Vampire Dormitory – 01 (First Impressions) – Needing to Be Needed

Misfortune seems to follow Yamamoto Mito everywhere he goes. He lost his parents in a fire, and his other relatives kicked him onto the streets. Everyone who sees him is smitten by his beauty, but that’s the precise reason he loses the one job he was able to get at a ramen restaurant—his presence was angering the other guys.

After visiting a butler café called La Fraise goes wrong with him breaking a vase and one of the waiters licks his bleeding finger, Mito has to trudge through the cold rain. When he stops on a bridge, he contemplates whether anyone would notice he was gone if he jumped, but only for a moment. Instead, he slips and almost falls … but he’s caught by the finger-licking waiter.

The waiter is actually a vampire named Saotome Ruka, whose master has been urging him to find a thrall. Mito fits the bill, despite his blood tasting terrible, which in this world is due to no one loving him. That means his blood can be made delicious if Ruka takes him in and loves him every day, and Mito learns how to be loved, and love in return.

Ruka takes Mito to the fancy academy boy’s dormitory for a hot bath, and Mito agrees to be his thrall—not just because he needs a place to stay, but because Mito is the first person in his life to tell him he was needed. But while Ruka insists he’s unable to drink a woman’s blood, the truth is, Mito is biologically female, presenting as a male with a binder and wig.

While I cannot say this early in the season if this will make the Spring 2024 final cut, I honestly didn’t hate it. Chalk a lot of that up to Mito’s impossibly dire circumstances, and the fact I could happily listen to seiyu Ichinose Kana read the phone book. Mito’s secret femininity is also a good hook to keep watching for another episode or two.

A Sign of Affection – 11 – Sending Good Vibes

Rin has started going on dates with Kyouya, and while she’s not sure they’re boyfriend and girlfriend yet, Itsuomi isn’t shy about saying he’s glad his cousin is taking his love life more seriously. Rin is tickled pink by his words, but then takes her leave so he and Yuki can be alone.

He can tell she’s nervous about her interview, and she is, so he takes her hands in his and offers some German words of encouragement: he’ll keep his fingers crossed for her. That said, she’s also nervous about overt PDA, even if he isn’t!

The interview with Madoka’s awesome aunt goes splendidly, and Yuki has herself a job at her café. No drama at all! That happens while grocery shopping on a busy day at the store, a clerk wearing a mask checks her out, and she’s unable to understand him. She’s bailed out by Oushi, who happens to be shopping there too.

He admits he had drinks with Itsuomi, and tells her to come to him if he makes her cry or hurts her because he hates him. When Yuki tries to praise Itsuomi in sign, Oushi stops her, but then apologizes. We learn in another flashback that Oushi once saw Yuki in a crowded subway not knowing what was going on, and wanted to learn how to sign to make her world a little bit better and easier to navigate.

As it turns out, he accomplished that, as when they went to college together, his signing with her gave her a huge lift and helped keep her going. Yuki is confused by how nice he’s been lately, but he makes it clear he’s trying to be less prickly as he navigates a world where she’s involved with another guy.

While grabbing Yuki’s hand while she was signing was rude as hell, at least he apologized and made sure he didn’t hurt her. As for Shin, he’s been dreading hurting Emma by telling her Itsuomi has a girlfriend, but this week he’s finally able to do so.

He admits to her he’s telling her this not just to console her, but for his own selfish reasons. He wants her to understand that even if she can’t have Itsuomi, she has him, and always has. When she brings up that time back at school when he said he’d never fall for her “even if he died”, he shocks her by admitting he had planned to take his feelings for her to his grave.

That night, after a great day at work, Yuki is feeling a little blue about not seeing Itsuomi much lately, but he suddenly texts her asking if she’s still up, then shows up outside her house. When she can’t make out his signing in the dark and he can’t quite make out hers from her balcony, she runs outside to chase him down, stumbles, he catches her and gathers her in his arms.

She can’t hear what he’s saying as he holds her, but she can feel the vibrations of the words, which help melt away her frustration. At the swings he points out they haven’t made plans or gone anywhere since they started dating, and asks where she’d like to go. Yuki had been focusing so much on saving and getting a job, she overlooked the fact that they could still go on dates and do things less grandiose than traveling overseas together.

With Rin in a good place with Kyouya, Oushi working through his angst and trying to become less of a shit, and Shin making his feelings clearer to Emma (though I do wish their scene had been longer and ended less abruptly), the stage is set for Yuki and Itsuomi to have their first official date together as a couple, in the finale of a series I earnestly hope gets a second season*. I’m just not ready to say goodbye to these good vibes!

I’m told the source material is still being written, so if there is a second season, it’s unlikely to air anytime soon.

The Dangers in My Heart – 10 – The Real Thing

Ichikawa is in his emo finest when he arrives thirty minutes early for his meetup with Yamada, only to find she’s just as early as him, and for the same claimed reason (making sure they “got the place right”…you know, Hachiko, the most famous meeting place in Japan).

But whatever Ichikawa was expecting, handing over the new manga was only a pretense. Yamada wants to try out a pancake place, but despite there being a line their relationship doesn’t fall apart due to awkwardness—like she says is the reason not to go to amusement parks for a first date.

Her being early and bringing up first dates should clue Ichikawa in that what he and Yamada are in fact on is their first date—and on Christmas Eve no less—but for much of the day he wrongly assumes he’s just a hanger-on.

When he sees the prices, he pretends not to like sweet things (untrue), even eschewing sugar for his coffee. When Yamada’s gorgeous pancakes arrive, she has him sake photos and he suggests taking a video, which he assumes is all for her socials. He thinks about all of the people who will see this video, and it makes him a little lonely.

Imagine his surprise, then, when Yamada makes clear she doesn’t intend to upload them anywhere, she’s just taking them to send to him and him alone. These are for him. When his gaze lingers on his phone too long, she leans over, lifts his chin, and tells him not to forget to “watch the real thing.” She may be a model and appear on TV and eventually a movie, but here and now, he’s the only one she wants watching her.

As he considers just how much this meetup resembles a date, Ichikawa at least shows he knows what he’s doing wrong when he lists all of his mistakes thus far, from calling his mom cute to mansplaining fashion. The thing is, none of those things seem to be sapping Yamada’s enjoyment of their time together.

When she goes clothes shopping, she makes a distinction between what she likes and what he thinks of two dresses she’s holding up. But not five minutes after he mentioned going shopping with his sister sometimes, Kana enters the store with her friends. Yamada wants to go over to meet her, but Ichikawa say’s “not now.”

Sensing Ichikawa doesn’t want Kana to see him or her, she pulls him into the changing room. In this restricted space, every smell, every breath, and every bead of sweat is amplified. Yamada asks when she can meet Kana, and when he says another time, she’s relieved. She wants to know him better, and that means knowing his fam.

She admits she’s sweated through the dress she was only trying on, but Yamada suggest she buys it, as she looks good in it. Good boy. You gotta give a person compliments when they’re clearly trying things on for you! Alas, Yamada forgets she’s not quite zipped up in the back, and Ichikawa isn’t ready for the glimpse of her back and the hooks of her bra. Fortunately, Kana passes by without suspecting a thing!

Before he knows it, it’s gotten dark out; the day went by far faster than he expected. She apologizes for the day, thinking he must be exhausted being “dragged around.” He realizes he’s been in his own head so much he hadn’t been properly thinking about how she feels.

That’s when he decides to open up and tell her a little about himself. He’s not a people person, not afraid of turning down invitations, and will say so if he wants to tell someone to buzz off or if something sucks. So he deduces that since he didn’t do any of those things today, he had fun today…”probably.”

Yamada can tell, because he is talking about himself to her. He wraps him in a red scarf, which she claims she was wearing earlier. But looking back we never saw her in it, so she may well have bought it for him (she’s got plenty of cash with her modeling).

They eventually walk into a Christmas garden lined with dazzling lights all around, really heightening their cozy closeness. Ichikawa may have seen these kinds of lights before, but since he’s seeing them with Yamada, they just seem much prettier.

When they board a train packed to the brim with passengers, for one horrible beat I feared Ichikawa got on and Yamada didn’t. But then we hear the sound of a hand—her hand—grasping his. It’s sweaty, just as Ichikawa noticed when he took the bag of manga from her.

When her hand slips out of his, he tenderly re-takes it and holds it tight. Whatever mistakes he made throughout their day together, this gesture makes up for all of it. Even if he has yet to reckon with his specific motives or realize how she truly feels, taking her hand back makes clear to her that he doesn’t want to part with her just yet.

Clearly, the feeling is mutual, and sweat aside, the feeling of holding hands is so nice, neither of them want to let go. So they don’t! They hold hands for the duration of the train ride, when they get off the train, when they exit the station, and when they stroll slowly down the streets, which take on a soft, blue glow, like they’ve strayed into a dream together. Only it’s not a dream: its two people who found each other, and like what they’ve found.

Yamada only lets go of Ichikawa’s hand when they arrive at her house. Ichikawa starts to wish her a Happy New Year, but she shushes him. There are still quite a few days until then, so she doesn’t want him to say that quite yet. If he does, it suggests they won’t see each other again until the new year. She doesn’t want that.

After hiding behind a pole and then breaking out an adorkable “Santa Yamada” act that makes him laugh, the two finally part ways, no doubt not wanting to at all. And after they part, Ichikawa finally lets himself start thinking seriously about his feelings getting across to her; that she might know he likes her.

That night, while going over their time together and thinking about all the things he should and shouldn’t have said and done, Nigorikawa, the boy from the manga he’s reading, appears before him, saying he’s Ichikawa and Ichikawa is him. This “cooler” Ichikawa serves as a sounding board for his thoughts about having a chance with Yamada.

It also results in the most bizarre scene of the entire series thus far, as after receiving a photo of Yamada in a Santa suit, Ichikawa jacks off in bed with his new alter ego reclined beside him. Very odd stylistic choice, even if what Ichikawa himself is doing isn’t out of the ordinary for a hormonal teen. But suffice it to say, I’m glad he’s at least keeping an open mind about Yamada possibly liking him as he likes her. Because, duh, she does.

Loving Yamada at Lv999 – 11 – Runa Can’t Find Her Doughnuts

Momoko arrives a little late but still regarded as a goddess by Akane for providing much-needed provisions to beat her cold. When Momo learns Yamada took her to the hospital and watched over her, Momo asks if they’re dating now, and Akane says they’re just friends.

Momo, who has met some real cads, isn’t not sure a man would do that much for a woman he’s not in love with. That said, she knows too little about him to make a fair judgment. But it’s evident to us Akane’s feelings are growing beyond mere friendship, as she feels extreme relief upon receiving a belated text from Yamada saying he’s fine.

Feeling up for it, Akane ditches her studying to play some FOS, and ends up meeting the newest member of their guild, Tsubaki, through Rurihime. It’s clear that Rurihime, i.e. Eita, ensured that Tsubaki would see that Akane is a good, kind person who is easy to talk to and work with.

Eita also makes this entertaining for him by pitting Akane and Tsubaki, both relatively weak Paladins, against a seemingly low-level boss Rurihime could destroy with one strike. Tsubaki and Akane work well together, using trial and error to make progress even though they run out of time.

Later, when it’s just Tsubaki and Rurihime, the latter tries to offer the former some advice after Tsubaki tells him that she’s “afraid to make a move”—go ahead and make that move. Waiting for courage or motivation to well up won’t do her any good.

Just as Tsubaki ponders this advice and possibly plans to adopt it in one form or another, Akane follows similar advice she got from Momo: Timing is everything with love. Akane calls Yamada up, and they have a long conversation mostly about the game. But she also admits she just wanted to hear his voice, before quickly saying good night and hanging up, her hands trembling.

To paraphrase the Oracle in The Matrix, by taking this first step Akane has already made her choice, she just needs to understand it. Fully recovered, she meets with Momo at an adorable café she hadn’t noticed before, and it’s not long before two pushy, handsy guys from one of Momo’s group dates show up and join the women without asking.

As Akane and Momo’s luck would have it, the manager at this café happens to be Eita. He and Akane exchange nonverbal communication, and he cheerfully invites the jerks to go find another table to sit at. When that doesn’t work, Eita adopts a far sterner aura and bearing, and the flowery request becomes an order with an air of a threat. The toxic boys obey, not wanting to wait around for Eita Stage 3.

Momo is surprised to learn Akane not only knows Eita, but can engage in effortless conversation at the drop of a hat. I especially love how Eita snaps right back into his normal bubbly self when the unpleasantness is over. Momo is not just impressed, she’s smitten. Eita is indeed a hot guy, as is Yamada, leading Momo to wonder if she should ditch the group dates for a game guild.

After Eita clocks out for the day and smoothly, politely declines a karaoke invite from a cute co-worker, Eita is approached by Akane and Momo. Akane has something she needs to talk to him about. If it’s not about Yamada, both me and Momo are going to be soufflé pancake-withholdingly cross.

Urusei Yatsura – 16 – Ryuunosuke-chan Is a Girl!

Ataru, Lum, Shinobu and Mendou head to the beach, but the waves are too hazardous to swim, and all the beach shacks are closed. What they do find is an extremely spirited and energetic father-son duo telling the waves to screw off, then darting away before they get hit. When the son messes up the timing, the dad punches him, he punches back, and they just start brawling.

Turns out they’re hating on the ocean because it’s killing their business right now. As our guys have lunch at their café, they learn the boy’s name is Fujinami Ryuunosuke. His dad has groomed him to take over the family business when he’s gone, even though Ryuunosuke doesn’t want to. Oh, also? Ryuunosuke is a woman. Ataru and Mendou were ready to peace out until they heard her say this, then they’re all-in to help her out.

The best way to do that is to keep Ryuunosuke and her dad from whaling on one another, so after they knock each other out, Ataru, Lum, Shinobu and Mendou literally chain them to the pillars of the shack so they have to use their words. That doesn’t work out so well, as the two Fujinamis are so strong they snap the wooden pillars and bring the whole café down, then start using their chains as weapons.

Because there’s no such thing as a coincidence too farfetched on ol’ Urusei Yatsura, Ryuunosuke’s dad takes over the school store…at Ataru and Lum’s school. This means Ryuu is transferring there. Her dream since childhood is to wear a beautiful sailor fuku, and her dad agrees to let her…if he can beat her. Ataru is so excited he hugs Ryuu, leaving her open to be easily defeated by her dad.

Despite clearly stating she’s a girl when she introduces herself, Ryuunosuke becomes the new toast of the class, and all the girls fall for her, leaving Ataru, Mendou, and the other boys eager to make her more feminine. They beat up her dad and purchase a sailor fuku, but while she’s genuinely happy to see it, she’d rather beat her dad on her own before she wears it.

She also wants to learn more about what it means to act like and carry oneself like a woman, and in Ran she finds a muse. But while she just wants to befriend Ran and learn from her, Ran mistakes her letter for a love letter, and when Lum says Ryuu is a girl, Ran assumes Lum is trying to sabotage her love live as usual. To stick it to Lum, Ran agrees to go on a date with Ryuu, who is amazed how long it takes Ran to run to the school gate to meet her.

Naturally, Ataru cannot allow anyone to have Ryuu or Ran, so he shadows their date with Lum in tow (who apparently is content to get a quasi-date with the distracted Ataru out of it). Of course, Ran thinks it’s Lum who is following her and Ryuu so she can meddle. When Ran cuddles up to Ryuu on their boat ride, Ataru can’t abide it, and launches himself like a missile and causing both boats to capsize.

By day’s end, Ryuu observes “Dark Ran” laying into Lum and feels she has a long way to go to understand the complex secrets to being a woman. I thoroughly enjoyed the introduction of Ryuunosuke (and Takagaki Ayahi’s voice performance) and can name her among my favorite Urusei Yatsura characters after just one episode. She paved the way for characters like Tomo-chan.

Lycoris Recoil – 02 – Gathering Acorns

LycoReco takes on a job involving two feuding hackers. Robota wants to be the top dog in Tokyo, so he hires a semi-pro assassination team to take out his rival Walnut. It’s Chisato and Takina’s job is simple on paper: Keep Walnut Alive.

Takina watches in bemusement as Chisato treats this serious, hazardous mission like she treats any other day: with casual cheer, playfulness, and joie de vivre. A jelly drink packet may be quick and efficient, but it’s no substitute for a limited express bento.

When they approach the parking lot and find a very loud red Lexus LFA, Chisato is excited and really wants to drive, only for Walnut to arrive in a modest (and far less conspicuous) Honda City. Less conspicuous is Walnut’s squirrel mascot suit.

When Robota hacks the Honda (sidebar: not sure why, a car that age shouldn’t be connected to the internet at all, but I guess in this particular world it is), Walnut works to undo the hack while Takina’s marksmanship is again tested as she must take the drone out while the car is airborne.

Walnut manages to mess up the Robohack just before the car plunges into the ocean, but once everyone exits the car it slides into the water. They head into an abandoned supermarket, which is a perfect place for the kill squad to ambush them. Fortunately for Takina, Walnut’s suitcase containing all worldly possessions is also bulletproof.

Takina and Walnut alike proceed to watch in awe as Chisato not only dodges machine gun fire, but walks towards it and takes out the baddies one by one with her non-lethal rubber rounds. But when their leader (who has no love for Robota, just their money) suffers a serious wound, Chisato has Takina and Walnut go ahead as she administers triage.

Neither Takina nor the wounded guy understand why Chisato is doing this, because both of them feel like getting wounded or killed is part of the game. Not so for Chisato; a mission isn’t a true success unless it ends with no one dead. Unfortunately, there are still members of the kill squad outside when Walnut stupidly walks out first…and gets riddled with bullets and dies in a pool of blood.

The mood is somber on the ambulance, as all the fun Chisato was having now feels wholly inappropriate and unprofessional. It’s Takina, however, who apologizes for letting Walnut go out first, only for Chisato to tell her it’s not her fault. Sometimes things just go wrong. You can’t win them all.

Except…Walnut isn’t dead.

Suddenly they start moving and pulls off the squirrel head to reveal Mizuki, who was posing as Walnut all along. The suit is not only bulletproof, but full of bloody squibs to put on a convincing show. The real Walnut is a tiny girl who was hiding in the suitcase all along; she’s safe and sound while their adversary believes she’s dead. The mission is a success and no one is dead, which means it’s a win in Chisato’s book too.

It was a fun switcheroo, as like Chisato and Takina Mizuki and Mika had me going right up until she pulled off the squirrel head. The mood back at LycoReco is thus happy and laid back, only briefly interrupted by Yoshi-san, a regular at the café who also ordered the hit on Walnut, and Walnut herself, AKA Kurumi, who is now living at the café in exchange for her hacking services.

While I’m sure Yoshi has nothing good planned for the Lycoris, I admire Chisato for simply living her life and doing her job on her terms. It almost went sideways, but as she tells Takina, their “enemies” on this job were only the enemy today. They could be clients, allies, or even friends down the line. Valuing life in every interaction is in their stragtegic interests.

The episode ends on a mischievous note as Takina removes a hair tie and prepares to playfully fire it at Chisato, only for Chisato to dodge and the band to hit lil’ Kurumi square in her big forehead. It’s good to see Takina letting her hair down a bit (literally and figuratively), and the addition of Kurumi to this quirky little family is a welcome one.

Lycoris Recoil – 01 (First Impressions) – Girls, Guns, and Good Coffee

This episode opens on Tokyo at dawn, something I’ve had the privilege to experience (thanks, jet lag): calm, quiet, peaceful, before the hustle and bustle of the morning rush. Our co-star Chisato recites the honorable mission of orphans like her highly trained to be Lycoris, agents of peace and public safety, dressed as normal schoolgirls and  killing would-be terrorists before they can pull off their plots.

The recitation sounds like it’s coming from a true believer at first, but as we get to know Chisato, there’s a sarcasm to the purity of the words. She’s been summoned to a deteriorating situation: other Lycoris have been pinned down in a arms deal bust gone wrong, and one of the girls has a gun to her head.

Before Chisato can intervene, Inoue Takina picks up the biggest gun she can find and empties the magazine at the arms dealers, ending the threat but almost killing her comrade.

For her reckless actions, Takina is transferred out of DA to a far more casual indie operation, which appears to be a normal classy café. There, she meets Chisato, an elite Lycoris who also happens to be as chipper and extroverted as Takina is guarded and serious. Your typical odd couple is thus forged.

Chisato shows Takina the ropes as she goes on her normal weekday rounds, which seem more like a sequence of chores. Chisato clarifies to Takina that unlike the more militaristic and geo-political mission of the more official DA, “LycoReco” outfit is focused on helping individual people, whoever they may be, as putting smiles on people’s faces is also the job of a Lycoris.

Chisato and Takina’s first such mission together is given to them by a metro police detective (and café regular). It’s billed at first as a woman with a stalker, but when the girls inspect the Insta photo that started the trouble, they see that the arms deal that was swept under the rug as a gas explosion is visible in the background of the photo. Their client Saori isn’t being stalked by a creeper, but by those arms dealers.

Chisato suggests they stay with Saori and have a pajama party, and she runs back to the cafe to get her stuff, telling Takina to keep the client safe and “value life”. Instead, when Takina notices a van following, she uses Saori as bait in order to shoot up the van with Saori in it with live ammunition. Thankfully, Chisato swoops in with non-lethal ammo, quick thinking, and quick action to pacify the situation. No one dies, and Saori won’t have to worry about unwanted attention.

In the midst of this, Chisato test Takina’s marksmanship by having her take out a drone spying on their activities. This gets the attention of some dude with the “Allen Institute” which suggest there will be a lot of in-the-shadows spy derring-do in this show, with agents like Chisato and Takina likely having to choose whether to remain pawns in a greater, more sinister scheme than simply helping people.

I’m sure the details of all this will become clearer, but in the meantime Chisato commits to helping get Takina back into the good graces of the DA while also reveling in how cute she is in the LycoReco Café uniform. Splitting time between brewing coffee and doing girls-with-guns stuff makes for an intriguing premise with shades of Railgun without the superpowers (though the twisted up Sky Tree suggest weirder stuff may come into play later). As is typical of A-1 productions, the show also looks great, which definitely adds to the appeal. I’m sold so far!

Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie – 07 – Kamiya-san Is Curious

The studio had an Izumi-style run of luck, enduring a Covid outbreak that delayed the episode, but Shikimori picks up without missing a beat, as the school culture fest commences. Last year Izumi and Shikimori had the same duties, but this time they’re separated as their class runs an animal-themed café.

Still, it doesn’t take long for them to come together as Izumi inevitably slips on a napkin and the Shikimori the bunny has to save Izumi the lion. While walking home after a busy first day, the two commit to spending the afternoon of the second day together.

It has to be the afternoon because both of them are busy in the morning: Shikimori with the café, and Izumi on library duty. He’s relieved to learn that his partner isn’t a stranger, but Kamiya, who has always been friendly and kind to him in their past library duty interactions.

As we enter the cultural festival stage of many anime series this season, Kamiya seems aware of the “magic” that leads to a surge of new couples. She’s uncharacteristically restless, and even delivers a wall slam to Izumi as she brings up his girlfriend Shikimori and wants to know how they met.

Izumi, who quite incorrectly assumes Kamiya likes Shikimori, obliges, telling her they got together thanks to that same culture fest magic. Last year, the numbers they got at the entrance matched, which was a rare fortunate moment for Izumi, as he had planned to ask her out during the festival.

After walking around and enjoying the festival in the clouds, when the time comes to take their photo (which legend has it bonds the matched couples together forever) Izumi loses his number. But Shikimori won’t let him give up, so they look for it. They come up empty, but put up a passionate united front in insisting the president let them have their picture taken anyway. The Prez can tell these two are keepers, and gives an exception.

The rest is history: Izumi asks Shikimori out behind the gym, and Shikimori’s response is a gorgeous, passionate embrace. Back in the library, Izumi apologizes for rambling on, but Kamiya is well and truly moved, striking an elegant pose that conceals what must be pained eyes.

While we’ve seen very little Kamiya so far, it’s been clear through her subtle glances at Izumi that she likes the guy, always has, and rues the fact she missed her chance. As amazing as Kamiya acknowledges Shikimori to be, she’s clearly frustrated Shikimori beat her to the punch.

It helps that Kamiya is an instantly likeable character, statuesque and noble and popular with both guys and girls, but not afraid to show another side to Izumi. Fukuhara Ayaka also lends her a wonderfully husky voice that’s lower than Izumi’s. We’ll see where this triangle goes as the festival continues.

Vanitas no Carte – 11 – Jean d’Ate

Armed with the notion that Vanitas will despise someone who professes their love for him, our favorite easily-flustered vampire knight decides to ask her blood buddy out on a date, hoping he’ll end up in the palm of her hand. Predictably, this doesn’t go remotely how Jeanne hoped.

After all, it’s hard to pretend to have affection for someone when you are truly drawn to them, no matter how much you don’t want to be. Such is Jeanne’s plight: whether due to the lure of his delicious blood or the fact she simply adores a bad boy, she’s genuinely excited about the date, especially as it allows her to tour human Paris.

Meanwhile, Lord Ruthven, whom we know is up to no good, gets Noé out of bed so they can have a nice friendly chat at the Lord’s favorite human café, the entirety of which he rents out for such a purpose. While initially apprehensive, Noé soon settles into an easy rapport with Ruthven, to the point he reminds him of his teacher, the Shapeless One.

Throughout Vanitas and Jeanne’s date, Domi is diligently following and observing with opera glasses. She originally committed to doing this because she thought she’d derive some entertainment from it, only to find it looks like an ordinary date. It’s also funny that Dante tags along, and the more bored he gets, the more he resembles Cartman.

It’s atop Paris’ highest hill—from one gets a good look at the Sun Tower that takes the place of the Eiffel Tower in this alternate steampunk world—where things turn from a fun dawdle to Serious Business.

When a boy scrapes his knee and Jeanne gets one look at the blood, she’s ready to pounce on the lad, but Vanitas stops her, having her bite his arm instead. Dante tosses a smoke bomb so they can get away safely, but it’s close call—and a revealing one too, when it comes to Jeanne.

The pleasant, cordial café date also takes a turn when Ruthven asks Noé straight-up whose side he’s on: humans or vampires. At this point Noé is only on the side of those he cares about, which includes members of both groups. This is the wrong answer, and he fails Ruthven’s “test”.

The Lord grabs him and sucks his blood ravenously. Could this be how Noé ends up killing Vanitas, as he said he would back in the first episode: while under the thrall of Lord Ruthven?

Vanitas takes Jeanne somewhere safe, where she proceeds to seductively suck on his blood in another one of their hot-and-heavy scenes. Vanitas takes the opportunity to ask once again whether Jeanne is a curse-bearer, which Jeanne doesn’t confirm or deny.

Even so, when she stops drinking his blood and starts to shed tears that fall on his face, Vanitas promises her that whatever she is, he promises to kill her if she ever becomes a threat to her beloved charge, Luca. Of course, if he can find a way to release her of whatever is slowly sapping her sanity, I imagine try that method first!

Super Cub – 12 (Fin) – Girls’ First Tour

Koguma says “I’m off” to no one as she leaves her spartan apartment (put up some Super Cub posters!) in the early morning to meet up with Reiko and Shii at Buerre. Back when Shii begged her to use her Cub, which had rescued her from the ravine, to take Winter and send it away, Koguma said her Cub couldn’t do that. But one thing it can do is take them to where Spring has sprung so they can seize it and bring it back home.

After Shii’s doting parents see them off with their blessing and some military-grade komisbrot, Shii rides double with Reiko and the girls set off on their grandest tour yet, headed all the way down to Kagoshima, on the southwestern tip of Kyushu. There lie the first cherry blossoms. After just their first hour on the road, known as “the devil’s 60 minutes” Koguma and Reiko stop to check their steeds from stem to stern.

They take the famous historic routes used in the Edo period, which happen to include many cute cafes where Shii can gather some pointers. They also enjoy a quick lunch of the hearty rye bread with cream cheese and local smoked salmon—very Scandinavian!

They spend their first night at an economical business hotel near Lake Biwa, where Reiko again demonstrates her complete lack of modesty, claiming curry should be eaten while naked; Koguma is having none of it. They pass the stirring Shirahige torii gate, pass the Tottori dunes, shell out for some seriously huge crabs, reach the far end of Honshu, then spend the night at a net cafe in Kyushu.

As they ride through all of these famous places and take in the sights and tastes, there’s a very straightforwardness to it all; it’s essentially one long breathless montage with only a few brief stops to eat or sleep. Through it all, the three girls grow even closer and more comfortable with each other.

When they finally reach their destination of Kagoshima, the rewarding feeling of having made it all that way there on two Cubs (no cheating with trains!) is matched by the ephemeral gorgeousity of the bloossoms. They set out to find out if they could achieve this, and they did it: they seized spring and basked in its beauty.

By the time they return home, Spring arrived there as well, as if they had brought it with them. And in the midst of Spring, Shii reveals she decided to buy a Cub of her own, an elegant “Little Cub” in her preferred powder blue. When she can’t help but pet it like a new puppy, Koguma and Reiko break into laughter, having both been there and done that!

The series closes on a triumphant shot I had been hoping for since Shii first entered the lives of the rich politician’s daughter and reserved loner: the three girls on their three Cubs riding together in single file. Koguma’s final voiceover says if you sit back and do nothing, a Cub can’t and won’t help you, but if you hop on and decide to take a corner you’ve never turned at before, that Cub will be right there with you for whatever may come.

I’ll admit it: I’m a lot more enticed to buy a motorbike than I was before watching this show! I also have a similar affinity for my trusty Civic. What I thought was a gussied-up advertisement turned out to be one of the most earnest, heartfelt, unique, and beautiful stories of friendship, love, adventure and accomplishment to come along in a long time. I’ll miss my Cub girls!

Super Cub – 11 – No More Enemies to Fight

When Shii’s in big trouble, Koguma answers the call…literally! She’s able to spot a snapped twig on the cat trail and find Shii awkwardly submerged in water that must be somewhere in the forties (though the fact it’s not frozen solid indicates it’s not that cold out). Even so, Koguma took a risk she could find Shii fast enough, and that Shii—who is effin’ tiny—wouldn’t suffer hypothermia.

Everything works out, as Koguma, a picture of calm and collectedness, helps Shii out of the ravine, picks up all 70-or-so pounds of her, and plops her in her front basket for the ride to her place. That’s right, Koguma stole Reiko’s dream of carrying Shii along this way—but quite by necessity!

Once home, Koguma draws a bath and cooks a dinner of curry udon. Reiko, whom she called earlier, arrives with Shii’s ruined Alex Moulton, takes a bath of her own, and joins the other two for dinner. It’s the first time Koguma has had company, but she doesn’t make a big deal of it; but just slurps up her udon with the others, enjoying their company.

While washing the dishes, Reiko lets Shii know—quite tactlessly!—that her Mouton is donezo. Shii breaks down, cursing winter and begging Koguma to use her Super Cub to end the wretched season. Koguma deadpans that her Cub can’t do that…and seems a little sad that it can’t.

The next day, Shii’s parents thank Koguma and Reiko with a pass good for a year’s free coffee, sandwiches, and bread items, which they begin to cash in on immediately, much to Shii’s relief. If Shii ever thought they’d stop hanging out with her after her incident in the creek, then she needs to have more faith in her friends!

Shii gets what Koguma ruthlessly declares a “granny bike”, and the days of Winter continue on, only with no more preparations to make to their bikes or clothes. Then one morning Koguma hears on the radio that the cherry blossomes have bloomed early in Kagoshima. She proposes they go see them…together, escaping the winter by going where—as far as those trees are concerned—it’s already over.

It’s just what Shii needs to cheer up, and when she takes Koguma’s hands in friendship, Koguma’s world colors up bolder and faster than ever. She recounts how when it was her trudging her way uphill on her bike that she saw Shii glide past her on her Moulton, eventually inspiring her to buy her Cub, which led to her befriending Reiko.

Shii may not know it, but this all started with Koguma chasing her and her cooler, faster bike. What better way to thank her for the inspiration by giving her an early taste of spring?

Higehiro – 11 – Someday Is Here

This week begins with Sayu saying goodbye to Asami and Tokyo and taking a plane to Hokkaido with her brother and Yoshida, and ends with her returning home after more than a half a year of running away. If that sounds to you like not enough material to fill a whole episode, well, that’s when I must bring up one of the major cons of this penultimate outing: it’s padded within an inch of its life.

Whether its on the oddly-proportioned plane and its odd-looking seats, or during the two to three hours when Issa is off doing business and Yoshida and Sayu hang out in a café, scenes just feel artificially far longer than they either need to be or should. Granted, it’s Sayu’s first time on a plane or in a café with a friend, but when she held up an hourglass, I couldn’t help but think Can we maybe get a move on?

While a detriment early on, I’ll fully admit that Sayu’s trip to her school, which neither Yoshida nor Issa knew she’d request, is actually very effectively paced, as we feel with her the precise and growing dread of drawing closer and closer to the spot on that damned rooftop where her only friend’s life ended—and her life changed forever.

Honestly, I don’t know if or how she’d have been able to do this without Yoshida, so it’s very much a good thing he came along. Even an adult would have a hard time returning to the spot where their friend died for any reason. Add to that the fact Sayu witnessed Yuuko jump and blames herself for it, and you have yourself a brutal veritable trifecta of trauma.

When Sayu blames herself for Yuuko jumping, Yoshida had to be there to tell her she was wrong, it wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t that she didn’t really care about Yuuko, but cared too much. Her desire to help her fight the bullies wasn’t a bad instinct, even though things went terribly wrong. And frankly, Sayu wasn’t Yuuko’s entire life and can’t be expected to be such…she had her own life, and problems.

Thanks to Yoshida’s support, Sayu is able to wail with grief, letting it all out, until a stiff wind reveals the nearly-full moon and seemingly blows away the ghost of Yuuko that was haunting her. On their way back to the car, Yoshida asks if she’s okay now, and she answers quite correctly “not at all”…but she will be. She’s going to work towards the time when she can remember Yuuko and smile, rather than cry.

After such an emotionally draining experience at school, it almost seems cruel to then drive Sayu back home, even though she says she’s ready to go. After all, nothing in that house is worse than what happened on that rooftop, except for her mother’s last words to her before she ran away, which was to ask if Sayu killed her friend.

For all of the learning and growing up Sayu has done in the last few months, at least at first blush it looks like her mother has learned absolutely nothing. Issa tries to stand purposefully in front of both Sayu and Yoshida, but their mom pushes him out of the way to give Sayu a vicious slap to the face. That’s how she chooses to greet her. Not a great start!

Super Cub – 10 – The Girls of Winter

For me, there are few things better than waking up in a warm cozy bed, pulling open the curtains and discovering that the world has become white—or silver, as Koguma puts it—with a fresh, immaculate coat of snow. So when Koguma does just this, I can relate.

And while she prepares for a day in, as she doesn’t want to try to ride on the slick roads, Reiko gives her a call demanding she come to the cabin, and Koguma braves the suddenly very steep and terrifying hill from her apartment building. She’s rewarded with tire chains for her Cub.

Once properly affixed to the tires, Koguma and Reiko can truly go wherever the fuck they want, and they decide to head up into the mountains for a bit of mechanical horseplay. Koguma crashes her Cub for the first time ever, but thanks to the thick, soft snow, she’s able to pop right back up and remount her trusty steel steed.

She even follows Reiko in doing some jumps and then basically riding around so wildly that they both crash almost on purpose. Especially when they remove their helmets and layers, I kept waiting for a chime and message to pop up saying “Do not attempt. Messing around on motorbikes can cause serious injury or death”…but it never came!

We’ve seen Reiko continually battle Fujiyama, but this is the first time we’ve seen Koguma really cut loose and go wild, following her friend’s lead. There’s a wonderful sense of momentousness mixed with mundaneness in watching them share their usual bikeside meal with such a majestic alpine backdrop.

After lunch, it’s back to playing with their Cubs in the snow. Reiko starts a snowball fight, but Koguma escalates by peeling out her Cub so it shoots loads of snow on Reiko in retaliation. They wrap up their fun but tiring day with a relaxing cup of joe at Buerre, assuring Shii that she can join them next time, with Reiko joking that she’ll stuff her in her cargo box.

As winter goes on, Koguma and Reiko continue to augment their riding kit with ever-thicker, warmer, tougher gear. All the while, Koguma can tell Shii is working hard on converting part of Buerre to an Italian café. While having coffee there with Shii out, her dad says he’s glad she’s finally enjoying the quirky Alex Moulton bike he gave her, and that it’s as if she’s trying to catch up to Koguma and Reiko. But for the record, he’s happy the girls are insipiring Shii.

Unfortunately, while neither Koguma nor Reiko have ever suffered any serious injuries from riding, Shii isn’t so lucky on her Moulton. I’d say it was inevitable the winter would claim someone, but I figured it would be one of the girls suffering a fever or something. Certainly not the realization of a parent’s worst and most absurd fears: “What if you were in a ditch somewhere?!”

Well, Shii is in a ditch, half submerged in icy water and apparently unable to move. Thankfully she’s able to call Koguma, and Koguma answers. Hopefully she (perhaps with help from Reiko and Shii’s parents) will track her down and she’ll be okay. But that doesn’t lessen the sheer horror of seeing Shii in that position, or the audacity of the episode simply ending without getting her out of danger!