Episode reviews for the second season Options

[Dr. Casey]

I'm going to order MKR Season 2 for my birthday coming up, so I'll give my thoughts on the episodes after watching them like I did with the first season.

[Dr. Casey]

Season 2 has been procured. I'll watch the first episode soon.

[Dr. Casey]

Alright, I just watched the first episode. I'll use a pretty simple rating system this time around.

Great - Episodes I completely love
Good - Episode which kick a good amount of ass
Decent - Episodes that don't really do much for me, but they're not bad
Bad - Episodes which are so boring that they actually put me into a bad mood. Hopefully none fall into this category; episode 14 from the first season did. XD

Alright, so... onto my random comments.

Episode 21: A Departure and New Ties

This is the first new Magic Knight Rayearth episode I've seen in nearly two years. I got the original series following the crappy first week of Sophomore Year; I got this series under far better circumstances, seeing as how now I'm out of school for good and enjoying the adult life. I liked the intro; you can tell from the very beginning that this season is going to be quite different, and Hikaru kissing Nova was... interesting. I love Hikaru's older brothers. XD The eldest brother has a very pleasant voice (I've become a subbie in the last year, but I'm watching the dub for this one). Shame he's probably never going to show up again. CLAMP balanced out Hikaru's character rather nicely; she seems depressed, but they didn't overdo it... she's still Hikaru-y enough to try to put on a smile when others are around. Same with Umi; I liked seeing all three of them interacting with their family members, actually. Interestingly enough, Fuu is the only one who doesn't show any obvious signs of being sad. Her sister obviously caught onto something, but I didn't.

Have Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu seen each other since the end of the first season? I noticed that they jumped straight to the heart of the matter rather than bother with the re-introductions. This either means they see each other regularly or didn't feel like going through the formalities... which would make me respect them a bit more, seeing as how I don't like formalities myself. It's a good thing that fish thing of Clef's caught them, since it would suck to be summoned to Cephiro just to fall to your death. >_> I like the whole somewhat weird atmosphere the episode had (or at least, that's what I read into it), where you think something is over (in this case, their days in Cephiro) and then before you know it... you're back where you were with the same familiar faces. And even though it feels weird, it also feels right because you had never really moved on. You hadn't really been living in the meantime, you'd just been in a haze. Yeah, hard to explain. Anyway.

The devastation of Cephiro didn't have quite the effect it rightfully should have, since my memory of the classic Cephiro has waned in the last couple of years, but I can still recognize it as a very well-done element. I liked the reunion with Mokona (the three looked really happy to see again, Hikaru especially). The restraint the three girls used in dealing with Clef was admirable. They didn't put the blame on him at all; I know that I wouldn't be that selfless. I'd be silent at the very least, uppercutting Clef at the very most. Anyway, I don't really have any comments on anything past this. The episode was nearly over by this point, and it was just some catching up on Cephiro's state along with some ships from enemy countries approaching.

Bah, this took so long to write that my DVD shut off. =( Oh well. I'm going to go watch episode 22 now.

Rating for Episode 21: Good

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: I liked this episode, but there's nothing at all that I'd really term "badass".

[Dr. Casey]

Episode 22: Cephiro and the Three Countries

I liked the Magic Knights' reasons for wanting to defend Cephiro. The first season's "inspiring" dialogue often came off as sappy, overemotional tripe, but so far the second season has seemed to be more well-written and meaningful. Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu's uselessness in the war (according to Clef) is a nice contrast of the first season, in which the complete opposite held true. I disagree with him, though. I think they would have a role to play; they would be great morale boosters for those defending Cephiro. Whether their task has been carried out or not, they still mean a great deal to the people living there. Also, in the first few minutes I noticed the avatar Hikaru-sensei used when I first got here. ^^ The three girls' babbling was funny. They came off as complete ditzes.

The return of Presea was surprising. I wouldn't say it cheapened her death because I didn't care about her that much in the first place... she had only been around for five episodes. This is just an opportunity to further utilize an underused character. I just hope this doesn't mean the writers won't be willing to make any sacrifices this season because there won't be any more extreme miracles performed, as in Princess Emeraude's mass revivals. In the scene with the Mashins, the Magic Knights seemed to be more like equals with them than they did at even the end of the first season. I mean, yeah, you can't really be equals with godlike figures, but it seemed to be on less of a higher power/mere human level. Or something. I'm getting sleepy.

Not much to comment on from here on out, but it is nice to see the girls in action again. This felt like a short episode and didn't really have much in the way of plot development or content (okay, so there was some major stuff like the brief introduction of the three countries, but nothing too fascinating; I mean, nothing was actually learned about them aside from the names). It wasn't bad; it displayed a good degree of competency and quality and was entertaining enough, it was just more of a transitional episode than anything else.

Rating for episode 22: Decent

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: Nothing stands out too much, as was the case with the last episode, but I thought Hikaru's line, "I am Hikaru Shidou!" was rather cool in both the line itself and the art.

I'll be back with more reviews tomorrow.

[Shiidou Hikaru]

Ooooh, you've started doing the episode reviews again Casey-sensei! Awesome! I can remember back two years ago when you were doing them for the first season of MKR. It's really a great idea to have such good information about the series and I wish that I'd done it when I'd seen the anime the first time around.

Pretty much everything you've said about the first two episodes I really agree with strongly, especially two of the themes that you've picked up on already. The first one about the three of them all being in a "haze" after the conclusion of the first season is absolutely correct. It's very close to the feeling of having been through a loss or trauma so shocking that there hasn't been enough time yet to have a distinct emotional response develop. Unfortunately I have experienced this myself and for a while I did go about in a haze, literally not knowing how I should be feeling. The second theme that you saw was the Magic Knights' feelings of uselessness, that in their previous mission to Cephiro they were nothing more than pawns in the plan known as the Legend of the Magic Knights. After quickly realizing this, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu become more determined to make a difference this time around, for the good of Cephiro, but more importantly, for the good of themselves. I'm not sure if you want comments to be posted in amongst your reviews Casey-sensei, so I posted them here instead. If it is okay, I can move this over there.

EDIT: Wow, I was able to extract this post from the old topic and append it to this one with a single command ... I'm impressed with myself. X3

[Dr. Casey]

Man. I'm glad you're enthusiastic, Hikaru-sensei, and the comments are more interesting than the reviews themselves were. =P

Anyway, I'll try to start cranking these out more consistently. I've just been busy the last couple of weeks.

Episode 23: Autozam's Invasion and Lantis

This episode starts off with a little fight against Eagle (I think so, anyway; they haven't actually referred to him by name yet). For some reason I enjoyed it quite a bit even though the fight itself is only decent; it dawned on me a moment later that it was just because it was nice to see Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu back in action again. While fighting isn't really one of the main aspects of this series, the teamwork between the three girls is. I'm not at all partial to Eagle yet, but I suppose an appreciation will come with later episodes.

The Magic Knights then meet back up with Ferio, and this is where the episode really gets good. Those regal clothes look great on him, much better than the rogue look he had in the first season. I'd forgotten that the three Magic Knights never actually found out that Ferio was Emeraude's brother... little details like that kind of slip away after two years. =/ And I really don't have any idea why Hikaru screamed after Ferio patted her head. O_o; This whole scene made me think of my first exposure to MKR, back when I played the SNES RPG in 8th grade.

After that, Caldina and Lafarga both make their return. I really forgot about Caldina being dressed this much like a whore. XD And it was nice to see Lafarga again; his attacks in the RPG which always did 3000-4000 damage ensured him a permanent place in my heart. Anyway, then it's time for another reunion, this time with Ascot. Um... yay, I guess. I'd be happy if I hadn't already forgotten pretty much all of his personality traits. It was pretty smooth the way he placed his hand over Caldina's mouth for 30 seconds or so, though. That wasn't even remotely suspicious or anything.

I took an immediate liking to Lantis much like I did so with his older brother. It's probably just the badass jet-black hair, but I really like the character design for both of them. As for Primera... eh, she reminded me of Sumomo from Chobits. >_> Who knows, maybe she'll grow on me. Interestingly enough, the Magic Knights had already encountered fairies before going by the SNES game's continuity, but that was just filler to make the game longer. Or maybe that really wasn't interesting at all. Whatever.

Overall, I liked this episode. It was nice to see Hikaru, Umi, Fuu, Ferio, Lafarga, Caldina, and Ascot all in one room; oftentimes the essence of a show is most strongly felt when many of its characters are involved at once. I like the way the second season is moving at a slow pace as opposed to the original's brisk pacing. Hard to explain why, really. I'm not really sure myself. But yeah, damn fine episode.

Rating for Episode 23: Good

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: ... um... >_>

[Dr. Casey]

Episode 24: Magic Knights and the Battleship MSX

This episode got off to a good start with the scene between Clef and Umi. I noticed from the get-go that Umi's demeanor was sweeter and more gentle than it usually is, and the reasoning for that became apparent soon enough. It's interesting that Umi said she was only halfway paying attention to what Clef said when she first came to Cephiro... very realistic flaw, and one that makes me want to see the first episode again now that I know more about what her perspective was like. It always fascinates me whenever deeper layers are added to something as volatile and innocent as the beginning of the first episode was.

The Fuu/Ferio scene was nice, although I don't have much in the way of specific commentary. That makes two episodes in a row where Fuu cries, though. You should probably back off for now, Ferio. >_> I really enjoyed the long scene with Hikaru and Lantis. His character design isn't the only good thing about him; he also has a very cool dub voice and a very interesting personality. Dark, serious, and always says something worth listening to. He's now probably my favorite character aside from Hikaru. I totally didn't remember who that kid was until the flashback from episode four was played, though.

I enjoyed Clef's brief talk with Lantis. Clef is pretty damn awesome when he gets into his all-business mode. Hikaru's line, "Yes, talk! I don't want to fight without knowing what I'm fighting for!" was a very telling one, and I have to respect her for feeling that way and learning from their last adventure. I was pretty surprised to see Alcyione again, and I'm glad that she showed Umi who's boss because youth-oriented culture annoys me. Umi's cocky statement, "Like that middle-aged woman can do anything with a Rune God!" shows that her role as a Magic Knight is becoming second nature rather than a weird fantasy thing, a stigma which had largely worn off by the end of the first season but not entirely.

Also, I forgot to mention this in the last episode... I really like the ending song. It reminds me of something, though... several things, actually; I think they're from the 2003/2004 area... I hate it when a song brings me back and I don't know what I'm being brought back to. XD

Rating for Episode 24: Great

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: The transformation sequence of the three girls. Badass and not drawn out. Sailor Moon could stand to follow its lead.

Anyway, that's it for Disk 1: Wake. This is a nice show with a better (and more carefully defined) atmosphere than the original. More reviews to come at a later date.

[Dr. Casey]

I was planning on doing three episodes tonight, but circumstances only allow me to do one.

Episode 25: Hikaru and Nova in the Dream (That strikes me as a silly name for some reason)

Um... I don't really have much to say because nothing really happened in this episode. :) At the very least this episode got me a liking for the Autozam Trio (Eagle, Zasu, and whatever his father's called... didn't catch the name the one time it was mentioned). Zasu's a lively kid and I'm interested as to how he'll react when he meets Hikaru. I couldn't help but notice the contrast in reasoning behind father and son's appreciation for Eagle... one was based on something deep, the other on something shallow (Zasu's feelings translated: omg eagle you're so kewl bcuz you fly a big ship lol). I'm not really sure where I'm going with that, but... um... yeah, I thought it was neat. The father's loyalty to Eagle is admirable, although I wonder if his "I'm so loyal that I won't ask questions" attitude will have any dark consequences in the future. Speaking of dark, I noticed in this episode that it's been dark the whole time in Cephiro. Yeah, I'm slow. I do like this change in style, though... I think it might be a while before the Knights see a blue sky again. The girl who showed up at the end of the episode looks like a really appealing one. I like the energetic, vivacious type. And that brings us to the end of the episode. 'Til next time.

Rating for Episode 25: Decent

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: Lantis and Clef, two badass guys, having a badass conversation about Lantis's badass well-roundedness in swordsmanship and sorcery as well as his badass departure from Cephiro.

[Dr. Casey]

This one is... um... a little late, but I plan to crank these out more consistently from now on. Hope you haven't given up on this topic yet, Hikaru-san. XD

Episode 26: The Magic Knights and Aska of Fahren

Um... nothing really happened in this one, either. Aska's a likeable character, though, just as I predicted, and she's going to be hot when she gets older. Her dub voice grated on me at times, though. This ends the Mashin battle which has been going on since episode 24, and I'm glad since it was starting to bore me a little. I'm still hoping that Primera eventually becomes not completely useless. But, yeah... Aska hijinx and a brief fight. Not really much to say.

Rating for Episode 26: Decent

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: The scene at the end of the episode with Lantis. He always looks badass in that black armor of his.

[Dr. Casey]

Episode 27: The Secret of the Pillar of Cephiro

The beginning of the episode caused me to ponder an age-old question... just why do villains laugh so much? Why can't they just be quietly satisfied? Why don't the heroes laugh maniacally every time they accomplish what they want to do? Oi. Anyway, this was a damn good episode. I liked the scenery, for starters... human characters amidst a bright background is more appealing to me than mecha draped against a night sky. Speaking of the night sky, it randomly occured to me in this episode just how much I like Season 2's setting. It's very atmospheric and awesome. I liked the scene between Mokona and the Magic Knights, and Umi's talk of eating Mokona was funny. XD Way to get 15 seconds of fame after being delegated to a background character, Mokona.

Nova is shaping up to be an interesting character. "I hate everything that you love"? Nice. The flashback Lantis had of him conversing with Zagato while Emeraude watched was a good scene... it fleshed Emeraude out more seeing her out of her little Pillar Cave for once (I forget what it's called). Cephiro beginning to disappear made me go "oh shit". That's some pretty heavy stuff right there. The conversation between the Magic Knights and Ferio, Clef, and Presea was entertaining enough, though I don't have anything in particular to comment on. Alcyione is pretty pathetic. She went from being a servant of Zagato to being a servant of this Lady Debonair chick. Shape up and be your own woman, dammit.

Rating for Episode 27: Good

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: Nova's first scene with her "I hate everything you love" lines. Very cool, dramatic scene.

[Dr. Casey]

Episode 28: Hikaru and Lantis' Dangerous Journey

I'd been looking forward to this episode since it's the first episode which really focuses on the relationship between Hikaru and Lantis. The episode gets off to a very cool start; Hikaru slaying those monsters wasn't the beginning that I expected, and its badassness caught me off guard. I was glad to have Primera come along with them; I had a feeling she would given that she's Lantis's pet or whatever, but... yeah. She's a cute character. Speaking of cute, Hikaru's wide-eyed expression after Eagle said that he had learned a lot about their fighting strategies was adorable. This episode didn't have quite as much interaction between Hikaru and Lantis as I was hoping for... it was nice to simply have the two together and the scene where the two were in the rain was nice, of course, but Lantis isn't the kind of guy you can carry a conversation with very easily. Aside from that, the episode was fairly empty, the feeling of which was probably augmented by the fact that I'm getting sleepy. Ah well. I'll try and start Disk 3 tomorrow.

Rating for Episode 28: Decent

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: Definitely the scene which started out the episode. One of the cooler ones in all of MKR, actually.

[Dr. Casey]

A few days ago, we moved the downstairs TV to another room. It's much more spacious and makes watching anything a lot more enjoyable. I didn't actually use it until about 30 minutes ago, though, when I watched...

Episode 29: Eagle and the Captive Hikaru

I'm sad to report that this episode is nowhere near as erotic as the name makes it sound. It still wound up being a pretty decent episode, though. The pace seems to pick up considerably in this episode. I quite enjoyed the season's slow pace, but now that we're at the 1/3 mark it'd be a good idea to pick things up. First of all, I have to say that Hikaru looks great in that Autozamian outfit. I prefer it to both her normal outfit and her Magic Knight armor. Zazu's a funny kid, although he's not all that subtle. He might as well have just come out and said, "Get into my bed and let's have at it." Hikaru lets Zazu know that, even though her name is Hikaru Shiidou, everyone calls her Hikaru. After the startling revelation that people call her by her first name*, Hikaru decided to settle down and have a nice conversation with Eagle. He wants energy because Autozam has an energy crisis, or something. I don't really care about the backstory of some secondary country, so I kind of zoned out. I can't believe that Eagle ate Geo's lunch, though. That bastard.

Also included is a nice conversation between Umi and Fuu. Those two certainly have taken a backseat to Hikaru and the new Season 2 characters. I kinda like it... just another nice contrast between the two seasons that makes me appreciate both of them more for what they are. I have to disagree that compliments from Fuu are rare, though. She said "You are very dear friends to me, Hikaru and Umi" every other episode in the original. So, anyway... a fight between Lantis and Eagle is cut short as Hikaru is transported to some mystery area. Nova comes out and finally reveals herself... and I have to admit, I like the character design. She's a cute, bright character, and I like the way she can sound cheerful even when telling Hikaru she's going to kill her. Interesting character... I look forward to finally seeing her get considerable exposure in the next episode.

Rating for Episode 29: Good

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: The flashback to the mecha battle between Lantis and Eagle was kinda cool. ... I guess.

*Yeah, I know Japanese name orders are reversed.

[Dr. Casey]

Episode 30: Nova and Regalia, Rune-God of the Devil

Um... I had a lot of trouble enjoying this one. First of all, this... thingy (I don't really know what it is even though it's been in the house since we moved here in '92) started blowing out air, so I couldn't understand most of what they were saying throughout the first 15 minutes. Secondly, shoujo fight scenes have a tendency to suck. Girls can write great characters, but their fight scenes aren't worth a damn. The exception would be the fight against Lafarga in the first season; that was actually quite badass. Anyway... the battle left Hikaru weak, so at least it had a definite point to it. Nova was also rather hot at certain points. The last several minutes were pretty good... I was very surprised at Eagle resting his head on Geo. I wonder if this is another Kunzite/Zoicite. I also bet Eagle would have felt dumb if Lantis didn't have a magic shield up and he just let him get away. >_> I liked the final shot of the episode. Just a nice, classic little picture of the three knights.

Rating for Episode 30: Decent

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: Easily Lantis's getaway. I hope I'm as cool as him when I grow up.

[Dr. Casey]

Episode 31: Chizeta's Mobile Fortress and a Powerless Hikaru

I really enjoyed the opening scene with Aska and those other two attempting to do evil laughs. The boy wasn't too good at it, but that old man's laugh was awesome, not creepy like Aska said. I guess the kid will get better with age. In the next scene with the girls and Ascot... man, Caldina's comments must have really embarassed him. Good thing Umi's an idiot and wasn't able to figure out what was going on. The bath scene was the best thing ever. XD Presea's breasts are rather nice. Mmm... anyway, some people say that Hikaru's "Do guys like large breasts?" question was a little too naive for her age, but I don't really think so. 14's still a kid, after all. Plenty of people are clueless at that age.

I noticed that Lafarga didn't say a single word during the scene with the four guys. I know you're supposed to be the silent and brooding swordsman, Lafarga, but this is only the second scene you've appeared in this season. You need to make better usage of your screentime. Alcyione looked surprisingly peaceful when she awoke... made me think at first that she might turn over a new leaf, but the rest of the scene showed otherwise. Alcyione mixing Lantis up with Zagato not for a brief moment but for almost an entire minute made me wonder just how happy the guy could have made her. Emeraude was in the way the whole time Zagato was alive... romance can be a pretty ruthless game at times.

Finally, I have to say that I really like those two sisters. Tatra's calmness is appealing in a way (I like studying calm people because I think it's a good temperament to have), but Tarta is definitely my favorite of the two sisters. She's a cool character and her facial expressions are the best. I also really like the Chizetan accent. Speaking of accents... changing the dialogue to "So do all Chizetans have a southern accent like Caldina?" was a clever change from whatever dialect was referenced in the original. I'm generally against tampering with the original script, but it's fine in cases like this where it's necessary to work.

Rating for Episode 31: Good

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: The old guy laughing is perhaps the most badass thing I've ever heard.

[Dr. Casey]

I watched episode 32 yesterday, but never got around to writing up a review. Here we go...

Episode 32: Umi and Fuu & Fahren and Chizeta

A rather uneventful episode, but it managed to be pretty enjoyable regardless. It was nice to see an episode with Umi and Fuu in the spotlight, and Umi's facial expressions in this episode were the best. She had a lot of cute moments where she was confused or freaked out, and her "WTF" face before she went chibi was great. Lady Aska was cute as hell, too, and giant Sang Yung was... pretty bizarre. I was expecting her to do the incantation Rei does in Sailor Moon whenever she was doing the art technique... the scene felt kind of empty without it. The sword fight between the Mashins and the weird monsters was actually pretty good. The episode definitely left some lingering questions... what is the lifethreatening means of reviving Hikaru's sword that Presea talks about? What's the feeling Nova mentioned? I mean, I can guess what the feeling itself is, but I wonder as to its relevancy. Hmm. I also noticed in that last scene that Nova has a very pleasant dub voice. Anyway, yeah. Swordfights, ambiguous dialogue, and a lot of cuteness from Aska and Umi. Yay.

Rating for Episode 32: Decent

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: The scene with Lantis and Primera. Lantis speaks, so the scene is badass by default.

Well then, off to Disk 4: Grow.

[Dr. Casey]

Episode 33: Hikaru's Wish and Presea's Secret

Wow. This was the best episode so far. The beginning scene had excellent lighting and coloring; I knew as soon as it began that it was going to be the source for the sad avatar Hikaru used after the eZpocalypse. It would have been a poignant scene even if I hadn't known that, but since I did that added a significant layer to its value. I liked the scene with Ascot... I think he might be more well-suited to Umi than Clef is, to be honest. The difference in perspective between Clef and Umi would be incredibly huge due to the fact that Clef has lived 50 times longer than she has.

The conversation between Clef and Presea reveals the secret that the episodes title allured to, and... holy shit. Holy. Shit. That massive plot twist took me completely off-guard. Well done, CLAMP. Poor Magic Knights... them not knowing the truth certainly feels wrong, although it's undoubtedly for the best. I liked the little scene with Ferio trying to contact Fuu via the Ruby Remote Control (yeah, I dunno what it's called)... how long has it been since he's used that thing, anyway? Episode 17 or so of the original series? All I know is that this season has had virtually no Fuu/Ferio thus far, so I had better get my fix soon.

I very much enjoyed the montage of scenes from the first season. My eyes had gotten used to the dark backgrounds and colors, so the sudden burst of color and greenery in the form of Old Cephiro was definitely a treat to the eyes and made me more alert. It also helped me to remember that the dark tone the second season has had was established late in the first season; the last episode with Old Cephiro was... episode 16, perhaps? I know that episode 17 was the battle with Lafarga and it took place in a rocky area at night, and episode 18 is where the shit started hitting the fan. I remember Ferio commenting on the change in the state of affairs and how things wouldn't go back to the way they were for a while. So, anyway... the episode ends with Nova throwing Hikaru off-course in her attempt to revive the sword while Presea tries to reach her. It reminded me of Poltergeist, actually. XD "Honey, stay away from the light."

Rating for Episode 33: Great

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: Fuu cutting that thing in half in the 7th episode of the series. It won this award back then, too.

[Dr. Casey]

Episode 34: Hikaru and Friendships Torn Apart

Some things have gotten in the way the past few days such as Thanksgiving and schoolwork (Anatomy and Physiology 2 was a bitch). Now that we've gotten that out of the way, it's back to the important stuff. Ahem. Early in the episode Nova showed Hikaru some altered scenes from the past... which I think were unintentionally funny. Umi's flippant delivery of "Stop crying because it's all your fault" and "No way" were great. While it fools her at first, Hikaru soon gets a grip on herself and reality. Hikaru 1, Nova 0. At first I thought that Hikaru's "love" for Lantis was a bit abrupt, but after a bit of thinking it seems that's not the case. He is Zagato's younger brother, first of all, so she started off with something to work with, and in some cases it's easy to figure out the kind of person someone is.

As if last episode's revelation wasn't enough, this episode lays on another. Caldina's attraction to Lafarga caught me off-guard, although I have to say I'm liking it. Lafarga's a good man and an interesting character, so any subplot which involves him is fine with me. He also warmed up to her extremely quickly. Seriously, they were making out less than a minute after Caldina made her feelings known. Lafarga, you pimp. The scenes with Umi and Fuu trying to level with Celece and Windam were both good to watch. I wonder if the Mashins will continue to be humanized throughout the series. Hmm. Anyway, they both get kidnapped and the credits start, so off to the next episode I go.

Rating for Episode 34: Good

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: The scene with Lantis talking to the clingy kid was badass because it had Lantis in it. ... yeah, not many episodes have genuinely badass moments, but I'm not dropping this thing.

[Dr. Casey]

Episode 35: Umi and the Ambition of Tarta and Tatra

And with this episode I'm now in the second half of the season. Hikaru's still fighting against herself and Nova... it's been three episodes now, so her suffering has definitely been prolonged. Sucks to be her. In any case, she's not the focus. The Magic Knight who takes the spotlight in this episode is Umi; this is a good thing since I like her quite a bit. She was actually my clear-cut favorite originally. Just like Hikaru, Umi looks damn good in that foreign costume she wears. Definitely not dorky at all like she claims. Just like a girl to have overly-high standards.

The show's always had high production standards (this has been obvious since the dramatic scene in the first episode where Hikaru uses Flame Arrow on Alcyione), but this episode had above-average art and animation which made the fight between Umi and Tatra even more enjoyable. The manner in which Umi introduced herself was pretty awesome. So, anyway... Umi has a conversation afterwards with the two sisters and winds up telling them of the tragic lifestyle the Pillar of Cephiro must lead. Kinda nice to see more people learn of the plight of the Pillar. Maybe Umi's words to the princesses will lead to a better understanding and relationship between Chizeta and Cephiro further on down the road. So, anyway... the two send those two freaking genies are Umi again. I hate those things... I wish Umi's first Water Dragon had taken them both out. Ugh.

The last scene involves a captive Fuu who's been taken by Aska and co. (god, that girl was really loud and annoying in these scenes). Fuu, like the other two, looks damn good in her new clothes. Hopefully Ferio will finally get the chance to actually do something since some Fuu-centric episodes are coming up.

That's all for tonight.

Rating for Episode 35: Decent

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: Umi pointing her sword at Tatra's throat was pretty hardcore and her expression in the close-up right after was unusually mature and severe. This scene takes the cake pretty easily.

[Dr. Casey]

Wow, a post from someone other than me. Hey, Batou-san. Heh heh... you may be right. If this episode is any indication, anything Ferio does will be overshadowed by Fuu.

Episode 36: Fuu versus Aska! The Life or Death Archery Match

A very good episode all-around. The episode kicks off with Fuu standing before the three Fahrenian representatives. Lady Aska challenges Fuu to an archery match so that she can gain possession of Windam (something tells me Windam wouldn't like her very much...). The scene returns to Umi as she battles those two genies who really need to die already. She's not faring any better than she was before and the genies throw a powerful attack at her. It's blocked by one of Ascot's monsters. I might sound like a broken record since I like virtually every character in MKR, but this episode made me like Ascot. I think he's a cool guy because he's straightfoward with his emotions; he doesn't hide them too much in order to seem macho (a tendency which is fine in small does, but can become pretty irritating when guys do it excessively). Of course, I guess shoujo series don't have nearly as many characters like that as shonen do.

After that is a brief scene with our own dear Hikaru. Looks like she's making some progress, but she still has a fair amount of mental rape and torture left. She's not going to be doing much for a while, so we switch over to Fuu, our presently more able-bodied Magic Knight. The arena for the archery match is a grassy field with a very pleasant blue sky. Fuu kicks more ass in this episode than she ever has before. She easily defeats Lady Aska and makes archery look even more majestic than it usually does. Sang Yung and Chang Ang watch in amazement and comment on how nothing seems to shake her up. After that Fuu is all "kthxbai", but Aska sends about a dozen ninjas after her. I've always liked the fights that take place outside the Mashins, so Fuu's asskickingfest made for a nice show. Aska asks Fuu for a second challenge. She declines. Aska doesn't like this, so she shows off the amazing jumping power of Fahrenians by jumping up in the air to a total of about three times her height and landing in front of Fuu. Her expression looked so serious at the end... this episode seems to be showing off the darker side of her personality. Very interesting.

Rating for Episode 36: Great

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: Ninjas, thousands of them. And yet they're not good enough to take on Fuu.

It's a bit late to do a second episode tonight, so tomorrow I'll try to start Disk 5: Sleep.

[Dr. Casey]

Episode 37: Revive, Hikaru's Sword!

Alright, so I lied about the "tomorrow" bit, but... close enough. This episode starts off with Aska getting a bit violent and using her magic to make about twenty swords fly at Fuu. Fuu responds by suspending Aska in midair via one of her spells. You know you're being an unreasonable bitch when you put Fuu on the offensive. Aska and Fuu have a conversation concerning the pillar; Aska says that she wants to be beautiful to impress Sang Yung (which was pretty surprising, but it's good news. Go Sang Yung), but becomes distraught when she learns that the Pillar can't think about her own needs or fall in love or anything. Silly emotionally frail shoujo anime girls. Realizing that Aska has had the fight drained from her, she lets her down and goes on her merry way.

Before she leaves, though, Ferio breaks in and starts kicking some ass. Fuu doesn't really need protection like she did back in the third episode, but she sits back and watches anyway since it's been too long since she's seen Ferio beat the crap out of someone. After she leaves, Fuu and Ferio have a nice romantic moment. "How do you think I'd have felt if you had been hurt?" she says, temporarily forgoing logic and thus turning into your typical girl. Ferio throws her logic back at her in a very smooth way. This scene shows very strongly the reason why Fuu and Ferio are probably my favorite couple in the show; they're perfectly comfortable and natural around each other. No awkwardness, no BS, no games. Just a couple of mature kids who seem like they've spent a lot more time together than they really have.

We then switch back to Hikaru. She's still being overpowered by Nova, but Presea intervenes and reminds Hikaru of why she promised to revive her sword no matter what. She then begins to turn the tide against Nova in one amazing scene. Hikaru, having revived her sword (I think), comes to in Cephiro Castle. She says to Lantis, "Can I... love..." before passing out. Well. I bet he thinks those were some interesting words. It'll definitely give him something to obssess about for a while.

After that is a return to Umi's battle with the genies. Ascot passes out in order to make sure that something interesting actually happens during this scene. Thanks, Ascot. Most of the following scenes were muted because Lady Debonair wouldn't STFU, although I don't think I actually missed anything. Oh, and I forgot to mention... this episode really fleshed out Lady Aska. Both her sensitive and serious sides were displayed, and I now think she's a much better character because of it.

Rating for Episode 37: Good

Badass Scene of the Episode Award: Absolutely no contest at all. Hikaru's second wind wins it for this episode. I thought it was pretty cool from the moment she started giving off a red aura because I knew she was going to kick some ass, but everything that followed - the way Hikaru wasn't fazed by Nova's attacks, her serious expression and posture, and the way she ignored her hand when it was cut - make this the coolest scene in the entire series thus far.