April comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers

askerian, I see what you mean about it getting interesting around 4. Hatake kicks their asses front, back, and sideways, Sasuke struts his stuff, and Sakura...okay, I'm having issues with Sakura. Still, even though I dislike her, I don't dislike the way she fits into the team dynamic.

In other news, Mai Hime 21 has a triple dose of plot, but scales back the drama and trauma, thank god. I think we all need a break from 19-20. They can haul out the angst again at the end, when people have recovered enough to appreciate it again, but another episode like the last one would have been emotional overkill.

How peculiar that Mai Hime is pretty much THE show in the forums and anime blogs I frequent, but completely absent from my flist. ;_; It's an awesome show, guys. Don't let the lesbian-tastic fanservice turn you off. It's the most entertaining fanservice I've ever seen, and besides, everything about the show is beautifully done, from the voice work to the fight scenes to the writing. I'm very close calling it the best new show from 2004 (Planetes started in 2003, of course ^_^).