It’s episodes like this one that make this series worth my time. I thought a decent number of scenes in this episode were funny. One particular scene that comes to mind is when they were fantasizing what it would be like to be the MVP and receive a kiss from Haruo. I found it pretty funny to see how their image of Haruo is different from the way he really is. This is the first time we see Ayumi’s sister trying to interfere with Ayumi’s goal. We don’t know why she is trying to stop her sister though. We might get an answer in the next episode because it looks like Ayumi’s sister is going to be a part of it.

Instead of getting any information on what the Bount have planned, we’re introduced to another character. From the looks of it this filler arc is going to go on for quite a while. We can probably assume that all the Bounts have varied abilities based on what Yoshino and Ryou have revealed. I can understand them adding Rukia back into the filler arc since she is one of the main characters, but I thought adding Hanatarou was kind of random. It didn’t seem like Hanatarou was sent over to support Rukia and the others. It pretty much felt like he was only added for comedic reasons. My guess is he will probably play some minor role later on in this arc. There is no “Bleach” next week. The next episode is scheduled to air on March 7th.

This was not exactly the funniest episode, but I thought it was still quite entertaining. I thought it was fun to see a young Mamoru and Yuna. Yuna as a child was just as clueless as she is now, which I found to be pretty hilarious. We get to see why Mamoru becomes determined to protect Yuna regardless of his familial duties. Things in the present have definately become more lively now with all these new people in their lives. They can probably come up with some highly-entertaining episodes with all these varied characters, but it would be nice to know if this series is really going to go anywhere in terms of the plot.

There’s a little Easter egg in this episode. Once Eureka unwraps the book you can see the word “bones” towards the bottom of the cover. I just thought that something fun for them to put in. We now know for sure the promised land they’ve been trying to get to is Earth afterall. None of them have the slightest idea of what they’re supposed to do there so it should be interesting to see how they will end up figuring it out. As it turns out, Dewey’s insanity began from childhood. We get to see a scene from his past starting from Holland’s birth. I felt that Anemone was pretty different in tihs episode. It seemed like her behaviour and mannerisms were unusual compared to what we’ve seen up until now.

It is made clear to Saya and Hagi that the real Elizabeth is already dead. We still don’t know who he really is though since we don’t even know his real name. His strength is beyond anything we’ve seen so far. Both Hagi and Saya didn’t stand a chance against him. Something I found surprising was the connection between Saya and Diva. Saya feels betrayed by the others for keeping the truth from her. This series just got a whole lot more interesting. We also see three hooded figures in this episode. It looks like they’re after Saya as well, but we have no idea who they are or what their intentions with Saya are. I’ll be happy if they can keep up this level of entertainment for the rest of the series.

I’m starting to think this series is trying to do too much in a short period of time. Choosing the main vocals for the group is a pretty big deal, but it got resolved pretty quickly in a few scenes throughout the episode. My main issue currently is they put in Yui’s story into the same episode. We learn a bit more about her involvement in the birth and death of the original Lemon Angels and how she passed away. That in itself probably should have been extended to an entire episode. Nevertheless I still enjoyed watching this episode. It would have been nice if they had spent more time telling a more indepth story.

The main thing we get out of this episode is character deveopment. We get to know Rin a little better after working together with Shirou. Once again we get another episode with minimal scenes with Saber in them. They’re doing an awfully good job at making Saber seem like a pretty minor character. Shirou, being an individual who doesn’t appear to be so bright, further supports that notion by entering back into the school grounds alone. The hints in the previous episode was obvious, but this time we get to see first hand that Shinji is indeed Rider’s master.

Due to the Olympics in Torino, this week’s “SoltyRei” was rescheduled. Check back next week for an all-new review for “SoltyRei”.

Mashiro gets reunited with Arica after being found by one of Midori’s comrads. We learn what Midori is after and why they had a hand in all the different incidents that made them appear to be the “bad guys”. After everything Arica has been through she has lost her will to continue persuing her dream. I look forward to seeing what event will make Arica change her mind. There is one scene with Natsuki in this episode that is pretty similar to what was in “Mai-HiME” where Mai, Mikoto, and Natsuki tried to hitch a ride back to campus. It’s a good thing they know what the fans want. Speaking of Mai, I’m kind of surprised she hasn’t made an appearance yet. Mai paled in comparison to Natsuki in “Mai-HiME”, but I’m hoping she will be more likeable in this series.

As far as entertainment value goes this episode is about the same as the previous ones. They introduce a new character in this episode. We get just what we need, another maid. I guess Ayumi doesn’t really count as a real maid. Rika’s personality is pretty much the stereotypical maid you see in anime, quiet and emotionally flat. There really isn’t any progression with the story either. For a series like this I guess that is to be expected. I’m all for entertaining episodes without earth-shattering plot twists for this genre, but I would like to see the series headed somewhere instead of just introducing more and more characters.