IS: Infinite Stratos

[Marik]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Esupergotenks/isth.jpg

Alternative Title: IS <インフィニット・ストラトス> (Japanese)

Type: TV
Episodes: 12
Source: Light Novel
Studio: 8bit
Genres: Action, Mecha, Science Fiction, Shounen
Themes: Harem

Synopsis: Infinite Stratos (IS), a weaponized exoskeleton system, has become the dominant tool of warfare and conflict. Unfortunately for the men in society, only women are able to operate Infinite Stratos, with very few exceptions. One of those exceptions is Orimura Ichika, an orphan raised by his older sister who is herself a famous IS pilot.

When his compatibility with IS is discovered after he accidentally touches an IS at the age of 15, he's given a scholarship and enrolled in a school that specializes in training IS pilots. Which of course means an interesting life surrounded by girls for this shy, unassuming boy.

Resources: ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=11769) | AniDB (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=7727) | MyAnimeList (http://myanimelist.net/anime/9041/IS:_Infinite_Stratos) | Official (http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/is/)

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Ayako - Infinite Stratos IS - 01v2 - 720p (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=187102) | 400p (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=187103)

[vejita613]

I already hate Cecilia. Otherwise this anime has made me somewhat unconformable. "Men wouldn't last three minutes"? Oh wow.

Anyone else find it curious that his sister is like..everywhere he is? Shes his teacher and his dorm room supervisor. Maybe shes keeping an eye on him due to the fact that they are siblings? Or maybe theres more to it?

[Ryllharu]

I'd say it is just a coincidence that she's everywhere. He mentioned in passing that her being a dorm supervisor must be the reason she rarely came home. The bigger question might be why she quit being the world's best IS pilot to become a teacher.

Houki going randomly into deredere mode is amusing, but in no way surprising. I much prefer that so many of the girls are so open about approaching him. Typically we would see, "eek! A man! We should avoid him." Whether they're important or not, I liked the girls who peeped into the dorm room and complimented his speed, as well as the ones who approached him in the cafeteria.

I don't mind Cecilia, but I'll admit that's mostly because she's voiced by Yukana. I like her haughty attitude, particularly because it is likely she'll get her comeuppance next episode.

Kuribayashi Minami OPs are always a treat, the ED didn't do all that much for me, but might grow on me.

Lastly, I hate when a series opens like this one did. Random, probably pointless battle, followed by an immediate "months ago..." flashback. Very trite. Sure, it shows us what kind of action we should expect, but chances are, they won't even go back to it.

[Sentenal]

I'd say it is just a coincidence that she's everywhere. He mentioned in passing that her being a dorm supervisor must be the reason she rarely came home. The bigger question might be why she quit being the world's best IS pilot to become a teacher.

Houki going randomly into deredere mode is amusing, but in no way surprising. I much prefer that so many of the girls are so open about approaching him. Typically we would see, "eek! A man! We should avoid him." Whether they're important or not, I liked the girls who peeped into the dorm room and complimented his speed, as well as the ones who approached him in the cafeteria.

I don't mind Cecilia, but I'll admit that's mostly because she's voiced by Yukana. I like her haughty attitude, particularly because it is likely she'll get her comeuppance next episode.

Kuribayashi Minami OPs are always a treat, the ED didn't do all that much for me, but might grow on me.

Lastly, I hate when a series opens like this one did. Random, probably pointless battle, followed by an immediate "months ago..." flashback. Very trite. Sure, it shows us what kind of action we should expect, but chances are, they won't even go back to it.
Considering the battle in the beginning was an "everyone vs one with the one winning", I doubt that its a pointless battle. Combined with the fact that they were actually fighting, rather that it simply being a duel, when warfare with IS are apparently forbidden. To top it off, the design of the enemy leads me to believe that it would be the generic "myserious person who beats our ass" type villain.

[RyougaZell]

Seems interesting for now... lets see how the story revolves for now. Though I think rooming him with Houki was a bit unreal.

[Kraco]

This surely was one cliche fest, like the fanatics Sankaku quoted said, but I found it interesting nonetheless. The women only artificial limitation in the premise was a reason why I planned not to even have a look at this, but I later decided to give it a chance, mainly because of the VAs. Who knows whether this can continue to entertain in the future but for now I'll keep watching.

Sharing the room with Junko Houki and the handicap discussion both felt exceedingly artificial. The place looks so expensive and well maintained that I can't imagine they would be so short of rooms they need to couple a boy and a girl. The handicap was even more stupid considering we had just before seen the dude confess he understands hardly anything from the lessons - yet still proceeds to suggest handicaps...

[shinta|hikari]

But he beat an instructor too right? He may be ignorant on the technical aspect of piloting, but his instincts should be on par with the British representative.

It just goes to show how old fashioned the guy is, and was also used to emphasized how much the entire world has changed due to the presence of IS.

[Ryllharu]

As for the pairing Houki and whatshisface in a room, it is understandable at least on a level that this is a highly selective girls-only school. All the rooms are going to be full of IS candidates. They shoved him in a room where there was space, and probably through his sister's intervention, put him into a room with someone he can be reasonably comfortable with, and vice versa considering the circumstances.

I'm certain it was artificial.

[David75]

Somehow, this feels a lot like Ladies vs Butlers, with the ecchi part tuned down.


Regarding the first scene, I see it more like a training battle where cadets are all against a hell of an instructor, being non other than Ichika's sister.

Also, who in their right mind would believe you develop IS exoskeleton on a massive scale for entertainment purposes when you only factor the costs?
Another point of utter crap is the technological jump from today's cosmonaut suit, to a high speed, high manouevrability, highly weaponed, flying exoskeleton suit... in only ten years.
We're not talking computers here, that can rely on electronics to gain orders of magnitude every 4 to 5 years.

We're talking aeronautics, mechanics, material resistance, weight gains, size gains, power density gains, ergonomics gains, acceleration dampeners and so on... so many technologies that need many oders of magnitude of progress all at the same time, all of that with coherent integration and in a mere 10 years.

Oh yeah, I did it again, trying to be serious on such an anime :D

[Inazuma]

Turned way down. But hell, if more story is to come. I'm fine with it

[KrayZ33]

I thought this is about Mecha... it is not.

I refuse to see that ugly "suit" as a mech


I liked the girls who peeped into the dorm room and complimented his speed, as well as the ones who approached him in the cafeteria.

they complimented *her* already making a move on him (or being quick with the kendo sword)


The handicap was even more stupid considering we had just before seen the dude confess he understands hardly anything from the lessons - yet still proceeds to suggest handicaps...

these lessons seem to be really useless so far, its like someone wants to teach him how the *fuel* makes the car move, even though all he needs to know is how *he* can make the car move.

and on top of it, it sounds like he already knows how to drive the "car"

I hope to see a real prodigy, if he turns out to be another Naruto or even Touma I'll most likely drop this.
I want want something along the lines of Sousuke or even better Kazuma from Kaze no Stigma

[Kraco]

Yeah, I'd also like that very much, but there are still two details to consider: He said he won his fight against the instructor by evading and causing the instructor to crash into a wall. That could have been just modesty but who knows. Secondly, he didn't look like he was trying to provocate the English bitch or pay back a little for her arrogant ways.

I'll admit there's one solid possibility here: The dude could be so used to kendo that whenever a duel of any sort is suggested, he reverts back to the mental state he has in kendo and thus automatically suggested a handicap for a girl. However, he would need to be quite an airhead to forget where he is and what for.

[Archangel]

Cliché is the keyword, but i can see myself enjoying this series

The misogynist in me is sure to enjoy watching the dude beating a couple of chicks senseless with his power of sheer awesomeness, and I've always been a fan of CGI in anime when it's done right.

[MFauli]

"Shallow" is the keyword I´d use.

Admittedly, I didn´t expect a deep anime-show here, but ... I still wonder, when we´ll ever see a series like Eureka Seven again. You know, a show that actually tries to create a believable world with realistic characters and a serious, yet funny at times, story.

IS seems to be a typical harem-anime, only using the whole mecha-setting as a visual differentiator. To be honest, even Mai-Hime/Mai-Otome felt less shallow than this first episode.

Stuff I found especially silly:
- those suits being used for sports only. Yeah, lol, costs and such...
- was it actually explained, WHY only girls can use them? I mean ... does it run on estrogen? (which then could be worked around, too)
- Houki and her tsundere-behavior. srsly, first she´s annoyed, then on the roof she´s all shy, then back to brutally violent...sigh
- was that fight in the beginning supposed to be serious? anyway, these are machines, not bodies, so if two of those clash into each other, there has to be some sort of damage. Not here, though...

I´ll keep watching, though, because this first episode really didnt give much information about this show´s direction.

[Buffalobiian]

I've always been a fan of CGI in anime when it's done right.

Done right? That opening battle looked horrible. I almost dropped this because of that.

But I'll keep watching 'cause Houki has a ponytail.

[Archangel]

Then give me an example of it done to your tastes, since i thoroughly enjoyed the battle

[Buffalobiian]

Then give me an example of it done to your tastes, since i thoroughly enjoyed the battle

I can't think of one. Even the OP's "CG-aided art", though still technically CGI, was done better. The shiny rendering is off-putting. Note that I'm talking about visual presentation, not fight choreography.

High-budget movies can do it right, but they're in a different league. (Appleseed: Ex Machina for example).

[KrayZ33]

CGI is probably the most unfitting thing in anime.
everything pales in comparision to a full sketched fight

the less you can see the difference between CGI-animation and normal animation the better

I prefer it when CGI is used for backgrounds/effects only

that being said, the first battle was pretty well done, its just that the suits are ugly and you have to witness a missle/laser-fest again. the lighting effects looked over the top too (everyone has shiny-as-if-it-were-golden battlesuits yaaaay)
typical macross/gundam style so to say. annoying.

also: GITS (most of the time) @ buff

[Marik]

Ayako - Infinite Stratos IS - 02 - 720p (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=186111) | 400p (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=186112)

[KrayZ33]

uhm guys.... WOW!!!!!

that was probably one of the best Mecha fights I've seen (especially in series)
I still dislike the suit-design and would love to see the same fight with Union Flags but this was extremely fun to watch

btw, the IS voice is really cool

[David75]

So there was a shikai... cheap trick if you ask me, but maybe I'm just angry I didn't see it coming.

Character design really is poor/not to my liking and I do not see anything I can attach to. I might drop it in the next eps, depends on the other new shows I guess.

[Idealistic]

Like what I see so far. When are the other 3 pictured girls going to show up?? Oooooo can't wait.

[animus]

I'm kinda disappointed there's no real interaction between Ichika and his sister outside of anything IS or school related. You'd think they'd have tons to talk about and shed light on his back story.

[Buffalobiian]

btw, the IS voice is really cool

I too was pleasantly surprised. Not only is it a male voice (unlike the typical polite female one), but it's also that unusual deep growl. Wonder if it's that way because IS are made for girls. :p

Thinking about it, I could forgive them if that horrible CGI from the first episode was used to convey a virtual battle simulation. The battles themselves don't look to be using that technique.

As for design, I'm not too fond of the Byakushiki, but I do dig the Blue Tears. On the other hand, it simply makes no sense for Ichika to be equipped with an opponent-damaging sword. If the whole point in tounaments is to deplete the opponent's shield, and he's only in the school for training, something that can actually endanger the opponent just seems out of place. IS boasts that awesome shield, but it's just thin metal (or a suit depending on where you hit) if you can bypass it like the Yukihira can.


So there was a shikai... cheap trick if you ask me, but maybe I'm just angry I didn't see it coming.

You talking about the Form Fitting? I didn't mind it, but I also don't see why it let him survive the missiles unscathered. It didn't look like it used any shield from his counter (not that I went back to check), and if it did, then it would mean that he would have been saved anyway?

[Ryllharu]

As for design, I'm not too fond of the Byakushiki, but I do dig the Blue Tears. On the other hand, it simply makes no sense for Ichika to be equipped with an opponent-damaging sword. If the whole point in tounaments is to deplete the opponent's shield, and he's only in the school for training, something that can actually endanger the opponent just seems out of place. IS boasts that awesome shield, but it's just thin metal (or a suit depending on where you hit) if you can bypass it like the Yukihira can.

You talking about the Form Fitting? I didn't mind it, but I also don't see why it let him survive the missiles unscathered. It didn't look like it used any shield from his counter (not that I went back to check), and if it did, then it would mean that he would have been saved anyway?
Agree with these sentiments pretty thoroughly. The Blue Tears is a stylish design where the Byakushiki looks ungainly and ridiculous. If his machine is meant for closing and aerial melee, shouldn't it be more streamlined to increase acceleration? They said it wasn't meant for defense, but pure offense. It's very bulky, even in Form Fitted mode.

It seems like a huge hazard for his sister to have given him the Yukihira. The last thing I think the school would want is a student wielding a weapon that is actually capable of injuring another student during a training exercise. Yukihira is a weapon only suited for killing, though I also think it is silly that it somehow depletes Ichika's shield in order to bypass the opponent's. Maybe it would make more sense if they went behind the tech of the shields versus Yukihira, but they did not.

Lastly, I felt that it was stupid that they'd force Ichika to go out into battle without Form Fitting first. Cecilia had certainly Form Fitted to her own machine. They repeated multiple times the excuse that, "they only had so much time on the practice field," but that just came off as a plot device. They wouldn't let him use a practice machine because they wanted to gather data, so they receive delivery and immediately shove him out with it? Sorry, I didn't buy that. For the competition to be fair, they either should have both been in practice machines, or he should have been given at least two hours to familiarize himself with his own personal IS.

There was no legitimate reason that the could not have postponed the fight a few days more (or simply rescheduled).

[KrayZ33]

the funniest thing was when his sister said something like "thats what you get for not paying attention to your weapon characteristics"

oh sorry miss world champion for not having time to read weapon stats/descriptions while getting shot and nuked at the same time!

[Buffalobiian]

Maybe it would make more sense if they went behind the tech of the shields versus Yukihira, but they did not.

Normally it comes down to two things:

1) Weapons normally use up ammo storage(even beam weapons), while shield uses up energy. Ichika's sword draws from the shield instead. (why they don't use a battery pack, who knows)

2) The sword uses up shield energy in a way that counters the opponent's shield (counter wave?), or if it leaves their shield intact, attempts to mimic their shield in order to get by it (sync wave).


The other thing I thought was funny was the sister's comment about Ichika's left fist clenching. He's got to have some sort of subconscious foresight for that to happen (ie his body knows he'll screw up, but he doesn't). Clenching his fist could mean that he's being confident and thereby thinks he knows everything and stops being cautious, but by no means is an indicator that he will fail. You've got to have a smart enough opponent to take advantage of that overconfidence to happen (like Cecilia).

[Kraco]

I saw absolutely nothing wrong with this setting. First of all, how do we know Chifuyu gave her sword to Ichika? It was a similar sword, yes, but as far as we know, the mysterious core might dictate what manner of a weapon materializes, based on the person. And the core might give a shit about the suits being used (right now) only for nonsense show business instead of real warfare. The scientist behind them sounded like a difficult person to deal with anyway.

On the other hand, if the sister did give such a sword, what's wrong about it? She's an ace herself, is she not? If the dude can defeat any opponent while remaining with one unit of shielding on his own machine, he's the winner. It'll just be down to discipline and training. Chifuyu looked like the kind of person who wouldn't cut him slack.

The same goes for this duel. I'd say they let Ichika fight with an unform fitted machine on purpose. For those two this might have been an important match, but for the teachers and the academy it was a golden opportunity to see what a dude piloting a women only suit could really do, academically. You can always study him under controlled circumstances later but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity since Form Fitting likely only happens once.

Another entertaining episode. And I wasn't even going to watch this pile of cliches...

[Buffalobiian]

On the other hand, if the sister did give such a sword, what's wrong about it? She's an ace herself, is she not? If the dude can defeat any opponent while remaining with one unit of shielding on his own machine, he's the winner. It'll just be down to discipline and training. Chifuyu looked like the kind of person who wouldn't cut him slack

The problem, is that she gave him a sword that seems to serve no other purpose than to harm the other pilot; It doesn't deplete the shield during the attack, it bypasses it. With that weapon, he can't win tournaments by depleting the opponent's shield - he wins by taking them out. Unlike Freezing, it doesn't sound like these were used for war, nor do the combatants have close to unlimited regeneration ability.

[MFauli]

Liked this episode, though some flaws have me nitpicking:

- Orimura´s IS skills are too fantastic. They made his entrance-victory seem like a lucky chance, and now he fought on equal ground with one of the IS prodigies. Yeah, yeah, he knows Kendo, but come on. Sure, this isnt an untypical flaw in anime, still I hoped for a more down-to-earth approach here. Like, have him desperately evade his opponents attack, then give him one OMG!-attack, but let him lose, ultimately. But he was in perfect control over the IS from the beginning of the fight.

- Coming from the above, WHY couldnt have evade the first rocket attack?

- A few dodges and the girl praises him for being the only one ever to last that long against her? What bunch of loser did she fight against before?! lol

[Buffalobiian]

Orimura´s IS skills are too fantastic. They made his entrance-victory seem like a lucky chance, and now he fought on equal ground with one of the IS prodigies. Yeah, yeah, he knows Kendo, but come on. Sure, this isnt an untypical flaw in anime, still I hoped for a more down-to-earth approach here. Like, have him desperately evade his opponents attack, then give him one OMG!-attack, but let him lose, ultimately. But he was in perfect control over the IS from the beginning of the fight.

But he IS a prodigy. These two episodes portrayed him as someone who is unable to understand IS suit's technical theories, but is right at home once he sits in one.


- A few dodges and the girl praises him for being the only one ever to last that long against her? What bunch of loser did she fight against before?! lol

I can only assume that dodging like he did was beyond the skills of normal IS pilots.

[Kraco]

As long as he can get close a long range attacker will lose. As simple as that. Under normal circumstances a sniper wouldn't fight under circumstances where close combat is expected.

Bill, that could be a valid point, but if he develops some coldness, he can force the opponent to surrender (or die). That should be an option. Or he could damage the machine and render it incapable of fighting, shields or not.

Still, I wouldn't be surprised if he developed an attack more suitable for this show business.

[MFauli]

But he IS a prodigy. These two episodes portrayed him as someone who is unable to understand IS suit's technical theories, but is right at home once he sits in one.

Well, again, they made his entrance victory sound like he got lucky. I dont remember where they portrayed him as a naturally skilled pilot, he´s just special because of being the only male pilot.

[David75]

Well, he is the only know male pilot, and brother to the best IS pilot ever.
His sister, best pilot ever, is a friend to the IS creator.
IS system is totally closed and under control of said creator.

It's not hard to guess that said creator decided no males would have access to IS suits as a political/philisophical choice. It seems like the world is at peace, one could think it is thanks to the IS being controled by women. It is a well managed, overpowering force that would just stop any war in a matter of minutes. Give that to males, and the world is doomed.

So now the question is why would that creator allow for an exception, even for a friend's brother?

Regarding that guy's abilities, I guess he shares some qualities with his sister. It seems he was also at a fairly high kendo level, so knows how to handle a battle, strategy, reading the oponent and so on. I guess they want us to swallow those 2 things are enough to explain his godlike control.

Regarding the battle itself, it's as Kraco said, the match is really unbalanced in many ways:
Female Prodigy vs Male total rookie-> Female as an advantage
Fitted IS vs Standard setting-> Female as an advantage
Long range Attacks IS vs Close Combat IS-> Male as an advantage, since there's no surprise effects and no place to hide.

[Buffalobiian]

Well, again, they made his entrance victory sound like he got lucky. I dont remember where they portrayed him as a naturally skilled pilot, he´s just special because of being the only male pilot.

Didn't they say this was his second time piloting a machine? It doesn't quite make sense since that would mean his entrance exam would be his first time, but he mentioned that the first time was a shock to him, and he couldn't understand the suit the first time he touched it.

And his entrance victory was lucky. The examiner crashed into a wall, rather than being defeated like in Cecilia's case. However, he entrance wasn't a lucky one. You don't need to defeat an examiner to pass.

[Ryllharu]

I can only assume that dodging like he did was beyond the skills of normal IS pilots.I don't think you have to assume. He and Cecilia were the only(?) two freshmen in their class who defeated an instructor. Cecilia because she has a Fitted IS and is very skilled at long range combat with a variety of tricks up her sleeve (that Ichika was able to see through), and Ichika because he dodged the instructor's attack and she crashed into a wall.

Dodging is a skill he's apparently quite good at.

[Kraco]

Luck alone doesn't explain his victory against the instructor. Unless the instructor sucked balls (not literally). Such luck is born out of natural talent. He had enough talent to evade and cause the instructor to lose control over the situation. Sure, it probably wouldn't work a second time but that's irrelevant.

Besides, somebody once said that luck is an integral part of being a succesful warrior.

[David75]

Regarding the match outcome:
It's a technical loss, yes, but one he couldn't have known regarding his rookie status.
And it is not satisfactory for Cecilia either. From her perspective, there's no way she wasn't able to defeat him easilly and it's a loss to her she won like that. Moreover, she was mere shield points away from a huge slash that would have had her to lose.

Then, she starts geting feelings for him because he's so strong (or so it seems), so the typical harem shounen is back on track :D

[Buffalobiian]

I don't think you have to assume. He and Cecilia were the only(?) two freshmen in their class who defeated an instructor. Cecilia because she has a Fitted IS and is very skilled at long range combat with a variety of tricks up her sleeve (that Ichika was able to see through), and Ichika because he dodged the instructor's attack and she crashed into a wall.

Dodging is a skill he's apparently quite good at.

I'm not so sure Cecilia would have used a Fitted IS in an entrance exam when everyone else had a training one.

[Ryllharu]

Unlike Freezing, it doesn't sound like these were used for war, nor do the combatants have close to unlimited regeneration ability.
It's not hard to guess that said creator decided no males would have access to IS suits as a political/philisophical choice. It seems like the world is at peace, one could think it is thanks to the IS being controled by women. It is a well managed, overpowering force that would just stop any war in a matter of minutes. Give that to males, and the world is doomed.
Another point here, I think I prefer Freezing's approach thus far. Power isn't something that corrupts men but not women. It does not discriminate, it corrupts equally. In fact, aside from Cecilia's haughtiness (which barely counts, if it does at all), I think they've really danced around that issue.

I can't see how they could have possibly not had an incident so far.

Unless Houki's sister baked a system into those black "no user serviceable parts" boxes that detects hostile, life-threatening aggression and shuts the system down, someone, somewhere, will inevitably use the IS's for nefarious purposes. I didn't see the two weapon systems automatically disarming when the horn went off. Ichika still had to stop himself from swinging. Maybe the academy can remotely shut down any IS that is registered to them.

Not all maidens are pure hearted angels. Things may change, but I'm not very satisfied with the idealistic viewpoint they've presented so far. It is a good idea that they've gathered so many girls from so many varied nations and encourage them to become friends at the same school, but they do grow up sooner or later. Mai-Otome touched on the same ideas, and that didn't work out that well.

[KrayZ33]

Question: why do you guys think/believe that his weapon is useless for the IS-sport and meant for hurting people?

its a shield nullifying sword right?
he can pierce his enemy shield -> shield pierced means zero shieldpoints because a pierced shield is broken -> he is the winner with a single blow. (they never said that the sword "bypasses" the shield like a ghost-sword or something like that, at least not in Ayako's version)

his problem is that he has to get into close-range to make this attack work, which is why this sword is a all-in-weapon and *needs* to end everything with one or 2 blows.

[Buffalobiian]

Question: why do you think that his weapon is useless for the IS-sport and meant for hurting people?

its a shield nullifying sword right?
he can pierce his enemy shield -> shield pierced = zero shieldpoints -> he is the winner with

From my understanding, it's a shield bypassing sword.

Take a hit = full shield, dead pilot.


Edit: No, you're right. The explanation does use "nullifying". For some reason, I thought it was the above ^.

In light of that, it does work (and very well) in sport - but still very dangerous. That is unless you have the control (and the technology works in a way that will allow you) to slash into the "energy field" to nullify it, but not contact the enemy.

[KrayZ33]

the question is if the sword can actually *cut* things
it could be a kendo sword of some kind (for example)

and I doubt laser and rockets are safer than that sword
gee.. sports <-> rockets, what am I watching, but its fun :D

[Buffalobiian]

the question is if the sword can actually *cut* things
it could be a kendo sword of some kind (for example)

It cuts missiles pretty well. :p

[MFauli]

wasnt the problem that the sword nullifies HIS own shield? Takes all the energy from defense and puts it into offense. Something that could be advantagous in a real life-death-battle, but makes you lose per-default in this sports-situation, where "no shield" means loss. thats how i understood it.

[Buffalobiian]

wasnt the problem that the sword nullifies HIS own shield? Takes all the energy from defense and puts it into offense. Something that could be advantagous in a real life-death-battle, but makes you lose per-default in this sports-situation, where "no shield" means loss. thats how i understood it.

You use some of your power to nullify all of their shield.

That's how I understood it.

But I see your understanding as valid too. You would have to assume that his sister's tournament used different rules though, since she couldn't have won like that otherwise.

[KrayZ33]

exactly...

in an RPG game this would be a berserker class IS (in most cases)
or if you play league of legends, take Sions enrage ability as an example (each attack costs health but deal more damage)
or Lost Planet T-Eng weapons (probably the best comparison)

and there is no difference in life-death-battle and the sports battle
if your shield reaches zero points you have lost your defence and the next hit will finish you off, the sports-battle will just stop right before that happens

so its a double edged sword in both cases and equally dangerous to use.. but it can end everything with a single blow...(or 2... who knows how much attack power he will gain
but from what his Sister (that weapon was the key to victory) it sounds like she had problems fighting certain enemies, maybe because she couldn't hit them too often because they were too fast, and that attack helped her dealing enough damage.

[Kraco]

Like I said earlier, he just needs to develop it further so that he has a trace of his own shields left. I can't believe it would be so stiff that's not possible.

Otherwise he can become the new draw king: All fights end with neither having any shields left...

[MFauli]

You would have to assume that his sister's tournament used different rules though, since she couldn't have won like that otherwise.

That´s what confused me. :D How could his sister win any tournaments, when it nullifies her own shield energy? So, I guess it only drains a certain amount, then...which makes it totally overpowered...and his sister´s victories all the less impressive.

[Ryllharu]

but it can end everything with a single blow...(or 2... who knows how much attack power he will gain
but from what his Sister (that weapon was the key to victory) it sounds like she had problems fighting certain enemies, maybe because she couldn't hit them too often because they were too fast, and that attack helped her dealing enough damage.
The biggest flaw is it looks like he can take very little damage at all before he goes in for the strike. Cecilia pounded him pretty good but his shield still had a lot of strength before it went.

He went to 470 after her first hit (14:29, Ayako) down to about 238 (18:53, Ayako), and then immediately to zero. I'm guessing it starts at around 500. That means he has to use at or around half of his shield to strike.

As far as I'm concerned, that makes it a highly flawed weapon. If all his opponents focused on kendo like weapons, fine, but there are a lot of varied types of attacks as we saw in the opening moments of the first episode. No matter how fast he is, no matter how good at dodging, he will take some hits. He essentially cannot win if he takes any kind of significant damage.

Maybe he can control how much he puts into it, maybe he can't. For now, I'm going off of what we know and what we have seen.

[KrayZ33]

there was no need to transform it so early, he could do it right before he strikes

and we don't even know if this is his only weapon/attack
and to be honest that shield energy display is weird in the first place, he lost shield energy even though he didnt get hit.


So, I guess it only drains a certain amount, then...which makes it totally overpowered...and his sister´s victories all the less impressive.

I believe this fight proved pretty well that its not easy to get into melee-range

[MFauli]

I believe this fight proved pretty well that its not easy to get into melee-range

How so? Because a total beginner managed to get close to a sniper IS? I assume that both sniper and sword IS are rather unusual, with the typical IS being some kind of mid-range beam shooting vehicle.

[Kraco]

He was at a mid-range distance at best from the beginning. It's not easy to snipe a fast moving vehicle from that distance anymore. And the harder it got the closer he got. Ichika wasn't the only inexperienced in this fight. Cecilia was far too sure of herself possibly due to too single-sided experience from previous mock battles. We can also assume Ichika's movements were anything but orthodox - he's a stupid noob with only inborn talent at the moment, after all. Kind of like a drunken boxer...

[Buffalobiian]

there was no need to transform it so early, he could do it right before he strikes

Transform (what)?

Armour? - The form-fitted armour is here to stay.

Sword? - Holding the beam-sword doesn't take energy, it only went down when he swung the sword.

[KrayZ33]

Sword? - Holding the beam-sword doesn't take energy, it only went down when he swung the sword

I doubt that heavily...
during the first episode he used his beam-sword to attack, then when he dodges, his sword is normal again

don't get fooled by bad anime/animation-logic (since they don't want to or can't show the shield-display while they fight)
rewatch the fight especially the part @ around 15:30, even though he dodges attacks the shield power is still being consumed
that didnt make sense either, he dodged every single shot and his shield went down from 500-300 or something like that

[Buffalobiian]

I doubt that heavily...
during the first episode he used his beam-sword to attack, then when he dodges, his sword is normal again

don't get fooled by bad anime/animation-logic (since they don't want to or can't show the shield-display while they fight)
rewatch the fight especially the part @ around 15:30, even though he dodges attacks the shield power is still being consumed
that didnt make sense either, he dodged every single shot and his shield went down from 500-300 or something like that
True enough, the counter seems to be independent of what happens on screen.

[Marik]

Ayako - Infinite Stratos IS - 03: 720p (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=187659) | 400p (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=187658)

[MFauli]

And that is how this show reached the basement.

Boobs, panties and your typical dumbass surrounded by the ever-growing harem - that´s what I saw in this episode.

See, I´ve come to see a lot of such anime, but IF you have to do a show like that: Don´t make one girl the obvious love interest. In case of IS, it´d be miraculous if anyone but Houki turned out to be Ichika´s girl friend at the end of the show. Boring.

[shinta|hikari]

It'd be miraculous if anyone turned out to be his girlfriend at all.

[NeoCybercoin]

It would be even more miraculous even if he'd even notice what's going around him.

[KrayZ33]

the more annyoing part is that he forgot how to fly around with that IS...

wtf is this?

[shinta|hikari]

True. He was zipping and dodging bullets one day, and he can't even brake properly the next.

[vejita613]

I think I will stick with this one a bit longer. From what I understand, Ichika turns out to be one of the best harem-based male leads in...forever maybe?

I will say that Cecilia is starting to grow on me now that shes all dere dere. Too bad shes starting to get pushed from the spot light. It's probably going to get much worse with more girls on the way.

[Archangel]

It's like a cliché sandwich with cliché filling surrounded my cliché gravy with a side dish of cliché.

... it's cliché

[KrayZ33]

like 95% of anime, I still see what you mean though

and on the other hand, what did you expect, its a harem after all.
as long as the fights stay as they did in ep 1 and 2 I have no problem watching this through

and I kinda like the looks of that british chick, dem lips and dat suit <2
Rin(in?) looks cute too

too bad I don't like Shino...no(?) she is kinda weird.
she bitches around to much and claims the MC way to harshly

[MFauli]

From what I understand, Ichika turns out to be one of the best harem-based male leads in...forever maybe?

Wait, what?!
What exactly gave you that impression?!
Imo, the "best harem-based male lead" would ... actually take advantage of his harem. Ichika is the typical "oh, I´m surrounded by gorgeous girls and they´re arguing over me ... I wonder what that means"-guy.

[Archangel]

I'm gonna have to go with fauli on this one, his behavior is borderline retarded and i can't even figure out if he's any good a pilot or not

He's getting multicultural pussy simply because he's the lead.

[Ryllharu]

Same. While I like the jealously between the girls, he was so dense and incompetent this time that I could barely stomach the episode.

I'm astonished he is really that stupid with two girls in his room, one filled with pride that she was his "first" [engrish] and the other who by the sound of things he spent overall more time with until she moved and the "first" came back. Gee, shithead, you think they might like like you? Nope. They must be angry about something else.

His general attitude disgusts me too. He never spends any time actually learning to use the IS. Sure, he'll practice in it, but the manual has been there for him to read, and he still won't touch it. He should be expelled for his performance earlier. A crash landing. It's great that his dumb ass can survive the impact, but what about all the other girls and his sister standing in the middle of the field? There was no excuse for him not knowing how to perform basic functions like stopping through the manual. He's had a week or so, and though his sister called him out, he still won't touch the manual.

I'm at the point where I'm only going to keep watching this to see how much more pissed off I'll get.

[Kraco]

I just hope there won't be another episode like this - but of course I know that's a useless wish. This was a cliche fest to begin with so it would, indeed, have been a miracle if they hadn't included more and more of the cliches, including the main character being more dense than depleted uranium. Listening to Yukana's dere voice was nice, but that nicety soon ended with the Fang girl appearing (the only good thing about her is the apt name).

More realistically I can only hope for the fights to continue and try to bear with the harem elements. At least some of the scenes where he's alone with one of the girls can be nice. For now.

[Inazuma]

You know Goofy is fine but you have to compensate for it. Take Vash The Stampede, he acts like he's completly retarded but he isn't he has an awesome skillset to balance himself out and bring depth to the character
While this guy is just BLAND

[Archangel]

Vash is silly, this guy is dense, there's a significant difference

You don't even have to be all that smart, look at Goku. You just can't be utterly retarded to what's going on around you.

[Buffalobiian]

Cecilia needs to win this harem and show them firsts and seconds don't compete. And take more IS prac lessons. They're great.

[vejita613]

Wait, what?!
What exactly gave you that impression?!
Imo, the "best harem-based male lead" would ... actually take advantage of his harem. Ichika is the typical "oh, I´m surrounded by gorgeous girls and they´re arguing over me ... I wonder what that means"-guy.

Not an impression so much as a hint from those who've read the LN. But, then again, anime tends not to follow the original source either. But, I'll watch it anyways just in case they do.

[Dark Dragon]

I don't see it.

It MIGHT be possible for him to grow into something awesome, but with only 13 episodes we'll never see it.

He lacks Kenshi level of badass. He doesn't have Tomoya sarcastic wits and confidence. Hell, he even loses out to Tomoki in the comedy factor cause he's so clueless about everything that's going on.

Good harem leads are usually ones with enough redeeming qualities that justify all these girls falling for him. This dude is your run of the mill "every girl fall in love with me cause i'm the main character", first 2 episodes were ok because they portrayed him as somewhat competent, but this one just went back to the dumb useless lead joke.

[Kraco]

He does actually possess one special characteristic: He's the only guy in the whole school and isn't ugly. That would already get him the attention of quite a few girls even realistically.

[Buffalobiian]

Being the only male who could do something is quite a big deal. Too bad I can't think of any appropriate analogies. The only one that came to mind was to be the only man to give birth... not exactly Mr Popular material.

[KrayZ33]

He does actually possess one special characteristic: He's the only guy in the whole school and isn't ugly. That would already get him the attention of quite a few girls even realistically.

I think so too, plus, he's only male on the planet able to control that suit so far.

[Marik]

[HoshiAM] IS Infinite Stratos OP Single - STRAIGHT JET - Kuribayashi Minami (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=189319)

[Nipponsei] Infinite Stratos OP Single - STRAIGHT JET [Kuribayashi Minami].zip (http://tracker.minglong.org/torrents/%5BNipponsei%5D%20Infinite%20Stratos%20OP%20Single %20-%20STRAIGHT%20JET%20%5BKuribayashi%20Minami%5D.zip .torrent)

[Buffalobiian]

I like this HoshiAM group. Dropping the archive file makes things neater in the end. Now I can just download it into my music folder and let my player autoscan then add instead.

Too bad the "cover.jpg" isn't consistent for all their releases though. It still means that I have to manually select cover art from the ones that pack all the images into a "scans" folder.

[Marik]

Ayako - Infinite Stratos IS - 04: 720p (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=189728) | 400p (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=189729)
FileServe: 720p (http://www.fileserve.com/file/BxfvDCm) | 400p (http://www.fileserve.com/file/xTHNMqt)

[Buffalobiian]

Shield depleting attack + attack absorption? They're trying to make him overpowered already? *sigh*

Ah well, at least this show continues to be about Cecilia.

[Ryllharu]

"If it isn't human, then I can go all out against it!" I really hate this plot device. It's meant to seem like the character had some hidden strength, but it ends up coming off that they overtly had no control and skill. Ichika is now the poster boy for this interpretation. That said, the robot fight was pretty entertaining, despite Byakushiki's ability to get shot in the back and absorb power somehow.

The other part that bothered me for some reason was the scene where Chifuyu told Boin-sensei to chill out and eat more sugar, putting salt in her tea/coffee.
1) What was the point of that scene? Pointless comedy relief? Ichika's dumbassery and all the tsunderes accomplishes that.
2) Why would there ever be salt on a tea/coffee service tray?

But let's not forget that Houki was dumb enough to find her way into a combat area, with no I.S., no way to equip an I.S., and yells at the top of her lungs, earning her the attention of rampaging robot I.S.. Major loss of points for being so dumb. She needs to start showing something other than encouragement that any other girl can provide. It's starting to make me wonder if she is only in this school because of who she is related to.

Rin is pretty good though. She appears to be one of the first harem girls to actually have a brain attached to the top of those slender exposed shoulders. I like her I.S.'s flexibility (which likely would have won her the match). She's pretty sly too.

Since this is a harem series with the girls regularly appearing side by side, I'm going to start a weekly ranking again:

Cecilia > Rin > Boin-sensei > Chifuyu-nee > random fangirls in the stands > Houki's sister > Houki

[Buffalobiian]

The other part that bothered me for some reason was the scene where Chifuyu told Boin-sensei to chill out and eat more sugar, putting salt in her tea/coffee.
1) What was the point of that scene? Pointless comedy relief? Ichika's dumbassery and all the tsunderes accomplishes that.
2) Why would there ever be salt on a tea/coffee service tray?

It shows that despite Chifuyu acting calmn and trying to control the situation, she herself is feeling uneasy (and grabbed the salt instead of sugar by mistake).

[Kraco]

So, in the next episode we will get another dude able to pilot an IS? Or is he a reverse trap? If the show's about the only guy able to be a pilot, it seems strange to introduce another so soon. But whatever, nothing in this show really makes sense so it's futile to look for any. Though it leaves me wondering whether this will hold together till the end in any manner of integrity.

I also found it funny how Cecilia was given multiple reason why she can't join the fight and she clearly accepted them - yet a moment later she's there nonetheless. And all those senior students were nowhere in sight, despite having a long headstart to trying to proceed. Must be the power of love that solves all equations.

[Buffalobiian]

I also found it funny how Cecilia was given multiple reason why she can't join the fight and she clearly accepted them - yet a moment later she's there nonetheless. And all those senior students were nowhere in sight, despite having a long headstart to trying to proceed. Must be the power of love that solves all equations.

It was strange, but I'm so glad it happened anyway. This episode would have been so much more boring without it.

Being a Cecilia fan, it pleased me greatly to hear Chifu-nee talk about how hard it is to pilot a ranged IS well, then to have Cecilia show up and (almost) finish the job off. It redeems her against what looked like a horrible win(loss?) against Ichika's freshly acquired skills.

And even if Ichika's dense as a brick, god forbid that Cecilia makes moves on the French guy. I'm not so strongly against the French fellow making moves on her however, since watching her turn him down would be fun. Practical predictions would be that he moves on Houki though.

[NeoCybercoin]

Wasn't it like super fucking rare for a guy to pilot it? So next ep we have another guy who just happens to being able to pilot IS? I sense reverse-trap.

[MFauli]

Oh my, was there anything at all that happened in this episode? A boring fight against a robot, that´s it.

I REALLY hate how they excused going all out on the enemy by *assuming* that it was an unmanned drone. FFS, how would they know for sure?! For this kind of show, non-human like movement could as well be the sign of a superior pilot or something like that. Ichika thought aloud "if it´s unmanned, I can go all out", but he did not know. Seriously, what would have been if later they saw a mess of blood and flesh on the ground? Yeah...

And damn, the way Chifuyu explained why NOBODY can go out and help felt SO contrived. If you have reasons for forbidding others to help, at least dont present them that boringly. Not to say that it made sense, anyway, since somehow Houki and Cecilia found a way out.

Also, is it just me or was it weird how Chifuyu and that green hair-girl were the only persons to examine the enemy drone? You´d think with such a high-tech school, full of combat-skilled teachers and so on, a whole technician team would take a look.

Aaand the harem continues. It´s annoying how obvious all three girls are showing their "love", while Ichika remains dumb. "Houki, let´s fuck", come on, dumbass, say it!

[KrayZ33]

maybe you should keep away from anime like this for a while.

[David75]

Since the main story is a tad underwhelming, I was considering other facts.

Unknown core
Drone
Highly protected arena
High rank officials watching the match (seemed so?)
Chifu enumerating Cecilia about how she's so untrained, in a very military way. Not the tone, just the examples.

To me, the friendly sports hobby the IS system is, it's just a cover for military underlying reasons. You wouldn't have so much money flowing with high luxury top tech buildings for mere students having fun at a peacful sport...

Now the drone could be either a way to add a grain of salt to the match and evaluate team work raw skills for those yougsters, and see if they're worth training further.

Other than that, no blood, no joy. Honestly, that show just needs a bit of blood to have it spiced up, or it will remain totally bland.
The main ultra-powerful shonen is even going to have a unique ultra powerful attack for all of the show... God, that's so lame. Give us slahed bodies and fear!

[Idealistic]

I enjoyed it. Probably cuz of the harem. The fighting wasn't too bad. Cecilia's VA is so sexy.

[Kraco]

In the beginning my guess was that a third party was testing the performance of a drone. The piloted IS would be the current absolute war machine of that world, with their developing generations, so to see if an unmanned drone (and possibly a cloned core) is worth anything, you'd need to have it face a traditional IS. Thus I was expecting the drone to self-destruct (or get annihilated by a sniper from a safe position) after getting disabled in combat. But because it didn't, it could be an internal matter, like you said, David, if I interpreted you correctly.

[David75]

Yes that's it.
See how the group reacts to something totally unusual.

But that would come from some group outside the campus as Chifu and the other girl were analysing the thing as if it truly was an external weapon.

So why do I still think it's a test?
Well, that drone started quite well, but then lost the ability to fire massive power lasers and lost precision too.
But I can be totally wrong of course.

[animus]

This episode was all sorts of illogical. The Impact Cannon charging Ichika's IS? How did the cannon magically not lower his shield strength at all? How did Houki and Cecilia get out there when they said they were already locked out. Not to mention how did Cecilia get in her IS? Chifuyu just denied her out right and said to leave it to the army/third years. How did she get permission?

This shit is random as all hell.

[NeoCybercoin]

Well they can summon their IS without someone else's permission. SHe only asked it because Chifuyu-nee was in charge of that place at the moment.

[Ryllharu]

I would put the odds at 1:3 that the new French guy is in fact a girl. What better way to steal the attention than to be only the second male to pilot an I.S., probably be more skilled at it, and more on the bishonen side?


It shows that despite Chifuyu acting calmn and trying to control the situation, she herself is feeling uneasy (and grabbed the salt instead of sugar by mistake).I certainly agree on why they did it, but that still doesn't explain why salt was on the coffee service in the first place! That Boin-sensei knew it was salt means it was on there on purpose.


In the beginning my guess was that a third party was testing the performance of a drone. The piloted IS would be the current absolute war machine of that world, with their developing generations, so to see if an unmanned drone (and possibly a cloned core) is worth anything, you'd need to have it face a traditional IS. Thus I was expecting the drone to self-destruct (or get annihilated by a sniper from a safe position) after getting disabled in combat. But because it didn't, it could be an internal matter, like you said, David, if I interpreted you correctly.I would guess it was more like proof-of-concept that they could clone a core at all. I wouldn't be surprised if Chifuyu and Maya knew that automated drones were out there, but they were both very interested that this one not one of the 467 cores that Houki's sister created. This means some agency or government took one of the cores they have and attempted to reverse engineer it with a considerable level of success.

For a supposed black mystery box that was beyond everyone else's comprehension, that's very noteworthy.

[Buffalobiian]

I certainly agree on why they did it, but that still doesn't explain why salt was on the coffee service in the first place! That Boin-sensei knew it was salt means it was on there on purpose.

The jar did have "salt" written on it, and I'm assuming that's how Boin-sensei knew. And salt coffee isn't unheard of in Japan or Taiwan.

[animus]

Well they can summon their IS without someone else's permission. SHe only asked it because Chifuyu-nee was in charge of that place at the moment.

Regardless, the place was still on lock down. Yet both of them got out there.

[shinta|hikari]

Trap pilot 100%.

The design is a female design.

[Kraco]

The jar did have "salt" written on it, and I'm assuming that's how Boin-sensei knew. And salt coffee isn't unheard of in Japan or Taiwan.

It's not unheard of over here either. Although it's only very old people who drink coffee with salt, as far as I've noticed.

[Archangel]

Trap pilot 100%.

The design is a female design.

You mean reverse trap

[Marik]

[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 05 - 720p: Torrent (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=191470) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/dmy7BM3)
[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 05 - 400p: Torrent (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=191471) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/FhdhxU9)

[Idealistic]

So it seems pretty obvious the new male is really a female..... That shirt she wore during practice seems like a really tight shirt that will flatten her already flat chest even more I guess.

Oh and I think it's safe to say Ichika is gay.

Pirate girl..... Don't really have an idea of what her problem with Ichika could be. She's a good change of pace though since every girl is an Ichika lover.

[Kraco]

Oh and I think it's safe to say Ichika is gay.

Indeed. I also drew that final conclusion from this episode. At least I've never seen a guy of any significant age that would ever grab another guy's hand in a normal situation and then continue to walk hand in hand. You only grasp another dude's hand during a handshake or saving him from falling to his death. Minor cumulating evidence is, of course, his density to female advances and how he shows zero interest in girls, beyond treating them as regular friends or classmates, yet is immensely happy to meet other guys.

The latter of course by alone means little - I think I'd be happy to have some of the attention diverted and to have somebody around to joke with - but together with the other evidence it doesn't look good.

The archetype German military girl was a welcome addition, I agree. God knows she will also fall in love with him after a while, but perhaps in the mean time some antagonism will be serve the nonexistent plot well.

[Buffalobiian]

The archetype German military girl was a welcome addition

Complete with a howitzer, it seems.

Man, too bad Cecilia can't make a sandwich right.. what's more is that it shows she doesn't put enough effort in to try her own food before giving it to Ichika. Either that, or her elitist pride carries even into the kitchen. Everything she does must be good. What a pity. :(

Don't quite know what the teachers have in mind yet, but they're obviously gathering talent in response to the latest drone incident.

[David75]

Chifu being there in the classroom standing up at all times is a tad disturbing, feels really unnatural.
But maybe it's because we always get to see the classrom right at the beginning of homeroom time.

Dunoa is a nice phonetic approximation for "Dunois". I wonder why they would create such an obvious reverse trap and have no one wonder or question her manliness. Unless she's a trans, but I do not see that show trying that.

I'm starting to like the comical effect homeroom teacher.

[KrayZ33]

Oberstleutnant Germany-san is a total bitch.

this episode was hot, so much ass in "swimsuits" and oh wow, that friend's sister (from the headband family) looked really good in that sloppy outfit, I prefer that look over her properly dressed up one, haha (I guess I have a thing for ponytails and whatever you call Ran's style with flick of hairs left and right and that "updo" hairstyle etc.)
and I liked that everyone (especially Shinonononono) was more outgoing this time.
btw If France-kun turns out to be a girl, which is pretty obvious so far, I'll make her my favorite...
Ran (friend's sister) and Cecilia are on top atm.


The archetype German military girl was a welcome addition

we don't walk around and slap each other's faces 8[

[Marik]

[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 06 - 720p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=193125) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/xcrZXyu)
[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 06 - 400p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=193128) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/4gCzeYh)

[Archangel]

So they announce there's a 1 (2) in a billion male pilot and nobody bothers to check if it's bulshit or not?

I'd go over there and claim to be Jesus.

[Buffalobiian]

Those boobs are too big to pull that off.

Ichika.. seriously, it could have been a lot worse. Cecilia could have offered you some home-cooked dinner.

[RyougaZell]

'Charles' is hot. Ran too.

[Idealistic]

So they announce there's a 1 (2) in a billion male pilot and nobody bothers to check if it's bulshit or not?

I'd go over there and claim to be Jesus.

Hey hey, you do not question the president of the Dunoa company's son!


'Charles' is hot. Ran too.

Indeed.

[Ryllharu]

I guess the question now is her real name Charlene or Charlotte? Probably the latter, I'm pretty sure the Japanese have never heard the other name. The new ED sequence though...wow. I never thought no-socks school uniform could be that awesome. The looser ponytail does a lot of things for me too, even if we're unlikely to see it in the show itself. Pretty sly of her to get Ichika to feed her.

It's been totally obvious since her first appearance that Charles was a she, but I did not expect her to have breasts that would rival (if not best) Cecilia's. The mystery of control garments...
Houki still has that market cornered, it's the only thing she has going for her anymore.

It's still really funny that Ichika got out of being paired with a girl, and now realizes he is paired with another. He gets bonus points for immediately saying he'll cover for her, and displaying that he actually does study. I also liked that Cecilia thought that giving precise degrees to angle one's body was "simple and easy to understand" instruction.


"Charles" aside, I thought the bits about Chifuyu, the tournament and Germany were quite interesting. Chifuyu's rough on him, but it's been more and more apparent so far that Chifu really cares for her brother. They (whoever that is, maybe even Germany?) tried to use kidnapping against her to get her distracted and lose the match. Instead she forfeited and became indebted to the German Army. She obviously made them a considerable force to reckon with from Laura's boasting and otherwise nastiness. Then when her obligation was complete, she left just in time to watch over her brother at the academy. Chifu handled it very nicely too, calling Laura out on being a self-important, stuck-up bitch just like the students she was berating.

Laura does seem to have a good idea about what is really going on in the world however. I also wonder what her eye does.

As such:
Charles > Cecilia = Fan > Chifu > Ran > Laura > Maya > Houki.

[shinta|hikari]

Charles is awesome.

[Kraco]

Laura is a psychopath, there's no doubt of that. I may have to take back my prediction of her falling for Ichika as well. Although if he beats her in an easy looking manner, the situation might change. She seems to be worship Chifuyu because of her unbeatable strength, after all, and no doubt considers herself above the other students.

[Archangel]

Laura is a psychopath, there's no doubt of that. I may have to take back my prediction of her falling for Ichika as well. Although if he beats her in an easy looking manner, the situation might change. She seems to be worship Chifuyu because of her unbeatable strength, after all, and no doubt considers herself above the other students.

I'm gonna quote this post amusingly when Germany goes full dere

[Marik]

[Shin-S] IS ~Infinite Stratos~ ED Single - SUPER STREAM [Various].zip (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=194079)

[Nipponsei] Infinite Stratos ED Single - SUPER STREAM [Various].zip (http://tracker.minglong.org/torrents/%5BNipponsei%5D%20Infinite%20Stratos%20ED%20Single %20-%20SUPER%20STREAM%20%5BVarious%5D.zip.torrent)

[Marik]

[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 07v2 - 720p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=199353) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/J3mTjHC)
[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 07v2 - 400p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=199347) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/wm9bBJf)

[NeoCybercoin]

Well they really had their asses kicked. I still think it's crazy how ridiculously fast Ichika's energy went down.

Also Charles +1

[Kraco]

A nice situation for Houki: To get her date (as far as she believes), she must win, but that means the ultimate psycho bitch will win as well. Well, she might not really be winning in any case as I doubt the German one can cooperate with anybody to any extent. We don't yet know if both members of the team need to be standing for them to win. If not, Laura might as well plan to sacrifice Houki to be able to fight alone.

I didn't really get the fight between Ichika and Laura in this ep, though. Wasn't Ichika's sword's main function to bypass any defences? If it stopped at the repel field yet still ate his own shield energy, it's a completely useless piece of junk. A huge weakness yet the strength that was supposed to compensate doesn't work... Some engineer somewhere needs to be fired.

[Ryllharu]

My guess is that it will bypass the shield no matter its remaining strength, but since the repel field isn't actually a shield, it just stops. I was kind of hoping that the weakness of the A.I.C. would be melee attacks, but that didn't appear to be the case. That makes the sword completely worthless. Drains his own shield (as does the speed boost!) and is easily countered. I suppose it is a huge testament to Chifuyu's skill that she could dominate the competitive world with such a terrible weapon and loadout, but it isn't doing Ichika a whole lot of good.

I'm glad Houki finally got some character development beside insisting she is his childhood friend. It sounds like Houki is hiding considerable skill because she doesn't want to fall into the old pattern that Laura now uses. However, Charlotte is still on the top. She managed to fend off Laura for quite some time using her second-gen machine. She doesn't rely on high technology to win her battles, she's a lot like Maya-sensei, who destroyed Cecilia using a second-gen model. They both seem to have a strong instinct for tactics. She might not have hit Laura, but she kept her occupied and unable to fire the majority of her weapons. I like that the second-gen systems rely on more traditional weapons. The highly specialized weapons (Cecilia's bits, Fan's air cannons, Ichika's POS sword, etc.) seem to have as many weaknesses as they do strengths. Machine guns and rockets still work pretty well.

Chifuyu was very cool this episode. She blocked Laura's attack using a weapon alone, no I.S. activated. Makes me wonder if she even still has one.

[Buffalobiian]

It's weird that Laura has to move at all with that AIC - and that such a strong field doesn't seem to deplete any form of energy like Ichika's does. Talk about being overpowered. Cecilia's rocket didn't even put a dint in it, and it was a clean hit. It's only weakness may be that you can't use it while attacking. If it's an inertia canceller though, Cecilia's laser bits should have worked providing she kept her distance.

There's just something about Charles jumping the gun on all of them behind their backs yet not being a deceptive and scheming person herself that makes it all the better to watch. It think it's a mix of an easy, non-competitive character, having a 2nd gen IS, and being forced to stay as a guy that somehow makes her deserving of all this.

I foresee Houki doing a one-on-one with Laura and win - despite having no way to win against that AIC.

You were looking forward to this bitch Ryll?

[Ryllharu]

I was...until she turned out to be a complete psycho obsessed with his sister, stating that only she deserves Chifuyu's attention and training. It was pretty clear last episode that she didn't understand Chifuyu or the reason she was in Germany in the first place at all. It is only clearer now how little she actually learned from her mentor.

As I said, I won't be surprised now if Houki turns out to be a lot better than she's been showing thus far. But if she's paired with Laura, it will probably be Ichika v Houki and Charlotte v Laura. Ichika will have to learn how to suddenly not suck in order to make up for his huge handicap of a weapon.

Personally, I can't wait to see the other girls' reaction to learning that Charles is a she. It's certainly going to happen sometime.

[animus]

Why has no one in the anime heard of changing in the bathroom.

[Kraco]

The real question is why would changing in the same room bother Ichika since he's gay? Or did he become gay because he's mortally afraid of intimate relationships with girls, now manifesting as the extreme density and having no deeper interest in them, yet suddenly becoming all ashamed about seeing them naked. It's rather intriguing psychologically, especially considering he should have only had good impressions of girls (sister, Houki, and Fang) from his childhood.

[Dark Dragon]

Ichika is a bit of layabout and i think those three pushed him to work way harder than he ever wanted to. He seems to have a small inferiority complex concerning his sister, even though he's aware how much she cares for him. Houki won the Kendo national and Ichika quit somewhere in the past. He never really gave a valid reason as to why, maybe he feels like he can't be as good as her and just gave up?

Also, we have Mahou Shoujou transformation scene now. It's definitely what this show needed.

[Buffalobiian]

I just remembered that they said the tandem battle was to "make it more real".

Real for what? IS are used for tournaments, showcases and whatnot these days. Last time I heard they were not war machines - and even then fighting 2 on 2 doesn't exactly make it that much more "real".

Sounds like a convenient, not-so-well-thought-out excuse to me.

[Kraco]

Not that I'd feel any particular need to defend this extremely scripted show, but for all we know, the actual tournaments (outside of this academy setting) might have contests requiring team work - just like great many regular sports do. If that's the case, then I judge the teachers' decision to make this contest team based very wise indeed. So far the students have shown absolutely no real team work, after all, only very intense infighting and competition against everybody. Two single guys (as far as the rest know) thrown into the middle of the host of horny girls certainly made the situation no better.

[Ryllharu]

I concur. From the preview it looked like it didn't solely consist of a straight-up combat tournament. More like a biathlon or modern pentathlon. They had targets set up and a variety of other objects.

It makes a lot more sense from this standpoint, as pure singular combat would not be a great indicator of an I.S. and pilot's full capabilities.

i.e. Cecilia is far stronger as a long-to-mid range sniper, and suffers incredibly when she faces an opponent who can close on her. A team mate would allow for a distraction that would let Cecilia operate to her strengths. Conversely Charlotte can distract, harass and menace and opponent while Ichika or Houki could close for that swift victory. Then again, they said it was a tag battle, so perhaps not.

Also, perhaps Laura is great at combat, but is terrible at using an I.S. to rescue someone (something like her manipulators have too much force and would crush a victim rather than saving them).

[Archangel]

Not to be a buzzkill or anything but I'd just like to mention how amazing it is so much discussion can be brought on from such a shallow show

[Dark Dragon]

If bleach can have it's own dedicated forum then just about anything goes.

[KrayZ33]

Real for what? IS are used for tournaments, showcases and whatnot these days. Last time I heard they were not war machines -


from what we've heard and seen so far its more like they *are* war machines, and it was stated tjhat countries use them in their military too.
its just that they arn't "allowed" to use them

[fireheart]

I found it more funny that Laura seem to have gotten away with interrupting two other students mock battle and almost gave them life threatening damage without any kind of repercussion from the school. Considering what she just did you'd expect her to be left out of the tournament with a suspension or even an expulsion. Though Orimura should have gotten a similar punishment as well with him breaking the arenas barrier.

[Kraco]

As long as they fired or fined a couple of teachers as well for allowing such a thing to happen in the first place. However, since this takes place in Japan where teachers are never fined or even much reprimanded, it leads to nobody getting any punishment at all. Just as well, though, considering it's a fighting school to begin with. In a fight hesitation is oft worse than making a mistake and thus they can't encourage the students to second-guess their decisions all the time in fear of repercussions.

Naturally the situation would have been different if they had been in an unauthorised place fighting with the suits.

[Marik]

[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 08 - 720p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=196061) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/6mEx6GM)
[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 08 - 400p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=196062) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/w6j9Ez4)

[Archangel]

That is the most useless sword ever in the hands of a retard, he'd do better with a baseball bat. Also lol, dere out of nowhere.

This show sucks, it just plainly sucks.

[shinta|hikari]

Laura is a psychopath, there's no doubt of that. I may have to take back my prediction of her falling for Ichika as well. Although if he beats her in an easy looking manner, the situation might change. She seems to be worship Chifuyu because of her unbeatable strength, after all, and no doubt considers herself above the other students.

I beat Arch to it.

EDIT: FUCK. Well, at least I quoted it first...

[Harima Kenji]

Best solution for that: stop watching.

Maybe I'm immune for it by now, but at the moment I don't see too much harem in it, the main focus seems to be on the IS fights etc. By now all the cast seems to be introduced and all after Ichika and next week will be the harem-obligatory beach episode. I think that the show only really starts, now that the characters are in place and I hope it will remain focused on the mecha and the growing with it and the harem is a side part of it.
My spider-sense it telling me that the unpiloted IS is a sign that a war with the use of IS is about to break out. Maybe it's because I'm a fan of mechs beating the crap out of eachother.

At the moment I'm not yet sure if I like the series or not, it keeps me entertained and that can be enough... at least for a while.

[Ryllharu]

Yay for shameless beach episode next time. As much as I've become a Charlotte fan, Cecilia needs some character development.


This show sucks, it just plainly sucks.Yet we all keep watching it. Weird.

a) I felt like I missed half an episode somewhere in here.
b) Mecha turning into goo and then turning into a human-esque form. I swear I loaded up an episode of I.S., not Bubblegum Crisis.
c) Ichika...worst I.S. pilot ever....and then you suddenly don't suck at swordmanship. WTF?

That said, Houki's reaction of "Ha?." when Charlotte reintroduced herself was great. That and her kicking the shit out of him when he said he'd gladly go on a shopping trip with her, followed by Charlotte asking if he is doing it on purpose. That line was probably the most notable of the episode. Harem protagonists are typically so dense, there have to be a few times where they're doing it intentionally.

Lastly, Laura declared that Ichika would be the "bride" of their relationship. Likely very true if that turned out to be the outcome.


That is the most useless sword ever in the hands of a retard, he'd do better with a baseball bat.Seriously.

I just can't see why that is supposed to be such a great weapon. Ichika consistently loses by running out of energy, because that sword simply leeches it out. Why in all that is holy would you ever pick a primary weapon like that? It is an utter piece of shit, and they proved it in this episode. Guess what? Charlotte's got one too, on her outdated model. It does 350 shield damage easily on each hit...and it doesn't drain jack squat of her own energy. (Laura went from ~489 to 126!)

Ichika's might be an instant win if he could ever get it to hit, but that's simply not going to be possible with high mobility machines like I.S. frames. A complete waste that will only serve to make him lose when he should win were he using any other weapon.

[Buffalobiian]

Yet we all keep watching it. Weird.

Because the girls, at least 2.5 of them, are fun and entertaining.


I just can't see why that is supposed to be such a great weapon. Ichika consistently loses by running out of energy, because that sword simply leeches it out. Why in all that is holy would you ever pick a primary weapon like that? It is an utter piece of shit, and they proved it in this episode. Guess what? Charlotte's got one too, on her outdated model. It does 350 shield damage easily on each hit...and it doesn't drain jack squat of her own energy. (Laura went from ~489 to 126!)

That knee-mounted Jack Hammer was awesome - It's a wonder how all these 3rd Gen models suck more than the 2nd Gen ones. Charlotte can snipe, keep you at bay, play a battle of attrition. rush - and if you manage to get inside her range, she'll smash the shit through you Muya Thai style.

Didn't Ichika's energy go all the way to zero? Why he tell was he still fighting?

Part of what makes IS "bad" is that they don't take their mecha side seriously enough. Stuff and random villians/evil devices are thrown in, forgotten, then reminded of whenever they feel it's convenient to keep IS from being a 100% harem, slice of life show.


Yay for shameless beach episode next time. As much as I've become a Charlotte fan, Cecilia needs some character development.

Charlotte's surpassed Cecilia in all regards now. She's fun, helpful, understanding and isn't a tax on your mind like most of the others are. Her comments about Ichika turning up in a female uniform, and on his approach to Houki's "date", combined with the battle all support this.

I still like Cecilia though, so I agree with Ryll I guess. I totally forgot she wore earrings (if she ever wore them before).

My only "fear" in regards to the future direction of this show is that Charlotte is now "done" and put into the back seat along with everyone else. At the very very VERY least, keep her in the same room as Ichika.

Final note: who else umm... digs the miniskirt with nothing underneath? XD

[Kraco]

I just can't see why that is supposed to be such a great weapon. Ichika consistently loses by running out of energy, because that sword simply leeches it out. Why in all that is holy would you ever pick a primary weapon like that? It is an utter piece of shit, and they proved it in this episode. Guess what? Charlotte's got one too, on her outdated model. It does 350 shield damage easily on each hit...and it doesn't drain jack squat of her own energy. (Laura went from ~489 to 126!)


It just occurred to me that maybe it was a great weapon during the first generation of IS. The mecha back then might not have been quite so agile and certainly didn't have repulsion fields and such, and also likely lacked a high variety of weaponry. However, it's safe to say the sword is crap by now, based on everything we have seen.

I guess the other girls will now need to double their efforts with the psychopath included in the harem. Maybe even Houki that thought kicking Ichika in the stomach is the best way to win his heart.

[Ryllharu]

I still like Cecilia though, so I agree with Ryll I guess. I totally forgot she wore earrings (if she ever wore them before). My only "fear" in regards to the future direction of this show is that Charlotte is now "done" and put into the back seat along with everyone else. At the very very VERY least, keep her in the same room as Ichika.I still like Charlotte the best now, but this show has a fundamental issue with handling harem development. First Houki got development, then she was completely forgotten about until last episode, then forgotten again. Cecilia was completely forgotten about the moment Charlotte showed up, and recently Fan hasn't gotten any screentime worth mentioning.


Final note: who else umm... digs the miniskirt with nothing underneath? XD
I believe I mentioned it when she showed up the first time, and I've never been more glad to have been wrong about that last part.

The new ED sequence though...wow. I never thought no-socks school uniform could be that awesome. The looser ponytail does a lot of things for me too, even if we're unlikely to see it in the show itself.


@Kraco: I agree, so why don't they fix it? Ichika borrowing Charlotte's sniper rifle can only take him so far. He needs a different loadout that will make him actually competitive. Heck, even a backup sword that doesn't drain his energy would be useful. It seems like he could use the sword without wasting shield energy, by using its non-deployed form, yet he doesn't/can't or hasn't figured out how yet.

[NeoCybercoin]

Lol Laura.

[Buffalobiian]

I still like Charlotte the best now

I like her the best too. I just meant Cecilia still has a place somewhere and hasn't bombed out completely. She started losing points since her Death Sandwich.

[RyougaZell]

I add myself to the Charlotte favoritism. Though is fun to see the other girls kick the crap out of Ichika.

Was this episode censored waiting for a Blu-ray release =P?


Chifuyu must have been a monster in strategy and speed to be able to win with that crappy sword. Ichika takes too damn long to move that he drains his own HP before deciding what to do.

[NeoCybercoin]

Next time he should charge in and only actually 'activate' the sword when he is going to strike instead of all the time. Would save up a lot of shield energy.

Also, Charlotte.

[Ryllharu]

Next time he should charge in and only actually 'activate' the sword when he is going to strike instead of all the time. Would save up a lot of shield energy.
I wonder if that is precisely how Chifuyu used to use it. He mentioned that his sister uses the Iai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iai) style. She would probably only "draw" the sword once she got close.

[NeoCybercoin]

I wonder if that is precisely how Chifuyu used to use it. He mentioned that his sister uses the Iai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iai) style. She would probably only "draw" the sword once she got close.

Seems to me that's the only good and efficient way to use that damn sword.

[Kraco]

Although I'd rather spare myself from thinking too deeply about this series, but I still consider more likely that Ichika in his infinite idiocy simply can't use the sword to its full potential and in fact it's not as useless as the eps so far have made it seem. Not only considering his own energy levels but also countering enemy shields.

[enkoujin]

[Stratos-Subs] Infinite Stratos - 09 (1280x720 H.264 AAC) [v2] [D57E4A54].mkv (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=197631)

So it turns out Ichika has the hots for his own sister out of the heaps of women who want to get in his pants.

Also, the series is already licensed.

[Kraco]

Just when I thought this series can't get any worse, we get Houki's bunny eared sister and Ichika actually eyeing his sister. Charlotte now getting the same denser than depleted uranium treatment as all the other girls basically means she's now just as expendable.

The only good thing about this ep was twin tails Laura looking quite like Primula.

[Buffalobiian]

Charlotte now getting the same denser than depleted uranium treatment as all the other girls basically means she's now just as expendable.

But she's still getting much more screen time and, more importantly, Ichika's time. Even though she's running into the same brick wall as the others, it's very refreshing to see her actually helping Laura out. Is it confidence? Notice that she's conveniently not in his room that morning, and the room showed no signs of intrusion.

IRL my favourite piece would probably be Ceclia's swimsuit, but Char's (overall) was something I've never seen from memory, yet it works rather well. The sash limits active movement, though dragging competition away doesn't seem to be one of them.

I'm perfectly fine with Ichika having an eye for his sister..
Puts an interesting spin on things too when you remember she apparently knows him inside-out.

I did expect at least one super-hot one-piece though.

edit:


Charlotte now getting the same denser than depleted uranium treatment as all the other girls basically means she's now just as expendable.I wouldn't seal her fate just yet. Remember it was Ichika who suggested they keep a "special name" between them.

[Marik]

[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 09 - 720p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=197763) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/5adHd4w)
[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 09 - 400p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=197764) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/BAdmkNe)

[Kraco]

I wouldn't seal her fate just yet. Remember it was Ichika who suggested they keep a "special name" between them.

I'm not really sealing anybody's fate as such, as I expect this to have a typical harem ending anyway, but the special name made me think Ichika is just sorry he doesn't have a male buddy around anymore and the nickname was for old times sake, since Charlotte used to be his lone buddy.

[Buffalobiian]

but the special name made me think Ichika is just sorry he doesn't have a male buddy around anymore and the nickname was for old times sake, since Charlotte used to be his lone buddy.

Perhaps. It's hard for me to agree that Ichika was wanting a guy friend when he had Charlotte's tits pressed against him as they settled on their first name though.

edit: fun little vid for us Charlotte fans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOMH9GwsLuA

[Idealistic]

What does Charlotte say in the end of that op?

Anyways, I think in the end Ichika is going to end up with Houki anyways...

[animus]

I don't find it surprising that Ichika is a siscon.

[Kraco]

What does Charlotte say in the end of that op?

When the video was nearing the end, the wellspring of wisdom suddenly spoke to me and foretold it would end with Charlotte accusing: "Ichika no ecchi". And then it did. But unlike Ichika, I didn't need to ask why...

[Ryllharu]

In my mind, the competition is already over. Charlotte is unbeatable. The following is just the latest reason, and the one that cemented her victory.

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/1416/charlotteakikocomposite.jpg


Unfortunately, I fear that a Houki ending has become a foregone conclusion. Now that it has been discerned that Chifuyu is Ichika's type, there really can't be any other outcome. Despite being surrounded by all manner of other girls in various proportions, styles, and nationalities, it's clear that Ichika perfers raven-haired tall Japanese girls. That means his sister, and Houki. Houki also happens to be a childhood friend, which would normally work against her (reference: Fan), but she is the series ultra-tsundere now that Laura has turned full-on clingly/dere mode.

Lastly, Houki has had little-to-no development since the beginning of the series. That means most of the remaining episodes will likely focus on her. The girl given major character development last in a harem will be victorious.

It saddens me deeply, especially now that Charlotte displayed Akiko hairstyle, but she's still the second closest to Ichika, so maybe she can be the first of his mistresses.

[Kraco]

It saddens me deeply, especially now that Charlotte displayed Akiko hairstyle, but she's still the second closest to Ichika, so maybe she can be the first of his mistresses.

Make it Ichika's nurse, since Houki has been doing nothing but beating and kicking Ichika of late. He'll need one if he ends up with Houki. Somebody needs to feed him when he's bedridden with broken bones and a ruptured liver, and Charlotte was already shown how you feed people...

[Archangel]

Laura is a psychopath, there's no doubt of that. I may have to take back my prediction of her falling for Ichika as well. Although if he beats her in an easy looking manner, the situation might change. She seems to be worship Chifuyu because of her unbeatable strength, after all, and no doubt considers herself above the other students.


I'm gonna quote this post amusingly when Germany goes full dere

Har har har

[Kraco]

You are laughing at my spot-on prediction?

Thanks, I guess.

[Archangel]

Except for the fact she's not a psychopath, she did fall for him, he never actually beat her, she's completely forgotten about Chifuyu and is now as stuck up as a small rodent... yeah, you really nailed it.

[Kraco]

She is a psycho, she did fall for him, he did beat her without even fully equipping (and maybe even saved her from her own nanobots or whatever), and I doubt she has forgotten Chifuyu. But unless she's lesbian, Chifuyu can't offer her sexual gratification, so Ichika is a better target in that respect.

So, I really nailed it.

[Archangel]

You're wrong and everything you said is wrong. No, really.

[NeoCybercoin]

I don't think there will be any "nailing" in the show however. Not unless Ichika is actually pushed down and just raped by the girls.

[RyougaZell]

This show needs more Ran.

Charlotte is my favorite among the five main though. So more of her is welcomed.

What's with Pikachu-girl?

[Buffalobiian]

Stratos-Subs - Episode 10 (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=199148)

[vejita613]

Tabane is a lot more....hyper than I thought she was.

[Buffalobiian]

Out of all things that could happen, the last thing I expected was Chifuyu's "Just try and take him from me, bitches!". O_o.

Even Ichika finding a partner ranked higher than it on the probability scale. I don't quite get the 15-year-old comment though. Last time I heard the legal age for sex was 13 in Japan. She's probably calling Cecilia "inexperienced" or "too young" compared to her, but the age is a better match for Ichika anyway.. Perhaps Ichika really does have a crush for older women since he has made no advances on the younger ones. More for us I guess..

Good to see that the "intro fight" this time will be done without the CG. Man that was horrible.

[shinta|hikari]

Chifuyu never said that. The translations were very liberal.

[Buffalobiian]

Chifuyu never said that. The translations were very liberal.

The subs didn't neither. It was a phrase I came up with to sum up what she effectively said.

[Kraco]

That was the best part of the episode, though. I never expected Chifuyu to address the harem around Ichika, and thus it was a very pleasant surprise she did in such a manner. I got the impression from it that she still cares for Ichika, even if it was a sort of funny way of showing it, but maybe that's how her personality is behind the teacher's mask. She obviously hopes for Ichika to get the best girl.

[Ryllharu]

I took it as more of a, "Ichika is my slave, see how I make him give massages and get me beer! You'll have to be better than me before I give him up," sort of thing. Chifu dotes on her brother in her own way, she traded a lot just so she could save him. She and Tabane aren't that dissimilar, you can see why they are friends.

Tabane is cheerful and flighty while Chifu is serious and focused, but the two of them both love their younger siblings deeply. It's a pretty big issue that Tabane came out of hiding just for Houki (July 7th must be Houki's birthday). Even if the line said that Tabane hadn't seen Houki for years, she came out on a specific day, immediately when Houki asked for a personal IS.

Personally, I thought Tabane warping in a mobile SAM launcher with magical girl effects was the best part of the episode.

[Kraco]

I took it as more of a, "Ichika is my slave, see how I make him give massages and get me beer! You'll have to be better than me before I give him up," sort of thing.

Indeed, but I don't think those are mutually exclusive. Maybe her idea of a perfect relationship is a strong female (might be Ichika's as well considering how easily his sister catches his attention) and she didn't see that yet in any of the harem girls. She just saw them childishly trying to compete for Ichika's attention - which is futile with him being so dense, and Chifuyu knows he's dense. Thus she showed an example of how to get Ichika to do anything: Give firm orders.

The SAM Tabane summoned was likely a part of her own IS.

[NeoCybercoin]

I won't be surprised if Tabane turns out to have some kind of huge ass Gundam stashed away somewhere.

[Ryllharu]

The SAM Tabane summoned was likely a part of her own IS.
I don't know about that, Tabane invented the technology for instant transfers and deployment of IS frames. She can probably use it however she pleases. It looked like a pretty standard missile launcher array.

I was noting that her use of that technology has hearts, stars, and lots of sparkles compared to the normal transmission protocol. A personal touch, which also helps in displaying her genius. Not only did she develop teleportation, she can make it appear any way she likes.

I also liked the look on Houki and Chifuyu's faces when they heard a distant, "Yaaah-ha!" Chifuyu should have "huguu-huguu'd" to show her love for her friend.

[animus]

I liked the scene between Chifuyu and the girls. The subs were a little liberal but I liked the idea of the harem having to have the mindset of trying snatch or steal Ichika away from Chifuyu.

[Marik]

[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 11 - 720p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=201728) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/GTsc2da)
[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 11 - 400p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=201732) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/wtYbTu4)

[Kraco]

I should have guessed they would borrow even the quantum dimension whatever from 00 that allows pilots to meet and talk during combat. They certainly borrowed everything else there is to borrow in any other show.

I hope Ichika won't be sleeping through the decisive parts.

[enkoujin]

Ending:


all the girls try, in their best attempt, to take down Gospel, but can't do it without Ichika
Ichika wakes up from his coma
Ichika prepares his IS and delivers the last strike
Gospel is taken down, all the girls come together at Ichika after landing
OP plays in the background while slice-of-life/denouement scenes play out
all the girls are making a fuss of who's going to take care of Ichika/go out on a date with him/had a previous appointment with one of them
something perverted happens
Ichika yells out something about being unfortunate while the camera/screen zooms out and pans upwards into the sky


Predictable!

[Marik]

[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 12 - 720p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=203181) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/fmxn5Zg)
[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - 12 - 400p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=203182) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/x5nPPDk)

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Batch Torrents: 720p (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=203185) | 400p (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=203184)
DDLs: FileServe Folder (http://www.fileserve.com/list/5khGW4J)

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 11 was a chore to watch. Just a whole bunch of mix and match from all over the place. Why can't Ichika absorb damage and turn it back into energy again? This show makes no damn sense

Episode 12 carries itself a little better. Predictable and cliche, sure, but at least they're copying aspects of shows that work.

Byakushiki's next form looks horrible. Akatsubaki's actually pretty good. Very breast hugging.

As soon as Char's number of lines dropped, her ability to showcase herself above the others in terms of humour and personality dropped with it - at which point it became evident that Cecilia's voice and character design still holds its own against that whole harem.

Broken Ceclilia was the best part of these last 2 episodes. <3-ed that, average overall.

[Ryllharu]

Watching episode 12, I felt like half an episode was missing. The progression made sense, but how Ichika got to where the other girls were and how the girls got to the drone in the first place wasn't there. I'm not even going to mention the Byakushiki's soul segments.

Charlotte and Cecilia were largely the only good things that came out of this series. It was garbage, but it was entertaining garbage.

The kind you love to hate.

[shinta|hikari]

Charlotte was worth it, I think. Her entire arc was good, at least.

[Buffalobiian]

Charlotte and Cecilia were largely the only good things that came out of this series.

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/4435/animepapernetpicturestaq.jpg

[Marik]

The official Twitter account of the IS (Infinite Stratos) anime confirmed on Sunday that an all-new video called IS Encore "Koi ni Kogareru Roku-Jūsō" (A Sextet Yearning for Love) will be released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on November 25. The announcement was first made at the "IS One-Off Festival" event on Sunday.

More details will be announced on the official website, but the organizers were already taking pre-orders for the release immediately after the festival ended.Source: Infinite Stratos Gets All-New Encore Video on BD/DVD (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-06-05/infinite-stratos-gets-all-new-encore-video-on-bd/dvd)

[MFauli]

wah, I just decided to start watching where I left off, which was episode 5. It is soooo unbearable how unaware of himself Ichika is. This episode almost felt like a hentai-anime setup, only with the dumbest male human being in mankind´s history. When five girls are bowing to both of the boys during the training ... dayum! Not to mention Hooki´s usual flirtery.

I guess this just isn´t the focus, but, meh, this show would be so much better with a male lead character that actually noticed what is going on around him.

Edit: Saw ep 6 now. This is going to be my current masochist-show. It huuuuurts so much, whenever Ichika interacts with the girls. They could carry huge "fuck me"-signs and he´d still wonder what was going on. siiiigh. And it´s pretty ridiculous in itself how much this serious has turned out to be a harem show, rather than about, you know, the IS devices.

[Marik]

The official website for the IS (Infinite Stratos) anime franchise began streaming a 61-second promotional video for the original video anime (OVA) Infinite Stratos Encore: Koi ni Kogareru Rokujū on Saturday. The all-new video will be released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on November 25.

TBS: ISアンコール「恋に焦がれる六重奏」PV公開！ (http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/is/pv/pv12.html)

[Kraco]

Laura in a maid uniform should be worth seeing.

[MFauli]

Nothing except Charles is worth seeing in IS :/

[Marik]

[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - OVA - BD 720p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=266507) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/c73X3HX)
[Ayako] Infinite Stratos IS - OVA - 480p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=266088) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/6TMJPfq)

[Coalgirls] Infinite Stratos OVA - BD 1080p FLAC: Torrent (http://coalgirls.wakku.to/torrents/[Coalgirls]_Infinite_Stratos_OVA_(1920x1080_Blu-Ray_FLAC).torrent) |
[Coalgirls] Infinite Stratos OVA - BD 720p FLAC: Torrent (http://coalgirls.wakku.to/torrents/[Coalgirls]_Infinite_Stratos_OVA_(1280x720_Blu-Ray_FLAC).torrent) | DDL (http://fileserve.com/file/WEJsmQw)

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Karaoke Extra

[Subtidal] Infinite Stratos - One Off Festival - BD 720p Hi10p: Torrent (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=266095) | DDL (http://www.fileserve.com/file/CECv63Z)

[Kraco]

It had less fanservice than I expected, but otherwise it was very typical IS with Ichika continuing to be denser than tungsten. At least Houki wasn't beating Ichika in this ova.

[Idealistic]

Less fanservice? It showed Shinonono Houki's titty!

[MFauli]

Less fanservice? It showed Shinonono Houki's titty!

Oh ffs, don´t make me watch this :/

[Buffalobiian]

It had less fanservice than I expected, but otherwise it was very typical IS with Ichika continuing to be denser than tungsten. At least Houki wasn't beating Ichika in this ova.

That's exactly the type of OVA I like. It doesn't need to be a strip show (and frankly, producers seem to think that the more they put into drawing nudity, the less they have to think about other factors).

Light humorous situations highlighting the appeal of the girls.. that's where it's at. French-British Alliance FTW!

[Marik]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBOqDtiIrIA&amp;feature=player_embedded

[MFauli]

Season ... two?

*shivers*

[Ryllharu]

Season ... two?

*shivers*

You know you want more. I know I do.

I only really dislike Houki. She's incredibly dull, but it's obvious they force her as the female lead just because she's Japanese.

[MFauli]

You know you want more. I know I do.

I only really dislike Houki. She's incredibly dull, but it's obvious they force her as the female lead just because she's Japanese.

Problem is: Houki is hottest :>

Though I´ve become part of camp Charles, too.

Oh god, I´m becoming infected already!

[Buffalobiian]

Cecilia's awesome too. Let's not forget that.

[Kraco]

For me it reduces a person's hotness if her personality is beyond bad. It eats away from the first impression, which is usually visual, when the character appears on the screen. Houki's favourite pastime is to be violent, disagreeable, dishonest (in an emotional manner), yet still obsessive despite those aforementioned qualities that only serve to push people away from her. So, what does it matter if she has a cute face and a sexy body? They are only wasted on her. Even somebody like Laura who knows more or less as much as Terminator about human relationships is far more loving than Houki.

[Buffalobiian]

For me it reduces a person's hotness if her personality is beyond bad. It eats away from the first impression, which is usually visual, when the character appears on the screen. Houki's favourite pastime is to be violent, disagreeable, dishonest (in an emotional manner), yet still obsessive despite those aforementioned qualities that only serve to push people away from her. So, what does it matter if she has a cute face and a sexy body?

Does it not make you want to break her?

[vejita613]

Wait, is this really a second season? I see the word "reboot" and I find myself a bit skeptical.

[Dark Dragon]

Trailer of the second season (http://www.jefusion.com/2013/04/infinite-stratos-2-anime-full-trailer.html) for those interested.

[Ryllharu]

http://i.imgur.com/loYc2mm.jpg


[HorribleSubs] Infinite Stratos 2 - 01 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=479261)

Let the Carnival of Complaining begin!



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So the series largely picks up where the last one left off, skipping over the apparently completely uneventful summer. It is implied that Ichika barely talked to Rin at all, that Laura snuck naked into his bed frequently, and that Houki and Charlotte were around somewhere, but not really involved either. Cecelia was the only one who went away.

It still the same series of five girls vying for the affections of a guy denser than osmium (though I kinda suspect he isn't quite as dumb as he comes off).

Overall, it was okay, but there were a few changes I noticed. They swapped Charlotte for Houki as the girl who Ichika is most aware of (once past his sister complex), which as a Charlotte fan, feels a bit cheap. The previous season, Houki was just his friend and Charlotte was the only girl who made Ichika blush all the time. Maybe it is her ever-growing boobs. If she takes after her sister Tabane...

They also pushed Charlotte and Laura into a pair the same way they put Rin and Cecilia into a permanent losers-bracket pairing. It was also something that felt forced, but then I remembered the beach episode of last season, where Charlotte first started to play with Laura. I guess Laura is subservient to Charlotte because Charlotte had a hand in defeating her along with Ichika.

Charlotte and Laura got to show off in this episode, which was entertaining, but I'm still hoping for more Charlotte x Ichika instead of the inevitable Houki victory.


I wonder if the mysterious M is an illegal clone of Chifuyu?

The animation also seems a bit muddier, but I guess that is to be expected. 8bit is really busy this season. This is the first of three shows they are doing this season.

[Buffalobiian]

Charlotte and Laura got to show off in this episode, which was entertaining, but I'm still hoping for more Charlotte x Ichika instead of the inevitable Houki victory.

I actually don't.

Houki and have the loser Ichika. If this episode taught me one thing, it's that IS is better without Ichika's involvement. He's necessary as the girl-magnet, but he should just remain that. It's not like he can become anything more anyway.

Laura X Char ftw!

Cecilia can fight aggressively for Ichika and give Houki a run for her money. Their rivalry was the strongest (against each other, not with reference to Ichika) and it was funny watching them piss each other off. She'll never get Ichika, but she'll seem happier in his company than with any other girl.

Nothing wrong with Rin.. but no one cares about her either.

[MFauli]

japan is becoming more progressive, having a gay character as the hero.

:|

[Kraco]

I wonder why they don't try to have more homosexual men attempt to activate IS, to see if that worked just as well as being a woman, as a universal rule. No doubt religious fundamentalists and other ultra conservatives wouldn't approve, but somebody should have thought about it by now.

[Ryllharu]

Ichika is the only man allowed to pilot an IS, mostly because Tabane personally approved of him as a family friend. She may even have done it at Chifuyu's request, since we haven't seen her pilot since she rescued him, and there is reason to believe she never piloted in Germany either, only instructed.

For whatever reason she came up with in her twisted, deranged skull, Tabane wants only girls to fight using her ultimate weapon.



Infinite Stratos is a genderswapped reverse-harem.
The girls try to seduce him, as he slowly becomes aware of the opposite sex.

Ichika isn't as dumb as he comes off, I'm fairly sure of that. He's not as good as a lot of the Hagure Yuusha protagonist, but I'm reasonably sure he'd doing it on purpose. That and he has an enormous sister complex, that is only starting to wear off this past year.

Look out where the girls currently stand:

Houki = Friend Zoned. Her ever expanding boobs and physical similarity to Chifuyu is what is starting to make Ichika aware of her.
Rin = Hardcore Friend Zoned. She's doomed.
Cecelia = Creeps him out. Ichika has shown definitive aversion toward her, but is willing to keep her as a friend so she doesn't go yandere on him.
Charlotte = Debatable. Charlotte is definitely the girl he is closest to as an actual fuck-friend, as learning she was a girl and her relative forwardness without going full-on Cecelia Creeper Mode made him very aware of her. She will probably get Friend Zoned though as this season progresses. Ichika is noticeably more open to any kind of a relationship when he is around Char.
Laura = Debatable. He finds her cute, she's very territorial and forward, so far beyond the Cecelia Creeper Point that she reached the, "Holy Shit I Drank too Much and Who's That Sleeping Next to Me?" levels. Ichika doesn't push her away though, despite definitely not being blasé about waking up next to her frequently.



In reverse-harem bishonen archetypes:

Houki is the childhood friend who the heroine suddenly discovers is quite manly and dependable.
Rin is the childlike childhood friend who always wants to play, but probably only gets one chapter of seducing before giving up forever.
Cecelia is the fashionable rich guy who always touches the heroine and ultimately drives her off.
Charlotte is either the crossdressing male lead, the transfer student who sweeps the heroine off her feet, or the heroine's best male friend and confidant after a date chapter that didn't pan out.
Laura is the surprise fiancé with a dark hidden past.



Ichika of course, is the shy, introverted heroine who loves her manly big brother and has a special attribute or ability like, genius intelligence (definitely not this one), can see ghosts, surprise inheritance, or defies social customs.

[shinta|hikari]

That is disturbingly true. Might be the reason I never liked this show.

[oyabun]

Of all the passive naive male lead anime characters, Ichika is the one I utterly hate. This show really put me in a bad mood after I watched it.

[MFauli]

I´d love to put myself in Ichika´s shoes. It´d go something like that:

- have sex with Cecilia who was all over me from the start
- have sex with Rin who kinda came to my school only because of me, her childhood friend
- have sex with Houki, who obviously is in love with me
- have secret sex with Charlotte, who everybody thinks is a guy
- ignore Laura, because she´s got no boobs.
- get killed by Houki - oh, wait, no, wrong anime. Here, all the girls follow me to some islam-centric country and become my brides. :>

Back to real Ichika:

- ignore all girls
- jerk off to his sister
- cry right after cumming

:|

[Ryllharu]

a) Laura would definitely have sex with him. He would probably not be awake. See also, Cecelia.

b) You also forgot that Chifuyu would have to be unconscious in a hospital bed before he tried anything.

c) You know there is a "Happy Ending" to School Days, right? Some one even took a video of the ending from the game and subbed it.

[MFauli]

a) Laura would definitely have sex with him. He would probably not be awake. See also, Cecelia.

b) You also forgot that Chifuyu would have to be unconscious in a hospital bed before he tried anything.

c) You know there is a "Happy Ending" to School Days, right? Some one even took a video of the ending from the game and subbed it.

Surely not a happy ending for the harem-route, right? otherwise ill have to replay the game :P

[Ryllharu]

Continuing to be off-topic, but yes. There is a "both of them" happy ending.

[Ryllharu]

Infinite Stratos S2 - 02 [Horriblesubs] (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=view&tid=481671)



---------------


Overall, this episode was actually rather promising. The point of this eps was for Ichika to understand how terrible he is at piloting. As we see in the opening minutes, he's still as exceptionally bad as he's always been. His sword still drains his own shields and he uses it like a moron. Even putting combat aside, it becomes clear that he can barely even pilot the IS to begin with.

I'm at least a little glad they've decided to make him competent.

Don't really care for the new character. But as Houki pointed out toward the end, his big sister complex is so strong, he will be naturally subservient to any female older than he is. What a loser.

As a side note, I guess Laura really enjoyed being a maid for a few hours.

[Buffalobiian]

The new girl is really refreshing. I was worried that her addition would be a big turnoff, but it's quite the opposite. Her aggressiveness is just what I needed to break the stagnant deadlock with everyone. Ultimately I'm sure nothing will change, but at least all the girls are getting flustered and outraged. Hopefully they'll do more to drag Ichika out of his shell instead of just quietly complaining like they always do.

I mistook Tatenashi for Char when she played the "Who is this?" prank. She's bringing back the playfulness that Char had mid-season last time, but since then Char's mellowed out a bit. She's still most-wife material though, as comfirmed (again) this episode where she's simply the most perceptive of Ichika's (and everyone else's) needs. That's why she helps Laura out even though they're love rivals - she's that nice.

[Kraco]

It's already the fricking second season and Ichika still sucks more than a 2kW shop-vac. To make it all the better, right after a splendid demonstration of his suckage, we get a scene where the girls in perfect chorus call him cool. Cool.

I wish this show was more action and less brainless loser harem. Maybe then we would actually see Ichika develop. Nay, maybe then this second season would have already begun with a moderately asskicking Ichika instead of this sorry excuse for a main character.

This show is so bad that it's funny, especially with the obviously high animation budget.

[shinta|hikari]

Of all the LNs to adapt, they had to pick this...

I tried giving this a chance, but it is as generic as generic can get, then you add a protagonist like Ichika...

Makes me miss Tatsuya and even Kazuto.

[David75]

All those girls should spend some bucks on a Vibrator and forget Ichika already. At least a vibrator is useful and you can move on and search yourself a real man...

[Kraco]

All those girls should spend some bucks on a Vibrator and forget Ichika already. At least a vibrator is useful and you can move on and search yourself a real man...

I bet a vibrator would be better in a battle than Ichika, as well. At least a vibrator doesn't run so quickly out of battery.

[Buffalobiian]

HS - S2 Episode 03 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=483880)

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It was good to see Cecilia finally win some time with Ichika, but that didn't amount to much anyway. On the other hand, Char continues to play all the right cards. Way to go, wife-first-candidate!

With the Cecilia thing, I personally would have thought a comment like "you look like you could play the flute because of your upbringing" to put unjustified pressure on someone.

[Kraco]

It's strange how Char simply keeps getting better. And Houki keeps getting worse. Even somebody like Laura had to intervene to save Ichika from Houki's failing anger management issues.

It seems like Ichika's options are pretty much:

Char: Awesome and gentle wife.
Cecilia: Useless wife, but he gets a mansion and servants.
Lingyin: Energetic wife and Chinese food for the rest of his life.
Laura: ... War games and embarrassing outfits?
Houki: He will be forever young and handsome - because his wife will kill him before he hits 30.
Bonus choice: Tatenashi: Sex with an older girl (since he seems to like those) from morning till the evening.

[Ryllharu]

What a wasted opportunity early in the episode. Char would legitimately be a French Maid, but they give her the average cosplay maid outfit.

A stupid, but fun episode (...well, they're all stupid episodes). Char is still my favorite, but I'll agree with Buff here, Cecelia got some much needed screentime. Too bad she's such a pervert though, she wasted her chance for an indirect kiss fussing about it. The only flute she wants to play is Ichika's....

[Kraco]

Episode 5 - HS (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=488686)


- -- - - - - - -






And nobody was surprised by Ichika choosing his own sister. Truthfully when I was watching that scene, I thought, if I had been in Ichika's shoes, I might have done the same. Although I wouldn't have been serious like he obviously was, but rather as a joke. I mean, how annoying would it be to be subjected to that kind of question with no correct answer on your own birthday? Although even genuinely the others girls would be all to happy and eager to pull off something like this any day, but what on Earth made Chifuyu agree to or decide to don a maid uniform? The other girls were basically satisfying themselves, but Chifuyu clearly went out of her way to do something special that brought her only embarrassment but amazed Ichika. That a real present (as stupid as it was).

[NeoCybercoin]

I got my Tatenashi fix so I'm good.

[Ryllharu]

I legitimately expected this to be a Tabane plot right until the very end.


Truthfully when I was watching that scene, I thought, if I had been in Ichika's shoes, I might have done the same. Although I wouldn't have been serious like he obviously was, but rather as a joke.
...
The other girls were basically satisfying themselves, but Chifuyu clearly went out of her way to do something special that brought her only embarrassment but amazed Ichika. That a real present (as stupid as it was).
Ichika should have said, "Well, Ling didn't get her turn and Laura was cut short, so it's only fair to say Chifu-nee." Then he'd have the girls melting over him, rather than be pissed.

But Chifuyu in a maid uniform was pretty awesome. She was also super embarrassed about it in the cafeteria, equally as happy to have spent it with him after so long. We can't forget that she has a little brother complex as much as he has an older sister one.

I think Laura probably would have won. He genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself because she wasn't forcing herself on him.

...But he's her wife after all, so of course she doesn't have to force herself on him. He's already hers.

[Kraco]

I think Laura probably would have won. He genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself because she wasn't forcing herself on him.

On the other hand, Cecilia was teaching him something new that he hadn't tried before but ended up liking. That's a real present, in many senses. Who knows, there might come a moment when he's hanging with other guys at a bar and they could end up playing billiards. This brief experience would allow him to save a little bit of face.

[Buffalobiian]

HS - Episode 06 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=490990)

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Char gets the best parts. Billiard Bunny was well played too. It's kind of hard to decide between the two.

[Kraco]

Episode 7 - HS (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=493520)






-- - -- - -- -





So, instead of just choosing one of the girls lusting after him, Ichika has to pair with the exceedingly rare girl in the academy who wouldn't even want to talk to him. But of course it's clear she will soon come to think of him as the hero and further strenghten his already bloated harem.




Char gets the best parts.

She can apparently be quite an airhead every now and then. Ichika is too much of a kid, though. If she wants to show, he should look. Not looking would be impolite.

[Buffalobiian]

Not looking would be impolite.

Such wise words.

/bows

[Kraco]

This season sucked from the beginning till the end. Very fitting for a show that has sucked since the first episode of the first season. There are very few redeeming qualities, unless you count bringing money to the studio as such because the Japanese otaku apparently buy this like there's no tomorrow. Some of the girls are interesting by naturally completely wasted in a show like this.

It can't be helped the main character is totally without balls in a generic harem show and doesn't even have the decency to die when the plot offers him a good chance, but I wish at least the fights were good to make the high animation budget worth it, but no, the fights also must be written so stupid they make no difference.

I wish all this money was spent on something worthwhile.

[Ryllharu]

But...but, clearly this was a setup for Season 3!!!