Manga: Attack on Titan Ch 50: Shout

For the love of God spoilers!

Considering that a month ago the anime was still rolling along, I almost forgot in the rush that the next chapter coming would be just as emotionally shocking probably as the end of the first season of Attack on Titan anime.

As the above title nicely sums up, the very Titan that 5 years ago shattered their world personally for Eren and Mikasa, has suddenly come back into their lives.  They are surrounded by chaos as Erwin gambled and lead a horde of Titans down on Reiner and Bertholdt.

The Recon Corps is being shredded but the Armored Titan is also not doing well.  Mikasa has recovered Eren but now faces the nightmare that started it all for them.

Almost poetically, Hans intervenes yet again to save Eren and Mikasa from the same Titan.  He shows his training has given him far more nerve than before, but as is always true away from the Walls or the giant trees, the 3D Gear is not as powerful against them.

Eren is begging Mikasa to untie him so he can save Hans and stop the monster he most personally wants to wipe from this earth.

Meanwhile, Christa (aka Historia) makes her choice about Ymir despite Connie's warning.  Instead of choosing sides between Titans and humanity, she simply chooses to fight beside Ymir.  Given all that has gone on between them and the harrowing journey thus far, I can see where she is coming from even if it seems foolish to her comrades.

Ymir herself questions her motives and chances, but then the horror of the chaos begins to emerge.  Erwin watches in pain and horror at the loss of his arm as his people are being ripped asunder.  The Armored Titan is weathering the storm and making his way back to Eren.

Eren and Mikasa once again watch as the Titan rips Hans in two, almost the reverse of the move it did to Eren's mother so long ago.  Feeling powerless and helpless, Eren rages at his unpredictable power as a Titan.

Mikasa sees how things will unfold and tells Eren a truth she never told him before it would seem.  She softens her eyes and thanks him from the bottom of her heart for wrapping her in his scarf those years ago and being by her side since.

A final wall falls in Eren's heart as he cries tears but instead of giving in, he does what we know Eren to do, rise to fight!  He will not let Mikasa go, even as Armin and Jean fight for their lives, Eren faces the Titan alone and as a human.

Suddenly, as he strikes what would normally be a pathetic blow, energy sparks in Ymir, Reiner, and Bertholdt as Eren seems to suddenly have a partial transformation around his face.  The Titans all around them suddenly converge and rip apart the one Eren faced.

Reiner rails against what has been revealed to the Recon Corps, but while Ymir confirms the frantic need to capture Eren is this new skill, it is not explained exactly what he did.  However Reiner implies that it was once in the possession of his group by his choice of words.

As all the Titans fight the enemy Eren selected, the rest of the humans are suddenly free and alive.  Even as Reiner turns as the Armored Titan, Eren threatens them and again the spark occurs and all the Titans turn as one horde at his command.

Erwin pulls his tattered forces together and with Eren they begin a retreat.  However, despite wanting to be with Christa, Ymir turns back as her own Titan form to save Bertholdt from being eaten and we are left with a deeper mystery.  What is Eren exactly?  He is more than just a human that can become a Titan and Reiner and the other Titan-humans know what it is and once possessed it.

First however is a glance at a young trio of Armin, Mikasa, and Eren play fighting with an intoxicated Hans from before Wall Maria fell.  Now that all the Titans we know of are revealed with one enemy left to learn about, what will next issue bring us?

As always this series is just amazing and even when you think it is all starting to come together, it reveals another layer!

Anime: Attack on Titan Ep 25 Season Finale: Raid on Stohess (3)

For the love of God there are spoilers and Manga comparison so if you have not read it but seen the show...not too bad.

Ok, so I am a bit late but with reason because I was fairly certain I was right but wanted to confirm.  As I suspected I knew where this was going to end for the season but I was surprised on many levels and will go with it now.

As we saw in the last episode, Eren found his reason to transform not in a new purpose, but his original one.  To kill all Titans in this world, to wipe them out until none remained.  The pure rage of that day 5 years ago saves him from bleeding to death and to transform into the 15 meter he is most familiar with.

The MPs watch on in shock as yet another Titan barrels through their area but attacks the Female Titan dead on, right into the growing church of the Wall.  The interrupted service is wiped out save the main priest we have seen before.

He at first is shocked by Titans at all than in almost fear he pleas for the Female Titan to stay away from the Wall, a departure from the almost fanatical defense they have used against the military or others talking about the Walls at all.

Meanwhile Commander Erwin is being held at gunpoint and being accused of being a traitor to the crown.  The above photo is an explicit example of what happens as Eren fights Annie and the devastation the wreak upon the defenseless humans.

Erwin's words are ignored up until he tells the MPs they are welcome to follow protocol so long as they take command of the situation and outlines the lines of communication.  His matter of fact appraisal and offer to accept death like this convinces the MPs at last.

Erwin is arrested but they finally deploy to save who they can.

Back to Eren and Annie, she is desperately fighting him, because now he is almost a possessed creature.  Despite massive damage and wounds, Eren keeps going.  He keeps pushing his Titan body far beyond limits it reached before.

The above image is after Annie smashed Eren into a wall as she tries to escape to Wall Sina and he rises yet again.  The whole battle Annie is flashing back to her younger self and an emotionally broken father begging her to endure and saying he does not deserve forgiveness for what he has done to her.  Presumably we can accept she has become like Eren at that point in her life and already learning to transform into a Titan.

What else he refers to seems again apparent, the operation of the Colossal, Armored, and Female Titans in destroying Wall Maria 5 years ago certainly makes them hated and enemies of humanity, but we still have no clue as to why.

Eren, now seeming exactly as monstrous as any Titan we have seen, savages the Female Titan by crushing her skull and inflicting serious wounds to the shock of the Scouting Legion.  Mikasa is held back by Hanji for fear that Eren is no longer himself.

We however get in inkling that Eren is still there, but now he seems just out of control and drunk on his Titan form.  Annie however is not done and finally gets free enough to begin climbing the wall.

Despite the loss of a leg to Eren, she seems about to escape until Mikasa slices her fingers apart and almost gently pushes her to fall.

Just when things seem to go their way, we see again flashbacks of Annie and her crying father begging her to not forgive him, but to do one thing....live, survive, and return.  Eren seems much more like the Titans that threaten all humanity as he rips aside the nape to expose the human Annie crying within as Eren declares he is free.

This crying girl seems to snap Eren out of his possessed state and Annie takes advantage one last time by initiating assimilation of Eren's Titan for something while Levi suddenly appears and cuts Eren out of his own Titan, chastising him for nearly eating Annie.

When all can look again, Annie is now encased in some kind of crystal that no sword can pierce, as Jean tries to do.  Eren is completely out of it as both Titan bodies evaporate behind them.

Erwin faces a private trial for his actions and his reasons behind it.  He defends the desperate and devastating actions with the simple truth that they revealed a Titan was already near them and that they need to find the rest of them.  They have the answers they seek and the survival of humanity has taken a step forward.

Eren awakes recovered far more than he believes he should be with Jean, Armin, and Mikasa.  They discuss that Eren's pause once again let Annie slip away but it is cut short for Armin and Jean to give their reports to the higher ups.

Eren admits a disturbing feeling of joy as the Titan this time even as he was injured but he no longer feels that way and Mikasa openly tells him she is happy he came back this time.  This reveals a possible reason more that Annie was after Eren, a danger that Eren could become lost in his Titan transformation and with how powerful he is he has to be taught how to avoid those dangers.

Armin and Jean discuss the former's point about giving up humanity to defend it.  Armin admits it is but one of many ways to defend them but for now it is the path to follow.  As they walk in the dusk of the day they glance to the ravaged Wall Sina and a VO begins with disturbing inclinations.

We see the remaining 104th Cadet Corps riding in plain clothes away from a country estate in fear as Armin's voice indicates difficult battles and truths to face before Humanity learns the Truth of what they are hiding from.

If you roll to the end of the credits you see the final revelation I was waiting for below.

Yea...that is a Colossal type Titan inside the Wall.  Meaning the Walls, all 3 of them, are chock full of them at unknown intervals.  That is where we are left for the first season of Attack on Titan.  Now I refer to the image below for my final bit.

As you can see it is a similar moment but very different.  Mikasa has still cut Annie down and she still transformed into a crystal, but the Colossal Titan is revealed to everyone at that moment.

Some interesting divergence I have yet to see in the manga I am curious if the creator is trying to let us see in the anime.  Eren does not seem to go out of control at all during the battle, plenty angry and similar mental conversation, but no sign of nearly Titan level of attack as they do to humans.

The injuries however are very similar and thus we might be seeing a reason for his faster recovery in the anime.  I have to stop the comparison here save to say the sequence of events has been changed a bit in regards to the trial and the Colossal within the Wall, but still on schedule overall.

I am curious how a few things that thus far have been dead even between the two will be resolved with these changes but the mysteries remain and at least another full 25 episodes can be taken out of released manga content.  Until next season, I will happily count down the days.

Anime: Attack on Titan Ep 24: Mercy: Raid on Stohess District (2)

Great God above yes!  Finally I can talk about this part!  For those that have read the manga and been just as riveted by seeing the story unfold here in the anime, we have been waiting for this part.

Annie was revealed as the Female Titan, and she declares all of her intention to gamble against Armin and Commander Erwin with a ring that allowed her to injure herself and transform into her Titan body.

Eren is shocked, not wanting to believe it as it happens and we get a flashback of how this plan came about.

So to be clear, Eren and Erwin really were summoned, but they used the opportunity for one last gamble after Armin revealed the identity of the Female Titan.  Marco's gear had been the first clue, but her actions as the Titan also gave a lot for Armin to use.

Mikasa confronts Eren's denial at that meeting asking if anything comes to mind.  We see a moment of the last instant during Titan vs Titan in the woods, where the Female Titan assumes the EXACT stance and actions of Annie we know she did with Eren before.

If you go back and watch that episode you do see Eren freeze suddenly right before something chops his head off.  None of it was shown to us then, but in Mikasa's question, we see Eren watching the Female Titan and it is now overlaid with Annie as she does the actions he knows so well from 3 years of training.

Back in the present things are going a bit worse than projections.  Annie has killed more of the Recon Corp in her transformation and is basically smashing the tunnels to get at Eren.  She is desperate and it shows.

Eren thinks to protect Mikasa and Armin as he did once before and now with a clear goal attempts to transform....nothing happens.  Despite profuse biting, Eren can't get it to work once again and his healing is clearly not working as well.  So little is known about this ability but the healing goes hand in hand with transforming it seems no matter what.  It is not as simple as once activated it works forever.

Mikasa seems able to read Eren far better than Levi or Armin could at this moment.  She again confronts him if feelings are holding him back from transforming and reminds Eren he has just watched Annie slaughter for certain the teams attempting to capture her.

Despite this, Eren still can't transform and chaos is starting to spread beyond the battle.  Erwin orders the MPs to deploy all they have for the likely battle in the city and Jean reveals the ruse to all present to comply with that order to go.

Despite clear orders, though a bit understandably, the MPs turn on Erwin and accuse them all of treason rather than trying to go and fight a Titan.  Citizen are panicking closer to the battle while most of the MPs present just stare in shock at a Titan tearing up inside the walls.

Armin finds Eren partially buried by one of Annie's attacks, completely unconscious now, while Mikasa once again takes on the Female Titan.  This time she does far better with a cooler head, but both she and the rest of the Recon Corps once again see that an intelligent Titan can negate the 3D gear and any attack.

Jean comes upon Armin and is furious that Eren did not transform.  Both he and Armin scream to wake Eren up as more of the city crumbles around them.  The final thing Armin yells at Eren is that to change anything he must be willing to give up his humanity to fight the monsters of this world.

After that he is forced to pull Annie away by taunting her with Jean guiding him to the next attempt.

Once again, Hanji proves her ingenuity, and sheer insanity, by having a similar trap to the giant forest.  However this time they do not have the Female Titan as off guard as they liked, even so it was very impressive.

Hanji threatens to "devour" the Female Titan this time referring to the call to the regular Titans back in the woods, but Annie is not down yet.  She lashed out with her legs and smashing the buildings being used as anchors, which unlike the trees, do not have as solid a foundation to hold a Titan.

All of this seems so pointless, Annie could kill them all it seems even being outnumbered, but Eren is fighting back to being awake and Armin's with Mikasa's words to him are repeating in his head.  He accepts that the morality of what must be done has to be let go or all he holds dear will die in front of him.  He accepts that the world will not change if he does not give up something to move it forward.

Bleeding and raging, Eren remembers all that has come before, and all the Titan's have taken not only from him, but from all the people trapped behind the 2 remaining Walls.

The world freezes everywhere in Wall Sina as lighting crashes once again and thunder shakes its streets.  A roar calls out and Annie turns to face her opponent.

Eren slams her down and stands firm before all the Recon Corps at last and the battle to capture the Female Titan or kill her resumes once more, but now there is no where for her to hide and no ambush to spring on them again.

This time Annie will be captured or she will die, either way Eren will prove his worth to the fools of the central government because her identity as an MP placed her right next to the king and all they thought safe from Titan's reach.

This is what makes your heart race and your mind just boggle in this series.  For all the action going on, with quick fire lines and emotions flying high all over, we still get the impact of the characters.  Annie definitely shows shock at Armin's taunting, while Jean shows remarkable change from wanting to be the MP to putting his frustration with Eren aside to fight Annie away from him.

The cracks in the military are showing a breaking point, so that even if everything resolves the way Erwin and the Corps wish, there will still be backlash I am sure to deal with.  The line that says it best though, that really brings home the series before the end of the season next week is this:

"Stop expecting a happy ending in a horror story...."

That just about gave me chills and then some, because for that line to be in this kind of series makes me wonder who, if any, of our characters will actually see a day of hope or a day of extinction when all is said and done.

One more episode...then I need to go get some decaf and possibly a therapist...on and a hangout to just talk about this series non-stop ASAP after the season finale.  NEXT WEEK:  EREN JAEGER VS ANNIE LEONHARDT!

RWBY: Ep 10: The Badge and the Burden part 2

Two apologies, missed a week due to nefarious schemes of distracting me over the weekend and I seem to be unable to get stills tonight.  Sigh.

To sum up however, mostly in episode 9 we see the girls get uniforms (although Ruby still has her hood) and an actual class get into motion where Weiss seems to be on slow uptick to exploding.

This episode picks up after Weiss has volunteered to help Prof Port demonstrate potential Huntress skills against a Grimm.  It looks a great deal like a wild boar with 4 eyes and a serious attitude problem but unlike the last few we have seen it is almost completely armored.

Monty and crew do a good job of here of showing that while Weiss has some skill, her agitated state shows in lack luster precision and often twitches and head bobs as Ruby attempts to cheer her on.  Yang and Blake make the obligatory actual cheerleader joke but this episode actually addresses a nice character point.

Weiss snaps at Ruby as the battle goes against her because of her distractions, while Port heartily cheers the whole thing on, even when it is going badly!  Finally Weiss gets her stride and uses her Dust skills to smash the Grimm in the belly with her rapier.

Time is up and while even Jaune thinks something is up with Weiss and Ruby, it is a surprising twist that is used this time around.  Weiss, as expected with her character thus far, feels Ruby has been given her role as leader unfairly.

She of course expects someone with the work and studying behind them to have been leader, meaning Weiss herself of course.  Ruby does gets crestfallen but both girls appeal the situation to higher authorities.

Weiss finds Port on a balcony and compliments the class and experience she had.  The teacher notices she is a little off kilter and asks her to unload.  When she declares she should have been team lead instead of Ruby, Port almost promptly says "Absolutely not!"

This surprised me as I could see them going with a teacher's pet route, but instead things take a rather deeper turn.

At the same time Ruby is timidly confronting Ozbin if he has made a mistake in putting her in charge.  The head of Beacon does not deny at all that is a fallible man and with a long history of mistakes behind him, but does not count making Ruby a leader one as yet.

I have to give credit to Miles and Kerry with Monty no doubt as well here.  Ozbin makes a very eloquent explanation of what a leader can become and what is expected of one in Ruby's situation.  It actually is something I would love to see quoted more often in reality as well to be honest.

Meanwhile, Weiss is shocked at the flat denial from Port who explains that Ozbin has never lead him wrong and he trusts the headmaster implicitly.  He also offers the clear opinion that Weiss, while good in combat, is far too used to getting her own way no matter what.  He counters her expectations with the idea that rather than lament what is reality, to become the best she can with what is reality.

What started as a team difficulty seems to have become 2 challenges to half our MC title characters.  Ruby has to learn to become a leader that others will follow because of what she can offer a team, and Weiss needs to learn to accept the challenges of a life where she will most definitely not always get her way.

I give full compliments that the flow of character dynamic was well done this time around, episode 9 felt a bit rushed and more showy to me than anything else, but as a build up to this episode it does a nice contrast.

I promise next time I will track down photos guys.  Been a rough week of personal time on my end.

Anime: Certain Scientific Railgun S Ep 22: Study

Using an old photo for the whole group here, but good lord what an episode!

I did not see Therestina coming back at all into Railgun or anywhere, but as we saw last episode, that is who Misaka went to confront after talking to their doctor.

Here we see a very unrepentant woman, one who thinks of Academy City as her personal arena of guinea pigs.  She notes that Misaka is no longer as naive in her face as she once was.  Her experiences with the Sisters no doubt left a mark and Therestina seems all too aware of what happened to the clones before Misaka came along with Toma to save them.

We see Misaka is quite desperate with the short 3 days she has to work with to save Febrie from the loss of her lolipops.  We also see how deep the darkness can go in Therestina on one end and these STUDY people on the other.

Oh we have a name for them now, but they are still pricks to me!  We learn that the Reach Assembly is also not only their big debut for Janie (I assume this is the big sister Febrie referred to) but that the regular award winners and attendees are all absent this year from previous years.

It seems like the vibe of dislike was dead on with these guys as while they are geniuses, they are still outshone in the spotlight by the likes of Accelerator and Railgun.  We see a return of ITEM as well, seemingly at random they give us a vital clue about the power of Janie and Febrie.

The hairs are some kind of receiver that while it is not something Misaka can detect, is detectable to one of ITEMs members.  More than that however, we know that in this lab is the neutralizing agent formula the girls are so desperate to find!

We have a reunion of sorts between Misaka and Nunotaba in the control room.  Both have been looking for the formula, and it was Nunotaba that gave Febrie Misaka's name to begin with.  As with the Sisters, Nunotaba sees Febrie as a person to be saved, not discarded as STUDY intends to do.  (Seriously, these guys need a swift kick in many painful places)

However just when Febrie seems saved, Aritomi - king of Pricks - pops in and continues to increase a strong desire to have even me have a dream of decking him.  He tells them the information is fake and threatens both with the real info to get his way.

He has Nunotaba, at Misaka's own insistence, inject her with a drug to stop the Railgun from interfering.  Both look on in shock as he gets his way and then smashes the data.  He does not care about Febrie at all and only sees her death as a necessary discarding of faulty product.

We are left with the hopes of saving Febrie dashed and a glimpse of a tube with the name JANIE engraved over it.  I am on pins and needles after I expected action, I was surprised at the twists we do have.  The group knows where Misaka is, but unless Kuroko is on the way I do not think anyone else is coming yet.

We shall see next week if Misaka can save Febrie and maybe get an answer as to who exactly the Gekota doctor is, because he seems to have FAR more power than a simple doctor.

American Anime: Legend of Korra: Book 2, Spirits: Ep 1 & 2

So while this is American in origin, the style is most definitely closer to Anime.  Now I LOVE the original Last Airbender series (I think you would be hard pressed to find many that do not enjoy it), but I will admit Legend of Korra had a very hard act to follow.

It is always the case that beyond expectation success can leave a far too high bar to surpass or equal for anything that follows (or worse the evil minions of greed want it faster than quality will allow!).  Even so, Book 1:  Air did a nice job of taking us back into the world of Avatars and benders.  I think of it more as an introduction and extrapolation of the world Aang and his group sucked us all into and the results of it.  This however deals with the return of Korra in her new season.

Where Book 1 was a lot of plot subtext and introduction, Book 2 hops right into the nitty gritty.

Episode 1:  Rebel Spirit

They start off stating that 6 months have passed, we assume a bit here that Korra fixed up the benders Amon ripped their abilities from and that peace has been more or less restored.  Tenzin is no longer on the Council as this has been replaced by a non-bender elected President in Republic City.

While that leaves a lot of material to come back to we are curious about, we move forward into some odd occurrences of a boat in the dark.  An old seaman has some fun with a rookie, up until a monster that looks a lot like energy attacks and rips the boat into the sea (suggested but not seen).

We then flash back to Republic City, where Bolin is still doing the Bending Tournaments, but with 2 new members who seem...less than competent.  Mako is now an policeman with some interesting moves combining his fire bending with stopping some crime, and a well delivered line at the end to boot.  

Korra is still at the Air Temple, but in typical fashion she is racing Tenzin's kids in air bending race, which she wins by using the Avatar State.  This last bit displeases Tenzin greatly, but he thinks that a planned trip to all the air temples will help her learn not only better air bending, but a deeper connection to her spiritual side as well.

While this is the future, the immediate trip to the southern pole is more warmly welcomed for the fun it is known for.  The Spiritual holiday is a time of fun and relaxation for the Southern Water Tribe.  Korra of course beings all her friends, one of whom is trying to get her own life back together.  Asami comes not just for the invitation, but the chance to get her company, once used by Amon, back on its feet.

Here we get to meet the rest of Korra's family more formally, as well as a better look at Aang's kids aside from Tenzin, Boomy seems bent on seeing the vacation version of his brother.

We also meet Unalaq, Chief of the Northern Water tribe and Korra's uncle it would seem.  He does not give off good vibes and Korra's father does not seem overly pleased with him either.  The man does not say a word of praise about anything in the south and even seems to want to turn Korra against her own tribe.

Admittedly he seems to have one legitimate complaint, the negligence of the spiritual side of their lives seems to be having dire consequences.  The spirits seem angry and Unalaq offers to train Korra on her spiritual journey, something both her father and Tenzin seem very against.

It is also revealed that the isolation of her training was their idea, not Aang or the White Lotus.  This particular revelation has Korra in a very bad mood understandably.

However, an almost convenient attack (my opinion) forces Korra to face the fact that her uncle may have a better grasp of the situation than anyone else right now.

Strangely the angry spirit does not attack a single soul, but goes straight for Korra.  It is only when others fight that it attacks back.  Only Unalaq is able to some how bind and seemingly dismiss the spirit in a sparkle of golden light.

Korra decides after heated arguments to learn from her uncle and ignore both her father and Tenzin's advice.  Tenzin leaves for the air temples with his family, and siblings in tow.

Episode 2:  The Southern Lights

Very nicely we are not left hanging until next week to see the next step.  Korra, her father, Mako, Bolin, Unalaq, and his twins all head for the Southern Pole, where a Spirit Gate appears to have been sealed long ago.

Unalaq believes that Korra needs to open the get before the solstice, when the barrier between the physical and spiritual world are closest together to restore spiritual balance to the southern pole.  As they journey, the past continues to unfold.

Korra learns her father did not just leave the Northern Tribe, but was banished.  He was doing what he thought was right, but destroyed an ancient forest where spirits were believed to dwell.  We see a flashback of Unalaq employing the same technique to sent those spirits back to the wood then as well.

We also see a different side of Tenzin's family as they arrive at the Southern Air Temple.  The monks there treat air benders with near reverence, and a good deal of overbearing attitude as well.  We once more see the room of statues where all the Avatars are carved and placed.  Aang now has pride of place where he once stood looking at Avatar Roku for answers.

Now his young granddaughter, Jinora, is looking at his statue when something seems to compel her to turn around.

Flash back to Korra and gang, and we seem them get attacked rather oddly by spirits.  Rather than attack directly, the spirits seem bent on only stopping them and making them turn back.  Unlike the previous attack only Bolin gets in serious danger from the malfunction in his engine.

Korra sends her father back and moves forward with the rest to the pole.  There they find find a nearly frozen over grove much like the one in the flashback we saw.  Korra has to go alone from here, just as Aang had to go alone on many of his spiritual journeys. 

As before the spirits, though looking very malevolent, only seem interested in stopping Korra, not harming her.  They seem very desperate as she finally reached the closed gate.  As Korra battles to open it, Jinora returns late in the night to Aang's statue.  

This time a much older statue draws her eye, one that seems surrounded by elements as well.  We are left wondering who this Avatar is, but then Korra reaches the Avatar State and opens the gate in the Southern Pole.

As the gate dispels the Everstorm and reignites the Southern Lights, the statue glows at the same moment.  All celebrate the success of Korra in the forest and Unalaq tells her she has done well for a first step.

Just when it all seems to be going well...things of course take a turn.

Unalaq's northern forces are landing enmasse as they return.  He calmly states that fixing the spiritual balance was but the first step to getting the Southern Tribe on the "right" path.  As it seems obvious to all that this would have happened regardless.  Given the title of the next two episodes are "Civil Wars," I assume we can expect a lot of conflict.

For a return after a LONG absence, I am enjoying the direction while not losing the usual feeling of the Avatar series.  The serious is balanced by the silly and the emotional gut punches can come from unexpected sources.  I am more than curious to see where this Book will go and I am more than happy it is longer than the first.

Anime: Attack on Titan Ep 23: Smile: Raid on Stohess District (1)

I know I will tag this but I will say it one more time here:

MASSIVE SPOILERS - DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW STUFF!



That being said.....FINALLY!  Oh my God I have been salivating as this episode approached and while I knew it was coming from reading ahead, it was EVERYTHING I hoped for and more!

Before I get into that, the rundown:

This is where AoT does things very well in building a world based on reality.  Commander Erwin had gambled he could prove Eren and his Titan powers worth keeping as a living soldier with the 57th Expedition, but instead he was handed a defeat at the cost of nearly 60% of his soldiers.

Politically speaking things could not be worse for the Recon Corps right now but that is not where this episode starts with us.

Instead we start with Annie, who we have not really seen since the selection ceremony where she left for the MPs.  She appears to be having a dream/memory of something she told us about earlier, that her father trained her in the fighting style she used to flip Eren and Reiner.

The MP rookies are gathered and Annie is her usual stoic self even as their commander informs them of their mission to escort the disgraced Recon Commander and Eren to HQ.  We also get a clear vision of what is horribly wrong with the MPs and why Eren did not seem too keen on the final military branch.

The leader seems disinterested and annoyed to have actual work to do and passes off the detail to one of the men in line to actually do it.  Then says the leaders will all be "busy" as he enters a room where a game of cards seems to be going on!

While the other rookies seem annoyed by actual work as well, the dark haired lad given the work makes a declaration much like Eren did to the cadets, only to the effect of changing the MP branch.  Annie breaks the silence with a commentary that the ideals to change the MPs might actually spell the end of humanity if such a person got that power.

However we are quickly given a contrast to this point when the rookies spot two seniors apparently selling military gear on the black market!  I doubt there could be a more effective demonstration of how corrupt the MP branch is from its two sister branches.

The Wall Guard at least takes its job somewhat seriously since 5 years ago, and the Recon Corps found a purpose beyond just trying to go beyond the walls as well.  The MPs seem to be denying the reality that the Titans are coming but that is only my opinion.  The rookie who spouted his ideals actually tries to implement them, only to have the reality of his situation spelled out to him.

Almost brutally beaten down by his seniors, he finds his weapon in front of him on the ground and Annie actually says she will back him up if he makes the move to "fix" the problem.  The rookie backs down and asks if the "idiot" Annie mentioned earlier would have done it.

She answers honestly that he might have, and given what we have seen of Eren I could believe he would follow through.  The boy went INTO a Titan's mouth to save Armin with one of his legs GONE!

In any event we have been painted a clear picture of the MP branch and why even idealistic youths lose their ideals rather quickly.

That is when Armin walks into the story.  He is cloaked and calls out to Annie as she passes his alley.  He outlines what sounds like the last ditch effort to save Eren, and in his eyes, humanity.  Annie at first wants details, but when Armin refuses to elaborate his reasoning about why delaying handing Eren over would work, she confronts him to define her as a "good person."

Armin makes a rather eloquent dismissal of the term.  Instead he outlines the counter argument that by definition, if she declines to help, would that make her a "bad" person?  For reasons of her own she decides to help him.

Mikasa, Armin, and Eren follow Annie to the escape route, while poor Jean does his best Eren impression in the coach.  Just when it seems like all will be well, Annie does not want to follow into an underground passage.

Eren, bluntly, asks if she is afraid of the dark or cramped spaces.  Almost comically Annie says he would not understand a weak woman like her!  Eren dismisses it as well and demands for her to follow.  Instead she refuses and things begin to get heated.  As Mikasa tries to keep it quiet, Annie accuses them that it is conveniently empty all around them.

Here we see tension mount as Annie confronts Armin lying to her and why he was looking at her like an enemy.  The revelations unfold now!  Armin demands to know why Annie had Marco's 3D gear when they all got it inspected.  She continues to evade and Eren demands that she can still prove something by coming into the tunnel with them.

Mikasa however, has had enough.  She flings aside her cloak to pull forth her swords and threatens Annie that she will cut her up once again.  After all, Annie is:

Yea...Female Titan.  This is where the anime can bring to life a moment that is hard to pull off in the manga.  I would also recommend that if you did not pay attention to her words at this moment...go burn them in your mind!

She breaks character as if all the burdens and tensions are gone.  Indeed all the secrets are out for Annie and it must be tumultuous moment for her.  She attempts to bite her finger, but the here to for hiding Recon Corps forces respond quickly to stop her.

Mikasa though sees that Annie came prepared, she yanks Armin and Eren down into the tunnel as Annie reveals a ring with a needle in it to scratch one finger against the other!

We are left with the surge of lightning that signals a human turning into a Titan blinding all and causing all in Wall Sina to turn towards it in fear.

IS IT NEXT WEEK YET?!

The preview leaves no illusion about some of what is coming, the Female Titan inside the Walls and Eren having to find the motivation to transform when confronted with a contradiction in his desires.  If this season is 25 episodes I know EXACTLY where this will be going, but next time we will see a resuming of Recon Corp and Eren VS Female Titan...now known as Annie Leonhardt.

RWBY Ep 7 & 8: Emerald Forest Prt 2 & Players and Pieces

Ok so I am doing a 2 for 1 here because frankly, Ep 7 was WAY too short, however considering what came after, I think I can see why they cut it off.

In any event, we are back with the forest adventure where we left most of our MCs.  Black and Yang confidently stroll up to the temple, not so subtly suggesting that for them the whole exercise was more of a picnic for these two than anything else.  The "relics" turn out to be chess pieces but more on that later.

Juane is revealed by Glynda to be like Ruby, although I am not sure how he got in as yet, Glynda does not seem confident that he is ready to be at Beacon at all.  In this part, Juane and Pyrrha are more comic relief than anything.

I do have to give a good line credit though:  "I made the torch, could you humor me for just 5 more feet?"  That made me giggle a lot and at least shows that Juane is not immune to the possibility of being completely wrong about a choice he made.

Still that leaves Ruby and Weiss, show above, still debating where the temple even is.  Ruby is true to form out of combat being timid and flustered, while Weiss reveals a goal of perfection that lines right up with her personality thus far.  While short, it is an effective step for the characters getting firmer in our minds.

Now the episode explodes into a bit of action as Juane and Pyrrha find a glowing "relic" that is actually a giant scorpion, another monster of Grim of course.  And in perfect timing, Pyrrha tells Juane to not let go just as he goes flying.

I have to admit I chuckled when the screaming Juane is identified by Yang as a "girl in trouble" line.  However we are suddenly surprised to see not Juane falling out of the air, but Ruby.

Yea...they lost me there.  I was against summing up this episode until the next one came out because frankly, I had no idea what was even going on at the end there.  In short this is more of a prologue to Episode 8.

FINALLY!  Sorry, I had to get that out.  Seriously though, at long last we had an episode that was over single digits in minutes and it was awesome.

So as stated above, Ep 7 was confusing and really short even for RWBY, but if this was why, it was worth it!  As has been done before with confusing endings, we back up a bit in time.

Ruby and Weiss are apparently a wee bit desperate to get to the temple as they hopped the giant bird of death (whose name I have yet to find) to get airborne.  Weiss has quite an understandable reaction and Ruby suggest jumping, and then does it before getting a response from Weiss.

Cut to Ruby falling out of the sky at Yang and Blake from the last episode.  Of course let's not forget Jaune, the human shot put at this point, slamming into Ruby perfectly and sending both of them flying into the trees.

Blake and Yang have perfect shocked looks and we get a bit of the standard, "this just happened" lines.  Still good stuff when it is exactly what you would expect in real life to be the reaction.

Of course that entrance is outdone by the arrival of an Ursa (see bear version of Grim) ridden by Nora who is having a grand time until the Ursa 'breaks.'  Ren is huffing behind her into the clearing having a similar reaction as Weiss was to Ruby, only his is a bit more exasperated and familiar.

Nora of course hears nothing of his complaints as she swipes a rook, and goes into a hilarious song and dance that gets interrupted by a now irate Ren.  Yang and Blake already claimed their knight piece as well.

The fun does not end of course, Pyrrha comes running out of the trees with the Deathstalker on her heels (scorpion with glowing stinger).  Blake is just being the deadpanned commentator while Yang is about done with surprises.  Ruby timidly points out one last arrival, from the sky!

Weiss, still hanging on to the bird, finally let's go and falls.  Chagrinned, the group watches almost calmly as Jaune tries to finally impress Weiss, only to become her landing pillow!  Good antics all around but a tad more silly as it all piles up at the end there.

Still, we get a better idea of Ren and Nora as we have been getting to know all the MCs in this run up.  Now however is some nice contrast.

Ruby once again shows an almost eager excitement and over confidence to hop into battle.  Compared to her social interactions, this is another person entirely.  RWBY finally shows though that while the characters have been training, there is a reason for Beacon to make them even stronger, and why Dust was so prominently mentioned in episode 1.

Despite what we know she can do with Crescent Rose, the Deathstalker does not seem overly frustrated by her attacks at all.  It just seems to annoy it more, further the bird wants a word with young Ruby about being treated like a cab!

Feathers pin her cape and all seems to get very serious suddenly as Ruby is about to get killed, when Weiss literally freezes everything.  While berating her for going it alone, Weiss admits they need to work as a team and compromise to fight these monsters and get back to the cliff to finish this event.

Ruby, both properly chastised and no doubt very humbled by her lack of ability to go it alone anymore, accepts this and picks up her own knight after putting for the plan to get their pieces and go back.

After the rough time of it, none of the others argue, although Yang seems a bit distracted by how gun ho Ruby is right now.

Monsters though, do not much care about "letting go and bygones be bygones."  The Deathstalker pursues them to the cliff face and then the bird of doom swoops down in front of them all.

Essentially the group decides to distract the bird and flee from the Deathstalker, and of course, the monster of Grim show why humans have to have an academy to train people to fight them.

It almost seems like they are toying with their food, the Deathstalker seems to coordinate with the bird and as a bridge is smashed separating the group, it seems all is going to end very badly indeed.

Surprisingly, it is Jaune who, admittedly without thinking, gets Nora and he back to Ren and Pyrrha against the Deathstalker.  Nora gleefully launches both of them with her hammer/grenade launcher weapon across the gap.  (Jaune had some more flying miles put on but Nora using the bridge like a lever!)

Blake, Yang, Ruby, and Weiss go all out on the grumpy bird, but it does not seem overly bothered until Blake and Yang get up close.  Still, they do not seem to be hurting it much despite that.

Jaune sees an opening and gets Pyrrha to finally slay the Deathstalker with its own stinger, only to yet again go flying...someone get that boy some wings!  Even though they won, aside from Pyrrha, the whole group is exhausted and injured from just 1 monster.

Ruby has another crazy plan, only this time she has the other 3 to back her up.  Once again we see the effectiveness of Dust against the Grim as Weiss gets not only the monster set up, but launches Ruby as well with Crescent Rose completely deployed.

Monty does a good job of showing that these weapons are not just wielded by crazy strong characters, rather the mechanics and magic of them makes them be so devastating in the hands of those trained to use them.  Crescent Rose fires again and again, combined with a track of Dust to finally defeat the bird ala Highlander style.

Jaune and the others are in awe, Yang of course just seems to roll with it, while Blake and Weiss just accept the end of the day at last.

Now the end section had a nice twist to it.  I mean we all knew one of the teams because of the opening and all that, but it gives us another reason for the name of the show.

The whole event's results are how the team of 4 is selected, the pairs were first look, then the 2 pieces were matched in the pairs, arbitrary and impartial.  What I doubt anyone saw coming was the significance of the letters.

Team JNPR is Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren, with Jaune as their leader.  Definitely interesting but thought nothing of it, I needed more caffeine at the time.  Team RWBY of course was last and Ruby was named leader!

If it had ended there, would have been dandy, no complaints, but Monty and crew are good lads and reminded us there are more than just monsters to fight.

Roman gets a return cameo with a map of Vale that is both humorous, and entirely believable for this series.  How will he come to play in the lives of the girls at Beacon, only the future can tell.  Until next time!

Anime: Attack on Titan Ep 22: The Defeated, 57th Expedition (6)

We pick up with the action right where we left off, meaning Eren is inside the Female Titan's mouth and Mikasa and Levi are in pursuit.

Mikasa and Levi have a very brief confrontation where they determine to hope that Eren is alive and not in the stomach of their enemy, but Mikasa vents part of her frustration with Levi's actions as well with a terse analysis of his lack of skill keeping Eren safe.

Levi, surprisingly, stays cool and recognizes who Mikasa is to Eren as well.  We all know he must be hurting, even the brief glimpses of it, his emotions are very intense.  For now though he decides to sacrifice the goal of the mission for getting Eren back.

Compared to all that came before, the innovative attacks of the regular forces in the wide open areas, Levi's Squad's blinding and maiming attacks in perfect sync, and even Mikasa bringing the Female Titan to her knees, pale in comparison to Levi.

If Eren is the hope of mankind as a whole because of his Titan power, Levi is the ultimate power humanity has to throw at them.  Mikasa and the Female Titan are both in shock at the speed and ferocity of Levi's attack, even so there is no sense of viciousness, only debilitate and gain access to the jaw.

Mikasa however decides to take a clear opening, and Levi proves why Eren is so essential to humanity despite his prowess.  With one mistake a Titan will slaughter any human, and Levi is caught saving Mikasa and pulling Eren out of the Titan's mouth to the cost of his ankle (having actually hurt my ankle in a similar way I can tell you that is no cake walk to work with).

Something that the anime does reveal and I missed in the manga, as Levi and Mikasa retreat, Levi sees the Female Titan crying, I am not sure we even knew Titans could cry.

This is when the episode steps back into the series other strength, the emotional realism versus the fantastical reality of the Titan world.  We see very real and horrifying reactions to the loss of life with not only no result to show for it, but an almost inhuman dismissal from Commander Erwin and Levi to distraught members of the Recon Corps.

Practical orders do not mean much when a dead friend is being left behind, and for an additional punch we see insights to the families of Levi's Squad which no doubt mirror the many other lost members of the Recon Corps.  Even though all the conversations seem relaxed, they still carry that tone of apprehension and worry they must all feel to know the Recon Corps is returning from beyond the walls.  It must be similar to being told a soldier relative is suddenly coming home from a hotzone or overseas, you hope for normal but in the back of your head is the obvious worry.  Are they dead?

Of course the distraught members do what they think they should and endanger the survivors with Eren out cold.  Now comes the hard reality these characters live in, despite working hard to reclaim what bodies they could, with Titans closing in the order is given to unload them to stop or distract the Titans.

Levi, despite making it sound like the bodies do not matter, never takes his eyes off the rolling bodies, and catches a last flash of one of his own.  Mikasa saves one of the fools that threatened the survivors, but his comrade was eaten right in front of them all.  The body they went to reclaim, named Ivan, was left behind in their dash to outrun the Titans.

As a final round of punches we see not only the emotional toll on the survivors in general, but for Eren and Mikasa they have come full circle from 5 years ago when the Colossal Titan destroyed all their peaceful lives.  Now they are the returning in defeat Recon Corp and 2 young faces are looking over the grumbling adults with awe and reverence once echoed by Eren himself.

A bitter moment after bitter moment left with a voice over revelation from Armin once again, exactly like in the manga and I am glad they kept it!  This was not just a normal loss of lives setting up a route for supplies, this was the test of Eren as a Titan and using him for humanity.  More than that it was a secret operation to capture an enemy Titan that is just like him.  Instead they come back with Eren being defeated almost easily and no Female Titan to show for their efforts and lost life and resources.

Commander Erwin and Eren are to report to the capitol and Eren is to be handed over.  That is how we are left at the end of this roller coaster of emotions episode, and it just leaves you feeling depressed and frustrated all at once.

Now the preview for next time was damned tantalizing, and if you have read ahead you are drooling just a bit, but you are probably also with me in that the end of the season is going to be at a point that is both frustrating...and awesome.  Until next week!

Anime: Certain Scientific Railgun S: Ep 20: Febri

Good weekend of Anime for me!  This episode brings us back into the gray area of Misaka's life as a Level 5 a bit.  Where she had been enjoying time getting back to the normal routine of learning about her ability and occasionally solving problems for Academy City (with more than occasional hitting of Kuroko thrown in), instead the world seems bent on thrusting all of her friends back into difficulty and trials.

Most of this episode is what we expected, with the progression of Febri becoming more interwoven into the group despite the 5 day limit when she will be taken in by the system of foster care.  However they plan to make the most of it after the near scare with the guardian bots going nuts.

Of course Misaka wants her pink Gekota back, it is her only one after all!  Still she finally relents when Konori treats all of them to a well earned bath house visit.  Misaka is reminded when one of the Sisters did not want to give the button back because it was the first gift Big Sister had ever given one of them.

A lovely moment overall and aside from the obligatory denial of Kuroko being in the same bath as Misaka, it was a touching moment.  Poor Kuroko had to "suffer" outside the bath.

Once more Kongo is in this episode but for one of her seemingly becoming more common useful additions to the show.  She is still a bit full of herself but I think she is finally learning the value of being helpful.  Also I think she is starting to appreciate the dangers to espers as they get stronger in Academy City by what has happened around Misaka and others.

She recognizes the most annoying Prick from the 6 meddling idiots (God I really want these guys knocked down a peg!) that are after Academy City in general and Febri in particular.  Unfortunately she learns this while they are all in the bathhouse so no one notices.

Instead they are diverted for the Railgun part of their experiment, a suit that attacks them in a deserted part of Academy City.  Also there appears to be an EM interfering that Misaka either cannot feel or some other method to stop phones and cameras from working.  I say this because it is broad daylight and 5 young girls are attacked with no notice until it is all over!

Misaka, supremely confident in her abilities, is stunned when her attacks have no effect on the suit, worse because it is a suit she is holding back from more effective attacks.  During the fight the others get drawn in but of course the pink Gekota gets left in the open.

Just when Febri and Misaka seem doomed, the experiment errors on the Pricks nearby and Kongo smashes the suit with a steel beam to reveal no one inside at all.

That is not the most interesting part though, like the security bots last episode, this suit has no power at all, no controller of any kind, but both have a slim purple container with a single strand of what seems blonde hair inside.

While that should get the juices flowing for Anti-skill and Judgement, Saten is left worrying when Febri collapses after the attack in a fever.  The girls are all worrying when she cannot be helped by the doctors and Misaka wonders if she has once again dragged innocents into danger by being Level 5 Railgun.

Happily the now infamous Dr "Gekota" wakes the girls with a very revived Febri waiting for them.  Despite this, he does not seem terribly thrilled.  He pulls Misaka aside and tells her he did nothing and cannot fix Febri.  When asked if she is terminal, he says the problem is she is not human, 100% scientifically created.

Misaka of all people may now understand why Febri knows her name but that is not the part that makes me love this episode.

At long last, it seems the 6 idiots that have done nothing but rub me the wrong way since they appeared after the Accelerator arc have a very angry Railgun after them.  I truly hope to see in the next few episodes that they learn what it means to mess with someone like Misaka and to use someone like Febri.

I like just desserts for idiots what can I say?  Here's to next time!

Anime: Attack On Titan Ep 21: Crushing Blow: 57th Expedition (5)

Sweet lovely God YES!  This is when things get both ugly and still keep wringing the feels out of us as an audience.  Now a quick comparison to the manga is spot on here but I can tell you that it is immensely satisfying to see it in anime and the shock of emotions just hits you right in the old ticker.

I have heard a few friends grumble that these mini-arcs are getting a bit drawn out but I counter that with the emotional impact you feel in this episode.

For the audience we have only just met and started to get to know Capt. Levi's squad, Levi himself and other members of the Recon Corps we still getting glimpses of regardless of relation to Eren it seems.  The squad assigned to Eren though, we have seen in flashback and in present the character of these 4 individuals.

Eld, Petra, Oluo, and Gunther have come alive for us thanks to this slow burn in both the manga and the anime.  Thus when the Female Titan makes its alarming suicide by Titan call, we are left feeling tense as Erwin outlines the true terror of the 3 Titans that for sure breached Wall Maria 5 years ago.

Eren is in many ways a novice and using him as an example of what happens to humans that can turn into Titans had been a terrible miscalculation.  Now the Female Titan, in the clothes of the Recon Corps, hunts Eren in the chaos of the retreat.

Armin reveals to Jean the terrible truth also that the only reason the Titans had not pressed Wall Rose during Trost was that one of the members who had witnessed the awesome power of Eren was the Female Titan.  All these facts begin to point to dark facts Jean does not want to face, but Armin seems to have accepted very quickly.

That moment shows a lot of strength in Armin, he may not have the physical prowess of Mikasa or Eren, but in tactical and analytical thinking he is much more ready to deal with hard facts and revelations than the others.  Fighting monsters can be easier since you are fighting to stay alive, but to keep thinking about them and fighting them or their potential allies in your head must take a level of courage that is impossible to not admire.

Of course these short diversions do not last and we come back to the squad and Eren as they find a stranger approaching dressed like one of them.

Without warning as happened at the end of last episode, Gunther is brutally killed.  Eren is left shocked and confused while the others try to keep him moving to HQ.  The ferocity of the attacker is just as terrible, if in a different way, as the Female Titan.

Despite being outnumbered, the traitor cannot be touched by the experienced Levi squad.  Worse they put 2 and 2 together just as the Female Titan is reborn!

Once more Eren faces the choice to use his power or not, and again Petra implores him to trust in his comrades.  Again Eren struggles, but this time he seems to embrace the faith in his friends and wishes them luck.

Unlike any of the other squads, we see what makes Levi's squad so different.  Even though the Female Titan seemed to kill the others so easily, suddenly she is on the defensive.  Instead of attacking directly as they would any other Titan, the 3 remaining members perfectly coordinate a brutal offensive that blinds and maims the Titan.

However, despite their clear power and prowess, Eren remembers Levi's words.  That no one can know the consequences of their actions until they occur.  He turns in mid-air just as his world is shattered once more.

Viciously we see the Female Titan kill Eld after regenerating a single eye.  Petra and Oluo are also brutally slain right in front of Eren.  The punch of those moments make you feel as Eren screams out his Goal and bites his flesh to become an avenger.

Still terribly wounded, the Female Titan does masterfully to stay out of Eren's reach at first, but the enraged soldier will not stop at anything less than her destruction.  Admitting that his choice resulted in the deaths of his comrades, he still swears to avenge them all.

We see why the enemy Titans want Eren so badly, as even as a novice and the Female Titan improves as she heals, he seems incredibly more powerful than her.  Just as it seems Eren might get his wish, the Female Titan does a move the freezes Eren in place in shock.

Too late to react she smashes the top of his Titan head off and before any chance of regeneration can occur, she rips his neck apart and swallows him whole.

This last part in front of Mikasa sends the young woman in a swift dip into despair and then we see both the rage and even scarier prowess she seems to have been born with.  Where squad Levi had put the Female Titan on the defensive, the lone Mikasa sends the Titan to its knees.

Despite her effort however, the hardening the Female Titan can do still thwarts her.  The weak spot is all that need protecting so long as that is safe, the Titan can regenerate.  Following the now slowed Titan, Mikasa is joined by Levi who orders her to stop leaping blindly and follow at a distance.

We are left with Levi asking Mikasa if Eren is alive since he saw the Titan body after looking at each of his murdered men.  Despite the feelings we know Levi has for his comrades, he remains detached for now.

The pace of the anime and the manga allows us to really feel for the myriad characters that are lost to the Titans, no matter how trivial this story does a phenomenal job of making you connect with characters and rooting for them to survive.  In this episode we saw Eren suffer a loss perhaps as bad as when he was forced to watch his mother die 5 years ago.

This time he had the power but made the choice to trust his comrades to fight on their own.  The next few episodes will be just as jarring and I now highly suspect where this season will end...aside from all of us screaming at our screens to keeping going I mean!  Till next time!

Series Review: Sword Art Online Ep 1-14 : MASSIVE SPOILERS!

Not exactly going to blow socks off here but I have seen more than enough asking about it that I will give myself up as a resource for this show as well.

Hands down, no question or doubt in my mind, if you have a desire to see the best Anime can do, WATCH THIS SERIES!  I have to try really really hard to find people that dislike this series at all.

If you have heard of dotHack or Accel, you know a version of this idea, but I assure you SAO stands alone!

We start with our MC, a young boy who puts on a helmet after watching the release of a hyped VMMORPG Sword Art Online on his computer.  It all seems near future and it does give the year up as 2023.  The helmet still plugs in with an ethernet jack so we know this is the VR Nerve gear.

After a fairly decent log in procedure, we are into the gaming world of SAO, a place where there is no magic but Sword Arts.  As explained by the MC, Kirito, add a pause to your move and feel the skill charge to unleash it.

For anyone that has wanted to play MMOs this series has done a masterful job of creating a level based game that would interest us without question VR or not I am thinking.  For an introduction we meet Klein and Kirito walks him through his first lessons on how to play SAO.

The above image is right after the dark twist of SAO is revealed to the 10,000 players logged in.  There is no logout button, in fact there is no way out safely except to clear the game.  The creator gathers all the players at the Town of Beginnings where he as a giant hooded wizard tells them the grisly fate they are in.

If you die in the game, you die in real life.  If the helmet is removed, you die, and any PvP combat can also kill you outside of the Towns.  At first no one wants to believe, but Kirito reveals that the how of the Nerve Gear could in fact do exactly as outlined.  If the safety was removed the helmet could fry a human brain to death!

Right after that Kayaba Akihiko tells them to look at their inventories and an item changes the avatars into their real selves.  This has the double effect of confusion and trauma for many players but cements for Kirito that SAO is now real.  He can die here and he refuses to give in.

After this start time begins to move a bit more fluidly.  The Beta Testers, over 1000 of them, are generally disliked or distrusted because they left the 9000 new players on the first day to level up and get stronger faster.  Kirito is one of them and has survived the first 2 months when the first boss fight is revealed to happen.  He has played alone and thus when told to form a group by Diabel, he snags the nearest cloaked player also alone.

Despite good team work, the first boss fight claims the leader, who was a Beta Tester as well and had attempted to get a rare item with his edge of knowledge on what happens after defeating a boss.  However SAO is not done with its lethal twists, despite fighting this creature in the Beta, apparently that means little.  Only Kirito sees the danger and too late warns the others.  Together with Asuna and the rest of the party they finally defeat the first boss.

Revealed for what he is, Kirito faces accusers by claiming he knows far more than any mere Beta Tester and gains the title Beater.  Up to that point 2000 people have died but now there is hope that the game can be cleared to floor 100.

Also up to this point it is much how any MMO would be, players finding their way, some learning they have powerful skills like Asuna and ones like Kirito who help the other players with advice and his skill from the Beta.  In any other game this would be fun and enjoyable, but in this game their lives are on the line and nerves taut always.

As this part of the story progresses we follow Kirito almost exclusively and we see him fight alone and with others against the nightmare of reality in a video game.  By making death mean the same as in reality, all of these players are forced to make literally life and death choices they never prepared to make.

For a time Kirito even joins a small guild, despite being far more powerful, he yearns for the personal contact they all share.  We see the chance at smiles even in the depths of worry.  However we also see how quickly tragedy can destroy players in this new world.  Kirito is forced to watch helpless as people he swore to protect are killed before him in a trap.

Driven by grief to the first Christmas season in Aincrad, he learns of a boss that may drop a resurrection item and acting nearly suicidal he goes to face it.  In this moment we see Klein again trying to reason with his friend but support him when less generous Guilds follow them to the boss.

Just when we think Kirito may follow other players to suicide, one of the Guildmates he lost, Sachi, has a message delivered to him.  She had accepted the likely possibility she would die in SAO and that Kirito would blame himself for it.  In a supremely human moment she sings a song to him via a recording and Kirito finds a will to live again.

Now known as the solo player Black Swordsman of the Front Lines, Kirito throws his all into defeating SAO and freeing other players.  However unlike many of the other FL players, he seems to still take a very human interest in others.  He lives in Aincrad, not just surviving in it.

This is exemplified by meeting an animal tamer who needs a little help.  Silica is a young girl who has been made into a mascot many times but took for granted her dragon Pina's abilities to protect her.  Kirito helps her while hunting Titan's Hand, an orange guild of player hunters.  The whole thread shows how the players behind the FL continue to live and strive despite players that live in denial of the reality of Aincrad.

After this we come back to Kirito on the FL with Asuna who is now a famous player in the Guild Knights of the Bloodoath.  The most powerful guild drives the FL forward but Kirito finds some of their tactics inhuman and while he understands it, often walks his own path.

He and Asuna renew their contact in a rather humorous way, Kirito convinces her to actually enjoy the good weather and take a nap!  Of course this leads to even more revelations during an investigation that showed the darker side after more than a year in the game, sleep PKs now occur and Murder Guilds exist like Laughing Coffin.

Kirito and Asuna face a murder conspiracy and she learns a great deal about how to actually have time to enjoy being alive no matter she is trapped inside the game thanks to Kirito.  In fact we begin to see Kirito being something of an inspiration to other players, where he is still quite dour most of the time, he still helps them and connects with them.

Even as things seem to be settling for Kirito, he commissions a new sword from a blacksmith that is as strong as the best magic drop sword in the game.  This small side adventure shows how much growth Kirito has been through since the dark tragedy of his lost guild, where once he might have been oblivious or allowed others to be in emotional pain, now he seeks them out to help as best he can.

The last few episodes have some of the best action and the most heart rending moments for this part of the story.  It has been nearly 2 years since the game began, 4000 people have died and they are just now closing in on the 74th floor boss.

Kirito finds a rare ingredient that only Asuna can cook and we see them have a rather nice dinner and the first non-battle moment we have truly seen in SAO...minus a small knife threat to get Kirito to party up with Asuna.  It is clear Asuna is questioning the direction her guild is going in now to clear the game, much as Kirito once voiced concerns.

After a confrontation with her bodyguard, the two head to the 74th dungeon where neither seems terribly taxed but Kirito appreciates having a competent partner along.  Of course for him the best moment is more of Asuna's cooking!

We finally get Klein and Asuna to meet as well in this dungeon by fluke.  Where the light hearted gathering of friends might have been enough, we instead see the ultimate test of Kirito.   A group of the Liberation Army appear and demand the map data to the boss room Kirito and Asuna have just seen.

Though they are warned to not face it, the Army heads towards their goal anyway.  Kirito surprises his friends by saying they should keep an eye on them and we see that Klein already knows Asuna has her heart set on him.

Despite working quickly the group hear the screams of the Army and rush to see what has happened.  The boss room is like the fateful trap that killed Kirito's one time guild, no teleport stones work here!

Once more we see how the characters have changed.  Once, Asuna would have coldly accepted the loss of the Army because of their foolishness, but Kirito has shown her what it means to be alive again and she rushes in to save the dying men.  Kirito of course does not even pause to follow and Klein resignedly follows as well.

While Kirito and Asuna desperately buy time to get the Army out, they are easily being over powered by the boss.  Kirito thinks he may have a way out for them all but wonders if he has to make that step and commit what may be near suicide after wanting to live.

He sees all the players about to die around him and accepts it is no time to be timid.  After Klein and Asuna buy him time, the solo Beater reveals his unique skill he alone possesses, Dual-Wield.   Rather than a shield and sword user as is typical for one hand blades, Kirito has the ability to wield two swords.  With his newly crafted sword and his usual black one he takes on the boss alone.

For any action lovers this moment is flat out awesome!  For those looking for that emotional punch to the gut, you are not disappointed.  The desperation is palpable, the shock of the others is spine tingling, and the feeling of powerful attacks shakes your bones!

Just barely does Kirito pull off a miracle, and a slim margin of HP to spare, he defeats the 74th boss.  After this things begin to fly forward.

Asuna declares her feelings in as much she wishes to leave the guild, but Kirito has to face Commander Heathcliff to allow that.  The unexpected PvP fight ends with Kirito as a member of KoB but that is short lived as the bodyguard he humiliated tries to kill him.

While it is unclear if had been hunting Asuna to begin with, Kuradeel definitely wants Kirito dead.  Instead he is slain by a wounded Kirito bare handed after losing the other hand to his sword.

After the bloody fights and tumultuous changes, Kirito and Asuna find love for each other and if you do not shed a tear or crack a smile during their moments we get to see, you have no soul!  Even as they take a break from the FL to enjoy their newly found relationship, and their honeymoon for their game marriage, SAO continues to throw surprises at them.

They encounter a broken AI, Yui, whom they adopt as their daughter for a short time and reveals the truth about how SAO is being run without human intervention.  Just when we seem to have yet another tragedy, we see Kirito in a much more reality based skill, save his newly adopted daughter from deletion by Cardinal, the AI system in charge of Aincrad.  He uses a GM console to shard her core program to his Nerve Gear, thus when the game is cleared she will be saved.

The final stretch of this part will rip your heart out and set your teeth on edge.  After winning a rather interesting fishing contest, the two warriors are summoned back to the FL to face the 75th boss.

He is a lovely one isn't he?

Before this battle both Asuna and Kirito give extremely emotional revelations and speeches to each other and a neighbor from their cottage by the lake.   Once again if you do not cry or feel a massive tug in the region known as the human heart, you seriously have no soul.

Vowing to protect they other, they go into battle with many of their long time friends in SAO and on the FL now.  Egil, Klein and his guild, and the rest of KoB.  The battle is brutal and over 14 players die.

It is a shock to them because since floor 67 there have only been the 3 deaths from the foolish Army encounter Kirito had for the boss fights.

Suddenly Kirito puts many pieces together as he glances across the exhausted players and sees a barely winded and only half health Commander Heathcliff standing strong.

Kirito charges explosively across the room and just as his sword would scratch the Commander's face, a purple icon appears with shocking words, "Immortal Object."

Kirito reveals that the most powerful player is actually the architect of all their fates, Kayaba Akihiko himself!  Despite the dark results of the game, all he does is paralyze everyone but Kirito and himself.

He reveals that if they had gotten to floor 100, he would have been the final boss of the game.  Because Kirito deduced his identity, and because the Dual-wielder is the one considered by Heathcliff to be the "hero" of the story, he offers Kirito the chance to end the game now.

Despite ardent begging from Asuna, Egil, and Klein, Kirito goes to face the author of all their fates to this point.  While the battle goes similar to the arena fight, it is clear Kayaba had been holding back before.

Just when we think this story will take a very dark twist, Asuna overcomes the paralyzed stated and dies in Kirito's arms.  All the fight goes out of him, but he picks up her sword and seems to allow Kayaba to slay him.

Just as all seems lost, something odd happens.  Kirito suddenly decides not to let it end just yet, not to let this game dictate anymore how people will die so far from love and family.  He runs Kayaba through and we see both die in a sparkle of pixels.

The whole of SAO hears the decry that the game is cleared and we see a flash of every character not at the boss fight looking up at what I presume to be the final pixels of Kirito's life.

That would have been a fine place to leave us hanging, could have ended it there and most would have been wild with emotions but would have known to jump to Lightnovel or manga for answers.

Instead they took a right hook beautifully and delivered an emotional whammy like no other.  Kirito opens his eyes in the sky and finds Asuna there with him, looking at the end of Aincrad.

They meet the real Kayaba, no Heathcliff avatar, and discuss the point of 4000 people dying in this game.  Instead of parting as bitter enemies, it almost feels like a parting of friends.  Kayaba vanishes and leaves the two alone to face the end of the world.

This moment between them, if you do not shed a tear or reach for a loved one, check your pulse and find out when you died!  It is a beautiful and well delivered moment and it is believable above all else!

Again they could have left us here and we would have been happy, hell I would have still been clapping, but just when it all seems resolved and things have a sad but sweet end.

Kirito wakes up in the real world!  Not only that but he gets his emaciated body up on one single thought.  Asuna!  Using his IV as a walking stick he rolls into the hospital hall with that goal and rolls the credit song.

That is the end of part 1.....I am not kidding!  Go watch it, even with all I have said you WILL find yourself a gibbering wreck of hope, tears, and roaring for Kirito to win every time you watch!

I will do a part 2 on ALO arc because I think it deserves its own and is the harder of the two parts for people to like.  Sword Art Online is the best people...go watch it!

Anime: Railgun S Ep 19: Academic Reach Assembly

This sticks to the sweet change of pace as the previous episode.  We pick up right where we left off, with Saten asking Febri to say anything she knows and she says Misaka Mikoto and little else.

Despite attempts by all of the group to delve for more, Febri acts much like the young girl you would expect, and attaches to Saten like glue!  She also seems to be somewhat afraid of Misaka despite earnest and honest attempts to be nice to her.

Indeed that is a rather interesting bit of the mystery, to all the characters she meets in the episode, Febri instantly bonds and likes them, but she continues to fear Misaka even with no reason for it, nor does she reveal any more of why she even knows that name.

Of course despite the light hearted moments, we continue with The Evil Minions of Arrogance (that is my own name for the 6 lab techs that are just begging for exposure to the Railgun attack in my opinion).  They seem to know something about the young girl and I get the feeling whatever they know it cannot be anything good.

However before that gets far we see the continued preparation for the Assembly and it is revealed to be both dull and a security headache.  I suspect it is not just a backdrop but more to come for the Railgun side of the story we did not get to see so much of in Index.

During Saten's attempt to get Misaka and Febri on better terms, Misaka accidentally let's the little girl do what little girls are famous for, chasing giant Gekotas!  A pursuit by the group is actually quite mundane compared to what they have dealt with before, a lost child while stressful and nerve wracking, cannot quite compare to tacking on the top Level 5 to save 10000 of your clone Sisters I am thinking.

Still, the end does have a twist in several ways that I look forward to hearing explained.  And of course the Pricks in Labcoats now know Railgun is with Febri and seem to want to include her in on their as yet unexplained experiment.  It sounds like things may pick up in the next episode but my nerves are liking the break from before too right now.

Given what Index did have happen there is a LONG road ahead for Misaka and company yet, and Toma should be back before long too.  The ride continues on this fantastic series!

[Anime] Inu to Hasami wa Tsukaiyou/ Dog & Scissors Ep 2

Strike While the Dog is Hot

When I didn't think that this anime could get any weirder, it just keeps spiraling into madness. The police, having not found the culprit who shot our main character, have mostly given up. MURDER is afoot, people! Deal with it!

So, Kirihime convinces Kazuhito to go back to his apartment. Along the way they run into a pop idol who hates Kirihimie. Nothing really becomes of the encounter because Kirihime walks right by her and she is carted off by her bodyguards. It's probably going to be a running gag of some sort. It seems to random otherwise.

At the apartment, it is discovered that Kazuhito used one apartment for books and lived in the other. They go to investigate the storage space and Surprise! The murderer has been living there!

After chasing him awhile (he murdered someone, why are we just running after him?) they have a confrontation on a bridge. He's been reading all of Kazuhito's books! He can't go to prison before the last in his new favorite series is released! He's so entrenched in the canon of those books, he makes some of the fictional fighting styles and moves come to life! And so they defeat him. Weird, but, Kirihime has a little bit of inspiration to write again, even if it isn't the last of her great erotic epic.

This series is like crack, that is all.

Anime: Attack on Titan Ep 20: Erwin Smith: 57th Expedition (4)

This episode is one I have been awaiting, there is one other in particular I look forward to but I suspect that will be next season.

This is not one of the flashier ones for Attack on Titan but if gives a lot of what appeals to me in this show.  Humanity on so many levels it actually makes one's head hurt to think on it.  There is no cut and dried, no good or evil, there is just a lot of unfair life and dealing with nightmares on top of regrets if you survive.

We come back where we left off, the Female Titan devastating the Recon Corps is finally brought to a standstill in the prepared trap of a few hundred 3D gear hooks.  Once again this Titan protects where Cmdr Erwin and Eren know a human nests inside of it.

Unlike Eren however, this one has a great deal more tricks and control it seems.  Attempts to remove who is inside are frustrated by a surprising ability to mimic the Armored Titan's shell, but only for a small while.

Time, however, is very short outside the Walls for mankind.  As Erwin has his men prepare a desperate attempt to get at his enemy, we see the various MCs analyze the plan they unwittingly participated in.  Armin makes a very firm argument about the choice made to keep all but a very few in the dark about the true plan, while Eren gets a more detailed look at who is trusted and who isn't.

We see a wide gamut of emotions and revelation about each personal character, and even side characters make you sympathize and relate very well.  All of that however is the meat of this series, the monsters and the situation are their world yes, but the characters are what drives this series and we get a nice shot in the arm of those moments.

Sasha even gets a much more solid moment with Mikasa when things do not quite go the way Erwin hoped.  The fact that Mikasa accepts her assessment and states clearly that Sasha's instincts are unnervingly dead on gives an even higher stamp of approval.

Just when things seem to be completely lost for the goals of the 57th expedition, and by extension Eren himself, Erwin gives Levi some strange orders.  We are left with a quite shocking cliff hanger but thankfully next week will bring this expedition very close to finished.

There are some really intense moments ahead but this whole expedition lays stunning ground work for what is to come.  I recommend that even though they give us reviews at the start, to watch them all again once this short arc concludes.  Assuming you have read the manga I think most would agree that some serious WTF moments are coming.