New Blog

After two years of using Blogger as my primary blogging service, I have decided to switch to WordPress for a variety of reasons, the main one being my familiarity with it after having recently used it for professional purposes.

And so, if you would kindly update your bookmarks to point to http://jeffreysama.wordpress.com, I'd highly appreciate it.

Thank you to all those who have continued to support me by reading my anime reviews. I hope you will continue to do so in the future. Upon reaching my WordPress blog, please have a look at the "Hello World" sticky for further information about the move and the new blog format for 2013 and onward.

Lastly, I wish everyone a Happy New Year.

— Jeffrey-sama

Note: I will be finishing up my review backlog before fully moving over to WordPress so expect to see some more posts (particularly, Jormungand 23+24 and the rest of SAO) in the near future.

Shin Sekai Yori - Episode 13

Copycat!

Okay, so Mamoru didn't die... yet. Instead of quietly disappearing like the others before him, he's now dragged the other three into his problem. Then again, you can't have an interesting story without some good 'ol drama and suspense. As the group further strays from the path that upstanding citizens of the community walk on, things are undoubtedly going to get tougher for them—whether it be persecution at the hands of the Ethics Committee or mental strain from the stress of the situation. Given Mamoru's recent experiences, I think it's safe to say that his time is almost up. As the "weakest link in the chain", getting rid of him will most likely make the remaining three stronger, although none of them would like to admit that. The preview further increases the chance of Mamoru's end arriving soon as he can be heard screaming "I don't want to die."

Zetsuen no Tempest - Episode 12

Logic = Defied

On one hand, I'm glad that the series is probably not going to end this season. However, if it were to be, say, 25 episodes long, given that the current situation is seemingly the climax of the story, I'm worried that the later episodes might become pointless or boring. And while the last few episodes have barely resolved anything, but yet were entertaining, I highly doubt this can continue for another whole season. Anyway, this episode, like the past few, required lots of thinking on the part of the viewer, with the main question being, "What is part of the Tree of Genesis logic and what isn't?" And because of the thought-provoking nature of the situation, countless possible situations can arise in the minds of viewers ranging from "Hakaze killed Aika" to "the mage of Exodus killed Aika", or even "Aika may or may not actually dead and is behind all this". But focusing on the present situation at the moment, I'm going to have to lean towards the first point (it doesn't have to necessarily be Hakaze; it could be the Tree of Genesis) since both Yoshino and Mahiro are the only people who still care about Aika's death; getting rid of them would render Aika's death insignificant.

Shin Sekai Yori - Episode 12

Must be a painful way to die...

In this week's Shin Sekai Yori, we are presented with a nice little lesson on Fiends and Karma Demons (as per UTW's translation). To put it into perspective, the two can be comparable to murderers in today's world—the former are those who kill with malicious intent (e.g. serial killers) while the latter are those who are unfortunate enough to have accidentally taken another person's life (e.g. an automobile driver involved in a serious accident). And although this might be a distasteful example to some, I found myself drawing a link between "K", the Fiend in the episode, and the killer of this past Friday's tragic shooting that occurred in Connecticut; both K and the shooter's murderous rampages were random acts of violence that arguably resulted from the lack of attention, in regards to their psychological health, that they received. Like how many are quick to blame one's Juryoku (Shin Sekai Yori) and guns (Connecticut) for the tragedy, only some realize that the problem might lie elsewhere, like in the communities' obliviousness to the killers' mental states.

Zetsuen no Tempest - Episode 11

Whee~

In hindsight, I find it amusing how I was quite close to dropping this series early on because of how boring it was. At this point, I'm really glad I didn't. Despite two consecutive dialogue-filled episodes, I was thoroughly immersed in the debate between Yoshino and Samon. To me, the whole scene reminded me of a courtroom, with Mahiro as the judge who has the final say on who he thought was "right". As a viewer, the exchange forced me to think about it myself too, analyzing each party's claims and determining if they were logical or not, which I found to be quite enjoyable. Right now, I wouldn't mind if next week's episode was more or less the same format given how much I liked this one.

Jormungand - Episode 22

It's time.

The time has finally come. Whether you were anticipating or dreading it, the inevitable conflict between Koko and Jonah has arrived. Before I begin talking about it, I'd like to note that this was probably the best Jormungand episode yet. First off, the Navy SEALs did a nice job of not getting annihilated—they were even able to evade Lehm and Lutz's epic sniping skills—making the battle more entertaining than usual. And while the Night Nine ended up losing in the end as expected, the fact that they did so not because of their firepower or marksmanship skills, but because of Koko's strategic brilliance, made the whole clash a lot more enjoyable.

Sword Art Online - Episode 17

Cheating on your wife with a loli, eh, Kirito?

The inevitable has finally happened. After a full episode of fawning over her brother's cousin's return to the real world, it doesn't come as a surprise that Suguha "coincidentally" meets him in the virtual world. If she hadn't, Episode 15 would've been all for nothing. Personally, I still can't get over how unexciting ALO is compared to SAO. The lack of tension and anxiety in the players makes watching the characters play the game slightly boring. I think the only amusing thing about this arc thus far is how both Kirito and Suguha are oblivious to each other's true identities. I simply can't wait for the moment when they find out, especially if Asuna's also in the picture; the love triangle-type conflicts that would arise are definitely things to look forward to.

Shin Sekai Yori - Episode 11

Yuri Group Hug!

And up we go again on the Shin Sekai Yori rollercoaster. Compared to the previous episode, this one was epic. I absolutely loved the suspense involved with the four slowly remembering things about Shun. It even got to the point where I was hoping for some big moment where they defy the odds by remembering everything that they were meant to forget. Alas, it's unfortunate that Mamoru ended up bringing their momentum to a halt. On one hand, I don't really blame him since sometimes the truth is better off not knowing as the responsibilities and/or consequences that come along with it aren't worth shouldering. However, as a viewer, I really would've liked to group to have went against the Ethics Committee by continuing to pursue the reason behind their fuzzy memories, even if it meant that they would face trials and difficulties. Luckily, the turn of events at the end might just be what I'm looking for.

Zetsuen no Tempest - Episode 10

om nom nom

Mahiro, why didn't you pull the trigger?! Given his "act first, think later" personality, it was very odd to see him analyze the back and forth verbal exchange between Yoshino and Samon. When Yoshino first proposed his seemingly valid theory of which Mahiro seemed to acknowledge, I expected him to activate the talisman right there. But I guess with the story's end nowhere in sight, rushing along would do no good. Instead, a nice little debate (and some humorous reactions courtesy of Samon) is presented, which I did enjoy for the most part. At the moment, I can confidently side with neither party as both offer valid reasoning for their claims. However, Samon's reactions are indeed suspicious, leading me to lean towards believing Yoshino; his status of "main protagonist" also played a role in my choice. With that being said, Samon's proof of the time gap was concrete and convincing, which is why I'm hesitant to count him out just yet. I find it amusing how the only time Mahiro decides to think things through is also the only time where his decision truly matters; he essentially holds the key to the world's fate with that talisman.

Jormungand - Episode 21

What a clever slogan.

Interesting. For the first time in season two, there's an arc that lasts longer than two episodes. It must be significant then, right? Despite yet another dialogue-filled episode, I still found it to be entertaining. As "Jormungand" (the plan) continues to move towards its goal, strategy becomes more and more crucial, to the point where it can be seen as a deadly weapon itself. When it comes down to it, the quality of a group's artillery become insignificant once tactics and strategy come into the fray. And thus, with Bookman and Koko leading their respective groups into the battlefield, the one who has done their research and taken necessary preparations beforehand will most likely be victorious, regardless of the weapons or people involved. While I'd like to say that Koko will surely end up victorious, the fact that Bookman is still present and active in his scheming makes me not want to count him out just yet. That, and there still hasn't been an opponent worthy of challenging Koko's group, so a final boss-like villain in Bookman would be nice.