Soukou no Strain

[Kraco]

More Sara anti-social goodness:

Episode 6 xvid - WinD
Episode 6 h264 - WinD

Edit: She certainly has a thick and hard wall of ice to break. But it looks like it's being chipped broken little by little. Still, it's good it's taking this long, because that's of course the only way to make it look believable and not just a whim of the plot.

The battle in this episode was quite small scale compared to the previous one, but it was executed just as well, as actually presented some nice if still simple cooperation tactics instead of the lone wolf style fighting.

[Yukimura]

I'm starting to think Sara just has an addictive personality...the way she treats that doll. It might just be because she's lonely or something but I can't believe she was drawing new clothes for her.

On another note it is indeed good she's warming up to the team.

[Board of Command]

I just picked up this series and it's pretty interesting. The opening song could be better if the singer didn't sound like she was on helium half the time.

[Kraco]

Alright. I was certainly missing Anti-Social Sara-chan already.

Episode 7v2 xvid - WinD
Episode 7v2 h264 - WinD

Edit: Updated links to v2, which were released.

[Yukimura]

Well in addition to non-social doll fetish Sara, we get 100 metric tons of hyper social lesbian Lavinia (though they did managed to squeeze in some plot progression). A very interesting episode.

@Below: Good point Kraco, I forgot how much I hate it when animes pull shit like this. Mischief like that has no place in a military unit, though of course they have to keep it funny so I usually forgive it.

[Kraco]

Lav is bloody evil (in addition to being a hyper social lesbian). She stole and then managed to lose Sara's irreplaceable mimic. Considering they are living in a time of war, that should be a crime punishable by death, because it practically means rendering Sara unable to fight for the rest of her life.

Well, of course they will find it. Would be a strange twist indeed if they didn't!

[Ryllharu]

I really enjoyed when Lavinia's "direct attack" backfired and she turned Jessie into a lesbian. Beyond that, she's pretty much good for comedy relief and in this case, driving the plot along. I wonder where they are going to go with meeting the real Emily. There must be something weird going on that (what I assume) is Emily's Mimic stuffed into a doll works for Sara. Does it have to do with Emily alone, the fact that Emily is close to Sara's brother, or even something else?

Waiting for the next episode will be painful. I'm also eagerly waiting for when Lottie finds out Sara is really Sara Werec.

[Board of Command]

[Aeon]

What this ep lacked in wonerful mech combat it easily made up with Lavinia comedy.

[Besu]

I'm still crying from the bathroom scene

[kooshi]

I thought this was a pretty bad episode. Most of it tried to be funny, but it was really weak. But then again, to me, the humour in this series has always been weak.

[Kraco]

At last our sweet Anti-Social Sara is back...

Episode 8 xvid - WinD
Episode 8 h264 - WinD

[NeoCybercoin]

Kraco, may I give you a hug? = )

[Besu]

At last our sweet Anti-Social Sara is back...

Episode 8 xvid - WinD
Episode 8 h264 - WinD

beat me to it

[Kraco]

Man, this is a funny series. People die like flies all the time. First they, ironically, build a little understanding between Caris and Sara, and the next moment they, apparently at least, off him... Sweet'n'cruel.

Kraco, may I give you a hug? = )

Sorry, but I prefer to have only the opposite sex hug me

[Ryllharu]

As soon as they started talking about closer relations with Sara (on a serious level, not Lavinia's "missionary" work) you got the feeling he was gonna die. We even got a bonus of Lotti finding out who Sara really was, just as the two technicians (how old are they anyway?) found out.

I'm already desperately waiting for the next eps.

Sara is a Black Widow. No wonder her brother wants to stay away from her, any man close to her gets an instant death sentence.

[NeoCybercoin]

That must be it Ryll. She's just not telling anyone. And no wonder the brother wants Emily more. That will be his new little sister O-o

[Kraco]

Arienai! Ryllharu prayed to the right God, apparently:

Episode 9 xvid - WinD
Episode 9 h264 - WinD

[Yukimura]

Excellent, 2 eps of Strain in one day. And I'm loving (hating) this lack of discipline in this military and its susceptibility to rumors, now obviously it's far too much to ask for realism but it still irks me that as soon as they found out that she was related to a traitor she became a suspected spy. No mention of all the times she'd tried to kill her brother or saved the ship. Nope for the officers it's just Strike 1: You're a traitors brother Strike 2: You lied about your identity therefore we think you might be a spy. And for the students (this is more understandable) You're a traitors brother therefore everything bad that ever happened is all your fault.

Is this a cultural thing or something? I know in the US if you're brother does something retarded you don't get blamed for it and while you may be ridiculed because of the association people won't think that you are exactly like your brother and ignore all you're past deeds.

[Kraco]

Well, the second one wasn't so exciting, being mainly personal history lessons, but I suppose it was, as such, a necessary episode, even if it was saturated with not just one but two nii-san complexes.

Still, Sara's personality is somewhat believable, all in all. She is, or was, really dependant on her brother, and now she confessed she has already decided to kill him. I guess things like that may turn a person quite an introvert. She probably never thought what she could in life after the encountered with her brother was finished, one way or another, and thus wasn't in the slightest interested in socializing. In a way she really followed her brother: Ralph also indicated he has only one purpose and anybody trying to come between him and that objective will be removed.