already knew the news. Seems any romantic relations between Merribit and Orga are dead in the water. We get to see Hush acting like a little puppy towards Mikazuki, all in hopes of continuing his training, to which poor Mika finds annoying. The latter meanwhile, still follows his dream of one day being a farmer on Mars, to which Kudelia promises to keep that dream alive.

Finally, we see McGillis and his child fiancee Almira talking briefly about Gjallarhorn's origin and philosophy and how McGillis strives to restore it in the present Gjallarhorn. One of the things he says to Almira was, if successful, it will allow her to marry virtually anyone she wishes, even if she's only a child. It kind of irks me a bit that McGillis's ambition also implies child marriage under the original philosophy of Gjallarhorn. Besides that, McGillis's ambition is no different from Nobunaga (and to an extent Hitler) from Drifters. It may be just me, but I'm starting to see a trend in works like Iron Blooded Orphans and Drifters for a call to have a unified government, but is split into several divisions of which they operate independently, similar to the Federal-State system of the United States. It is only in My Hero Academia that I see the message that having a government of law and order is good, while changing it in the name of freedom (the motivation of the villains) is a bad thing.

This week's episode of Iron Blooded Orphans is the calm before the storm next episode. However, we are already seeing tensions coming from all sides as the Fareed-Tekkadan alliance and Rustal Elion's Gjallarhorn are about to meet head on. And this is just Episode 9. We're not even halfway into the season yet!

Dragon Ball Super Ep. 68 Thoughts

I find it weird that when it comes to Dragon Ball Super, the best episodes aren't the ones where we see Vegito, or Future Trunks, or the powerful villains, or epic fights. It's the episode where everyone lives out their normal lives and the shenanigans that come along with it. This week's episode "Come Forth, Shenron! Whose Wish Will Be Granted?!", is no exception.

Story is quite simple. The Dragon Balls from Earth are now active after it was used last time to find out about the Super Dragon Balls (which means a year has passed since the Champa Arc. So we are technically in the 2nd of the 10-year time gap between Kid Buu's defeat by Goku, and his meeting with Uub at the end of Dragon Ball Z). So Goku has decided to find the Dragon Balls again to keep his promise to revive King Kai. Apparently, there are still two wishes left that were unused (as Shenron can only be around at a set time before he disappears), so Shenron asks what those wishes are.

Unbeknownst to Goku, everyone else has their own plan of getting to Shenron and granting their wish - Bulma wants to obtain the material needed to power up the Time Machine she rebuilt after it was destroyed by Goku Black; No. 18 wants to find a gift for Krillin; Oolong and Master Roshi want, well, we all know what THEY want. Even the Pilaf gang want to take advantage of the situation and use the Dragon Balls to rule the world.

So we have one character after another popping up giving their own reasons for asking a wish from Shenron. Ultimately the first wish goes to Gohan to cure Pan of her illness, which is found to be incurable by modern medicine due to her Saiyan blood. It's weird considering Gohan, Goten, and Trunks are part-Saiyans as well and are able to live off healthy lives. But since this isn't a major plot, I'm willing to forgive Toei's writing on this loophole.

Later Bulma, determined to have her wish granted, solves the problems of the rest of the cast - she tells 18 that what Krillin wants are her and Marron's happiness; she orders some call girls to hang out with Roshi for 10 Million Zeni; paid 18 even more Zeni to get rid of Oolong; Goten and Trunks apparently don't know WHAT they wish for; and Pilaf gets wasted.

This leaves Goku and Bulma's wishes. Goku agrees to help Bulma find the mineral for the Time Machine in exchange for granting his wish. However, Goku is concerned about traveling to the Earth's core as magma would kill him, thus Bulma's assist on giving him a special suit. It may seem weird given Goku's incredible power, but in actuality it does bring credence. Ki-based attacks are not exactly similar to a flamethrower, TNT, or even a laser. Rather it's more akin to be hit by a powerful punch. This is very much evident in Dragon Ball when Goku used the Kamehameha for the first time to knock over a car, rather than see it blown to bits.

Recall the Resurrection F arc where Vegeta was among those killed by Frieza due to the destruction of Earth. So even a Super Saiyan Blue is not immune to a planetary explosion. It also means Vegeta's fight against Magetta in the Champa was indeed a dangerous one because of Magetta's lava being capable of melting Vegeta had he not have the means to protect himself from it.

Sadly, Beerus and Whis found out about Bulma attempting to Time Travel and foiled her plan by destroying the mineral she's looking for, the Time Machine itself, AND the notes left by the Future Bulma.

And does anyone honestly think Goku would keep his end of the bargain? Of course not! So with time ran out, the Dragon Balls are dispersed once again, much to King Kai's dismay.

What I enjoy most of this episode is actually 18. From what I can recall, she is the only Dragon Ball Z character that was never given a light-hearted moment as she always looked dead serious. While the episode did not give her a funny reaction face, her blushing is a good consolation and shows that even someone like 18 can have such moments. It also shows her character rarely seen throughout Dragon Ball as being a very caring mother and devoted wife to Krillin, while also jumping at the chance to get a LOT of money for next to nothing.

So once again, these slice-of-life (for lack of a better term) episodes are what really give Dragon Ball Super its shine. I'm not surprised at those turned off by this, but this is what made the original Dragon Ball popular and Super isn't afraid to return its roots, which I find it very welcoming. This is especially in the case of next week's episode, where Goku and the mighty Arale square off.

Adventure Time Season 7 Finale Review

Adventure Time Preboot and Reboot Title Cards

About a week ago, Cartoon Network USA aired the Season 7 finale of Adventure Time after several months in hiatus. Surprisingly or not surprisingly, depending on how you view Cartoon Network, they did not bother promoting the Season 7 finale. According to Showbuzzdaily, Adventure Time did made it to the Top 50, landing at No. 44 with a key demo rating of 0.21 and viewed by 767,000 people. So it meets the expected average. Still, those numbers could've gone higher if Cartoon Network actually promoted the episode on their channel.

But I'm not hear to rant about Cartoon Network's recent management activities. Rather this is my general thoughts of the Season 7 finale. At first, I really didn't think of it that much as it is the start of a brand new arc that leads to another mini-series like event, similar to the 8-part Stakes mini-series featuring Marceline. In fact the upcoming comic book special serves as a prequel to the said new event. After getting a request via private message, I decided to give the two-part Season 7 finale of Adventure Time - "Preboot" and "Reboot", a second look.

Susan Strong's mechanical implant

Before we go further, let's go back to the episode "Dark Purple", which aired in February of last year. While rescuing a baby from robots that run a soda factory, a mechanical implant was revealed on Susan's scalp. It's quite a big deal since we first thought that Susan might be another human like Finn, and now it may be otherwise. This revelation is explored even further, with "Preboot" and "Reboot".

He thinks the Merry-Go-Round is a sting-like trap or something

"Preboot" begins with Finn, Jake, and Susan exploring an abandoned arcade at the mall in Beautopia, hoping to find some cursed artifacts. While it is funny to see them think that a horse from the Merry-Go-Round contains some magical properties, given the atmosphere of Adventure Time, this shouldn't be surprising. Even today, when archeologists discover some ancient artifact, unless there are other clues to help them out, they can best guess what that artifact is for, which could be wrong.

Imagine tens of thousands of years from now, someone discovered a figurine of Goku from Dragon Ball and think he's an idol people used to worship, and the people of that future decided to take the woshipping part, seriously. It's quite funny to think about it, but it is one possible scenario in an era where much of us don't exist anymore. Thus, the opening scene of Preboot features as such.

Anyhow, during the trio's exploration, Tiffany pops up from inside a giant mechanical fortress and invite Finn, Jake, and Susan inside. They meet Dr. Gross, who operates the fortress and is the one that rescued Tiffany after the latter was swallowed up by the giant Worm Queen, and giving him a bionic arm. Gross reveals that she is taking in several creatures from Earth and giving them cyborg enhancements as a way to speed up the evolutionary process, with Finn, Jake, and Susan being her latest subjects. Gross herself is also revealed to be a full cyborg.

Dr. Gross, who considers herself a "Human+"

Finn & Jake refused Gross's offer, but were paralyzed thanks to the poison from the candy Gross gave them earlier. Gross also has a more sinister plan - her cyborg creatures serves as her own personal army to draw out the humans from a place called "The Island" and turn them all into cyborgs. Once again, this is a lead-up to the mini-series where Finn & Jake entered The Island to meet other humans. Susan fortunately didn't eat the candy and rescues Finn & Jake, while Tiffany makes the ultimate sacrifice to help them escape. In the process however, the other cyborg creatures got out as well, with the giant eel heading straight to the Candy Kingdom.

In one scene, Gross finds the implant on Susan's scalp with the serial "XJ-77", and appears to be very familiar with her. So this is a strong implication that Susan originally came from The Island. The serial "XJ-77" may have also been a reference to the character "XJ-9", aka Jenny Wakeman from the Nickelodeon series "My Life As A Teenage Robot".

We continue the season finale with "Reboot". Finn, Jake, and Susan were able to subdue the giant eel, but the eel's electricity knocks Susan unconscious. When Finn tries to help her out, he unintentionally activates the implant that reveals Susan's programming, which is to kidnap Finn and bring him to The Island.

A transformed Susan Strong

Jake and Princess Bubblegum rescue Finn and take him to the Candy Kingdom, but Susan pursues and attacks. Rattleballs, the former guardian of the Candy Kingdom, and Finn's mentor in using the Grass Sword, appears to fight Susan, who tranformed into a power-up form. (I'm guessing the storyboarders must've watched Dragon Ball and used Frieza's transformations as reference) Sadly, Susan Strong was just, no pun intended, too strong and destroys Rattleballs completely. Finn is once again kidnapped and taken to a beach where Susan contacts The Island for extraction.

Yabba-Dabba-Dabba-Dabba

Jake arrives and the adventuring duo form the Jake Suit, and battles Susan pro-wrestling style. But Susan ends up the victor after pinning Jake down with an anchor. Finn reluctantly defends himself and was able to destroy the implant, bringing Susan back to her senses. However, in an attempt to survive, the Grass Sword acts on its own to attack Susan to squeeze her to death. Finn attacks the Grass Sword to free Susan, causing it to detach itself from Finn's arm and fuses with the broken Finn Sword, forming a new creature with the Grass Sword in hand, as though about to attack Finn.

TO BE CONTINUED

And that my friends, is the end of Season 7 of Adventure Time, and Finn is left with no way of defending himself. He has no weapons, Jake and Susan are down, and the Grass Creature appears intent on taking him out. I could easily predict that by the time Season 8 begins, whenever that may be, whoever Susan contacted on The Island will arrive to help Finn out. And we will get to learn more of not just The Island, but Susan's origins as well. So we will get to see more of her in the episodes to come. I'm happy that Susan gets more appearances this time around, as she is one of the favorite characters among Adventure Time fans.

We have one musical number played in the season finale, and looking back, I have to give Showrunner Adam Muto and the staff due credit, being able to pull off some good songs even without Rebecca Sugar composing them as she is now running Steven Universe.

Sad that Tiffany may be gone for good, but it's probably for the best, given that his voice actor, Collin Dean, is showing signs of puberty in his voice. Collin Dean, for those who don't know, played Greg in "OVer The Garden Wall", and is also voicing as Lincoln in Nickelodeon's "The Loud House".

Another person that's sad to go is the Finn Sword, as technically speaking, there is a living Finn inside there as a result of the various time loops and paradoxes to bring Prismo back. Now he is consumed by the Grass Sword creating a new enemy Finn must defeat.

Given that Adventure Time is planned to end its run by 2018, I would think that the final 2 seasons would be more story-driven to wrap things up, or follow the similar format of Regular Show's final season, in which the episodes are mostly stand-alone, but are tied to the overarching plot of saving the universe. I think it's proper that the final two seasons tie-up some loose ends, one of which is Finn's origins. We know that Finn was abandoned as a baby, and Martin Merten's accounts on why he abandoned his own son is fishy at best. It's been rumored that someone from Finn's past, most probably Mrs. Mertens, Finn's mother, lives on The Island. So goes the theory that Mrs. Mertens may have programmed Susan to find Finn.

So this brings the question - is it possible Susan Strong is Finn's sister? In the alternate timeline, Farmworld Finn did have a baby sibling, though the name and gender is not mentioned. So it's possible the sibling also exists in the prime timeline. Though there isn't any hard evidence to suggest Susan Strong is that very sibling, the same is true of the opposite, especially given that she was tasked to find Finn.

As I said earlier, the Season 7 finale is but a lead-in to the mini-series in Season 8, but it is a great build-up nonetheless. We see some helloes, maybe some goodbyes, well executed pace in storytelling and some yabba-dabba-dabba. Overall, a very good season finale, and I am looking forward to the next season. I just hope Cartoon Network isn't screwing with their flagship series anymore and give it its proper run for everyone to see as it slowly reaches the curtain call.

WWE x Crunchyroll?!

Get 3 months of Crunchyroll Premium AND the WWE Network for $20. Black Friday only. This has got to be the most bizarre cross-promotion I have ever seen as a fan of anime and pro-wrestling.

I honestly cannot imagine what Vince McMahon is thinking forming a cross promotion with an anime website, having virtually no relation to pro-wrestling. Only thing I can think of that WWE fans might get out of Crunchyroll is Tiger Mask W, which is a wrestling anime, except it's not based on a WWE charactr, but NJPW.

Gintama Creator Gets No Money From Adaptations

If you live in the US and just celebrated Thanksgiving, I wish you guys a belated Happy Thanksgiving. If you happen to be living elsewhere and is, will be, or just finished whatever Holiday you have in your local area, Happy Holidays. Or otherwise, a good morning, afternoon, or evening, depending on your time zone.

I myself recently finished my Holiday and I got plenty of time to kill before I get back to my ever-so-busy-real-life routine, I decided to make a few videos over the weekend and catch up on some things.

For this video I want to talk about a common misconception regarding manga and anime in which the creator ends up being incredibly rich if his or her title becomes a major hit. Be it Akira Toriyama from Dragon Ball, Kentaro Miura from Berserk, Hirohiko Araki from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, or in this particular case, Hideaki Sorachi, the creator of Gintama.

Before we move on a full disclosure: I have never read a single chapter of the Gintama manga, nor have I watched any of its adaptations. Gintama is one of the many anime franchises that is going on for so long, like One Piece and Bleach, I don't want to invest my time on it. I'm already investing my time on Dragon Ball Super, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and the Gundam franchise, to name a few. So I just can't get into Gintama. That being said, I hear it is a very good series and given that it's still around since 2003, it's quite popular.

 

According to the website RocketNews24, a Japanese Twitter user by the name of "beasty_baby" posted a scanned image from the 51st volume of the Gintama manga where author Hideaki Sorachi answered a question from a female fan if Sorachi received any money from the Gintama movies. Sorachi answered and I quote:

To tell the naked truth, regardless of how many people watch the film or how much the gross earnings are, not a single yen goes to the author. We are only paid an upfront license fee. The amount we’re paid is peanuts in comparison to the overall box office gross. The majority of the profits go to filthy unscrupulous companies such as Shueisha and Sunrise. Releasing individual manga volumes is way more profitable.
 
But the reason why I slog to fulfill these film adaptations, to the extent that I’m peeing blood, is because there is a place in this world that is more wonderful than a mansion at Roppongi Hills. And that place, ma’am, is in your heart.

If Gintama can reach the hearts of the masses, I wouldn’t mind living in a hill made of cardboard. The authors are the only ones who harbour such honest intentions with their creations.

So ma’am, if you’re feeling sorry for us, don’t just watch the movies, but also buy our books so that we can live at Roppongi Hills with the publishing royalties.

So to summarize, no. Apart from being paid a license fee, Sorachi doesn't get a single penny from the movies and most of it goes to Shueisha, the publisher for the Gintama manga, which also includes Dragon Ball and One Piece, and Sunrise, the animation studio for the Gintama anime, and is best known for the Gundam franchise.

From Sorachi's account, it's clear here that manga authors don't make up as much profit from adaptations of their works as the companies do. Even in the United States, those who write for Marvel and DC don't become millionaires from their stories of Green Arrow or the Inhumans, or whatever. Most of the profits goes to the comic book publisher and the writers either get a set salary, or an incredibly small amount of the comic book sale.

If the manga or comic book creator does his or her own publishing, then of course that person gets most of the profits, provided the work is a major best seller. But I honestly don't know anybody who had a successful manga or comic book that was self-published by the author. The one thing I can think of is Image Comics, the publisher behind popular works like Spawn and The Walking Dead, as their creators retain full control over the direction of their stories. I am not sure, however, if that also means the same when it comes to revenue from comic book sales.

Another would be the Doujinshi Community, where authors produce fan-made works and these are often self-published. Unfortunately, Doujinshi is only allowed in Japan, and everyone else can't publish one themselves without being slapped with copyright infringement. Plus, I don't know of any Doujinshi work that is extremely popular among anime and manga fans. Personally, I would love to publish a Doujinshi based on Avatar: The Last Airbender, where Aang gets a brutal beating by a Mary Sue villain, because he pulled a Deus Ex Machina to defeat Ozai in his story, which I absolutely hate about at the end of that series. But I cannot do that without Nickelodeon breathing down my neck, so the only place it can go through is my own headcanon.

So what does all this mean? It means no matter how many times you watch an anime movie in theaters, or if you get the entire DVD or Blu-Ray box set, not a single penny goes to the author of that series if it's based on a manga, unless its an entirely original anime work, such as Kabaneri of The Iron Fortress, for example, or the Studio Ghibli films. If you wish to support your favorite anime that is based on a manga series, or novel, or any of the sort, buy the original content. You love Dragon Ball Super, for example, and want to support Akira Toriyama, you buy the original Dragon Ball manga written and drawn by Toriyama.

It's understandable that a lot of people don't have access to the manga and would go with the adaptations instead, as they are easier to get. Even Sorachi is aware of this. Which is why he is blessed with anybody who do took their time, money and effort to purhase the Gintama mangas. So again, if you can, buy the mangas to support your favorite series. It's definitely far better than say, use Kickstarter or something like that.

The Return of Panty & Stocking?

Just woke up from one long, yet totally worth it Holiday evening and the first thing I saw when I fired up my feed was this:

Worth noting that the announcement is from Gainax West, which is the English Twitter page of Studio Gainax, rather than their Japanese one. I would think that this announcement is more for the Western audience, which leads me to believe a possible broadcast release of Panty & Stocking on Toonami. It would be unprecedented if true, as Toonami mainly provides action-themed anime and not comedy.

For those who don't know, Panty & Stocking was an anime series from Studio Gainax (Evangelion, Gurren Lagann) that aired in 2010. It's a comedy series of two sexually obsessed angels who hunt demons on Earth in order to gain re-entry back into heaven for their misbehavior. An English dub version from FUNimation was released in 2012. The series was loved by fans (especially in the West) for its over-the-top sexual comedy and animation-style akin to that of the Classic Powerpuff Girls. Invader Zim creator Jhonen Vazquez also praised the series for its depiction of the dog-character Chuck, who has an uncanny resemblance to the Invader Zim character Gir.

Weekend Anime Rankings (Nov 14-20)

Here's the latest weekend Anime Top Rankings as noted from Video Research Ltd.

1. Sazae-san (12.8%)
2. Crayon Shin-chan (9.1%)
3. Chibi Maruko-chan (8.8)
4. Detective Conan (8.6)
5. Doraemon (7.6)
6. One Piece (7.1)
7. Dragon Ball Super (6.7)
8. Time Bokan 24 (4.9)
9. Pokemon Sun & Moon 1-Hour Special (4.4)
10. Yokai Watch (4.3)

Dragon Ball Fusions Online Content for US Slated for 2017

If you haven't already, Dragon Ball Fusions for the 3DS is finally available in English for US players. Crunchyroll reports that the online features for the game will be available early 2017. 

For those not in the know, Dragon Ball Fusions is an RPG game for the 3DS that, as the name suggests, focuses primarily on fusions. Via the "EX Fusions", players can have the opportunity to fuse several characters throughout Dragon Ball's history. Possible fusions include "Karoli" (Broly & Goku), "Beerusuis" (Beerus & Whis), "Vegenks" (Vegeta & Trunks), "Pandel" (Pan & Videl), "Toware"(Towa & Arale), "Majin Satan" (Buu & Satan), and many more.

Recently, the Japanese version has a special online quest that gives players the opportunity to obtain Goku Black, Zamasu, and Future Trunks from the now completed "Future Trunks Arc" from Dragon Ball Super.

You can watch the trailer of the game below:

And if you want to grab a copy of the game, you can order one right now from Play-Asia for $29.99.

CN Is Screwing Regular Show Again

Regular Show Storyboarder Toby Jones just gave out a tweet saying that, for whatever reason, Cartoon Network is NOT airing the Thanksgiving episode of Regular Show. The episode will instead be available on Hulu.

Honestly, I cannot believe it. But given Cartoon Network's similar treatment with Adventure Time (not promoting the two-part Season 7 finale, I've heard), and losing their rights to the Pokemon franchise and transferred instead to Disney, it is becoming clear that the network wants to emulate Nickelodeon's practices, relying heavily on Teen Titans Go and the Powerpuff Girls Reboot as virtually infinite cash cows, discarding the rest of their lineup. This worries me because 2017 is where we will expect loads of new content form the network, including OK, KO! from former Steven Universe Director Ian Jones-Quartey (Toby Jones is also assigned to the upcoming series).

No posts for now

Off on a holiday so no reviews for Ajin, Drifters, and Kejio. Will do a two episode review on each one when i get back. Stay tuned.

Bee & Puppycat Final Episodes Screenshots (UPDATE)

So apparently the final episodes of Bee & Puppycat came out on Kickstarter after 2 years in limbo. But not long after, they were taken down. The staff explained "it was a mistake". So all we got out of them are these screenshot and gif images.

 

I for one, have been awfully critical of Bee & Puppycat because of the incredibly long wait to have these produced when they are not even 11 minutes long per episode, and the final product was anything but what was featured in the original pilot. The same goes for Bravest Warriors, though in the latter's case, the showrunners admit that the series wasn't profitable, which is why Frederator Studios has teamed up with VRV in hopes of getting more funding to produce the show. They finally got it after it was being picked up by Nelvana.

So as you can see with the pictures, creator Natasha Allegri and the staff are trying to add something in the show that would drive the audience to support it, and probably give more money to fund another season. I will never give a penny to this after waiting virtually more than 3 years to finish one season that's only an hour or so long.

EDIT: The episodes are now back up on Kickstarter, with a general release planned sometime in 2017.

EDIT 2: More Screenshots

Also a new character named "Toast"

The following is a copypasta of what happened in the final episodes. These are from /co/, so take these with a grain of salt, but they are spoilers nonetheless.

>rent is due in Bee and Deckard's apartment building
>Bee sets off to give Cardamon her rent check, Cass sends Deckard to pay their apartment's rent while she stays to work on a coding job
>Cass tells Deckard to also mail his culinary school acceptance form, which she filled out for him
>suddenly some wrestler woman named Toast bursts through Cass's bedroom wall
>Toast reveals that Cass used to belong to a women's wrestling cult and was ranked last
>Toast is upset Cass left because now she is ranked last instead of second to last
>Toast attempts to wrestle Cass
>a random lap dog witnesses the violence and is inspired to begin a reign of terror. he runs off
>Deckard slinks off with the mail
>meanwhile, Bee and Puppycat are just leaving their house
>Deckard runs into them and tells them to run from the dog
>Bee retardedly greets the dog, which tries to eat her hair
>a random crow also tries to eat Bee's hair
>the crow and dog make friends and run off together
>meanwhile, at Cardomon's house, Cardomon's dog is being cute
>Cardomon goes into his mother's room
>his mother is really pretty, like a princess, but she's in a coma, hooked up to a heart monitor
>Cardomon is sad
>we switch to a fairytale about an octopus that falls in love with a princess
>this eventually becomes a creationary story about where jellyfish come from
>back to the main story, Bee, Puppycat, and Deckard arrive at Cardomon's house and give him their rent
>Cardomon has a cold
>Bee and Deckard want to make him feel better
>Cardomon asks to borrow Puppycat, we see Cardomon's line of thinking is that he wants to breed Puppycat with his own dog, Sticky
>Puppycat refuses at first, but enters Cardomon's house when he hears the Pretty Patrick show is playing on Cardomon's tv
>Cardomon tries to convince the animals to have sex

>meanwhile, Deckard tells Bee he wants to show her something
>on the way, Deckard tries to throw away his cooking school form, but misses the dumpster
>Bee picks up the form and sees what it is
>back at Cardomon's house, Puppycat does not want to fuck the dog
>Puppycat runs into a room that turns out to be Cardomon's mom's room
>Cardomon comes in and tells Puppycat that his mother is asleep
>Cardomon asks Puppycat if he's ever been in love
>we have a brief visual recalling the audience to the space outlaw story from the pilot
>Deckard shows Bee his herb garden
>by the way, it's been snowing this whole episode
>Bee shoves some leaves in her mouth and starts crying a little
>she asks Deckard why he tried to throw away the form
>Deckard says he likes where he's living now and doesn't want to leave
>Suddenly, they see Puppycat trying to escape Cardomon's house through a window
>but he's stuck
>Bee has to stand on Deckard's shoulders to reach Puppycat to try to pull him out
>Puppycat sees that Bee has been crying and says he will kill whoever is responsible
>Bee decides it would be easier to transport Puppycat and herself to a temp job than to dislodge him from the window
>Bee accidentally transports herself and Deckard and leaves Puppycat
>Deckard is alarmed at first, but eventually calms down
>Temp bot sends Bee and Deckard to a baking assignment
>Cardomon takes Puppycat back into the house

>Deckard and Bee arrive on a giant donut baking planet with a strange black orb in the middle
>the boss explains that he's going to the next planet over to go pee, and he needs them to watch his giant donut maker and make sure he's doing his job
>the worker seems like a nice guy. he lets Deckard make a giant donut
>the worker puts his magic donuts into the orb, which he says is a black hole, and explains that sometimes he pulls out thankyou gifts in their place
>Bee doesn't want to make a donut- she says she's no good at baking
>the donut maker asks her what she is good at. Bee doesn't know
>the donut maker hurts his finger with a donut crystal
>Bee pulls the crystal out and bandages his hand
>Deckard wants to put his donut into the black hole
>Bee pockets some donut dough
>Deckard puts his donut in the black hole, but suddenly the hole grows a bunch of scary black arms
>they begin to destroy the bakery planet
>the arms pull giant donut making guy into the black hole
>Bee tries to hold onto him, but her arms are sucked into the hole with him
>there's a cracking noise while Bee's arms are submerged, and Bee's eyes turn pink. She pulls one arm out, and it's broken, revealing that the arm is full of pastel colored machinery and ribbons
>Deckard recovers his senses after having been knocked off someplace. The back of his head has a little cut and is bleeding a little (regular blood)
>Bee saves Deckard from being crushed by rubble. She apparently has super strength. She appears to be in a trance
>She throws Deckard back to temp bot and sends him home
>in her weird robotic state, Bee defeats the black hole by throwing a giant fryolater into it
>Bee then wakes up to her normal state with regular eyes. The boss has returned and is lamenting the destruction of his business

>we switch to Cass's room. it's nighttime now. Toast is asleep in Cass's bed, Cass is still working on her code
>Deckard is home. He bandages the back of his head
>Deckard tells Cass that he has turned in his application form
>he has his bags packed and is ready to leave
>Cass tells Deckard to say goodbye to "everyone" (it's implied she is referring to Bee) before he leaves
>Deckard's other siblings storm the room at Cass's call and dogpile him to say goodbye
>Deckard sneaks away in the commotion
>At Cardomon's house, Cardomon hears a knock at his door
>on the doorstop he finds a magic donut and a note from Bee
>the note says the donut can grant Cardomon a wish
>Puppycat finally secretly escapes Cardomon's house
>next to where the donut and note were, Puppycat finds some pastel gadget bits
>Puppycat takes them and starts running home

>at the train station, Deckard gives Cass a note and tells her to give it to Bee
>Cardomon feeds a piece of donut to Sticky. Sticky's limbs change color, to Cardomon's surprise
>Cardomon runs up to his mother's bed and shoves the donut in her mouth, assisting her to swallow it by rubbing her throat
>nothing happens. the heart monitor continues to beat steadily. Cardomon starts crying
>Puppycat arrives home and follows a trail of gadget bits
>Bee is sitting in her apartment and she has her arm in a strange glowing box
>inside the box are tiny robot arms that are repairing the gadgetry in Bee's arm
>Bee notices Puppycat and says "I guess there's a lot of stuff we don't know about eachother"
>Puppycat asks Bee what is her favorite color
>as we hear Bee's voice over name colors, we see Cardomon's mom, as Cardomon sleeps next to her
>tears with tiny jellyfish in them leak from her closed eyes
>in the voiceover, Puppycat continues to ask Bee what is her favorite animal, he favorite food. We see Deckard on the train as it departs
>Bee says her favorite food is "everything." Puppycat asks Bee what she wants to be when she grows up. She says "I dunno. Everything?"
>we see a closeup of the glowing box as it shuts off
>the end

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - Diamond is Unbreakable Ep. 34 Thoughts

This is perhaps the longest arc out of everything we see in Diamond is Unbreakable. I honestly can’t recall anything in this series, or in Stardust Crusaders, with an arc lasting more than 4 episodes. Nevertheless, the Day of July 15th has finally reached its conclusion.

We begin with Rohan’s dealing with the Stand, Cheap Trick (weirdly, the sub version I watched correctly used the name rather than alternative “Cheap Trap”. Either Cheap Trick has no issues using his name in the anime and lets it slide, or I’m watching the version that uses the names correctly regardless of the copyright issue).  We learn that Cheap Trick isn’t really much and just annoys the user with his banter, and any attempts to physically remove him forcefully would result in Cheap Trick literally ripping the user’s back. Unfortunately, due to the several bad encounters Rohan has made with Josuke and co., none seems eager to help him with his predicament, even with Koichi.  Rohan has no choice but to make his way to the Morioh Grand Hotel and seek help from Jotaro (who we know is out looking for Yoshikage Kira).

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure creator Hirohiko Araki has somehow mastered the art of misdirection, which has become one of the staples of the series. In my experience, as the plot unfolds, I never really gave notice on the misdirection the show makes, even though it has been pretty commonplace. Araki does it again when Rohan made Cheap Trick believe he was going to see Jotaro, but in fact he went to the Ghost Alley where Reimi Sugimoto is, and used one of the forbidden rules of the alley (never look back when leaving the area) to have Cheap Trick trapped and free Rohan. As a bonus, Reimi provided clues as to Yoshikage’s new identity.

In the second half of the episode, Yoshikage, as Kosaku Kawajiri, gives in to his murderous urge after being harassed by a local couple. We are then reminded as to why he’s one of the most feared antagonists throughout JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, even more frightening than Dio himself, after he kills off the boyfriend using Killer Queen and, by just conversation and gesture alone, scares the living hell out of the girlfriend, and the audience. Anime has struggled with horror because of the format being mostly 2D and could not be as convincing as live-action. But the way Yoshikage deals with the woman before ‘poofing’ her is far more frightening than any of the horror films I’ve seen this year.

But Yoshikage’s urge may be his undoing as his latest murder has been caught on tape by the young Hayato Kawajiri. This leads to a scary and somewhat awkward situation, of Yoshikage and Hayato sharing a bath together with the latter intent on killing him there. But Hayato reveals he has ANOTHER camera filing them in the shower and caught Yoshikakge’s intent on killing him, giving Hayato the leverage he needs to survive.

This episode is an example of the strangeness of Japan’s censorship policy towards certain scenes. Much of the graphic scenery has been blackened out if not done off-screen. But nudity, at least in Hayato’s case, is not an issue and we get to see him full frontal, compared to Yoshikage, who is censored. There have been other anime where graphic violence is ok to show, but not nudity. How times have changed from decades ago, I guess.

At any rate, the show is inching closer to its eventual conclusion. I’m curious as to how Hayato can keep himself alive, not knowing anything about Stands, and how Josuke and the gang finally catch up on Yoshikage. The suspense is another thing that makes JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure a great series and the next episode just can’t come soon enough.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Ep. 33 Thoughts

So we bid adieu to Takaki Uno after seeing him in the last 4 episodes or so. No, he didn’t end up a casualty of war like Aston last episode. But this is perhaps the last time we will be seeing Takaki for much of this season, if not the series altogether. He is still reeling over Aston’s death and even though his sister Fuka tries to console him (who herself is also coping), it’s still getting the best of him. 

After speaking with Mikazuki and Kudelia, Takaki made the announcement that he would leave Tekkadan and remain on Earth, living as a civilian with his sister. Orga accepts his resignation and both Mika and Akihiro give their own way of saying farewell. It’s always amusing to see how Mika reacts to these things, considering he barely flinches. 

Speaking of Akihiro, the episode has confirmed that without a doubt, Lafter’s in love with him, and even Azee notices, but the two agree to keep it a secret. As much as I like to see this blossom, this is Iron Blooded Orphans, where things get REALLY bad. I expect Lafter’s confession to never happen because either she or Akihiro gets offed. I do hope that never happens, though, and that Akihiro does get his own happy ending. Plus I love the guy as he’s the Gundam counterpart to Guts from Berserk.

We learn a bit more about McGillis. Aside from never having blood ties to the Fareed family, he is also constantly abused by his foster father, Iznario Fareed. I can only think the reason he was adopted in the first place, apart from having a male heir, is due to his keen intelligence. Rustal suspects this as McGillis’s motivation for taking over the Fareed family and his rise in power within Gjallarhorn. 

Later, we find out why McGillis insists on teaming with Tekkadan for his campaign than anyone else – he plans to completely remove Gjallarhorn from their influence on Mars and giving it instead to Tekkadan. This means not only is Mars operating with virtually full independence, but under Tekkadan’s watch, it gives the faction such a status that shakes up the balance of power among the economic blocs. As I said in my previous reviews, Tekkadan is reaching a position that surpasses Teiwaz, leading to the eventual confrontation between the two. 

It’s an offer Orga cannot refuse, and much of the Tekkadan crew save Merribit goes with it. So the alliance is now stronger than ever, with Orga and Tekkadan aiming for the title of “King of Mars”. How will this affect relations with the Turbines and, more importantly, Teiwaz, we’ll have to wait and see. The episode ends with Orga and Mika alone together and Orga laments that his promise to Mika as kids is still far and away. Orga of course, does not show this moment of vulnerability to Mika, after what happened last season. 

As for Takaki, he returns home with his sister living a now more peaceful life. I will surely miss him as he is one of my favorite minor characters. But, like Mikazuki, I felt a sense of relief that Takaki can live happily now with his sister.