Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta – 13 (Fin)(?)

Well now, that was something completely different! This final episode wrapped up the story we’ve seen so far, but towards the end felt far more like the set up for a sequel than the closing of the book. Whether this sequel is a sure thing or merely wishful thinking on the part of the shows’ creators, we don’t know. But if you were going to be content with a single 12-episode season and went into last week thinking that would be the final episode (like we did), this felt a bit strange and extraneous.

We’ll admit it was pretty cool to finally see what the world of PIlot’s Song looks like: something like one of those goofy-looking fountain things you can by at a garden center. We kid; it’s actually a pretty far-out design, much like Last Exile’s hourglass world. But the show didn’t show the slightest sign of caring about any of this until just now. But what was going to be a one-way journey became round-trip thanks to the Holy Deus Ex Machina Empire, so Kal, Ari, and the rest of their class who survived the battles return home to a hero’s welcome.

Watching Kal and Ari reunite with their awesome family was nice, but we were less interested in Ari continuing to hide her secret love for her adoptive brother, preferring to keep it bottled in and lashing out when she gets nervous. We’re not saying she’d be any better off if she confessed to Kal, as he’s pretty deeply in love with someone else, but like this episode itself, her unrequited love feels somewhat extraneous. Rather than pine for someone she can’t have and be cast as a loser and victim of fate, why not make her as determined to see Ignacio again as Kal is to see Claire?

As for Kal’s whole coming-out-as-Karl La Hire speech to the assembled masses (which appear to number in the hundreds of thousands) and his spearheading of a second Isla Plan, well…the idea that he’d convince Balsteros to start another war just to get his love back, and the quiet sneaky classmate being some kind of informant…it’s just a piling on of plot there’s no time to get into. That suggests a sequel, when we’re not sure we really want one. Basically, we were kinda looking for closure, but what we got almost felt more like a “To Be Continued.”

Rating: 6 (Good)
Average Rating: 7.615
MyAnimeList Score: 7.33

Nobunaga the Fool – 12

Nobu’s plan has failed, his army is in tatters, and scores of his people are dead or maimed, but you’d never guess he was in trouble from his demeanor. We were also a bit surprised that Caesar, still sore over being outsmarted by Nobu in the past, agrees to any sort of truce. We’ll call it an act of deference to Nobu’s sheer grit and audacity. Not only that, but this week, for the first time, you get the feeling Caesar would prefer it if Nobu were an ally rather than a foe.

Almost as much as the tea ceremony itself, we enjoyed the preparation that went into it, particularly that of Nobu and of Ichihime, who insists on being the host. We’ve always really liked the serene strength of Ichihime’s presence, but we always had precious few scenes with her; this episode corrects that by giving her a nice little brother-sister moment at the waterfall, and having her play an unexpectedly crucial role far beyond her services as tea-maker (at which she excels, by the way).

The show has perhaps been wise to keep her on the periphery, somewhat out of focus, much like Mitsuhide’s trio of kunoichi; these women feel like mysteries compared to the comparatively open books of Jeanne and Himiko. The truth of the matter is, Ichihime is just as bad-ass as her brother (if not moreso)…she’s just quieter and classier about it. And while she’s vowed to always stay by Nobu’s side and support him in all things, you get the feeling she does it because it’s what she wishes, not simply because she’s expected to.

That independent will is put on full display at the tea ceremony, which starts out normally enough, but when Nobu notices Caesar is uncomfortable sitting in the traditional manner, he relaxes the protocol, which relaxes Caesar. When things come down to brass tacks, Caesar wants the regalia in exchange for an end to hostilities and a military alliance. At this point we were thinking Nobu could answer either way and figure something out, but he decides to firmly refuse, while still insisting they stop fighting.

This is because Nobu suspects that Caesar’s boss Arthur, whom Caesar claims to be a Savior King as Jeanne insists it’s Nobu—perhaps there really are two of them?—is a pragmatic sort who’d prefer a minimum of collateral damage in his quest for the Holy Grail (or, like whatever). Caesar agrees to a temporary alliance if he can have Ichihime…and everyone protests but her. Knowing what it would mean if Caesar kept his word, and warning him she’d kill him if he didn’t, she makes another choice for herself and accepts his terms.

The tarot Jeanne draws this week is “The Fool”, and she immediately thinks of Nobu, especially when he loosens protocol at the ceremony. But the real “Fool” turns out to be Ichihime. Freedom, nonconformity, innocence, purity, cheer, possibility, imagination, and genius: these are all qualities she embodies more than anyone else at that juncture. She has become the wild card that could shape the fate of both worlds as much as Nobu, if not more. And after being so cold to her earlier, Mitsuhide seems particularly troubled by her choice. Sorry dude; you had your chance!

Rating: 8 (Great)

Space Dandy – 13 (Fin)

Between Data, Bender, Johnny 5, WALL-E, and any number of other shows and films featuring sentient robots, we’ve been conditioned to treat them just as we would any other characters. Matters are made easier by the fact that both QT and (Coffee) Maker have human voices, and easier still by the fact that Maker is voiced by yet another excellent Space Dandy guest seiyu: Hirano Aya in a particularly cute, pleasant, and sincere performance.

Like Dandy in the Adele episode and Meow in his family episode, this episode was a chance to focus on QT and show us another side of him. That seems to be Space Dandy’s sweet spot, as these three “personal” episodes are three of its best. QT had always struck us as the analytical, scolding nerd to Dandy’s hapless Casanova and Meow’s slob/sloth acts; the least interesting of the trio (though not to say he wasn’t funny. We also thought for a while that “he” was a she, due to the high-pitched voice.

But this week QT gets to fall in love, like WALL-E, to a very sweet, shapely and adorable coffee maker (who bares a slight resemblance to EVE), and we find ourselves rooting for him at every turn. QT’s progression from magical first encounter to admiring from afar to gathering the courage to talk to Maker and even take her out for a night on the town, is a familiar romantic arc, but like all of Space Dandy’s dabbles into genre, the all about the presentation and execution, which is fantastic here.

Of course, if you haven’t watched or dislike films like WALL-E, you may not so easily warm to it, but we were invested and moved throughout, and thought this kind of story was a no-brainer and a perfect way to get us to like and care about QT more. We also like how the standard romantic story takes a turn towards the damsel-in-distress story when Maker (and her good friend and colleague Register) are taken from the cafe and sent to “Dream Island.”

Determined to save her, QT hitches a ride to the island of misfit appliances that have gained emotions, and finds an entire Utopian society of sentient robots dancing the night away to EDM. When he discerns that Maker and Register are an item, he’s disheartened, as are we, though isn’t as if we thought Maker would be joining the crew of the Aloha Oe. When Register joins the more bitter robots’ revolution against living things, QT breaks out the heroics, going the extra mile (and benefiting from another Dr. Gel experiment gone awry) so Maker wouldn’t have to cry.

The chase and ensuing between a gigantized QT and the giant deathbot provides one final stunning visual setpiece for the show’s first season (there will be a second come July), and the episode-long count of days without QT drinking coffee ends in typically Space Dandyesque scene of ironic comedy: as human as this episode made him, liquids will still cause him to short-circuit. Space Dandy has shown us a little bit of everything, but we have no doubt that what it has yet to show us could fill an entire second season; minus a dud or two.Rating: 9 (Superior)

Samurai Flamenco – 22 (Fin)

First of all, we liked the choice of expanding on Goto’s grief and showing us how he came to message himself. Goto’s “long distance relationship” started out as something of a comedic element, but the more we’ve learned about the truth, the more tragic and compelling it became, especially when Sawada used it against him in what has to be the most emotionally charged deletion of a text message we can recall.

As Sawada predicted, erasing the last message Goto’s real girlfriend ever sent is like flipping a crazy switch. By the time Masayoshi arrives, all Goto wants to do is be free so he can kill Sawada. It’s all part of Sawada’s plan to sacrifice himself so Samurai Flamenco will have a traumatic past that will never leave him, turning him into a “dark hero” (a la Batman).

Running in with nothing resembling a plan for victory, Masayoshi decides to fight crazy with crazy: refusing to put on the costume and stripping all his clothes off. This bizarre throws Sawada for such a loop he ends up dropping both the cuffs key and gun in Goto’s vicinity. With Sawada disarmed and thoroughly freaked out, now the still-naked Masayoshi has to convince Goto not to kill Sawada.

His method isn’t what we’d call elegant—he whips himself into a tantrum screaming “BAKA” over and over and oddly proposes to Goto—but the sheer ludicrousness of the situation snaps Goto out of his murderous rage. The idea that Masayoshi is so ignorant to the concept of love is a little silly, but in the end, his desperate improvisation wins the day. We’re glad no one was killed, but we still enjoyed Flamenco Diamond showing up to give Sawada a well-deserved beatdown for poisoning her friends.

With Kaname recovered from his injuries, he opens up a new superhero museum which everyone attends, and we get some nice farewell moments with the Flamengers, Kanno and Ishihara (who have an awesome final exchange), and lastly, Goto and Masayoshi, who’s late for the opening. Goto receives a fresh text from his girlfriend (maybe she IS out there somewhere!), and Masayoshi runs after a litterbug.

Rating: 7 (Very Good)
Average Rating: 8 (episodes 1-13), 7.111 (episodes 14-22), 7.636 (total)
MyAnimeList Score: 6.97

Sekai Seifuku: Bouryaku no Zvezda – 12 (Fin)

Zvezda looked down and out, and we were honestly at a loss in predicting how they were going to dig out of the hole they found themselves in. After all, we left last week with Galatika toast and Kate and Itsuka surrounded by guys with guns, with only big words to bandy. Defeat against Governor Jimon seemed inevitable barring a miracle. They got several.

Kate may be up against the wall, but aside from passing out for nap time, she never abandons her belief that she will ultimately prevail over the cigar-chomping boob of an adversary. The final battle is an highly amusing push-and-pull: Jimon has his magic shield, magic cigar smoke, and giant retro mecha, but Kate has Dva, Natasha and her tentacle monster, Roboko in human disguise (complete with Total Recall-style transformation), who snatchs the real Galatika from the traitor Yase, and White Robin, who helps out the bad guys and coaxes White Egret to her side.

Even Pepel/Goro revives, woken up by White Falcon/Kaori, who turns out to have a thing for him. We’ve been listening to Maaya Sakamoto voice Lightning for going on forty hours, so it’s fun to hear her as Kaori, whose voice is more emotional and varied than Light’s. Some units of the JSDF defect to Zvezda, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Kate taking over the driving of Plamya’s motorcycle, flashing her inexpirable license to Asuta when he asks.

It’s a totally absurd, logically dubious hyper-stylized final confrontation, but full of Zvezda’s trademark charm, wit, and internal commentary about how absurd and logically dubious things are. In other words, a fitting way to end. The crass nihilism of Governor Jimon falls to the optimism, spunk, and gregariousness of Zvezda. Life returns pretty much to normal, but only briefly: a Zvezda-like organization from New York fires the first shot in the next battle, one that actually sounds more fun than the one against the stodgy governor…a teaser for a possible sequel, perhaps. But for now, we’ll bask in the light of Zvezda.

Rating: 8 (Great)
Average Rating: 7.750
MyAnimeList Score: 7.38

Pupa – 12 (Fin)

With Utsutsu and Yume free from their captors and totally fine with their living situation, this final outing looks back to a less fucked-up time in their lives, when they, as young children, went unsupervised to a toy store to replace Yume’s busted bear (her dad busted it…such an asshole).

Having insufficient funds, Utsutsu attempts to win a new teddy for her. He loses, gets a harsh life lesson from the cock-eyed mascot running the lottery, and actually gets four more chances from his friend Arita and his three sisters, all of whom we meet for the first time and seem a bit sinister but aren’t.

On his last chance, he wins seventh prize; the pink hairpin Yume has worn ever since, which is fitting, as she gave him his four-leaf clover pin, which has clearly given him luck, as he possesses the ability to heal no matter how much Yume nom-noms him!

Rating: 4 (Fair)
Average Rating: 5.250
MyAnimeList Score: 4.14

Nisekoi – 12

Aw, screw it, how about if RURI was the one Raku made a promise with?! Her offhand comment about Raku and Kosaki getting on her nerves echoes are own feelings on the matter. Like Banri’s surly neighbor Nana in Golden Time, Nisekoi wouldn’t be the same without Ruri, both to say what we’re thinking and to try her darnedest to nudge Kosaki to where she wants to go.

But now that Raku has been told by both Kosaki and Chitoge that they both made a promise to a boy ten years ago (and each have a key), things are more complicated. Not to mention while Raku continues to crush hard on Kosaki (and she him), there’s no denying there’s a totally different (and no less mutual) romantic dynamic between him and his fake girlfriend.

His quandary now is, how come there are two girls and two keys? Note to anyone trying to discover the truth about the past regarding a girl or girls you know: ask your damn parents! They weren’t five at the time, after all, and are likely to remember a whole lot more about ten years ago than you. Raku learns this entirely by chance by bumping into Chitoge’s dad (who seems like a decent guy) who confirms Raku not only knew Chitoge ten years ago, but that they got along famously…and the Onodera kid hung out with them, too.

Now it could be that both of them made a promise to Raku, but each of them is missing the specific memories to be sure. Or maybe he gave the correct key to the girl he loves and the wrong key to the other…which would be f-ed up thing for a five-year-old kid to do! Hell, maybe they all work. In any case, perhaps Raku will learn more when he goes through the photos from that time his dad has stored away…and when the locket comes back repaired. We hope so!
Rating:7 (Very Good)

 

Sakura Trick – 12 (Fin)

With Mitsuki about to graduate and move on to college, her window to tell Haruka how she feels is rapidly closing. She finds the right moment in her kitchen at her graduation party to confess and ask her out. After denying those feelings for so long, it was gratifying to see not only come to grips with them as a reality in her life, but actually try to do something about it.

To do so requires courage, but also selfishness, but Mitsuki finds her opening when Yuu tells her she and Haruka haven’t exchanged confessions of love yet. It’s pretty clear that any situation where Mitsuki would snatch Haruka away would hurt Yuu, but that’s a bridge she’ll cross when she comes to it, and in any case, she doesn’t know Haruka’s answer; asking to meet after the graduation ceremony to hear it.

The thing is, Haruka herself doesn’t really know how to respond. She hasn’t really given much thought to what it means to be doing all of the things she’s done with Yuu; the two have just been living in the moment and going for it. It isn’t until Mitsuki comes in talking about being “in love” and “going out” that Haruka starts to consider that that’s what she and Yuu are doing. She “loves” Mitsuki too, but it’s pretty clear it’s not the same as her love for Yuu.

So yeah, Mitsuki is pretty much rejected, but it’s not the end of the world (nothing on this show is); and she goes off to college with Rina, who holds a flame for Mitsuki but isn’t as forward about it as Mitsuki was with Haruka. Maybe down the road that will change. In any case, we close out the series with Haruka and Yuu still very much together and in love and having confessed to each other numerous times. As the new school term begins, their sakura-colored life goes on.

Rating:7 (Very Good)
Average Rating: 6.583
MyAnimeList Score: 7.51

Kill la Kill – 24 (Fin)

Last week we said we were sad that Kill la Kill was ending, but that didn’t mean we thought it shouldn’t end. Far from experiencing pangs of withdrawal in the aftermath, we feel perfectly satisfied and a little relieved; almost as if we’ve been through a mutual breakup. A weight is gone, but there are no regrets. The show came to its natural conclusion…which is to say it went completely nuts; one last hurrah before purging itself form our systems.

Victory ultimately goes to Ryuko, Satsuki, and all mankind, but it isn’t easily achieved. Sanageyama’s initial raid on Honnouji results in a scene suffused with fairly overt reproductive symbolism: he’s leading a charge of thousands of his underlings—lets call it a school of sperm—but Ragyo’s transmitter is protected by what amounts to a giant condom, which is ultimately busted open by…err…Gamagoori’s face cannon thing.

That would only be the…er…tip of the complication-berg, as Ragyo throws anything and everything at Ryuko & Co., including ordering Nui to cast her body into the revived original life fiber, creating an even more ultimate garment that Ragyo dons, allowing her to rocket into orbit to transmit the message for all the world’s Covers to start feeding. Ryuko in turn borrows the fibers from everyone elses’ uniforms to create her own ultimate rocket suit, thus leaving the entire cast buck naked.

The orbital battle between Ryuko and Ragyo becomes just as much one of words than of blows exchanged (Ryuko is slashed to pieces multiple times, but quickly regenerates). In effect, Ryuko yells a lot about how she and Senketsu are neither clothing nor human, and yet both clothing and human, Ragyo calls out their lofty, highly abstract BS, but it doesn’t matter, because they use that BS to absorb her power and render her Covers around the globe inert.

Rather than return to earth and reconcile, she tears out her own heart. With his role as a check against Ragyo’s plans completed, Senketsu burns up in the atmosphere, shielding Ryuko during re-entry. Ryuko is distraught, but once she comes down to earth, and her landing cushioned by the bosom of her sister (and virtually everyone else, all of them still naked), she immediately feels a lot better. As Senketsu eloquently puts it in his parting words, a sailor fuku such as himself is meant to be grown out of, not worn forever like a second skin.

Now the threat has passed (at least until the next Life Fiber arrives on Earth), and she is free to wear what she wants, live life with her real and adoptive sisters (Satsuki and Mako, respectively). Kill la Kill took the guilty pleasure to dizzying new heights, ones we won’t likely return to for quite a while. But like the placid epilogue we see during the credits, coming back down to earth and to a state of relative normalcy isn’t so bad either.

Rating: 9 (Superior)
Average Rating: 9.417 (episodes 13-24), 8.958 (total)
MyAnimeList Score: 8.51

Meet the Staff!

Starting with the Spring 2014 season, the reviewing duties around here will be split between three authors, who will watch, review, and rate three to four shows each. They’ll continue to deliver the concise, insightful anime reviews RABUJOI is known for. They will not always succeed.

We felt the change from Winter to Spring was the ideal time for the staff to step out from behind the monolithic rabujoistaff moniker, and take their places behind new, distinct identities. Where there once was one voice, soon there will be three. Please be nice to them…or don’t; they can take it!

Handle: Braverade | Real Name: Hannah Brave | Gender: Female | Birthday: 3 July | Blood Type: O- | Favorite Food: Steak Tartare | Favorite Anime: Evangelion, Macross Frontier, Kill la Kill, Eureka Seven, Book of Bantorra

Greetings. Hannah here, and I like watching things explode, or at the very least moving very fast. To that end, I’ll be focusing on action, adventure, space, and sci-fi genres. This spring, I’ll be watching Akuma no Riddle, Black Bullet (here’s hoping they’re any good), and the second cour of Nobunaga the Fool. Yoroshiku onegaitashimasu.

Handle: sesameacrylic (no caps) | Real Name: Zane Kalish | Gender: Male | Birthday: 12 May | Blood Type: AB+ | Favorite Food: Ceviche | Favorite Anime: Toradora!, Haruhi Suzumiya, Kare Kano, Zetsubou-Sensei, Nazo no Kanojo X, Sket Dance

My focus will be on comedy, romance, school, and slice-of-life; less explosions and punching, more jokes and hand-holding. Where those overlap with genres of Hannah or Preston, we’ll play Jan-ken-pon, but come Spring I’ll be checking out Mekaku City Actors, Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin, and the final seven eps of Nisekoi‘s odd 20-episode run. I wanted the school series Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei, but Preston claimed it because it’s a magic school… :P

Handle: MagicalChurlSukui | Real Name: Preston Yamazuka | Gender: Female | Birthday: 22 Jan | Blood Type: B+ | Favorite Food: Tamagoyaki | Favorite Anime: Mawaru Penguindrum, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, AnoHana, Serial Experiments Lain, From the New World, Shiki

If Hannah is Strength and Zane is Stamina (you need it, getting through some of those will-they-won’t-theys), then I’m Magic. I’ll be delving into the realms of fantasy, magic, mystery, and the supernatural. My Spring watchlist will consist of Gokukoku no Brynhildr, Hitsugi no Chaika, and Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei, in addition to the second cour of Nagi no Asukara. Douzo yoroshiku!

Golden Time – 24 (Fin)

Here’s what we knew going in—or at least what we assumed: the restoration of “Old Banri” would be permanent, but while he’d forget all about Koko and the others, Koko wouldn’t forget about him, and would re-introduce herself and start all over with him, hopeful the Banri who loved her was still in there, hiding, in a larval state. Just waiting for a time to hatch out.

But that theory did not allow for an all-but-PERFECT VICTORY, which is what we get, much to our surprise and frankly, our delight. We here at RABUJOI aren’t shy about the fact that we often cultivate a transactional relationship with the anime we watch: if we are to suffer through hardship, pain, we wouldn’t mind being rewarded for that commitment in some way. In the case of Golden Time, we wanted a happy ending, but didn’t see how it was going to happen.

Golden Time found a way, and really, it was something it had been planning all along. In the last couple episodes, Banri had become, like, super-resigned to his cruel fate of losing everything he had become as the result of his peculiar neurological trauma. And we followed him down that pit of despair, forgetting along with him that a way back was possible. A wealth of resources were at his disposal this week, starting with the notes he wrote himself. They have no immediate effect, but provide the building blocks for his recovery, further aided by his friends.

Add to that Koko’s mirror (the unbroken one which is hers, not the broken one he left behind in Tokyo), and the strange string of obsessive emails someone who hacked his account is sending to Koko. We initially thought were being sent by Koko herself as a cryptic message to Banri, but they turned out to be from 2D-kun. That’s right, 2D-kun turns out to be the architect of Banri’s recovery, by sending those emails and also rattling Koko’s cage (when she finds out it was him) and moving her to action.d

That’s how Koko ends up at Banri’s front door. At first things aren’t going so well—Banri thinks she’s Chinami because she’s returning a DVD—but his broken mirror is also in the bag, and the memories start flowing back. It’s fitting that everything comes together on the bridge where everything fell apart. It’s a little silly seeing all the different Banri’s milling around in a fog (including drag Banri, one of our faves), but in the end it works, as Linda (very belatedly) finally gives the original Past Banri the “Yes” he had been hoping for for so long.

That’s apparently all the closure he needs, as present Banri gets his memories back, including his love for Koko, and we get an extended scene of the two embracing passionately and reveling in pure joy…and relief! Frankly, we’re relieved too it wasn’t a downer of an ending. Like we said, we’d sat patiently through the awful fights and disasters and misunderstandings, and Golden Time rewarded us with a good old fashioned happy ending.

Rating: 9 (Superior)
Average Rating: 8.417 (episodes 13-24), 8.458 (total)
MyAnimeList Score: 7.97

 

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren – 12 (Fin)

Chu2Koi’s very enjoyable second season ends in understated fashion, with Rikka getting all bent out of shape at the prospect of “forming a higher contract” with the now-unleashed Dark Flame Dragon. Put your perverted thoughts away, it’s not that; she just wants to kiss Yuuta, on the lips this time.

We’ll get this out of the way (SPOILER ALERT to those who haven’t watched the episode): she is not successful in kissing Yuuta on the lips (the shot below is as close as they get). Ironically, she’s denied that action due to the product of her cat getting some: a phone call from Kuzuha announcing Chimera had kittens.

In hindsight, those who orchestrated the under-bridge meetup where the fated kiss was to take place (the same bridge where they linked pinkies last season) probably should have made sure both Rikka and Yuuta’s frikkin’ phones were turned off, as they should know by now that roughly 78% of first kisses in anime are interrupted in this fashion. We will note that its sweet for Shinka, Satone, Kumin, and Sanae to work together to help Rikka with her problem once they learn what it is at the public bathhouse.

We’re sure many will boo the lack of a definite, lasting lip-on-lip smooch in this, the last episode of the second season, and possibly the last episode of any season (though we wouldn’t rule out other OVAs or films…or a third season.) We got kinda angry when Rikka recoiled not once but twice. In fact, we’d wager the show was counting on us getting our hopes up before telling us to back up for a second: this is Rikka and Yuuta we’re talking about. Overt physicality is not what they’re about, and never was.

That’s just a natural part of any loving relationship that comes at different times for different people. We actually appreciate the show making it so very hard for Rikka to go through with the kiss. After all, once she passes that threshold, she’s going to inevitably think about what comes after, which will terrify her even more. Part of her uneasiness in this episode was returning to the feeling that even if Yuuta didn’t expect anything from, her, it was her duty to progress their contract. Add to that the fact she won Yuuta while Satone lost, so she’d better do something with him!

And lest we forget, were it not for the kitten call, they would have definitely kissed on the lips, as the sun set by the river. Before that, they exchanged very loving kisses on the cheek. They may be taking things slow by contemporary social standards, but they’ve actually made a ton of progress since last season’s pinky links. It’s a credit to the show that it makes their seemingly modest progress feel like a hard-won, significant achievement—not to mention driving home the point that they’re an exceedingly cute couple.

(Great)
Average Rating: 8.250
MyAnimeList Score: 7.71

Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil – 03

WizBar’s appeal for us isn’t merely the fact that they spice up the otherwise relatively dry arena of law with wizards and magic, but the fact that those wizards aren’t wholly accepted members of society. We learn that wizards (or rather “Wuds”) are born human but “awaken” to their power, typically around puberty. In other words, they don’t have a say in the matter, and it could happen to anyone.

Despite this, due to their frightening powers, much of society is heavily prejudiced towards them. Wuds aren’t even allowed to have certain jobs, which is why after Hachiya Mitsuhisa awakened, he was discharged as a prosecutor and took up barristering. Every indication is that the community of Wuds needs all the help they can get to avoid getting a raw deal in the very draconian magic justice system.

Cecil became a barrister primarily to save her mom from unjustice, but in this outing she learns just how difficult that task will be. Even if the prejudice of non-magical people didn’t lead to trumped-up charges and excessive sentences, there are Wuds who are so sick and tired of how shittily they’re treated that they resort to becoming the very monsters their detractors fear.

Lacking solid evidence that Mayu, the Wud in question, killed her victim to avenge her framed boyfriend (whom Hachiya prosecuted two years ago, before he became a Wud), she is spared the death penalty. Rather than celebrate, she uses the verdict to put the court itself on trial for hypocrisy and incompetence, and racked with guilt, Hachi releases her bindings so she can carry out her sentence on him.

Only she wants to kill everyone there. What’s so tragic is that she not so consumed with grief and hatred towards her enemies, she might’ve lived long enough to reveal to Cecil the secret conspiracy she’s caught wind of, one that’s been hanging out on the fringes of this show all along, and further hinted at when Cecil is approached by two skeezy headhunters from a rival firm.

Cecil continues to have quite an eventful time as a new barrister, to the point that just her second trial results in her awakening to an all-new form of magic. There’s Something Going On; there’s a prophecy involving Cecil, and parties in the shadows that are interested in her. It’s another layer of what’s shaping up to be a rich and satisfying tapestry.