[C] The Money of Soul and Possiblilty Control Episode 11

Shadow clone no jutsu!

Japan is in chaos with millions of citizens demanding to have a currency exchange as the yen is now worth nothing and stores will only accept dollars. Elsewhere, an intense battle has begun...

That is so freaking creepy.

Mikuni obviously has the advantage having several assets at his command whilst Kimimaro only has 2 in his possession. The battle scenes are executed rather nicely with some interesting angles here and there, and apparently, Kimimaro learned how to clone himself in battle at some point. Whilst Mikuni and Kimimaro face off, elsewhere, Msyu attempts to talk some senses into Q during their fight. Q continues to scare the crap out of me from wearing her usual emotionless poker face to suddenly going all cannibal on Msyu. I never noticed it up until Msyu points this out, but Q actually looks like Mikuni's younger sister...with green hair. Evemtually,, Kimimaro manages to defeat Mikuni and the world becomes all colorful with rainbows and butterflies and Mikuni sees the error of his ways...kinda...

I was thoroughly confused in this scene.

I'm glad she's alive and all, but that creeper laugh was uncalled for.

*Sparkly*

YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS

Once the battle is over, these sparkly orbs of happiness spread all over Japan and return the lost "futures" to the citizens who initially lost them due to Mikuni's rash actions. These scenes were incredibly pretty and colorful, and I was pretty happy that Hanabi regained her future as well. (Though, at first, I thought she was gonna die) Masakaki does another one of his happy dances, Takedazaki is most likely going to continue his job as an information broker in a different Financial District, and everyone's happy. In some other twisted dimension, Kimimaro is shown on his bed speaking to an unknown figure and coming face-to-face with Masakaki's other multi-colored siblings. I was kind of lost during this scene, but I'm guessing that the glowing dude was some kind of angel.

It's happy dance time! :D

They've come for you.

Is that so? :/

Suddenly - MATH

After the end credits, an epilouge featuring the "new" Japan that Kimimaro created is  shown. The yen is now obselete and everyone is using dollars. Hanabi was able to live her dream as a teacher, much to Kimimaro's (and my) relief. I was pretty upset that Msyu didn't reunite with Kimimaro in this "new" Japan", but I heard that episode 12 (possibly a bonus episode) is in the works, the there's still a chance of seeing these to meet up again (either that, or it's another one of those "in-between the timeline" stories like the Angel Beats! ova).
This episode gets:

Final Verdict:
A series highly recommended for the intellectual and for those who crave a more mature, action-packed series. I thoroughly enjoyed this show and I loved how the main protagonist is actually a college student for once instead of another naive high schooler. The animation is well-done and pretty consistent with a few glitches here and there. I even picked some new "money terms" along the way, and despite its short length, the episodes didn't really feel too rushed and the ending actually had a proper conclusion.  Here's hoping that FUNimation gives it a solid dub. It's final score is:

1/2

Actually, Mikuni's the only one smiling, so I don't think you're the odd one out.

Ano Hana Episode 11

So.Much.Crying.

The final episode of Ano Hana, and it does not disappoint. Everyone from the Super Peace Busters finally let out all the feelings they have been bottling up inside. Anaru starts off with admitting that she only wanted Menma to go to heaven so that Jintan would stop thinking about her. Yukiatsu admits that, even after all these years, he still can't stop chasing after Menma. Finally, Tsuruko lashes out to Anaru that, rather than being jealous of Menma, she was jealous of Anaru as she believed that if Menma and Jintan ever got together, Anaru would have most likely hooked up with Yukiatsu. Poppo unleashes the final blow by stating that the only reason he's been traveling was to forget how useless he was when he saw Menma drown in the river. Elsewhere, Menma is slowly beginning to fade away.

She was such a cute kid.

Did not see that coming.

Not good.

So, looks like I was (thankfully) wrong about Poppo having a crush on Menma. Though, I really didn't expect Poppo, of all people, to be the one who witnessed Menma's death first-hand. Not that there's anything wrong with that, script-wise, as I enjoy being taken by surprise (as long as it doesn't involve my favorite character dying). After letting it all out, the group has somehow gotten closer and the mood is lightened up after Jintan points out that one of Anaru's fake eyelashes are peeling off. This little moment was handled really well and it didn't force itself too hard into the dramatic mood. It was also nice to see the group unconsciously slip to using each other's childhood nicknames again. With a new-found resolve, Jintan is sent to retrieve Menma so that they can finally say their farewells.

Yukiatsu laughing?! Didn't see that coming either.

They were all such cute kids.

Okay, now I don't hate Yukiatsu so much anymore.

Compare and contrast with the first cap.

When Jintan arrives, he finds Menma collapsed on the floor. It's here where we finally find out what Menma's true wish was: A promise to Jintan's mother to make her son cry. To let out his bottled up pains and emotions. Her wish was so simple, yet so sweet. Jintan, despite the fact that Menma finally had her wish fulfilled in seeing her closest friends in tears, still remains firm in his decision to allow the entire Super Peace Busters to properly say good-bye to Menma. When he meets up with his friends at the secret base, however, he can no longer see Menma (though he can still hear her).

Looking manly there, Yukiatsu.

What are these wet things coming out of my eyes?!

Menma tells Jintan that she's playing "Hide-and-Seek", so Jintan and the rest of the group leave the base in search of Menma. While they're away, she begins writing in her diary whilst tears fall from her eyes. The group continues to search for her, and finally find letters addressed to each of them underneath a tree. Each letter has Menma naming the qualities she loves about each of her friends. Jintan, unsatisfied, calls out to Menma that they haven't found her yet, so she shouldn't leave yet. Then, the entire group starts yelling "One more time!" (though for some reason, the subs place "Are you there?"). And, at last, the entire group can finally see her.

Dang it! I really wanted to ship these two together!

This scene was too cute.

Hold on  a sec...There's something in my eye.

What I really loved about the final scene with Menma was how everyone (but her) reverted back to children, which was both really cute and touching, in fact, I actually started to feel some wet substance coming out of my eyes at that moment...And don't get me started on when she finally disappears. Then, we get an epilouge of sorts where we see how everyone is doing. Jintan has started going to school again, Yukiatsu and Tsuruko are both on much better terms (and it's hinted that both couples may be cannon), and Poppo is finally catching up to his studies whilst working at the construction site at the same time. This episode was absolutely stupendous, and. if I could, I would give it a higher rating then 5:

Final Verdict:
This is definitely the show of the season. The storyline was excellent, and, though the anime had some issues with quality here and there, it was still pretty consistent and I've honestly seen worst, and I definitely look forward to the soundtrack's release. Though many thought that Hanasku Iroha  would give it tough competition for the top slice-of-life drama series, Ano Hana has definitely won me over. (Don't get me wrong, Hanasaku is an enjoyable series, it just isn't up to par with Ano Hana). And there aren't many series out there that can make me unconsciously cry out there (the only most recent ones being CLANNAD and Angel Beats!), so I applaud Ano Hana for this as well. This is definitely a series you do not want to miss.
It's final score is:

When did my roof start leaking?

Nichijou Episodes 11 and 12

Major spaz-out time!

After  recovering from a cold, Yuuko's mom reminds her that she has to take a test the following day, something that "slipped" her mind during her recovery. Cue her major spaztastic freaking out at having absolutely no time to catch up to her studies. In the end, she decides to catch another cold...but inevitably fails in the end. As much as I enjoy Yuuko and her reaction faces, probably because we have so many skits focusing on her and her inability to properly study, this skit was fairly predictable and not as enjoyable as the previous skits that had her in a show-down against mosquitoes or contemplating her future (or lack thereof).

It's symbolic~

Is that an eggplant?!

Afterwards, we learn that the soccer club captain is apparently so rich, that he gets escorted by a helicopter. End scene. Then we get a look at the vice principal's personal life through a rather sad, pathetic game of magical banana, without actually starting with "Magical Banana, bananas remind me of...", and playing by himself. His daughter and grandson pay him a visit, but for some reason, his grandson is intent on having him eat a ball of mud.

I want a glasses-holder like this.

He was cute and all, but him insisting that his grandpa should eat dirt was kind of unnerving.

Then we get a look at the Professor putting sticky glue all over the hallway, thus trapping all three of the household's residents. Seriously, for a child genius, Professor can be pretty stupid at times. Then, Kyoto Animation decides to remind us that being Yuuko sucks by focusing on her having difficulties with the first question of her English test. To make matters worst, she forgot her eraser...

It looks like some high, flying peach thing. Yeah, I'd go with that.

Those exist? And Yuuko, you should have learned by now that Mai wouldn't miss a chance to troll you.

Another one of those Helvitica Standard and Things We Think Are Cool segments were shown, but they were pretty much pointless...as usual.
Episode 12:

Nice afro?

A new character is introduced in this episode whose most prominent feature is his afro and seems to be good friends with the blonde mohawk guy. The next segment involves Yuuko actually doing her homework for once...But she forgets it. Figures. And since the homework was handouts, she can't copy from Mio either. As punishment, Yuuko is sent to the hall and comforted by a dog.

Nice to know that the animators remembered about the glass-stained paintings.

You and me both.

This show. Don't question things.

The next skit has Professor trying to move this roof, shade thing with a hook since she's too short to reach it. I can relate to that. Then, she gives Sakamoto a piece of paper with her "name" written on it. He doesn't understand what it means and neither do I. We then switch scenes to the school where we see Misato looking intently at a vending machine and then turning to tsundere mode when Sasahara offers his assistance. He then gets gunned down, again. This guy must be made of steel or something if he's able to survive being shot anytime he's in the same room as Misato. Anyway, afterwards, blonde chick with a giant ribbon makes another appearance, this time participating in a target range...That only has eggplants and caramel for prizes...And it turns out that the game was rigged, the eggplants were nailed to their spot...And the owner tells her never to come back again. Wut.

I want a porch like this.

It's been waaaay too long since we last saw this guy.

TSUN~DE~RE~

This girl has the most epic faces.

The final segment involves Mio accidentally losing Yuuko's wallet in an amusement park. Then the world turns sepia. The girls manage to find Yuuko's wallet in the lost and found, and everyone's happy and the color returns. And then Yuuko opens her wallet to find that it's happy. Then the world became sepia again. The rest of the episode has Mio enjoyin her time at the amusement park while Yuuko accompanies her with a derp face on. This episode was reminiscent of the Spongebob Squarepants Valentine's special wherein Spongebob enjoys his time in the amusement park whereas Patrick has this angry face on whilst holding one of his hands up in mid-air, clearly disappointed with Spongebob's Valentine's present. Then we have another segment with Nano and Professor which was actually pretty boring and predictable, so I'm not even gonna bother ranting about it.

You have failed me.

Derp.

Where do these girls get their T-shirts anyway?

There was another pointless skit that focused on Sakurai-sensei who is having difficulty in ordering some pastries in a cafe because the employee has the same apologizes alot, shrinking violet personality as her. The episode ends with Mio and Yuuko planning to start a game wherein neither of them have to utter an English word. The pun here, presumably, is that when Yuuko decides to say English word before they start the game, she realizes that she doesn't know many words in the first place. There were more pointless Things We Think Are Cool segments and a scene where we see Professor adorably drinking a carbonated drink, but that's it.
Both episodes get: