Symphogear ep8: mended fences and built bridges.

I was hoping I’d be wrong that episode seven would be the last we saw of Chris.  Her abilities seem like such a waste.  And girl groups are always better as a trio as opposed to a duo (no offense to any Double H fans out there). But I’m jumping way ahead of myself.  I haven’t really even started talking about the episode. These are my hopes and dreams.  That shows up at the bottom of the page.  Here we go.  Symphogear, episode eight.

#Symphogear ep7: a lover’s quarrel and a boss’s apathy. #anime

Three strikes and you’re out!  Symphogear starts off right where the episode six left off, the heated battle between Chris and Hibiki.  I had thought that the battle between those two was pretty much done, but this show had a lot more surprises for this battle and this episode than I imagined.  I like surprises.

Check-in Station: Symphogear ep6 (*nom nom nom* a full stomach equals maximum fighting powah!)

Which is why I was amazed at what Hibiki could do while operating on fumes.  That was one hell of a way to finish the last 5 minutes of an episode. Who would have thought that this season I would be getting my main doses of GAR & Badass from a mahou shoujo with such a silly concept?

#Lagrange ep6: Muginami has a bad case of “bad boyfriend” syndrome. #anime

Well, I knew this was gonna be a battle episode. Madoka had been itching for a fight ever since the very end of last episode.  Then again, i can’t blame anyone for feeling a little vindictive towards Ve- Va- … Mr. Vegemite!  He sh*t all over Muginami without a care in the world.  Though even though he did such a thing, I have to believe there’s some reason for him being such an a-hole.  I’m not saying it’s justifiable, I just want to know the backstory.

#Lagrange ep5: get your hands off my Muginami you damn dirty alien! #anime

Well, things are progressing. Things are progressing nicely! For the most part this episode was still the same fluff that I don’t really enjoy, but I do like Muginami’s character, I liked her pretty much as soon as I saw her (it has hardly anything to do with the breasts). So I wasn’t too happy with how she got treated at the end of this episode. But I’m jumping ahead.

Rinne no Lagrange is making a good effort to explain things, though it’s hardly giving much away. Obviously there’s a war, but the sides aren’t exactly clear, and the circumstances definitely are not either. At best we know that who Muginami sides with, and who LAN (“Woof!”) sides with are opposing factions. What exactly they’re fighting over isn’t totally clear either though. I’m not betting that the Vox are the goal, so much as they may be the means to an end.

It makes it especially admirable that Muginami is keeping things in perspective. Just because they’re perceived enemies doesn’t mean they have to fight. LAN as usual is the classic tight ass, and is running background checks left and right. I wasn’t surprised that they chose to face their issues this episode.

What did surprise me was seeing the extra tall and cool-looking, Lord Vegimite (sorry, I’m just terrible at names), snatch her up by the face. Talk about cold-hearted rejection, that was a moment that seriously caught me off guard. So I guess that does justify Madoka’s strangely harsh attitude towards him. I’m assuming it’s one of those things where she can sense if someone has a good heart. Ugh! I still can’t stand her.

Not a bad episode overall though, I suppose next week will be when I judge this series for real.

Sent from my iPad

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Check-in Station: Symphogear eps1-5 (well aren’t you a pleasant surprise?!)

I mentioned in my previous Check-in post about Bodacious Space Pirates that expectations can often be a burden.  Well in converse, a lack of expectations can also be a boon.  Sometimes when you see something that you think will probably be sh*t, looks like sh*t and sometimes has the budget of sh*t, you can be pleasantly surprised when the product doesn’t stink.  I’m not saying Senki Zesshou Symphogear was going to be a bottom-tier “trainwreck” of a show, but I sure as hell didn’t expect to watch more than one or two episodes of it.  It’s just a matter of whether I’m pleasantly surprised by how much fun I’m having watching the show, or maybe it has more to do with me enjoying the show because it’s such a strange disaster.

I have to say, even in a genre like mahou shoujo, where uh… unique ideas like Wedding Peach can pop up, Symphogear is a strange beast.  If I was going to harshly, callously try to explain the series in the lazy fashion of comparing it to other series, then I would have to say it’s a bit Madoka Magica, Nanoha and a little Macross.  But the show doesn’t seem to take itself to seriously.  And I have to say thank God for that!

DonKangolJones’ Images of the Week: Jan. 9th (The courage to use my best friend as a bottle opener.)

I suppose everyone who has made resolutions for 2012 are well into enacting/ suffering through their choices. One of mine is to more consistently tend to my blog, which was woefully neglected for too much of 2011. And the Winter 2012 season is making this task quite easy. Not only am I finding interesting new series to delve into, but what I already have on my plate is good to outstanding. And despite the fact that much of my Shounen JUMP material is on vacation, I had no trouble finding interesting manga to read either. It’s a good start, to what is so far a good year. Let’s get started!

Madoka Magica eps 1 & 2: I see potential in this one. Please don’t let me be wrong.

This year was supposed to involve me getting more familiar with the magical girl genre of anime.  And when I mention that genre I mean the more modern form of it that involves more action.  I’ve seen more Sailor Moon than I care to admit and I’m not going back.  It was suppose to be Nanoha, Heartcatch Precure and that’s it.  Puella Magi Madoka Magica is throwing a wrench in my plans because this is looking like it could be a really good show that I don’t have the experience to properly judge.