[Archon_Wing]

For the most part this episode was rather boring. It seemed like a lot of stuff was happening, maybe too much. I think Shana has always worked best with the playful SoL moments mixed with action and seriousness. Which may be why I found this season to be pretty jarring, but on the other hand, what can they do? It's a serious situation, so can I really fault them for that? No, not for that in itself.

So Yuji turns out to have teamed with team rocket err... the Bal Masque. I hope they are not the best this series has to offer, since they're not a particularly exciting lot outside of Hecate, aside from the occasional attempts to steal Pikachu err Yuji. But they've already succeeded, so... why not get a few jobbers to lose to you to gain some credbility?

I also can't help but laugh at Yuji's new voice, especially the shifting. Mind you, it's a very sexy voice, but for some reason I keep thinking of the talking cat from Haruhi. It's that silly. What else? Stuff. Shana's experiencing angst, obviously because Yuji is gone. This is reasonable, but I'm rather disappointed everyone else is unwilling to care. Why do you people think Shana is not focused? Gah.

But not is all bad. The last scene involving Keisaku was really good. It's kinda sad that he's way more developed then most of the other characters in this anime. Shana II may be bashed often, but Keisaku's personal growth in it was something to be admired and appreciated. It represents the series at its best. The tension came from the alert that there might be an enemy nearby, and his freaking out was the second time in these 2 episodes where I could feel for a character and understand his actions. I mean, he's just a normal; he can't do anything by himself. Or can he?

Good transition to the ED; I thnk the next episode might be better for my tastes.

5/10-- didn't care til the end. And Yuji reappears with the normal hairstyle. yay?
Edit: Well, Sabrac... if only he did something