Alas, roasts these days are shit compared to the good ole ones, like those of Johnny Carson...
Lucky Star
Mai-Otome
Claymore x2
Black Cat
Darker than Black
Pumpkin Scissors
Lucky Star 17- The episode starts with every student’s favorite topic: exams. From there, the episode does its usual jumping around with everyday topics: there’s a news story about how manga collections have been raided, Konata’s 18th birthday is coming up (and there’s a brief discussion on how old the others are as well), and her family intends to throw her a surprise party… and then they learn that her job is already throwing her one; the various careers that the girls could go into, Kagami goes through several minor annoyances which lead her to forgetting her wallet when she needs to buy something, Yutaka’s idea of Konata studying is far from reality, Yume’s wedding anniversary is coming up, the girls are in the rainy season; and things finish off with tension between Kagami and one of her older sisters when she forgets to buy ingredients. She does end up going and buying them though, and the best way to describe things is: typical sisters. Things end on a positive note with the girls’ parents coming home early, and after her sister gives Kagami kudos, all have a family dinner together.
Mai-Otome 23- After the encounter with the Harmonium that Nina unleashed, Mashiro and Arika find themselves in the Black Valley, and find they’re not alone. In fact, we see two very familiar faces: none other than Mai and Mikoto! Miyu also joins the gang, and they just simply spend time down in the valley, learning a little about Mai and Mikoto. They also end up being joined by Nina and her companion, who were caught in Mikoto’s trap. Later on, all are in the hot springs (and we soon find that Mashiro, Arika and Arika stayed in just a bit too long), and we see that there’s some history between Mai and Nina. Elsewhere, Nagi continues his plot of using Nina and the Harmonium to enforce his will…
Claymore 25 +26- Shit hits the fan big time as the final battle against Priscilla truly begins, and as I may have mentioned before, we slightly go down the route of a certain anime that will not be named as all the claymores+ Priscilla keep tapping into their yoki power. Clare herself is taken out of the battle temporarily as the other three Claymores take her place in battle against Priscilla… and even manage to fend her off for some time. Unfortunately, as Priscilla continues to go mental and think that the Claymores are yoma, she taps into her full power… and that leads to the three getting their asses all kicked, as Raki and Jean watch the horror continue. As Clare watches the horror herself, she taps even more into her power and once again faces Priscilla, and is still on the losing side of things… until Priscilla sees Teresa in Clare, and then begins to be a bit more afraid… which allows things to turn in Clare’s favor, as she is finally able to beat Priscilla, even causing her to revert to human from. Just as Clare is about to her, Raki jumps in the way, begging Clare to stop, and even hugs her, hoping to get her back, telling her to not become like a yoma. Clare ends up regaining her mind, but is still of the belief that she must kill Priscilla… and of course she can’t control her body, meaning Raki is about to get stabbed. Jean jumps in and takes the hit instead, and tells Clare to keep living, as even if she doesn’t kill Priscilla, there are others who believe in Clare and keep living because of her. Clare finally reverts back to human with Jean’s help, as Jean dies from her wounds. Just as they’re wondering what to do with Priscilla, Isley arrives and grabs Priscilla, marveling at the display of power, before unleashing some of his own immense aura and vanishing with Priscilla. In the end, all the Claymore of that battle decide o leave the Organization and travel, and Raki of course goes with Clare. (P.S.- For those who want to know how the rest of the story goes, find the manga and start reading from ch. 58~59)
Black Cat 13- Our schoolgirl of the Apostles, Kyoko, learns from Charden that if they stay with Creed, she may have to fight Train. Not wanting this, she decides to leave the Apostles with Charden (who became disgusted with Creed after he killed Durham), and from there, slowly become more like a normal schoolgirl… a schoolgirl with a huge crush, that is. As Valentine’s Day approaches, she thinks more and more about being with Train, and what present to give him… and ends up baking a cake (by the way, I can’t convey here just how crazy she is about Train… her hair color may be black, but she sure acts like another hair color). Of course, she then runs into the problem of not knowing where train is… and decides to check the local Sweeper’s Guild. She finds him there, and pushes through all other sweepers there to get to him and give him the cake. Unfortunately, this means she pissed off a few people, and one tries to get revenge by smashing her cake… BAD MOVE as she shoots her fire at him, though Train knocks him out of the way and then reprimands Kyoko… though he does end up trying her cake, finding that it’s quite good… though very spicy. He runs to the bathroom for water, and the whole building blows up for some reason. As it turns out, knowing of Kyoko’s departure, the mad scientist of Creed’s group developed a special bullet, and intends to use it on Kyoko, as she sits amongst the ruins with a gun pointed at her. Train manages to get there fast enough to take the hit instead. Later on, Train is back with the others, and leave it to Kyoko to randomly barge in, looking for him… and then we see the power of the bullet: it ends up turning Train back into a little kid! Beware of Eve as a Big Sister, Train…
Darker than Black 16- The hunt for Amber continues, though Hei has been told he’s not to go after Amber… not that he listens, even having to take out Huang. Meanwhile, November 11 has been captured by Amber’s group, who ask him to join them… something he refuses. Of course, the problem is that he used his power and hasn’t yet been able to pay his price. Things look better as Misaki and the police arrive on scene, having been lead there by the doll of November’s group. Amber’s group still manages to escape… and hei eventually ends up running into the kid of Amber’s group. The problem: the kid has a crush on Amber, and Amber likes Hei. The two battle, though Hei soon slips away, as finding Amber is the priority (though due to taking out Huang, he did get a bullet in his leg and is moving rather slowly). Misaki and November 11 then arrive on scene, where they find the kid. November will deal with the kid, and has Misaki chase after BK201. The kid thinks he has the upper hand when their fight goes into an old building, and just when he’s convinced himself he’s the best, guess who shows up at the doorstep, with rain pouring down… Hei has managed to find Amber and Yin, and while Amber may be head over heels for him, Hei is rather pissed at her about a certain incident, and only wishes to find his sister… but is told by Amber that though she’s close, finding her may mean the end of the world. Hei doesn’t give a damn, and also intends to kill Amber… just as Misaki arrives on scene, and sees hei’s back. Amber activates her own power, which seems to be the ability to freeze time, and her plus the surviving member take off. When things return to normal, Misaki is the only one at the temple. Elsewhere, Amber is with the rest of their group, called Evening Primrose, and Hei is essential for their plan.
Pumpkin Scissors 1- Just because war is over, that doesn’t mean there’s peace. In fact, it means there are smaller powers now rising up for control, as is the case in one town. However, one soldier named Alice and her teammates are Pumpkin Scissors, who are a War Relief Unit. They’re trying to free the town from the ones who seem to be in control, even taking on a tank, which fires off a shell… which for the moment seems to do nothing. In a diner, one veteran, Randal, is simply eating, trying to survive with all the wreckage of the war left. Alice soon runs into him, and they have a brief chat, before everyone but them suddenly falls over. When all are in the sick bay, it seems that shell was actually chemical warfare… and that the group using that power needs to be stopped. Alice comes up with a plan, and Randal puts in his two cents, revealing that he’s a former officer of the 901 ATT unit. The plan commences, as Alice and Randal sneak into the dam. He tells Alice to go find the antidote while he takes care of the dam… putting on a blue light from his gun holster, and after shooting the chain, opens the dam. Fog rolls in big time, and Alice lerans that the ones with the tank must have the antidote on them. As the tank itself rolls out, they are met by Randal and his blue light. He ends up reaching in through a window and shooting the one there. The controller of the tank realizes who Randal is: a soldier that doesn’t fear death, a member of the 901 ATT: Anti Tank Troopers. As the tank attempts to turn, it gets caught in the mud created by the damn, and Randal continues putting his gun through their window and killing those inside. When it’s down to one man, he comes out with the antidote, though he’s at the edge of a cliff, presenting a small problem, one that Alice takes care of as she manages to snatch it, allowing Randal to put a bullet through his head. In the end, Alice tells Randal that though it may have been small, he was a hero to the town… and he decides to join her Pumpkin Scissors group.
Rollcall:
Jeff
Dave
Nick
Tom
Erin
Andy
Ryan (The younger brother of yours truly)
Subject: Newsletter 175, July 30th 
Tue Aug 04, 2009 4:28 pm
