So ummm what? I mean I knew it was coming, but to see it play out like that was a bit odd. So we now know who has basically been pulling the strings behind everything. It’s interesting but let’s talk about this boring match beforehand.

The season started out powerful with a gross finger-chopping game. It was weird and yet entertaining a la nail game from the first season. As the season has moved on, the intensity from the best has really ebbed and it took me till this bet to realize how cheap they are becoming. Unless the finale really hits it out of the park, I think we are going to see it flatline at the end. Shame, but so anyway, all of the big gamblers are going head to head from this season save for Itsuki, Kaede, and Kirari. I love how the series keeps bringing back Midari to have her fawn over Yumeko who in turn, ignores her. It’s funny. So we have this bet which is going head to head against these competitors…or is it? Batsubami reveals that she is betting too, okay I can forgive that. But then the whole thing where the people in the other room who have been defeated are gambling too? Bzzt. This is boring.

Then Yumeko does her thing to provoke Batsubami and we get an about face from them as they go all in. Not bad, but like… oh okay… So she basically looks like Leanne Sidhe from the Megami Tensei/Persona series with tattoos on her hand. If you don’t know, Google her. Blegh this is becoming a subpar ending. Whatever. I hope it gets interesting. Bring back Yumemi!

I know I ragged on 3D Kanojo Real Girl last week, but this week really brought it full circle. We get to see Hikari grow up after losing Iroha and how Hikari copes with life without her. Also, I know in Japan that you tend to grow up really fast, but I’m older than Hikari is and I feel like a child to how grown up he feels. Does anyone else feel like that? He’s all successful with people talking good stuff about him. Meanwhile, when I’m at work, it’s a slightly more adult version of high school or university without all the backstabbing and bigger money. Jeez. Maybe I should start meeting all of my old high school friends at bars in the evenings, although I do think it’s strange that Japanese people still hang out with their old school buddies as they get older. Anyway…

The most important part was the ending when we see that Iroha has survived the last couple years (or half a decade or so). Her brother shows her around Japan and Iroha doesn’t remember any of it, although for some reason, despite losing her memories and reliving a life in the States, she speaks Japanese. It’s obvious that Iroha’s step brother was going to pull a fast one and hit on Iroha, but now, I’m all hyped up to see her interaction with Hikari since her memory is gone and Hikari is a grown up. Do you think they’ll fall in love all over again because it’s meant to be, or maybe it’ll pull off that old cheesy drama movie where all the memories come flooding back afterwards? I can’t wait for the next episode to find out!

With each new episode of Gotoubun no Hanayome, it's increasingly difficult to understand how Fuutarou does not realize once and for all what each of the quintuplets feel... or at least Miku, Ichika, Nino, and maybe Itsuki too? I'm not saying he should do something about it or take advantage of them just because they like him, but at least he shouldn't be that clueless about how he makes them feel.

The best part of the eleventh episode is nothing but Miku stepping up her game now she feels cornered by Ichika, while onee-san herself is finally accepting her heart goes all doki doki when Fuutarou is around her. Sure, Nino falling for the non-existent Kintarou is kinda sweet in its own way since it brings out the best of her, but what we actually want to see is how Miku deals with her growing love for the luckiest teacher ever.

Fuutarou is not into Ichika, else he would already have said or done something about it. And believe me he had his chances... more so after ending up alone in a room, dancing by a campfire. And let's not forget Ichika's wet shirt after the sprinklers incident! But hey, do you want me to sum up the whole situation in just one picture? Then go back to Miku's face the moment she and Itsuki found these two hiding/trapped in the warehouse. 50% anger, 50% disappointment, 300% holding her desire to cry. For me, that was the anime moment of the week, and even though it lasted for about 5 seconds, those were the most powerful 5 seconds of Gotoubun no Hanayome’s season.

Episode 11 of Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari had our heroes facing the second wave of the Calamity and this wave was no joke! Naofumi, Raphtalia and Fila once more went to defend a nearby village that was caught in the crossfire but due to the knights joining the party and an old woman--who kicks butt--joining in on the battle, Naofumi and his allies were able to assist the other three heroes in facing off against the main threat. However, the biggest threat wasn’t in just the regenerating skeleton pirate or the hydra but the fact that our four heroes can’t ever seem to get along! Whether it was arguing about what to kill first or what to do about a strategy, these heroes are so scattered it makes them more of a threat to each other than the enemies they face. Luckily, Naofumi took charge and activated his chaos shield--learning that the dragon he absorbed is now also within the chaos shield--which enabled him to easily take down the threat using a new power called the Iron Maiden and some new armor enhancements. I truly thought this was the end of the wave but a new threat named Glass appears before our heroes and proclaims herself to indeed be the main threat! Episode 12 of Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari should be an interesting one as we approach a battle that could be amazing! Also, side note, Fila engulfed in rage during that fight was pretty darn awesome! Fila always kicks tail but this week she amped up her fighting to a 150% and was acting like a Dragon Ball Z warrior!

Kaguya, Miyuki and the other students are finally getting a bit of a break from all their studies - but a break also means they need to make more of an effort if they want to see each other! Unfortunately, Miyuki and Kaguya are both too prideful to reach out to each other first, so their time off ends up becoming rather miserable.
We can all clearly see that Miyuki and Kaguya have feelings for one another at this point. While it’s adorable to watch them flounder about with their growing emotions, the scene where both of them return to the school, hoping to see one another, is rather sad. At least they have one more epic firework finale to hopefully speak their minds! We’ve seen so much progress from both of them over the course of the series. Fingers crossed that we finally get the confession we’ve been waiting for!

And despite all the focus on our protagonists this episode, we still got to see some great Chika moments. Maybe she’ll teach us how to eat ramen in the proper form!

Last time, I was super worried for Emma and Ray as they seemed to have lost hope after Norman’s disappearance. But I should’ve known - that’s not how these kids roll! Emma reveals the master plan that she, Norman, Don, and Gilda have been setting up for most of the series: they discreetly revealed the orphanage’s true purpose to their other siblings to get everyone on the same page, and then spent the rest of their time training the group on tactics and formations. It’s all been leading up to this moment, when Emma and Ray burn down Grace Field House and escape with every single one of the kids.

But, of course, not everything goes according to plan. Ray pours lighter fluid over his head and tries to set himself on fire as a final “screw you” to the system that plans to use him as meat. Thinking quickly, Emma saves him, cuts off both of their left ears to remove the tracking devices, and drags Ray out of the house to join the rest of the orphans who are lying in wait in the forest. Mom watches furiously as her orphanage goes up in flames, beaten at her own game for the very first time.

I thought the main trio was intelligent and crafty before, but this episode takes them to a whole new level! They got all the other kids on board, predicted each other’s moves, and were so resolute in their goals that they chopped their own ears off to evade capture! Maybe they’ve been cribbing hardcore gangster ideas from this season of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

In order to protect her loyal subordinate, Mao reveals her true form to Yuusha and her friends. After eating Mao's magic cooking, Chibi-chan throws up all of the random treasures she has ever eaten and an amnesiac golem maid that Yuusha names Meigo. In the previous timeline, Meigo served as Mao's assistant and took care of her every need. Mao decides to look after Meigo in order to assure that her secret identity didn't get out. While her plan worked at first, Princess Rona uses a special cartado designed to bring back lost memories. The cartado not only restores Meigo's memories of her time as Mao's subordinate, but it also restores the memories of Yuusha, Seira, Mei, and Fai. With the threat of Meigo being taken as a hostage, Mao decides to reveal her secret to the girls and challenges them to a final battle.

This weeks episode of Endro was full of laughs, but emotional the emotional ending really made this episode great. Mao is a great character that despite being the demon lord, has proven time and time again that she is actually incredibly kind and caring. Mao was willing to throw away her new peaceful life In order to protect the one person who has cared for her. With the last episode fast approaching, I can't wait to see how the girls bring their hilarious adventure to a close.