Sea Slugs! Anime Blog

Looking For More Writers

Kabitzin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:17:43 +0000

Nama-komrade

The last call for writers went really well, and Epi and Jesus159159159 have really added a lot to this blog. In fact, it went so well that I’d like to add more writers and grow this blog some more. Same rules as last time, so read the rules and email me that you’re interested. I’m open to adding maybe 2 more episodic bloggers before the start of the next season. I’d really like for SS!AB to be a place with daily posts for our loyal readers.

Essentially you just have to be reliable and know how to craft a post on your own, and in return you get a nicely-sized audience and you don’t have to worry about any of the logistics of running the blog. If this appeals to you, go to the contact page and let me know. Any general questions about the process can just be left in the comments below and maybe Epi or J159 can clue you in on how joining the blog has completely changed their lives for the better.

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Naruto 486

Kabitzin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:57:10 +0000

What about Sakura?!

Summary:

Hot, angry, make-up BL

There’s some more blabbering, and then Naruto and Sasuke are blown back by how much inner-mind talking they are doing. Zetsu zips in to catch Sasuke and then tattle on him to Madara, and then Kakashi catches Naruto and reiterates that as Team 7 leader he should take Sasuke out. Meanwhile, Sakura stands on the side and says stupid things that add nothing to the conversation.

Actually, Tsunade and Hiruzen couldn't save Orochimaru, so apparently this isn't a job requirement

Madara shows up to say they should fight later so that they can extend the manga and keep the cash cow alive. Before they go, Naruto reminds Sasuke that when manly men fight they can see into each others hearts and that as super-duper ninjas their inevitable battle will just result in a double-KO. Basically, Naruto is hoping to tank Sasuke alone, so that Naruto will keep all the hate… and turn it into love.

Reaction:

Boring chapter… I wonder what will happen to Karin and I also wonder if Kisame is possibly alive. There was some mention of the Rinnegan by Madara, which I found confusing. Other than that, it was just a rehash of nearly every conversation Naruto and Sasuke have had over the last few years, ending with Sasuke refusing all of Naruto’s friend requests yet again. Sakura crying really made me mad, too.

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Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood 47

Epi — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:27:16 +0000

I knew it was coming, but at first I couldn’t place it. Was that Orange-kun’s spinning power I saw? No wait maybe it was Izumi? As my brain slowly put together the pieces, my body suddenly felt light, my head felt numb and my eyes welled up… the moment I had been waiting for for so long had finally arrived…
Show ▼

Summary:

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and takes a hit like a duck, it's gotta be Hoenheim

As the Promised Day approaches, Ed and company make their way to the slum of Kanama on the outskirts of Central. There they find Hoenheim and Ed reunites with his dad with a punch to the face… using his metal hand. Hoenheim proceeds to explain everything including his being a giant Philosopher’s Stone to Ed and his companions. In turn, Ed delivers Pinako’s message for him, Trisha’s last words: “Sorry I couldn’t keep my promise. I’m going to have to leave you first.” While Ed was expecting his father who abandoned the family not to care he is instead surprised by his tears over the message.

Remember that time me and you made Al on that swing Anata?

As Hoenheim reminisces about the faithful day – when he left the family and Trisha’s promise to him to still be in family pictures when she was old and wrinkly and him looking the same as ever - Ed creates for himself a new red coat (to be shared with Chizuru, but only on soccer weekends).

"Well at least it was better than that car he made..."

While Ed and the gang discuss the final battle ahead, the chimeras admit that their animal instincts tell them to stay and help with the final battle even though they don’t have to. As they talk, they wander outside the slum and encounter a strange acting Al.

Grumman was Greed before there was a Greed

Meanwhile back in the East, as the search teams scour to find bodies after the bridge explosion, they are unable to find Bradley’s body. As the soldiers search, Grumman mulls staying in the East until Roy and Olivier start their little rebellion so that he could come to the rescue and take over the country all for himself. Sensing his completely counterproductive schemes, Miles tells himself to stay alert even with allies.

Dude's missing a badass motorcycle

Back at Kanama, as Ed walks towards Al, Ling manages to get through to him before he manages to get too close and warns him to stay back. It seems that Al is actually a Dullahan being controlled by Pride’s shadow power while Al is still unconscious. As Pride moves to take out Greed and caputure Ed, Ed realizes that Greed’s entire power is based upon shadows. With the happy coincidence of a dark and cloudy night sky, Ed blacks out the entirety of Kanama with alchemy. Without light, Pride cannot materialize, and Greed uses that time to explain to everyone that the real Pride was probably hiding in the forest instead of inside Al’s armour body.

Eat dirt and die gato!

While Heinekel goes off to defeat a darkness eakened Pride, the rest chat about what to do next when all of a sudden Gluttony appears.

Mmmm birdie num nums! (+extra points for figuring out that reference... don't google it you cheaters!)

As Gluttony sets off kicking everyone’s ass, Ling asks for control of Greed’s body back as he’s able to sense the presence of the Homunculus and puts up a bit of a fight. Realizing that he too can’t see in the dark, Gluttony decides to use his ultimate attack of his stomach sucky thing-a-ma-bob but before he’s able to materialize, A SUPER AWESOME AND SUPER POWERFUL MYSTERIOUS STRANGER appears and kicks Gluttony’s ass. Who’s this stranger? None other than RAN FAN.

Reaction:

First of all, I must reiterate the completely awesomeness that is the return of RAN FAN. I’ve been waiting for her to appear for a very long time, and for her to come back kicking so much ass like this is a treat to behold. Too bad she’s still behind the mask instead of being out there in all of her beauty because now it’s going to be even harder to wait for episode 48 to come out.

As for the rest of the episode, I was extremely surprised that Grumman does not seem to fully grasp the implications of what is happening on the Promised Day, nor does he know that Bradley is a Homunculus and thus immortal. This explains why the bridge was destroyed in the first place as Grumman probably thought it was a pretty awesome trick he played on poor Bradley. The fact that Grumman is mulling about being at the top of the country and thinking about sacrificing his colleagues for that goal, he really doesn’t seem to know that the Promised Day means the end of the entire country, and thus it would be dumb to delay anything until later. Why they never bothered to tell such an important ally about what was really going on may end up being an planning failure that’s going to haunt our heroes for some time to come.

I thought the bit with Hoenheim crying at the news of his wife’s last words were really quite touching (at least for FMA standards) and quite a scene. At the very least, united by the love of Trisha, Ed is able to realize just what kind of person his father really is (although I’m starting to believe more and more that the dude’s a total goof).

The Pride fight was really fun to watch. I’m predicting that the fight will end within the first few minutes of next episode with Pride and Gluttony escaping back to the capital in hopes of fighting again. And then with all external threats gone, RAN FAN decides to strip down to her bandages once again.

With the evening almost over, it seems like all remaining episodes will be directed at the last battle. They sure are taking their sweet time though eh? I guess we are catching up to the end of the manga now so they have no choice.

Finally, I just wanted to mention that I’m glad they at least re-inserted the idea that people from Xing can sense the Homunculi, something which we haven’t heard anything about since May Chang’s ‘weird feeling’ when she first saw Father. Speaking of May, where is Envy?

Can’t wait for next week and more… RAN FAN.

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Kimi ni Todoke 21

Kabitzin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:52:23 +0000

What loli could resist salty AND sweet?

Summary:

Ran 10 miles and then fapped... Feeling so much better now

Ryu slyly calls Tohru down, and Tohru busts his butt at work and drives 3 hours late at night to help his little brother put Operation Long Legs GET into action. Tohru snags Chizuru for a stroll down memory lane, and Chizuru finally tries to say all the things she always wanted to tell Tohru. Unfortunately, Tohru reminds Chizuru she always wore shorts that showed off her legs and so the mini-skirt brings nothing new to the table. Even when Chizuru is able to tell Tohru she loves him, Tohru pretends to misinterpret it as platonic love and returns the friendly sentiment. As the stroll ends, Tohru tells Chizuru that he always calls her “Chi” because it makes him literally smile to say the name.

Afterwards, Tohru meets up with Ryu before making the long drive home. Tohru collects his day-old prize bread, and implies that he always knew Ryu had a thing for Chizuru. Ryu agrees that he is the better man for Chizuru, and then correctly guesses that Chizuru is hanging out by the ocean (since that is the last place they all played together before Tohru moved to Sapporo). When he finds her there, Chizuru apologizes for taking everything out on Ryu and he mentions that she is the only one who would remember his birthday. Chizuru wonders if she just saw Tohru as an older brother, Ryu tells her that her love was real. As Chizuru finally cries out some of her emotions, Ryu holds her tightly in his arms and secretly gives himself a “Kekeke, just as keikaku.”

Reaction:

WTF is this smell??? Smells like sweaty socks and sex!

While Chizuru was a surprisingly cute kid, she never really got past that phase. Chizuru might not have that fierce magnetism that Tohru is looking for, but she still managed to scam FOUR whole episodes near the end of the series away from the main couple. This is what happens when you waffle, Shota! Santa Shota better give Sawako the dick in a box next episode, or we’ll definitely get stuck with Chizuru x Ryu in the final two episodes.

I found the whole “Chi” thing interesting. All along Tohru wasn’t some super happy guy; he just called Chizuru a lot. Damn, the things a guy’s gotta do so that his little brother can get the little girl. At least Tohru is following the bros before hos mantra. I like the way Ryu is working this, and he really seems in control. Next to Ryu, Shota is just a mess. This leads me to believe that Shota quit the baseball team because he couldn’t ever get it done in crunch time.

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Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood 46

Epi — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:13:32 +0000

Many apologies for the late post. Between watching the Olympics (WOO GO CANADA!), Gundam Unicorn and waiting for the non-tsunami warning episode to pop up for screenshots it’s also been quite a busy week for me. But here goes!

Winry ponders the incoming tsunami

Summary:

Not that I'm complaining, but there's been a LOT of Winry fanservice lately...

It’s a few months later as the promised day is about to begin. The Briggs crew ends up bringing Winry back home. Relieved to be home at last, Winry changes into some fresh clothes when she realizes that Ed is there smelling her underwear eating a sandwich. After her initial scream at the sight of an intruder, everyone meets up at Winry’s room and it’s revealed that the Greed/Ed crew has been camping out at Winry’s house with her Grandmother for the last while. Distressed at all the guys in her room, Winry clears everyone out.

I'm loving the expression on the dog

Winry then lets Ed know that Al is nearby at the train station, but after some hesitation Ed decides not to go find him in case their covers are blown. That evening everyone has a meal (which my family could have easily polished off when I was a kid) together and Winry meets Greed for the first time. Afterwards Winry tunes up Ed’s automail when Ed tells Winry to leave the country because he may fail to save everyone. Winry scolds Ed for not believing that he’d succeed for sure, and vows to stay until he comes back. Afterwards Greed has a philosophical discussion with Ed about the nature of Greed.

Back at Lior, the other two chimeras finally meet back up with Scar and Dr. Marcoh and they set off to Central as per the plan. Scar has a bit of a surprise for them all though as he’s managed to gather up an Ishbal army in the previous few months to help with the upcoming battles.

In the East, the joint exercises between the Eastern and Northern army have begun with General Grumman looking as smug as ever (likely from many more wholesome ass grabs). Unfortunately for them all, Bradley has decided to drop in to watch the exercises as he realizes that something may be up.

Pride's such a creepy bastard

While the exercises begin, Al is hiding out in the train yard and realizes that his disabling visions are returning with increasing regularity. As he ponders this, he hears a sound outside and is soon chased by none other than a newly resurrected Gluttony and Pride and is easily captured.

The house is nice but it could really do with a giant hedge maze in the back!

At the Armstrong house, Mustang lets Olivier in on the true identity of Pride, and also lets her know that things are progressing as planned.

Back in the East, Bradley receives word that the Ishbals are attempting a terrorist act in Central and that Grumman’s plan is to intervene to help root out the terrorists. Caught in a bit of a catch-22, Bradley decides to head back to Central knowing of the oncoming trap.

Bradley gets dang blowned upped on the 'Eastwood Bridge', named for the cowboy who drove off the edge of the cliff in his DeLorian 100 years ago...

As Bradley’s train crosses a river, the bridge is blown up and everyone is sent to their deaths.

Back at Central Riza, Breda and Fuery are shown together ready to act.

Finally in the central command room, the generals realize that Bradley has ‘died’ and confusion breaks out in the ranks. As Olivier realizes that this is the time to make her move, she feels a powerful presence behind her…

Olivier is in sexual harassment city

Reaction:

So it looks like they decided to skip over all of the months of preparation and jump right to the final battle after all. I predict that the remaining episodes will all take place within the span of about a day or two (with possibly an epilogue episode at the end or so I hope) showing the final battle in all of it’s awesome glory. I’m assuming that this was to create a bit more mystery as we have no idea what either side has planned and we can be continuously and pleasantly surprised by how their intricate plans play out. Still deep down, I’m hoping that all their plans fail, but we’ll see some of the main characters making it up on the fly and doing a good job at it too, which would be much more fun to watch than have infinite ‘just as planned’ moments.

I do note one irregularity through. How are the Eastern and Northern armies are supposed to intervene, when the main bridge back to Central has been blown up (maybe alchemy will save the bridge?)? Is the country so small that a steam engine train or crappy cars could possibly make it to the capital from the East in a day to get there, considering the exercises take place the day before the Promised Day? While it’s still not exactly clear what Grumman’s plan of actually actually is, he likely knows that his little train stunt did nothing to actually hurt Bradley. Was it all just a play to draw Father out of hiding so that Hoenheim could find him? Or was it simply a way to kill a bunch of traitor senior officers all in one blow, while getting rid of Bradley at least for a very short while?

As for Ed, one wonders what exactly the little guy (who may have grown as he seems taller this episode) was doing all this time at Winry’s house. I really hope that he actually thought of something rather than just go to Winry’s house in the hopes that he might see everyone again (considering his first hunch failed big time). At the moment Ed seems a bit of a non-factor, although the next episode preview hints that him and Greed will have some awesome fight with Pride and Gluttony possibly saving Al in the process, although if they do it will likely be a total coincidence that they meet up.

Meanwhile, Mustang has obviously been busy all of this time. His former troops have now all gathered together (how did Riza escape Bradley’s spies exactly?) and we know *something* is about to happen.

We have no hint though of what’s going on with May Chang and Envy. Presumably by now Envy would have gotten her to meet up with the rest of the Homunculus by now unless she actually wizened up. I’m still holding out for her meeting up with Maria Ross and RAN FAN while squishing Envy somewhere, although I’d also accept Envy escaping as long as RAN FAN RETURNS.

As for the Ishbal army, the whole scene where they meet the army sort of reminded me of the scene in The Patriot where Mel Gibson’s kids kill off all the British soldiers in the woods. That is until I realized they were not actually ambushed and kumbaya was sang afterwards. I desperately hope that the Ishbal army is somewhat useful and doesn’t serve as a Gungan army proxy in some crappy re-imagined three-pronged attack ending to The Phantom Menance. The Ishbal are too awesome to just be ‘tribal army fodder’, although their lack of guns and alchemy power might hinder them.

Finally we get to the question of how Kimblee will factor into all of this. The dude’s gone missing for a while, so I totally expect him to be kicking some ass.

Oh and Izumi too.

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Naruto 485

Kabitzin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:02:46 +0000

I love how Kakashi only tells Sakura to leave

Summary:

I always found it ironic that Naruto uses the tight, neat Rasengan and Sasuke uses the flashy, uncouth Chidori

Doesn’t it look like Sasuke is a Hollow in that picture? Anyway, it’s a replay of what happened when Sasuke ragequit the Konoha guild years ago as everyone tries to cheer Sasuke up and Sasuke replies that he is going to eat their children. Kakashi just comes out and tells Sakura that her plan sucked because Sasuke already got the H1N1 vaccine while he was staying at Orochimaru’s, and Karin decides that maybe it’s time to stop worshiping Sasuke and give online dating another try.

That's a false dichotomy! Nice try, Sasuke.

When Naruto learns that Kakashi wants to kill Sasuke, Naruto restrains his teacher and leaps in to meet Sasuke’s attack. Once again Chidori meets Rasengan, resulting in some weird in-mind discussion where Sasuke reiterates that the only way to cleanse the Uchiha name is to wipe out Konoha. Hopefully Naruto has a plan to not wind up unconscious in the water during this mulligan, but at least this time Sasuke won’t be flapping away with goofy wings and bad face makeup.

Reaction:

Eh, this was kinda a boring chapter, but at least Sakura didn’t screw anything up this time. I’m still eager to see what Naruto’s plan is, and I figure it will involve him schooling Sasuke with some Sage mode, only to have Madara sweep Sasuke to safety. Also, I always find these in-mind discussions to be so dumb, but at least nobody was naked a la Gundam.

I know some people dislike how Sasuke is all stereotypical crazy villain guy now, but I like it. He’s like a rabid dog striking out against everyone, and yet he’s so skilled in battle that his complete lack of strategy is that much more appalling. Sasuke is what Sakura would be if she actually had any good moves. Plus Sasuke’s emo just makes Madara’s manipulations that much more delicious.

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