The Daughter of Twenty-Faces (that other BONES show + Aya Hirano)

It also goes by Chiko, Heiress of the Phantom Thief or something like that. Regardless, this show is excellent!

Synopsis: Twenty-Faces is a legendary gentlemanly thief known for stealing some of the most valuable treasures the world has to offer. His ability to blend in with others is nearly unparalleled and his plans have been so meticulously planned that he has been able to escape the reach of the law and that no matter how hard they've tried, the leading law enforcement agencies have not been able to catch up to him...

Then there's Chiko, a girl whose parents had died and who is now living with her aunt and uncle. Although her life seems to be extravagant, she appears restless and openly despises her aunt and uncle, oftentimes refusing to eat the food given to her. Her only solace is through reading detective novels as well as broadcasts of Twenty-Faces's exploits, which gives her a yearning to escape her relatives' clutches. Little did she know that her skills honed by reading detective novels would pay off and that a fateful meeting between her and Twenty-Faces would occur, freeing her and allowing her to travel the world along with him.

Opinion:

Spoiler:

Along with Kure-nai, this show has been excellent all the way. To start, Aya Hirano is playing a more serious character this time around and she's been doing an excellent job of it. The other members of Twenty-Faces crew have also been interesting in that their personalities are varied and it's nice seeing how they all fit into that whole bandit crew with their specialties.

Of course, mentioning Twenty-Faces is necessary because of how interesting of a character he is. He definitely stands out as a very mysterious individual and learning more about him is what compels me to go on watching this. That, and I've had the tendency to enjoy the gentlemanly thief with a Robin Hood streak.

Animation is pretty sweet, and that's a given because of the BONES factor. There's also plenty of action when you go through the crime spree of the week model that it feels like Ocean's Eleven, but on a much much smaller scale. So far, there hasn't been much to connect the individual episodes into a larger story arc, but hopefully that changes. At the very least, the character developments are satisfying to watch and the capers are always very exciting to sit through.

(tl;dr version): Aya Hirano does an excellent job fitting into the role of Chiko and the animation is nearly flawless. The big draw this show offers is in the mysterious Twenty Faces who remains an enigma, but is certainly an interesting character. There's plenty of action and currently, a recurring villain to make things just a bit interesting.

So yeah, a definite recommendation. You'd be missing out on one of the treasures of this season if you're not watching this one.

Links (HD Quality Subs):
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 13
Episode 14

SD Subs for people with slow computers:
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 13
Episode 14

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Episode 8:

Finally got a chance to catch up some more with this and I'm really liking the direction that the story is moving in now that the plot's become more apparent. The key point that's kept me interested is still Twenty Face's past and how he relates to Chiko aside from the time they spent together in his gang. What I'm pretty much looking for here is what his intrinsic motivations are and how they evolved from his association with the two researchers.

Of course, Chiko is also a pretty strong lead in her own right, which makes things even more exciting. Almost too perfect of a protagonist (at least, it seems like they try to push the image that she's on the morally correct side of the fence), but that's a minor complaint.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'd agree to a certain extent. Though the first half was far from boring, it did put her in a situation that we've never seen her in before and I think part of the reason for it feeling strange is that she never really got into it. She tries to play along as best as she could, but it always looked like her mind if focused on finding Twenty-Faces that she never really gets a chance to take a step back and live a normal life.

Plot definitely does pick up though with a few explanations put in and an old friend coming out of the woodworks. It's evident that this friend's past is complicated and I'm definitely curious to see how he'll treat Chiko at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an amount of resentment built into it all.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

After sitting through episode 13, I'd say the manner in which they present Twenty-Faces's backstory was well done, even if it was just a brief window into his life. Solid episode all around though I can complain a bit about how a few events like some changes in a character's mindset might've been just a bit too convenient and how predictable the scene in the main hall of the zepplin was, but it's something I can probably overlook since the story has gotten interesting. So in spite of these nitpicky complaints, I can agree that the next half will be something to look forwards to provided they keep up with the pacing that they've been using thus far.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?