Kei's Anime Reviews

Prince of Tennis Episode 5

"Snake Shot"

I really didn't like the tennis match in this episode. Kaidoh, the Viper, is defeated because he's forced to bend his knees more than usual, causing him to expend more energy, and thus tire more quickly. The reason he's bending his knees is because Ryoma is hitting the ball deep on him. I'm not Seigaku regular, but I'd think the solution for Kaidoh would be to play one or two steps deeper. It's not like tennis requires you to stand inside the lines. On top of that, we see Kaidoh and Ryoma, these exceptional tennis players, get tired after playing four games. Considering the scorecard clearly has space for three sets, how are they ever going to be able to do that?

Realism aside (hey, it's anime), this really is just more like Dragonball. You've got the two combatants facing off and firing off moves at each other, while some of the observers are in the dark and ask a lot of questions like, "How can this be?"

This is a pretty cookie-cutter show so far, so while it's entertaining, it's really nothing special.

Rating: C+

First Kiss Story

Well, I might be grossly misinterpreting something, but I'm about one hundred percent sure that this anime provides more of what I've definitely been missing from my anime lately:

Incestuous relationships!

Seriously though, what the hell! In this one, we've got a brother-sister relationship that is openly endorsed by their mother and sister.

Moving on! Animation is pretty (with the exception of some badly-integrated CG at the end), and generally pleasant to look at. Only one episode, so we're not exactly talking great character development, and it's actually all really pretty shallow. This is another show based off of a game, and it definitely exudes that particular quality (if you've watched a few based off dating sims or H-games, you know what I mean) that all shows of this genre give off.

The story is about a long distance relationship that is slowly breaking down over time, and some of the missteps they encounter along the way. Toss in some other characters to add to the confusion, and see if distance makes the heart grow fonder.

Rating: C+

Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi Episode 0

I was a little confused at the time frame of this episode, having never watched the original series (season one) or having read anything about this promo, but I'm now fairly sure that this episode takes place before the first season starts.

It seems like a sort of cheap episode, introducing Aoi but having it not really be her, and showing the other characters of the series running around. For someone like me who never saw the first season, a recap episode (or something like that) might have been better, though I suspect that it might be saved for episode one.

Either way, the animation is very pretty, and the music is suitably Christmas-like. It's kind of nice as we see hints of the various characters' personalities (i.e. Kaoru) and the overall storyline. Not much more to say, as I feel like I should wait for a real episode of the show to pass judgement, though it does make me somewhat want to hunt down the first season and check it out.

Rating: B-

Ikki Tousen Episode 7

Wow, what an introduction. Make sure you cover up your kids' eyes and ears when showing them this anime. (By the way, you'd better not be showing this to your kids!)

On to the show! I love Kannwu and all, with her long, static hair, but when she breaks her own arm to get out of Mou's hold (and in subsequent shots we can see her broken bones protruding at all sorts of weird angles), I get the shivers. Kannwu is of course one of the wielders of the punch that rips female characters clothes off attack, which is one of my personal favorites, because of its inability to do any real harm other than add to the already staggering fanservice in this series.

I just noticed something, my two favorite characters so far, Kannwu and Ryofu, both wear loose socks.

Toutaku has been a pretty lame bad guy so far, pulling strings in the background while lying around picking flowers (in a somewhat diabolical manner, but come on... he's picking flowers). I admire his ability to surround himself with beautiful women, but what's the deal with the bandages? I'm sure it's all a setup for when he finally fights, and turns out to be some super powerful warrior, but he just seems so boring right now. His plan is to get his enemies to beat each other up, so that none of them will be strong enough to take him out. He obviously doesn't take into the account the power of narrative to heal main characters!

The action in this episode was pretty good, getting a cool string of fights against Kannwu (whom I hope we haven't seen the last of!). Add on a whole lot of fanservice and some plot development and you have a barely better than average show.

Rating: B-

Onegai Twins Episode 10

"I Want to Run Again"

Not wasting time to get to the tenth bath scene in a row, coming in right after the opening credits.

This episode was a lot better than the majority of episodes in this series so far, but it still makes you wonder where exactly it's all going. We found out a little bit more about Miina's life (not that it amounts to much), generally developing her character in a very non-character-developing sort of way. You might say that she grows in a fashion that doesn't actually add or detract from her character. Okay, so that's not really growing, but I guess that's sort of what I'm trying to say.

The best part of the episode is probably the last few minutes, where Karen (loathe her voice) discovers that the house they live in is quite possibly not the house they grew up in. Because of the angle of the picture, she surmises that the ramshackle house across the way is actually where they lived. (It should be noted that the fact they were in the wrong house should have been really obvious from a careful examination of the photo.)

It's an interesting new direction for the show, but boy, you'd think they'd have noticed their mistake earlier.

Rating: C+

Da Capo Episode 03

"It's Bananas!"

I was a little worried by the title of the episode, and it turns out that my worries were founded in a little thing called reality.

In this episode, the weirdness level of this show is turned up a notch as Miharu is critically injured in an accident, but is replaced by a robot that looks and acts exactly like her (made by her father, apparently). The only difference is that the robot Miharu is still taking time to learn what it means to be human.

Asakura is strung along to help her, which basically runs them through a bunch of gags. For example, Asakura has to wind Miharu, which she finds "ticklish" (draw your own conclusions). Also, there's Miharu's obsession with bananas, which leads to a whole bunch of innuendo, bad jokes, and poor taste. Actually, it's so absurd it's kind of funny.

The episode ends with a little bit more seriousness, but I can only assume that this whole plot thread won't be carried on from here on out.

As ridiculous as this episode was, it was actually fairly entertaining (in a perverted, what the hell is going on, sort of way).

Rating: B+

Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien Episode 01

I was pleasantly surprised in watching the first episode of this show. Given the quality of the romantic comedy/dramas that I've watched lately, and the fact that this show is based off a game, my expectations were not high.

The art and animation is very pretty, and the music is suitably understated with the slow, dreamlike pacing of the show. The romance in this show is very grounded (no incest, or any other weirdness thrown in), with a situation that will be familiar to many viewers. Suzumiya has been in love with Takayuki for a very long time, but she was unable to profess her feelings, so her friend Hayase became friends with Takayuki to try and bridge the gap. Eventually, Hayase gets the two together, and Suzumiya confesses her feelings, asking Takayuki to date her. He agrees, but obviously doesn't have strong feelings for her.

The resultant relationship is awkward, as you might expect. Takayuki acts indifferently, and Suzumiya wants more. Takayuki is of course hurting her, and rather obliviously. It's a very well done episode that explores this early relationship between the two.

This seems like an enjoyable show, though I was expecting some weirdness after watching the blood-soaked preview episode. I am looking forward to the next episode, though.

Rating: A-

Fullmetal Alchemist Episode 01

"One Who Challenges the Sun"

Oh my god... Engrish strikes again. The first impression of this show, other than pure insanity, was one of the shop signs in Lior City, that reads, "Dorinks & Food".

On to more important things, this show has some unique and attractive character designs, and some pretty slick animation. If there's any negative, it'd be the fact that Edward (the main character, and the eponymous full metal alchemist) looks like a mini-Vash the Stampede (and the resemblance is pretty strong, too).

This show is based on a Square Enix game of the same name, though I don't know anything about it to compare it to. The pacing of the show is downright frenetic, with Edward lapsing into all sorts of weird facial expressions, and generally spazzing out.

This is the introductory episode, where we're introduced to Edward and his brother Alphonse, two alchemists, as well as a girl named Roze. We're also introduced to the concepts of alchemy, which is basically that matter can be transmuted as long as matter is conserved (bust out your high school phsyics books for more info).

It'll probably take a while longer to get to the meat of this show, but so far it's reasonably interesting, though the pacing doesn't seem to lend itself to much character development. We'll see.

Rating: B

Scrapped Princess Episode 23

"Oratorio of the Limited Ones"

Boy, it's going to hurt me to say this... but maybe the artists just found drawing Leo with his armor on was too hard, so they keep putting him in the Soopy-kun outfit. I love Soopy-kun, but I really think that given the tone of the series at this point, Leo would benefit from looking more like a knight.

Let me just nitpick a little before I give my feelings about this episode. The art seems to be off just a little bit, with some of the characters looking a little askew. Other than that...

Best episode yet. Don't want to spoil anything.

Rating: A+

Da Capo Episode 04

"The Canary Under the Cherry Blossoms"

It was only a matter of time before this show got even weirder (say five seconds). We get to see Kotori again, the girl that's popular with all the kids at school, and she has the ability to read minds. Another of her innate powers is the ability to summon forth background music to accompany her singing. (By the way, that song she's singing... it's terrible. I can only assume that Nemu's brother is deaf, and thus seems to enjoy it.)

Anyways, so we get the beginning of the Kotori/Asakura relationship in this episode, and it seems pretty standard (well, except for the fact that she can read minds and he can do magic). Because of the little music video that is attached to the end of each episode, the show feels a little rushed, while at the same time, it feels like the story of each episode drags on too much, given the shorter length.

There's really nothing special about this show so far.

Rating: C+

Avenger Episode 1

"Dome"

It's the new anime season, so we've got a whole crop of shows to check out. This one didn't immediately grab me, though. The art style seems a little frazzled, nothing very cohesive, making it hard to rely place the series in a time frame. Obviously it's the future, as it takes place on Mars, and we've got very technologically advance dolls (which don't really appeal to me, having the whole child look to them). Layla looks like a guy, and the like I said before, the art style is so widely variant from character to character and location to location, it's not an easy show to watch.

The music wasn't very spectacular either, having the same problems as the art. Matching or not, the tunes are generally not worth much of a mention.

The plot deals with fighters and doll trainers, who compete in tournaments of some sort. For an introductory episode, we sure aren't introduced to very much. Hopefully the next few episodes will give us a better idea of what this show is all about.

Rating: C-

Ikki Tousen Episode 8

Yeah! You can tell Toutaku is evil because he particpates in aggressive flower arrangement!

Seriously, I've said it before, but so far, Toutaku is one lame bad guy. He spends all his time in a greenhouse, trimming flowers with a pair of scissors, surrounded by a bunch of girls in cute red suits (okay that part's not so bad). He is, however, manipulating all the other schools, who seem powerless to do something about it, so I guess you have to give him props.

There's a little fighting in this episode, but it's pretty blah. Hakufu doesn't do very well in her match, and Mou is the quick winner in one, then the quick loser in another. What really does prevade throughout this episode is the heavy fanservice. This episode actually had instances of more gratuitous fanservice than even the previous fanservice-laden installments. So, it's saying quite a bit.

The tournament is over, though, and Toutaku's school loses by default. Unlike in previous tournaments, though, Toutaku is not giving up the control of the Kanto region, so we'll see how all the schools react to this development in upcoming episodes.

Rating: C+

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu Episode 08-09

"Pure and Impure Grappler"
"Trespass With Good Intentions"

The first of the two episodes was pretty weak. The animation wasn't so hot, and there was a lot of art reuse that really cheapens the show, especially considering the first season's extremely high production values. Looking past that, the story is suitably wacky for this series (Chidori and Sousuke must evict the school's karate club, who of course won't give up without a fight), but ultimately kind of flat.

The primary bad guy is basically a stupid joke, and of course Sousuke wins. We get the requisite amount of Chidori spazzing out... In other words, another standard episode of Fumoffu.

The second episode sort of carries on the first episode's story, which marks the first time we've had a carryover theme this series. There's some more action, and some general weirdness. The story is pretty stupid and far-fetched. I know this is based off of the manga, but seriously, this isn't even in the same ballpark as the first season, different subject matter/genre or no. It's just not very good.

One thing that I thought of while watching these two episodes is that the show really doesn't provide you with sufficient exposition. If you don't know anything about Full Metal Panic, there's a very very high probability that you won't have any idea what's going on, or why you should be entertained.

If you are familiar with the story, however, you'll probably still wonder why you should be entertained.

Rating: C

Onegai Twins Episode 11

"I Want to Tell You I Love You"

Almost five minutes into the episode until our eleventh consecutive bath scene! You know, if they put them at the end of the episode, I might be able to maintain interest better, just with worrying about the streak.

Here's my theory about the show:

The twins are aliens. No, hear me out. Because you wouldn't really complain too much about incest if it was between aliens right? Beady eyes and claws and such. Who cares if they want to keep it in the family? This is the Onegai _____ world, after all. We do have aliens! Maybe Maiku has tentacles or something!

Without spoiling too much, let's just say that I am extremely skeptical that the show will play out with the things that were revealed in this episode. Give it another thirty minutes and the tables will be turned. The way this show was set up, I completely find it unbelievable that either of the girls will be shut out from Maiku's love. Could be I'm wrong, though, it's just my impression. I have to figure that Karen and Miina have equal followings, and as they share the spotlight as main characters, I don't see the show's creators giving the other the shaft.

So, getting to the last few minutes of the show, I hope that the backstory with Karen being a runner wasn't all just to make this part a little more acceptable...

Not a great episode, but for the first time in this entire series' run, I'm actually curious what happens next.

Rating: B

Scrapped Princess Episode 24

"Symphony of Those Who Protect"

Since this is the last episode of the series, let me do a quick rundown of unsatisfactorily wrapped up (or perhaps just strangely handled) side stories:

1. Sim vs. Cz. Maybe I've just watched too much cliched anime and was expecting this. But I absolutely expected that eventually Cz would return to being Sim (or Sim's personality would win out), and she would join the side of good. I don't think I'm completely off my gourd with this, because there are parts where Cz questions Socom's plans. Either way, let's just say Cz/Sim is not a well-handled plot thread.

2. Winia and Chris. Okay, it's kind of wrapped up, but let's face it. One sentence wasn't enough... Though, perhaps proportionally, it was okay.

3. Bergens. He looks exactly like Raquel and Shannon's dad. Was it just complete and utter coincidence?

4. Pacifica and Leo. Like all the other romantic involvements, one sentence is all it needs. It got two, so maybe we should be happy.

5. Demon Lord Browning. Well, we sort of know his deal, but there seemed to be a good amount of buildup for him early on, which falls by the wayside in the end.

6. Leo Learning About Chivalry. I suppose we're supposed to assume he figured it out, but being that it was the primary focus of his character in the early going, it'd have been nice for Leo to acknowledge that he'd actually figured it out.

7. Guardians. Some people have what it takes, but not very. They sort of serve their purpose, but what's really behind people becoming guardians? Why do Raquel and Shannon look exactly like Mauser's brother and sister? And why was Lord Beckenham, Zephiris' original master if Zephy was against Mauser?

8. Zephiris' Plans. She always said that Shannon was only her master for the time being. There are hints that Zephiris may have motives other than what she comes out and says. In the end, it looks like she only wanted Pacifica to succeed. Ain't she cute, though? Much better than Sim.

9. Soopy-kun. Come on... light-hearted ending like this, and not even a whiff of Soopy-kun? What's going on...

Now that I've dwelled on the bad stuff, let's talk about the good stuff. This show has been awesome. The characters have been spot on the whole time, and the animation quality was top notch. The plot faltered a little at the end, and I never really could totally buy into the more Matrixy parts of the story. There are some niggling plot holes, like why the Peacemakers are sometimes so good and sometimes so useless, but all in all this show has been a real joy to watch.

The last episode is no exception, with some good action and some good character building (almost entirely with Pacifica). It's hard to really talk about it without major spoilers, but I was satisfied, if not overjoyed with the ending (it's anime... the endings have to suck!).

The burning question... Do I want a sequel, OVA, or movie? Hmm... well, I definitely feel like there's more story to be told, except that I think that it should have happened somewhere between episodes twenty and twenty-four. I'd definitely watch if they added more, and they certainly left the door open for another series, but I would take some convicing that a story extension wouldn't feel too cheesy to me.

What I will say is that the adventures of Pacifica, Shannon, Raquel and Leo were an extremely entertaining and fun ride. The series is definitely up there with the best.

Rating: A

Onegai Twins Episode 12

"Three Person Twins"

Eleven episodes later, the answer. (The first episode of the show was called "Three Person Twins?)

I might be completely off my gourd, but I thought the art was a little more appealing than usual in this episode.

(Don't worry, the streak continues.)

Now that we've got the important stuff out of the way, let me do the series breakdown.

Spoilers exist below!

This show has the dumbest plot in a romantic drama/comedy I've ever seen. This enormous build up (okay, so it isn't that big, but that's literally all we've got!) over who of the three twins are actually are the twins in the picture, and who's the outsider.

There's no clever Marmalade Boy payoff. As it turns out, the revelation in the last episode that Karen is the twin is actually true. HOWEVER, it's Miina in the picture.

If you were expecting any backstory, you expected wrong!

The show was basically a set of one dozen standalone episodes that don't really advance the relationships of the characters. Honestly, I feel like this story could have been effectively told in a three episode OAV as an accompaniment to Onegai Teacher.

Let's breakdown the characters:

1. Maiku. Maiku started knowing just about nothing about his parents, led by a picture of him and his twin (which apparently his mother lied to him about) to the Onegai world. At the end, he knows just about nothing about his parents, but now has a sister (who is more or less in love with him in a non-sisterly way), and a girlfriend. As a character, he has not advanced. He advanced from being the stuck-up, it's all about me character in about episode two.

2. Miina. Miina started knowing just about nothing about her parents, led by a picture of her and her twin (which apparently her mother lied to her about) to the Onegai world. At the end, she knows just about nothing about her parents, but now has a "sister" (pretty much in every way but blood), and a boyfriend. As a character, she has not advanced. We learned she liked to run.

3. Karen. Karen started knowing just about nothing about her parents, led by a picture of her and her twin (which apparently her mother lied to her about) to the Onegai world. At the end, she knows just about nothing about her parents, but now has a brother (who she is in love with in a more or less non-sisterly way), and a "sister" (pretty much in every way but blood). As a character, she has not advanced. She still faints whenever she gets freaked out or excited, and she's still in love with Maiku.

To sum up: Twelve episodes of the same story repeated over and over again. On episode eleven, realize we're running out of space. Have the twin discover her identity through random chance discovering a diary in an abandoned house.

The alien story would have been better than this.

Rating: D

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu Episode 10

"War Cry That Has Gone Too Far"

I think that Fumoffu has been much better when all thirty minutes are dedicated to one episode. The two short episode format hasn't really produced stories that have stuck in my mind.

In this episode, Jindai High's rugby club is going to be shut down because they have not won a game for years. Chidori is made the new club manager, and Sousuke is added to their lineup. All the insanity that you'd expect from Sousuke playing a sport like rugby does indeed manifest itself.

The reason the club is so bad though, is because its team is made up of a bunch of big, scared guys who sit around drinking tea, arranging flowers, and being afraid of spiders. Leave it to Sousuke and Mao's training manual (her first "cameo" on the show this season), to train the guys into a bunch of killing machines.

Chidori's appearance seems to vary a lot from shot to shot, sometimes moving away from the way she looked in the first season. I only mention this because the rest of the cast doesn't seem to share this varying art quality.

This episode is pretty funny though, starting off with Chidori's comment about sports dramas (which this episode is parodying), and Sousuke's crazy, drill-sergeant training routine.

More thirty minute episodes, please.

Rating: A-

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu Episode 11

"The Goddess Visits Japan (The Ordeal Chapter)"

This is the first episode of the second season of Full Metal Panic that actually really put me back into the mindset I was in for the first season. Much of that has to do with the fact that familiar characters are introduced (even if they are just brief cameos), all in all, I find this storyline (not a one-shot, yay!) with Tessa versus Chidori for Sousuke's affections, is much more interesting than all the extremely fluffy things that have come before.

It is always fun to watch Sousuke's absolute inability to deal with Tessa, and Tessa's generic anime female naivete. Of course, Sousuke isn't just incapable of dealing with Tessa, he doesn't know how to handle Chidori either, and the miscues add up to a very entertaining episode.

I hope that after almost a dozen "episodes", the show will hit its stride and focus on more substantial story arcs. This episode was much better, but we'll see how this plays out.

Rating: A-

Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien Episode 02

I definitely don't usually look forward to anime series that are based off of games (hentai especially), but Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien has turned into a pleasant surprise. I have to admit, starting on this episode, I didn't see where this show was going, but certain hints are dropped along the way that at least prepared me for it.

The art is great, and the story is very good. It's refreshing to watch an anime where a relationship is handled in a realistic manner.

Major major spoilers follow! Please, don't let yourself be spoiled of this.

You can only wonder, of course, while watching why they make such a big deal about about Hayase, when the relationship the show is focusing on is between Narumi and Suzumiya. It also doesn't seem like it's going to be a love triangle show, at least not at this point.

And then it begins to become clear, after the line where Narumi says that the two of them don't need to rush because they have all the time in the world. Well, of course, then Suzumiya is hit by a car.

It would be an interesting new angle for an anime to look at, if this is really how the story plays out, and I'm curious to see how Narumi and Hayase will move on (or not) from Suzumiya's tragedy.

Rating: A

Green Green OAV

Moving from heavy to light, we've got the Green Green OAV. An all-girls' school trying to see if it can become coed in the future, receives a group of boys for a trial period. The boys are as perverted and crazy as you'd expect them to be at an all-girls' school (been watching too much anime, probably).

In between the perverted antics, there's a little bit of a love story, but let's face it, no love story that can be told in thirty minutes is really worth listening to.

This is pretty much as run of the mill as you can get, with pretty average art, story and music. Not very memorable at all.

Rating: C-

Green Green Episode 01

"Hearts Race in the Mountain"

It's rare that I am so simultaneously repulsed and intrigued by an anime series. Usually my first impressions are pretty definite (whether or not they pan out for the long haul, is another matter).

This is a pretty standard looking anime show, with wonderfully bouncy and fanservicey female characters (all of which fit your various anime stereotypes) and the whole gamut of males. It's all above average, and is visually appealing to me. The basic story is that an all boys school is having a group of girls stay over for the summer, to see if they're capable of dealing with a transition to a co-ed school. (The reverse of the previous OAV.) Oh, speaking of the OAV, there doesn't seem to be any overlap in story.

That's sort of the part that turns me off, because the show comes across as a brainless, pantyfest without much original plot or story. However! There also is some weirdness referenced by some of the female characters that makes it appear as though they've come from some other time period (who doesn't love time travel romantic comedy anime?), and I'm actually curious as to what zany backstory this anime has. Couple that with the basically appealing art, and I'm interested enough to see where this is going.

Rating: B-

Green Green Episode 02

"Slip and Trip in the Outdoor Bath"

Hey, who'd a thunk it? A bunch of cute fanservice-prone girls and a bath scene where the guys scheme to peep on them? In an anime? Noooo... couldn't be!

So, recycling that tired ol' plot thread again, but with the added insanity of Green Green's indescribably perverted guys.... Come on, drinking the girls' bath water? I think Seinfeld explained why the concept of bathing is disgusting, not to mention drinking it. Ugh.

Not much plot movement in this episode, it's more like an acclimation episode, to get you used to the frenetic pace of the show, the excessive fanservice and the excessive perversion. But somehow, it manages to be pretty likable in the process, which is more than I can say about anime of this type.

Also, Futaba seems to be warming up to our tragic (yeah, right) hero, which means that makes her like the third of the girls in his harem.

Rating: B-

Green Green Episode 03

"Tough in the Forest"

Another installment of this stunningly original series.

Shoot, but I actually find myself enjoying it. It's a very likable show, despite the fact that it is shallow, meaningless, unoriginal, and too reliant of fanservice.

Or wait... is that what makes a show good?

Anyways, in this episode, it's basically more of Futaba and Yusuke relationship building, creating another competing lover for Yusuke's affections. I can only figure that in the next episode or the one after that, we'll be introduced to another female character who will fall for Yusuke's intense manliness.

A special note should be made to the perverted elements of this show. They're not really all that disgusting, but just how over the top this show goes is somewhat disturbing. And by somewhat I mean really, really, really disgusting. After watching the first few minutes of this episode, I wasn't sure if I could go on, but perservered, only to be greeted by Douching-sama, the female tracking device.

Yeah.

Rating: B-

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu Episode 12

"The Goddess Visits Japan (The Hot Springs Chapter)"

Blah! Well, right back to the general level of crap that Fumoffu has been, compared to season one of Full Metal Panic.

See, in the first season, stuff happens for a reason, and characters develop because of things that make sense. The writers for this particular group of episodes, decides that it'll be Tessa who will grow as a character (though who knows why a cameo character needs this), and through some bizarre set of events a face is given to the people that she knows she must protect. I guess it makes her mission more personal or something. Sure.

There are three storylines in this episode. The first, is the girls enjoying the hot springs. They bathe around, being strategically covered by whatever objects might be handy (rubber ducks, railings, towels, etc.). Fanservice! Yay! The second storyline is the men (minus Sousuke), trying to peep on them. Yeah, that hasn't been done before. Oh, and it's never done over the top. Sorry, try again. The final story is Sousuke entertaining himself on the vacation. This is probably the funniest of them all, and it manages to do so in the minute and thirty seconds devoted to it. (Uh oh, I think this episode might be in trouble.)

Add to the disturbing pile gratuitous shots of Kurz's ass (more cameos!), and Kazama crashing into Sousuke's naked crotch (strategically placed ping pong paddle)... which fades into a shot of Sousuke eating a banana...

I thought there was hope for this show, but there isn't. Maybe if this show could figure out what type of show it is, and what it's actually about, it might be okay, but as it is, it's a pretty sorry excuse for all the sort of archetypes it's trying to fill.

Rating: C