Squid Girl Episode 3, Season 1

UPDATE September 4, 2018

More DMCA take downs have hit the blog despite screen captures long being considered fair use. Due to my not being able to afford a lawyer, I have no choice but to remove them or have the blog suspended. Only the words will be left.

TVTokyo is proving to be foolishly draconian in targeting posts meant to get people interested in seeing the Squid Girl anime and perhaps even purchasing it on DVD or Blu-ray. Being anti-piracy myself this is infuriating that they are targeting posts I wrote hoping to encourage people to try out a delightful show.

Another trio of stories explores Squid Girl’s adjustment to the surface world and introduces another regular character. Surprisingly, there is a common theme running through all of them – fear. Don’t be afraid, come on in, the water is fine...


Aren’t You a Scaredisquid?


The first story gets going with a satiric shot taken at ghost hunting “reality” shows, which Takeru loves to get scared by. I had to love Squid Girl’s reaction to the show and we find out she is a skeptic on anything that can’t be seen. That leads to a moment of evil inspiration for Eiko, who decides she will find a way to scare the ink out of Ika.


In Japan, there is a tradition amongst the school age kids of having tests of courage involving things such as going to graveyards at night. Used to be that kind of thing was done here, but it seems to have fallen by the wayside.  Anyway,  Eiko’s plan goes awry, despite bringing in other friends Goro and Sanae. Or perhaps, because of it…

The madness of Sanae is on full display here, which is expected. Goro’s behavior – not so much. Way to go, Mr. Lifeguard! Of course Squid Girl is not afraid of the inky darkness and soon gets separated from the others. Not happy to have gotten lost, the ever confident squid takes unique measures to find them.


The horrors of the graveyard are fully revealed and the big question is whether or not Squid Girl will be able to find her way home. Fear, surprise, and an almost fanatical devotion to sea life puns follow.

Isn’t That a Squid’s Natural Enemy?


The miserable revelation that it will take years to pay off her debt demoralizes our young inkvader. But that is not her biggest problem. Acutely conscious of her place in the food chain, the sudden appearance of killer whales off the beach has Squid Girl paranoid.


We also find out Ika see’s the world differently from everyone else. Very differently, as her fears get the best of her. This is bad, because it nearly leads to Takeru drowning. Time for Chizuru to turn on the charm and sucker Goro into teaching her brother to swim.


The pride of squid everywhere is at stake and Squid Girl will not allow some puny human to teach the boy! But what about the killer whales? Sheer silliness, fear, loathing, and tentacles are the highlight of this segment.

Who’s the New Fish?


A new waitress surfs onto the scene at Lemon Beach House as we meet Nagisa, a tomboyish surfer girl. Things go swimmingly until she sees Ika Musame and panics. Finally, a natural reaction to a tentacled monster from the sea! However, Nagisa is the only normal one amongst a bunch of weirdo’s as she soon surmises.


Nagisa’s terror is the sweetest sound to Squid Girl’s ears for she finally has scared someone. But Chizuru and Eiko are determined to show how harmless she is to the new girl. That must be countered if Ika’s dreams of world domination are to pass!


Extreme cuteness, fearful determination to save the world, and squid fishing make this the most amusing of the segments.

Thoughts

The gentle yet often sharp humor that makes this fluffy series so much fun is on good display across all three vignettes in the third episode. Already the series is hitting its stride, which is a good sign. Welcome social satire shows up from time to time to add an edge to the slice of life stories but it never undermines the sweetness at its heart.

Using fear as a common theme through the three stories was clever as we got to see different kinds on display. As always, it is Squid Girl’s reactions that get the biggest laughs. Fortunately, the supporting cast all get their moments too.

As always, I come away in a better mood after having watched Squid Girl. With season two’s new episodes streaming at Crunchyroll, I find myself smiling a lot lately.

Squid Girl Episode 6, Season 1

UPDATE September 4, 2018

More DMCA take downs have hit the blog despite screen captures long being considered fair use. Due to my not being able to afford a lawyer, I have no choice but to remove them or have the blog suspended. Only the words will be left.

TVTokyo is proving to be foolishly draconian in targeting posts meant to get people interested in seeing the Squid Girl anime and perhaps even purchasing it on DVD or Blu-ray. Being anti-piracy myself this is infuriating that they are targeting posts I wrote hoping to encourage people to try out a delightful show.


What happens when you mix a Kamen Rider spoof, higher math, and a love quadrangle?  You get unadulterated silliness of course! Episode six goes exclusively for the laughs while portraying the battle between Squid Girl and everyday life.


What’s a Squid Doing in a Hero’s Show?


The madness begins with a spoof of children’s traveling shows that mixes Noh theater with Kamen Rider  to create the twisted Noh Mask Rider. One has to applaud the warped mind that came up with this and that mind belongs to Masahiro Anbe, the creator of the manga. Imagine combining Shakespeare with Sponge Bob Squarepants and you get an idea of how wrong this is.


I cannot blame Squid Girl for her reaction to the show, for I find the whole concept hilarious too. But hey, the kids like it and there is a place for everything I suppose. The appearance of the villain gets her attention, for he is Demon Squid and he is out to punish humanity for mistreating the oceans!
Now where have we heard that before?

Soon she is rooting for the villain and the cast of the show are afraid they will have a riot on their hands. The diminutive blond in particular shows an inappropriate coping mechanism as things spiral downward.


A costume theft, adoration from the crowd, and radical deviations from the script ensue. You know it cannot end well…

Is Studying for the Fish?


Eiko may be the voice of reason, or at least normality, but when confronted with an implacable enemy she begins to crack. I speak of mathematics, of course. Noticing her outbursts while studying, Ika-chan can’t understand why the high schooler is having problems. To Eiko’s shock and dismay, it turns out she is a squidding genius!


Neither one of the girls handle this revelation well. Some very creative imagery reflects their inner emotions and thoughts, which are all a tad insane. While I can remember some frustration with homework those many moons ago, I don’t recall have a psychotic break over it. Nor did I have delusions of grandeur like Squid Girl, who thinks she has found her ticket to world domination.

It is one thing to be a math genius, it is another thing entirely to use it in the real world as our feisty hybrid finds out at the beach. But what is Eiko scheming and why does she have that evil smile on her face?

Is This Gilly Love?


In the final segment, Nagisa takes a starring turn after nearly drowning. Saved by Goro, her gratitude gets mistaken for something more by Eiko. Meanwhile, Squid Girl continues to torment the paranoid surfer girl since she is her “favorite prey.”


Eiko does her part to fan the flames of misunderstanding in the hopes of generating a soap opera at the beach. Actually, most of the misunderstanding is on her part as she reads just about everything wrong. This does not help Nagisa’s precarious state of mind one bit as she worries about the squid invasion and Goro.


Ika has her own worries about the situation brewing and soon a romantic farce breaks out. In the end, it looks like Nagisa’s prior observation about everyone being weird is turning out to be true. Will any of the relationships work out?

Thoughts


This is a particularly good episode in the series and left me wanting more, which is aggravated by the delay of the second set of DVD’s until December. Cultural satire is the focus of the stories and they have a nice edge to them rather than being soft on their targets. Kid shows and soap operas are such universal fare throughout the world that the humor translates out very well.

The math story is also a winner, but mainly due to the imagery which is amongst the most creative shown to this point.

Bonus: Noh Mask Rider


The first segment is a classic in the series and still has me amused as I write this.  Capping off the lunatic story is the opening title sequence for the Noh Mask Rider show complete with theme song.

The overwrought lyrics are hilarious, especially the origin ones. Ridiculous amounts of emotional angst centered around the superhero character makes for a fantastic lampoon of the genre. I would love to see a Noh Mask Rider OVA one day.

Squid Girl Episode 10

UPDATED: August 27, 2018

After being up for six years, an incredibly vague DMCA notice to Blogger from MX International Inc. caused this post to be taken down. 

Specifically, it stated: "The original works are copyrighted Japanese anime television broadcasts and translated releases by MX International Inc. Pursuant to 17 USC sec. 512(c)(3)(A)(ii) the official website for 'Squid Girl' includes a representative list at the below url" Said redacted URL was for TV Tokyo's website. 

Other blogs hit in the same notice look like they were hosting pirated videos. It appears Fair Use of screen captures may be going away since there was no video content in this post. All images have therefore been removed from the post and we'll see if it gets removed again.

Original post follows:

A rainy day brings out artistry in the Aizawa home, Sannae finally realizes she may have a problem, and a baseball game tests Squid Girl’s athletic abilities. From horror to the despairs of addiction to the thrill of competition, a lot of silliness happens -- but there are some surprising moments of angst to be found amidst the comedy this time out.


Rain Rain, Gill Away?
When a typhoon hits Japan, the normal summer fun goes out the window thanks to the associated torrential rain. A frustrated Ika Musame is taught all about teru teru bozu making by the Aizawa siblings and a nice little lesson about Japanese culture is explained to the rest of us. Personally, I love these moments in anime because they offer a glimpse at everyday practices in Japan.

2017

In many ways, 2017 was personally a lost year with health issues consuming far too much of my life. Nearly everything planned fell apart or was left incomplete once started, so it is without fondness that I bid the annum goodbye.

The one silver lining to the past twelve months is that my father is now able to eat solid foods again. He even gained weight during our one week stay at my sister’s house!

At least there were concrete improvements to government and foreign relations for the country despite the petulant whining of those invested in the current power structure and worshipping pop culture. As I’m writing this, a true resistance is trying to become a revolution in Iran against a genuine dictatorship in direct contrast to the histrionics here in the United States making me wonder if sanity has become a rare commodity in our decadent society.

Rambling Rather than Ranting

Once again, it has been more than a month since last posting. I wish this was due to being really busy having summer fun, however it is solely due to not being up to my normal levels of subhuman energy. Every day has been a tightrope walk managing health versus activity ever since spring arrived.

Adding to the misery has been chronic problems with the new silicone hydrogel contacts and trying to figure out just what is triggering allergic reactions that make me look like Christopher Lee as Dracula. What is mystifying is how one or the other eye acts up, but rarely both at the same time. Maybe a trip to an allergist is needed since I’ve used every kind of solution and cleaning regime out there.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Is Coming Back!

I’ve already pledged my small amount to the effort and those of us who did in the first 24 hours pushed the Kickstarter over $1,000,000. So if you are a fan of the show, please help to bring it to a new generation.

Between this and the old episodes slowly rolling out at Rifftrax, a new era of MST3K has begun. Bad movies watch out, you will now have nowhere to hide!

Looks like I chose a good time to introduce the madness to children of my friends, now they can get in on the revival. You can too, please back the project so we can get as many episodes as possible.

Stephen King’s IT (1990) Review

A strong cast competes against shaky material in this ground breaking television adaptation. Based on the famous horror novelist’s decades spanning story about a group of friends battling a mysterious entity in a small town. When murders resembling those from thirty years before begin, the group must reassemble to face what appears to be a killer clown. However, nothing is what it appears to be… But I  do promise a cameo by Godzilla.

Even a miniseries isn’t enough to cram in everything from a Stephen King novel and his 1985 novel IT manages to be even more daunting thanks to excessive metaphysical noodling contained within. Still, the story had the benefit of a young group of adolescents like King’s Stand By Me along with the striking visual of a clown for the villain. So it is no surprise that ABC television network got the rights to adapt the tome for a big event. Put together with great care by director Tommy Lee Wallace, the show was a hit featuring some memorable images.

But was IT any good?

Part 1 starts off the whole affair off with ominous music accompanying pages from a photo album showing seven kids from the late 1950s or early ‘60s before shifting to the current time. Well, “current” being the late ‘80s (1990 to be specific) which of course is almost a quarter of a century ago now. Inadvertently a double period piece for modern viewers, IT does show IT’s age. There will be both pompadours and big hair for you to decide which is the more frightening.

Stella Women’s Academy, High School Division Class C3 Review

At first glance an obvious attempt to pander to anime fans by combining cute girls with guns for comedic effect, Stella Women’s Academy aspires to be more than just another cute girls show. Filled with kinetic airsoft gun battles, teen girls being silly, and meditations on self worth, this little anime teaches the lesson that one should never judge something by its cover – including the series itself.



Rather than reviewing anime series episode by episode, tackling them one season at a time will be the new approach on the blog. So please bear with me, since this is something I’ve only attempted once before and the review will be a little rough around the edges.

First off, I need to present a disclaimer.

I really don’t like the cute girls doing nothing subgenre of anime. Aimed at otakus without social lives, the rise of these moe dominated series are my bane along with jiggly T&A ecchi fests. Mindless and irritating, I can’t stand them. This will color my review.



So why am I reviewing a cute girls show, you wonder?

Well, I’m gun owner and enthusiast, so giving the first episode a shot was mandatory, if distasteful. To my astonishment, the show was funny and hinted at hidden depth which made me stick around for the next episode. Before I knew it, the emerging serious themes in the storyline combined with well written characters to hook both me and my senior citizen father.

Frayed or Fried?

Since I’m not getting anything done in the way of reviews, a report on why is in order. Simply put, things have needed doing and they have exhausted all my energy while absconding with my brainwaves. The trigger was having to mow the lawn, which is not good due to depleting my limited stamina along with the fact I’m allergic to grass. Not just grass pollen, but the plant itself.

A week later and the itching is finally gone, but the sinuses still hate me. Can’t say I blame them.

Dad may finally making some small progress. For the first time since March there are indications of fluids (water in this case) making its way from the stomach to the intestine. Cheap no calorie drink mix with very potent red dye revealed this when his feeding tube in the small intestines became tinted pink. Having spilled this stuff on white clothing, I can say it was a positive match.

Also, he has been measuring oral intake in milliliters in comparison with what he drains from the relief tube in the stomach. In the past few days, more than one hundred milliliters of water has gone missing with the implication that they have passed through the gastric outlet.

Too early to get really excited, but hey this is something that hasn’t happened before.

A New Season

Hope is said to spring eternal and sometimes it feels that way in regard to seasonal entertainment, or in this case the television variety. Having cut the cord years ago, I have no cable or satellite version of a 150 channels with nothing on worth watching. Broadcast and streaming are all I need given most fare is dreck these days. So it is a bit surprising to be following  a number of live action shows and anime this fall season.

It takes a lot to get me into live action TV since after decades of watching every variation of story has been seen more than once. Even a foray into South Korean dramas didn’t last long once it became apparent they drag things out for far too long at too high an intensity.

UPDATED 20 Nov 2013 to reflect being deeper into the season. New comments are in bold.

UPDATED 10 Dec 2013 with further comments in blue.

Final Thoughts in green.

Area 88 Ep. 5: An Unyielding Spirit in Lipstick

An anime original character loosely based on one from the source manga makes her debut in this action filled episode. With their top ace grounded, the mercenaries at Area 88 receive a large surprise when a fighter sweep goes wrong. Forcefully inserting herself into the all male base, a brash newcomer finds her abundant self confidence tested in the lethal skies.

The greatest strength of Area 88 lies not in its action sequences, but in its character development. A third of the way into the series and it had already introduced a good number of unique individuals, but lacked a strong female. Wanting to rectify that, the writer and director of the show decided to bring in a new pilot. It’s a well timed introduction given Shin is grounded while waiting for his new fighter.

Before the opening credits roll, a tense situation is depicted with the commander of the base, Saki, listening to the combat chatter while watching the radar screen. One of the flights has gotten into a furball and used all their ammunition up. Kim, the young boy flying the Sea Harrier FRS.1, is in trouble and unable to shake the MiG-21 on his tail.

Post credits, things look worse as a warning of a bogey entering the area is immediately followed by a radar warning receiver going off. That indicates a fighter radar has gone into padlock mode to lock a target for a guided missile. Kim prepares to die as the missile streaks in from the unfamiliar plane.

Area 88 Ep. 4: The Treacherous Sky

It may start with a bang, but this episode is more about revealing Shin’s mysterious past than aerial combat. When a mission goes wrong, the Japanese mercenary pilot finds himself alone in the desert. As he struggles to survive he is forced to remember how he ended up in a civil war far from his home.

Area 88 is at its best during slower moving episodes rather than the flashy dogfights. That’s rather ironic since I suspect most people who watched the series were attracted by the action. With the fourth episode, the main story begins in earnest. The questions of who is Shin and why is he here are finally answered.

An ominous tone is set early on when Shin Kazama lands his aging F-8E Crusader to refuel. Pickings have been slim in the skies lately and this causes the resident ace to press his luck. His mechanic Gustav warns him he’s being reckless, but the dollars associated with each kill matter more.

Makoto photographs all this as usual despite feeling something is wrong. Gustav, on the other hand, actually knows something is wrong. He can hear a malfunction within the Crusader’s turbojet engine.

Kimi ni Todoke Ep. 6: Friends

In one of the most emotional episodes of the series, Sawako takes on the rumor mongers and finds herself in physical danger. Unable to help her, Kazehaya can only wait in frustration for things to come to a resolution. Nothing is more vicious than a pack of teenage girls…

Life is filled with happiness and sadness for you cannot know one without the other. Kimi ni Todoke is at its best showing the ups and downs of trying to grow up through the turbulent years of high school while dealing with the amplified emotions of adolescence. Everything is more intense when you are young with nothing more intense than the hostility of others.

 

A brief flashback to Sawako’s childhood reveals the identity of the girl who gave her the nickname of Sadako. It was the result of an innocent slip of the tongue that often happens to little kids and no malice was meant. Back in the present, malice is clearly intended when our heroine finds herself backed against a wall.

Fractale Episode 11: Paradise

The ambitious series ends in blood, death, and an extremely emotional ending that upset more than a few viewers online. With the future of humanity on the line, will Clain be forced to watch the love of his life die? Fractale: Reiterated concludes with HD screen captures and revised text.

With too much of a story to fit in twelve episodes, Fractale ends up with only eleven, consequently making this powerful finale densely packed with exposition and action. It is frustrating that this series was rejected by otakus in Japan and one has to wonder what could have been if it they had embraced it. As it is, we are left with this rushed, but conclusive ending to Clain’s journey toward adulthood and the final fate of the Fractale system.

The final episode picks up right where the previous one left off, with a shocked Clain and Nessa being confronted by Barrot. In an effort to protect the feisty doppel, Phryne sends her through the barrier to Clain. However, the Temple’s resident scientist and lecher alters the barrier with a wave of a hand so they can hear everything. If there was ever any doubt he was a sadist at heart, that is erased by his “free lesson” to Clain about the secrets of Phryne and Fractale’s God. Amazingly, the character becomes even more despicable than before.

Fractale Episode 10: To the Temple

The penultimate episode of the series is filled with battle, deception, and desperation as the forces of the Lost Millennium rebels attack the Temple. But will Phryne’s attempt to broker a peace produce results or make things worse? Fractale: Reiterated continues with new HD screen captures and revised text.

With the previous episode being more introspective and structured as a setup, it was guaranteed this one would be packed with action and so it is. Jumping straight into a pitched battle warns us there won’t be any of the prior humor present. In fact, this is a deadly serious episode.

To the Temple opens with a colossal air battle between the airships of Lost Millennium and the Temple. It is a kinetic and frenetic battle that looks spectacular. Both sides land blows and it gives a real sense of war also while being reminiscent of Studio Ghibli films. The quality of the production only falters once when a CGI stacked squadron of Temple ships attack and that was a minor thing, in my opinion. The Blu-ray/DVD release made that particular moment look a little better, but not much.

In the midst of this aerial chaos, Clain and Nessa arrive in the little airship. Threading through the flak, they manage to dock with The Danan to inform the Granites of Phryne’s running off to attempt negotiations. Cue the opening title sequence and the roller coaster ride that follows.

Fractale Episode 9: No Way Out

A quiet and introspective episode that is heavy on character development after the nightmarish events of the previous installment. Much is revealed about Phryne and Nessa, while the drums of war beat ominously in the background.The beginning of the end for the series is in sight with one last look at some of the charm that permeated the first two episodes. Fractale: Reiterated continues with new HD screen captures and revised text.

A pause to breath before the final battle is always good to have in any story, despite what some action film producers might think. This episode is all about that breather, but the consequences for the actions taken earlier unfold for the Granites throughout. While it is a slow down in action, there is none in content.

After the explosive ending to episode 8, No Way Out opens with a door opening. This particular door belongs to the emergency shelter seen just before the big bang unleashed by Dias and happens to have Clain pushing it open. He, Phryne, and Nessa are safe but the Temple base is now a gigantic crater in the ground. The little Phryne clone was obviously killed in the explosion, for there is no sign of her. Hopefully, the perverted Barrot was atomized. From the ground, Clain waves in a joyous Enri to come get them.

Fractale Episode 8: Secret of the Underground

Much about Phryne is revealed and a rescue mission goes very wrong when Fractale journeys into a deeper level of darkness. Warning: The TV-14 rating is very much earned by this episode due to extremely disturbing content and mild profanity in the English dub. Fractale: Reiterated continues with updated text and HD screen captures.

Secret of the Underground goes straight to the story instead of opening with the main title credits. We are greeted with the sight of Enri and the remaining Blues Brother returning to the Danon in the scout ship without Clain and Phryne. Subdued and upset, the blond girl reports the events at the end of the last episode to her brother, Sunda. Mainly concerned about Nessa, he is informed they brought her back but she is hiding in the computer systems again.

We then see the Temple airship, Odin, land in an underground base and Clain is seen struggling to breath. Yes, he somehow survived being shot but he is in very bad shape. He can hear people talking and briefly makes out the sight of Phryne over him trying not to cry. That capture says a lot about what the boy means to her, doesn’t it? Once again, the expressive facial animations of the series impress.

The distraught priestess desperately tries to negotiate with Sir Barrot to be allowed to stay with Clain, but he seems to be enjoying making her suffer over the situation. But it is his calling himself her father that the fading Clain hears just before passing out.

Cue the opening credits and the theme has never sounded sadder. It is a grim introduction to what turns out to be an even grimmer episode.

Fractale Episode 7: Veneer Town

The series shifts into high gear and the social commentary into overdrive when Clain and Nessa are introduced to the last city where Fractale functions completely. Nothing is what it seems in an episode that reveals more about Phryne and Nessa. Fractale: Reiterated continues with updated HD screen captures and revised text.

Be warned, this episode isn’t shy with its critiques of urban living and the chattering middle and upper classes. The world that watches the Kardashians, Big Brother, and The Jersey Shore  is not that much different from what we see when the series finally depicts a city. What is portrayed is not flattering at all.

Veneer Town begins on the Danan, where Clain has turned into a photography addict taking pictures of life aboard the Granite’s airship. Living life through the narrow focus of the viewfinder lands him in trouble with the girls once again, since he doesn’t realize they are washing their delicates. Please, somebody shoot this dead horse  running joke!

An attempt to photograph Nessa fails, since she doesn’t show up on the camera.  Clain is apologetic, but the ten year old doppel doesn’t care because she loves fun, especially when he is having fun. A film noir style narration by the boy reveals he didn’t know at the time what lay behind her smile.

The Prisoner Episode 2: Free For All

Number 6 runs for office when election time hits the Village. Drawn in by the idea he might be able to engineer a mass escape, the nameless hero tries his hand at politics with the assistance of a new maid. Cold war paranoia meets campaign season in a fast moving and thought provoking second episode.

There is are differences of opinion on which episodes go where in continuity of The Prisoner, but I agree with A&E that this should be the second. Written by Patrick McGoohan under an alias, Paddy Fitz, and directed by him, it shows a Number 6 who still does not understand the ways of the Village which should place it near the beginning.

It all starts with a phone call that rapidly becomes creepy and thoroughly intimidating. Wait, I should back up and note that there is a new Number 2 (Eric Portman) in the opening credits. He even calls himself “the new Number 2.” Disorienting as always, the show rarely lets us relax.

How would you feel if the person on the other end of the phone call suddenly appeared on your turned off television set? Unnerved, perhaps? How about hanging up on said caller and having him walk in the door mere seconds later? That is what happens to Number 6 when Number 2 calls – what a way to start out a day.

Kimi ni Todoke Episode 4: Rumors

Sawako’s social learning curve grows steeper when she encounters just how vicious rumors can be amongst teenagers. Insecurity, suspicion, and confusion rise to the fore in a shift toward a darker storyline. But first, lot’s of lighthearted chibi moments!

I don’t think there is a more vicious creature on the face of the planet than a teenage girl. Sorry honey badgers, Tasmanian devils, and wolverines – you don’t even come close. The mini-arc that begins with the fourth episode depicts the darker side of high school very well and reminds me of why I would never want to be a teen again.

Things begin innocuously enough when Sawako’s parents notice she is happy. Her father’s reaction to his wife’s speculation she might have met a boy indicates he may not be ready for that. It is cute and comical in the right measures.

By the way, the above screen capture is as close to fan service as you will ever see in the show. There is no need to have fan service when you have a good story to tell. I wish more anime production teams would understand this.

Sawako lounges in the bathtub while thinking about all the good things that have happened to her. Images of Kazehaya, Chizuru, and Ayane all flash through her mind’s eye. Life can’t get much better for her, she thinks.