:anime: First Impression:: Nisemonogatari Ep. 3

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Nisemonogatari, Ep. 3 - "Karen Bee, Part 3"
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After two episodes of fun banter, the story really kicks it up in this installment. So, let's get it start…:

--Taking a break, Koyomi and Suruga discuss his love life, when she warns him to be careful of girls taking advantage of his kindness. While she jokes about him marrying Tsubasa instead of Hitagi, she also makes a cryptic note about the two's relationship. With his secret still on his mind, he asks her about how she deals with her family regarding her left arm being constantly wrapped. For her, she has played it off as an "injury", but because of an incident regarding her mother, she not on much speaking terms with her grandparents, whom she lives with.

--As he leaves her home, Koyomi comes face-to-face with a mysterious man named Kaiki. The nonchalant, solemn stranger happened to be in the area when he was passing by the supposed residence of a certain woman's child--one bearing the same surname as Suruga's mother. But with little aura to be found, no money was to be found for him, either, so he simply leaves. The man's presence invokes reminiscences of Meme Oshino (Bakemonogatari) and Guillotine Cutter (Kizumonogatari), causing Koyomi to follow suit. But as soon as he is peddles in his direction, he swiftly peddles in the opposite, his instincts telling him otherwise…

:anime: First Impression:: Nisemonogatari Ep. 2

<--To Nisemonogatari, Ep. 1 | To Nisemonogatari, Ep. 3-->

Nisemonogatari, Ep. 2 - "Karen Bee, Part 2"
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For the type of show that Nisemonogatari is, I've decided to do something a little different with the review format (well, not that I've ever had a universal one set, but still…). As first seen in the previous installment, an unorthodox show deserves an unorthodox review, so to speak…

This time on Nisemonogatari…:

--Koyomi pays Nadeko a visit, who is anxious for his arrival and warmly greets him. While having some fun over games when she lets him know about a strange charm that's going around all of the middle schools, including the school she and his sisters attend, And, of course, the "Fire Sisters" are investigating it…

--Afterwards, Koyomi decides to stop by Suruga Kanbaru's house to help her clean her room, but on the way there he runs into the eldest of his younger sisters, Karen. Their little chit-chat session is interrupted by a phone call that pulls her back to her "volunteer work"…

--At Suruga's house, Koyomi has to contend with her antics and mountains of books. After questioning the validity of her eccentricity over the books she possessed, Suruga decides to convince Koyomi--by force--that she really is as offbeat as she purports herself to be.

Now, this also entailed…

:anime: First Impression:: Nisemonogatari Ep. 1

To Nisemonogatari, Ep. 2-->

I made a promise to myself before the season that if Nisemonogatari--someway, somehow--got licensed and was made available for streaming, I would recommend it as "HD's Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month", no question (even if I already posted one; doesn't hurt to recommend more ;D ). Well, not only did it get picked up, you can also watch it, and many other shows this season, in non-upscaled 1080p at Crunchyroll (subscribers-only)! And having a full-HD laptop (with a fast Internet connection) and a show this gorgeous, I can attest that this is certainly the way to go…

Nisemonogatari, Ep. 1 - "Karen Bee, Part 1"
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Ah, just like old times…

Nisemonogatari, the long-awaited sequel to the mega-hit Bakemonogatari, kicked off with--how else--a six-minute long banter consisting of Hitagi Senjoughara playfully teasing/mind******* with Koyomi Araragi, who--for unknown reasons--is bound-up and--for equally unknown reasons--is being "protected" by her…

:anime: Ani-Journal (BETA) - For January 06, 2012

"LOVE" in Mirai Nikki is spelled "YUNO". Other acceptable spellings include "CRAZY", "NUTS", and "CERTIFIABLE"…

What better way to ring in the new year, celebrate Three King's Day and Epiphany, and send off Christmas (the twelfth and final day of) than with a second installment of HD's newest feature (still under "BETA-watch", of course)!

--Chihayafuru notwithstanding (haven't seen it yet), I had considered Fate/Zero to be the best show of the autumn season. Theater-level animation, an intriguing storyline and take on the Dungeons-&-Dragons-type board games, and interesting characters (complete with fantasied figures from fables and world history) made for a very solid and enjoyable series with few hiccups.

…And then I saw Mirai Nikki/Future Diary.