Komi Can’t Communicate – 11 – KokkoFest

There was a beach episode and a sports day episode, so a cultural festival episode was almost inevitable. Due to being a class full of very specific weirdoes, the class is unable to decide on what they’re going to do. They’re stuck in an 12-way-tie largely, with everyone imagining how Komi will participate in all those various activities.

While everyone makes a big racket, no one is asking Komi what she wants, until Tadano does. Turns out she wants to do the first thing suggested: a maid café. That’s right: no one is forcing her to this; it’s her choice. Everyone changes their vote to match hers. But when it comes time to start preparing, no one will let her lift a finger. She’s supposed to simply sit on the throne provided and be Komi.

It takes a “space cadet” like Otori Kaede to ask Komi if she’ll join her on a supply run to the home improvement store. Between Otori’s unreliability and slow reaction time and Komi’s taciturnity, Onemine decides to be a big sister chaperone for them both. When Komi asks (via notebook) why Otori chose her to accompany her, Otori simply says she wanted to be friends, which works out just fine for Komi!

Next task: marketing the festival to the Itan community. Najimi, Tadano and Komi go from business to business distributing flyers. Komi succeeds thanks to the salon owner being as good a Komi translator as Tadano, and the ramen shop owner and her being kindred spirits who don’t need words to understand each other. When they knock on the door of a busy mom with a crying babe, Komi instantly silences him by stealthily making a face at him. He then calls Komi “Kokko”, a nickname both Tadano and Najimi proceed to try out.

The night before the festival, a lot of the class stays late to complete the prep, and soon run out of energy. That’s when Komi and other classmates present them with some homemade onigiri for recharging. While the workers guess which rice balls are Komi’s and take those, it’s the perfect cube of rice Tadano takes that was pressed into being by her hands. She seems particularly happy that he likes it!

The big day arrives, and a self-professed “Maid Expert” Akido Tatsuhito just happens to choose their cultural festival maid café as his spot for the day. He’s impressed by the attention to detail and diversity of personalities (this is Itan High), but like many people, he’s intimidated by Komi’s resting expression, and he mistakes her as an “ice queen” maid when really she’s the warmest and sweetest maid of the bunch. Books and coves, man!

Najimi can’t help but suggest Tadano try on the short-skirted maid outfit Komi rejected. Tadano doesn’t want to, but Komi really wants him to, so he relents. It’s just his luck that both Komi’s mom and brother and his sister show up to see him in all his pink-haired cross-dressing glory. But dressing up just might have been worth it, as Komi tells him he looks really cute, and the two sit two chairs apart, the atmosphere suddenly awkward. To Be Continued…

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Entertainment District Arc – 04 – When Cat’s Away, the Muscle-Mice Play

When Zenitsu fails to show at their scheduled rooftop meet-up, Uzui confesses to Tanjirou and Inousuke that in his haste to save his wives, he may have made some bad decisions. That includes involving the lower-ranked Slayers to begin with. He orders them to fall back while he takes care of the district demon himself. They don’t, and instead Tanjirou agrees to meet Inousuke at his house to search for the demon themselves.

Before departing from his house, Tanjirou meets with Koinatsu, who spends most of her time early in the episode throwing death flags. Naturally, she knew he was a boy all along, but also knew he must’ve had his reasons. While there were moments when I thought perhaps Koinatsu would turn out to be a demon as well, I’m glad she’s just a very kind human.

As it’s her last night in the district (one of the death flags, along with giving her treasured hairpins to her attendants), Koinatsu is glad Tanjirou will remain to take care of the other girls, and save those who are missing. No sooner does Tanjirou excuse himself does Daki arrive in Koinatsu’s room, ready to devour her as a beauty-obsessed demoness like her only devours beautiful humans.

Tanjirou is on his way to Inousuke when that sharp nose of his picks up the sweet scent of a demon, and follows it where it leads. When he’s late for the meet-up, Inousuke drives his head through the ceiling, orders the “muscular mice” (!) ninjuu Uzui assigned to him to fetch his swords, dons his boar mask, and blasts out of there to take care of the demon problem himself.

While splitting up increased the chances someone would encounter either the demon or one of Uzui’s wives, it has the side-effect of ensuring the Demon Slayers can’t operate as a combined force. Zenitsu’s kindness led to him discovering Daki on accident, but Inousuke and Tanjirou are acting recklessly by not going to Uzui first.

This results in Tanjirou, the fourth-lowest ranked Slayer, having to confront Daki, an Upper Moon Six. Seeing poor Koinatsu absorbed into Daki’s impossibly long and twisting obi is most definitely an unsettling sight.

Tanjirou’s guard is down when Daki delivers the first blow, but unlike Zenitsu, he doesn’t lose consciousness (must be that ultra-hard head). Instead, he shakes off his body’s numbness, summons Water Breathing, and goes toe-to-toe with Daki right there in what I imagine to be one of the quieter parts of the district where no one is around to watch (or be collateral damage). A striking and fluid battle ensues.

Daki is impressed with Tanjirou’s toughness and airborne skills, and wouldn’t mind eating his pretty eyes. It’s clear she’s simply toying with him, which means unless he manages to break out some Hinokami Kagura, Tanjirou is in a world of pain unless Uzui and/or Inousuke show up soon.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Entertainment District Arc – 03 – Something is Rotten in Yoshiwara

After a noir-ish monochrome stinger and the new OP (which fuckin’ whips) we join Inousuke as he tries and utterly fails to conduct a discreet investigation of the woman who won’t come out of her room. He goes inside, feels wind even though the windows are closed, and provokes…whatever is hiding in the rafters to go on a wild and destructive chase through Ogimoto house. He’s like a boar in a brothel.

Over at Kyougoku House, Zenitsu puts down the shamisen, opens his ears, and comes to the aid of one of the young attendants, whom he finds with a brusie on her cheek in an absolutely trashed room. As he comforts her, the presence of a demon suddenly appears behind him. She is the courtesan Warabihime Oiran…and the arc’s main antagonist.

Sawashiro Miyuki is perfectly cast as the two-faced, two-voiced, but always imposing and imperious Warabihime, whom we learn was responsible for the murder of the madam of Ogimoto House. The minute the madam blurted out that she didn’t think Warabihime was human, her life was forfeit, as she is dropped from a great height and not eaten by the demonness, who is ranked Upper Moon Six. I’ll go on record as saying I love the character’s design, both in Courtesan or Demon Mode.

No sooner do we see her cruel and murderous side than we get a glimpse of her submissive and tender side, as Muzan makes a surprise appearance to both praise her (“keep up the evil work”) and warn her of potential Demon Slayer Corps interference. We learn her real name is Daki, and Muzan has big plans for her…as long as she keeps killing. I wonder if that’s what she really wants?

Fast forward a couple of days, and shortly after punching “Zenko” through two walls, Daki identifies him as a Demon Slayer, if only a weak one. Still, she restrains herself from attacking him further in order to maintain her cover, even as Zenitsu has blown his simply by not getting as hurt as he should have.

The cute little attendant Zenitsu saved and her two colleagues nurse Zenitsu back to health, and they comment on how they’ve never met anyone in this house who isn’t simply looking out for herself. It looks as though the episode is about to end on a sweet note…but then Daki’s snake-like obi instantaneously curl, whip, and envelop our yellow-haired crybaby.

Just like that, she has two captives, with neither Tanjirou nor Inousuke particularly hot on the trail and Suma and Hinatsuru still at large.

Shin no Nakama – 13 (Fin) – Warm Milk with Honey

Last week certainly ended about as distressingly as it could, what with a sword-hypnotized Ruti having just gravely, possibly mortally wounded Tisse and looking for her next target. So I was both surprised and satisfied with Red’s elegant solution: getting Ruti’s sword caught in his butter-soft bronze sword and flinging it away, thus snapping his sister out of it.

Could the solution have been more difficult and drawn out? Absolutely, but more action would have taken time away from the emotional fallout of what had just transpired. Instead, the awakened Ruti sees her only real friend with a gaping wound and can’t do anything about it; her Hero’s Blessing ignoring her call. Thankfully, Theodora has the power to heal Tisse.

Theodora doesn’t ask Ruti or anyone else for forgiveness, because she was doing both what she thought was right and what her own blessing demanded. However, recent events opened her eyes to the cruelty and crushing loneliness of an unwilling Ruti’s Hero Blessing, and she that even if Red hadn’t left, she simply didn’t need a party anymore. I have to concur with everyone else that Theodora would make a better hero, because it’s what she wants.

Turns out Ruti’s new Blessing is called “New Truth”, with a skill called “Ruler” she’s using to suppress the Hero’s Blessing, losing its boons along with its burdens but in the exchange, becoming the ordinary girl with free will to choose her own future. Feeling the cold and sneezing from it is an amazing new experience; Ruti even looks forward to her first cold! I can’t tell you how cute that is, or how lovely it is to see her finally enjoy being able to taste food again.

After so much excitement earlier in her life, she seems to want the same thing as her brother: a slow, quiet life. In her case, that means starting a farm that grows medicinal herbs, thereby not only doing what she wants, but doing it in part to help contribute to Red and Rit’s business. Naturally, Tisse will be by her side the whole way, supporting her, because Tisse is unassailably The Best…as is Mr. Crawly Wawly.

Before heading off with Tisse to find some suitable farmland, Ruti joins the others at Ares’ funeral. It’s to the credit of this mild-mannered and decent series that he doesn’t suffer eternal agony; indeed he is someone to be pitied and not hated, for his plight wasn’t much different from Ruti’s. The fact the First Hero had six swords lends credence to the possibility they were an Asura Demon—with no blessing, which means they were a hero by their own free will.

The episode’s title is “Guide”, referring to Red’s Blessing, which I’d honestly forgotten until it was brought up several times this week. After Gonz and Mido help Red and Rit fix and clean up their shop and home, Rit confesses to often freaking out at night, worried Red won’t be by her side when she wakes up, because he’s the Guide, and one day he may have to guide someone else. Red assures her that won’t happen; that his journey has ended, and that she is his one, only, final destination, because he needs and loves her as much as she does him.

“Really? Then prove it!”, one might ask. Well, they proceed to do just that. After some adorable awkward fumbling attempts at foreplay, Red and Rit disrobe, hop into their big, newly-repaired bed, and make love for the first time. As one would expect of this show, it’s handled gently and tastefully. They even have a bit of profound post-coitus pillow talk, as Red admits his previous journey may be over, but he’s looking forward to a new one with Rit and the family they’ll have in the future.

Such is the narrative efficiency of this episode (without feeling rushed at all like a couple of previous episodes), we still have time for Red to take Ruti on a tour of Zoltan’s sights, sounds, and tastes. Thanks to New Truth she’s able to experience so much that feels like the first time, and is simply grateful she can be with her brother like old times…and sleep! Red promises he’ll always be there for her.

This leads to a potentially cliché scene where Ruti sits down next to Red at the shop (because she’s tired…and appreciates how good it feels to sit down when you’re tired!) and gloms onto her dear brother. Rit, suddenly jealous, proceeds to grab Red’s other arm. The two glare and growl at each other…and then break into laughter, all while a bemused Tisse watches.

Suddenly, the guild girl arrives at the shop to report an emergency: some demons have captured the adventurers sent to deal with them. She doesn’t need the Hero, just a hero, which Ruti proves she is regardless of Blessing when she picks up her sword and goes with the guild girl…because it’s what she wants to do.

This was pretty much a pitch perfect finale and the perfect way to end the series: by giving me what brought me to keep watching in the first place: a warm, cozy, almost iyashikei atmosphere to an isekai setting. I now appreciate the more action and plot-oriented penultimate episodes more knowing they were meant to make us long for the slow life, just like Red, Rit, Ruti, Tisse, and Mr. Crawly Wawly.

If they make another season of this mug of warm milk with honey in anime form, I’ll watch it in a slow heartbeat. The post-credit scene with Yarandrala and Godwin hints that that’s the plan.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Entertainment District Arc – 02 – The Sparkling Streets

Now that’s more like it. Without further ado (aside from a brief comic scene at the Butterfly House) Uzui leads Tanjirou, Zenitsu and Inousuke to the dazzling Yoshiwara Entertainment District. Inousuke experiences full sensory overload, while Zenitsu is overwhelmed by all the pretty ladies. You really feel the density of a place like this with the teeming crowds and lights that simulate daytime. It’s a great setting filled with lush visuals.

Uzui finds an inn and briefs his three underlings on their mission: infiltrate the district, look for his brides, and find the demon who has taken up residence here. Uzui has three brides, all kunoichi who have already embedded themselves in three of the district’s brothels: Suma, Makio, and Hinatsuru. I for one am glad for the sudden glut of female characters.

As for how Uzui intends to infiltrate those houses? By dressing the boys in drag and passing them off as homely prostitutes. Their makeup does them no favors, but at least once the Ogimoto House chaperone washes it off “Inoko’s” face, she sees what a looker “she” is and celebrates her shrewd purchase. “Zenko” ends up at Kyougoku House, where he impresses with his spirited shamisen play.

As for Tan-er, “Sumiko”, he ends up at Tokito House, home of the surpassingly beautiful and graceful high-ranking courtesan Koinatsu Oiran. Through some maiko scuttlebutt he learns about the rumor of Suma committing “Ashinuke”, i.e. running away before paying your debts. Tanjirou shows how hard it is to lie about anything, even being Suma’s sister in order to get any information.

A demon could spirit away a woman and easily have it look like she’s committing Ashinuke. While Tanjirou worries about Suma, Inousuke overhears two of his colleagues mentioning how Makio hasn’t left her room. Turns out he has every right to be suspicious, as in the next scene we see Makio strung up by long obis, being taunted and tortured by the district’s resident demon.

I have no doubt that Makio, along with Suma and Hinatsuru, can handle themselves in a fight, so it speaks to the power of this demon that she’s restrained. While I initially groaned at the prospect of watching the boys flail about in drag, I enjoyed the little slices of district life we got thanks to their infiltrating the three houses. Hopefully they can cut through the rumors and locate Uzui’s wives without blowing their covers.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Entertainment District Arc – 01 – Flash in the Pan

I’m on record as saying Rengoku wasn’t established enough as a character to warrant what felt like a 20 minute-long death scene, and that maudlin atmosphere returns to start this new arc-opening double-episode, which is really more of a grab bag of epilogues to the Mugen Train arc. It does its job: getting our demon slayin’ boys off the grief train and onto their next mission to the entertainment (i.e. red light) district. But a cohesive episode it is not.

Lest we forget how goshdarn powerful Muzan is, Akaza arrives at the mansion where Muzan is posing as the adopted son of kind wealthy couple, and has his ass handed to him. Muzan is not impressed that his underling was able to defeat one measly Hashira; he wants every last demon slayer wiped off the face of the earth. It kinda makes you wonder: why doesn’t he just do it himself? He’s clearly strong enough.

Tanjirou visits the Rengoku home to deliver a message to Kyoujurou’s family, and meets his fallen friend’s meak and underpowered little brother Senjurou and his drunken former-Hashira father. Both grieve in their own ways, but Tanjirou is not about to let the dad get away with bashing and mocking his own son, and gives him a patented Kamado Headbutt.

After receiving Kyoujurou’s sword guard and a promise from Senjurou that he’ll piece back together the Flame Hashira Chronicles his dad tore up, Tanjirou returns to the Butterfly Mansion to rest, heal, and train, aided by Aoi, Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho. It’s a pleasant and fun enough way to re-introduce the cast for those who like me may not have seen them since last summer, while enabling the show to break out its comic zaniness.

Months pass, and the three lads all go off to defeat various low-to-mid-level demons in nearby villages. One such mission represents the only real non-flashback action sequence, and is also the first time we see Nezuko, which occurs halfway through this 46-minute outing. That’s too late if you ask me, but it was good to see the siblings fighting together to bring down a demon.

This new arc’s quirky Hashira character does not ingratiate himself with Tanjirou, Zenitsu, Inousuke, or me: not when he’s forcibly carrying Aoi and Naho away for some undisclosed mission seemingly requiring women. When the three lads surround him and Tanjirou says they’ll go with him in their place, it doesn’t make a lot of sense…didn’t he need women? He also spanks Aoi…for no discernable reason.

So yeah, this Sound Hashira Uzui Tengen guy seems like a real piece of work, in contrast to the brash but fundamentally decent Rengoku. I also have no idea what he’s going for in the fashion and accessory department…only that it’s a lot. Fortunately, the Aimer-sung OP shook off the cynical cobwebs and got be back into a Demon Slayer state of mind, which is to accept wild changes in tone from overcooked drama to madcap comedy and everything in between, this time in a fresh urban setting.

86 – 21 – Good Knight

As expected, 86 gets right down to it with continuing the pursuit of Morpho. Shin seems to have gotten the hint that it’s to be a team effort, but then in the first five minutes he loses Anju, Theo, Kurena and Raiden in short order. They got him as far as they could take him; the rest is up to him.

Frederica, who had been riding with Raiden, transfers to Fido, whom Shin then orders to hide with Frederica confined in the cargo hold. He wants her, at least, to survive to try to do something about Kiriya, especially should Shin fail.

As Shin and Kiri/Morpho stare each other down, there’s a distinct epic “final showdown” atmosphere to the proceedings, which is all too appropriate considering how close we are to season’s end. It’s not as if this isn’t going to be resolved one way or another within these last episodes.

Taking out all of Shin’s comrades in such short order raises the stakes to a ridiculous degree; now most of the pieces are off the board. Shin is still flashing his gallows smirk, but isn’t in any hurry to commit suicide, and shows off his full complement of talents and skills as he draws ever nearer to Morpho.

Raiden, who we last saw with quite a bit of shrapnel in his arm, manages to gather himself enough to save Shin from what could have been a fatal attack, but it’s ultimately Frederica breaking free from Fido and contacting Kiriya directly that truly gives Shin the opening he needs.

It also gives Frederica the opportunity she’s always desired to try to bring her trusty knight back from the darkness. Alas, all that is left for him is the battlefield, even as his princess stands right there before him. Killing his fellow Nouzen Shinei remains a top priority, but when Frederica puts a gun to her own head, he’s suddenly very distracted from that priority.

Not for long, mind you, but long enough for Shin to reach Kiriya’s cockpit and put his very last round through his head. This final boss battle is 86 combat at its very best, with visuals at moments approaching the lyrical or profound. Fancy words aside, it’s very awesome looking, and accompanied by some top-notch SFX and that always excellent Sawano Hiroyuki score.

In the end, Kiri’s demise is immediately preceded by Frederica looking upon him, Shin, and Rei together in royal Giadian military attire, before Kiri joins Rei walking into the light, leaving Frederica and Shin. Seconds after Kiri dies, Morpho self-destructs, seemingly enveloping both Shin and Frederica and leaving us to wonder who, if anyone, will still be breathing next week. Until then, I need to catch my breath.

My Senpai is Annoying – 12 (Fin) – All Grow’d Up

The Fall’s cutest, sweetest, most life-affirming series ends on a suitably cute, sweet, life-affirming episode all about Futaba and Takeda. With Sakurai and Nakama’s relationship status in a good place, it made sence to focus on the main couple, who have been a lot more on the fence about where they stand despite their obvious chemistry and mutual affection.

Futaba’s growth as a salesperson, which she largely attributes to her senpai’s care and guidance, results not only in her scoring a good deal, but gives Takeda the confidence to send her off on a solo presentation that she then nails. This allows him to score a company-saving deal, and he’s soon surrounded by impressed ladies who want to throw a drinking party for him.

Not really in a hurry to watch other women fawn over her senpai, Futaba still insists Takeda join them at the party while excusing herself. With everyone else off doing something, Futaba ends up going to the usual izakaya alone. She immediately realizes it’s not nearly as fun there without Takeda, which…girl I’m sure if you asked him out so it was just the two of you, he’d have agreed in a heartbeat!

As the draft beer flows, Futaba reminisces on her first day at the office when she was a green(-haired) rookie. She immediately makes it clear to Sakurai that she’s not some doll to fawn over, while Takeda buys her a can of soup but then mistakes her for a junior high student, making their introduction as senpai and kohai thoroughly awkward.

Still, Futaba marvels at how far the two of them have come. She probably loathed the man who thought she was a little kid, but now that she knows Takeda and he’s helped her so much, that’s not the case anymore. Color me 100% un-shocked that Takeda blew off his own party as soon as he could to join Futaba, and just in time to keep a drunk salaryman from pawing her.

While a pretty dense fellow, Takeda has never been one to mince words or obfuscate about his general feelings towards Futaba. And yet he’s certainly not one to realize his feelings are romantic, nor is he bold enough to come right out and say that. What he can say, and Futaba can easily accept (with no small amount of blushing) is that he knows drinking with her is a lot more fun than drinking with anyone else.

He takes this a step further on their walk to the train station, after both he and Futaba have had a little too much beer. Nevertheless, it’s the perfect amount for him to be able to say that no matter who Futaba “ends up with” (in a general sense), he promises to always be there to protect her “until then”. Mind you, I’m sure both he and Futaba would be just find if that “someone” ends up being him!

After that lovely little nightttime scene and the credits, we get one more cute scenario—the famous Umbrella Walk. Futaba forgot hers, but Takeda’s is more than wide enough to accommodate her beside him. When she gets self-conscious and moseys over to the end, he draws her closer with his beefy hand. She freaks out, and calls her senpai annoying, but in truth there’s no one she’d rather be with under an umbrella.

The Faraway Paladin – 11 – The Other Side of the Coin

At the start of this outing, everything’s coming up Maryblood, as he, Menel, Anna, Reystov, and his merry band of adventurers march throughout the Beast Woods, clearing them of demons. With help from Bee and Tonio, the newly-safe villages are gradually revitalized. When Will returns to places he’d seen at their lowest point, he can see firsthand what his good works have wrought.

Then one grey day Reystov reports that one of the more talented adventuring parties is two days late from a scouting mission. Will rolls out with Menel, Reystov, and two capable parties in search of them, and eventually find their corpses. They’re then led into a ravine and surrounded by demon beasts, led by a particularly ferocious chimaera.

Will & Co. put up a stout front, but the bottom line is they’re very nearly outmatched, which comes down to a lack of caution and preparation. When Menel is severely injured by the chimaera’s dragon breath, Will flies into a panic. He tries to cast lightning on all of the beasts, but is interrupted and hits himself, a rare unforced error. He has to resort to pure adrenaline and matching the beasts in viciousness with his demonblade to survive the day.

When he wakes up, he learns from Reystov that he and Menel were carried out after the Chimaera fled, and that he burned himself out fighting too hard. Even so, Will doesn’t see this as an inevitable occasional slip-up. Rather, he suffers a total and complete crisis of confidence, cursing himself for believing he could treat Menel and the others as equals despite being so much stronger than them.

We even get the first glimpse of Will in his previous life before coming to this world, just when I’d come to grips with the fact the show didn’t care about that part of Will’s story at all. But the person he was is crucial to how he’s feeling now: full of guilt and regret for expecting too much of his comrades because he doesn’t want to be lonely. He doesn’t have to say anyting to Bee and Tonio for them to know something’s very off about him.

Will decides he’ll never let something like this happen again, visiting the still-unconscious Menel and healing him a bit more before going off on his own. However lonely he might feel, he’ll feel even worse if he ends up killing those who have stood beside him. Still being an impressionable young whelp, he instantly agrees with the chatter of passing soldiers referring to him as a “monster”, and concludes that he must walk his path alone.

You can tell from Gracefeel’s expression that Will is off-base here. He never forced Menel or anyone else to stand beside him or be his friend. It’s pretty clear Menel, and Bee and Tonio, and Reystov and Anna, are with Will because they believe in him and his strength and want to do everything they can to make a difference in this world with him. The question is, will they be able to bring Will out of these doldrums, or does his new self-imposed isolation represent the new normal?

SAKUGAN – 12 (FIN) – THICKER THAN BLOOD

The Big Twist that starts the SAKUGAN finale is that Memenpu actually is a “Rainbow Child”, a child with an exceptionally advanced brain. This not only explains why she’s a genius, but what the “place in her dream” is all about: it was never a dream, it was a memory. Rainbow Children retain vivid memories even from their infancy. As Rainbow Children were bred to be the guardians of the Labyrinth, they are anathema to Shibito, who want them all dead.

Fortunately, Muro’s boss doesn’t let her kill Memenpu right away, even though it’s debatable what if anything he intends to do with her before killing her. This gives the remaining members of Team Memenpu the time they need to zero in on her location and rescue her. It’s definitely a team effort, with Yuri using a second-hand computer in a store to guide Gagumber and Zackletu, then Zack distracting both Shibito and the Bureau with sheer ballistic chaos.

Gagumber locates Memenpu, but by then she’s been placed in a bell jar, which soon shatters due to the Animus dripping on top of it. Memenpu seems to be immune to its deleterious effects due to her Rainbow-ness. But by the time her pops arrives, Muro’s boss (I don’t believe we got his name) has convinced Memenpu that she has no father. Whether their surroundings were meant to evoke that same father-y scene from Empire, I don’t know.

All’s I know is, this Shibito guy is a huge prick for messing with Memenpu’s head, and for all her advanced intellect, Memenpu betrays just how sensitive and naïve she his, simply accepting the guy’s words about Gagumber not being her father. She even puts herself between the guy and Gagumber, offering up herself in exchange for her not-dad’s safety.

Gagumber, rightfully so, says fuck that, treading through the shallow pool of Animus to reach Memenpu, melting away his boots and burning his feet. He tells her he is, always was, and always will be her father, and she is, always was, and always will be his daughter. Whatever she wants to do and wherever it leads them, he’ll be by her side on her journey. Memenpu, realizing she does have a dad in Gagumber after all, has herself a good cry in his arms.

Seemingly moved by this dramatic and cathartic exchange, the Shibito boss decides to let Memenpu and Gagumber go…for now. Gagumber recharges Big Tony and they take the shortest route back to Dream Colony proper—by drilling through the colony’s retaining wall. There, Gagumber zeroes in on Muro and blasts her through a hole in the floor for making his daughter cry.

There’s a ceremony honoring Team Memenpu hosted by Merooro, but when he produces arrest warrants and the team is surrounded by Bureau cops and bots, Memenpu unleashes a cloud of purple smoke from Tony and the quartet escapes with the Bureau in hot pursuit. Not sure why Merooro held a ceremony just to arrest them, but whatevs.

Back on the Labyrinth “road”, Memenpu leads her team on their original mission: to find the place in her dreams, come what may. It’s what she truly wants to do, and that’s more than enough for Gagumber to accompany her, and by extension Zack and Yuri. It’s been fun watching this found family iron out their warts and beat the bad guys…fun enough that I’ll likely give the expected second season a watch.

Komi Can’t Communicate – 10 – 200 Degrees

It’s Sports Day, which means a good half of the episode is spend outdoors, rain or shine. Komi meets the fiery upperclassman Netsuno Chika, who assigns specific temperatures to people. Netsuno regards Komi as “chilly” and hopes she won’t hurt her class’s chances, but as we know, Chika is misjudging a book by its cover.

Komi’s austere beauty is intimidating and aloof, but beneath that exterior is one of the warmest and kindest souls you’d ever want to meet. That soul yearns to break free of her social anxiety, and on some brief occasions, succeeds…like when Komi verbally cheers Tadano on from the crowd, giving him the boost he needs to place third in his race.

When there’s a sudden rainstorm and Komi’s class meets her mom Shuko, she’s understandably embarrassed, especially since her classmates initially mistake her mom for her and are amazed she’s talking. When the rain stops and the big relay race completes the day, Komi slips and gets covered in mud, but responds to her classmates cheering her on and completes the race, finishing second only to Netsuno, who admits she misjudged her.

The next segment involves another new character, Onemine, seemingly moving in on Komi’s man. The narrator says people with social anxiety tend to get jealous when one of their friends talks to another they don’t know, but add to the fact Komi likes Tadano, and the effortlessness with which Onemine interacts with him, and it’s doubly troubling to her.

The thing is, other than Tadano, Onemine seems like one of the most normal characters in the school. She’s a genuinely kind, decent, nice person with absolutely no ulterior motives. But like Netsuno she’s only seen Komi from afar, and worries that Tadano is stressed out by being with Komi all the time. Tadano assures her that’s not the case, and if she spoke to Komi she’d feel the same way…but when Onemine tries, Komi runs away.

Later, when Onemine is settling in to help Tadano with more class rep paperwork, Komi is more assertive and communicates via notebook that she wants to help too. This is when Onemine gets to watch Tadano and Komi interact naturally, then reads the room and makes up an excuse to leave the two lovebirds alone, later telling Komi she’s rooting for her. As I said, she’s just a nice girl!

We close out the episode with another hanging-out segment, this time with Komi, Tadano, Najimi and Ren going to a photo booth and taking some adorable photos. I particularly like how Komi is “filterproof”—any supposedly appearance-enhancing filters would only make her look less perfect than she already does. But on two occasions, Tadano notices Komi gazing at a crane game.

The next day at school, Tadano surprises Komi with the gift of a kitty keychain he won (on the first try!) at that crane game. Turns out Komi already played the game and won a kitty keychain of her own, but the two then decide to trade, so they’re giving gifts to each other. After school, Komi is so happy with Tadanos gift, she rolls around her bed and kicks her feet in the air in pure unbridled joy—a moment her mother dare not interrupt with a dinner announcement!

Shin no Nakama – 12 – Life Comes at You Fast

Even in his twisted current state, Ares believes what he is doing is both right and righteous. He was born to serve the Hero, but to do so, there must be a Hero, and it’s Ruti. He and Shisandan defeat Danan and make it to the chamber deep in the futuristic/ancient ruins where five of the six “Sacred Avenger” blades reside. They only need Ruti to touch one in order for the Hero’s Blessing to take hold once more.

But Shisandan, who like Ares wants nothing more than for Ruti to return to being the Hero, knows that won’t be enough; they’ll have to kill the one thing making Ruti not want to be the Hero most: her brother Gideon/Red. Neither Red, Rit, nor Ruti make it easy, as the three have no intention of letting Ares or Shisandan get their way, but those two find an odd ally in Theodora, who likewise defers to the Almighty’s Will.

A wyvern or two show up in the ensuing battle, and a magically-chained Rit rejects Theodora’s strict dogma that places so heavy a burden on unwilling shoulders. Ares, becoming more undone by the minute, conjures a giant iron cube that sends Red and Rit flying down the elevator shaft to their deaths, causing the biggest emotional outburst from Ruti yet.

Danan, who has recovered from his fight with Shisandan and Ares, uses “Rising Dragon’s Roar” to halt their fall and fly them back up to where Ares is. Ares, meanwhile, turns his attention to Tisse, and even squashes Mr. Crawly Wawly! Fortunately he’s fine, and he manages to clandestinely bind Ares’ hands with his spider silk, allowing Red to chop off his hands and deliver a near-fatal blow to his former comrade.

Ruti and Shisandan, who at some point fell down a level or two, continue to battle each other. The angrier Ruti gets, the more powerful she becomes, until she wrests one of Shisandan’s swords from him, slices him to bits, and beheads him. The animation and lighting here really bring the scene to life and lend it an epic quality.

Of course, it wasn’t Shisandan’s intention to win a fight against Ruti, but to get her to touch one of the Sacred Avenger blades. She does so, and almost immediately, it re-takes a hold over her mind and stifles both emotion and free will. After watching a Ruti enjoy her independence, it’s a gut-wrenching moment seeing it all snatched away in an instant.

Things get even worse when she ascends to where Red and Rit are, he greets her warmly, and without warning she lunges at him, sword drawn. It’s only thanks to Show MVP Tisse Garland (never thought I’d write that!) putting herself between Ruti and Red that he’s not killed right then and there. But things don’t look good for Tisse, while nobody who tried to wrest Ruti from her blessing is safe now that she’s been re-brainwashed by the sword.

This is all very intense and dramatic and I’m not sure how our happy couple (or poor Tisse!) is going to get out of it alive, let alone content to return to their slow life. There’s only one more episode to sort it all out.

The World’s Finest Assassin – 12 (Fin) – Gungnir Big or Gae Bolg Home

We know it’s going to be a different kind of episode when we begin with the Robo-Goddess in her realm, which has taken on the stark monochromatic aesthetic of the OP (which remains my favorite of the Fall). It seems the World’s Finest Assassin is her latest and possibly last best hope against the Hero ending the world.

Back on that world, her champion Lugh is ready to burn Dia’s house down and whisk her away with the story that she committed suicide so that none of the sides in the war could have her. There’s just one problem: Setanta MacNess has arrived with Gae Bolg, and partially demolishes the castle before Lugh can implement his plan.

Lugh deflects Gae Bolg’s attack with one of his “grenades”, then launches the biggest cannon attack he has. Setanta survives the blast with some superficial wounds that soon heal, but the knight is amazed at having finally seen and tasted his own blood, goes into Berserk mode while maintaining his sense, and challenges Lugh to a duel.

Suspecting Setanta is indeed the Hero as Maha’s intelligence suggested, Lugh makes it clear to Dia that he can’t run from Setanta’s challenge, nor can he have a hope of winning a duel against him. That said, Lugh also reminds Dia he’s neither knight nor hero, but an assassin. Assassinating’s all he can do, and it’s all he will do against Setanta.

After a little trash talking and negotiating of the terms of the duel, Lugh gets Setanta to agree that the duel will begin when a coin he flips into the air hits the ground. This essentially locks Setanta’s gaze on the coin, so he doesn’t look up when a solid tungsten missile comes crashing down on top of him, causing an enormous explosion and shock wave.

That solid tungsten missle was initially casually launched into orbit while Lugh was still in Dia’s castle, but is the culmination of months of careful preparation and collaboration. He and Dia designed the spells to launch it, and he and Tarte scouted the island Maha found to test it. It even employes the same shielding Tarte used to help Lugh conserve his energy on the way to Dia. The name of the spell is Gungnir, which is fitting as Odin’s spear is believed to be the prototype of Cúchulainn’s Gae Bolg.

Lugh’s extremely aerospace-y and not necessarily assassin-y or knightly gambit pays off. He takes a considerable lick himself, but soon awakens to a concerned Dia, whom he’s so relieved is okay he kisses her just as the sun rises over the mountains. When Dia asks why he agreed to take on a non-Tuatha Dé matter, Lugh tells her he never forgot his promise to always come running.

As he promised Tarte, Lugh arrives home having failed his first assassination job ever yet still triumphant, because he brought Dia with him. Cian decides its best for now for Dia’s identity to be concealed; she’s to live with them in Tuatha Dé as Lugh’s younger sister, with her shared bloodlines with Esri making it a believable lie.

With that settled, Cian brings up another order of business: the Hero has apparently arrived in the Alvan Kingdom. Lugh’s confused by that, since he assumed Setanta was the Hero. Alas, he apparently wasn’t; the actual Hero, whose presence closely precedes the certain arrival of the Demon Lord, is one Lord Epona Rhiannon, and the close-up on his alternate-Lugh like visage is the last image we see in The World’s Finest Assassin.

Despite the fact there’s no immediate news of a second season, I can’t believe we won’t be getting one sometime down the road. There’s a lot of story left to tell and a lot of cute moments between Lugh/Dia, Lugh/Tarte, Lugh/Maha, or any other combinations therein. Not to mention…what if this Epona lad is just like Lugh: originally from another world?

That’s one of dozens of questions I’m hoping a sequel would explore. Until then, this was a bold ending to a thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing isekai series.