Oh Princess Mecha Sexy Violent Exploitation Adventure: this was not one of your best weeks. You either tried to make everyone betray Ange and Hilda, on every possible level, in order to drive our sympathy for these rain-soaked girls to the maximum level, or you tried to make fun of anime that use such melodramatic ham to control our emotions.
In either case, you were a hopeless failure, sad girls crying in the rain and all.
The Rundown: Hilda goes home to her mom and finds out her mom has had another daughter who she’s also named Hilda, everyone freaks out, Hilda runs away and gets beaten up by cops while crying in the rain.
Meanwhile, Ange and her maid raid Ange’s high school lacrosse locker room but are discovered by Ahiko, a former team mate. Ahiko betrays Ange, twice, but Ange still manages to fight all the way to the castle, where she is then betrayed by her little sister Sylvia and captured by her evil brother Julio.
hahaha I’m so evil hahaha (snore)
The Good: if you’ve wanted to see people comically freak out over hot girls, then this week’s for you. Hilda’s Mom’s replacement baby, Hilda’s mom obviously calling the cops even though she has no reason to, Ange’s sister stabbing Ange in the arm, it’s all there.
Likewise, if you don’t like Ange much, it was nice to see her tactics fail constantly. However, It was also fun to see Ange kill a decent number of people with no concern at all.
The Not-So-Good: we got two flashbacks this episode, and one of those flashbacks was so absurdly soon after the event it flashed back to, it felt like a joke. Otherwise, the entire episode was a cheap mess of over-the-top acting, super betrayals and an out of nowhere evil plan by Ange’s big brother.
Really? The whole message to Arzenal was a trap to get Ange to…escape from Arzenal…so they could capture her? Oh shut up!
The Verdict: This was a stupid episode fueled by cheap emotions and storytelling clichés and what’s even worse is it as much as tells us Tusk will save Ange from her fate next week because He’s The Man, Dog! Yay.
It scores extra points for Hilda’s mom throwing the cherished apple pie at Hilda but it loses as many for not thinking the details through. I mean, I can’t be the only one who wonders where Hilda’s dad is in all of this. EITHER Hilda’s dad, for that matter…
RABUJOI - An Anime Blog 
HILDA’S DAD – who are yooooouuuu?
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I really don’t care.
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HANNAH’S DAD WHO ARE YOUOOOOOO!? ;D
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Franklin, you know full well my Dad’s in Space Prison.
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Okay, I won’t deny the over the top melodrama and obvious attempt to create tragedy here. But, I actually found Hilda’s part of the episode very interesting. It’s a rather cruel call back to the line Ange tells that mother back in episode 1 (I am really liking how CA manages to call back elements from previous eps into these later ones, adding a bit more weight to them). Man, if Hilda knew Ange said this one, she’d probably slit Ange’s throat right away.
If not for the sheer melodrama of the scenes before it, that last part of Hilda walking down the rain would have been far more effective. The normally cunning Hilda shatters and she practically just lets the cops beat her with no resistance. I like that this wasn’t framed as a fanservice shot, with Hilda in torn clothes and all, giving more weight to it (again, if only not for the massive melodrama).
And now, for Hilda’s dad (or lack thereof), Think about it, the families of those Normas who have been forcibly taken away would have probably themselves risen into rebellion if not for something that would placate them and bring them back into this society’s fold. Considering that line Ange nonchalantly tells that mother (again, I like how this one particular line bears its weight onto these later eps) and seeing that this society seems to be that advance, there is the possibility of artificial insemination to bring back their, uhhh, happiness.
And, whoa! Except for that blink-and-miss pantyshot from Momoka (which I honestly didn’t see), there is practically zero fanservice in this ep. Also, the next ep preview is interesting (just a week after I mentioned it). It isn’t one of those funny meta-statements. In fact, it sounded more on the horrifying side, given the context. I guess they are starting the transition now.
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I will grant you the lack of Fan service was an improvement over what they could have done with this episode. It was also obvious that they were trying to reinforce the parallels between Hilda and Ange’s dilemmas to strengthen their bonds eventually. Hilda even worries about ange in the end.
but AHHHHH ange’s story was so dull and out of left field.
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That’s why I never mentioned it. It was so predictable even without the context of the series’ setting. Hilda’s at least had the benefit of the series setting to make it interesting). Also,, that switch of Sylvia from damsel in distress to scheming bitch was so awkwardly done that I can’t really take it seriously. You have her crying “Onee-damaa!!” one moment then cackling mad a split second later with no proper transition.
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Agreed; Ange’s whole story strained credulity to the max. And I’m not just talking about Julio’s ridiculous “trap”, but the fact the Imperial Guard and police are THAT inept. Yeah, I know, they’re not vicious Norma, but they’re still trained to capture Norma. You’d think they’d have better tactics.
Ange’s tactics, on the other hand, are a complete mess, and if nothing else I like how Tusk shows up just to say that, because it’s true.
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For me the episode was not all that bad. It’s just that I’m wondering how many episodes it has to go (and I hope it would not go for a 2nd season). Up until now, our heroes are still in denial, hoping to get back to happier days. I hope this is last time the delude themselves and face the hard reality of themselves.
Finally, I’m sick and tired of the overated reaction against the Normas. Makes me want to wish all those ungrateful wretches be allowed to be eaten by the dragons.
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the freak out/terror of norma’s sorta makes sense in the context of the show but, like the “I’m evil face” Ange’s siblings have, it feels cheap? Don’t know, no matter how much a society has been told Norma are dangerous, we’ve never seen evidence of that point, which makes it unlikely people would buy the propaganda that deeply.
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There are sixteen episodes left, FYI.
Regarding the reactions of normal people to Norma — even those who were related to them — I think it’s intentionally hiked up to silly levels of almost paralyzing fear and dread because, well, this is a society that utterly rejects Norma. If their reactions were more sedate, I feel like it would undercut that cultural fact.
This isn’t just about state propaganda; Norma really are different from normal people in that they can’t use magic. Where this society errs is in treating them like monsters, because doing so makes the Norma the very monsters they fear and loathe.
This episode drove that point home with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, but the message has been consistent, with the exception of Momoka: Once you’re a Norma, you’re finished in the regular world, and there’s no coming back.
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“I used to be her delicate sister, but now I’m swinging a knife around. It’s terrible as always.”
This week Sylvia gets to deliver meta-commentary during the preview, and it’s a glorious line that sums up the episode pretty damn well.
And yet again, it shows that the showrunners are perfectly aware of the pulpiness of its material, and choose to barrel through with it nonetheless.
Consider that Sylvia will be whipping her tied-up sister next week (requiring some elaborate hover-chair maneuvers) as Ange’s classmates applaud. Fun! Not brought up this week: whether Sylvia’s actually fine with her brother bedding her to continue the family line. At this point, anything’s possible.
Never stop being terrible, Cross Ange.
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I almost gave it a 6… if not just for the sheer number of people Ange kills and doesn’t care about along the way but man those last 7 minutes of show were hard to watch. (my eyes were rolling so much I couldn’t focus!)
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