Before the season started, most of the shows set to air looked or sounded awful to me. I was genuinely surprised when I found 8 shows I like (at this stage, at least). But while none of what I’ve picked up is awful, none of it stands out as particularly great either. Attempts to rank them based on what I’ve already seen aren’t working, since most series have been slow to get going, and all have very different strengths and weaknesses. It’s as though they’ve mixed together into some slightly-better-than-average pool of potential, with last season’s shows either soaring high above or sinking down below in comparison.

On the other hand, I enjoy making early impressions posts. It’s fun to compare a list made early in the season to a list made at the end, to see how my opinions have changed over time. So there’s a good chance I’ll make one in a few more weeks, maybe mid-season at the ~6-7 episode mark. Hopefully I’ll have a better idea of where each series is going by then, and if that works then I’ll stick to mid-season impressions every season from now on.

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Episode 15 begins with Yuki receiving an email from Deus… the other owners have been asking about Eighth’s future diary granting powers, wanting to know whether the usual rules apply to apprentice’s diaries, and whether the creation of apprentices is allowed to begin with. As a result, Deus invites them to the ‘Causality Cathedral’ to explain things… this meeting isn’t featured in this episode, though.

Yuki calls his friends together for their own meeting. He asks to see Kousaka’s ‘Super Diary’… and smashes it right in front of him. Ever dramatic, Kousaka falls to the floor screaming, clutching his chest and rolling around, but it soon becomes apparent he’s not dying as a true diary owner would. Aru had figured out beforehand that Eighth’s diary must be the blog’s server, and that apprentices’ phones only have power when connected to it. Kousaka complains about the loss of his future predicting abilities, but since he was unintentionally leaking info to Eighth through it, the group is probably better off without it.

Soon after, Yuki’s future changes – it now predicts that a diary owner/apprentice will invade his home in three days. He worries about how he’ll deal with this threat now that he no longer has Yuno… but to his surprise, his friends are ready and willing to help him out again, no matter how great the danger may be. All he has to do is ask. Finding him a place to hide is their main priority, and they decide to use Kousaka’s large house (whether Kousaka agrees or not).

In the meantime, Yuki stays home as usual, though with Nishijima and the police keeping watch as a precaution. At Kousaka’s house, Aru prepares a plan to defeat the apprentice users. Speaking to Yuki over the phone, he warns his friend to be wary of Yuno – her diary tells her everything he plans to do, but they have no way of watching her back. Which is the last thing that the nervous Yuki needs to be reminded of late at nigh.

Suddenly, Yuki hears someone in the house… but it turns out to be his mother, back for the first time since the incident with Rei. Sitting down for their evening meal, Yuki asks why she hasn’t inquired about his being chased by the police, but she replies that she won’t ask about anything unless he wants to discuss it. Best. Mother. Ever. Then, Yuki notices that there’s an awful lot of food there for just two people…

Yuno prepared the food, then left before they sat down to eat. No harm done this time… but the fact she got right in and out again past the police guards is enough to reduce Yuki to a shivering wreck.

Three days later, Nishijima drives the group to Kousaka’s house to prepare for the predicted attack. It’s quite an impressive place.

As luck would have it, there’s a mobile phone signal tower right next door to Kousaka’s place. The plan is to lure the apprentices to the house, then deactivate the tower remotely, cutting off their connection to the server and leaving them without their diaries.

That evening, the attack begins as predicted. The police guards contact Aru via walkie-talkie, informing them that three people are approaching the house. Aru uses binoculars to try and spot them… but before they come into view, the electricity is suddenly cut off. Their remote control switch to turn off the phone tower is rendered useless. Even more worrying is the fact that there’s no way the apprentice users could know about their plan – the only ones who’d know are Yuki’s allies… and his stalker.

Unsurprisingly, Yuki isn’t happy to see Yuno. He’s even less happy when Aru invites her up onto the balcony with them… but this is a necessary precaution. They must now deactivate the phone tower manually, and Aru would rather have Yuno kept under supervision while he and Kousaka head over there.

Shortly after Yuno has joined them, the house is invaded by two of the three apprentice diary users, who refer to each other as ‘Ai’ and ‘Mar’. Nishijima (who was guarding the door) isn’t going to just let them walk past him, and moves to punch Mar… but instead meets with the young man’s ‘Cross Counter’, a punch which sends him flying. Full of confidence, Mar shows off his diary to Yuki’s group – it predicts his opponent’s moves, allowing him to counter any attack.

While this is going on, the third diary apprentice is hiding in a tree nearby, watching the scene through a pair of binoculars and reporting back to the director of ‘Mother’s Village’…

Rather than face the invaders, Yuki decides to run and hide. The house is large and has many potential hiding places, but Ai’s diary ability is able to track them down – it’s a ‘Flirting Diary’, containing info about the people she’ll flirt with in the future. One of the entries in the diary is Yuki. The text by his name wasn’t translated, but she seems to have given him a 5 out of 5 star rating… I think I’d rather not know what her criteria are.

Mar and Ai quickly catch up with Yuki’s group. Mao and Hinata turn to face them in an attempt to buy some time, but fall fast when Ai throws knives at them! Now the only person left beside Yuki is Yuno, who urges him up a ladder and through a trap door, closing it once she herself is through, and leaving the other two girls to whatever fate the apprentices have in store for them. Then, she tries to convince Yuki to remove the rope tying her hands together… but he refuses, fearing she’ll lock him up again later.

Before long, Mar forces his way through the trap door. Things are looking bad for Yuki… until he receives a message from Aru on his walkie talkie, informing him that the phone tower is no longer operational. Ai and Mar’s apprentice diaries stop working instantly, and Yuki’s real future diary predicts that they’ll soon retreat.

However, rather than retreating, the two start to act strangely – completely in sync with each other. They both discard their now useless phones… then reveal another phone each. It seems they knew about the plan to deactivate the apprentice diaries right from the start, but went along with it to fool them. While explaining all of this, Mar takes out a comb and transforms his hair into a more familiar style…

That was cleverly done, didn’t see it coming at all. But then who is Ai?

Faced with two real diary owners (or two people who are one owner, but with two diaries… I don’t know anymore), Yuki begins to panic again. All the while, Yuno pleads with him to cut her restraints… which he eventually does. No manly Yuki moment in this episode!

After making out with Ai in front of them, Mar asks a bewildered Yuki whether he believes in the power of love. He then explains the ability of his real diary (they should stop doing that) – not unlike Yuno’s diary, it keeps him constantly updated on everything that happens to his love, Ai. Ai’s diary similarly predicts Mar’s future. Exactly how this fits into the rules of Deus’ game, we don’t yet know, so for now we can only take their word for it that the power of their love is so great, they count as one user.

The two Sevenths challenge them to a fight between couples – whichever couple has the most love will win, apparently. Despite Yuki’s uncertainty about Yuno, it seems she has enough love for the both of them, and repels Ai’s knife attacks with little effort.

Having used up most of her knives on Hinata and Mao, Ai soon runs out, and both Sevenths realize Yuno shouldn’t be underestimated. This time, they really do retreat down the trap door and out of the building… taking Mao and Hinata with them.

Outside, they treat the girls’ wounds, showing perhaps that they’re not all bad. The other apprentice diary user who came with them (referred to only as Ta-kun) set up a trap inside the building, and the house suddenly bursts into flames with Yuki and Yuno still inside! Mar and Ai don’t just stand and watch, though… knives recovered, they head back in to finish the fight!

Inside, Yuki is questioning his decision to free Yuno. She tells him to feel free to use her, as long as he pretends to be her lover again. Yuki agrees. what’s the worst that could happen? Oh, wait…

The Sevenths appear in front of them. Yuno and Ai face each other, both wielding knives. Suddenly, Ai trips… Yuno is ready to take advantage of this, but Mar jumps in the way of her knife, taking the injury himself.

Mar is able to disarm Yuno, and Ai throws a knife at her… just as the sprinklers come into action, putting out the fire. When the smoke clears, it becomes apparent that Yuno was hit by the knife and badly wounded. Mar isn’t impressed with Yuki for failing to protect her. He’s even less impressed by Yuki’s excuse that she told him to use her.

Disgusted, Mar takes his phone and throws him off the landing onto the floor below. Yuno can only watch in horror.

The next day, both Yuki and Yuno end up in hospital along with Hinata and Mao. Both lost their diaries, and Yuno has yet to regain consciousness. A nurse shows up to do a ‘brain checkup’… but starts asking Yuki some very specific, diary-related questions… yep, it’s the queen of cosplay again, Minene-sama!

—

The episode ended there – no Murmur-sensei this week, but unsurprisingly there was a new ED to go with the OP. Scenes of Yuno as a child accompanied a good-but-not-as-good-as-the-old-OP song by Yousei Teikoku. If there were any spoilers there they weren’t obvious, though I wasn’t exactly looking for them.

So we now know who Seventh is… are, and can only assume they’re working with Eighth (or are they working FOR Eighth?). Going by early impressions, these people don’t seem as professional as most of the other enemy owners have been so far, but I assume they’ll make up for that in numbers! I look forward to finding out what they plan to do with Yuki and Yuno or with their diaries, since they could easily have destroyed them by now if all they want is to become god… the plot thickens.

—

Speaking of luxury hotels… the one where Yuki and friends are being held captive really isn’t. In the basement, Kousaka, Mao and Aru are locked in a small room which is quickly filling with gas. In another room full of CCTV monitors, Yuno leaves her throne of skulls to try and feed a barely conscious Yuki, while Hinata (still tied up and lying on the floor) attempts to talk some sense into her.

Aru’s group may be cut off from the outside world physically, but they still have phone signal – which Aru realizes could be their best chance of escape. He calls out to Yuno, who can hear him via speakers in the basement room. She moves over to the control panel, presumably to silence the speakers, but something Aru says causes her to stop in her tracks. He asks whether she has two skulls with her.

Aru explains that he went to her house to re-check the bottomless pit she dug there, eventually finding three skeletons… and two were missing their heads. Yuno angrily accuses him of disturbing her mother and father – confirming something I’d guessed quite a while ago, that the skeletons were her parents’. But… who is the third one? This is something that Aru doesn’t know, that I can only make wild guesses at, and that Yuno certainly isn’t sharing. Anyhow, now that Aru has her attention, he turns to the more urgent matter of negotiating their release.

His plan is simple: He has a message with a ton of incriminating information about Yuno prepared, and threatens to send it to Detective Nishijima if she doesn’t release them. Yuno’s response isn’t what they’d hoped for, however. At first she is silent… then the creepy laugh begins. When Aru asks whether she understood their demands, she acts as though she has no idea what they’re going on about. Once again, she has altered her memory… and she turns off the speakers to silence their confusing voices.

With gas now entering the room even faster than before, and all hopes of peaceful negotiation out of the window, Kousaka decides to use what could be his last moments of life to update his blog (apologies to my readers, but if I was in a similar situation, Facebook would probably be my first thought ). Moments after he posts his ‘dying message’, he receives an email… from someone referring to themselves as 8th.

Kousaka’s diary is part of a larger site, where members are awarded different ranks depending on how many posts they’ve made. His ‘dying message’ has given him enough posts to rise from the rank of ’Commoner’ to ‘Future Diary Apprentice’… and as the title would suggest, his diary now seems to have future predicting abilities! In it is written their escape route – there is a ventilation shaft in the room, too high for any of them to reach alone, but by standing on Aru’s shoulders, Kousaka is able to get inside. The other two wait in the room, but it is predicted that Kousaka will find Yuki and free them before it fills with gas.

Although Yuno has… forgotten about the group in the basement, the sound of both her and Yuki’s futures changing alerts her to the fact something is wrong – only other diary owners can change the future, after all. Kousaka doesn’t exactly have stealth in mind either, entering her control room with a loud, proud ‘Kousaka KICK’!

This magnificent entrance seems to snap Yuki out of his unconsciousness, but though his mind is awake, his body won’t cooperate – he can’t even speak. We get to see a flashback to the day when he was supposed to take Yuno on a romantic date to see the stars, before she drugged his drink. After that, there was no chance of escape with Yuno watching his every move… until now.

Kousaka challenges Yuno, showing her his diary which clearly states he’ll free the others. Yuno hands Yuki his diary for safe keeping, holds onto her own, and takes out two keys – one for Yuki’s restraints, and one which will remotely unlock the basement room. She throws the former into a corner, and the latter towards Kousaka. That way, while he’s freeing everyone, she’ll have enough time to retrieve her ‘mother’ and ‘father’, and presumably make her escape. Kousaka is satisfied, but Yuki feels it’s unlike Yuno to give up so easily…

Yuki notices Yuno’s bag in the corner behind the skulls, but can’t utter a word to warn Kousaka of this trap. The basement room is unlocked safely… but when Kousaka turns around to retrieve the other key, he finds a loaded crossbow pointing right at him.

Kousaka is confused – his diary didn’t mention getting shot in the leg with a crossbow, it claimed he would free Yuki! Yuno answers by pointing out the huge flaw in his diary’s ability: it only lists his triumphs (or ‘brilliant moments’). She orders him to free Yuki, to ensure his future does play out as expected, but threatens she’ll kill him afterwards. But before Kousaka can move, the future diaries make that static sound again.

Yuno turns around, trying to find out what caused their futures to change, and finds the chair where Yuki was restrained is now empty. He then comes up behind her, takes away her crossbow… and slaps her. She is understandably confused, but he explains (yeah, NOW he can talk) that her diary also has a big weakness – it can only predict Yuki’s actions. It turns out Hinata (still tied up on the floor of the room) was able to kick the key to Yuki’s restraints towards him, and he freed himself.

Yuki unties Hinata, and finally everyone is free… which is good timing, because at that moment Yuki’s diary warns him that THREE diary owners are now heading to their location. They decide to get out of there as fast as they can (which isn’t fast, due to Kousaka’s injury), but before they leave, Yuno calls out to Yuki. However, he rejects her poor attempts to patch things up, leaving her behind in the hotel, alone.

Meanwhile, in a completely different location:

We’re introduced to another diary owner, the manageress(?) of a Juvenile Care Facility, and reintroduced to one of the shrine maidens from the Sacred Eye (named Orin) who now seems to be working for her. It is safe to assume this new owner is Eighth, the one who gave Kousaka’s diary powers, because Orin reports to her that there are two other users with Kousaka, and that three apprentice users have been sent over to investigate (the ones Yuki’s phone warned him about).

The only other thing worth saying about this new diary owner at this stage is… what the heck is going on with her character design?

Yuki and friends (a group now firmly excluding Yuno) are safely picked up by Nishijima, and are presumably being driven home. But en-route, they pass a red convertible which flashes its lights at them. A car with three people in it. Hmmm…

Yuno gets the last word this week, though – we see her ‘checking out’ from the hotel, still convinced that Yuki needs her as much as she needs him…

—

So suddenly a load of apprentice diary owners are released into the game! And judging by Kousaka’s, they could be just as good as regular future diaries (as long as the owners write about more than their ‘brilliant moments’, that is). It’ll be interesting to see if the same drawbacks apply to apprentices, and to find out the exact nature of Eighth’s own powers. And the wait may not be that long… ep 15 aired a few hours ago.

However, I don’t know what the internet situation will be like there. Chances are I won’t have access, and if I do it’ll be on a restricted uni network. So it’s unlikely I’ll even watch Mirai Nikki until next Thursday/Friday, let alone post about it or anything else. Bad timing really, since I liked the previous episode, and am also keen to see if/how the second episodes of the new shows I’ve picked up build on their strong starting eps.

I can’t live for almost half a week without anime though, even with central heating. So I’ll be taking my laptop and portable hard drive, the plan being to marathon a load of older series in the evenings after the course has finished (assuming there’s nothing better going on). My laptop is an old guy, long passed retirement age, and struggles with newfangled things such as MKVs and 720p, so I’m pretty much limited to shows that aired before the introduction of HD. Which is about half my ‘want to watch’ list anyway, so I’m still spoiled for choice.

TL;DR: If I don’t post or approve comments for the best part of a week, it’s because I have no internet, not because I’ve died of hypothermia.

Plot Summary: Erin is a 10 year old girl who lives with her mother Soyon in a small village. Soyon’s job is to raise and look after Touda, big lizards that are used by the country’s army. Erin is naturally curious, full of questions about everything, and having been brought up watching her mother at work she is particularly interested in the Touda, which she finds cute. But for some reason Soyon isn’t as happy with her job, often looking sad when dealing with the creatures. She isn’t keen on her daughter following the same path, and tries her best to convince Erin that Touda are wild animals, and potentially very dangerous. The series follows Erin as she grows up, learning more about Touda and another type of wild beast known as the Ohju, and their interactions with humans.

What makes it worth watching? If you’re not already sold after reading the plot summary then seeing the above screenshot – they’re not rearing docile sheep or cows here, this job is dangerous! – then maybe a look at the other issues the protagonist faces and at the ‘bigger’ problems of the wider world will convince you.

Soyon has green eyes and green hair, and is from the Ariyo race, or ‘Mist People’ as they are known to others. Erin is only half Ariyo – her mother left her people after meeting Erin’s late father, the son of the chief of the village where they now live – but she still has the distinctive green eyes. Because the Ariyo aren’t trusted by the other people of the country, who believe they have weird and creepy powers, Erin and Soyon are treated as outsiders in the village, even as family members of the chief. This prejudice is made quite clear early on in the series, and becomes important later on.

Erin’s life isn’t all that the series focuses on, either. Politics plays a huge part, as the country is effectively beginning to split into two factions: the Shin-Oh region where the Queen resides, a wealthy and peaceful area of the country where people hate the idea of war; and the Tai-Koh region watched over by the Grand Duke, whose men and large Touda armies protect the country from invasion, but who are looked down upon despite their great sacrifices. As the series progresses and Erin gets older, she is increasingly drawn into these affairs, even though all she wants to do is look after animals.

Most of the human characters can be split into categories such as ‘obviously good’ and ‘obviously evil’. This meant that a lot of the time it was easy to predict the direction things were going to take plot-wise, a minor complaint I had with the series throughout. However, the wild beasts are just that – wild and unpredictable. The Ohju in particular provided some of the more shocking, unexpected plot developments, simply because the smallest things can cause panic and instincts to take over. And those things are HUGE. These moments easily made up for the more predictable ‘plot twists’.

The anime is based on a light novel series by Uehashi Nahoko, better known as the author of the Moribito series. I’ve not read any of her works, to my knowledge they’ve not been translated into English, but I have seen the (far from overlooked) anime adaptation of Seirei no Moribito. The series share many common themes, the similar world and setting being an obvious one, but I also feel Erin has a lot in common with Prince Chagum.

Production-wise, Kemono no Souja has a very different, much more simplistic animation style when compared with Moribito, but it works. The animation style changes from time to time too, such as in dream sequences or when a story is being told, which was very effective. As for the music (you knew this was coming), I adore the soundtrack. Aside from the great OP, ED  and background music, every episode has at least one insert theme, which were all lovely.

Possible reasons for it’s obscurity: …I don’t know. Airing in 2009, I can’t simply say ‘because its old’. Streamed legally in the UK, US and many other countries on Crunchyroll, I can’t say ‘because it isn’t licensed’ (though the lack of dub/DVD release may exclude a few people I guess). All I know is that it has an incredibly low view count compared with other full length TV anime from its season (only exceeding that of Genji Monogatari Sennenki), despite being very highly rated on average by those who have seen it.

Overall thoughts: The predictable human characters remain the only, minor complaint about what was otherwise a perfect series, in my opinion.

Anime-Planet average rating: 4/5 (see, other people like it too!)

My personal rating: 5/5

—

After defeating Kurusu, Yuki decided to take Yuno on a trip to see the stars. But when they reach the bus stop, Yuno prevents him from ringing the bell, instead convincing him to stay on the bus and travel to an even better place. Of course, there’s no knowing what constitutes a good place in Yuno’s mind…

Meanwhile, Deus and Murmur discuss recent plot developments, which haven’t been going as Deus predicted (or as they would inevitably have gone, if the diary owners hadn’t changed the future). He considered Kurusu a strong candidate for godhood, and accuses Murmur of intervening. She admits that Kurusu wasn’t meant to find out about his son’s illness until much later in the process, but that she sped things up a bit. Partly for fun, but also because Deus’ time is running out (the god himself and the room around him seem to be crumbling quite fast). Then, she offers to make a wager with, but we don’t get to find out what they’re betting on yet…

Having now left the bus, Yuki waits on a bench while Yuno goes to get a drink from a nearby vending machine. She returns with a can for Yuki as well, which I assumed was just her being friendly… but after taking events later in the episode into account, maybe not. We already know she brought a ton of ‘medicine’ with her, after all…

Then, suddenly fanservice! We’re reunited with Hinata and Mao, glad to know they haven’t been completely forgotten about. They’re both relaxing in a hot spring (hence the fanservice), which they were invited to by Aru, supposedly to celebrate Mao’s recovery. Ecchi hijinks ensue when Hinata notices a light underwater, which turns out to be the flash from Mao’s camera phone… later on it is revealed to have been ‘upgraded’ for underwater use by Murmur. But again, their presence at this hot spring hotel turns out to be plot relevant later on.

After bathing, the girls meet with Aru and Kousaka (yes, he’s there too). Their discussion moves to diaries when Aru is seen writing in his, and Kousaka proudly shows off his own online ‘Kousaka King’ diary, filled with what he considers to be his brilliant moments. Hinata accuses them both of acting like Yukiteru… and she actually uses his given name, which is of course a bigger deal in Japan than in the west (though I’ll admit, I wouldn’t have noticed the change if Mao hadn’t overreacted). Clearly she has strong feelings for him… good luck getting past Yuno.

Next, a hint at the reason why Aru invited them all there. Following Kurusu’s death, Nishijima discovered a letter and notebook explaining everything the late detective knew about the survival game. He shares this information with Aru, realizing that Yuki and Yuno are in danger, but that if he or the police make a move, their diaries will warn them in advance. Nishijima has info with regards to their location – via the driver of the bus they caught – but the boy detective seems to have a better understanding of Yuno’s mind. He believes that the bus journey was a false trail left by Yuno, and that they’re more likely to be in a place nearer to facilities…

The morning after their arrival at the hotel, Aru takes the group to an arranged meeting place, where Nishijima is waiting. He explains he needs their help to find Yuki, who Aru believes is being confined by Yuno somewhere in the town. The kids are understandably surprised that they’ve been tricked, but are willing to help their friend (eagerly so in Hinata’s case, while Kousaka complains a lot but tags along anyway). The area is full of abandoned hotels, any of which would make a good hiding place, so the four friends split up – Kousaka with Aru, Hinata with Mao.

At first, they literally search every room of every hotel, but when Kousaka discovers the building he and Aru are currently in has no water supply, they’re able to narrow the list down to abandoned buildings with water and electricity. Even then, there are a number of buildings which fit that description… and their search soon becomes dangerous, since Yuno has left traps in many of them.

When even this focused approach gets them nowhere fast, Aru phones Nishijima, asking him to check whether Yuno’s family own(ed) a hotel in the area. Elsewhere, Hinata is having no luck either, when suddenly she receives an email – from Yuki! He claims that he is indeed being confined by Yuno, in the cellar of the Grand Hotel. With his location finally known, Hinata runs off to rescue him (alone and unarmed, against Yuno…), telling Mao to contact and wait for the other two.

Mao phones Aru (who along with Kousaka has only just escaped from a faulty elevator), and they meet up. She explains the situation, and Aru senses another trap. Yuno’s diary informs her of Yuki’s every action, so why would she let him send a message asking for help? It is clear that Yuno sent the message herself. The moment they reach this conclusion, Mao’s phone rings – now she has a message from Hinata, confirming that Yuki has been found! Aru has doubts about this message too, but with no other leads and a good chance that Hinata is in danger, they head for the Grand Hotel.

Arriving at the cellar, Aru opens the door to find Yuki inside. He doesn’t respond to their voices, so they assume he’s unconscious. Still fearing a trap, Aru tells Kousaka to hold the door while he and Mao investigate. Inside the room, what they thought was Yuki turns out to be a dummy with a wig… but Kousaka, being an idiot, forgets his sole responsibility in under a minute and wanders into the room. The door closes, and they’re locked in. Elsewhere, a button is pressed, and the sealed room starts to fill with gas. Now that’s how you do a cliffhanger ending!

Remember Murmur and Deus’ wager at the beginning? It turns out they’re betting on who’ll win the game. Murmur goes with the obvious choice, Yuno… but Deus picks Yuki, claiming that the boy has remained his favorite from the start.

Right now though, he doesn’t look too good.

So… why the hell is Yuno doing this? Will Yuki forgive her and learn to love her again after this? That’s assuming they both get out alive… what an episode!

So why, as a guy in my 20s, am I singing the praises of a little girl’s show instead of watching MILF porn? Good question, one that I’ll attempt to answer here.

Plot summary: 10 year old Morisawa Yuu gains magical powers, allowing her to transform into the idol Creamy Mami, the only catch being that nobody must learn her true identity. Which is all well and good, except that idols are expected to perform in late night concerts and appear on evening TV shows, while 10 year old girls are expected home before it gets dark. Also, she has feelings for an older boy named Toshio, but while he sees Yuu as though she was a younger sister, he soon falls head over heels for her alter ego, not realizing they’re the same person.

Add a rival idol, bumbling producer and manager, plus another simple minded but kind hearted boy with feelings for Yuu to the mix, along with plenty of weird fantasy/magical situations, and you have a winning formula that stretches nicely across 52 eps without becoming too repetitive.

What makes it worth watching? Magical Angel Creamy Mami wasn’t the first magical girl anime by a long shot; they’ve been around since the mid 1960s, and this came out in the early ’80s. It was Studio Pierrot’s debut into the sub-genre however, the first of five they produced (the others were ‘Magical Fairy Persia‘, ‘Magical Star Magical Emi‘ – maybe they were running out of creative names by that point – ‘Magical Idol Pastel Yumi‘, and the much later ‘Magical Stage Fancy Lala‘ – haven’t seen it, so can’t confirm whether the protagonist is indeed a magical stage).

Additionally, it was the first magical girl series in which the main character’s powers were put to use launching a successful career as an idol… yes, this show has a lot of music. All of it good.

So alright, it has an epic soundtrack (in my opinion). But if that’s the show’s only appeal, why not simply buy or download the CD? Well, the series itself is pretty awesome too. Take the first episode for example, it features among other things:

…and that’s just the first episode.

The animation is pretty good, even by today’s standards in my opinion – nice colours, very few drops in quality. The character designs are what I like the most though, coming from Takada Akemi, also character designer for a few not-so overlooked and underrated shows such as Urusei Yatsura and Patlabor… neither of which I’ve seen myself, but I’ll get around to them!

Possible reasons for it’s obscurity: I hear it’s still popular in Japan, if only among nostalgic adult women, and it also got dubbed in a few European languages. But the lack of an official English release would explain why even my most anime-obsessed friends look at me strangely when I mention its name. Sure, it is now fully available fansubbed, but how many girls of 10 or below watch fansubbed anime? It seems almost doomed to a small fanbase of magical girl otaku… like I’m in danger of becoming at this rate… Even then, as there are newer and older magical girl anime available, what are the chances of someone picking up a show from somewhere in the middle… and with such a dubious name?

Overall thoughts: The series is very episodic; don’t expect cliffhanger endings or complex story arcs. But that does mean you can easily leave it and come back to it later, with little risk of losing track of the ‘plot’. It makes for nice, easy viewing, with fun characters, romance and bucket loads of comedy. And the settings in each episode vary so much that it avoids becoming repetitive for the most part. The only thing which DOES become a bit samey after a while is the music – much as I love it, Mami sticks to her debut single for quite a while before new songs are thrown in to add some variation. But that’s a minor issue.

Anime-Planet average rating: 2.5/5

My personal rating: 4/5

8: Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon

Maybe I’d have understood the plot if I’d tried harder, or maybe it really is just a strangely paced and overly complex mess that only makes sense if you’ve read the light novels. I don’t know. What I do know is, this anime was never a chore to watch. I never felt bored, it didn’t make me facepalm or headdesk in bewilderment, nor did it leave me angered at the wasted potential. I don’t know how it managed that, but the most negative thing I can say about Horizon is that I didn’t understand it, and probably won’t watch the sequel as a result.

Rating: 2.5/5

7: Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!!

Nothing new here, MajiKoi was your run of the mill battle/ecchi anime with an existent but secondary plot. The male lead was a bit better than most – not completely pathetic, actually funny, and obsessed with hermit crabs… the haremettes had fairly stereotypical character designs and personalities, but were a bit more hyperactive than usual. Overall, it was fun to watch if you like this sort of thing, but if you missed it while it was airing, don’t feel the need to rush out and get it immediately. The first episode was definitely its strongest point.

Rating: 2.5/5

6: Tamayura: Hitotose

A feel-good, relaxing show, and a nice change of pace compared with everything else I picked up this season. But compared with other slice of life/iyashikei shows, it didn’t stand out – it felt as though something was missing. As mentioned in my first impressions post, perhaps it’s the lack of interesting setting – the character’s everyday activities were, perhaps, a little TOO everyday, normal, bordering on boring? Or maybe I’m subconsciously irritated by a bunch of schoolgirls who have a better idea of what they want to do with their lives than I do at 23 years of age.

Rating: 3/5

5: Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai

This was a fairly decent comedy series – at times it had me laughing out loud, but some eps were definitely funnier than most. The characters were pretty generic, though decent dialogue and character interactions made up for that (Yozora and Sena’s bickering was the highlight of the show for me, particularly in the earlier eps). I’d rate it higher if it wasn’t for the ending – I found it to be quite rushed, and anticlimactic considering that the whole series had been building up to it. The animation quality was also pretty… variable.

Rating: 3.5/5

4: UN-GO

My initial thoughts on UN-GO were quite negative, with early episodes leaving little impression, though I held onto the hope it would become improve once the cases started spanning more than the length of a single episode. I didn’t have to wait long before that happened. The series took a particularly interesting turn at episode 7, and from there built up towards an ending that (while slightly rushed, as with so many noitaminA shows) was filled with twists and great revelations. I wouldn’t mind watching a second season of this.

Rating: 4/5

3: Ben-To

Ben-To, despite being another ecchi/battle anime, is anything but generic. It completely outclasses MajiKoi in terms of plot and hilarity, and shows that a little creativity and a simple but ridiculous premise are all it takes to breathe new life into a tired and largely repetitive genre. That’s not to say Ben-To is a masterpiece – if you take away the comedy then there’s not much left, the characters aren’t that well developed and I’ve seen better fight scenes… but why would you take away the comedy? Again, I’m hoping for a sequel!

Rating: 4/5

2: Shinryaku!? Ika Musume

One of my favorite comedy shows of this year, hence its 12th place position on my ACAA list. Also, Ika-musume was in my 2011 harem. That doesn’t leave much to say – I love the show and its characters, because they make me laugh. Shinryaku!? was far from a disappointing sequel, though I struggle to see how you can go wrong with such a novel setting and awesome cast – it certainly hasn’t so far in any of its ~72 mini eps. Hate to sound like a stuck record, but here’s another anime which needs a continuation, a third series in this case.

Rating: 4.5/5

1: Fate/Zero

Another one that shouldn’t come as a surprise, given its #2 spot in my Top 12 of the whole year. Here was a show I had to watch the moment it came out, even if that meant watching the last episode on Christmas Day. Fantastic character development, music, animation, and a simple but effective plot with plenty of room for twists. Possibly the best thing about Fate/Zero is the fact I feel the need to give it full marks when it hasn’t even gotten serious yet! At least for this show, I can rest assured that a sequel is coming, and soon!

Rating: 5/5

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Here’s hoping you all have a Happy New Year.

Also, starting in January, I plan to start posting semi-regularly about anime series that I consider to be overlooked or underrated, in an attempt to promote them or just remind/inform people that they exist (even if it is only read by a small audience in a dark corner of the internet, what harm could it do?).

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Continuing from last time, Yuki, Yuno and Minene (a temporary ally) have taken Kurusu Keigo’s wife and son hostage, as they prepare to negotiate with the detective himself. Minene, who probably has plenty of experience in these kinds of situations, gives the orders – Yuki is assigned the task of patrolling the hospital, and is given a grenade to use if their negotiations fail.

Soon afterwards, Kurusu answers the phone, and negotiations with Minene begin. Then end, very quickly. The detective refuses her demands, stating that since his son is going to die anyway, making arrangements for his release is pointless – his only option is to defeat the other diary owners and become god.

Yuki is patrolling the corridors, unaware that negotiations have failed, when he receives a phone call from Yuno. She tells him to get away as quickly as possible, but it’s too late. Armed SAT men rush down both sides of the corridor, catching him and pinning him to the ground. They find the grenade while searching him, and take it. To make matters worse, one of them contacts Kurusu, who decides to head there himself.

While loading his gun in preparation, Kurusu tells Nishijima where the hostages are being held, and orders him to do whatever is necessary to get there. Nishijima doesn’t like the way he’s handling things though, and reminds Kurusu that he needs permission from his superiors to take such actions. Angered, Kurusu cuts him off mid sentence, ordering him to go back to the station.

Back in the hospital, Yuki is still pinned down, and knows Kurusu will soon arrive to kill him. Eventually, the detective does show up… at the same time as Yuno. Both have guns, and run down opposite ends of the corridor towards each other and Yuki in the middle. The SAT guys turn their guns towards Yuno, but she fires first, and even Kurusu hits them in his desperate attempt to defeat Yuno. Before long, only the major characters remain.

Kurusu is the first to reach Yuki, and uses him as a hostage to stop Yuno’s rampage, but she spots the grenade lying on the floor and picks it up, threatening to blow them all up unless Yuki is released.

Meanwhile, Minene sets up a bomb in the hospital room where they’d been keeping Kurusu’s family hostage, before escaping out from a window. However, once outside, she finds herself face to face with a familiar detective.

Forced to negotiate with Yuno, Kurusu unhands Yuki, telling him to step back. But Yuno shows no intention of discarding the grenade. Instead, she states that if they can’t escape together then she’d rather die for Yuki. She then pulls the pin on the grenade, runs towards Kurusu, pushes him back… and then the grenade explodes.

Or would have, except that it was a flash grenade. The bright light is witnessed from outside by Nishijima and Minene (now handcuffed together again), and moments later a real explosion occurs in another part of the hospital, the bomb Minene set up earlier. Then, Minene figures out a way of preventing her Dead End and that of Yuki and Yuno, and leads Nishijima back into the building.

Having survived the flash grenade and more serious explosion, Yuki wakes up to find Yuno unconscious but also alive nearby. But before he can make his way over to her, Kurusu blocks his path. He knocks Yuki around a bit, stating his plans to kill them both before the other detectives get there. Yuki is able to get his hands on a discarded gun, but once again finds himself in a stand-off as Kurusu takes Yuno hostage. Yuki checks his diary, and it confirms that if  he shoots, he’ll end up killing Yuno. He also knows that if he drops the gun, they’ll both be killed.

Now awake, Yuno is still willing to sacrifice herself to save Yuki, telling him to shoot anyway. But in recent episodes, Yuki has been struggling to decide what his feelings for Yuno truly are, and right now her cute side is triumphing over her creepy side in his mind. He tells Yuno that he’ll make her happy, and won’t give up trying to get her out alive with him. The usual future changing static sound is heard moments before Yuki pulls the trigger, and their future is changed – the bullet hits Kurusu in his side. But he isn’t one for giving up easily either.

Armed with a scalpel, Kurusu moves to attack Yuno. Yuki’s moment of bravery is over, and all he can do is whine and cry. Fortunately, Nishijima and Minene arrive at the scene before Kurusu can act. Nishijima accuses him of setting this whole thing up, and they have proof – Minene kept recordings of his phone calls to her, in which he proposed they work together. Minene also points out that he is no longer a detective, but another criminal, and as a result his Investigation Diary will no longer provide him with information. When he checks for himself, he finds a Dead End flag waiting for him.

Realizing he has been defeated, and hearing his family had been rescued from the hospital before the explosion, Kurusu asks Minene to reform their alliance – specifically, the part where she saves his son once she becomes god. In exchange, he breaks his own phone diary in half, ending his life. Kurusu’s final act before he disappears down the plughole is to apologize to Yuki, and to tell him to survive. Which surely goes against his agreement with Minene, where she kills all other diary owners and becomes god, but meh.

The latter part of the episode looks at how the whole mess got cleaned up afterwards. Yuki got away with his involvement in the various assaults and murders, helped by the fact Kurusu left a lot of files behind which sorted out the misunderstandings, as if he’d predicted his own downfall. Minene also escaped police custody, to provide comic relief another day.

Yuki plans a trip to view the stars with Yuno, as he’d promised they would if they both got out alive, so they make their way to the train station. Once there, Yuki receives an email… but Yuno steals his phone and runs away playfully. This action is not as harmless as it appears, however – the email was from his friend Aru, warning him to stay away from Yuno as the police are still looking for her. By the time Yuki gets his phone back, the message has been deleted. This isn’t the only cause for concern either, as becomes apparent when Yuki notes she’s brought a lot of luggage with her…

From top left to bottom right: Itou Kaiji (Kaiji S2), Okabe Rintarou (Steins;Gate), Shining Saotome (Uta no Prince-sama – Maji Love 1000%), Nick La’juck (Shukufuku no Campanella OVA), Sasahara Koujirou (Nichijou), Godwin Dorure (Dog Days), Toriko (Toriko), Rider/Iskander (Fate/Zero).

Looking at this list, I *think* I’d have less reason to fear for my life than in my earlier Harem post. Kaiji would bring debt, as would Toriko’s food bills, but Koujirou and Saotome surely have enough money to cover that. Godwin is mostly there for the voice, I’ll admit… would love to hear him duet with former idol Shining Saotome, but I also think he’d make a perfect adventuring companion for Nick and/or capable fighter under Iskander. Okarin could keep inventing awesome stuff, I’m a big fan of mad scientist types… his time travelling could also increase Kaiji’s success in gambling. Koujirou can just keep riding that goat of his. Toriko would find me awesome food, though I’d have to keep him away from the pets. Finally, I’d leave Iskander to conquer this country and sort out all its problems. Somehow, I think he’d manage just fine.