Nobunaga the Fool - ep12

First of all it seems that this series will at least continue for at least another season. Then to this end the question become why did Nobunaga request to drink tea with Caesar. It appears that part of his goal was to seek to understand Caesar because he took him to lightly and because of his short sightedness has resulted in the situation that they are in. That is why his main goal is the use the tea ceremony to gauge Caesar character and see the true nature of his agenda. Also he is doubtful that he didn't shoot him in the back just because Jeanne was with him. That if his true goal is the Shinki and their users then he wouldn't seek their death only their subjugation.

Although most of this episode has to deal with the underlining issue of this tea ceremony but largly it about give Ichihime a time to shine because up to this point she hasn't been a major part in the story. That with her being the host of the tea ceremony she end up taking a leading role in the conclusion between Caesar and Nobunaga. Then at first it look like they would be unable to come to an agreeable terms because Caesar wants the Shinki and this is the on thing that Nobunaga would be unwilling to conceded to. Then Caesar uses this this failure to obtain what he desire from the first time he layed eye on her, Ichihime. That he uses this alliance to acquire her hand in marriage, and Ichihime accepts his proposal if it can help the Oda. However she is determine to kill him if he betrays his word to both her and her brother. That as this alliance is made a crack is formed in the western star, the question is what does to omen foretell.   

No-rin - ep12

Instead of getting strait into clearing up the misunderstanding they build things up with using the mixer. Although this was mostly use to reflect Kousaku feeling about Aioi and why these people came to this event in the first place. This also provide a prime situation to create a little skit by having Becky-sensei cause a bit of chaos. However this also leads to a situation why Kousaku is having to choose between Ringo and Minori, and results in him trying to escape his impending doom. This doesn't last long because Kousaku is going to be their main event.

When things are starting to approach a conclusion and it appears that Kousaku is going to have to marry Minori. Thing are complicate by the twin revealing the truth to everyone since they didn't like the idea of Kousaku being taken away from them by their sister. Now with the lie being reveal for what it is, this opens a whole new can of worms with Tsukasa false advertizing being reveal for what it is. Then only choice that Kousaku could make in the end is to take the fall for Tsukasa and reveal how things came to this and reveal his feeling about Aioi. That he hated it here but was force to bear with because of his parents. However through Ringo he learn to appreciate what he had, although in the end this heartfelt story move and allow them to forgive them for the deception. Now that Kousaku is free of his obligation and is able to freely choose, he tries to word it in away so that he can have both Minori and Ringo. Then likely you would expect neither of them would accept this choice, and it seems with the crisis dealt with their live are returning to normal as the return to school.

Magical Warfare - ep12

In this last episode it seems like they are rushing things a bit. There is no preamble about how Takeshi got from meeting with Oigami and Hotaru to being front of his house because his vision of his mothers death is his only remaining lead. This result in him meeting Gekkou with no explanation on why Ida and Miu have left his side and him going off alone. Now we have the rematch between the two with Takeshi having to deal with the horror of what Gekkou did to Towa. It turns out they are fairly evenly match now but Gekkou uses Takeshi desire to make amends against him. However when he is about to stab him Kurumi shows up and takes the blow meant for him. It appears that this is the final straw for Takeshi.

This event seems to be the leading cause behind everything, that with this Takeshi believe Gekkou is beyond salvation and is resolve to kill him. Then as they are fighting among themselves Momoka shoot them because their magic has gone out of control. However as thing turn out she has sent them into the past. It is also implied that Violet-sensei is somehow Kurumi hint at the fact that something she will get sent to the past in the pursuit of Takeshi. There is also the fact that since Kazuma is holding the photo of Kurumi that he is in-fact Takeshi and not Gekkou like his mother believe him to be. That with this time paradox, everything seem to hint at a second season sometime in the future since both Gekkou and Takeshi are in the past before the war even began.

Nobunaga the Fool - ep11

Things are progressing toward a final conclusion between Nobunaga and Caesar. Now that Oda has three war giants a lot of the smaller territories are joining them. Then with this building of strength Nobunaga believe that Caesar will strike soon before they get any real experience with their armors. This uncertain cause Da'Vinci to bring out his tarot cards, then when Nobunaga was about to choose one Jeanne takes one instead. The card she picks is death, the question is who's death does it foretell. This leads to a discussion about the war giants overheating or the possibility of their machine reject them. It unclear what the death card will represent since it just signifies an ending it doesn't necessarily means that some has to die.

It isn't long until Nobunaga prediction come true with Caesar fighting his way through his Allies to reach Oda castle. That it seem that Caesar is intending to wear them down by not sending in his three war giants that are leading his forces. That by wearing them down he is shortening Oda's war giants operational time. Eventually Caesar shows himself on the battle field, this is when they enact the plan to finally finish him off. Things go well and Nobunaga is almost victorious but in his outrage of being defeated he request aid from the dragons and he receive it. That with this support he is able to turn the battle in his favor, however Jeanne is able to stop Caesar attack from killing the but it wasn't enough to prevent it form devastated the surrounding area. That in the wake of this destruction she believe that the death card was symbolize that she was the Shinigami, however Nobunaga corrects her by saying that she pulled the card meant from him that he is the reaper and not her. Now with his victory Caesar demands Nobunaga surrender, but in return ask if he drinks tea. Which leads to implies that Nobunaga intent to finish things between them with a duel. The issue is that it not likely that the series will end here since there is Uesugi Kenshin that really hasn't done much of anything and there is the fact that Nobunaga is suppose to die at honoji temple. Also there is probably going to be as many episode as there are tarot cards since each card serves as a theme and title. I guess only time will tell if the series end in the next couple weeks or will continue on into spring 2014.

Log Horizion - ep25

This finale to Log Horizion is more like a prelude to the second season that is beginning in the Fall which is about half a year away. This is why they end the attack on Akiharaba so swiftly, by having it end with Lord Marves. Even thought shiroe's counter-attack was short, it was wonderful seeing Shiroe being evil again. How he blames Lenessia for failing to inform them about Lord Marves arrival, this was done so that no-one would blame her but blame Shiroe for being so harsh with her. This followed up with the counterfeit letter that has Lord Marves signature on, then when he is surprise by reading the letter. This lead Shiroe to suggest that there was no 500-tons of cargo, that all of this was harassment. That with Marves dealt with all the other attack on Akiharaba cease, but he doesn't believe that Marves was the master mind behind the plot that he was act in someone else stead.

Then from here the rest of the festival goes of with no problems now that the interlopers are dealt with. Although in the aftermath Minori comes to a realization that Shiroe is intentional creating a negative image for himself. Then when she confronts him about this he confirms it for her, that he justifies it as necessary. That sometimes there is a need for a bad cop which is his role while Crusty's role is that of the good cop. That if people thought positively about him it wouldn't work, that the change in Akiharaba is the result of his willingness to play the villian. However during this conversation Akatsuki overhears them and realizes that she doesn't understand Shiroe as much as she thought she did. That someone that knew him for less time understands him better, it will be interesting to see how this dynamic builds next season when the series returns.

Things end with them resolving the question of who was that moving around in the background since Shiroe use world magic to resurrect Rudy. She introduce herself as Dariella a traveling writer, that she meeting him in Ooshima stead because he couldn't be there. However it doesn't take long for Shiroe to call her out on her disguise by call her Nureha which is her true name. Then after she reveals her true appearance it is kind of fitting that she it a fox-woman since Kitsune are notorious for disguise themselves. Then throughout there conversation a lot of new detail are revile, one of the most important is the issue of Minami. It seems that she dealt with the social unrest in a different way then Shiroe did by buying the cathedral where the players are resurrected ultimately forcing everyone under the banner of Plant Hwyaden where she is the guild leader. That with no other guilds there is no-longer any conflicting interested. That her goal is get Shiroe to join her guild and stand by her side because she see as only him being her equal. Although she fails in this attempt, it seems that this rejection only seems to encourage her because Nureha believe that he will be her eventually. This also seems to point to the future of the second season where it will focus on a war between the two cities. That the main driving force behind this will be the wills of both Shiroe and Nureha.  

No-rin - ep11

Now with Kei and Yoshida studying abroad it is only the three of them left. Since it is now summer break they are going home to Aioi and Ringo is coming with them. Although it doesn't taken them long to get down to business because Minori has a hidden objective in returning home. It turns out that she been lying to her parents about being married to Kousaku. Which become more complicate when they believe that she is pregnant, but it doesn't help matters when she shows up looking the way she does. However in a way Kousaku dug his own grave when he sent her family the photo when she was dieting, which leads a lot of creditability to Minori's own lies. In the end the truth comes out but it turns out that the truth is problematic.

It turns that Tsukasa was planning a mixer to help revitalize this dying town, and the star attraction that was going to make this work was Minori and Kousaku. That in the end they can't afford to cancel it so in the end it doesn't matter if everything was a lie. They are just going to get married which will correct everything in the end and their love story will be the major selling point. Once the issue of money come up Kousaku is on board but the problem is that this lie isn't a one time deal. They will become a symbol to the people that bought into this idea. What make thing more difficult is that Kousaku is in love with Ringo and not Minori. That this is only going to go down in flames the question is how will Kousaku get out of it with it hurting the village. The clear answer is Ringo by just change who he marries, then all you would have to do is change the back story of the lovers.

Anyways after the initial problem it gets push to the side after the first half of the episode. Then things get into Kousaku back story and why he doesn't live with his parents. It turns out that his family originally came here from the big city to start a new life as farmers. However things didn't go so well for them, which cause them to go into debt when their crops failed. This ultimately lead them working more in the city than work on their farm. Then their debt eventually cause Kousaku his mother since they could afford the medicine to take care of her. Then it reach the breaking point where his father couldn't afford to come home anymore and thous leaded to him living with Minori's parents. Which seems to be part of the reason that he is going along with Tsukasa scheme because he feels indebted to Minori's family. The question still remains how will Kousaku escape this trap, one way is Ringo. Although is there another way for things to end with out Kousaku being force into a marriage.

Magical Warfare - ep11

Now with Takeshi in training, they focus in on Kurumi because it clear that she isn't doing nothing while Takeshi is training. This leads her to try and escape from Gekkou. In way it ironic that the thing he desires most he can never have because of his unwillingness to make amends with Takeshi. That is why until that is achieved Kurumi will never believe that he loves her, and is just trying to use her as another way to get to Takeshi. Then in running away from him she runs into Oigami, things get more complicate when Hotaru gets involved. Although she isn't agaisnt helping Kurumi escape if for nothing else than to be able to stick to Gekkou.

Things start going south when Gekkou almost catches them and Hotaru has to draw his attention away by kissing Kurumi so that Kurmi can impersonate her. While Hotaru act as a decoy, Oigami tries to take her to rest of the way. However he is then pulled away by Kippei which leaves Kurumi alone. In her desperation she tries to find her own way out but the base is constantly changing which was why Oigami and Hotaru where guiding her to began with. Now in running off she gets lost only to be found by the worst person the leader of Ghost Trailers Kazuma.

This leads back to Takeshi where he is prepared to save Kurumi, because he feels he can't afford to wait any longer. That in the end he was planning to go it alone but Mui and Ida catch him before he could leave. That they join him in his trip to save Kurumi, and when they reach the other side they are met with Hotaru and Oigami. This leads the two groups having a rematch but it mostly about the rematch between Oigami and Takeshi so that we can see the result of Takeshi's training. After the fight Oigami tells them about what happen to Kurumi and how he lost her. It seem that everything is ending next episode whether it will be the end of the series but more than likely it will just be the end of the season. The reason being that there are just too many issue to warp up in just one episode because you have open war with no resolution to the conflict which is just one of many issue. It just to problem with Kurumi is the most immediate issue.

Nobunaga the Fool - ep10

Now with the alliance between Kenshin and Caesar, it cause Nobunaga to form alliance of his own. Although it appears that this is what Kenshin desire all along, and why he formed the alliance with Caesar if the first place. That he want to create the condition that would allow Nobunaga to flourish and grow his military power, because as he was Kenshin as confident that he could crush him. This is why he used the alliance with Caesar to cultivate Nobunaga military strength by creating a strong enough presence to threaten the neighboring territories. Which would really leave them no other alternative than to join force with Nobunaga. It also appears that things are getting worse for Caesar because the Round Table is getting tired of his failures, that it appears that he has one last chance to redeem himself. Although will he get his chance because Kenshin only interest in him is in provoking Nobunaga, that he wants Caesar to be uninvolved in the battle itself.

Although beside setting the atmosphere for the coming conflict. Majority of the attention is focus in on Toyotomi Hideyoshi. That according to history he ultimately betrays Nobunaga and units Japan after Nobunaga dies at honji Temple. The question is if that is the same end awaiting Nobunaga and Hideyoshi or will to story take a different turn. Although in answering this question they hit on the issue of way Hideyoshi betray Nobunaga, That in the end he hold Nobunaga responsible for his sister death during the famine. That now he see Nobunaga as the solutions to the problem, and if he units Japan that no-one will ever have to died from a famine again. However he is also resolved to kill him if he proves to weak or is unable to reach his goal. This is alluding to Nobunaga potential end.

The final key point of the episode is their assault on Takamagahara. That this is the point in which all travel from the west must land in journeying to the east star. The reason it is important is this is where Caesar new armor will be delivered. That their plan is to ceases it before it can reach Caesar, and to this end they use the “fool” as a decoy to draw his attention away from Takamagahara and toward Owari. That for the most part the plans goes well accept they didn't expect that the west would send a body guard along side the new armor. This ultimately leads to Hideyoshi getting his wish granted by receiving his own armor. Then he is further aid by Nobunaga revealing that he has always know of his intent, and bestow upon him the wind Shinki because he believe that if Hideyoshi intends to stand as his equal then he will need power. The question is will this decision lead to Nobunaga down fall or will history reach a completely different conclusion.

Log Horizon - ep24

Now that Shiroe has an idea what is going on, he is going about collecting as much information that he can to figure at their goal. This will allow him to see how it is organized and this will allow for him to calculate their next move to counter the enemies attempts at ruining Akiharaba's festival. This is imports because the goal of Lord Marves is to discredit the Round Table by ruining their festival. However it takes Shiroe awhile to figure out their method of attack. It seems that the People of the Land are making things up as they go along, and since there is no real plan other than causing chaos the is no command structure or organization to the attack. This means there really is no way to make a plan to deal with the threat.

It isn't until he meets up with Soujirou and hears about how his group date went, that he comes up with an idea to fight Lord Marves forces. That by using Soujirou his able to increase the amount of patrols without increasing the military presence in response to Lord Marves attack using the people of the land. That by having patrols going around here under the guise of group dates, and to keep the woman interested in helping out Shiroe has Soujirou switch between groups so that he can keep them interested by using his appeal. This also leads Shiroe becoming aware of one of Lord Marves true target, and that being Lady Lenessia. This is the beginning of Shiroe's counter-attack. It appears that since it is Lord Marves goal to make the Round Table seems incompetent by destroying the festival. Then it is Shiroe goal to make the festival as lively as possible to counter-act any negative image that Lord Marves creates.

No-rin - ep10

This episode is highly focus in on Kei, and how his past is catching up to him. Although before his father arrives to try and bring him home. The prelude to this is the eggplant contest between Kei and Becky over who's is better. This brings up the issue of manufactured vegetables vs organically grown vegetables. It seems that Kei hatred for mass produced agriculture stems from the fact the his mother died because of the chemicals that his father used in mass producing his crop. This touches home with Ringo because this modern way of agriculture that focus on force cultivation reminds her of time as an idol. That she was forcefully cultivate in a similar way that the crops are, this is why she is so supportive of Kei when his father comes to take him home.

This leads another contest this time between father and son. Part of the reason for this contest is that Kei's father can't accept organically grown produce would be better than his. That he does this to show Kei how wrong he is, but as thing turns out it appears that his father wins their bet. However he changes his mind about forcing Kei to come home with him. In the end this leads to taking the study aboard offer that he initially turn down the principle on, because he wants to improve so that he can prove to his father that his way of thinking is right. Things end with both Kei and Yoshida leaving together to study aboard.

Magical Warfare - ep10

Things are slowly progressing toward a resolution between Wizards Breath and Ghost Trailer ideology. The first action that is taken is a conclusion to the battle at Subura, now with Takeshi unable to defend himself. Violet-sensei intends to just take him with her back to the Ghost Trailers. However Violet's escape is prevent by the interference of Mui, although it seem that her interference alone might not be enough to save Takeshi but help is far behind. Mui ends up receiving Aid from a Camelot team which leads to Takeshi being rescue from her grip. Then with Takeshi injures he needs to be taken somewhere safe to be treated.

Now with Takeshi receiving treatment at a Camelot facility in the real world. They use this express the further expansion of the war with the return of Kazuma. That to this end Kippei takes out to magician that was responsible for the “gift”. This is so that the war can continue and stretch beyond the ruin world. This also illustrates the madness of his ambition isn't as holy as Kippei originally portrayed it. That he wants so see the world burn, so that he can build a new world on it ashes. That his path has a lot of parallels to Gekkou, that the world must suffer a hundred fold for all the suffering that he has endure.

Now as thing further degrade, Takeshi is concerned about the fate of his mother since. The last image that Towa gave him before she was stole was of Gekkou killing her. Although there was more to it than that with Kisaki and Tsuganashi coming along. It seems that Kisaki was planning to have Takeshi's mother train him instead of Tsuganashi because he is too soft on him because of his connection to Mui. Thing end with training go well for him, but also it leads to him receiving a leaded on Kurumi and Twilight from Mui when she is certain he will not go off half-cocked. Next time we might be seeing a reunion between Takeshi and Kurumi.

Nobunaga the Fool - ep09

Now with the defeat of Caesar, the Oda clan is dealing with it victory. It seems with the bit a peace they obtain with Caesar defeat Da'Vinci manage to build another Mech that is similar to Nobunaga's however the interesting question is how long was he building it. Since it was made from the parts when Nobunaga first piloted the Fool. A lot of the episode focus in on Jeanne battle in learn how to use Orlean. Things prove not to be so simple was she has trouble moving Orlean let alone trying to use her Shinki.

This leads us to a building of new situation since Caesar still hasn't given up. Then to this end he approaches Uesugi Kenshin with an alliance between Kenshin and the remaining force of Takada. Although he does agree to this alliance he isn't as trusting as Shingen was, and make it clear that he doesn't like him let alone trust him. Then through this alliance it shows that Uesugi is going to make a move soon on Oda. This cause problems for Nobunaga since his people still don't truly trust him.

The alliance that Caesar form shows how little faith his people believe in him. That this leads to everyone planning to flee Owari before Uesugi arrives. This fear is not just felt by his citizens but by his advisers, that in the end everyone just wants to save themselves. They believe that Oda has no chance at victory and just wants to surrender to Caesar before anything even begins. In the end this cowardness disgust him, and when he declare why he will never allow this Da'Vinci broadcast his speech to the rest of his people. This gives the people the courage to go down his path in the same way that Nobunaga help Jeanne realize what she should really be seeking to protect. Then with this Ichihime bestows Nobunaga with what Nobuhide entrusted to her, that this cup represent the void or “Mu”. That with Mu exist everything and at the same time, that in a way this is his fathers way of telling him that he has nothing left to teach him and he has to carve his own path from now on.