The Artsy bracket has another bye round contestant that brings Higurashi's horror thriller energy, competing against the Kanon/live action mashup that is Twilight.   Twilight - Koop Love to you - vee.rain   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

Hero Tales moves into its second half with another direct clash between the divine star warriors, but this time allegiances shift and the empire draws closer to war. BJ and Duffo watch from episode 13 onwards and discuss water bandits, genocidal zombie militias and trying to wrap your show up in the final four minutes of the last episode.   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

From the ill-fated Studio Flag with character design from Fullmetal Alchemists's Hiromu Arakawa, the wuxia inspired action series Hero Tales follows a group of warriors brought into conflict due to a celestial prophecy, with each warrior being an incarnation of one of the stars in the Big Dipper. BJ and Duffo discuss a Chinese empire falling apart due to poverty and corruption, a legendary archer who starts hanging around because he really wants to hook up with your sister, and a necromancer who loves stealing and redistributing holy swords to whichever side he feels like that day.   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

The Frankenstein bracket brings us a new compilation featuring a lot of Kingdom Hearts cutscenes, going up against the (now identified as a Karas AMV) post-war story of Memento Mori.   "Falling Dreams - Kingdom Hearts" - MysteriousRyder Memento Mori - NightPunisher   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

BJ and Duffo split into chronologic vs broadcast order for the second half of Rental Magica, discovering in the process that the show doesn't entirely make sense either way. Watching from episode 13 onwards, they discuss Christmas carols for orphan ghosts, increasingly dangerous Solomonic rituals with a high failure rate, and ending your show by ruining a gay marriage.   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

It's time for a deeply self-serious mid 00s rock off as first round Vegeta Linkin Park Akira Toriyama Memorial Bracket exemplars compete to make it to the third round.   Watch the contestants here: Diary of Jane - budddha Hit The Floor - Hwoarang   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

Rental Magica is a paranormal action show from Zexcs about a teenager with a cursed eye who inherits his father's wizard-for-hire business with zero qualifications or even knowledge about how magic works. BJ and Duffo watch the first 12 episodes and discuss airing your episodes out of order as an artistic statement, working with a guy named Mr Cathouse who lets four cats live inside his robes, and contaminating your body with magic radiation so that you can yell out instructions really well.Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

Our Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei competitor comes back for round two, going up against a hyperactive entry involving Lucky Star and Haruhi dances, Dancemania music, and Italian "spaghetti fever".   Macabre Serenade - Ileia Attack Of The Otaku - Chiikaboom   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.   This World Summons Too Many Heroes!! on Kickstarter

Shaft's romance drama ef: A Tale of Melodies is 2008's most challenging watch yet - the visuals are intense, death hangs over all of the characters, and the narrative is spread across 15 years in two identical cities a whole continent away from each other. BJ and Duffo discuss the Shaft signature style, collecting an alarming number of schoolgirl outfits in your house, and getting an architecture degree for the purpose of challenging God.   Content warning for discussion of self-harm, sexual assault, domestic abuse and suicide.   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

The future of AMVs is here, and it's a cube in the Metaverse! A proof of concept for the video editor of tomorrow goes up against a romance speedrunner in the world of ef - A Tale Of Memories.   Quatro nAVI System CODE VECTOR - Perfect-Blue A Sudden Love... or? - Alex Daikou   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

The second season of Yumeta Company's otome fantasy Neo Angelique Abyss picks up six months after the original, with Angelique waking out of her coma to find that their house has burned down, everyone hates them, and also the pope is doing a coup. BJ and Duffo discuss installing a giant retractable slingshot on your sailing vessel, giving birth to a baby holding a pointy metal leaf, and leaving all your friends behind to become a priestess in outer space.   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

In our first showdown between AMV first round winners, a traditional Frankenstein goes up against one that has called on the voice acting talents of Canadian pop culture comedy improv troupe The 404s to try and take things to the next level.   Watch the contestants here: Just For A Day - Funky-kun The Audition - Vlad G Pohnert   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

Charlie and Shamus from Real Fantasy Encounters join us for another bite of Studio Deen's Vampire Knight franchise, where the drama, violence and incest (uh oh) are all ratcheting up. BJ, Duffo and the group discuss Yuki's unfortunate habit of following creepy children into dark alleyways, Kaname bragging about having his DNA inside of Zero in the most homoerotic way possible, and yet another evil pureblood villain whose weakness is being shot with a gun.   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

A strong judges' favourite is back, competing against a bye round contestant featuring Super Smash Bros and classical dubstep.   Watch the contestants here: Smashing it Old School - Zarxrax Bustin - DriftRoot   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

With the arrival of a new Flame Haze and the villains finally getting into action, Shakugan no Shana II is going to try and pack in all the plot that should have been happening in the first half of this show. BJ and Duffo watch from episode 13 onwards and discuss the Amulet of Kill Yourself, an information network that is too busy getting attacked to do their paperwork properly, and a Christmas Eve villain plot that falls apart because someone looked at a bird once. Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

J.C. Staff’s Shakugan no Shana combines supernatural action with slice of life as it follows a group of teenagers drawn into a world of demons and magical hunters fighting a shadowy war. BJ and Duffo watch the first 12 episodes of the second season and discuss the many unexplained proper nouns that make this the most challenging show so far to pick up without pre-2008 context, as well as examining another clear-cut example of our “all maids are ninjas” rule and a perpetually drunk white lady who should probably not be anywhere near these Japanese teenagers. Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

The second round of the AMV bracket is underway, with our first bye round contestant bringing in Elfen Lied to challenge a first round winner.   Watch the contestants here: Occupat Artus - Misk Clarissa - BoneFixer   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

Studios Gainax and feel. collaborate to present Shikabane Hime, an action horror anime about a boy who stumbles into a world of Buddhist monks and undead girls fighting cursed entities from beyond the grave. BJ and Duffo discuss zombie kindergarteners, factional disputes about whether women are people, and a villain collecting tortured souls with an evil driverless car. Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

It's mashup on mashup violence in this week's Frankenstein division match up, backed by Yellowcard on one side and bass-heavy trance music on the other.   The Air In My Lungs - Malificus Auriga - Nostromo   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.

Romantic comedy Haruka Nogizaka's Secret is a Diomedéa production following the relationship between an average teenage boy and his rich heiress classmate who accidentally reveals her anime fangirl side to him. BJ and Duffo discuss the perils of Akihabara, sending out mercenaries in jets to hunt for your runaway daughter, and receiving magical girl doujinshi from the Prime Minister of Japan.   Our theme song is Endless 808 by I.K.