The World God Only Knows 12 and Wrap-up

Well now, that was a surprise! I hadn’t a clue God Only Knows got a second season until it announced one at the end! I’m not complaining; this was one of the more original fall series, and it was almost always hilarious from beginning to end. What also stood out was its awesome array of electronic and orchestral music and impressive production qualities, which were on full display this week.

Keima stays in his room for most of the episode, which is something to behold; a Lain-style cave stuffed with stacks of dating sims and dozens of video game consoles and monitors. It is here where Keima plays multiple games at once and wins at all of them. This is his church. With all the positive reinforcement these games offer, it’s no wonder he considers himself a god of conquest. And his skills are truly otherworldly, both impressing and creeping out Elcie whenever she pops her head in. Elcie worries about him, but she doesn’t understand: this is what he was put on the earth to do: play.

The string of hilarious, intentionally over-dramatic, powerful vignettes in which Keima waxes poetic about his beloved games reminded me of his last real conquest, Shiori’s obsession with books, only cranked all the way up to eleven; hell twelve. This week was Keima’s opportunity to catch up on games he wasn’t able to play because he was out in the real world. It was a very nice resting place, and even teased that there’d be a new demon like Elcie next season, when there’s sure to be more real-life girls’ hearts Keima must conquer. I don’t have a problem with that. Rating: 4

Series Mean Ranking: 3.417 (Ranked 7th out of 15 Fall 2010 Series)

Otome Youkai Zakuro 12

Zakuro’s penultimate episode wasn’t that bad, but there were some issues. First of all, Agemaki & Co. basically teleport to the Village of Oracles by having guardian lions roar in their general direction. I was expecting something a little cleverer and more involving. Second: Omedaka has carried Zakuro to the same place his mom bonded with Zakuro’s father, presumably to rape her. Byakuroku is also with him. You’d think with the two sets of eyes between them, they’d have noticed Agemaki approaching them. Similarly, just when Byokuraku is about to kill Agemaki, Riken, Ganryu, and the other girls show up in the nick of time. This is a very open hilltop; how were they able to sneak up like that?

Regardless of these oddities, Agemaki sheds his fear and confronts Omedaka head on with his mother’s wishes. Thankfully, this isn’t quite enough to make Omedaka stand down. In fact, he changes his mind and decides to kill Zakuro, which he’s about to do, but then notices his house is on fire, so he picks her up and runs home. (Not to point out another issue, but why didn’t he just kill her right there?)

Anyway, the reason his house is on fire is the twist that will take us to the finale: Lady Rangui, whom he discarded once no longer of use, has seduced Daidai to do her bidding, and together they’ve staged a revolt at the household, setting it ablaze and freeing the half-spirits imprisoned there. So Rangui and Daidai have done Spirit Affairs a favor by releasing the prisoners, but I have a feeling that’s all they’ll help with, and will prove a pain in the butt next week. Rating: 3