Now this is more like it! If last week was slow and talky, even by Mahouka standards, the payoff it set the stage for here made it mostly worth it. Yes, this show still veers more towards “tell” than “show”, but the we got a lot more “show” this week that made the “tell” more palatable, as Tatsuya, Miyuki, Erika, and Leo work as a team to fight off the terrorists, infiltrate the library, and utterly foil their plot.
About that plot: Mibu joined the cause and agreed to assist in it because she thought they were making a stand against magic discrimination. But in the end, she was merely being used by Blanche, which only wanted the magical secrets the library contained. Even her personal sense of long-suffering oppression was a delusion based on a misunderstanding: she believed Watanabe had snubbed her, but refusing to spar with her was meant as a compliment to her sword skills.
This episode gave everyone in the core group something to do (except Mizuki), showing off their unique skills while they’re at it, and proving that Tatsuya isn’t the only one by far getting a short shrift because of their Course 2 status. Miyuki uses her magic for something other than punishing her brother for once, and Erika has a nice heated swordfight with Mibu. Mibu’s good—good enough to make Erika “play for keeps”—but she’s not good enough for that form of Erika, a “daughter of Shiba”.
With Mibu on the mend in the infirmary and the misunderstanding with Watanabe cleared up, there’s nothing left but for Mibu to have a good cry in Tatsuya’s arms. She knows she was wrong, owns up to it, and is encouraged to move forward, knowing know she was always her own worst enemy. But that’s not all we get: Tatsuya proposes a counterattack against Blanche. Miyuki, Erika, and Leo are going with, along with Juumonji and Kirihara. It’s a strong-looking group, and I look forward to watching them in action once again.
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