I still can’t decide how I feel about Erika. I love Dlanor and the inquisitors in general, but Erika.. I dunno. A huge part of me really wants Battler/Beato to win and do something horrible to her. But another large part of me wants to see Dlanor slaughter everyone and have them <Die the Death>.

AWESOME.  Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru, the Umineko ‘answer’ arcs!, EP5 op! Natsuhi seems to be getting a bigger roll, or at least a more important one. Natsuhi’s been kind of sidelined since EP1 and her conversation with Kinzo (which I am glad  they kept in the anime.. although it was kind of rushed), it’d be nice if they focused on her a bit.. spoiler/theory time:

Natsuhi is probably next to develop some sort of magic, since Jessica ends up with a barrier in EP4.. it wouldn’t surprise me if they gave Natsuhi something, despite not having Ushiromiya blood. I think it’ll tie in with Kinzo telling her she wears the Golden Eagle on her heart. There’s also a translation of some spoiler images from EP5 on Animesuki HERE, which also suggests Natsuhi has a much bigger role.. but it’s unclear if it’s positive or negative. I think her being the new Golden Witch is unlikely, however.

New witch appears to be a new Beatrice, and kind of looks like a mash between Ange and Virgilia..  maybe it’ll be a flashback to the time when Virgilia was Golden Witch? I’ve seen theories that the new witch is just Bernkastel, but they have different eye colours..  I won’t lie, though, she does look really similar to Bern, but I think it’s way too early for her to make a big move like that.  There’s also a theory that the new witch is the “real” Ushiromiya Battler, since they never did say what the “real” Battler’s sex was.. but I think that’s unlikely.
You also see Beato for a split second with her hair down.. I wonder if that will be permanent, or if she changes it when she loses her title? In any case, there’s a million theories about the new witch already, and I have no idea what could be most likely aha

Game should be out in August as per usual.. which is way too far off, especially after being given such big information. fff

The Ushiromiya family arrives on Rokkenjima Island for  the annual family conference.

I just skimmed this episode before the subs come out. First impression is that this episode was really, really rushed. Not sure why unless they’re limiting the first season to 13 episodes (which seems unlikely..), but they left out Battler’s reunion with everyone at the airport and all the dialogue on the boat. Pretty much jumps right into the family conference issues/Beatrice’s portrait. The facial contortions are every 5 minutes, which is really not really warranted.. the siblings early relationship was never this poor until the later episodes of the game. I can understand why they’re cutting out a lot of the boring development, though, otherwise they’d waste 26 episodes on witty sibling banter and “lol magic, sure, Maria”.

Episode includes some backstory on the Ushiromiya family, about the fire and Kinzo being forced to take over as head. Eva jumps right into discrediting Natsuhi for not being able to wear the Golden Eagle (which I don’t think happened this early before) and just.. a lot of yelling.

Most of the voices are okay, except Hideyoshi’s is weird and Eva sounds way too much like Takano. Maria sounds pretty much exactly like Ayu. Rosa is batshit insane right from the get-go. Art is alright but kind of weird, although I don’t really know what I was expecting.

As far as I can tell, some music is original but there is some music from the game included, like the serious/creepy music. Eyecatch is the chapter breaking shattered glass/clock noise.

You see a brief cameo of Beatrice near the end of the episode as she goes to give Maria the letter, but that’s about it. Not like I was expecting to see her at all, since you don’t formally ‘meet’ Beatrice until the end of Episode 1.

Overall this episode was a bit lacklustre, especially for a first episode, but here’s hoping it improves.

I’ve been watching K-On! since episode one started airing. Been following it every week, and I have to say, it has been one of the more enjoyable anime of this season!

K-On! follows four high school girls who get together and form the “Light Music Club”, which isn’t light music at all, it’s actually a full band. Overall it’s almost like a “Slice of Life” anime, as it just follows their daily adventures, but throughout the school year they have a goal: to be able to perform live on stage at Budoukan.

The series starts with Yui Hirasawa (Yui) as she first enters high school. She’s never participated in a club before, and she really wants to join one. After searching around, she sets her heart on the Light Music Club, but in her mind she believes the Light Music Club plays “Light Music”. She doesn’t know how to play any instruments!

She checks out the club, and there she meets Ritsu Tainaka (Ritsu), Mio Akiyama (Mio) and Tsumugi Kotobuki (Mugi). Ritsu and Mio have been friends all through school, and Mugi just joined the club as well.

Ritsu plays the drunks, Mio plays bass, and Mugi plays the keyboard.

Yui, having not played in a band before, doesn’t know how to play any instruments, nor does she have any of her own. She ends up choosing to play guitar, so their first challenge is to go out and buy her one.

They all decide to work part-time jobs to try to raise some money to help Yui buy her guitar.

Overall, the rest of the anime plays out the same, covering their daily lives and random mishaps and adventures they go on. Twice during the series they go out to a villa owned by Mugi’s family to practice, but spend the entire time playing at the beach or just having fun.

About half way through the series, they’re at the end of their first year in high school and they play their first live performance on stage at the school festival! It goes very well, except for one little mishap at the very end ;)

The next episode, they are in their second year of high school, and they’re taking new recruits to the Light Music Club! One person joins them, Azusa Nakano (Azusa) who also plays guitar and joins their band as a fifth member.

The series continues in its usual genre covering random adventures they take and their daily lives right up until episode 12, where they are at the end of another year of high school, and they play their second live performance at the school festival!

Overall, I enjoyed the series very much, it was extremely fun to watch and had many moments that were really funny.  I would watch it again :)

The first opening to anime is good. It changes on episode 9, when they start their second year of high school and Azusa joins them. The song doesn’t change, the animation changes to add Azusa into the existing opening. I like how they did that!

The ending, however, is by far my favorite ending of this anime season! “Don’t say lazy”, it’s a very catchy tune that will stay stuck in your head forever! And the animation of the ending is really good, the clothing they wear and the way it plays out, it looks almost exactly like a music video!

The servants have explained what happened in the servant’s bedroom, and while George is skeptical, he is willing to believe them.

Shannon feels like an idiot for breaking the mirror at the shrine, and is inconsolable. one of the servants mentions a mirror Natsuhi had, that was supposedly similar to the one Shannon broke. George proposes that they go break into the chapel and retrieve the key to Natsuhi’s room from her corpse (seeing as they all gave up their master keys to Rosa), get into her room and get the mirror to use as protection against Beatrice. Shannon gets a flashlight, and Gohda finds something to break the chapel window(s) with. Genji says he will stay behind, so he can be on-call for Kinzo if he is needed. As George, Shannon and Gohda set off, Genji sits in front of his unfinished chess game. Placing three knives beside him, he notices a gold butterfly out of the corner of his eye. He throws a knife at it, pinning it to the wall. He sits and waits for whatever will happen.

Meanwhile, everyone else is sitting in the parlor. Rosa barricaded the parlor room with furniture, and sits in a chair watching the window for suspects. Battler and Maria are trying to solve Beatrice’s riddle, but to no avail. Battler asks if Beatrice will really keep her promise to stop the ceremony once the riddle is solved, and Maria says yes. Apparently, with magic, one must take ‘risks’ to get any results. So, no matter what, if the riddle is solved Beatrice must stop the ceremony, and no one else will die. Battler doesn’t believe this, and thinks it’s just Beatrice tricking Maria’s innocent heart.

From their game above, Beatrice declares in red that she keeps her promises. If they manage to solve the riddle, the ceremony will stop. While she [Beatrice] admits she is a complete monster, since she is a witch, she has to follow certain rules. Beatrice asks if humans always follow their promises, to which Battler laughs. He says of humans need phrases like “keep your promises”, then they clearly aren’t very reliable. Beatrice agrees, saying humans aren’t born knowing fraud, they must learn it. Battler then restates that he will never give in to Beatrice. and will continue denying her forever. Beatrice laughs, saying she will help age Battler to the best wine to serve with her 1,000 years of time. She is happy Battler is finally getting back into the fighting spirit, so their game will become fun again.

Gohda, George and Shannon have successfully broken into the chapel, and Gohda asks Shannon to retrieve the key, as he cannot touch Natsuhi’s female body. Shannon agrees, and shares that Gohda was fired from his job and left homeless when Natsuhi hired him, essentially saving his life. As such, Gohda holds deep respect for Natsuhi and, even in her death, will not break that bond. Shannon grabs the key from the now-rotting corpse, and as she’s walking back to George and Gohda, their expressions change for the worse. Gold butterflies are surrounding Shannon at an incredible rate. George yells for Shannon to run, who is startled and only just notices the butterflies. As the windows in the chapel are high, they don’t have the time to get a footstool, so George tries to break the chapel doors down while Gohda protects Shannon. Beatrice appears, laughing at them, telling them if they think the chapel is a suitable cemetary they should just stay put. The door finally gives, and the three of them run into the house, only evading Beatrice and the butterflies thanks to the rain.

They finally arrive in Natsuhi’s room, and start ransacking the room for any sign of a treasure box or mirror. Gohda realizes the door has been left open and goes to close it, noticing the butterlies and 6 new Goat-Butlers approaching the door. Gohda freaks out and attempts to lock the door, only to find something on the other side is unlocking it. He fights back and forth with whoever’s on the other side, until he finally gives up and holds the door closed with his body. Shannon and George have found a locked box, and are trying to break into it. Shannon finds a letter opener, and George frantically tries to open the box. Gohda begs them to hurry, as he can feel the Goat-Butlers pushing to get in. Out of nowhere, an arm appears through the door, and a Stake pops through (I think it was Beelzebub, but I can’t remember what their hair looked like anymore). She laughs, and asks Gohda to scream when his life is over.. of course, at this point. Gohda is already screaming. She promptly kills him.

Shannon and George have gotten the mirror out, but not really in time. Right as they’re about to get killed, a red barrier appears around them, saving them from Beelzebub. Beatrice laughs, having forgotten Shannon was one of Kinzo’s pieces of furniture, and thus pretty badass. Beatrice asks if Shannon has any regrets, and then laughs, saying she can see them drooling out of her mouth. Shannon says no, she has none, since she is able to be with the one she loves no matter what. She tells Beatrice she is pitiful, pitiful, pitiful. Beatrice goes off the deep end, screaming to Shannon that she is nothing but useless, horrible furniture who is good for nothing and she should shut up and not mock Beatrice, the great Golden Witch. Beatrice strikes hard at Shannon’s barrier, and eventually it’s too much for her. The barrier falls, and Shannon apologizes for not being able to protect George until the end. He says it’s alright, she fought for him and that’s all that matters. They hold onto each others hands, and Shannon asks to hear George say “I love you” once before they die. As he’s about to say it, both of them are sliced into pieces.

Genji is wandering around the house, doing his rounds as normal. He finds it odd that he’s able to do things so casually, despite all that’s happened. He assumes it’s just resignation; that he’s given up. Since Rosa took all their master keys, all he really do is make sure windows are closed and locked. As he steps out for a minute, he notices some blood on a set of stairs outside.
Genji alerts Rosa that he’s located Nanjo and Kumasawa’s corpses. Rosa agrees to check it out, as she cannot believe anybody until she sees the corpses with her own eyes. Maria grabs Battler’s hand, telling him it will be okay as long as she is with him. They arrive in the courtyard and find the bodies of Nanjo and Kumasawa as the seventh and eighth twilights. Battler mentions that this means they skipped 4, 5, and 6.. only to realize Gohda, Shannon and George were not with Genji. Genji says he was alone in the kitchen, as the other 3 went to get the key to Natsuhi’s room. They all rush over to the house, and to Natsuhi’s bedroom.

As they arrive at Natsuhi’s room, they find the door covered with hand prints and what looks like blood. Genji tries to open the door, but it’s locked. Rosa gives a master key to Battler, and he opens the door. Inside, they find the bodies of Gohda, Shannon, and George, as the fourth, fifth, and sixth twilights.

Returning to the parlor, Rosa says goodnight to Genji. Battler is confused as to why Rosa is leaving him alone after what they just saw. Rosa again says that Genji is a suspect, especially since he is the only one of the servants left alive. Battler tries to interject, but Genji interrupts and says it’s alright, he will head off to sleep. Inside the parlor, Battler sits down, only to find an envelope on the table. He opens it, finding a page with a magic circle drawn on, and a page with a letter from Beatrice. The letter asks if they’ve solved the riddle yet, and tells them the ninth twilight is coming soon.

Maria notices the letter in Battler’s hand, and says something. Rosa freaks out, as she herself checked all the locks before they left to check the corpses, and now suspects Battler is the culprit. Battler must of placed the envelope there himself, because it definitely wasn’t there when Rosa came in. Battler counters, saying that since Natsuhi’s room was locked, and Rosa’s the only one with keys now, that she must of killed the 3 in there. They go back and forth, accusing one another, until Maria tells them to stop. Maria says not to worry, because the witch did everything. Battler cries out for Beatrice to show herself and admit responsibility for all that has happened today, but to no avail.

Kinzo awakens in his room. He wonders how far along Beatrice’s ceremony is. He approaches her portrait and cries out to her, begging for her to show herself to him, so he can apologize. Beatrice appears and chuckles, laughing at Kinzo. He continues to cry, wishing he could see her, and sets up an ongoing game on the chess board. Beatrice laughs again, saying no woman could fall in love with Kinzo’s tears. He whispers ‘I love you’ to Beatrice, and she laughs again. Someone knocks at Kinzo’s door, and he calls out. Nobody answers, so he calls out again. He then asks if it is Beatrice, and the only response he gets is this:
‘at the ninth twilight, the witch shall be revived and none shall be left alive.’

Battler is in the dining room, getting totally drunk. Genji comes in, and Battler assumes he is about to be killed. Genji summons Battler to Kinzo’s study to learn the ‘truth’. He agrees, and heads upstairs. Once they arrive, he finds Kinzo playing chess with someone.. Beatrice. She laughs, and Battler wtf’s, and Beatrice offers to answer all of Battler’s questions before the ninth twilight..

BATTLER JUST LOST THE GAME. Credits roll. But wait! There’s more!

Rosa is in the chapel, calling for Beatrice. She takes a gold ingot from the table and puts it in a bag. Maria tells her to calm down, Beatrice will be coming very soon.

Beatrice is preparing in Kinzo’s study. Battler has become her furniture. Genji prepares Beatrice’s dress, and him and Kinzo leave so she can get ready. She forces Battler to undo all the buttons on her clothes.

Downstairs, there are guests in goat masks everywhere. Beatrice descends down the staircase, with Battler on a leash behind her, into the crowd. She runs into Bernkastel, who is not very fond of Beatrice’s furniture hobby. Everyone starts to head into the Golden Land.. which entails eating the humans who have survived. Kinzo is devoured, and then, after putting up a bit of a fight, so is Battler.

Rosa and Maria are fleeing from the Goat-Butlers in the garden. Maria trips, and Rosa stops to help her, and kills a Goat-Butler. She is out of bullets, and, while Maria reloads the gun, Rosa is flinging the bar of gold into Goat’s heads and shoves a pen into one of their eyes. They keep running, until Rosa trips on a set of stairs and breaks her ankle. Rosa tells Maria to go on ahead, but Maria ignores her. Rosa asks Maria if she really wants to be with a bad Mama like her, and Maria says yes, of course, you are my only Mama. The two of them are devoured by the Goats together.

BAD END UH OH. I don’t really have any words, especially since I beat this a few days ago and have already beaten EP3 in the time it’s taken me to finish posting  these summaries/I’m really lazy. But, in the words of the great witch Bernkastel..

Shannon and Genji have told Kinzo what happened. He is happy that the game has finally begun. Shannon asks what she should tell Rosa, and Kinzo freaks out, telling them to spend their remaining time doing whatever they want, servants included. Genji and Shannon decline, saying, as furniture, their duty is to serve their master [Kinzo]. Kinzo decides to write a will, and asks Shannon to copy it down. Genji serves him a drink, and he begins with when he met Beatrice.

Gohda has returned the to chapel, and explains the current situation with Rosa. Nanjo says they should all leave and lock up, so once the police come, everything will be intact. Gohda and Rosa agree, asking Battler and George to come out. George swears to his parents that he will become a man they can be proud of. Battler says the same thing, and adds that they were at least allowed to rest in a pretty badass place. He vows he will catch the person who did this, and they leave the chapel.

Outside, they start discussing why the bodies would of been placed in the chapel. Rosa says, even as a child, she was never permitted to go inside. TEven though it was never used, the servants were still required to clean it a few times a year. Everyone referred to it as the “forbidden” chapel. A plaque above the door states “This door will not open without a miracle”. Nanjo tells them that Kinzo used to be quite the romantic, and probably built the chapel with the hopes that he could one day marry Beatrice. Battlers laughs and says it’s a pretty lame “forbidden” chapel if the servants go in 4 times a year to clean, and besides, they were just inside now, weren’t they? Rosa freaks out and mentions that Genji said there was only one key.. Maria laughs, telling everyone how slow they were to realize this. The key had been in Maria’s bag for over a day, so how could the culprit get inside the chapel?

Cut back to Beatrice and Battler’s “chess game”, Battler is pissed that Beatrice is adding more ‘closed rooms’ to the game (much like the gardening shed in episode 1). Beatrice says her magic unlocked the door, but Battler disagrees. Just like last time, he isnt given enough information to decide how this could of been done. Beatrice laughs, and the two of them go back and forth about the closed room theory. Beatrice decides to set up a new rule: whenever she is  speaking the truth, she will speak in red. When she isn’t, she needs to explain herself or show proof to back up her point. Battler starts spewing off excuses or reasons why the doors to the chapel couldnt have been used, such as a secret entry or someone unhinging the door, but Beatrice red texts Battler’s poor ass. Battler is about to give up and resign to Beatrice, until he realizes his thinking has been flawed all along. Instead of inquiring about the door, he starts asking about the key. He guesses that, while Beatrice did give Maria the key, she took it out and used it and then replaced it, as Maria’s bag wasnt under her [Maria's] constant supervision. Beatrice refuses to say in red that Maria’s bag was always under her supervision, proving Battler’s theory. Beatrice also asks Battler to call her Beato, just like her close friends do. Since Beatrice can’t say the key was never used in red, Battler calls checkmate. Beatrice resigns, saying Battler has won this board, but he can’t win them all.

Rosa and the children arrive at the parlor, and Kumasawa cheerfully greets them. Gohda fills her in and she is shocked/terrified. Rosa decides she is no longer a child, as she is acting as a parent for Battler and George now. She decides to go upstairs and speak to Kinzo personally. As she’s walking up the stairs, out of the corner of her eye, she sees golden butterflies. As Rosa gets upstairs, Beatrice shows up laughing, asking how the next piece will entertain her.

In the parlor, Kumasawa offers to make everyone tea with biscuits. They decline, and continue discussing theories around what happened. They realize the culprit is still on the island, which scares the shit out of Kumasawa. They start discussing the 3 gold bars that were in the middle of the table in the chapel, and Kumasawa mention she’s heard Krauss talk about one gold bar before. It was mentioned that only one gold bar was ever found.. so how was there 3 in the chapel? They discuss several theories, such as someone sneaking the bars onto the island or each sibling having one, but they’re all refuted rather quickly. Rosa returns to the parlor with Genji, Shannon, and a gun. Everyone is shocked to see it, until Rosa reminds them that, hey, a serial killer is amongst us. Protection would probably be wise. They decide to go upstairs and get Jessica and Kanon, as all being together would be wise.

As they approach the top of the stairs, Rosa yells for them to stop. Another magical symbol is painted onto the door of Jessica’s room. Genji opens the door, and they find Jessica’s corpse, with an icepick sticking out of the back. Everyone freaks out until Rosa tells them to calm down. She asks where Kanon is, and they search the room, hoping maybe he had been hiding from the culprit. No dice. Rosa finds a key on Jessica’s dresser and asks what it’s for. Gohda says it’s the key to Jessica’s room, and Shannon piped in that Jessica only locked her room when she went to school. Rosa asks if the master keys can open the door, and the servants say yes. Rosa asks if there are any extras, and Shannon says no, Natsuhi asked them to destroy them.

Cut up to Battler and Beatrice’s game, Battler mentions that “spare” master keys were brought up in the last game. Beatrice laughs, saying she gave this game a little twist..

Rosa again asks if all the servants have their master keys. They all respond yes. Rosa then suggests that maybe Kumasawa was the culprit, as she ‘woke up’ late and no one had seen her until they returned from the chapel. As Kumasawa denies that, she then suspects Gohda, as he was the last person to see Jessica or Kanon alive. Gohda also denies Rosa’s claims, and as Shannon and Genji were with Kinzo in his study the whole time, the only logical suspect is Kanon. No one wants to believe this is true, but every time someone says Kanon couldnt be the culprit, Rosa asks who seems more suspicious: Gohda or Kumasawa. To Rosa, those 3 are the only viable suspects. Everyone agrees to just ‘suppose’ Kanon is the culprit, as he is the only one not present, and it’s a much better option then suspecting someone who is currently in their group.

Jessica and Kanon are watching over the group, with Jessica crying and screaming that Kanon isn’t the culprit. Beatrice appears and laughs at her, saying her voice will never reach them. Jessica appears beside Rosa and screams at her to listen, because Kanon really isnt the culprit. Everyone decides to leave the room until the police can come and investigate, and Beatrice continues laughing at Jessica’s attempt to talk to her family. Before they’re about to leave, Battler speaks up. He says he refuses to believe Kanon is the culprit.

From their game, Beatrice laughs. She asks Battler how he’s going to prove this closed room wrong. Battler admits that he gives up on that aspect, and he can’t be responsible for his own real-world conduct.

Battler again says that Kanon can’t be the culprit. Rosa asks him which of the servants did  this to Jessica, and Battler says none. Kumasawa and Gohda both exist to make others happy, with their jokes and food, so neither of them could of done this, even with a pile of money in front of their eyes. He asks everyone to stop suspecting anyone.

From their game, Beatrice asks how Battler can prove Kanon isnt the culprit. Battler asks Beatrice to say it in red: Kanon had his master key on his person. She can’t (as she stole Kanon’s master key to open the honoured guest room).

Battler mentions to everyone that he heard what Gohda said before he split up with Kanon, about Jessica bursting into Beatrice’s room. Everyone is confused, and Battler congratulates Gohda on protecting Kanon’s honour.

From their game again, Beatrice laughs, saying since Kanon’s corpse isn’t present, nothing can be proven. Battler says it’s actually really simple..

Battler asks Nanjo to search Jessica’s pockets for Kanon’s master key, which he finds. Kanon is now cleared as the culprit for now. Battler asks everyone to not suspect anymore.

Back to the game, Battler admits he probably fell into Beatrice’s trap, as now he can’t prove how the door was locked behind the culprit. Beatrice says the door is the only way in, there are no secret doors, the master key and Jessica’s keys are the only way in, and the window was locked from the inside in red. As Battler proved Kanon couldnt be a suspect, all that’s left is one of the servants, or accepting Beatrice. Beatrice says that the door to Jessica’s room could not of been unlocked by any other means in red. Battler’s realized that he’s backed himself into quite the corner, as his previous theory for the chapel would also put himself and the rest of the cousins as suspects. Beatrice laughs at Battler closing himself into his own ‘closed room”, and they get back to their game.

Battler gives up, admitting that he can’t figure out who killed Jessica. Shannon thanks him for clearing Kanon, and Battler reminds her that, with Kanon cleared, she is now a viable suspect. He apologizes to Rosa for not agreeing with her, and Rosa apologizes for jumping to conclusions. Him and Rosa shake hands and make up.

Everyone is back in the parlor, eating a delicious lunch of canned food. Rosa suspects poison may have been involved, so no one is allowed to eat any of the fresh ingredients in the house. Maria shows Battler a “Sheeps and Wolves” puzzle, some crap about transporting sheep idk. Battler recognizes that Rosa sees all the servants as “wolves” (aka bad guys). Rosa asks all the servants to go into the kitchen with Gohda while he does dishes. Rosa starts discussing new theories she has, such as a secret passage being in the room so Kanon could lock the door from the inside and then escape.

From their game, Beatrice laughs. Battler knows this theory is wrong, as he tried it himself, but he has no way of telling Rosa this. Beatrice again stats in red that there are no secret passages, and no way in except the door and window.

Rosa is again saying the servants have done this. She says Shannon is definitely a suspect, which pisses the shit out of George, but Rosa won’t apologize. Since she is trying to act like a mother to both him and Battler, she will even turn into a demon to protect them and Maria.

The servants are happily washing dishes and making soup in the kitchen. Since it is just the servants, they seem relaxed. Gohda decided to make food with the fresh ingredients anyways, just for the servants. Nanjo and Genji are playing chess, while Shannon and Kumasawa are washing dishes, until they hear a loud bang on the side door.  Realizing that not only is this outside, but is probably only something the servants know of, Genji grabs a knife and him and Gohda open the door. And there is.. Kanon?? He is bleeding seriously through a wicked deep chest wound, and everyone surrounds him. Kumasawa is about to go tell Rosa when ‘Kanon’ tells her not to. They all bring Kanon upstairs into the servants bedroom to treat his wound. After a few minutes of trying to stop the bleeding, ‘Kanon’ seems to be in less pain and bleeding less. He opens his eyes (which are somehow red) and mentions that Rosa is the one who did this to him and Jessica. Gohda is outraged, demanding the go downstairs, as George and Battler are alone with Rosa and her gun. Shannon storms out and heads into the.. Boiler room?
Gohda is trying to persuade everyone to go downstairs to save Battler and George, but Kumasawa suggests they not provoke her. Her gun only has 5 bullets, not enough to kill everyone, but enough. ‘Kanon’ somehow gets up and again begins to scream about Rosa being the one who did this to him and Jessica.

Shannon returns from the Boiler room with a hankerchief covered in spiderwebs. She asks ‘Kanon’ if he is the real Kanon, and he laughs. He asks about the hankerchief, and she tells him. She says, if it is really Kanon, this will be okay, but if he isn’t.. as she comes closer, ‘Kanon’ freaks out and a blade homes out of his arm. He slices through Nanjo and Kumasawa’s necks (OSHI-), as Genji pulls Shannon out of the way. Genji instructs Gohda to pin ‘Kanon’, and he does. Genji takes the hankerchief from Shannon and presses it against ‘Kanon’s’ face, burning him and causing him to blow up into thousands of butterflies. So this Kanon wasn’t real, it was a trick.
Kumasawa and Nanjo are lying on the floor, coughing/puking/leaking blood everywhere.

The remaining servants head downstairs and inform Rosa of what just happened. She asks if they saw the culprit, but none of them can really explain what happened. Bit by bit they start to explain, but all Rosa hears is Kanon’s name, and how he somehow was alive and killed Nanjo and Kumasawa. They all decide to head to the servant’s bedroom to survey the damage/bodies.

When they arrive at the bedroom, everyone is taken aback by the blood. Until they notice something.. the bodies are missing, despite the room being locked. Everyone freaks out, and Rosa suspects the servants even more. The servants relinquish their master keys to Rosa, and tell her that, when she is ready, they will be waiting for her. As they are furniture, their only purpose is to serve  the Ushiromiya family, no matter what. As the servants go to leave, George decides to stay with Shannon, and leaves with them. As soon as they’re gone, Rosa laughs and tells Battler that you can never trust furniture, and that more than 5 keys obviously exist.

From their game, Battler is crying and accepting Beatrice’s existence, although he wont lick her shoes like she wants. She is telling him to strip naked and crawl around on the floor, so he can become her furniture.

Daamn, Battler and Beato’s epic battle about Jessica’s killer was awesome. She really had Battler cornered. (I’m playing through Ep3 now, and it’s funny how much better/badass Battler has gotten at countering Beato’s closed rooms)
Fake!Kanon was also awesome, as soon as he started talking about Rosa I knew he had to be a Stake. Shannon and Genji were pretty great, especially Shannon and her spiderweb hankerchief crap.
I also like how easily Beato can corner and ruin Battler’s theories with her red text.

The kids are in the guesthouse with Nanjo, eating their cake. Apparently it sucks because Gohda isn’t there to boast about it.

The kids harass Nanjo about Kinzo having a “secret lover” in the past name Beatrice, and Nanjo confirms it, but denies the secret child theory. The kids then bug Maria about Beatrice, and Battler laughs because he still denies the existance of witches. Maria gets annoying, kihihihihi’s a lot, and refutes Battler’s chessboard thinking, saying “you cannot win a chess game against a witch”.

Shannon and George are off hiding somewhere, and Shannon asks what exactly it means to be engaged. George gets flustered and Shannon chuckles at him, while George talks about their future. George proclaims that he wants to take Shannon and keep her for himself, and Shannon asks to see it [their future]. George mistakes it for her wanting to see the ring, and fumbles the box out. He asks Shannon to put the ring on whatever finger she wants as her answer, and she immediately puts it on her left hands ring finger.

Kanon is wicked pissed that Shannon accepted the thing, even though she is ‘furniture’. Shannon laughs at Kanon, saying he is the one with regrets, not her. Kanon bawls because he finally admits his love for Jessica, and how badly he wanted to be with her. Shannon assures him that, although he is less than human, he is allowed to love.

Beatrice is pleased, as all the conditions for beginning her ‘game’ have been met. She explains that she can be ‘defeated’, as a game without the ability to lose is no fun at all. She explains she can be ‘defeated’ if someone can solve the riddle of the epitaph under her portrait, and laughs at Battler.

The parents are all together with Beatrice, and, one by one, each accept Beatrice’s existance. Let the games begin?

Kinzo awakens, happy to find his blood is still running through his veins. He is pleased that he was not one of the first 6 sacrifices, and boasts that his defenses are perfect. He will not lose.

Shannon knocks on the door of the dining hall, assuming the family conference is still going on. As she enters, she finds no one is there, and their tea set has been neatly stacked together. Out of the corner of her eye, Shannon notices a note under the set, with only one word: “chapel”.
Rosa is awakened by Genji knocking on her door. When Rosa answers, Genji tells her something strange has happened at the chapel.. by the time the two of them get there, all the morning servants are already present. They find a large magical circle drawn on the door in gross “red paint” (lol sure sure). They notice a single line in English, under the circle:
Happy HALLOWEEN for MARIA.

Rosa freaks out, asking if they had checked on the cousins. They apologize and say no, they also just notices that line. Rosa is kind of confused as to why she was called out instead of the other siblings, as her rank is lowest amongst the Ushiromiya’s. Rosa asks if they checked inside the chapel, and the servants tell Rosa they can’t open the door, as the only key to the chapel has gone missing. Rosa remembers the envelope Beatrice gave Maria, and dashes off to the guesthouse to find it. Once there, she is relieved to find all 4 cousins sound asleep and safe. Rosa grabs the envelope from Maria bag, feeling a large object inside, which is no doubt a key. She rips open the envelope, grabs the key, and runs back to the chapel. Genji is kind of “wtf” at her having found the key, but no matter, it’s time to open this bitch up.

Once inside, they notice a table on the altar that shouldn’t be there. As they slowly approach, they realize it’s set up with a metric fuckton of Halloween style candies, drinks, and pumpkins. On each side, there are 3 people: Krauss, Natsuhi, Eva, Hideyoshi, Rudolf, and Kyrie. Despite calling out to them, Rosa and the servants are ignored. As Rosa gets closer and closer, she notices candy all over the floor, along with.. cranberry and blackberry jam? OSHI–THAT’S NO JAM! Rosa screams as she realizes this is.. a banquet for those not of this world. OSHIIII ps, this music is epic. Absolutely epic. And how can we tell they are dead and not just “sleeping”? Well, they had been vertically cut open, from their chests to their stomachs! And that “jam” looking stuff on the floor? Oh, just their stomach contents, no biggie. Oh, and their insides were stuffed with candy, like a pinata. Man, that Beatrice, always trying to please. Oh, quick note, their stomachs were stuffed BEFORE they were cut open. Just fyi.

Rosa remembers a birthday she had where a turkey was stuffed with some.. gross stuff, and when it was cut it splooshed and dripped out just like this. She proceeds to vomit everywhere at the thought. Godha mentions the police, and Rosa freaks out, saying yes, we need to call them, because it’s something “real” to distract her from the gross scene in front of her. She feels like her own stomach is being filled with candy, so she vomits again and.. searches for candy inside it. Rosa gives instructions on what to do from here, and the servants scatter. Rosa is disgusted with herself, because she feels, while this is tragic.. it’s also beautiful, in a way.

The cousins are all wandering through the mansion, wondering what’s going on. No one can seem to find any of their parents, or the servants, anywhere. Maria is pitching a fit because Rosa took her letter, and no one can console her. They meet up with Nanjo, who is also confused, and walk around until they see Gohda and Kanon running in. Kanon grabs Nanjo and runs to the chapel, while Gohda tries to call the police. The cousins follow Kanon and Nanjo, and see their parents dead and mutilated. More “oh shit”.

Battler freaks out from their above ‘chess game’, and Beatrice laughs. Beatrice was expecting thanks, not grief. Battler wants to cut Beatrice’s ears off so she can hear his thanks better (how cliche). Beatrice says she expected thanks because, in the last murder, their faces were all unidentifiable, and Battler used that as a theory to doubt the witches existance (saying fake corpses could of been placed there as the corpses identities couldnt be proven). Battler tells Beatrice to fuck right off.

Gohda arrives at the chapel, and Rosa asks what happened with the popo. Gohda tells her the lines have all been cut, and they have no contact with the outside world. Jessica freaks, cursing Beatrice, and runs off to find her. Kanon and Gohda chase after her. Battler says he understands how she feels, but he cant suspect Beatrice, because he doesnt know who it could be. George finds an unopened envelope on the table amidst the candy, addressed ‘to those who remain’. The letter states that Beatrice is here to collect the gold she gave Kinzo, ‘with interest’ The ‘interest’ being all the Ushiromiya family members. There is a catch, though; if someone can solve the riddle and find the gold, she will give up forever. Battler is pissed, and convinced he’ll find the gold. Maria laughs, and asks Beatrice to hurry up and open the door to the Golden Land so they can be together.

Gohda and Kanon catch up to Jessica, who is about to burst into Beatrice’s room. She demands the master key, and, while Gohda resists, Kanon gives it up. Jessica bursts in, screaming for the witch, only to find the room empty. Kanon finds a note on the table and tells Jessica about it, who reads it. The note tells her that she [Beatrice] is not an idiot; she wouldnt wait around for them to come kill her. She asks how they feel, having their parents, who raised them to be stupid, be murdered. And how stupid their faces looked while it happened. Jessica freaks out, breaking stuff left and right, until Gohda restrains her and she falls to the ground sobbing (this is probably the only time Gohda has actually been cool, and not a jackass). Jessica starts having a wicked asthma attack. Kanon asks Gohda to leave Jessica to him, and Gohda agrees/leaves. Jessica and Kanon leave for her room, where she takes her inhaler and tries to calm down. Kanon asks if she’s alright (like an idiot), and Jessica replies that she will be. Kanon says he’ll be in the corridor if she needs him.

Outside, Kanon is upset that he can’t comfort Jessica, because he’s furniture. Beatrice shows up and laughs at him, saying since him and Jessica are so close, that they should be sacrifices for the second twilight. Kanon disagrees, saying he has no feelings for Jessica, and Beatrice laughs some more. She tells Kanon she doesn’t care; she’s going to kill Jessica anyways. She promptly disappears and Jessica starts screaming for help.

Inside Jessica’s room are 59834860346034034 golden butterflies, surrounding and choking Jessica. Kanon bursts in, telling Jessica as long as he has his life, he will protect her. Beatrice laughs and asks Kanon to show her what Kinzo’s furniture can do. She summons a Goat-Buttler; a familiar servant who exists only to serve Beatrice. She asks Kanon to show her again, and reminds him not to mess up, because if he acts human now, Jessica will also lose her life. CUE ABSOLUTELY EPIC BATTLE BETWEEN GOAT-BUTLER AND KANON. Kanon is injured as they battle, and Jessica cheers him on. Kanon eventually tricks the Goat-Butler and appears behind him, slicing him into 7 pieces. The Goat-Butler turns into butterflies and flutters off. (it is really hard to describe this epic battle, but let me assure you, it was AWESOME)

Kanon tells Beatrice she’s next, and swipes at her. She disappears into thousands of butterflies, and reappears behind Kanon. She laughs and says she was going to let this one slide, but Kanon’s rudeness has changed her mind. She tells him to know his place, because he is furniture. Jessica yells at Beatrice that he isnt furniture, he is just Kanon. Jessica tells Beatrice to stfu, seriously, cause he isnt furniture. Beatrice is tired of them, and summons Asmodeus, one of the Seven Stakes of Purgatory, to finish them off. Asmodeus laughs and offers to pierce Kanon wherever he wants, but he ignores her. She goes to pierce him in the back, but Jessica jumps behind him and saves him. Beatrice laughs, as Jessica has been killed first; Kanon’s worst nightmare. Beatrice calls another stake, Satan, up to kill Kanon. Beatrice laughs, saying since he isn’t human, it’s more like taking props off a stage then a human stepping down. Kanon tells Beatrice he is no longer furniture. Satan strikes Kanon in the chest, and he falls beside Jessica. Jessica tells Kanon he looked cool fighting for her, and asks his real name. Kanon dies before he can tell her. Beatrice laughs and blows smoke at Kanon, causing his body to disappear, as she won’t let his and Jessica’s corpses be discovered together.

Oh man now shits getting REALLY epic. The murders this time around were much more gruesome then the first episode’s, and more awesome. I actually just noticed, too, that if you go to the character menu in System, their bodies are covered in blood and have creepy/disjointed phrases underneath their death times. So, so badass. Kanon and Goat-Butler’s battle was EPIC, and so is the arrival of the Stakes (FINALLY JESUS). It’s too bad we don’t get to find out his real name yet.

Goddamn this is way too epic.

I started watching Zettai Karen Children recently… But I have to say, what got me interested was the discovery of this PV by Karen Girl’s. There’s a certain style of music I like, and this fell right into it.

Of course, since I just started watching Zettai Karen Children, the OP isn’t MY WINGS. No, that comes during the second half of the series. I’m looking forward to that! Mind you, the first OP is quite nice as well! Also by the same group, Karen Girl’s.

I’ll be writing a fair review of the series once I finish it up! :D

Minami-ke Okawari picks up right where the first season left off. Same thing, slightly different name.

I found this season to be funnier, probably since I got most of the jokes this time around. I also think it had something to do with this season having a much larger (regular) cast; it was very rarely just the 3 sisters, most of the time it included Chiaki’s classmates at the very least.

I guess this big thing with this season was the change in animation studios. A lot of blogs I read seemed to really dislike, or outright hate, the new art. Personally, I barely noticed a difference. I only really noticed a difference in Chiaki; her eyes were less droopy, and her hair was lighter/gradient. In any case, the humour was virtually the same, so why so serious, animu? A little change never hurt anybody. Especially since this season, to me, was even funnier then the first. While the art was no longer ‘pretty’, it doesn’t distract away from the content, which should be the selling point/important part of a series. So, meh.

No real new running gags at all, other then “lol Mako’s really a boy and Touma’s really a girl lol look at us, being edgy” but meh. Hosaka is clearly still the best character ever.. especially in the last episode.

Again, I didn’t listen to the OP/ED at all, and, again, I find it hard to ‘review’ a slice of life show.