Batch Update: Tiger and Bunny 19, Kamisama no Memo-chou 5, Cardfight Vanguard 30, Mawaru Penguin Drum 5

In the world of Anime, as in Life, anything can happen.

I’m having an Internet service disruption, so I have to post this at the town library. Consequently I don’t have a lot of time to mull over these posts and am submitting comments for Tiger and Bunny 19, Kamisama no Memo-chou 5, Cardfight Vanguard 30, Mawaru Penguin Drum 5 all together. Read on for random musings about life, giant rodents, and more.

Tiger & Bunny

Kaede is not happy about how this episode turned out.

Kotetsu’s inability to deal with his problems directly drives Bunny away. Unfortunately Bunny seeks solace from Mr. Maverick, and our worst suspicions are realized.

Kamisama no Memo-chou (God’s Notebook)

Capybaras are the giant rodents on the right.

The creature on the left of the screenshot above is referred to as a Tapir, which I had never heard of before, but I have seen anime references to a “dream eater” with accompanying images that look like that (including in Cardfight! Vanguard), so I assume this business about capybaras is also well-known Japanese folklore. That made me wonder what a capybara really is. Well, it turns out to be the world’s largest rodent. I didn’t find confirmation of the folklore of it eating sadness, but I found some other strange things. For example, here is a video of a Capybara enjoying a hot spring:

Here’s a video of a Capybara being punched in the nose by a tiny Monkey:

Cardfight! Vanguard

Katsumi shows off his Superior Diplomacy Skills. SDS, yo!

This was the episode that delivered Kai’s fight against a member of the Foo Fighters. I didn’t think he would lose, but they did a decent job of keeping the suspense up until the end. I’m anticipating Misaki losing her match next week, which means the pressure is on for Aichi to win, else Team Q4 has no chance of qualifying for the second day of the Nationals.

Mawaru Penguin Drum

Who are you calling a bitch?

Another interesting episode full of weird stuff, some strange hints, and a tiny bit of progression. Everything else aside, Shou takes a chance to get the diary from Ringo, with all sorts of consequences. First, we get a hint from Ringo that she isn’t writing in the diary at all, just living it out. When she doesn’t believe Shou that the hat is an alien life form, she and Shou are whisked to the transformation world. This is the first time we have seen anyone other than Shou and Kamba taken there, and Ringo provides an unexpected spectacle, breaking free of the manacles, and ripping the hat off of Himari’s head. She throws it into the street and Himari dies.

Seeing the word "Good-bye" here only adds to the tension.

This leads to an action sequence, in which Shou, then Kamba, chase the hat which has been snagged on a fast-moving truck.

I can’t even begin to speculate about what might have happened in the hospital with paintball girl. Although there wasn’t a clear explanation of anything, Ringo’s witnessing of the strange behavior of the hat might make her more willing to cooperate with the brothers. Of course, this being Mawaru Penguin Drum, who knows what new twists await us next week?

Summation

In short, this weekend was fun, because there was some fun anime to watch, even if I have to download it while sitting outside of the public library (they are closed on the weekends, but they leave the wireless network on). Hopefully I’ll have a functioning Internet connection again before too long. Posts will be infrequent until then. So long, and watch some good anime!