Well, here it is. The big one. The arc that elevates Shuffle! from “Ah, a good light-hearted harem eroge adaptation” to “It’s like Key, but with breasts.” Which is true mainly because here, the plot gets more serious, more interesting, and thankfully, a bit less fanservicey than is the norm for this series.

Not a lot to say that won’t spoil this episode to death, since it has some large exposition, but to say the least it involves several years’ worth of buildup, although, from the anime where everybody knew somebody back in the ‘promised girl’ flashback age, that shouldn’t say much.

XWindow: Jump out in.
This should. Someone – or at the going rate, more than one someone – is out to get Rin. Who? Why? Are they successful?

Well, of course, the last answer is kind of a no, as having your harem lead die would be a bit of a downer. But then again, there’s always Itsuki, who’s too shiny-glasses awesome in this series to be called by that name which graces that of lower-grade espers and drivers of Levins.

Anyway, find out next time on – what, this isn’t a TV commercial? There’s more? After the jump (spoiler safe through Shuffle! 19). Fine, be that way. Can’t I stretch this out over two days of suspense?

Don’t give me that ‘everybody’s already seen the anime’ look. It’s coming to R1 soon, and then I’ll laugh at you fools who said nobody cares about Shuffle anymore! Mwhahahahahah!

Er, sorry, that acts up. I wonder if Shuffle! still does have a decent fanbase – although, from the looks of the AnimeSuki forums (the ones I browse frequently) it’s much more chaotic and cutthroat (with those stupid fanclubs) than other harem anime. Possibly because they learn from example, if this episode is any cue.

Additionally, I wonder how the censoring will work on the Shuffle! R1s. I’d like to know if I am able to buy the DVD without putting on a trenchcoat and a fake mustache.
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(you should know what that means…and also, certainly, it could fit as a horror movie title in this way too)

It’s showtime! We’re about ready to hit the climax of Shuffle! with 4 straight episode of raw awesome, and here’s the first of the four.

The light-hearted title card is back, and it is screaming Very Important Episode at the top of its lungs. It’s kokuhaku (confession) time this episode, and so we’re getting down to crunch time – and don’t expect, even after the main two get together, that things are going to be all better.

Well, what’s to say? Let’s get this mission started. And what a mission it is – that subtitle says “secret strategic meeting for the date”. This is Spartaaaaaaaa business. This recap is spoiler-free, covering only Shuffle 18, so if you’ve gotten this far, keep going.
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Not quite the same ring as Wai for Mai~ , but Kaede’s a strong character with a strong story and a strong runner-up for best Shuffle! character. So, catchphrase’d for the token witty title.

And now, time for some time paradoxing.

So, Shuffle! Memories is a recap series, half the length of the original with the story split up into multiple parts. Each main heroine gets 2 episode for a total ten, there’s one intro episode (the previous one), and one new episode (finally!) at the end for a total of 12.

However, the dividing up of the story does strange and awkward things to the flow of the plot. Kaede Fuyou, the first girl featured in Shuf!Memo, was one of the last to get a story arc in the original series. So now, instead of starting out with some of the lighthearted stuff and then going into the more serious plots (I think the arcs built off of and eclipsed each other in the original), we’re going straight into the deep end.

Each character is split up into two parts, so Kaede’s entire story isn’t laid out at once, but we get a significant enough chunk of it that I’m forced to issue a spoiler warning for through Shuffle! 21 or so. Somehow, I’ve managed to overtake my blogging of the entire Shuffle! series with the 2nd episode recap of its…recap series.

Not to mention…a recap of a recap? Strange, isn’t it.
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The further I get into these anime, the less I can really post for summaries in the pre-jump section. Pretty much all I could say about the situation in which Rin and Sia ditch class to go on a date is, em, to put it Haruhi style, classified information.

Here’s an interesting thing though; the episode’s titled True Feelings. But whose? Something that would be very interesting to find out, as the Shuffle! Race for Rin ™ continues, with 2 and a half contestants left in the race.

It’s Sia 2nd turn at the date-o event. She put up good numbers on her first attempt but her scores have quickly been eclipsed and if she doesn’t improve soon she may be eliminated from this competition…let’s take a look at the hidden camera presented by Daidouji&Thyme Incorporated and oh my!

I think we may have to cut the feed on this one. We’ll be right back folks, after the jump! (oh yeah, and spoiler-free (relatively) post; covers through episode 17)
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Whose arc is it anyway? Well, we’ve covered Sia’s, Nerine’s, and Rimu’s, so that leaves two characters to go; Kaede and Asa.

Right? Wrong.

We’re not quite going to wind it down that quick, as Sia refuses to be put down as she comes back for Part II.

Of course, if you’ve watched this episode you may vaguely be aware of the face that although it’s Sia’s arc, it’s not really Sia’s arc. WTF am I talking about? Hit the jump to find out. Safe for through Episode 16. (uh, this episode)
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