□■どこよりも早い!! 6月の新刊予定(2008年6月10日発売)■□

◇灼眼のｼｬﾅSII
著/高橋弥七郎
絵//いとうのいぢ
ｺﾐｯｸ/笹倉綾人

Nope, we ain’t getting a XVII just yet.

I watched the raw of this episode yesterday but I didn’t bother to make a post about it like I have with several of the other episodes in the past since I figured I’d hold off until a subtitled version was released. I guess if Noe ended up winning I’d have written a post to vent, but since Hiromi won out in the end, it’s all good.

I think they paced this episode quite well as they pretty much managed to tie up all of the loose ends. As much as I like Hiromi, I really liked Shinichirou’s final conversation with Noe. It may have taken him thirteen episodes to get here, but at least he was finally able to be honest with himself.

The first bit of the episode with Hiromi acting weird really bothered me even though I kind of figured that everything would work out in the end. However, there was that other side of me that was constantly concerned about a Noe end. I don’t know how I’d have dealt with a Noe end, it’d really depend on how it gets executed due to the less believable nature of that pairing.

true tears has definitely kept my attention throughout the whole season thanks to its awesome visuals, music, and its ridiculous cliffhanger endings. I have to question the usefulness of Aiko since she never really did anything of importance but that’s not really enough to detract me from enjoying the series. true tears probably didn’t really pull off anything new in terms of romantic drama shows but I think it should be commended for its execution and the way it kept you guessing about its ending.

コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュR2 (row 1, column 1):
I don’t really have to elaborate on the reasoning behind this one, do I?

RD 潜脳調査室 (row 2, column 1):
The character art looks kind of weird but since it’s from Production I.G and Shirow Masamune, I’ll give it a spin.

図書館戦争 (row 2, column 3):
I don’t even really know what this show is about but the concept of a “Library War” sounds interesting enough. This is also from Production I.G and Marina Inoue will be voicing the lead so this ought to be good.

二十面相の娘 (row 2, column 4):
The premise sounds alright and it’s from BONES so that can theoretically be enough of a reason for me to check out a show.

ヴァンパイア騎士 (row 4, column 1):
I’m totally down with the idea of shoujo with vampires added into the mix so this is right up my alley.

隠の王 (row 4, column 3):
I forgot if it was the art that attracted me to this series or was it because Rie Kugimiya was voicing the lead. Well, no matter, both of them combined gives me an excellent reason to check the show out.

I’m also interested in some other series but they’re kind of on the sidelines compared to the ones above.

I officially acknowledge here that my predictions did not come true.

Nothing of grave importance really happened in this episode. I guess that sounds a little scary since it’s the second last episode of the series but really, we pretty much just got a whole bunch of setup work going on in this episode. It’s certainly no real loss if you missed this episode.

Despite its “uselessness”, I think they paced this episode very well. While everything was just a “setup” for the finale, no frames were wasted in this one. Things happened for a reason, there was a purpose behind everything. I also commend the production team on managing to tie in the two season’s original material into this ending.

The previews hinted at something Shana fans have been clamouring forever although it’s likely just a curveball to throw all of us off. The only way this is going to happen properly is if Yuji does make his transformation next episode. I’d like to think that it’s going to happen but I really don’t know…

With the blink of an eye, we are already at the second last episode of this series. It’s been quite a ride for the past three months and true tears has shown no signs of slowing down despite the fact that we are fast approaching its final climax.

Upon the completion of this episode, one might get a little too hung up on cliffhanger ending but we really shouldn’t just brush off the other events that occurred. I’m mainly talking about the deal with Jun here. Hell, that was certainly quite a shocker. All this time I didn’t really believe it since it just seemed a little shaky to me but this episode’s certainly slammed the nail in that coffin, that’s for sure.

It’s anyone’s guess as to how Noe’s recent actions will affect Shinichirou’s heart. I think we can all agree that he has feelings for Hiromi, but can he come to terms with that after what Noe did? Will the two be able to get along knowing that they (in)directly caused this accident?

Well, this episode finally concludes the main arcs that encompass the original visual novel game. Unfortunately, I think I’d be lying if I said that the second season was truly up to par with the first. Quite simply, “祭囃し編” just felt a little anticlimactic.

While the writers did a very good job with the build up and everything with the other arcs, “祭囃し編” just seemed to feel a little underwhelming. While some things did go against our protagonists, I was never really worried about them.

Still, I can’t deny that the series as a whole has been extremely enjoyable thanks to some excellent writing. The way that the story unfolds is probably not very original but it keeps you engaged and wanting more because of its clever execution and intelligent plot twists.

I just watched episode 12 and oh my, they sure know how to time an ending. I wouldn’t really call it a “cliffhanger” though, if you know what I mean. Note that you will only get it if you actually watched this episode.

Ugh, this episode has made me feel very uneasy about the (unconfirmed) Shinichirou x Hiromi pairing. Why did Shinichirou have to keep thinking about Noe when he had that little date with Hiromi down by the beach? I know I got to see a kiss and all but it’s completely meaningless if Shinichirou ends up being with Noe at the end.

This episode wasn’t a complete disappointment though as it was nice to see Aiko and Miyokichi get back together. It was also a little reassuring to see that Hiromi’s line was for Jun and not Shinichirou. It’s still all very wobbly but I mustn’t give up hope!

The previews for the next episode didn’t really offer anything particularly enlightening but I suppose that might be because they want to try and keep things under wraps. The episode already ended off on a cliffhanger so they might have figured that there’s no need to make their audience feel any worse than they already feel.

This would’ve been an absolutely wonderful ending to the series if this was the last episode…but, for better or worse, we actually still have three more episodes to go. They’ll probably try to keep Noe in the running but I’m not sure as to how that’s going to happen since Shinichirou clearly likes Hiromi and not Noe.

I was so very frustrated when I saw this scene but the thought quickly dissipated as I soon remembered that Shinichirou was going to be riding on his bike from the previews. Still, the fact that I didn’t get to hear him say those important words to Hiromi ticks me off. I guess that’s what the ending is going to be for, right? Right?

Unfortunately, we also got to see a rather disturbing preview after that climactic ending because of what you hear Hiromi say. I don’t want to believe that she’s saying it to Shinichirou because these previews are always so misleading…but hey, you never know. :/