[Grimkill7]

What is there to say? Being an Aiko fan, everything that I really wanted to say has already been said by others in this thread. It's not exactly her losing that upsets me, but the fact that they wrote her off 5 episodes before the conclusion whereas the HiromixShinxNoe love triangle is practically guaranteed to endure to the end of the series; which breaks my heart. It's criminal really. Win or lose, Aiko should have lasted until the last episode. She deserved at least that much. Love polygon anime are a plague with no cure. They are produced year after year in droves, and I always root for the same character - the girl who stands no chance. Why!? Why am I attracted to these characters so much? I can only assume that some higher power is f***ing with my head because it happens far too often to be coincidence.

NoexShin is apparently best in small doses because while I loved the stone scene in episode 7, their screentime together in episode 8 was quite boring as many others have stated. So boring in fact, that I will end my commentary on them with that note.

Which finally brings me to our third lovely contestant. Shinji Ikari's female equivalent. The ever optimistic and happy-go-lucky Yuasa Hiromi. I am in full agreement with RevRayCool. She has indeed become a "tragic princess". She is the Yin to Noe's Yang. She is the character that we have all seen a billion times - the perfect class idol who just so happens to be dying on the inside. Things never go right for her. Her world is crashing down all around her. She is a vampire who will feed off of our sympathies while simultaneously digging herself a grave of pity and self-loathing. What is Hiromi going to do once her lies and deceitful behavior begin to work against her? She will run. She will run and Shin will climb aboard his white steed and go galloping off after her. Just like the good boy that he is.

Episode 8 was the low point of this series (hopefully). It was still pretty good as far as episodes go, so I gave it an 8.