Summary:

A girl named Haida Kyouko transfers into Ichigo’s class and quickly takes an interest in Inoue. After Kyouko falls during gym class, Inoue is the one who takes her to the infirmary, and along the way, Inoue protects them both from a falling plant by using her powers, confirming Kyouko’s suspicions that Inoue is special. This is important to her because she’s also got a special ability and has been searching for someone like herself ever since she scared off her best friend at her old school. Inoue, however, feels that they could just be normal friends without regard to their powers. Before Kyouko can respond, her power starts going berserk, and Inoue briefly sees a Zanpakutou appear in her hand. Kyouko ends up running away, and it turns out that her mind is under the influence of a Toujuu that she had found. It possesses her and returns to her old school to kill her old friend, but Kyouko is able to take back her body long enough to stop it. However, she then completely transforms into the Toujuu and attacks when Inoue arrives on the scene. Fortunately, Ichigo and Rukia had been on the case as well, and they protect Inoue and fight the Toujuu. Knowing that Kyouko is suffering inside, Inoue uses her power to separate the two, and Ichigo destroys the Toujuu half. In the aftermath, Rukia erases the memory of Kyouko’s old friend, and Kyouko continues life as Inoue’s friend.

Preview

Unlike last week, this week’s episode wasn’t better than expected. Actually, after all the Soul Society stuff we’ve had recently, this episode and its focus on Inoue didn’t even feel really like a Bleach episode. It was much more of a high school drama type episode with themes of friendship and betrayal that was ultimately only marginally connected to the Toujuu plot (they probably could have had Kyouko just be possessed by a random spirit and the outcome would have been the same). I guess it was nice for Inoue to get a little more character development, but for the most part the episode failed to hold my interest. Hopefully next week’s Haineko episode will be better.

On a different note, it’s been announced that miwa will be singing OP12 and Diggy-MO’ of SOUL’d OUT fame will be singing ED23, both of which are set to start on April 13th with episode 266.

According to animeblogger.net

Summary:

As Rio burns some documents, the other girls help Noel bring together the spider legs of Takemikazuchi. Afterward, Kureha helps Kanata look for information about Iliya, but there’s none to be found. Kureha, however, is still able to tell Kanata about how Iliya died trying to save a drowning child and how she was set to wed the Emperor of Rome to improve relations between their countries. While this is on her mind, Kanata is found by Yumina and a girl who want her to check on an old woman named Jacott who lives alone on the nearby mountain. Kanata convinces Rio to come with her, and the two come across Jacott building another house next to her current one. Jacott explains that she’s building it for her son should he return, but the girls are more concerned about how she hasn’t prepared for the upcoming winter cold. Since the old woman won’t leave the mountain, Rio and Kanata are left with no choice but to help her get some firewood and food.

While in town, Rio asks Kanata about the place she was born and then reveals that she herself was raised by her mother in a small village near the capital city. She had a half-sister who came to see her sometimes, and Rio learned to play the trumpet from her. Rio also talks about how she felt lost and eventually realized that Seize was a dead end, but Kanata feels that what’s important is that they were able to meet here. Later that night, the two return to Jacott’s home to help her prepare for the coming cold, and when asked, Rio compares the old woman to her own mother. It turns out that Rio was born as a result of an impermissible love, and her mother had always waited for that man, leading to what Rio believes was an unhappy life and death. Jacott questions why Rio thinks that her mother was unhappy and claims that she herself is very happy with her belief that the person she’s waiting for will return.

Jacott’s own past involved falling in love with the son of a merchant and giving birth to his child. However, he already had a family and had taken the child back with him to his real wife with the promise that he would someday come back for her. On this very night, after Kanata and Rio have fallen asleep in her home, Jacott sees a vision of that man and runs to him. Kanata and Rio wake up in the morning to find Jacott gone, and her trail is lost in the snow. Upon returning to the fort, the girls meet up with Naomi who explains Jacott’s past to them, and Naomi also brought a photo of Iliya. Rio doesn’t stop her from showing it to the other girls, and while she goes to play Amazing Grace, the girls learn that Rio has decided to leave. Kanata has by now realized that it was Iliya who she had met a long time ago and how that music led to her and Rio meeting here. Having earlier heard from Filicia about the Roman army being on the move, Rio has concluded that she has to go do what only she can, and she gives Kanata her trumpet before departing.

Preview

I wasn’t sure where they were going with this episode at first, but I ended up really enjoying it. They confirmed a lot of what we had suspected in terms of Iliya and Rio’s background, including how Rio is indeed needed so that she can be married off to ensure peace, and Jacott’s story made for a nice parallel to Rio’s own story (or rather her mother’s). Rio’s ultimate departure was a little surprising, mainly because I didn’t think it’d be so soon, but they did a great job packing emotion into those final scenes and working in the theme of unifying sound and music. I have to mention too that I love their use of the soundtrack, especially during the scene where Rio and Kanata were walking around the city.

Now I want to say that this likely won’t be the last time we see Rio, but with only two episodes left (not including the two extra DVD/BD ones), I’m not so sure. It all depends on what kind of conflict they build up next episode, like if there’s going to be another outbreak of fighting or if there’s going to be something connected to the legend appearing. The preview on the official site doesn’t seem to point to either of those though and instead indicates that the girls will meet a hostile soldier.

According to animeblogger.net

Summary:

Lucy, Natsu, Erza, and Gray return from a job to find the Fairy Tail guild house in ruins thanks to an attack from rival guild Phantom Lord. Makarov initially isn’t too concerned because no one was hurt, but all that changes the next day when Levy, Jet, and Droy are found nailed to a tree and injured thanks to another Phantom Lord attack. Makarov decides that this means war, and most of the guild departs with him to strike back. Although they generally don’t have any problems in the ensuing fight, they soon realize some of the strongest members of Phantom Lord aren’t there, including Gajeel - the one responsible for the attacks - and the group called Element 4. When Makarov heads further into the enemy base to find Phantom Lord’s leader Jose, Gajeel reveals himself and jumps into the fray. Lucy meanwhile stayed behind to look after Levy since they had become friends, but while out to get some groceries, she gets ambushed and captured by Juvia and Sol, two members of the Element 4.

Preview

After the last couple of episodes, I didn’t expect that they’d get back to the action so quickly, but that’s pretty much exactly what happened here. It was exciting to see things unfold like this, though I have to say that the action itself still wasn’t all that impressive. I mean, it was great to see Makarov fired up for once and to see everyone’s abilities, but the battle was filled with fairly static action shots instead of well-choreographed fighting. Part of that might be because they’ve only been fighting enemy grunts so far, and I’m hoping that will change for the better when the Gajeel, the Element 4, and/or Jose get more involved. I also assume that since we have these new villains and since the episode didn’t end with just this episode, we’re at the start of a new story arc. Based on how Lucy got captured and what the preview showed, it looks like this arc will be focused on her in the same way that the Galuna Island arc was about Gray.

According to animeblogger.net

 
A big question when you’re itching to read a light novel or manga in Japanese is where you can order it from. If you live in Japan, you can just walk to the closest bookshop and get whatever you want. But not all of us are so lucky. Personally I live in Europe, and while there are local stores that sell literature in Japanese, they don’t have much to offer, and what there is can be quite expensive.

Luckily, this is the age of the internet, and there are plenty of online bookstores hoping to do business with us. Since I began reading manga in Japanese back in 2004, I have ordered literally thousands of books and manga from Amazon Japan. They have an enormous inventory, extremely fast delivery, and are reliable. Shipping costs are expensive, however. That’s why I’ve lately started using BK1 instead, as they provide a lot more options for shipping methods.

To give you an idea of the difference, here are the details:

Amazon Japan takes a minimum of 3400 yen ($38) per shipment, and an additional 300 yen ($3.32) per item, which means ordering 1 book = 3700 yen ($41) just for shipping! Delivery time is 3-5 days. (link)

BK1 charges depending on weight with no minimum charge, estimating 200 grams per book, which using the SAL method means 1 book = 280 yen ($3.10) for shipping. Delivery time is 1-11 weeks!

It’s plain to see that you save enormous amounts of money by going with BK1, but it isn’t always this clear-cut. Shipping via SAL means you have no way to track your shipment, and delivery time can be very unreliable, so you may be checking your mailbox furiously before eventually being lucky enough to find something in it. There’s also no insurance, so if the package is lost, you’re most likely screwed. Having said that, the five times I’ve ordered, I’ve received my packages in around two weeks.

It gets even more complicated from here on. Since BK1 charges depending on the weight of your package, the contents of your order have a big effect on the shipping cost, and can be hard to guess before they’ve actually packaged everything and sent it out.

Sample weights:
• Toradora 1 - 155g [light novel]
• Brave Story 1 - 227g [light novel]
• Gosicks 1 - 180g [light novel]
• The Twelve Kingdoms 1 - 188g [light novel]
• Major 72 - 161g [manga]
• Bakemonogatari 1 - 402g [light novel]
• Dragonball (Perfect Edition) 01 - 435g [manga]
• Please Save My Earth (Perfect Edition) 01 - 697g [manga]

So as an extreme example, if you were to buy the entire PSME series from BK1 in one go, your package would weigh 10*697g = 6970g which is about 7000 yen ($77)!

Compare this with Amazon Japan, where you would be charged 3400+10*300 = 6400 yen ($71) and be reimbursed if it was lost.

In general, I’d recommend using BK1 for orders up to 15 items, and Amazon Japan on orders of more than 15 items. Note that the prices will differ somewhat if you live outside Europe, with Amazon being slightly cheaper for Americans, while BK1 is about 15% more expensive than the example prices I’ve used. As a bonus point to Amazon, they also provide buttons and information in English.

According to animeblogger.net