I too am looking forward to what developments will happen to Lapis… though, it’s quite saddening that she didn’t have much screentime >__< @Fried: Yup, KnS will certainly have a good ending Tsuoi Rin is the past, and Ayano’s the present~ Ayano might not be as gentle and ladylike like Tsuoi Rin, but undeniable more fun and amusing :3

as for the asphyxiation… I believe he can, but I don’t think we’ll get to see that

@Avisch; Lapis hasnt done anything wrong yet… but she is still a demon so she has to go.

I was wondering, if Kazuma can control air, could he manipulate it in order to asphyxiate someone? eg. Wernhard.

The novels are on a different set of stories now right?

On thing I’m looking forward to is how Lapis will fit into the climax. I mean Kazuma has satted that he want s to kill her as much as Wernhard. But ultimately Lapis has done nothing wrong on her own and Kazuma wants to kill her just because she’s meant to be a imitation of Tsuoi Rin. And I can imagine that Ayano will have to stop Kazuma from murdering Lapis.

In the novel, it was mentioned that Kirika herself doesn’t know exactly what happened after Kazuma had his revenge that he reverted to his normal self. She was thinking that perhaps he lost the will to fight or got tired of being vengeful, hence he went back to normal (and just kept the hatred deep inside his heart).

The novel isn’t pointing out the fact that Ayano was the catalyst (since Kazuma must have simply changed with his own will), but rather the fact that she still holds a certain ‘value’ for Kazuma at present (being Kazuma’s “toy”, or what >__< )

In any case, I still consider Ayano as a sweet girl, who understands Kazuma’s personality and embraces his past (especially now that she found out about it), after the time they’ve spent together. She just seemed judgmental the first time we saw her, because of the circumstance they were in (as I also explained in my previous post on KnS episode 20)

The change in perspective that happened with Kazuma is in terms of how he perceives Ayano, not really his point of view of other things (because his principles and beliefs have already been well established, long before he met Ayano…) The other change that will happen at present is in terms of making Kazuma see the value of his present life (since he’s ‘lost’ at this point, especially after remembering Tsuoi Rin once again, whom he still hasn’t gotten over with)

I’d have to disagree that Ayano didn’t provide Kazuma with anything. Shallow as it might be, Ayano provides some good entertainment for Kazuma ^^;;; Ayano is actually willing to become a support for Kazuma, whether in battle or in the other aspects of his life, but Kazuma is the one who seems to be closing that “door”, partly due to everything the poor guy has been through.

Nevertheless, despite these loopholes in the relationship (especially in terms of how Kazuma can see Ayano romantically), I find the Kazuma x Ayano antics entertaining nonetheless. In terms of liking tsundere girls… hmm… I don’t know but for some reason I like these types. Seeing how they have this ‘vulnerability’ amidst their tough mask… how they look cute when they blush, and are left dumbfounded and speechless (and don’t know how to react) when the guy becomes sweet to them… how they’re so fun to tease? etc… pure fun, and adds up to the overall entertainment value of the character. And, as my fellow-chef Seleria has also said, tsunderes also heightens the excitement of the antics they have in the show, since you’ll be anticipating whether they’ll finally give in (admit?) their vulnerability and become sweet, or continue to be tsun2x.

I also believe that tsunderes have much potential for character development, seeing how they get to become dere2x and understand their feelings, as the story progresses.

But of course, to each his own :3

Second, even taking into account that the anime has been unfair to Ayano in portrayal, how in the world does being around her change his perspective on anything? I feel that this has always been a strange contrivance of anime/manga in general. Why the Japanese put so much value into tsundere-type girls I don’t really understand. How do these girls go about influencing/changing anybody is beyond me, especially someone as worldly as Kazuma.

Even though Tsuoi Rin also had her feisty moments, so also seemed quick to smile. And at least, she was accepting of Kazuma, and gave him a peaceful way to live his life after all the misery and dejection he suffered from his family. You can see how something like that might affect a person.

But Ayano? She doesn’t seem to have provided Kazuma with anything.

And yet we are to believe Ayano was the cause to his transformation … just plain weird.