Dead Like Me 1x07-1x14

In a few episodes, I went from thinking that this show was mildly interesting but flawed to thinking it was really, really good. Why are the seasons so short? Wah!

So yes, the first few episodes are rather shaky, particularly the first four. Episode 5 is when it starts getting good, and then there are a few ok ones. Then the last four or five of the season are excellent. Nearly all of them made me cry, not out of sadness, but just out of emotion and a sort of cathartic happiness.

It's particularly interesting watching the tone shifting gradually from dark and sarcastic to somewhat sarcastic but really very heartfelt and very interested in all the characters, regular and one-time. I love watching the Reapers develop; they start out as caricatures, and gradually, as we learn more, they all start to break my heart in different ways.

I have even stopped wanting to slap Joy and Delores and started wanting to hug them, which is a miracle in and of itself.

I'm making this sound like a Serious and Artsy and Depressing Thing, but it's not. It's about all these people, both undead and alive, learning to live and move on and grieve and be happy and find joy and peace in what they do and how they live. It's a bit more tongue-in-cheek, but ultimately, this show is really reminding me of my favorite bits of Nana and Honey and Clover, which is high praise indeed.

( Spoilers for all of S1 )

Kishimoto Masashi - Naruto, ch. 345-347

To be quite honest, chapters 345-346 are a bit of a blur for me, but 347! Kishimoto, you have no shame! Rock on.

( Spoilers )