Higashi no Eden 5-9

I finally got to squeeze in episode 9 of Higashi no Eden, thanks to the lull at work. Connection problems have been a pain and the internet filters have prevented me from dallying in my usual quota of shows. I haven't been able to finish Mononoke (and I'm on my last two episodes, too!). Still, I'm grateful I can still access Higashi; I'm careful not to tell this to anyone in the office, though. Wouldn't want another site to be blocked.

Anyway, on to Higashi. The show definitely picks up pace in episode 5 and more than makes up for the series' rather lackluster start. I still had problems with some scenes - I just went absolutely "meh?" on some. It's quite off-putting really, so I was glad when there were less of those "meh" scenes in later episodes.

We also get introduced to the other Selecaos, and it's really, really cool stuff. Mid-way to episode 5, the possibility of a Selecao vs Selecao battle is a glorious anticipation. Episode 5 and 6 does go into that, and viewers get a little glimpse of the mind of a Selecao.

Juiz on overtime :B

Episode 7 delves more on Saki's side of the story and bit on the supporting cast. It does the story good, in my opinion, to have more people introduced and explored. In episodes 8 and 9, the pieces start to fall in place, chaos ensues and the bigger picture starts to unravel. Great spy/thriller stuff here.

All throughout, the animation and voice acting remains consistent. Most impressive of all is the overall pacing of the story - it's just right for an 11-episode show. Not too fast and not too slow to bore the viewers out, either. It has just the right amount of resolution and mystery to keep the viewer guessing.

My only problem with the series, as I've earlier pointed out, are the "meh" scenes. They appear abruptly, distract the flow of the story - basically very confusing. It's a minor peeve, though.

On to episode 10 and beyond :)