This morning I finished watching the remainder of the original Naruto saga, including all of the filler (120 episodes of filler?).  That’s right all 220 episodes of the original series.

Naruto: Shippuuden is up next.  This two years later part of the Naruto saga begins with what had been alluded to at the end of season 4 around episode 100.  Naruto, two years older and stronger, now starts on the path to find Sasuke. 

Ayako is has only been releasing HD versions of of the Shuffle Memories sub.

Damn.

At long last, the next Shuffle! series makes its debut with Shuffle! Memories. I am a huge fan of the first incarnation of Shuffle! and if you haven’t seen it yet, make an effort to do so.

Shuffle! Memories is set 10 years after the gate between Heaven and Hell opened joining the three worlds and is set as Rin’s recollections of the events that have occured. Episode 1 re-introduces that main characters of Shuffle! into Shuffle! Memories and their relation to Rin.

Title: Whistle!

Genre: Sports

Episodes: 39

Rating: 7/10

Synopsis: Sho Kazamatsuri dreams of becoming a professional soccer player in Japan. In order to fulfill this dream, he leaves the renowned Soccer Championship school where he was a third string replacement to a lesser prominent school to have a chance to play. Unfortunately, he realizes quickly that he nver had a chance to practice playing. He decides to practice heavily while skipping classes and soccer practice. Eventually, his skills come up to par and continue to grow. After re-joining the soccer team, the others quickly find out he has unlimited potential.

I found this to be quite an excellent series. The characters are developed well and seem full of life. The plot was well defined and moved quickly without wasting episodes on filler. My grief with Whistle!? The ending. Although it was very heart pounding and exciting, it just ended.

Recommendations: Into soccer, watch it! Interested in an underdog sports story, worthwhile.

Special thanks to ADVFilms for bringing Gokujo Seitokai (Best Student Council) to the U.S.  The series containing 26 episodes will be released under the translated title The Best Student Council!.

I will be eager to see how well the dubs and subs turn out for this one.