Another (Episode 4) – The first episode of Another inspired me to begin theorizing about the show, trying to pick up on hints and clues throughout the episode and try to explain what’s going on.  Since then, however, I haven’t really spent much time trying to come up with theories or try to find subtle hints and clues throughout.  I’m not sure why but I have a few ideas.  One is that the story has been progressing at a sluggish pace and the information being presented is often minimal or irrelevant.  With a bottleneck on the information and revelations, it’s hard to come up with new theories and of the theories that already exist, they’re usually quite broad this early in the anime so they can account for fluctuations and variability in the plot.  That’s one.  The other is that I just don’t really enjoy this anime all that much which, unfortunately, is true.  And if I don’t feel passionate about something, it doesn’t seem worthwhile to analyze something deeply and try to explain what’s going on given the current situation.  Perhaps when the information or surprises starting accumulating again, then I might change my tune and crank out my thoughts in my next weekly post.

Brave 10 (Episode 5) – You’d figure Isanami’s persistent depression and crying would get irritating or tiresome but it really hasn’t, at least not for me.  In fact, it’s quite the opposite.  Isanami has a compelling reason for constantly crying which have been explained in her character.  She’s gone from a compassionate, cheerful and selfless girl to someone who brings death and destruction to anyone who associates with her.  And to add to that, she assumes the blame for all that death and destruction on herself, isolating herself away from those who wish to help her.  She’s clearly distressed by all this trouble she’s brought on everyone and feels great remorse for all that has happened.  Given her kindhearted, innocent and sensitive nature, it’s no surprise to see her overwhelmed with sorrow and loneliness.  In that state, it only makes sense for a character like her to cry and cry and cry.  And until any of that changes, I won’t have a problem with Isanami’s constant crying.

Chihayafuru (Episode 17) – You’ve got to feel bad for Kana with how everyone disrespects the poems.  True, this information is trivial and irrelevant to the sport and the only time you ever get any level of depth into the meaning of the cards or the analysis of the poems is when Kana has the opportunity to speak.  Everything else, including every other character in the series, is into the sport itself (besides Chihaya until the end of the episode after hearing Kana’s opinion).  But these trivial facts and history are one of my favorite parts of the anime.  I really enjoy hearing Kana go on about some obscure line and explain the meaning behind the words we always hear during each match.  It doesn’t really affect anyone in the anime, but for someone who enjoys history, I can’t help but appreciate these scenes.

Future Diary (Mirai Nikki) (Episode 17) – Perhaps I’m just bitter but I don’t think I’ll ever be happy with any villains in Future Diary again.  Ever since Fifth showed up, I have not enjoyed any of the opponents Yuki and Yuno have faced.  No matter what happens, no matter the advantage or the circumstances, they always seem to do something that causes them to lose.  Seventh had numerous times to win over the past few episodes but continued to choose not to do the right thing.  Contrast that with Yuki and Yuno who almost seem to do the right thing given their situation and, with a little bit of luck, they survive.  It’s frustrating to watch the opponents act stupid during these battles while Yuno and Yuki use their brains and always win.  I realize that Yuki and Yuno have to survive for the sake of the story but I’d actually like to see the opponents try to kill them rather than just ‘play’ with them.

Mouretsu Pirates (Bodacious Space Pirates) (Episode 5) – The whole concept of electronic warfare is pretty clever but why not engage in real warfare and electronic warfare at the same time?  Obviously you have both options available at all times, so, when assaulting another ship, why not try to do both?  I suppose it makes sense to suspend the ship and take it without damaging it at all (make more of a profit) but why not destroy the engine or sails while you’re at it and force them to surrender that way?  And what if electronic warfare does not resolve itself and continues indefinitely?  At some point, real warfare needs to kick in and I’m a bit surprised to see it happen only after the opponent, Lightning 11, forced all their computers and communication off.  I would’ve thought they’d try that tactic sooner, especially when they were being hacked by their opponent and while they had their computers online.  But then I suppose these aren’t the best pirates around, so it’s natural to assume they make mistakes in their piracy (like going after Marika and her friends).

Persona 4 the Animation (Episode 17) – We’re about three-quarters of the way through Persona 4 and we’ve finally assembled our final party now that Naoto has joined.  And given how awesome Naoto is, I really wish she joined earlier so we could see more of her throughout the last half of the anime.  It’s kind of a shame that forming the party took as long as it did since different characters saw varying levels of involvement and development throughout.  Now that everyone is together, I’m assuming the anime will immediately begin making the final preparations for the finale and begin that story next.  But it’s a shame we never saw Naoto go out on those school trips as a part of the group, being friends with everyone.  I doubt we’ll see anything like that now that all the pieces are in place for the story to conclude.

Rinne no Lagrange (Episode 5) – So Muginami’s airhead personality and image were merely a fabrication to infiltrate Earth, bond with Madoka and steal a Vox.  What a relief.  Now that we know she has a brain and quite a good one at that, will she ditch this masquerade and act like according to her true personality or will she continue this charade and be a ditzy, busty girl throughout?  In case you couldn’t tell already, I want Muginami to act bright and intelligent throughout the anime and never revert back to her false personality again, even if she acts like that at school for pretense.  I already have a bit of trouble given her image and her style of dress with that personality, so anything away from that would be appreciated.  Actually, I think I’d enjoy it if Muginami continued to dress the way she does but completely undermine her old personality and be one of the smartest people in this anime given that image.  If I can’t get a personality change for a majority of the show (I’m assuming she’ll act smart during battles at the very least), I wouldn’t mind it if she had a costume change, even to something simple like the school uniform.