This was a filler episode for the most part. Of course the scene at the end of the episode is something critical to the overall story. It will probably be a few more episodes before they reveal just who they are. There was a bit of character development for the more minor characters as well. Even though plot development was lacking, I still found this episode worthwhile to watch. We get a closer look at Linali’s Dark Boots. They definitely did a better job this time than in the previous episode. Komui had somewhat a larger role than in the other episodes thus far. I find him to be one of the more memorable characters since he’s always good for a laugh or two.

I found this episode to be marginally better than the last few episodes. We get to see some character development for all 3 of the lead females. It’s unquestionable how Mina and Tsukasa feel about Riku right now. As for Sayuri, however, her feelings aren’t so clear-cut. Based on what they’ve shown us thus far, her feelings could go either way right now. Riku managed to partly redeem himself in this episode in my opinion. He still has a long way to go, but he definitely moved a step in the right direction. The art wasn’t consistent all the way through, but overall it was visually pleasing. The character designs for the series is one of its defining features so when the art gets sloppy it really makes the episode much more difficult to enjoy.

This has to be one of the more bizarre episodes I’ve seen in the “Jigoku Shoujo” series. It’s one of the very few episodes where there isn’t one specific person you can point the finger at. Although it wasn’t the most attention-grabbing episode yet, it was still fairly entertaining. From early in the episode we already knew who the ‘target’ was, but it was just a question of when the inevitable would occur. It feels like the epilogue for the episodes this season are generally darker than the first season. You can’t help but feel really sorry for the lead in this episode by the end. Once again there was absolutely no development regarding Ai or Kikuri. At the moment I have no clue as to where they’re ultimately trying to take the story.

After last week’s slow, yet entertaining, episode we get the complete opposite this time. More of Lelouch’s past is revealed in this episode. It gives us a better idea of the hardships he has had to go through. This is a pretty significant turning point in terms of the story. We get to see just how different the military tactics are from the Shinjuku battle when Lelouch is up against Cornelia. I thought that entire scene was simply non-stop excitement. The twists in this episode made the events a whole lot better. With the outcome of the incidents in this episode Lelouch will have to start doing things differently if he is to go up against Cornelia and the rest of Britannia. This episode had all the elements needed to make it a winner.

When I first heard the name “Papillon Mask” I didn’t there would be any names worse than that. To my surprise I was mistaken. I swear these names must have been chosen purely for its comedy factor. There’s no other logical explanation for it. With a name like Captain Bravo, you’re just asking for people to laugh. Then we get to see many new villains, one in particular who has a head shaped like the crescent moon. I just had to find out what his name was in the credits. I couldn’t help but laugh when I found out his name was “Moonface”. Needless to say, his name follows the trend of comical names. Starting with this episode we begin what looks to be the real plot of the series. It’s definately nothing original, but I’m confident it will still be able to provide at least moderate amounts of entertainment.

I thought this was the best episode since episode 2. There wasn’t a dull moment from start to finish once again. Previous to this episode, we haven’t seen Light this worried about his cover being blown. The facial expressions in this episode were really impressive. When Light was finally able to get what he wanted, the look on Naomi’s face was perfect. You could easily feel the impact due to that one moment. That scene was nothing less than intense. Things are going to pick up quickly starting from the next episode if I remember the events from the manga correctly. This is one series where I can watch episode after episode with high expectations and never come out disappointed.

Houshou isn’t your stereotypical Buddhist monk, but I never expected him to have a different fulltime profession. Even Kazuya has some expectations for Ayako, so hopefully she will be able to play a key role in this case. For the time being, this case is filled with mystery rather than actual supernatural events. Upon first impression it looks like this case doesn’t involve actual spirits like the previous case. If there really are no spirits though, it seems like Ayako’s usefulness will be pretty limited this time. At first I didn’t think Mai had any special abilities like the other characters, but if her most recent dream turns out to be correct then chances are she has some innate ability. This case does not appear to be as interesing as the previous one. Of course, things could change a lot over two episodes.

I enjoyed watching the majority of this episode. The only real issue I had with this episode were the action sequences. I thought they looked pretty sloppy. It felt as if they left out as many frames as possible to cut costs. Other than that, the rest of the episode turned out nicely. I don’t remember Allen’s flashback being so brief in the manga, but regardless it was one of the better scenes in this episode. It provideed some nice character development as well as some new information regarding Akumas. Linali’s role ended up being quite small for this story, but since she will get a bigger part soon I’m not exactly concerned. I’m still patiently waiting for them to get to the better stories that have a real impact on the series.

The more I watch the series the more I start to see Riku become less likeable as a character. He’s a pushover and indecisive at the same time. For now we see him treat Tsukasa, Mina, and Sayuri pretty much equally, but if this keeps up he will end up hurting them. In this episode we begin to see the development of a negative consequence due to his kindness. I guess they only had limited options to work with if they are going to prolong the series to 26 episodes. As much as I like Tsukasa, it’s hard to continue rooting for her when she’s acting more like a child with each episode. At least with the events that occurred in this episode, the next episode should be a lot more entertaining.

As I was watching this episode I thought they had finally run out of ideas for an original story. After watching it in its entirety though, it turns out I was wrong. It wasn’t the most interesting episode thus far, but it still managed to keep me entertained for the majority of the episode. They played the opening theme for the first season during the bowling scene. I thought it was a nice addition to the episode. There was no progress made in terms of the underlying story of this season. It feels like it’s a good time to start dropping hints regarding the plot. Without recurring characters like Hajime and Tsugumi from the first season, there is currently no definitive way of figuring out what this season is going to be ultimately about.