Time to pretend you’re in an anime. We’ve all had that phase right?

This week’s challenge: As the episode goes on you’re realized you’re trapped in your show! How does this affect the episode?

Meganebu! (Episode Eleven)
Player: Kanashimi
Class: Boss

The episode starts with the boys cheering for their president. But why? Well, we’re not gonna find out because the Student Council is having a meeting with all the other club leaders. This includes Akira, but near the end he demands more funds for the Glasses Club. One of the Student Council members explains that, while the Baseball club has 34 people, they only receive 2,900-something yen per individual in the club; the Glasses Club has 5 members, and each amounts to 3,000. As such, they technically have a proportionally bigger budget. Akira surprisingly accepts this explanation or is just horrible at math like I am.

The Student Council president asks that everyone build a large tower for the festival together. As the president of the Broadcasting Club, I find this suggestion idiotic with all the work we have to do. My fellow leaders agree that they have their own things to do… wait, what? I don’t remember going to school in Japan with stick figure people. The president seems determined, though, despite his stomach pains, and I see Akira eyeing him out of the corner of my gaze. There’s an issue here… and something is going to explode, as per usual. I have my suspicions.

Akira begins to reminisce in his clubroom about how, in the past, they had no funding to even have a booth for the festival. He’s looking forward to this one since they can contribute properly. Once again, they tackle the X-Ray glasses because that’s worked out for them so well.

Insert working on the festival montage here. Cue retardation. Add explosion.

The Student Council is left to build their tower alone, wondering why no one showed up. The president isn’t deterred and advises they wait again tomorrow for help. However, he realizes the next day that everyone is too busy, but assumes it’s because they’re excited for the festival. They spot an explosion, assume it’s the Glasses Club (because it is), and one of them goes running into their clubroom to tell them to calm their glasses.

The Student Council president takes a walk in the school and has a dramatic monologue. He wants the approval rating for Hima High to increase, and, to him, working on the tower was a way to do that. Akira is there to witness it all as he holds a puppet show and gives burning determination to no one but himself. Akira returns to the clubroom and makes a speech about all glasses-wearers being good people. He makes the choice to add a second display, but the club members are obviously like “We’ve been trying to make X-Ray glasses since episode one and they’re still not done, you’re crazy, brah.”

The “3rd-guy” thinks the Glasses Club is trying to show them up when the club appears next to them and starts their own tower. So Akira declares they should have a challenge, and they, Yukiyo, and the actor guy rip off their shirts to play rock, paper, scissors (or something). And I’m taking pictures from the balcony.

Surprise! There’s a typhoon, and the Glasses Club risk their lives for this tower thing they built. Second surprise! Some Student Council peeps show up to help… wait, why are they all in normal clothes during a typhoon? You guys have to be freezing… The “3rd-guy” got there late for the heartwarming ending and seems angry. Sadly, the episode ends, and that’s all she wrote for episode eleven.

Watch Meganebu! on Crunchyroll or talk about this episode on our forums.

Diabolik Lovers (Episode Eleven)
Player: Midnight
Class: DJ

They say that a blood moon is often a bad omen. In this case, it’s the worst of omens! I’m stuck in a house full of bland, generic vampires who may or may not want to suck my blood dry! Alright, don’t panic! They may or may not be able to smell fear. This show is so unclear about what these vampires can and can’t do; for all I know they can hear my internal monologue as we speak. Alright, it’s time to hide, hope I can sneak out, find Yui’s silver dagger, and go Professor Von Midnight on these vampires.

Alright, now that I’m hiding in a closet, it looks like Yui’s been completely taken over by Cordelia again. Good; maybe that will keep them from noticing I’m here. Oh, there’s Reiji. Karl? Who is, oh, everyone here’s father. Wait, she’s getting up and… woah! She’s coming on to him! This is new; it’s totally different than what we’ve seen before in this show. I mean, it’s Cordelia and not Yui asserting herself, but it’s still a nice change. Still awkward and gross, but a nice change. Woah! Woah! What did he just say!? “I hate loose women” or something like that? That’s amazing! She reels back and slaps him! Oh dear, I hear more voices…

It now sounds like all the brothers are here, and not a single one of them sounds happy to have Mommy Dearest here in the house. Richter starts insulting Subaru’s mother. Oh jeeze, I just heard a bone crack! That was Subaru’s wrist! Wait… what’s… Cordelia has the silver knife? She’s handing it to Richter. Here’s my chance… If I can just sneak out unnoticed and grab the knife…

She tells Richter to kill all the siblings, but he doesn’t seem very interested. He turns and gives a speech on how he’s been using Cordelia from the beginning. Ayato shows up, obviously having enough of this. Richter grabs a sword, running to attack Ayato. Raito throws him a sword, and we get a sword fight of sorts. Richter stabs Ayato in the shoulder and goes to deliver the final blow. Seeing Ayato in danger, Yui snaps back into herself and runs off with the silver knife.

Here’s my chance! I run down and tackle Yui, wrestling the silver knife out of her hand. I then proceed to stab all of the brothers, Richter and Yui, one by one, and save the world from this horrid anime. I also stole Shuu’s mp3 player off of him so that, at long last, I could figure out what kind of music he was listening to (It was Lady Gaga).

At least, that’s what would happen if I was actually there. Too bad I wasn’t, because what really happens, while interesting, leads up to no pay off once again. This anime is so famous for that at this point. Spoiler ahead… I guess. For anyone who actually intends to watch this garbage. I’m looking at you, Christmas.

Yui stabs herself in the rib cage because she can’t even get killing herself right. Richter runs down to grab her heart so he can give it to another poor girl and bring Cordelia back again, Ayato stabs him through, and, unfortunately for us, Yui isn’t dead, and Mommy Dearest has taken over her body again.

Overall: I feel like, while a lot happened this episode, nothing happened. About half of it was spent talking, while the other half was spent on action scenes that weren’t really that exciting. The best part was where Yui stabbed herself. If only she died; it would have made a pretty interesting turn of events. If only I could have been so lucky. Well, next week is the final episode of this show. This is DJ Midnight wishing everyone a Happy Holiday!

Watch Diabolik Lovers on Crunchyroll or talk about this episode on our forums.

Gundam Build Fighters (Episode Eleven)
Player: Elk
Class: DJ

Welcome to the next episode of Gundam Build Fighters! Elk is here with episode 11 of this awesome series. Somehow, off-screen, I’ve even managed to qualify as the Canadian champion in my customized Lumber Gundam! Well, to be fair, I won using a souped-up Genoace, but it was pretty heavily damaged. Luckily I had the Lumber Gundam IV ready just in case. But I digress…

We left off on the reveal of Meijin Kawaguchi! (Meijin Kawaguchi is a real person! Click here to check out his tutorial series on the official Gundam channel.) But he’s actually just the student council president. Meijin Kawaguchi is a title passed down to the best in the eyes of the PPSE.

After the OP, we finally get to see the Kampfer Amazing in battle. We also get to hear the awesome Spanish-inspired music that is Kawaguchi’s BGM. I’m pumped to see this gunpla in action, because the Kampfer is my favorite Zeon suit (Check it out in Gundam 0080 War in the Pocket). Of course, with such an amazing pilot and gunpla, he wipes the floor with the competition. Sei and Reiji rush to confront him. He denies that he’s Yuuki, but when they demand he remove his shades he does, obviously showing that he is indeed Yuuki, which leads to hilarity when Allan asks him about it later. Afterwards, we’re treated to speculation about Meijin Kawaguchi and some information about the title and the PPSE.

After all that exposition, Reiji and Aila meet again, setting up even more romance subplot between the two. Aila is hiding from her handlers, and Reiji scores a meat bun from her. He pays her back 4 times the price, though, confusing her.

This episode is finally getting underway, though, as it’s called “Battle Royal(e),” which of course means tons of awesome action. After the first round last episode, all the winners are being put into a huge Gunpla stadium and will fight it out until only one-third of them are left. Sei and Reiji decide to team up with Mao and immediately come face to face with Luang Dallara, the Thai champion. They hold their own for a while, but Luang forces them into atmospheric reentry towards the Earth section of the stadium with some missile strikes.

Now we cut so some awesome action, featuring Meijin taking out a trio of Doms. Aila, in her Qubeley Papillon, destroys a group of enemies with ease. Nils is in an almost meditative state as he takes out an attacker. Elk, the Canadian champion, manages to take out a Ball with his Lumber Gundam IV before being obliterated by a stray beam rifle attack not even meant for him, thus ending Canada’s bid for the Gunpla Battle World Cup. I’m so sorry Canada. In the middle of a battle, Elk forgot to fight!

Finally we get to Fellini and his Wing Fenice. He’s on a one-wheeled motorcycle of some sort and taking out a number of enemies, until he’s caught up in an air strike from a giant Gaw attack carrier. It’s being piloted by Cziommer, the German champion. It turns out he stole Cziommer’s girlfriend, and the German champ is out for revenge. At the same time, Sei and Reiji have reentered the atmosphere and see Fellini under attack. After some hilarious back-and-forth about stealing girlfriends, the Gaw opens up to reveal several Gunpla, all piloted by people who have had their girlfriends stolen by Fellini. At this point, Sei is in range to back up the Wing Fenice, and a battle breaks out. Sei is attacked by a custom green dragon Epyon, and Fellini is tied down and unable to move.

We cut to the tournament organizer watching the Build Strike in action. When he sees Reiji, though, he spills his wine on his crotch and is completely freaked out.

And it’s the credits! But there is still a ton of time left. It’s kind of odd to have the credits this early in the episode. Usually only the next episode preview is after the credits, but whatever.

Epyon and Build Strike are still fighting, and it seems like it’s all over for Fellini, but Mao shows up just in time to take out the Gaw carrier with his Satellite attack. The surprise stops the Epyon, allowing Reiji to capitalize on his lapse in concentration to take it out. However, at that moment, a MASSIVE Zaku II shows up. This thing is so huge it makes the Gundams look human-sized, when they’re supposed to be 20-meter-tall machines. The tournament organizer smiles evilly, and we have to sit on this cliff hanger… Thanks for that…

Watch Gundam Build Fighters on Gundam.Info or talk about this episode on our forums.

Log Horizon (Episode Eleven)

Player: Siege

Class: Content Provider

This player did not turn in their episode summary for the week. As such, they will not be awarded 50 flat points or the additional 20 for doing a challenge. Christmas is considered a no-show and as such has lost a dollar of his original bid. He has four more chances before he will be kicked out of the competition.

Watch Log Horizon on Crunchyroll or talk about this episode on our forums.

I Couldn’t Become A Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided To Get A Job (Episode Eleven)
Player: Bobby Henshin
Class: DJ

Here we are everyone: Episode 11. As we near the end of the series, I can’t help but look back at all the good moments we had in this series. Oh wait, it was nothing but boobs and fanservice… On with the review! The episode begins with Raid explaining to Fino that, if she wears this trinket known as the Bloodstone and enters the demon world, she will fully become The Demon Lord. She struggles to fight against it as much as possible. Raul rushes to the Hero School, a place he never thought he would see again. He finds them in his old classroom, but, instead of Fino, he finds Blaze. If we are talking about a party-member-type person, he would be the heavy weapons guy, no pun intended. Blaze pulls out the sword Raul wanted to buy at the market back in episode 9. Once again, I’m sorry I missed that day.

Blaze then rambles on about how, if Fino becomes the new Demon Lord, heroes will once again be needed and can continue to follow their dreams. Blaze then attacks Raul with the sword, which leads into a very action-packed episode. Seriously, though, the action in this anime is top-notch and I love it; it’s just a shame that the storyline makes the anime suffer so much. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an okay story, but it has no real grounding and could’ve been amazing if it wasn’t for what I like to call the “Sekigon No Quazar Effect.” I call it this because it was the biggest offender of this, having an amazing storyline which could have made an extremely good anime but was lessened by the extreme overuse of sexuality and boobs to get the viewers attention. Heck, in Sekigon No Quazar they have to suck on a substance out of the girl’s…you know what I’m not going to go into that but I think you get my point. Another anime like this are High School DXD. Sorry I’m getting off track.

We continue back at Leon where the employees are debating on what they should do to help Raul and Fino. Also, the girls from the convenience store are there as well. That’s short lived, though, as we cut back to the fight with Raul and Blaze. Blaze is tearing the classroom apart, shredding everything in his path with the sword which makes it look like she could be on par with Cloud or Sephiroth, post-Advent Children. Raul has no weapon to fight him with except for the most powerful thing in the room: A metal ruler! I’m not kidding, Raul fights him off with a metal ruler. Blaze then tells Raul that the seniors in the Hero Program kept The Demon Lord alive to keep their way of life secure in their world, so that no hero or weapon and armor shops would have to go out of business. Raul laughs and comes to the realization that what he has been fighting for back then by becoming a hero were complete nonsense. We cut to Fino being tied up to a pillar in a recreation room made to look like the door way to The Demon Lords castle. Raul shows up looking all victorious, which leads us to believe he mad quick work of Blaze.

Raul goes to release Fino when he is attacked by… Gasp! All A? It turns out Klein, the dragon tamer of the group, came to her before the event and got her on their side. She easily went with them, considering her hatred for the demons. We learn that the reason she hates the demons so much is because demons killed her family. Raul and All A duke it out. Raul doesn’t want to hurt her, but All A is out for blood. As they are fighting, Raid gives Klein a new 3-headed dragon and orders him to go destroy Leon. It turns out though that Leon is protected by the world’s most powerful anti-magic barrier, and the world’s most powerful witch. Can you guess who it is? That’s right, it’s Nova-chan! No, not really; it’s actually the store manager. She actually has the power to amplify the power of magical appliances 100x. She uses a magical calculator to defeat a 3-headed dragon. All A and Raul continue to fight as Raid fills Fino’s head with delusions, saying that her friends wouldn’t be killing each other if she just became the Damon Lord. Fino comes to this conclusion and begins her transformation into The Demon Lord.

Raul and All A get ready for one final strike. It turns out that Raul was severely holding back and could have killed her easily. The final blow is struck, the ruler is broken in half, and All A is knocked out on the ground. Raul, though, is found with the broken tip of All A’s sword through his heart. All A rushes to him, full of tears, and now hates herself for the pain she caused him. Raul doesn’t blame her and just wanted her to realize that it doesn’t matter if you are human or demon. They are proof that the two can live in peace. Raul then realizes that the sword’s tip was blocked by the charm Fino made for him in episode 9. Once again, sorry I missed that week. Raul and All A decide that it is now time to go save Fino. Raid, on the other hand, has a different plan; Fortunately, so does the store manager. She shows up in a very adorable witch’s costume and is riding a magic vacuum cleaner that can, for some reason, suck up an extremely powerful magic attack. She then uses an arsenal of magical appliances to keep Raid at bay, along with with Raul, All A, Lavi-chan (which we know learn is a demon also if it wasn’t plainly obvious), and the old man who keeps touching Nova-chan’s butt… okay.

Turns out the old man owns an extremely powerful dragon which they use to fly to the mountain and stop Fino from going into the Demon World. We are almost done, ladies and gentlemen. The final fight is upon us!

We then hear Raul say “Um… who are you?” Wait, no, he’s talking to me! Wow, when did I get into this anime?

“You have been following us and doing commentary since Fino joined started working at the store. We kept asking who you were but you just ignored us and kept commentating,” Raul explains.

Oh. Well. Guess it’s time to jump from a flying car and get out of here! Til next time!

Watch I Couldn’t Become A Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided To Get A Job on Crunchyroll or talk about this episode on our forums.

Galilei Donna (Episode Eleven)
Player: Christmas
Class: Guest Relations

This player is officially out of the competition, but can join again for the Winter season.

Watch Galilei Donna on Crunchyroll or talk about this episode on our forums.

Outbreak Company (Episode Eleven)
Player: Kayarath
Class: Content Provider

I got the feeling from last week’s vague teaser and the fact that it’s the second to last episode that this series would become quite serious. My suspicions prove correct when Shini’ichi learns that he is the great artists for a Civilization-style culture bomb. Introducing otaku culture into a medieval society would have profound effects. One of those effects is to create a large demand for the stuff, since the Eldant Empire simply never had that type of entertainment. Get ’em hooked and you can create a drug dealer/addict relationship, which is exactly what the Japanese government was hoping for.

Shini’ichi does not take it well. Learning you’re the linchpin for a cultural conquest victory can be disheartening to say the least. The shock of it all puts him in emo mode for an act or two. Shini’ichi wanted to use otaku culture to help the Eldant Empire, not exploit it! A dwarf going after manga like a junkie searching for a fix is quite an unsettling sight. In the depths of despair, Myucel appears to remind us of the positive effects of Shini’ichi’s efforts. Manga and anime gave her hope that she could be more than a second class citizen. Manga and anime gave the dwarfs and elves something in common to bond over. Manga and anime showed the entire Eldant Empire a whole new world of thought! Thanks to Myucel’s absolute faith in Shini’ichi, he realizes that his work does have value and resolves to do what he can to protect the world that has adopted and honored him.

To do that, Shini’ichi has requested an official audience with Empress Pentralka. He has a proposal that is simple but brilliant. He recommends that the Eldant Empire produce its own manga/light novels/magna/whatever. If they make their own, they won’t have to depend on outside sources like the Japanese government to supply them. There are already people creating it like Elbia with her artwork and Edward with his original light novel. Everyone is thrilled with the idea, and they give Shini’ichi a standing ovation. Everyone but Matoba, the representative from the Japanese government. He can’t be too pleased with the situation, but how will the government respond? Will the result be open war? How will Shini’ichi handle all of this? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s by tuning into the final episode of Outbreak Company! See you there!

Watch Outbreak Company on Crunchyroll or talk about this episode on our forums.

Kill La Kill (Episode Eleven)
Player: Knightshade
Class: DJ

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, boys, girls, and others! I still can’t believe we’ve made it this far together! However, I should probably tell you all that, when the opening sequence was over, I suddenly fell faint, and I woke up on the ground, surrounded by rubble and debris. I thought I was at a construction site, but as I looked around I realized I was in a cartoon. I thought I was dreaming, but, after several wacky shenanigans, I realized “This is real!” So I will be doing this review from within Kill la Kill episode 11. I managed to swipe a two-star goku uniform just in case things get heavy on this end. But enough about me; let’s start!

Ryuko tries to take advantage of her flight and goes straight for Satsuki, but Nonon stands in her way until Ryuko blows up her airship with her own super flute missile. However, Nonon puts on an encore performance, unleashing her uniform’s second form, Da Capo, ans using its sound waves to disrupt Ryuko’s communication with Senketsu. It also made my ears bleed horribly from where I was in what was left of the stands, but that’s neither here nor there! Ryuko counters this by manipulating Nonon’s sound waves to match her own before sending it back against Nonon and defeating her. Meanwhile, Tsumugu delivers a peculiar bullet to Aikuro, who is prepared to use it on Ryuko should the worst come to pass.

Just as Ryuko and Uzu are about to have their big re-match, a mysterious girl appears between them who Satsuki recognizes as Nui Harime, grand couturier of the Revocs Corporation owned by her mother. Nui instantly pulls apart Uzu’s uniform by breaking its Banshi, the Life Fiber that gives it its form. That sucks because I really like how that uniform looked. Receiving permission to fight Ryuko from a disconcerted Satsuki, Nui pulls out a purple scissor blade and tells Ryuko she was the one who killed Isshin, sending Ryuko into a fury.

Once it started to get good, people started to notice me and knew I wasn’t actually a student at the school. I had to fight my way to the entrance to the arena. I then had to use the power of the goku uniform I “borrowed” and I got to transform into a mech-type that had sledgehammers for hands. I bashed and smashed my way out to the entrance. Once I got to the entrance, it all went black. I looked around and saw a small light. When I got to it, I was transported back to my room. Best part was I still have that uniform I took. I hope I get to use it again later.

Anyway, the episode was great; it didn’t let up on the action or tension even for a minute. The killer being revealed was an unexpected turn of events; at least for me anyway. I would have waited another 3 or 4 episodes, but, again, that’s just my opinion. However, this doesn’t change that the reveal was still good, and the show shows no sign of slowing down! Episode 12 can’t come soon enough.

Watch Kill La Kill on Crunchyroll & Daisuki or talk about this episode on our forums.

Beyond The Boundary (Episode Eleven)
Player: Zero Gravity
Class: DJ

This player is officially out of the competition, but can join again for the Winter season.

Watch Beyond The Boundary on Crunchyroll or talk about this episode on our forums.

Nagi No Asukara (Episode Eleven)
Player: MakiMaki
Class: Content Provider

This player is officially out of the competition, but can join again for the Winter season.

Watch Nagi No Asukara on Crunchyroll or talk about this episode on our forums.

Week 011 Tally

1. Kanashimi: 1,627
2. Midnight: 1,291
3. Elk: 1,198
4. Siege: 810
5. Bobby Henshin: 790
6. Christmas: 660
7. Kayarath: 630
8. Knightshade: 540
9. Zero Gravity: 360
10. MakiMaki: 70

Next week’s challenge: Christmas happened! Somehow incorporate your holiday celebration in your summary.

Make sure to vote for your favorite review below! You can give your favorite an extra 30 points.