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I dunno about this Maria+Holic, Scy.

I liked the premise of it at first. The first ep and start of the second one was great, but now that I'm on the fifth episode of a twelve episode series, it's not going where I was hoping it would go at all. Well, not that that would bother me, but o_O with an anime named after one of the characters you'd think that character would appear rather frequently and/or at least be center stage.

<_< So far it's like watching a soap opera drama starring an annoying idiot who chases anything that wears a bra and swishes in a dress.

If I were to set up a drinking game with the following rules:
-a drink every time Kano's nose bleeds
-a drink every time Kano screams "cute"
-a drink every time Kano freaks out

I would be drunk half way through episode 3, passed out by episode 5.

>_> I hope this gets better. I like the character of Maria - I WANT IT TO FOCUS ON HER!

episode 1 spoiler:
[spoiler]her/him, whatever, you know what I mean.[/spoiler]

about that spoiler

most people, from what I understand, watch Maria Holic knowing that, and some people, because of that

It was more or less JUST IN CASE. >_> I don't want to be accused of anything.

BTW ep 6 was MUCH better. It restores some of my faith in the series.

You are now just as far as I am before I "oops forgot" and stopped watching.

...so, yeah.

[spoiler]I was really hoping for her to be "converted" and go after Mariya though I sort of lost that hope around halfway through, mostly due to the amount of manga content vs the anime.

Oh well, Shizu is fine too, I guess?

...

I should finish this today...[/spoiler]

To be honest, I really just wanted your reaction to gg's karaoke on a Shaft OP. Their Bakemonogatari karaoke was a bit lacking after that Anyway, Maria+Holic was entertaining, if only for the change of pace on the main character ... though, really, she isn't much different than a guy in the same position.

And ... I didn't watch MariaHolic knowing about that spoiler (or because of it). I was genuinely surprised on the first episode and went to look at the teasers for it and was all, "HOW THE FUCK DID I MISS THAT?!" But, really, it's about as big of a spoiler as saying that Tokyo Magntude 8.0 involves an Earthquake.

Mariya makes Maria Holic though, and any long stretch of time without him is a little droll.

I was hoping for the EXACT same things there, Scy. For Mariya to put Kanako through such hell but inevitably the two of them fall in love and Kanako becomes STRAIGHT.

x_x I'm really so bitterly disappointed now.

Anyways, the OP is fun, weird and eccentric o_O though. Shaft likes to push the limits of how far they can take ecchi, don't they?

BTW, I'm more fond of the ending <3 I'll probably end up downloading the song even.

I like the OP a bit more (fast-paced) but the ED is quite good. It's a cover of an old song (1983? I think by Yellow Magic Orchestra). And I don't know so much as pushing things, I just think they like weird visuals (ef, for instance, is without the ecchi and that's based off a damn eroge). They probably did it since it really seems to fit the series though. I haven't read Maria+Holic so I have nothing to compare the anime to.

...maybe I should start on that...

[spoiler]Hearing [Hanaji] without the OP Visuals is so weird though...[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I also think that the Manga will probably finish with that happening. Maybe.[/spoiler]

Copypasta/edit from elsewhere:

Recently finished:
Minami-ke Okaeri - And here we go with season three. I'm having a little trouble remembering who is who, but the Minami sisters are funny as always.
Because this season was produced by the same company as the second, I was expecting it to be of the same so-so quality. It is quite good though, about as I remember the first season to be. Yay

Armitage III (OVA) - It's only from 1995, but it looks much older than that. Or am I mistaken? I thought animation was better than this back then.
Well, anyway, the art is okayish, although rather American-looking. Other aspects are only mediocre though. Voice-acting, character design and movement, story, they all lack grace, fluency. It's only four eps. long though, so I'll finish it anyway.
Armitage isn't such a great character. She's said to be a good detective, but we never see her do much sleuthing or other police work. She kicks ass a few times, but when she's not in control she screams like a little girl. Quite often she's also the helpless woman to be saved by big hunk of masculinity Ross. Bleh.
Armitage III: Dual Matrix (movie) - This is from 2002, and technically a lot better than the OVA. Not up to today's standards, but at least the art, animation, character design, etc. are decent. The resolution wasn't great, but that may have been the copy I saw.
Armitage is more like a ferocious mama bear in this movie. She still kicks ass, but is much more tenacious and less helpless than in the OVA. Ross is toned down to more human proportions and gets to be the strong daddy manipulated by the villain. Overall it still isn't great, but at least better than the OVA.

Venus Versus Virus - A very nice, but short magical girl/supernatural/action/comedy/drama anime. Oh, and don't forget the gothic lolita fashion. Venus Vanguard is after all a fashion store, at least on the outside. There isn't much to say about it really. It is short, but everything is explained well, and the story wouldn't have stretched that much longer without adding side stories and stretching out the action. There is a good mix of drama, comedy and action. There isn't much suspense, but the story never drags either.
I don't know who added the 'yuri' theme to the encyclopedia, but that just isn't true. Even if you really look very hard, Lucia's feelings for Sumire aren't more than friendship, and Sumire herself spends much of the anime in love with her boyfriend. The eyecatch/ED shots are suggestive of course, but that's to be expected these days.

Mai-Otome 0~S.ifr~ - Well, all three eps. have been released for a while now, so it was time to watch this again. I haven't watched Mai-Otome again though, so I was a little uncertain about the relationships. I'm sure there is more info to be found if I did that.
There is a lot of action of course. It's only a short OVA after all. Lots of fanservice too unfortunately, but I suppose it can't be helped. It was nice to see Miyu again, as well as to get some more hints at a connection between Mai-HiME and Mai-Otome. I'm not sure what to make of the Schwartz and Aswad. They don't get much screen time except as cannon fodder. The biggest mystery I think was the origin of Lena's 'unauthorized Robe' at the end, unless I'm missing something. Maybe there's a connection to the rumored new anime?

Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae (aka Hell Girl season 3) - Hmm, it's been a while since I watched the first two seasons. Who is who again, and how did they get where they are now? I'm not sure, but it seems that the art is a tiny bit sloppier than I recall.
Overall, this season isn't much different from the previous two. Many different stories, but all with common elements. Be sure to keep something uplifting handy for afterwards, because the end (Yuzuki's story) is very tragic.

Kamichu! - Cute and funny, just what I need at the moment. The first ep. reminded me of Ponyo. And then the second had elements similar to Spirited Away. I'd recommend this anime to fans of Miyazaki/Ghibli's fairytale movies.

Bamboo Blade - Mentioned in a SloL recommendation thread. So far it's okay. Funny at times, but more sports than slice-of-life.
The characters were deeper than I expected at first. I also liked that contrary to how it usually goes, the girls were the focus of the anime and the boys were only supporting characters. Overall, quite a nice anime.

Dominion Tank Police - Whoa, old-school hand-animated anime. I wonder why I put this on my to-watch list. Manga by Masamune Shirow? Female main character? Oh well, it's only 4 eps. long (plus 6 for the sequel).
The ending seems a little incomplete, but a deep story was never really the focus I suppose.
New Dominion Tank Police - It's only a few years younger than DTP, but the quality is much improved. Did I just see a prototype tachikoma?
The subtitles often don't exactly match the spoken Japanese. They're probably just a copy of the English dub

Kanon (2006) - Moe overload! Seriously, this is almost as much as Ichigo Mashimaro. I wonder what kind of plot, if any, there will be though.
I still don't like moe too much. I like cuteness a lot; a little clumsiness can be endearing too, but this over the top cuteness combined with exaggerated stupidity is just too much for me. It makes the characters unbelievable and annoying. Well, I'll give it a few more eps. Maybe it will get more interesting.
Well what do you know, it did get more interesting. With some supernatural mystery and all. Kanon's visual novel dating-sim roots show in the sometimes a little stilted dialogue and abrupt scene changes, but the plot makes up for that. There is a little more tragedy/sadness at times than I would prefer in my anime, but it's not overwhelming. This anime ended up being a lot better than I expected at first.
Maxine will probably love this anime.

Currently watching:
Tower Of Druaga (both Aegis and Sword)

Lined up next:
Tsukihime, Paprika, Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu, and Witchblade (seems I got a dub-only copy though, so not sure if I'll watch that)

So, I started Kanamemo and Aoi Hana after realizing last night that they were snatched up by Crunchyroll.

>_> Umm... what's with the lesbian thing all of a sudden? It's not what I was hoping when I had read the quick explanations of the two series. x_x SOB, I was hoping that Aoi Hana would be a cute story of FRIENDS and maybe them coping with life and love interests - I didn't want THEM to BE the love interests. And Kanamemo seems to use it as a punch line.

I'll probably stick with the two, just for lack of anything better to watch. At least Aoi Hana 'cause it does seem to be a serious love story. I might not be into yuri but I still enjoy a good love story. I also love Fumi. Not sure about Achan.

Kanamemo I'll stick with 'cause the characters are cute and for one other reason: Yui Horie voicing a drunk. <3

"I would like to inform you in advance that I have no dere."
"o.o She's 100% tsun?!"

...

Maria+Holic anime seems pretty damn faithful to the manga. Like, ridiculously so.

Anyway, Umineko 3
[spoiler]God, had some silly issues with the subs not displaying for ANY of my [gg] Umineko's, which is weird since I just re-watched 2 recently. Hm...

T.T Poor George. That's what happens when you love busty maids.

So hey, creepy Maria is creepy. But what's with them switching the lines between Battler and Jessica? He's the one who freaks out screaming at the corpses, not Jessica; Jessica is the one who remarks about the murders being done where they just had dinner, not Battler. Huh, weird.

AND CREEPY MARIA IS CREEPY.

AND LOOK SHE WENT INTO DEATH NOTE WRITING MODE OH FUCK. THIS IS SERIOUS AND ALL ACCORDING TO KEIKAKU. keikaku means plan, silly memes

And the Anime is now beyond what I've read so I'm running on completely nothing here.

The mysteries finally begin to rear their heads. The legend of Beatrice, the servants freaking Battler out, and Maria ... being Maria. Eva painting Natsuhi as the murderer (though we can then turn the chessboard around and Eva replaced the receipt after killing Kinzo, thx Battler for your weird Kinzo hid under a table theory). I think Natsuhi shooting Eva would've been funny though.

And thanks for making us like Eva a bit more SECONDS BEFORE SHE DIES. Locked room mystery (+ DEMONIC SEAL). This one doesn't seem hard to figure out, but I'll save it for separate tag.

One complaint needs to be said ... what the fuck at them seemingly not freaked out? I mean, they're eating? Eva is gloating about being the only one left? It's rather weird. I'd just think the family as a whole would be broken a little more after 6 people die, you know? They almost seem like it's just a shitty day, not MASS MURDER.

Also, they should've gotten Kappei Yamaguchi to do Battler's voice. Shinichi would've fit so well fir DEDUCTION TIME.[/spoiler]

Speculation, thoughts, etc.
[spoiler]They're doing waaaaay too much to make it seem like Natsuhi. Therefore, my suspicion of her is dropping so I'm going to a back-up theory.

Murderer: Rosa (yes, that's right). She's one of the four with their faces FULLY removed making it possible to not be an actual body but a dummy. Two faces partially removed to prove them dead and to instill a sense of "oh god, they're all dead" to those who find the corpses. You see one dead body, you'll assume the rest with them are dead as well.

Motive is her treatment by the rest of the family due to being the youngest. So ... still a revenge arc. Not sure on the exacts for this but, really, of the four there she seems most likely. My next guess is Rudolph, if only because of his "I'm going to die tonight" line furthering the whole "all the bodies you see are dead" image. This allows them to sneak about and do the killings.

I can't figure out entirely the first murder. My best guess is, yes, all six were killed and the room was locked up when done and the key was replaced. Pretty easy stuff which makes me doubt it. Replacing the key casts doubt upon the survivors but, at the same time (TURNING THE CHESSBOARD OVER), makes it seem likely there's an outside trying to shift attention from themselves by intentionally casting doubt upon the survivors; either way, it works to the advantage of Rosa. Shannon's corpse being hidden from the others is a little weird too and I honestly have no explanation yet short of, again, making people go find her and she works pretty damn well as a shock value kill.

The second murder isn't too hard to figure out at first. Eva is killed on the bed to let you know "oh shit, something happened" and then Hideyoshi is elsewhere. The purpose is to get people out of the room and into where the next body is because the murderer NEVER LEFT THE ROOM. Gives them the chance to escape once the bodies are discovered. This, however, makes more sense if the murderer is NOT IN HIDING and can just "appear" with the others as they enter the room to find the bodies.

...however, this doesn't explain the drawing on the door. So, an alternate hypothesis (and probably infinitely more likely for Rosa as the killer) is merely a simple trick of killing the occupants, leaving the room, and setting the chain from the outside. I've seen this enough in Detective Conan so fuck you it's possible. I suppose it's a simple "come and paint the door once everyone is gone" after the room is found.

Now, a question arises. Is there something to the butterfly scene with Shannon from Episode 2? Is that merely just supposed to make us think that Beatrice is involved in the murder? They're going that route pretty heavily with the help + Maria "gazing at someone beyond Battler" with their weird "[s]THE TOOTHFAIRY[/s] BEATRICE EXISTS" scene.

Also, why wasn't Natsuhi chosen? Yeah, the talisman wards off Beatrice but only Jessica and Natsuhi, presumably, know that she had the talisman; so then, when Beatrice goes to kill her it stops her "through" the door. But, I don't subscribe to the Beatrice is the killer mumbo-jumbo. This is why I think Rosa is highly likely; her daughter is a fucking fanatic and when she entered Natsuhi's room to kill her, she saw the talisman and decided to let Maria fuel the "BEATRICE IS THE KILLER" fire.[/spoiler]

Edit: And while I wait for the d/l ...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtoD45yYXnc[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou6VWkso-KM&feature=related[/youtube]

Proving I'm a nerd, the title being "hello, world" entertained me.
[spoiler]My expectations got fucked by the fact there's a loli running around with no panties which made for a very awkward first few seconds (after the MAGIC BATTLE INTRO). Yumiko is spunky which is awesome. Thank god it's not "OH LOOK QUIET SHY PINK HAIRED LOLI."

I guess the beginning of the episode is a flashback based on the OP. Though they really like her being naked already and I really hope this is temporary/first episode only.

COMPILING CODE? Okay, yeah, that should've been obvious with the "hello, world" at the beginning. So she ... casts magic by ... compiling binary code? I'm confused?

And ... I guess this isn't a flashback and I guess Yumiko stays in the form of an adult? Or ... something?

And oh dear, C++ code compiling for a spell. Ah ... unique, if nothing else. WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH THE BONDAGE EYECATCH?!

At least not all spells are cast via C++ code and this guy was just chanting. Beats the hell out of LOL USB SPELL I guess.

Confusing but I'm intrigued a little, if only for the relatively unique spin on magic as code (though it reminds me a bit of Ultra Maniac and the whole downloading spells thing).

Voice cast isn't bad for the main females so far and the OP/ED are pretty good. Though, wtf is with non-loli Yumiko in the OP? Confused.[/spoiler]

Eddddddddddddit: Spice and Wolf II EP2
[spoiler]No, seriously, is that fucking Sheik in the OP? ZELDA CAMEO?!

Anyway, jealous Craft makes me grin and I don't know if it's possible to make more of a cliffhanger than they did here. Seriously. Also, Amati got another episode! OH MAN HE'S ON A ROLL HERE.

Placing bets that the message has something to do with Deanna.[/spoiler]

Recently finished:
Tower Of Druaga: The Aegis Of Uruk - Eh? Is this meant to be an adventure anime, or just silly comedy? I'm almost half way through and it still hasn't decided. The adventure aspect isn't great so far, and the comedy is worse.
Well, toward the end the adventure theme won out, but it never became great. The ending is just a big hook for the sequel.
Tower Of Druaga: The Sword Of Uruk - Uhm, did the art quality just plummet? The bad comedy is mostly gone, but the fantasy adventure still isn't all that great. Most of the characters are more interesting than the hero Jil. Also, all the women are support characters and wear sculpted armor and high heels. Bleh, there are too many bad points to list them all. Now that it's out of the way let's move on to something better.

Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu - I bought the Heavy Metal edition of Full Metal Panic, which includes this series, so I figured I should watch this too. If you expect nothing more than 12 eps. of silliness it isn't bad really.
The resolution seems rather low though (and 4:3 too) for anime made in 2003. Maybe it's because they had to fit everything on just two DVDs? Or am I expecting too much because I just watched something else in 1280×720?

Paprika - High quality art/animation. It shows some American influences I think, mainly in the character designs and Disney-esque dream sequences. The OP/ED theme is very nice.
Hmm, the story didn't really make that much sense though. It seemed to be mostly a vehicle for the director to show off the animation and do cool/weird dream stuff. Overall, I'd say it is worth seeing once or so.

Tsukihime - The first episode doesn't tell me much really. Oh wait, it's supposed to be a mystery. Well, that worked very well then.
An interesting vampire story, but it was at the same time rather short and slow-moving. The ending was also kinda unsatisfying.

Next:
Kannagi (considering the trouble I've had finding some licensed anime, I figured I'd better download it now before it disappears off the net), Iriya No Sora, UFO No Natsu, Code-E, Witchblade (I didn't like the dub-only copy I got, but fortunately I found another one), Okusama Wa Mahou Shoujo

Kimiko: There's a running joke about the Tsukihime anime.


I can't get through it. The VN is FUCKTASTIC but the anime SUCKS!!

Bakemonogatari 3:
"Araragi-kun, you little boy ... were you just fascinated by my charming street clothes? A moment of bliss?"
[spoiler]So, hooray, she didn't change. Even with the puns.

Such a strange couple. I love it.

"...Friends T.T"

But hey, SHE'LL DEFEAT THE SAIYAJIN.

"After all, you're a virgin."

"I didn't expect you to be into incest" (haha ... art change wat)

And wow, they spend a lot of time on those two for the start of Mayoi Snail. That's also the best map ever "NOT GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY NOT GUILTY GUILTY ..." I dunno, the ED I thought changed per arc too but maybe it's just the OP? Anyway, the Mayoi stuff isn't too interesting yet but hey, they gave her like 4 minutes of fucking screen time so what the hell do you expect.

Not much to say about the episode beyond loving the fact that Hitagi hasn't changed and has actually upped her teasings (and that this made up over half the episode). Can't wait to watch this episode with better subs, though having to have all the jokes spelled out is a bit sad.

Edit: I forgot, supercell does the ED so ... no reason to expect that to change I suppose.[/spoiler]

Il peccato
(Sea Kitties 4)
[spoiler]HEY GEORGE I BET LIFE SUCKS A LOT MORE FOR YOU NOW. BY THE WAY, DON'T DISTURB THE CRIME SCENE DUDE. Also, her tits are not for crying into. I have like hundreds of comments for this but wow, Eva breast pillows? Seriously DEEN? Seriously?

Wow, the transition into Kinzou's body (and Kanon's death) was fast from Eva and Hideyoshi bodies being found. This is hardly an impossible crime like Creepy Maria states. Read Detective Conan or mystery novels or have a working brain. Setting a chain outside the door isn't hard (or, hell, it was never set to begin with or was already broken and taped/glued together, etc.). There's many ways to make a sealed room from the outside.

Speaking of Kanon's death, does he grab the billhook in the game too? Just curious if that was DEEN's doing or not as I like that touch. Also, doesn't he go to the boiler room alone and Kuma goes to the Kitchen? Them being put together is a little weird.

"THERE'S A POCKET CALLED ZERO. ... I'M THE ZERO ON YOUR ROULETTE *stabbed in chest*." Hm ... why did Kanon pull out his stake (and why was it left ambiguously?).

Why are they fucking handling the weapons without a care in the world. Fingerprints yo? Disturbing crime scenes MAN. I also like them flat out ignoring Jessica's panic (asthma?) attack in the background. "WHAT I HAVE TO SAY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THIS PERSON CHOKING IN THE BACKGROUND."

Oh man, Battler with the fake corpse theory. Shit, I didn't know that was mentioned in the source and thought I was being smart thinking it up. God damn it.

More [s]Lucky Charms[/s] Scorpion symbol. Oh and look, revelation that the symbol is what saved Natsuhi. Oh boy. And wow ... FINALLY READING THE EPITAPH. 4 TWILIGHTS AFTER IT WAS SUPPOSED TO. Whatever, it still works but they still sort of gloss over it.

And what the fuck, letter ... but ... are they ... but ... wait, how did Natsuhi know there was more to the letter when Battler stopped?

..oh dear, the three servants are dead now. And isn't Maria a bit close to the phone? I'm pretty sure she's not the one who called them and you could barely hear her over the phone so she should be farther. Nitpick, I guess, but it couldn't have hurt to have placed her a bit farther away. As it stands, you can logically (...sort of) take from that scene that Maria killed them and alerted the others as opposed to having just been there and looking away as they were murdered.

Anyway, only 5 remain...[/spoiler]

Soo ...
[spoiler]Epitaph:
At the first twilight, you shall lift up as sacrifice the six chosen by the key.
At the second twilight, those who remain shall tear apart the two who are close.
At the third twilight, those who remain shall praise my honorable name on high.
At the fourth twilight, gouge the head and kill.
At the fifth twilight, gouge the chest and kill.
At the sixth twilight, gouge the stomach and kill.
At the seventh twilight, gouge the knee and kill.
At the eighth twilight, gouge the leg and kill.
At the ninth twilight, the witch shall be revived and none shall be left alive.
At the tenth twilight, the journey shall end and you should reach the village of gold.

The witch will praise the wise, and should bestow four treasures.
One shall be, all the gold from the Golden Land.
One shall be, the resurrection of the souls of all the dead.
One shall be, even the resurrection of the lost love.
One shall be, to put the witch to sleep for all time.

Sleep peacefully, my most beloved witch, Beatrice.

As in order as I can do it:

Ushiromiya Krauss
Died at the first twilight.
Chosen by the key of the Golden Land, offered up as a sacrifice. Face partially destroyed.

Ushiromiya Rudolf
Died at the first twilight.
Chosen by the key of the Golden Land, offered up as a sacrifice. Face destroyed.

Ushiromiya Kyrie
Died at the first twilight.
Chosen by the key of the Golden Land, offered up as a sacrifice. Face destroyed.

Ushiromiya Rosa
Died at the first twilight.
Chosen by the key of the Golden Land, offered up as a sacrifice. Face destroyed.

Shannon "Saya"
Died at the first twilight.
Chosen by the key of the Golden Land, offered up as a sacrifice. Face partially destroyed.

Gohda
Died at the first twilight.
Chosen by the key of the Golden Land, offered up as a sacrifice. Face destroyed.

Ushiromiya Eva
Died at the second twilight.
Pierced through the forehead, face intact.

Ushiromiya Hideyoshi
Died at the second twilight.
Pierced through the forehead, face intact.

Ushiromiya Kinzo
Died at the fourth twilight.
Forehead gouged, corpse burned.

Kanon
Died at the fifth twilight.
Chest gouged, died afterwards.

Genji
Died at the sixth twilight.
Stomach gouged, face destroyed.

Nanjo
Died at the seventh twilight.
Knee gouged, face destroyed.

Kumasawa
Died at the eighth twilight.
Leg gouged, face destroyed..

So the twilights aren't days like I thought. Oops! Anyway, three more destroyed faces so ... more possibilities for actual killers if we assume body doubles. Battler mentions the theory and then quickly hushes on it ... odd. Also, there's 7 stakes (Eva, Hideyoshi, Kinzo, Kanon, Genji, Nanjo, Kumasawa) and 7 sins (Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Pride, Sloth, Envy). Reaching? Eh, possibly. I tried to match them up the best I could too, though I have no idea for Eva=Lust and Kumasawa=Envy truthfully.

Now then, here's a thought: Why did Kanon remove the stake? WHY. WHY. WHY. This is the biggest annoyance I have with the episode tbh. I'm not sure why, really. In a sense, it's a small detail but at the same time, it gives thought towards Kanon being the killer. He's the only one we don't have verification for being dead at the scene. Think about it. The faces destroyed we know they're dead. The stakes in the head we know they're dead. Kinzou's corpse is burned. He was stabbed in the chest, survives, and dies of complications later, AND we never see the body for confirmation. Weird.

Very, very weird... perhaps Kanon with Nanjo (or Jessica?!) are the killers? I mean, he could convince Nanjo and Jessica to pretend that he's dead so he can observe from the outside to find the killer ... when in reality, he IS the killer (or one or both could be an accomplice, though just one makes more sense). This would make Natsuhi surviving make more sense (and the marks outside it being Kanon regretting having killed Shannon instead) and Kanon has access to every site. Jessica places the letter in the study to separate the servants who are then all killed by Kanon ... hm.

And why does Nanjo have no blood on him? Or Jessica? Kanon should be hemorrhaging blood at this point (STABBED IN THE CHEST) and they spend quite some time trying to keep him alive (~30 minutes). How the fuck are they clean? Uggggh, probably DEEN fuck up.

Ugh, EP5 needs to release sooner. I NEED TO KNOW HOW WRONG I AM. Well, assuming EP5 is the Answer arc for EP1.

Edit: Need to view this whole ordeal again. You walk into a shed. You see dead bodies (4 in plain view, 1 semi-hidden, 1 completely hidden). Two of them are distinguishable due to their face and four are distinguishable by their clothes alone. What is the logical train of thought? They're all dead with the distinction being that some have their faces and some don't; furthermore, you can logically question that those without faces may not be "real" since identification is left to the clothes.

Now, let's turn the chessboard around. If you're going to pretend to be dead, would you go the "easy" route of making a body that cannot be identified as you by glance? This actually gives thought towards Krauss or Shannon being the fake ... most likely Shannon, the corpse that doesn't seem to belong.

But, let's take this further ... why would that body be separated from the rest? Making it hidden attracts more attention and a higher chance of someone spotting it as a fake. However, being farther away also means more time elapsed in this grisly environment where "another body" found instantly associates it with the rest and, therefore, is real. A double-edge sword, to be honest, and not something I would rely on if I was the murderer.

Frustrating ... frustrating ... [/spoiler]

And ... complaining~
[spoiler]Why the fuck is no one angry and freaking out besides Natushi? Jessica is supposed to be fucking FLIPPING A SHIT at Maria after Kanon died, Battler is supposed to break down, etc. They're all so fucking stoic. YO YOUR FAMILY AND LOVED ONES ARE BEING MURDERED. LOOK THE PART.

Oh and ... Maria's faces. Is she trying to overtake Alicia (Valkyria Chronicles) for stupidest facial expressions? They fit in Higurashi (well, sort of); they don't fit here (and, hell, most of them are laughable as her face contorts in odd ways). Umineko is more of a comedy than a mystery thriller at this point.

Oh well. Just ranting. If I really cared, I'd have to bitch about Higurashi more as it got destroyed far worse than Umineko did for Season 1. I suppose that's part of it too ... they fucked up Season 1 of Higurashi and got it closer to right with Kai. Why did they then go back to fucking it up with Umineko?

Bah, anyone who actually reads this will get slightly turned off from the series. It's nothing bad and "oh god this is terrible to watch" sort of thing. Just a desire to see things done better like Kai was.

...and less comical Maria faces.

Edit: Chapter 10 of the Manga is still like the first half of Episode 3 (Eva and Hideyoshi just died in 9 and 10 is Battler confronting the servants). Chapter 21 of the Manga is the END of the first arc and that starts pretty much where Episode 5 will, though it doesn't have the resolution (Tea Party) in it. So, Chapters 11 to 20 are the events of Episode 3 and 4? Jesus christ?

Also, Battler looks fucking intense in c21. I hope Anime Battler looks that way too.[/spoiler]

Edit: SEA KITTIES 3 (also probably disturbing)
[spoiler]

...how does a dead body cry? She's been there for 6 hours and the tears are fresh (at least fresher than what they should be if she cried before dying SIX HOURS AGO). Thanks a lot DEEN. What the fuck is that shit.

...

OR IS THIS RYUKISHI APPROVED?! SHANNON IS ALIVE AND IT'S MAKE-UP?! OR IS IT JUST OTHER FLUIDS FROM HER EYE BEING SMASHED IN (BUT IT LOOKS FINE)?!

...

AHHHHH!!!!!![/spoiler]

Edit: Something 'bout a spicy wolf (EP3)
[spoiler]Yeah, figured it would be this whole confession route instead of something with the crazy lady.

I can't tell if it's supposed to be "obvious" they're together or not ... I thought it was a "obvious they should as a viewer but they don't know" deal. What the fuck? The entire scene back at the Inn made it seem like they're together "officially." It's rather weird, I dunno.

There's a lot of drunk in Spice and Wolf, now that I think about it.

"Bed's next ..."
"Bed? Will you be gentle with me?"

"*blushing* I wish you had told me that sooner..."

HORO IS ADORABLE JUST SAYING.

"Even if it takes a half a year, let's do our best to find it ... together."

"You...can read?"

T.T

OKAY SAD TURN OF EVENTS. ALSO, SEA KITTY WATCHING HAS MADE ME EXPECT [BAD END] AND EVERYONE DIES TO EMO HORO.

"What are you to me ... No ... what am I to you? *silence* No ... I don't want to be alone anymore! ... Hey ... would you mate with me?"

T.T [BAD END] MESSED UP THE COUPLE ROUTE DUDE RELOAD PAST SAVE. I THINK I REMEMBER THIS FROM SCHOOL DAYS AND THAT DIDN'T END WELL. LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES.

Preview ending on Amarty and Horo kiss scene makes me /wrists, though for some reason I have a feeling it'll end with Lawrence busting in doing what Horo did in the episode of how he should've acted.[/spoiler]

Please tell me I'm not seeing things (okay, I can't be since I got it on a screen cap but still) for that episode 3 spoiler. I have the patched Episode 1 ready to start either tonight or I'll hold off until episode 5 airs.

[spoiler]episode = Anime
Episode = VN!

...

...

Yeah, I may just refer to them by game title / arc / something else. This episode / Episode thing will get confusing.[/spoiler]

MEOW FISH episode 5 spoilers (possibly, really just speculation)
[spoiler]My understanding is that all that's left is like ... like 5 minutes TOPS of story before the first arc ends. Does that mean the resolution / Tea Party is part of the episode?

I mean, it has to, right? The events of the Tea Party are what build the entire series. It'd be like watching Higurashi without ever knowing that it's a cycle (plus it'd make the rest of the arcs confusing wouldn't it?) or something. Then again, pretty much everything in TIPS was dropped (and everyone's backstory was summarized on something that fits on a notecard) for Higurashi so ...

...

Nah, they can't skip it. Plus, they have to show off Beato, Bern, and LD. Right? RIGHT?!

That or it gets it's own episode, though I'm pretty sure 2-I starts on episode 6.[/spoiler]

Edit: Hrm ... Beatrice ... Divine Comedy ... hrm.
(ended up super long, rather jumpy here and there thoughts, and probably spoilers up to and including the fifth episode)
[spoiler]...great, now I'm going to end up re-reading that...

Anyway, the Paradiso (Paradise) part of the Divine Comedy involves Nine Spheres (Nine TWILIGHTS?!):

First Sphere (Moon):Those that abandoned their vows/lacked fortitude.
First Twilight: Krauss (treatment of Natsuhi), Rudolph (Remarried, was/still is a playboy), Kyrie (second-wife), Gohda (?), Shannon (Furniture engaged to one of the masters), Rosa (? is her husband dead or did he leave her / she leave him?).

Second Sphere (Mercury): Did good in wealth/fame but lacked justice.
Second Twilight: Eva and Hideyoshi. Rather self-explanatory on Eva's greed and Hideyoshi's fame. Not sure on the lack of justice but I do wager the arc is painting them (at least Eva) rather unsavory.

Third Sphere (Venus): Did good in love but lacked temperance.
(Note: No Third Twilight Deaths)
Third Twilight: Praise my name. Alternatively, Hideyoshi can fall under this, albeit still part of the Second Twilight. He may have been killed then merely because he was in the room with Eva (but no, he did have a stake in him). He fits lacking temperance, I suppose, considering why he needs money (to buy all the shares of his company).

Fourth Sphere (Sun): The souls of the wise who embody prudence.
Fourth Twilight: In regards to all this, Kinzo is easily the wisest of them but ... prudence? Hm...I suppose it fits, after all Kinzo did amass a fucking fortune.

Fifth Sphere (Mars): Fought for Christianity and embody fortitude.
Fifth Twilight: Kanon (along with the other servants) were rather faithful to the mythos of Beatrice. Depends on what we replace "Christianity" here with. Kanon was also one of the most faithful servants in the sense of making sure he and the others knew their place. Genji arguably fits here too.

Sixth Sphere (Jupiter): Embodied Justice.
Sixth Twilight: Genji, the most faithful servant that has been with Kinzo forever. Not sure how he embodies Justice though.

Seventh Sphere (Saturn): Embodied Temperance.
Seventh Twilight: Nanjo ... not sure how he can be considered for temperance, to be honest.

Eight Sphere (?): Test of Faith, Hope, and Love, if I recall? Not sure.
Eight Twilight: Kumasawa is a strange one. Only Maria has more of a belief in Beatrice I think? There's also three trials and three dead so Maria could be the subject of the "Tests" and the three are killed for that. As long as she looks away from it all, she passes the test.

Ninth Sphere (?): God.
Ninth Twilight: The revival of Beatrice.

This is all seriously just freeform thought from remembering Beatrice's role in the Divine Comedy (with Kinzo being Dante, then; at least in regards to Beatrice playing the role of ... Beatrice) and the Nine Spheres in the Paradiso part of the book.

If I recall, Paradiso was a mirror of Inferno/Purgatorio; whilst Inferno was built upon the seven sins, Paradiso was comprised of the four cardinal and three theological virtues. Also, the closer to the Ninth Sphere meant the closer to God, though it's weird then that Kinzo is the Fourth Sphere here. Maybe Beatrice isn't right? In that case, who fits for Kumasawa to be closest to to fit the Eight Sphere?

Anyway, going back to the 7 stakes, it is that unimaginable to allocate the 7 stakes to the sins and the choice of who dies on what twilight is based on the Paradiso virtues lacked (or held?). Hm...

The order for them in Inferno/Purgatorio was, if I recall: Lust (2nd Level), Gluttony (3rd Level), Greed (4th Level), Wrath and Sloth (5th Level)* for Inferno and Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, Lust for Purgatorio (bottom to top).

*I don't remember past that T.T I think 6th was heretics?, 7th was the violent, and 8th was fraud/treachery?, and the 9th was for traitors (malicious? I remember Judas was here). 7th circle had 3? parts, 8th was 9 or 10, and 9th was 4? maybe 3?.

It doesn't match perfectly with my earlier thoughts of sin and deceased (Purgatorio order, top to bottom to symbolize a descent into hell):
Lust = Eva (Lust)
Gluttony = Hideyoshi (Gluttony)
Greed = Kinzo (Greed)
Wrath = Kanon (Sloth)
Pride = Genji (Wrath)
Sloth = Nanjo (Envy)
Envy = Kumasawa (Pride)

So now, let's look at it from a perspective of diving through Hell (so would it technically be climbing out of Hell? whatever, I'll go with diving through):

First Circle: The non-believers. This definitely fits for Rudolph and Kyrie and probably Rosa; I was pretty certain all the servants were believers though so that questions Shannon (seriously, always?) and Gohda. Krauss I don't think believed at all until he found the gold ... and even then, he only believed the gold anyway.

Second Circle: Lust. Eva ... perhaps there's something behind this? Like, seriously, how did she (psychotic tendencies aside) end up with Hideyoshi? She could do so much better wouldn't you think? Wonder if she settled down with him just to pop out an heir? Hm...

Third Circle: Gluttony ... well, to be fair, Hideyoshi is a heavy set man (and owns fucking fast food chain). He fits pretty well, actually.

Fourth Circle: Greed. Kinzo spent most his life collecting material goods and his wealth. It was only when he "lost Beatrice" that he started to not care. He definitely fits Greed.

Fifth Circle: Wrath is pretty easy to attribute to Kanon. However, I can't figure out what the fuck to do with Sloth here. At all.

Sixth Circle: Heretics ... how does this fit Genji? Maybe there's some Genji backstory to get this figured out.

Seventh Circle: Nanjo doesn't really fit the violence against others, self, or God ... so not sure. Hm ... unsure of what to think of him here.

Eighth Circle: Kumasawa DEFINITELY doesn't seem to fit here to be honest. Fraud and treachery? Maybe, MAYBE, the flattery part?

Ninth Circle: Natsuhi and betrayal ... hm. Not sure what I can pull from this. Who did she betray? Was she the killer who did the rest and went insane and "fought" Beatrice and lost (i.e., shot herself). But, there's NO FUCKING WAY she shot herself in the head with that rifle. Also, suicide would put her in the EIGHT circle wouldn't it? Ugh.

I think trying to shoehorn it into the Divine Comedy won't work so well but it probably does borrow heavily for it. If there's a Virgil-based character later though ... oh well, this was a fun brainstorm.

Oh yeah, the one thing I skipped: Beatrice was the symbol of Love ... an unattainable Love. If we attribute "Beatrice" to be the killer, though odd that the Revival of "Beatrice" also kills someone ... argh.

Doesn't help at all for identifying the killer, was just an interesting series of thoughts. Maybe I can do better if I re-read the Divine Comedy [/spoiler]

Extra thought:
[spoiler]Short of Natsuhi, and even that is fucking under suspicion, no one sees Kinzo the entire time they're there.

...

Is he even ALIVE at the start of this? What if he's the first to die and is placed as the Fourth Twilight? The corpse has to be burned because you'd know otherwise how long he was dead even for an amateur.

Hm...if that's true, who does Natsuhi meet with in Kinzo's study? We know she goes there because of Eva's paper trick (isn't possible unless the door opens). Or is the room empty? If it's empty, what does she do in there? No murdering can be done from there and the only thing possible is disposing of Kinzo's body if he's dead in there (from the beginning). In the case, Natsuhi is suspicious again ... so, what the fuck did she do in that room?

Edit: Just to add, there's three types of mysteries:

1) All the puzzle pieces are known from the start and it's your job to put them together (Agatha Cristie novels tend to do this). These are the easiest types imo.

2) There's a missing piece that isn't known at the start. Conan Doyle novels and, hell, most TV "mystery" type shows do this (House, for instance). Harder than the first type as it isn't "solvable" until the revelation (or plenty of assumptions are taken).

3) All the pieces are shown ... and then some. There's lies and contradictions shown that merely serve to confuse and misdirect. This is what Umineko is going towards it seems. This is the hardest kind of mystery to solve as you have to figure out what are lies and what are truths.

Technically, there's a fourth and that's where you gain more insight as the story goes (along with those in the story) but I don't think that really serves as a fourth type as it can apply to them all. It really fits Umineko though, I'd imagine as the later games give details for the prior games. Still, this is pretty much an omnipresent one so I don't think it gets it's own category.

Anyway, so, let's look at Umineko with that view. What could be lies?

1) Shannon's being taken scene, though we have a dead body.
2) Kanon's death as a whole.
3) Eva and Hideyoshi's door being chained.
4) Natsuhi actually meeting with Kinzo.
5) Natsuhi being shown the gold by Krauss.
6) You know what, pretty much anything not seen by Battler.

One of the biggest things for this type of mystery is to have someone who's perspective isn't false. Battler, as the protagonist, has the trustworthy perspective. Anything he sees we can assume as truthfully happening ... though if he starts seeing magic happening I'll be a little skeptical. Hopefully something else comes up to make those make sense (ala Higurashi Onikakushi-hen delusions).[/spoiler]



Edit: SHAFT is raping my eyes (Bakemonogatari 4)
[spoiler]Mayoi Snail OP is weird.

Wait, I think that's Persona 3 music. What.

"Is it? Then I'll call you miserable instead."

HEY NOW. MISERABLE IS MY NICKNAME.

Fuck wait a sec. Wait, Mayoi Snail ... Tsunade? Isn't that legend slugs?

Touring, Tworing, Fouring!

"Arararagi-san" ... needs more "ra"s duh. Ararararararararagi.

And haha at Hitagi "hating" kids. Pfft, she just wants to be attached to Araragi instead of Mayoi, obviously~

"Next, an ad." ...wait, what. Kara no Kyoukai part 6 ad? Thanks [gg] for including it.

Okay, maybe Hitagi really does just hate kids haha. Neat, tsundere response to Araragi's worry. She's so over-the-top tsundere though.

And jesus, is this like pedophile training? Money to get her to speak, ice cream to get her closer to him ... fuck! WHAT THE FUCK BITING. Jesus, she destroyed his hand. CHILD ABUSE hahaha. And oh yeah, super regeneration factor.

Tsubasa appearance? Random? IS SHE THE FINAL VILLAIN?!

"I don't know everything, I just happen to know this." inorite? At least she's not UUU UUUU UUUUUUing. What is with the music around Tsubasa? HITAGI x ARARAGI, FUCK THIS TSUBASA NOISE.

"You can fantasize about those things even better than yaoi fangirls." ... ^^;;

"Sunday, May 14th, at 14:15:30 ... the moment I got Senjougahara's phone number."

"Tsundere-chan's such a mean girl."
"Tsundere-chan? Oh, you mean Senjougahara."
..
"I won't do anything at all! Put down the stapler, Tsundere-chan!"
"Stapler?"
"Tsundere-chan is pretty scary ..."

Haha. Thanks Oshino~ Tsundere-chan is an awesome nickname for Hitagi. STAPLER.

But what the fuck is with the phone? Like, seriously. DON'T WALK. RUN. IT STARTS PLAYING BRICKBREAK AND TETRIS (badly I might add). MEME TALK. UFO CATCHER! 8 x 1 = 8! 8 x 2 = 16!

"All right, I'm gonna tell Tsundere-chan the details."
Phone in background: <3 LOVER ... then DEATH.

New ED video ... WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS. It's a pretty song though.

WHERE ARE YOU ALTAIR.[/spoiler]

Edit: PENIS CUTTING (Higashi no Eden)
[spoiler]...that's all, I just wanted to type penis cutting.

...

*cowers in a corner*[/spoiler]

Editmore: Super lesbian soldiers (Canaan 3)
[spoiler]"The color of rejection."

Damn

So they had a neat explanation for the brothers; the younger brother (the old man) had two hearts and rapid aging due to the strain and the older brother had an empty body that stopped growing (allowing him more-or-less to compress his body).

You know, they do this a lot. Set up a trial and they almost always succeed and listen. Was refreshing to see it here ("The bomb won't explode but I bet you Canaan will shoot me") with the villain being proven right.

Getting more of a grip on Canaan's ability; she's a super awesome marksman and soldier in general and her synesthesia is rather literal; she associates colors to people, emotions, and so on, hence Maria being trackable by the color she gave off (much like a dog chasing a smell) and Canaan's reaction to Maria's terror after Canaan murdered the guy in front of her. Even included her failing to get the bomb off in time, though it was a dud anyway.

Poor Canaan...

...

How fucking old is she again?[/spoiler]

Edit: srsly it's been 15 years (Detective Conan OVA 9)
[spoiler]This is totally tragic end. Conan grows up without solving the mystery of the Black Organization. I suppose the one bright side is that she waited for 10 years for him (and will wait forever) but still.

TRAGIC END.[/spoiler]