I have learned recently of yet another subgenre of horror, Lovecraftian horror, which emphasizes the fear of the unknown (or the unknowable). I was reading about this at Wikipedia when I came across the article for mangaka Junji Ito, whose works are said to have Lovecraftian influences. One of his works intrigued me: a story of a town haunted by a pattern, the spiral. I looked it up and slowly I was drawn into the vortex that is Uzumaki.

In Uzumaki, we follow high school student Kirie Goshima as she witnesses the strange occurrences that befell upon the small town of Kurôzu-cho. First, her boyfriend’s dad develops a morbid fascination towards spirals, to the point of contorting his own body into that shape. Things soon become more and more bizarre: his wife mutilates her own cochlea, people turn into snails, and a typhoon falls in love with the protagonist. It’s as if life’s banality is slowly being stripped away, revealing a reality so sinister it defies all logic.

Uzumaki does not rely on traditional horror elements (demons, monsters, aliens and what-have-you’s) and although there are some body horror, the manga evokes fear through the unknown and the unexpected. After all, who would’ve thought that the simple spiral could bear a curse?

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I noticed the problem about 2 hours after publishing my Mio post (I would have entitled this as ‘Mio Killed Our Blog, So How About Some Yui?’, but decided to take the more informative approach). I reported the issue to the Animeblogger support staff. Maestro determined that the problem stemmed from long-term use of the FireStats plugin.

FireStats is a free web statistics system we’ve been using for the past 2 years. Just imagine all the accumulated data and we’ve never purged any of those records since. According to the support’s feedback, approximately 2 million rows worth of FireStats data riddled our blog database, taking about 400MB of space. Processing that much data really hurt performance, slowed down page loads, and eventually, it ate up all the server memory causing the blog to crash (and burn).

It would be wise for FireStat users to keep close tabs on its database and memory usage. In addition, I only recently learned that there is a built-in automatic compact feature. Activating it will cause FireStats to archive old data on user-defined intervals to lessen database bloating. I do not know if we could have prevented the problem if we used it, but it might spell the difference for other users.

As for alternatives, I would suggest non-integrated website analysis solutions to avoid taxing the server with additional workload, such as Google Analytics. This post lists a few other choices along with a brief description. If you guys have other recommendations, please do share.

I’d also like to take this time to thank Maestro and the AB support staff for quickly assessing and fixing the problem.

So, yeah, WE’RE BACK! I’ll post something some updates soon. And, Scrumptious turned 2 recently, same time we started to experience problems  

A big belated ‘Happy Birthday’ to us!

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It feels like years since I last posted about Library War, and I guess I owe the fans out there some good ol’ dose of more TS pimpin’ I know this will raise the eyebrows of the likes of blissmo, among other non-TS fans, but oh well~

You might be wondering why I haven’t posted any Toshokan Sensou deep frying posts in months. Well, there’s actually a pretty good reason behind this, and it goes beyond my usual alibi of being busy and not having enough time. I stopped reading the Toshokan Sensou novels, for a month or so now *hears gasps* It’s all because of the upcoming grueling JLPT1 exam, which I’ll be taking this coming December. Since this is less than 4 months away, I figured it’d be best to get my lazy arse off to actually study the required grammar patterns and kanji vocabs for the exam, because well, time waits for no one

Seeing Caitlin studying so hard for JLPT inspired me to do the same, to make the most out of the coming months. Perhaps once I finish up studying the grammar stuff (hopefully by the end of August), I’ll start reading Toshokan Sensou again, in the hopes of torturing myself with complex kanjis and vocabularies, in the second phase of my JLPT1 study plan. I’m gonna have to practice both reading and writing so I can learn the kanjis by heart So yeah, wish me luck, pray for me, or whatever.

Now that we’ve established the fact that I won’t be able to finish reading the Toshokan Sensou novels in yearsss, I guess it would just be appropriate to point you to the right (alternative?) direction if you want to find out more about the novels as early as NOW, especially the post-anime events that was no longer covered due to whatever constraints. More than a month ago, an active Japanese MAL-er by the name of dtshyk posted the summary of the last novel volume, with a semi-translation of it even, in the MAL Kanto Library Task Force forum. Whether you’re a Toshokan Sensou fan, enthusiast, or even a hater, I suggest you check it out and see how the real story ended, and what role Satoshi really had in the series.

I actually invited dtshyk to be a guest writer in our blog and babble about the anime-novel changes months ago, to spark up a discussion or two in this blog. He is the expert after all, unlike me, the semi-n00b weeaboo who needs help in churning out these posts for a novel as difficult as Toshokan Sensou. But since my request came too sudden (I just popped out of nowhere and got all excited the moment I found out he read the entire series lol), and I was quite insensitive not to have noticed how much he already had in his hands with being active in the MAL forums and clubs, it’s no surprise that my request was declined. So yeah, I’m afraid I’m continuing on my own from this point on, and will still be posting the deep fryings, but at a much slower rate. Hopefully, the mangas that will get released in the coming months will aid me in understanding the novel, and in writing my posts too ^-^

Speaking of the Toshokan Sensou manga, there’s this random LOL 2-page special published in the August issue of Dengeki Daioh (the magazine where it’s being serialized), featuring The Library Defenders of Justice and other randomness

Presenting, the Toshokan Sentai! Defenders of justice who fight against the forces of evil MBA!

First, we have Iku pimping the renewal of Dengeki Daioh as well as Toshokan Sensou: Spitfire! (the shounen version) volume 1, released last July. Doujou (in the 2nd panel) complains about the latter news being totally unrelated to the magazine renewal celebration And in the 3rd panel, voila! Iku’s vivid imagination of the Kanto Library Force as the Toshokan Sentai (Library Corps Squadron), with matching BGM too (hence Doujou’s complaint with the visual and audio imagery) XDD Iku is singing a sentai-esque theme song over there

Meet the sparkly ikemen bishies of the Library Corps, the T4!

Doujou and Iku gets into their usual lover’s quarrel heated bantering brought about by Iku’s false adverisement, then Shibasaki steps into their little fight and gives her very own imagery version of the Library Corps — Iku and the sparkling T4, a parody of Hana Yori Dango with Tsukushi Makino and the F4. ROFLMAO xDDD And, this random special ‘chapter’ ends with the MBA confiscating the copies of the ‘banned’ Spitfire! manga and Iku chasing after them

That’s all folks! Hope I can finally come up with a more prim and proper Toshokan Sensou post next time, probably once I get hold of volume 1 of the DVD, and volume 2 of the Love and War manga. This series sure is milking a LOT of money out of me

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Rewatching animes is usually indicative of a lackluster season, that time of the year which you could dedicate for catching up on backlogged shows. My decision to rewatch Here is Greenwood, however, was not brought about by this reason, which implies that I did this amidst the flourishing season of Spring (or is it summer already), and the tons of backlogged posts and animes I have orz. It seems that the upcoming JDrama adaptation of this OAV prompted me to do this, or rather, if you’d allow me to say this in a more romantic light, it rekindled my lingering [past] love for the show, which so inspired me act on my feelings.

True enough, as the saying goes, love is better the second time around, as I found myself falling in love with the show yet again, in this revisit to a childhood love. With senses magnified by the power of maturity and experience throughout the 8 years that passed since I first watched it, my vision was made clearer and more lucid, and the rewatch experience became a total EPIC Q_Q moment of epiphany.

Much of my tears were shed for the last two episodes of the OAV, which revolved around the relationship between Kazuya and the tsundere rebellious girl Miya Igarashi, their love-hate tsuntsun relationship, and how they eventually found true love — a hello to a second love’. Until the final moments of the show, I was hanging at the edge of my seat, cheering on Kazuya in is ever persistent chase of Igarashi who kept running away from him for fear of acknowledging the fact that she has fallen for him, as well as the consequences of this newfound love.

Kazuki and Miya’s love chase in the final episode reminded me so much of Kazuki and Eriko’s relationship in KimiKiss, but I’d have to say that the way Koko wa Greenwood portrayed it was all the more effective and powerful, not only because the characters were more endearing, but because of the depth we see in them. Having more episodes doesn’t translate to better development, as exemplified by this OAV, that despite having dedicated a mere two episodes for the romance of Kazuya and Miya, I found myself moved, in ways more than any Kazuki x Eriko episode of KimiKiss had (not simply because of my Asuka bias, mind you).

The last two episodes were enough to flesh out Miya’s character (in the same way Kazuya saw her) and to love her. Kazuya had a head-start of being introduced way back the first episode, that by the time I watched the last two episodes, his character already grew on me, and I found myself cheering for his new love the same way his dorm-mates were. As the series drew to a close, we see the long-awaited reunion of Kazuya and Miya, who finally found love, right where it’s supposed to be. The credits roll and the ending music plays, together with a montage of Kazuya- and Miya-filled flashbacks, dedicated to the lovely couple <3

How I wish I can show the full pic of this, but alas, editing this will be a pain with all the rain.

This OAV made me rethink the review and rating I gave Tokyo Marble Chocolate, which I praised to no end months back, as I’ve come to realize that I was simply in a deep-magical trance mode when I gave it a full mark of 10. Objectively speaking, without the magical donkey and the great sounds and visuals, TMC won’t be anything special. While I managed to empathize with Chizuru and Yuudai, their love didn’t strike me as much as Kazuya and Miya’s of Here is Greenwood. Kazuya and Miya’s relationship was portrayed, if I dare say, realistic, if only for the fact that the characters need not rely on a magical donkey in order for their tale of love to have a happy ending. The characters themselves decided their fate, with the support of their friends, and there’s a whole lot of depth explored in the characters and their love compared to TMC, which was so effectively done without having the need to rely on a dual POV technique either.

While much of the praises I’ve said about Here is Greenwood is regarding its last two episodes, this doesn’t mean that the other episodes was any less subpar. Being a slice-of-life romance comedy anime, Here is Greenwood offered more than just mushy romance sappiness, but pure entertainment. Throughout the OAV, we get to know the 4 main guys of the show (and other side characters), their quirks, eccentricities, and unique personalities, each with its own depth. The guys were such endearing bishie characters, and they grew on me despite the brevity of the anime, leaving me craving for more.

Bid [a temporal] goodbye to moe fanservice, special effects, or other superficial elements, when you watch this OAV. Here is Greenwood doesn’t have them, nor does it need ‘em to gain the love of people. What we have here is a simple and sweet tale of romance and friendship, with a bunch of endearing characters which grows on you in a span of two++ episodes, enough to leave you with a deep impression despite its brevity and simplicity. Yet another great old school animu I can rewatch to no end and still become enjoyable as ever~!

Now to make my Here is Greenwood experience complete, I shall read the manga and patiently wait for the upcoming live-adaptation, in hopes that the characters will be portrayed as endearing characters as well.

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If you’re wondering why it’s taking me soo damn long to finish my deep frying for episode 3, it’s because of the usual reason of juggling with work, slowww-paced novel reading, bumming, etc. I also blame the anime for omitting a whole STORY CHUNK, with LOTS of censorship-related meaty stuff too. Here’s a quick preview of what to expect in that next deep-frying installment:

• Details regarding the case the police were investigating on in episode 3, about a series of murders committed by a high school kid, suspected to have been influenced by horror books, deemed to be unfit for high school kids, yet something he was able to borrow in the Library.
• Iku in a pinch after getting caught off guard by the press who bombards her with questions about the murder case, and all that. Then Doujou comes to the rescue!!
• The Tezuka x Iku looonggg convo in the cafe, where she supposedly rejected him. This happened wayy before the serious mission too.
• Violent protest of two [rebel] kids against the plans of the School Administrative Board to ban more books deemed to be unfit for kids (they did some fireworks prank). Issues about censorship and how it completely disregards the sentiments of these children who simply want to enjoy reading, were also discussed.
• Genda’s principles on the right way of fighting, how to properly exercise one’s freedom of speech and win in a fight without resorting to violence, which includes using wits, gathering as many people on your side (making questionnaires and surveys work for your benefit), etc.
• Moar discussions regarding the book banning in this presscon attended by School Admin people and Librarians, and the two kids who voiced out their sentiment regarding the book censorship decision of their school.
• Iku’s heroic(?) deed in this event, which was featured in the Library Magazine (the article which Iku’s dad read in episode 5)
• The Inamine kidnapping incident, which I still haven’t read orz.

And here are some random awesome “quotes” I found, and felt like translating: “What do these censors expect children to learn by dictating for them which books have [and do not have] value?” “Why can’t adults allow children to read books simply because they find it amusing? Don’t adults read for that purpose as well?”

I seem to be easily amused by these bookish stuff in the novel, so it’s total WIN for me

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The silver knight Hyuuga joins Angelique’s harem of bishies in episode 3, and their first meeting was *ahem* rather exciting.

OMGZ…

Oh my…

…H-he…

…has trousers orz.

As you can see above, it turned out rather anticlimactic, as the director decides to change his/her mind about showing Hyuuga in a revealing light. We first see him almost nekkid while taking a bath, then he magically grows some trousers when he went out of the water!

Episode 3 basically fleshed out Rayne’s character, revealing bits and pieces about his past Inventor persona and his connection with this Artifact Institution, which is currently brewing this evil plan to take over the world and take advantage of Ange’s powers! oh noes!

With Angelique’s harem of bishies complete, she was met with yet another challenge — unifying her diverse set of haremettes, and fulfill her newfound role as their Harem Otomeistress!

So Ange cooks up this plan to iron out the kinks of the bishie team, and she makes this huge mistake of sneaking out of the Hidamari mansion by herself. Since the Artifact Institution has set their eyes on Ange after having known about her powers, the android spy they sent to abduct Ange catches her off guard, while she was picking up flowers by the garden~ Ange escapes, but alas, a Thanatos creature suddenly appears! Obviously, with Ange’s lame white magic purification skillz, she couldn’t do anything without her guardians orz.

The guardians came to her aid just in the nick of time, but they were left drained of their energies as they fought against the android Jet as well. With her comrades left in despair, Ange’s desire to fight alongside them grows stronger than ever, and despite the fear in her heart, she gains the courage to believe in herself and her harem! Ange casts some recovery + power boost + intelligence++ spell, and they finally learn to know the virtue of teamwork. Jet proved to be of no match against the powered-up bishies and retreats.

After the battle, J.D. recalls the previous encounter with Jet, who is…

Show ▼

The journalist Bernard who went alongside of them throughout this battle became a personal witness to Ange’s powers and offers to write an article featuring Ange, so the whole Arcadia will know of this soon-to-be goddess.

As the episode draws to a close, we see Ange and her guardians, working hand-in-hand (finally!) to make their dinner dessert~

Thoughts

Ok, so the battle scene with Jet was really silly… I mean, I know they lack unity and all, but for them to attack ONE AT A TIME like some turn-based RPG game, where one character attacks while the other ones await for their turn, is just *facepalm* But then again this made the teamwork in their second round of battle more evident, so perhaps it was made to be lame on purpose? lol.

I shall return!

Also, what’s with Jet and his obligatory speech before he took his leave? I mean, he even faced the “camera” just for this ROFL.

Nonetheless, despite all that silliness, Angelique continues to be an enjoyable watch. I was especially moved by episode 4, seeing Ange’s genuine desire to help out her comrades despite knowing how lacking her powers are. While I wish Ange was equipped with some weapon or offensive spells which could’ve made her a more KICKASS heroine, I’m pretty contented with the way things are now. Ange has her own definition of strength, evident in her determination and steadfast focus on her goal of wanting to save the lives of people, as far-fetched as that might sound at the moment (the next episode discusses more about this). This show actually gains hashihime’s seal of approval, who also believes that this is the best Angelique series to date. So there, give this series a try, at the very least, I believe any open-minded fan will be able to find this an enjoyable ride

I thought it was also nifty that they included the cooking antics of the game, which I found to be one of its unique and fun aspects. In the game, aside from boosting the romance stats / compatibility with the Guardians (through these dates you have with your chosen partner after every mission, and some personal visit to the guy’s room ^^;; ), you also have to increase this so-called 幸福度 (happiness factor), through events and these conversations you have during dinner time. You choose a dessert (there’s a dessert which a certain guy will especially like *hint hint*) before dinner, then you facilitate the flow of conversation during meal time. You control who it is you want to talk to, or * ahem * flirt with during dinner (you have this *wink* or *smile* option) Anyways, enough of that ^^;;;;;

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No wonder I thought my deep frying for episode 1 turned out too short, I forgot to mention some more stuff regarding the Doujou x Iku lobby scene! >_< It’s not all that much but it would’ve made the scene more dramatic =D

The Lobby Scene: Iku’s Monologue

Going back to the lobby scene, there should’ve been this Iku monologue which showed us how she came to terms with what Komaki and Doujou was trying to tell her before, Komaki with his thought-provoking question, “Are track-and-field and P.T. similar?” (which Iku obviously didn’t get), and Doujou’s scolding, “If you’re always going to think of this [lightly] like some sports, then you better quit!”

Unlike in the track and field (or any sports for that matter), where you can just slack off after you reach the finish line, you cannot let your guard down at all times in the battlefield. The moment Iku realized this, she felt so pathetic for having misinterpreted Doujou’s intentions when he scolded her for slacking off (first part of episode 1). She was so full of herself for finishing first in that training, when in fact that doesn’t mean anything at all. The admirable ones are those who persisted on despite having reached the finish line, because they knew well that the point of this training is not to win. In an actual battlefield, making your opponent stumble and fall does not translate to victory, because this will even cause them to rise up and fight back. Now if you don’t anticipate that comeback and proclaim victory early on, like what Iku did, the result will be disastrous, far worse than what happened in the scene with the chubby stabby otaku, if ever. (Then the pat from Doujou came after this thought monologue :3)

And onto episode 2~

The Tezuka Files

Tezuka’s appearance was cut-short in the anime, again, due to time constraints. Having read these omitted parts of the novel beforehand, I found the Tezuka confession at the end of episode 2 to be really abrupt. But I guess I was just jaded by having this point of comparison, considering that Kabitzin actually thought it was all good~ Nonetheless, here goes all those missing cut scenes, and well, you be the judge

#1 The First Close Encounter

When Iku and Tezuka were summoned to the Director’s office for their official appointment as members of the Library Task Force, Iku actually took the initiative to befriend Tezuka, before they proceeded inside the room. She started this conversation, confiding about her relief after finding out that she’s not the only one recruited in the task force. Had Iku stopped what she said right here, I think Tezuka would’ve just ignored her, but no, Iku went as far as saying, “…it’s unbelievable that we were chosen to become part of the Task Force. (in a really innocent & friendly tone)” orz. Given Tezuka’s prejudice against Iku even before this (details later), he found this an insult more than anything, and thus corrected Iku by saying it’s only unbelievable for someone like her. *insert Iku’s tsuntsun reaction here*

#2 The First Scolding From Doujou

This is just a minor scene, but I thought I’d mention it nonetheless, just because I can :p

After Doujou scolds Tezuka for insulting Iku (“I can’t believe someone who doesn’t know [about the Hino incident] can be in the task force”), Tezuka supposedly reacted rather normally (aka tightfisted + grumbling kind of reaction). He also waited a bit until the coast was clear, then glares at Iku and tells her not to get so cheeky because of this. Iku was just left dumbfounded because she never even thought that Doujou defended her.

Additional note: Doujou made this remark to somewhat cover up the fact that he was scolding Tezuka in defense of Iku, which sadly, I couldn’t quite understand =.=; What I know is that after that, Iku breathe a huge sigh of relief because the thought of Doujou defending her was already giving her the creeps (though of course Iku was just being tsuntsun about this since her heart skipped a beat when Doujou defended her)

#3 Inside the Mind of a Tezuka Hikaru

This is what I’d say the “chunk” of the Tezuka omissions in this episode, which could’ve made us see more of the roots of his prejudice against Iku… but then again it’s nothing plot critical, so it’s probably why they decided not to include this… :’(

Genius Tezuka thought that would be the only one to be recruited in the Task Force that year, much to his surprise when Genda told him that there’s another candidate, a girl at that. With this, he observed Iku for a little while — during class, the judo sparring (yes he witnessed the Iku x Doujou EPIC fight), among others — interested to see what kind of girl she was. And well, he was sorely disappointed to see that Iku is the type of person he hates the most — an incompetent all-brawl and no brain kind of person who lets their emotions get the better of them. Not to mention Iku always gets into petty fight with Doujou, whom he looks up to as the perfect superior. With this, it was as if Iku was also ruining this cool image Tezuka had of Doujou ^^;;;

Given this, the moment Tezuka met Iku face-to-face (as mentioned in #1), what was running through his mind was “Don’t put me down in the same level as you are.”

#4 Tezuka x Genda confrontation

The night after the first day of training, Genda asked Tezuka what his opinion of Iku was, and he simply replied “Nothing special… I’m not interested in her anyway.” Genda just laughs at Tezuka’s remark, knowing well that he’s soooo interested in finding out why she was lumped together with him in the task force. Tezuka recalls what Doujou told him earlier, and just tells Genda that he doesn’t have the right to question this decision anyways. Genda adds that he shouldn’t be comparing people with his level of excellence, considering that there would only be a handful of people who can actually be at par with him. Tezuka reasons out that he’s not really excellent or anything like that, he just works hard and that’s that, and Genda just tells him to at least try becoming more friendly with her ^^;;;

#5 Whatever happened to Tezuka after the bear attack?

This was just implied in the anime, that after the bear attack Tezuka reacted the normal way — he screamed and cowered in fear LOL.

The Iku x Doujou antics

(and some happenings behind the scenes)

The Bear Attack Precaution

If you’d recall timeline 7:29 of episode 2, Doujou drops a little hint of concern for Iku, who was fretting over the possible bear attack during their hike. In the novel, this supposedly happened during a private Iku x Doujou moment, where both of them were taking a rest from their long hike. Doujou consoles Iku that there hasn’t been any bear sightings during their hike so there should be nothing for her to worry about, and Iku thanks him for this =3 AND, Doujou supposedly SMILESS during this scene!

And here are more additional scenes from the shoujo manga:

Aftermath of Tezuka’s Scolding

While it was said in the anime that Doujou called up Shibasaki to accompany Iku after the harsh scolding from Tezuka, it wasn’t really portrayed as sweet as it was supposed to be in the manga. And I just thought I had to include these bits for the fangurls out there~ X3

First of all, Iku didn’t cry until after Shibasaki came to fetch her (after Doujou told her about the situation Iku was in), so the tears she shed was that of joy because she came to comfort her. Shibasaki tells her that she should be thankful to Doujou instead, and she did (as far as the manga is concerned)~ She thought of how Doujou helped her, yet again. <3

In the novel, the topic quickly shifted to Tezuka so we don’t get to see Doujou in Iku’s thoughts ^^;;

Iku supposedly thanked Doujou for this, and in the manga, it was shown that he pats on the head and encourages her to do her best =D

Tezuka x Doujou and Tezuka x Komaki Confrontation

In timeline ~14:35 of the anime, we see Doujou telling Tezuka to recognize Iku’s efforts, but instead of saying “I’m sure there’s something you can gain from her” (which was supposedly from Komaki), Doujou told him “…thinking logically is right, but using logic as a means of leverage is not.” Tezuka somewhat took these words to heart, and he refused to talk to Doujou after that.

The following day, Tezuka seems to have calmed down a bit and asked Komaki for some counseling regarding his issue with Iku, knowing well that Komaki is the very person who uses logic at its finest. Tezuka started by asking whether it’s must for him to accept (or come to terms with) Iku, and talented logician Komaki managed to provide an insightful multi-faceted disquisition over that vague question Tezuka gave.

Among the words Komaki imparted to Tezuka include:
“You can still work with someone you hate”
“You can’t expect to work with people you like all the time”
“Even if you don’t like the person, you can still acknowledge his/her abilities”

Komaki explains that they didn’t evaluate Iku based on her abilities, because obviously, she really lacks it. What makes her so interesting is this zeal and passion she has, which gets her all FIRED UP most of the time. According to Komaki, Iku and Doujou are two peas in a pod with regards to this aspect — a fact that Tezuka will have a really hard time coming to terms to, considering how he looks up to Doujou as the perfect (and ever-cool) superior.

This got Tezuka wondering if the reason why Doujou defends Iku so much is because he finds her similar to him, and Komaki tells him that he’s misinterpreting Doujou’s actions. When Doujou scolds Tezuka about something, it’s not because of his bias for Iku, but rather because he thinks it’s necessary for Tezuka’s betterment.

It was after this that Komaki mentions that he thinks Tezuka can gain something from Iku, which he believes will make things even more interesting than it is now~ (and I really think this conversation with Komaki is what Tezuka decide to ask Iku out, to settle this once and for all! XD)

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As you probably know by now, I bought the actual copies of the Library War novels months before the anime started airing and gawd are they thick and such a pain in the ass to read! That was way back January, almost at the same time I made this short random blurb on the upcoming Spring shows, and well, I only got my copy of the last two volumes just this week. Surprising huh.

The entire 4-volume Toshokan Sensou novel set was still available in Amazon JP then, but with my ever-hatred for Amazon JP as far as international shipping goes, I ordered my copy from HMV, an online shop I’d heartily recommend to everyone for its fast, reliable, and really affordable shipping offer. At about 300-450 yen shipping fee per item (sold at their original suggested retail price btw), you’ll get your package 3 days after it’s been shipped through EMS!

But I digress. Despite having ordered all four of the Toshokan Sensou novels from HMV, sadly, they had difficulty obtaining copies of the last two volumes, so I was left with no choice but to settle for yesasia, my last resort when it comes to buying stuff >_< Oh but don’t get me wrong, yesasia is a pretty competent online shop for one’s otaku needs as well, but you have to be willing to wait for months if you choose to avail of their free shipping (which is what I chose considering the expensive prices of their stuff). So the end result, I got my package three months after I ordered it. I even thought my package got lost and asked for a reshipment, and it just miraculously gets delivered weeks after I filed my complaint =.=;

And just last April, a supplementary Toshokan Sensou novel was released (the raburabu-looking novel there in the pic), which is supposedly filled with lots of sweet Iku x Doujou stuff, or so they say Of course I immediately placed it in my shopping cart, together with the first volume of the manga which was also released that time. So yeah, I have all these novels I plan to read, hopefully side-by-side the anime (damn the anime and its lightning speed!) Wish me luck in my deep-frying escapade(s) for this! Oh and the 2nd installment to my Toshokan Sensou deep frying should be out by tomorrow, unless I procrastinate even more >_<

P.S. It seems that the demand for the Toshokan Sensou novels escalated after the anime aired, that it’s now sold out in Amazon JP and yesasia! w00t! :O

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Having started serialization in the monthly manga phonebook Dragon Jr since April, Kaze no Stigma has finally been published in its tankoubon form! So, fans, rejoice! It’s in Japanese, I know… but I don’t think that should stop you from buying this. After all, the eye candies in the manga speaks louder than words

Interested parties can go buy them from amazon or yesasia :3 (I’ve already ordered it, but I’ll still have to wait for some time before I get my hands on it >_<)

buy Kaze no Stigma volume 1 from yesasia

The Kaze no Stigma extra chapter

In light of the tankoubon release, the manga showed an extra chapter instead of proceeding to the climactic part of the Misao arc (where Ayano made this resolve of going against Kazuma). They made a little spoof with the first few pages of the manga, where they make the audience see the “upcoming attraction” in the next chapter, but cuts the scene with a message from a neko (aka Nekomiya, the manga author) saying “In lieu of working for the tankoubon release, please allow me to take a break from [continuing] the main arc of the series -nekomiya” (lol)

And that’s just the mini introduction to this extra manga-original story they featured :3

Soushu once again gives this assignment to [matchmake] Ayano and Kazuma, where they are to stay in the place for three days and two nights (to spend the hot summer there… too bad we don’t get to see everything that happened within these days anymore :3) Ayano goes to Kazuma’s hotel and drag him to the job (naughty Soushu… he actually gave the key to Kazuma’s room to her *ahem* :p), and we see this scene similar to how Tsuoi Rin was waking up Kazuma in that flashback in the anime. Ayano gives up on waking up Kazuma and was about to leave, when…

Kazuma decides to become pervert despite being half asleep, and checks up on what swim wear Ayano has :p Ayano blushes furiously at what ecchi Kazuma did, but he reasons out that it’s something she’s going to be showing later on anyways, then pats her on the head. Ayano easily forgives Kazuma, until… he goes to another level and drags Ayano to sleeping with him instead. Just as Kazuma expected, Ayano gives him a jab, making him chuckle that he got to tease Ayano so early in the morning :p (but then goes back to sleep ^^;;; )

Ayano leaves and was about to go on the job alone, but was even more pissed to encounter many nanpas hitting on her (she gives them a good hitting instead). She vents out all her anger on Kazuma(‘s bed), as she finally uses drastic measures to wake him up. There seems to be some alien lifeform in the bucket Ayano was carrying (her “weapon”), but wasn’t able to notice it one bit. He gets an insult from Kazuma because of that, remarking how useless her “youma antenna” is (that little upright hair Ayano has :p)

They proceed with the job, with Ayano doing all the work while Kazuma stays in the background as if nothing’s happening. The youma turns out to be a pervert and strips Ayano’s clothes to reveal her bikini, which in turn led to its own downfall. With the rough day she had with nanpas going after her, Kazuma’s blow of insults together with the loss of her blouse and the skirt of her bikini all the more made her feel worse. It turned out to be such a bad day for Ayano and Kazuma surprisingly becomes sweet and does something to make her feel better. He buys some fireworks from some nearby store, and Ayano was touched (she’s easy to please :3)

Ayano’s fire comes in handy as she lights up the fireworks with it, and invites Kazuma to take a look “Look, Kazumaa~! Isn’t it beautiful?!” Kazuma can’t help but smile as he sees Ayano so happy. However, this sweet moment didn’t last long because Kazuma ruins the mood. He teasingly asks if this is “pay per view” then reminds her not to get all agitated or she’ll end up making a human campfire. Ayano gets pissed and hollers that it’s actually Kazuma who “fanned the flame” and made her angry ^^:;;

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The surgery operation on the patients finally commence, but most of the doctors lose their spirit and become filled with pessimism that they can’t possibly perform such a dangerous task. This is just one of the problems Shuurei has to face at the moment, with the other problem being the Jasenkyou whom she will be meeting in a few days time. With Eigetsu still captured, will Shuurei still make it in time and still meet him? Or will there be another person who will come to Eigetsu’s aid and free him from the current state he’s in?

(This summary is going to be a really short one this time, because not much has really happened and I also have to clear myself of backlogs )

Summary

The doctors proceed with the actual operation and You-sensei performs the surgery first to guide the apprentices. They become disheartened at the sight of this, and even thought about giving up on the surgery without even trying. But nonetheless, their eyes were awakened to the plight of the people who need their help, and finally realize that no one else can save them but doctors like them.

The operation went well and many lives have been saved, but half of the patients weren’t able to survive the disease. Shuurei becomes saddened at the thought that they weren’t able to save all the people, but Ensei tells her that it’s something beyond their control. Having saved this number of people is already a miracle in itself, and Shuurei delights in that thought. You-sensei reminds her that they still have the Jasenkyou left to be taken care of, whom Shuurei will be meeting the following day. Ensei has this lingering feeling that this has something to do with Sakujun, and swears that he’ll make sure and send him to the other world if they meet again.

Shuurei sets forth on her journey as Hei Taishi arrives, bringing with him a new set of surgery apparatus made from chrome ore which is said to be the best alloy. Shuuran insists on tagging along with her together with Riou, knowing that they’ll prove to be of help in guiding them around the village. In Korinjou, Seiran finishes the necessary arrangements for the revival of Sekie village and will now be catching up with both Shuurei and Ensei.

Eigetsu still remains captive of the Jasenkyou and finds ‘Senya’ to be a child who has taken possession of Doushu’s body for a prank. The reason why he held Eigetsu captive is because of Yougetsu and the power that he possess (who according to Eigetsu is someone of the same abilities as this ‘Senya’). Part of his plan is also to lure Shuurei into their place, hence he took the name ‘Senya’. It seems that someone else is behind this however, as ‘Senya’ doesn’t seem to understand the meaning behind all this either (the information is disclosed from him as well).

Senya exclaims his surprise as he finds out what the ‘outside world’ is, since the men in his clan are considered to be inferior because of their inability to give birth. No one else but the Hyou clan comes into Eigetsu’s mind who fits this description given by “Senya’ – a clan where almost all the heads are women and that of which who possess special abilities. ‘Senya’ warns him not to think about escaping or he’ll certainly regret it.

In the palace, Ryuuki’s anticipated visitor arrives, in the person of Riou…

Thoughts

And so the surgery has finally commenced, and we’ve been able to see how this kind of operation is done in the olden days – like using ‘sake’ as the anesthesia for the patients >< (boy that’ll still hurt… =__=)

The surprising revelation in this episode is regarding the identity of ‘Senya’ who apparently possessed Doushu’s body (which finally explains the striking similarity in their looks). We still don’t know the real identity of this guy, but what we do know is that he’s someone from the Hyou clan, who treats women as superior to men (add that to yet another unique and interesting facet of this already unique clan).

With the mention of the Hyou clan, I can’t help but think that Riou must have something to do with this… could it be that he’s the ‘boss’ of Senya? That he’s the one behind all this, all for the sake of capturing Shuurei? (as what Impz has also mentioned before) But with regards to the inferiority of men in the Hyou clan, it wasn’t evident because we haven’t met much men from this clan. I can’t quite remember any other men but Riou, who’s been the clan head for quite some time now. I believe he’s a ‘special case’, for a man like him to be put in such a position…

I can’t help but feel some rush of excitement with Ryuuki and Riou’s meeting… I wonder if he has any clues with regards to what he plans to do to Shuurei. We’ll just see that in the next episode. But given the situation, I believe this is going to turn out to be one diplomatic encounter…

I already took a peek in the novel so I already saw Eigetsu and Kourin’s reunion… and I sooo want to watch it already!! :p

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