Jujutsu Kaisen – 30 – Transformations

It’s been just under a month since the last JJK episode aired, and now we’re back in the present with Yuuji, Nobara, and Megumi. We’re eased back into the “normal” side of their dual lives they lead—the dumb high school kid side, rather than the jujutsu sorcerer side.

One afternoon, Megumi heads home, Yuuji has plans to see the fourth installment of an…er, earthworm man movie franchise, and Nobara, disgusted by the prospect of said movie, goes shopping. They’re as comfortable going off to do their own things as they are hanging out together. But who is that woman at the crosswalk who spots Yuuji and Nobara?

After officially recommending Yuuji, Nobara, Megumi, Maki, and Panda for first-grade sorcerer, Toudou Aoi and Mei Mei have a spirited (and awesomely animated) game of table tennis as they discuss the younger sorcerers’ progress. Unfortunately for Aoi, those who recommend someone can’t be the one who accompanies them on their first first-grade missions.

The crosswalk lady confronts Nobara, and we learn that she’s extremely tall. She turns out to be Ozawa Yuuko, a middle school classmate of Yuuji’s. Back then she was quite short and stout, but in the last six months she’s grown several centimeters and slimmed down. When Nobara catches on that Yuuko wants to see Yuuji again, she immediately calls Megumi—or rather Megumi’s driver, with whom she’s on good terms.

When Yuuko asks if Nobara has any feelings for Yuuji, Nobara is immediate and direct in her denial. When Megumi confirms that Yuuji doesn’t have a girlfriend and tall girls are his type, Nobara keeps stirring the pot and summons Yuuji to the restaurant with a series of extremely curt but effective texts.

Yuuji arrives so quickly that Nobara has no time to warn him that the tall, slim lady before him is Ozawa Yuuko from his middle school. She’s worried about him not recognizing her, which could be devastating to her, but true to Yuuji’s character, he instantly recognizes her despite her wildly different appearance.

We actually see very little of the interaction between them that follows, only the bookends of him recognizing her and walking her to the station. I find that a bit of a shame, though we do get to spend some time in Yuuko’s head as she remembers hating all the guys but Yuuji, and Yuuji saying her manner of eating and handwriting was beautiful.

He saw in her things others and even she herself didn’t, and she’ll never forget that, but even then she wasn’t someone who would choose someone who didn’t choose her. It’s likely their interaction in the present was simply a brief, cordial catch-up, much to Nobara’s disappointment. But I have to think she’ll be back in Yuuji’s life at some point no?

Yuuko’s dramatic transformation is only the first of two in this episode. The B-Part involves Yuuji, Nobara and Megumi being placed under Utahime’s command as they investigated someone who by process of elimination must be the mole passing secrets to Getou Suguru: Muta Koukichi, the sorcerer who controls Mechamaru.

Utahime’s team believe they have Muta cornered in the basement where he dwells in a tub full of blood, covered in bandages and surrounded by IVs. But in a nice bait-and-switch, he’s actually somewhere else altogether, meeting with Getou and the always lively Mahito.

In exchange for his information, Getou has agreed to have Mahito heal Muta’s body with his Idle Transfiguration. After that, however, all bets are off, as once the pact is fulfilled they can go on being mortal enemies. Getou sits back and lets Mahito take on Muta, who summons dozens of puppets to fight for him. Mahito exhibits his maneuverability and versatility and sheer power in smashing the puppets to bits.

However, that bum rush of puppets was only meant to be a distraction; Muta is now elsewhere, and he blows up the building Mahito is in, sending him flying onto the top of a giant dam, presumably somewhere near Kyoto. There, out of the lake rises a colossal mecha version of Ultimate Mechamaru, with Muta in the panoramic cockpit.

We learn that Muta is actually a bit of a triple agent, as his loyalties remain with Jujutsu High, insomuch as he intends to warn Gojou, either directly or through Kasumi, about an impending “Shibuya plot”. With his giant mech he’s able to transmute the time he spent “bound”—over 17 years—into cursed energy.

In this case, he spends about a year to launch a cataclysmic beam attack on Mahito. Whether it will take him out or simply lift the veil and enable communication, and whether Muta’s new healthy body will hold up, remains to be seen. But I’m just glad we’re back in present-day JJK, whether it’s for the after school teen antics and middle school reunions or the table tennis or giant mech battles.

My Happy Marriage – 05 – Forced Exchange

It fills Miyo with joy to not only learn that a kimono much like her mother’s suits her just as well, but that Kiyoka picked it out for her. The two are getting on famously, which is a big problem for Minoru. He shows Kaya a photo of the happy couple, and when Kaya sees that the hottie who was at her house was Kiyoka, she’s ready to dump Kouji for him, and thinks she can convince her dear father to cancel the engagement.

Meanwhile, Miyo’s life might as well be paradise, as she throws a dinner party for Kiyoka and his aide Godou as thanks for reuniting her with Hana. Kiyoka isn’t ready for how beautiful Miyo looks when she greets them at the entrance, marking the first time I believe he’s outright blushed. But Kaya continues to stew, considering it absolutely unacceptable for Miyo to be happy, let alone happier than her. Karma’s a bitch, bitch!

Godou is a very lighthearted, forward guy, so after a delicious meal and sake, he takes Miyo’s hands in gratitude and jokingly asks her to marry him instead of Kiyoka. Naturally, Miyo takes him seriously and apologizes, for she wants to be with Kiyoka. Kaya fails to convince her father, who tells her to go practice homemaking, so she takes another tack and tries to convince Kouji to swap fiancées with Kiyoka.

Miyo has another dream, which has me starting to think she actually does have a gift related to dreams. In their most intimate scene to date, Kiyoka holds Miyo as she awakens from her troubling slumber, and promises her that no matter what she’s going through, she’s not alone. She’ll never be alone ever again.

Kouji pays a visit to his father, only to find Kaya is already there, and things are already in motion to swap her with Miyo. While Kaya’s father isn’t on board, Minoru and Kaya believe he will be if it’s Miyo’s idea to leave Kiyoka. Of course, Miyo would never, ever want to do that, but we’re dealing with people with supernatural powers, so they may be able to force her to do or say things she doesn’t want to.

Miyo slips up when she fails to put the amulet Kiyoka gave her into her new matching pouch. She and Yurie walk to his work so she can deliver him a homemade lunch, but on their way back she realizes she doesn’t have the amulet, and not five minutes later she’s being abducted by an invisible man in a car.

While Yurie rushes back to tell Kiyoka what’s happened, Kaya takes her leave, and Kouji gets violent with his father. Unfortunately, even though he’s stronger than Minoru expected, Kouji is no match for his dad, who plants him on the floor and has him tied up. Fortunately, Kouji’s big brother is on his side, and unties him and tells him to go do what he needs to do.

Kouji does that, but he knows he alone isn’t enough to stop his father. So he pays a visit to Kiyoka, and begs him for help saving Miyo. It goes without saying that Kiyoka is going to rescue Miyo, it’s just a matter of how quickly and how righteously he punishes those who harmed her. But I’ll still admit, even though I saw it coming a mile away, actually watching Miyo be kidnapped sent my heart plummeting into my stomach.

Undead Murder Farce – 09 – The Howling Village

In a flashback, a scared little girl is riding on the back of a werewolf fleeing an angry mob. The wolf and girl seek refuge in a watchtower but the mob burns it to the ground. Eight years later, Tsugaru, Aya, and Shizuku have arrived in Heulendorf, in the German Alps, seeking the Forest of Fangs.

They first encounter the village doctor, Heinemann. Apparently, even in this remote village he’s heard of the Cage User, and begs them to take on a troubling case of village girls being taken in the night and later found torn to bits. It’s been happening every four months.

The villagers are understandably uneasy, and Gustav, father of Louise, the latest girl to be taken, even shoves a shotgun in Aya’s face when he first sees her. Aya tells him she’ll leave if he wants, but she believes she can determine who is behind the abductions, and he lowers the gun.

Aya has a good look around the scene of the kidnapping, and determines that a werewolf entered down through the chimney in wolf form, turned into a werewolf and tossed the room to make it seem like it was insane, then wrapped Louise (who must use a wheelchair to get around) in a bag and escaped through the now-broken window.

Aya is able to also rule out a copycat, as the bite marks on items in the recent scene match those from other incidents. While Aya tells Gustav he’s unlikely to see Louise “alive” again, she is still going to do her utmost to discover her kidnapper.

Aya, Tsugaru, and Shizuku then pay a visit to the elderly, bedridden mayor, who fears the village is done for. When he learns that they’re looking for the Forest of Fangs, he says it’s a place “that doesn’t exist in this world”, but can only be accessed by finding the forbidden werewolf village.

The mayor is loath to tell Aya where the village is or how to use the diamond, but when she bets she’ll be able to name the culprit behind the kidnappings within two days, he agrees to tell her. No sooner is this deal struck than two new cowboy-themed Royce agents arrive on the train.

Like the first episodes of the other arcs, this is mostly about setting the stage and introducing the players. Since I’m not the best detective I don’t have any ideas about who the culprit, other than perhaps the girl in the flashback. If she survived the fire, she may now be taking her revenge on the village that killed her mother and family.

Synduality: Noir – 08 – Mouth to Mouth

Ellie has a dream about laughing at something Kanata said when they were little, and him looking pained. She wakes up thinking it was an awful dream, but at least she gets to go on a date with Kanata today. Only, he kinda invited all the women he knows except Ma’am, Schnee, Dolce, and the waitress at the bar. Their destination: Satellite Aqua, a water park.

That’s right, it’s Synduality: Noir’s Pool Episode, and it wastes no time putting everyone in swimsuits. Maria, Ange, Claudia, and Flamme are determined to help Ellie succeed in snagging Kanata once and for all. To that end, they recommend she wear either a slingshot string bikini or just stickers, but she settles for a cute two-piece that he likes just fine. Meanwhile Noir, who sports a one-piece, shows off her unique, submarine-like swimming.

Kanata asks Ellie to help him swim, as he doesn’t know how, but the lesson is interrupted by a surprise concert from Ciel, who declined Kanata’s invitation because this was the errand she had to do. After her extremely popular (and profitable, at least for Tokio) show, she tells Kanata he inspired her to follow her dream and do the show. When she offers to help Ellie with his swim lesson, Ellie tells Ciel she can do it alone with him, and skulks off.

A concerned Kanata gives chase, but when he grabs her shoulder she plunges into the pool and a leg cramp keeps her under the water. Despite not knowing how to swim, Kanata dives in to rescue her, and the next thing she knows, she’s regaining consciousness after someone—apparently Kanata—gave her mouth-to-mouth. That would mean she wasn’t conscious for her first kiss.

Ellie laments that her feelings for Kanata may not be as powerful as Ciels, but her big sis tells her she shouldn’t worry about intensity, only taking advantage of opportunities to show him that she does like him. She gets than chance when Maria keeps Noir occupied, and Ellie apologizes for laughing at his dream of finding Histoire, which she knows was mean.

To her surprise, he had forgotten that she was mean to him at all, since it was so long ago, and in the years that followed, she helped him out again and again, proving her quality as a friend. When asked, he clarifies that it was Ange, not he, who gave her mouth-to-mouth, but he and Ellie end up in a position to kiss for real when Noir arrives to protect him.

All the talk of “ambushes” and “attacks” has her thinking Ellie has hostile intentions with Kanata, when in reality she simply wants to get closer to him. Considering this is a two-cour series, I’m sure she’ll get another chance or two to make her feelings clear. But since this is Kanata, she’ll have to be extremely clear.

My Happy Marriage – 04 – Getting Better All the Time

Miyo has a dream about her mother pleading for her husband to love their daughter even though she isn’t gifted, to no avail. You really have to hand it to her father, he’s a real dyed-in-the-wool piece of shit. He “could have” presumably loved Miyo…if he wasn’t the head of a supernaturally-gifted family.

Miyo wakes up in her bed, unsettled, but also determined to repay Kiyoka’s kindness by giving him a gift in return for her comb. Yurie suggests she make something he will see or use everyday, and Miyo decides on a braided hair tie. Miyo asks to go into town with Yurie, but Kiyoka gives her an amulet and warns her not to wander off.

Honestly, the moment I knew Miyo would be going anywhere without Kiyoka escorting her, I was pretty worried, because Kouji’s dad Minoru is still out there, determined to secure possession of her at any cost. We meet Kouji’s gifted playboy older brother, who would make a far better match for Kaya. Both of these families are The Worst.

Miyo picks out some lovely regal colors for the braid, but her day, and indeed her psyche take a critical hit when she spots Kaya out in public with Kouji by her side. Kaya assumes that Miyo has been tossed out and is on her own, begging on the street. But she is somewhat happy Miyo isn’t dead, because it means she can pick on her more.

Kiyoka couldn’t join Miyo in town because he had another errand: visiting her father and stepmother to declare his intention to marry her. That said, he also voices his concerns and his fundamental contempt for these creatures for the way they treated Miyo. If he’s to furnish a dowry and and cultivate a relationship with the Saimoris, he’ll need both of them to apologize to Miyo, in person.

Meanwhile, Kaya has Miyo paralyzed with fear and knows it, and brushes off Kouji’s half-hearted attempts to stop her from digging her claws in deeper. Miyo is a complete wreck when Yurie arrives to rescue her. I’m glad the encounter ends with Kaya pissed that Miyo is due to marry Lord Kudou and become a lady.

I also like that Kaya catches a glimpse of Lord Kudou on his way out when she returns home (though whether she knows this beautiful man is Miyo’s fiance remains to be seen).

That said, the immediate gratification of Kaya’s day being ruined (may they all be ruined, forever) is undercut by Miyo’s traumatic experience, which sends her into a spiral of depression and self-hatred. Even when Kiyoka assures her through her door that things will get better and he’s always there to talk to her about her troubles, she won’t leave her room or eat.

She makes Lord Kudou the braid, but doesn’t believe she has any right to present it to him. That’s when Kiyoka expresses his love and support for her another way: by tracking down Hana, the servant who was fired for defending Miyo from her stepmother’s abuse. Seeing Hana is well, married, and with a baby on the way absolutely makes Miyo’s day.

The reunion also gives Miyo the courage to present Kiyoka with the braid she made, and tell him the truth about her straight-up: she has no supernatural gifts. Of course, that he wrote to Hana means he already knows her story and the abuse she endured. When she says she’ll die or leave or both if he tells her to, he has her raise her head, then draws her into a gentle embrace.

Kiyoka, as you’d expect, doesn’t want her to go anywhere. He intends for her to become his wife. She shouldn’t see her being in his home as a privilege; she’s there because he wants her there, and wants her to want to be there as well. She does, very much so, and the two take another big step closer as a couple, with Miyo tying his hair with her braid, as if to mark him as hers.

Yes, Tatsuishi Minoru is still out there, spying on the happy couple, fuming, and scheming some kind of plan to secure possession of Miyo. But while that’s concerning, I’m confident he’ll fail, hopefully miserably. Kiyoka is no fool, and he knows he’s not dealing with good or moral people, so he’ll be vigilant.

Masamune-kun’s Revenge R – 09 – Déjeuner de mensonges

Even though she’s unaware Masamune just had a dream about Yoshino being his girlfriend, Neko can tell something’s still off about him, but everyone else gets caught up in a Valentine’s Day chocolate-making frenzy. Even Aki isn’t immune to this, as Yoshino convinces her to make homemade sweets for her boyfriend, and when that fails, she makes cookies. When Masamune declines to taste one of his sister’s chocolates, she warns him that won’t fly if a girlfriend puts her heart and soul into them, which Aki most certainly does.

Kojuurou keeps stepping up to the plate and striking out, disinterested as Neko is in him as a romantic partner. Masamune gets a motherlode of chocolates from various pretty admirers, including the obsessive one who still has his water bottle. But the one he wants chocolates from most is Aki, and she doesn’t disappoint. He accepts her cookies, tastes one, declares it delicious, then has another. It lifts Aki onto cloud nine, and for that alone, I’m grateful, even if he’s forcing himself to eat for her sake.

On their first date in a while, the pattern continues: Aki takes Masamune somewhere and they stuff their faces. The problem is, he can only eat so much before he’s sick, especially after eating more despite her warnings. That being said, it’s not like Masamune isn’t enjoying spending time with Aki, or even that he resents the threat to his chiseled physique. In fact, before they part ways he says he wants to go on more dates and eat more things with her. Of course Aki can’t turn that down!

Neko, desperate to know what’s going on, has lunch with Yoshino, whom she assumes is feeling lonely what with her Aki-sama being with Masamune all the time. And indeed the two are together, in the gym storage room, chowing down as usual. Masamune makes a comment about still exercising because he “doesn’t want to look like he used to” way back when. Aki’s sad smile broke my heart…moreso once Neko confronts her after school.

Neko solemnly insists that Aki break up with Masamune, because he doesn’t really love her. Aki suprises her with her response, which is that she already knows that, thanks to the revenge journal she found. There’s still that key misunderstanding keeping them from being together: she believes he’s still on his revenge scheme, when the truth is he’s put that behind him and actually does love her.

But for now, as far as Aki knows, Masamune is just doing this so that he can one day dump her. And despite knowing this, Aki loves him too damn much to let him go of her own accord. She’s noticed him not touching her and acting distant at times during their dates, which she chalks up to the fact he hates the “past and present her.”

So she believes her love for Masamune to be just as unrequited as Neko’s…the only difference is, she’s Masamune’s girlfriend, and she’s going to remain so as long as she can. Kojuurou ends up overhearing all of this when he’s out in the hall, but honestly I care a lot more about this getting straightened out!

Yes, Masamune’s hives are an issue, but they’re not a surefire sign he shouldn’t be with Aki. And yes, Aki believes Masamune hates him because of that notebook, but it wouldn’t take long to explain that the notebook was only for when he thought she turned him away. Frankly Masamune and Aki need to talk a lot more about the things they’re carrying…as does Yoshino. Until then, the beautiful mess continues.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead – 06 – Equipment Check

Their rooftop haven is out of water, and Tokyo is out of power, so after visiting the Ginza to try on some watches and suits they’d never get to afford in their past lives, Akira and Kencho pack up and prepare to leave for Gunma, in hopes Akira’s parents are still alive.

Rather than take the motorcycle for the 4-plus-hour ride, Akira decides they need to have a kitted-out RV instead, and head to an RV show at a convention center. They have the same idea as Shizuka, and use her own risk analysis to get her to grudingly join them, since she doesn’t have a driver’s license.

As you’d expect, Akira and Kencho turn into excited little boys at the sight of all the cool RVs on display, one of which costs 23 million yen (or $150K US). But even Shizuka can’t hide how much she loves a sumptuous VW bus conversion, even though a lifted Tacoma conversion meets their needs.

Ultimately the choice of what RV to take is governed by the fact the boys were so loud they attracted a horde of zombies. They pile into a decently-sized Hino Cab-over RV and skedaddle; Kencho retrieves their bike and they head out in a two-vehicle convoy. The highways are mercifully empty.

I was ready to sit back and enjoy a fun road trip, but disaster strikes when both Akira and Kencho hit spike strips that ruin their tires. Kencho is thrown from his bike and injured. Three coach buses quickly arrive and block the way, manned by surly baseball players.

Their leader says “Tendou”, and Akira realizes that it’s his old boss, Chief Kosugi. Kosugi is all smiles in offering medical supplies, fresh tires, and the like. But of course, there’s a catch: Akira has to work for him for two days. And considering how often Kosugi lied to Akira at the office, two days might as well be translated as forever.

Akira, Kencho, and Shizuka have no choice but to accept Kosugi’s “kind” offer, and the latter two notice an instant change in Akira. Even he freezes up and can’t breathe or think when Kosugi is in his face, so traumatized he is by the past abuse.

When Akira tries to pull a fun-loving “new Akira” and chill some beers for everyone, but he’s reamed out for wasting electricity, and placed in the doghouse when the baseball guys think the cold beer is for them. Kosugi also shows Akira his ideal workforce: zombies that are tied up to pull cargo: No will of their own, no need to pay them, and no backtalk. Simply equipment. Chilling.

At no point does absolute contempt and menace drip from Kosugi’s features, nor does he ever miss a single chance to run Akira down, saying he can only hope to be as useful as the zombies. Suffice it to say this is a bad, bad place, and our peeps need to get out of here pronto. With Akira totally under Kosugi’s heel like the bad old days, organizing an escape likely falls to Shizuka, and a Kencho who hopefully heals up fast.

My Happy Marriage – 03 – Diamond in the Rough

While dining together, Kiyoka engages in small talk with Miyo, asking about her days. When done with household chores, she sews a bit and reads magazines Yurie lends her. Sensing she might be feeling a little penned in, Kiyoka announces he’ll be going into town…and she’ll be accompanying him.

When she says she has no reason to go and would only be a nuisance, Kiyoka tells her she doesn’t need a reason, and won’t be a nuisance. The next morning, dressed in her only good kimono and wearing makeup applied with care by Yurie, Kiyoka can’t help but silently admire his most comely fiancée.

After Kiyoka parks his car at work (and his aide briefly meets Miyo), Kiyoka an Miyo walk into town together, and he asks her if there’s anything she needs or wants. Miyo has trouble thinking of something, and goes to her standby of apologizing.

Kiyoka assures her all she needs to do is enjoy herself; she won’t be scolded by him or anyone, and she doesn’t need to think she’s a nuisance. It’s the direct, positive affirmation Miyo dearly needs to hear, because she never heard in her loveless home.

Speaking of home, Kouji’s father is furious that Miyo’s father arranged for her to marry a Sudou instead of his own eldest son, Kouji’s brother. Even if Miyo isn’t gifted, she carries the blood of the Usuba family, and her offspring may be incredibly gifted.

In a scene that made my stomach turn, Miyo’s father shows he is no real father at all, but rather a creature of greed and low morals, no better than the demons Kiyoka slays. He confirms that he has abandoned Miyo and doesn’t care if she lives or dies.

He expects the Sudou kid will grow disinterested in his ungifted fiancee, giving Kouji’s father free reign to snatch her up and marry her to his son. Kaya is out in the hall and can’t hear them, but is enraged when a servant says her father is talking about Miyo. She can also tell Kouji’s smiles are fake…but what does she expect?

Miyo and Kiyoka’s first date continues at the kimono store, a very fancy one where the emperor sometimes orders clothes. Having learned from Yurie that Miyo has been sewing her old tattered kimonos in secret, he orders some fine new ones, including one in a glorious sakura pink.

Little does he know that such a color and design reminds Miyo of her dearly departed mother, but when the store attendant gets a good look at Miyo, she impresses upon Kiyoka the importance of holding onto Miyo with everything he has, for she is a diamond in the rough, to be polished with his love and wealth.

He takes her out for sweets, the first time she’s had anything sweet since Kouji brought her some. He admits he’d like to see what she’d be like if she were truly smiling, rather than cowering and apologizing all the time. He mentions the fact that they’ll soon be married, so she should be able to say what’s on her mind.

This frightens Miyo, who believes Kiyoka doesn’t know she’s ungifted. If he learned the truth, not only would he not be this kind to her, but he’d likely throw her out. So she decides to keep it a secret, and will face whatever punishment comes from that, because it means in the meantime she can stay by his side.

Little does she know that not only is Kiyoka is pretty much aware Miyo is not Gifted, but has no intention of letting her go. Both seem strangely drawn together in a way neither of them can explain, but recognize the importance. To that end, Kiyoka gives Miyo the gift of a splendid new wooden comb, replacing the one her stepmother broke.

When a man gives a woman such a comb, it typically symbolizes a proposal. Kiyoka insists “it’s not like that”, but that could be his tsundere side talking. When Miyo opens the gift, she runs to him and says she can’t accept it. When he insists that it’s his gift to her to use however she likes, he looks up and sees her naturally smiling for the first time.

Back at HQ, Kiyoka has secured the services of an investigator to look into Miyo’s family, suspicious as he was of how badly Miyo has clearly been treated. He is disgusted to find that abuse was the product of resentment and vindictiveness on the part of Miyo’s father’s second wife. He quite rightly believes that prodigious families shouldn’t act in such a manner.

The investigator also confirms that Miyo is ungifted, but that Miyo’s father’s first wife, her mother, was a member of the Usuba family, who have the ability to “convene with the minds of others” (like telepathy, I presume). Now knowing exactly what Miyo had to endure from a loveless father and an evil stepmother, he knows some kimonos and a comb won’t be nearly enough to heal those wounds.

Not that he’s not willing to give it his all. But when he suddenly senses shikigami spying on him, he quickly burns them, and is left wondering who would do something so foolish. My money is on Kouji’s dad. If Kiyoka wants Miyo to remain with him, he may have to fight to protect her. But he seems to be supremely capable when it comes to fighting, so I’m not too worried.

Mushoku Tensei II – 08 – Love Is in the Air

Rudy finds himself on better terms with Rinia and Pursena now that they consider him their alpha, but he has to apologize for the three of them when Cliff Grimoire complains about the noise they make goofing off in class. Later, Rudy catches Cliff being beaten up by six fellow students, who immediately flee when Quagmire shows up.

Cliff’s deal is that he’s got the hots for Elinalise, and he got into the fight by protecting her honor. Rudy happens to know that Elinalise is indeed guilty of all of the rumors about her sleeping around—at least as guilty as someone suffering from a curse can be, at least. Even so, Cliff has it bad, and wants an introduction.

Rudy confers with—who else—Fitz on this, and it actually gives Sylphie an opportunity to say that she likes “someone”, even though she still won’t come out and tell him who. She believes it’s fine to introduce them, and everything that happens from then on isn’t Rudy’s problem.

Rudy follows Fitz’s advice, but when he introduces Elinalise to Cliff, she snatches Rudy up for a quick sidebar. If she believes her curse won’t allow her to be monogamous, than Rudy tells her she should reject Cliff. But the next day, he finds that Cliff and Elinalise have become a couple. She’s determined to behave herself, while he’s determined to lift her curse.

Elinalise isn’t the only one with suitors. Rinia and Pursena have many dozens of suitors, but as they have appointed Rudy their “boss”, he stands in for their parents as the arbitor of who is worthy of their hand in marriage. The first such suitor to challenge Rudy is immediately defeated.

The next one…is a little trickier. For one thing, he’s immense, and gray with flowing purple hair, and sports no less than six arms (though two are seemingly always flexing). This is none other than Demon King Badigadi, Kishirisu Kishirika’s fiancé. He’s heard good things about Rudy, and wants to fight him.

Fitz brings Rudy his staff, and Rudy asks if Badigadi will spare his life if he wins. It hasn’t been long since the “Dragon God” almost killed him, after all. Badigadi also seems to know of the Man-God, but doesn’t know anything about him. The Demon King agrees to accept defeat if Rudy can wound him with a single blow.

Rudy conjures the sharpest, fastest-spinning drill bit his mana can create, and it does the trick: when the smoke clears, Badigadi is a fraction of the size he was and missing a couple of arms. He heals himself, but accepts defeat, which means Rinia and Pursena don’t have to worry about any suitors.

Badigadi doesn’t leave without planting his own blow on Rudy, resulting in a comically swollen cheek that Fitz easily heals before leaving Rudy to rest. The next day in class, Rinia and Pursena are grateful. But who should arrive in class as an (apparent) new transfer student but Badigadi and his bawdy laugh. Unfortunately the needle doesn’t move on Rudy learning who Fitz is, but he’s certainly building up a reputation as the strongest student at Ranoa.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – 21 – Two Ships Passing in the Night

After defeating Gremmy, Kenpachi’s primary objective is locating Yachiru, whose armband is somewhat worryingly lying in the rubble. But there’s no rest for the weary, and his search is interrupted by the arrival of the Quincy It Girls: Giselle, Candice, Meninas, and Liltotto, voiced by an all-star voice cast of Touyama Nao, Uchiyama Yumi, Ueda Reina, and Yuuki Aoi, respectively.

While composed of varying personalities from impatient to lazy and providing no shortage of comic relief with their antics (and Looney Tunes sound effects), the four are seriously powerful and make quick work of the already battered Kenpachi. However, their fun is interrupted by the long-awaited return of the new-and-improved Kurosaki Ichigo, their Number-One special target.

Candice takes the lead, enraged as she is that Ichigo covered her in dust with his first strike (it takes her hours to get ready in the morning). When their initial Quincy projectiles are easily turned away, they proceed to unlock their Vollständigs, each a different color, complete with transformation sequences that make them feel even more like an evil magical girl squad.

However, as fun and powerful as these four ladies are (and it’s arguable that Bambietta was the most powerful of them), they’re no match for Ichigo in his current state. He only has to raise his voice when he counters Candice’s most powerful attack with a Getsuga Jujuisho, a step-up from his Tensho that forms a Quincy-like cross.

The stalemate between the four Quincy girls and Ichigo is seemingly broken when four male Quincy led by Bazz-B enter the fray, eager to be the one to claim Ichigo’s head. Clearly Yhwach has encouraged a culture of backstabbing which I’m sure will be his subordinates’ undoing. The ensuing 8-on-1 brawl is interrupted by another column of blue light: Yhwach is awake again.

When Ichigo turns towards Yhwach, Meninas delivers a crushing blow, but it’s the only one he endures, as he gets welcome reinforcements: Renji, Rukia, Byakuya, Hiisagi, Ikkaku and Yumichika. Unlike the Quincy who are all in it for themselves once the King’s edicts are followed out, the Soul Society shinigami will work together to leave Ichigo free to confront Yhwach.

When Ichigo spots Uryuu there, he’s understandably a bit shocked, even if we’ve watched him standing beside the king for several episodes now. He has nothing to say to Ichigo except to leave before he wastes his life. When Ichigo refuses and asks more questions, Uryuu lights him up, which is when Orihime and Chad show up to shield him.

Uryuu has nothing to say to them either, and joins Yhwach and Haschwath in ascending to the Royal Palace, the opening to which Ichigo himself created with his bombastic arrival. I can only imagine that’s what Squad Zero wanted. Soul Society is only a stepping stone to the Palace and the Soul King. And Ichigo’s big return is essentially met by a shrug from the Quincy King. He’s got bigger fish to fry.

Horimiya: Piece – 09 – Let Them Eat Cake

This week focuses more on the faculty of Horimiya, primarily Yasuda-sensei. This is unfortunate, since Yasuda-sensei’s whole deal is he harbors an inappropriate love of high school girls, and this is always played for comedy. While the age of the source material is partly to blame (2011, when most people still used flip phones) and I’m a big fan of Tsuda Kenjirou, this never doesn’t feel gross and wrong.

Fortunately, he gets some degree of comeuppance throughout the episode as his authority is undermined and he is mocked by students and chastened by his fellow teacher, the long-suffering Terashima-sensei. When he’s sleeping in the lounge, two third years give him little pigtails, which cause his class to roar with laughter once one of them (a tardy Yuki) points them out.

The skeevy Yasuda is contrasted with the more harmless Nakamine-sensei, whose only crime is being forgetful when it comes to keys (along with names and faces). Yuki decides to help him out by sewing the hole in his lab coat pocket. Why they do this in a dark classroom, I don’t know, but both Yasuda and Tooru are outraged.

When Tooru sees Yuki about to take Nakamine-sensei’s hand in hers, he can’t help but bang on the glass, alerting them to his presence. He later learns she was reading his palm, and proceeds to read his as well. Tooru is happy Yuki is holding his hands, but isn’t aware that the whole reason she keeps a sewing kit on her is that he loses so many buttons.

Izumi, Tooru, and Shuu meet up for special “guy’s time” and start describing what sounds like a dirty magazine, but turns out to be a giant cake when Yasuda tries to catch them red-handed. The prospect of them scarfing down a cake in a dark classroom is hilarious, because it underscores what innocent dorks they all are.

But this still lands them in trouble as a big cake somehow isn’t allowed. Yasuda gets more than he bargains for when the three team up to pepper him with questions about his living situation and love life. He tells them he won’t let them visit him unless they bring the girls, which, again, isn’t really funny.

Sengoku is in a spot when he ends up locked in the StuCo room with a “slumbering demon”, i.e. Kyouko. When she wakes up she’s cross, but calls the number on the student handbook and they’re let out by Yasuda. After they both use the restroom, he asks if they were up to anything unsavory, and suggests they strip in order to prove they weren’t.

Fortunately for Kyouko and Sengoku, Terashima-sensei is still there, and lets them go while she deals with the pervert. The next day Yasuda has been reformed to the point of brainwashing, but the episode declares that he’ll be back to normal tomorrow. I’d prefer if he lost his job for his inappropriate comments, but hopefully the remaining eps of Piece contain as little of him as possible.

My Happy Marriage – 02 – No Apologies

Miyo’s first encounter with her enigmatic fiancé Kudou Kiyoka is a chilly one, in which he lays out his primary directive: obey him no matter what. And while I just met him too, I could tell he was taken a little aback by just how submissive, even downtrodden Miyo seemed.

After years of sparse accommodations and sparser affection, Miyo feels unworthy of  her new spacious room and luxuriously vast bed. Her subconscious reinforces that feeling, and she dreams of when she learned that unlike every other member of her family, including Kaya, she did not possess supernatural gifts.

It fell to a servant to give Miyo emotional support. Miyo wakes up from those bad memories and consoles herself with the fact she’ll never again wake up in that place again. She also surprises Yurie by getting up before her and making Lord Kudou breakfast. Yurie admits she’s getting on in years and will never turn down help.

But disaster strikes when Kiyoka decides to institute a hard line when it comes to breakfast. As soon as he hears Yurie didn’t make it, and Kiyo hesitates to take a bite, he assumes the food was poisoned, and leaves without eating it. Miyo is devastated; she tried to be useful, in part so she wouldn’t be thrown out on the street, only for it to end in failure. The anguish in Ueda Reina’s vocal performance is palpable.

When we’re with Kudou Kiyoka on his own, we learn why he’s so strict and curt: he’s the commander of an “anti-grotesqueries” squad of gifted soldiers who protect society from ghosts and demons. After training his far more laid-back adjutant makes a glib joke about his boss’s string of fiancées, but Kiyoka isn’t in the mood.

Meanwhile, Kouji is treated not so differently than the help by his fiancée Kaya (Sakura Ayane really chews the scenery with Kaya’s stark villainy). Kouji is still sore about how things went with Miyo, and decides that he’ll do whatever is necessary to help her if she ends up on the street, no matter the consequences.

Miyo greets Kiyoka with a full bow of contrition, and he clarifies that he wasn’t actually suspicious of him poisoning him; he simply didn’t want to eat the food of someone he didn’t know. She accompanies him to a dinner made by Yurie, but there’s no food for her, because she wasn’t hungry. He also wishes she wouldn’t apologize so much.

When he goes to heat water for his bath with his pyrokinesis, it’s another sign to Miyo that she’s as useless here as she was at her previous home. But then Kiyoka returns, apologizes for refusing her breakfast, and asks her to please make it for her next time.

He offers her the use of the bath as the water is still warm, and as she bathes, Miyo’s mood improves, remembering Yurie saying that Kiyoka actually has a kind heart and sweet temperament. Clearly, he’s quite skilled at hiding it behind a curtain of steel and ice!

The comfort Miyo gets from her soothing bath is all but undone by another dream of her past, when all of her mother’s mementos were tossed out by her evil stepmother. When she confronts her stepmother, she’s physically assaulted then locked in a storage shed to “reflect on her actions.”

Miyo’s father stands by and does nothing, it’s again a servant who tries to stop this heinous treatment of an innocent little girl. The stepmother, drunk with power, declares she can do whatever she wants, and the servant is fired. When she wakes up, Miyo feels grateful to that servant, whose name was Hana, and hopes that wherever she is, she’s happy.

Breakfast Round Two goes much better. Yurie wakes up earlier than expected, but can tell Miyo wants to make breakfast for Kiyoka, so she merely assists. Kiyoka takes a sip of Miyo’s miso and is approving of its novel flavor. It’s the first time Miyo has been complimented in years, so of course she’d get teary-eyed.

While being dressed by Yurie, Kiyoka decides he’ll investigate the Saimori family while asking Yurie to keep a close but discrete eye on Miyo. He cannot fathom how a thin, sickly girl with a tattered kimono and the rough hands of a servant came from a predigious family. If she did, her day-to-day life was clearly substandard in some way.

He doesn’t know the half of it, but I hope he finds out and exacts punishment on those who wronged Miyo. But trouble is on the horizon as Miyo’s father gets an angry phone call from Kouji’s father about whom Miyo should be marrying.

It’s not hard to fathom Kiyoka’s previous fiancées running to the hills due to his not-so-winning personality. But Miyo has already endured far worse personalities, so he actually comes off as warm and kind by comparison. As talented a magic user as he may be, he has a lot to learn about expressing his emotions, just as Miyo has a lot to learn about valuing herself. They seem well-suited to learn from one another.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades – 08 – A Bit of Cleverness

While they’re watching this world’s version of Quiddich, Oliver and his circle of friends are approached by fellow first-year Tullio Rossi. He doesn’t come off as evil or anything, but the tight bond the friends share, and the notoriety they’ve received so far…it just kinda pisses him off.

In sword arts class when he’s paired up with Pete for a duel, Tulio quickly exposes Pete’s offensive shortcomings, even going so far as to call him a “princess” who is always being bailed out by his stronger friends (though there’s no indication he knows Pete’s a Reversi).

Afterwards, a defiant Pete tells his friends that he wants to get better at sword arts. This causes Oliver and Chela to bicker over which fighting style they should teach him, and seem equally matched in their logic, so they agree to both teach him: Chela offense, Oliver defense.

While the friends have a meal in the dining hall, Tullio once again stirs the shit. He doesn’t like how Oliver & Co. get all the attention while everyone else gets left out, and declares it’s time to determine who the strongest first-year is. To that end, he sets up a tournament and calls for volunteers.

Nanao, Oliver, and Chela all agree to participate, as does Chela’s cousin Stacy. One Evelynn Odets, famous for talking fast, is the first to challenge Nanao. She’s supremely confident she can embarrass the Azian samurai, but she’s the one who ends up embarrassed, as Nanao easily redirects her spell with her sword.

After running Pete ragged with a sword arts training session (though there’s no further discussion of Pete’s Reversi status) Oliver receives an invitation to tea from Gwyn and Shannon via Miss Carste. On his way, he encounters Ophelie, but she isn’t interested in succubussing him, simply having a little chat.

We learn she was once friends with Alvin and Carlos, and she also issues a friendly warning for Oliver to stay out of the Labyrinth and keep his head down for the next couple months. I appreciated how “Lia” (as Shannon later calls her) isn’t just a sexy cartoon villain, but portrayed as an actual person here.

Oliver is greeted warmly by Gwyn and Shannon, who tell him he should consider the little hideout his home whenever he needs it. He tells them how much he’s come to care about Nanao, and Gwyn gently warns him not to let such a charismatic girl “change the very essence of who he is” by getting too close. After all, Noll has a lot more names on his list to take care of.

On Oliver’s way back to the dorms, he senses he’s being tailed and calls Tullio out. Tullio wants to prove which one of them is stronger once and for all, and it’s clear from the outset of their ensuing duel that Tullio plays dirty. He has to, because none of the three classic styles worked for him.

His creative self-made style leaves Oliver with a bloody nose and bruised face, but just when Tullio thinks he’s just getting started, Oliver calmly tells him he’ll defeat him in eight moves exactly…and proceeds to do just that. There’s nothing Tullio can do against Oliver’s mastery of by-the-book fighting.

That said, Oliver admits to the beaten Tullio that he’s always a little envious of anyone who is able to fight with their own talent, as opposed to the borrowed knowledge he’s amassed and practiced. That said, he warns Tullio that he’ll soon reach his limit if he relies on just his talents forever.

Miss Carste was watching the fight, as she emerges from the shadows to praise her “lord.” She draws close to him and says that his kindness is a sheath that can dull his raw power, and if killing her will sharpen his blade, she’s ready and willing to be his disposable whetstone. Oliver doesn’t play like that; he’s not going to use and discard her, or anyone else.

This interaction, which is the first time we get a good look at Teresa Carste (and learn just how into Oliver she is), takes place as the credits roll, followed by Tullio, still in the Labyrinth, being challenged by Joseph Albright. Will Oliver’s warning about Rossi’s talents only going so far prove prescient once again?