Excerpt from my yet to be published draft on Spring 2008:

“Wait, why are we ranked so low?” [I was trying to rank the Spring shows I'd be continuing into Summer, and I had this show in a rather disappointing position]

Allison & Lillia: Err, I just realized I forgot to watch the last episode of the train arc. Of course the episode after has spoiled the twist inserted there for me, which I would’ve seen coming if this wasn’t Allison & Lillia, a show that somehow lulls me into thinking it’s a slow straightforward adventure series whose plot holes I somehow excuse so that when they toss a plot twist in my face, I go “huh?”. My interest in the show has been suffering some ups and downs, but hopefully the Lillia portion of the series provides something worth looking into.

Consolation prize: Favourite eyecatch of the season =P (Well, I’m sorrrry I don’t buy buns from Ranka)

Well, let’s just say evil cynical side of me wrote that paragraph after watching a few minutes of episode 13 and realizing I missed out the whole of episode 12. But after watching both  episodes to completion, I’ve got to say EVIL CYNICAL SIDE YOU SUCK AT EVALUATING SHOWS AND I’LL NEVER TRUST YOU AGAIN THIS SHOW IS BLOODY AWESOME and I’ll tell you why after this break -

Spoilers ahoy:

So like, in episode 12, Allison finally gets really tired of Wil’s blockheaded-ness that she takes matters into her own hands:

Yes, that’s right, she r4pes the poor defenseless (save for a gun and rubber bullet) Wil just like he’s been asking for it the past 12 episodes. And in a church no less. How romantic.

Look, they’re even flower petals around!

Aaaaaand as such, Allison finally turns Wil into a man. The End (Of Allison’s arc, that is)

As usual, that’s all just a half-lie – We don’t really know what Allison managed to do with to Wil in the church, but the next episode they’re wearing rings and babies are made. Hmmmmm

Specifically, The Lillia in the title actually refers to their daughter, who has probably inherited her parents’ penchant for adventure and will carry along the show’s remaining half. I’d like to say I saw all this coming from the start, since the way the show has been all this while, really transparently ho-hum good-old’ adventure-ish with a dash of “Bet you didn’t see that coming! Oh wait, why don’t you look surprised?“, really does lull you  into a false sense of ’security’ – you know there’s a twist coming by the end of the arc, but the very nature of it only becomes apparent at the end, and though it feels that you did see it coming, you didn’t exactly see what was coming, did you? (oh fine, maybe I‘m the only one who’s as block-headed as Wil is -_-”)

But having Lillia carry the story from this point onwards is really a pleasant surprise for me at least, since I really thought she’d just be a separate half of the story that may or may not be connected to Allison & WIll & Fiona & Benedict & did I miss anyone? In any case, I’m really glad Mizuki Nana will continue on to voice Lillia in the show (when I first heard her, I really thought it was just Allison with a new hair colour -_-”). Kuwashima Houko as the new (and improved?) mommy Allison and Morikawa Toshiyuki (another excuse to stop watching Kyou Kara Maou for a while since he’s here as ‘Major Travas‘) also make pleasant surprises to the seiyuu power of the show. (Fiona will probably adhere to the rule that Noto Mamiko roles all sound the same regardless of their age).

Really I’m just glad that despite the so-called ‘ups and downs’  found myself typing before have been resolved with Allison & Wil finally hooking it up. Before, I was enjoying the tralala nature of the adventure for a fair bit, but things got a little too tralala-plothole-tralala and the jumbled confusion in the train arc made evil cynical side rear its ugly head. But my easily satisfied self shed all those ill-thoughts away while watching episode 13, which focused more on the pair and a minor threat to their (belated) coupling. I say minor because despite what had to transpire, it all ends with a zettai HAPPY ni naru yo! where it can be safe to say that they did live happily (ever?) afterall.

And I still love the eyecatch! Well, I hope the second half retains it, or gives us something better :P

(Okay, perhaps the show isn’t any more ‘AWESOME’ as I first claimed above, but hey, it sure feels that way after regaining some of that good old enjoyment back. And I had to do something copout to draw your attention to this rather neglected Spring show =P)