Attack on Titan – 77 – A Game of Inches

Despite having been beaten up by Eren, Armin still believes their best and only move is to back him, in hopes the Rumbling can protect Paradis from being destroyed by Marley. The others eventually go along with him; though some like Connie just want the chance to slug him. As for Mikasa, she decides not to wear the red scarf into battle for the first time…well, ever.

Reiner thinks he has Eren beaten, but he should’ve remembered…this is Eren, who will only give up when he’s dead. Their wrestling match is interrupted by the arrival of Zeke as the Beast on the top of the wall, using his baseball tosses to take out the airships, Reiner, and Porco. Even Pieck and Magath can’t get a clear shot at Zeke as he rains stone projectiles their way.

As Eren limps towards Zeke, which would result in all the conditions necessary to cause the Rumbling to be fulfilled, Yelena revels in the destruction of the Marleyan airships and scattering of their forces. When Armin, Mikasa, and the others make it to her, she looks down on Armin like a hawk ready to swoop in for the kill, only to change to a tearful smile, deciding to trust that Armin’s on her side.

Colt and Gabi are running through the city when they find Falco held prisoner by Eldians. Both Nile and Falco spot them, and Nile decides to take Falco around the corner to reunite him with Colt and Gabi, declaring that this battle is no place for kids and that they should go home. While hiding, Gabi and Falco overhear their fake Paradis family talking about them.

Falco confesses that he unwittingly sent Eren’s letters to his allies, resulting in the raid on Liberio. Oh, and that he’s in love with Gabi and wanted to marry her and live happily ever after. Gabi briefly blushes, but doesn’t dignify his confession with an answer. It’s just good to hear her say the people of Paradis aren’t the monsters she was programmed to believe they were…they’re just people.

Armin, Mikasa & Co. are pinned down along the rooftops, unable to get close to Eren, while other Eldians fall for the trap of a skeleton Cart Titan, which they assume means they defeated it. Pieck is right as rain under the skeleton, while Magath is still strapped into the turret. Before Zeke can react, he puts a shot right into the Beast Titan’s neck, sending him plummeting off the wall to the ground.

Of course, that might have inadvertently helped Zeke, as he’s now that much closer to Eren, and ending all of this. The question is, is Armin right that Eren is playing some kind of long game and merely playing along with Yelena and Zeke, even going so far as to pretend to disown his two best friends? If he isn’t, what is his plan?

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Entertainment District Arc – 07 – Tantrums and Lullabies

While Tanjirou is unconscious, the transformed and leveled-up Nezuko goes to absolute town on Daki, to the point where, again, I kinda felt sorry for the poor demoness. When Daki tries to counter by slicing her opponent to bits, Nezzy’s blood not only coagulates, keeping all her parts together, but burns Daki everywhere it splattered, reminding her of her human death in flames long ago.

The problem, is, Nezzy has no limiter but Tanjirou, and by the time he comes to she’s already inadvertently wounded some human bystanders (not to mention scared the absolute shit out of them). When she smells the humans’ blood, she can’t help but charge towards them. Thankfully, Tanjirou is there to stop her from killing anyone. But he calm his sister down and protect the bystanders from Daki, who is partially healed and pissed.

Things look bad for Tanjirou, but Uzui shows up just when he should, cutting all of Daki’s attacking belts in the blink of an eye. And nobody, not even Daki, realizes that he also beheaded her with that same arriving attack. Uzui doesn’t consider her an Upper Rank, as how could someone of such rank be holding their head in their hands like she is now?

Just as I love how Daki is someone with whome you can occasionally sympathize, I also love how nonchalant and casual Uzui goes about his business. When he sees a hulked-up Nezuko trying to break free from her undersized brother, he basically tells Tanjirou to get it together put Nezuko to sleep already. The problem is, Nezzy doesn’t seem to be listening to him.

That’s when Tanjirou takes Uzui’s offhand advice to “sing her a lullaby”, which he does while she struggles. Suddenly she’s transported back to better days when she was walking with her mom, who was singing a lullaby to her baby brother. Big Nezzy bursts into tears, then shrinks and falls right asleep, ending one of the many threats facing the Demon Slayers.

The next problem is that despite being beheaded, Daki’s body isn’t disintegrating. Daki doesn’t think much of this, as perhaps it will just take a while, until Daki starts having a full on tantrum about how mean everyone’s been to her. Then she calls out to her “brother”, and Uzui instinctively goes in for the kill…only for his strike to miss. A second demon sprouts out of Daki’s back and moves her to safety.

The second demon is her brother, Gyuutarou, as grotesque a demon as she is beautiful. He heals her and calms her down in much the same way we’ve seen Tanjirou calm his demon sister. What with Nezzy being almost ever-present in her box, you could say both pairs of siblings are attached by, well, not the hip, but certainly the back.

Uzui didn’t consider Daki an Upper Rank because she was so easy to behead, but beheading didn’t kill her, and now we learn that she’s not only not a single demon, but the brother within her is the demon Uzui has been searching for all along. It made me wonder if you somehow managed to separate Gyuutarou whether Daki could be redeemed, as he’s the brains behind their symbiotic existence, controlling her from within.

For now, she’s very much one-half of the latest boss, and powerful enough that even Uzui will have to break a sweat. With Inousuke and Zenitsu finally catching up and Tanjirou ready to rejoin the fray once he stashes Nezuko away (which…rats), this arc is ratcheting up at precisely the right time.

Akebi’s Sailor Uniform – 02 – See You Tomorrow

Komichi is an uncomplicated girl with a simple love: to emulate her favorite idol, Fukumoto Miki, by donning a sailor fuku to school. There’s an elemental beauty to that clarity that embues the entire episode. We get to witness the fateful moment she fell for both Miki and the uniform while watching TV with Kao resting on her lap. She’s in such awe of Miki’s cuteness, a snack falls from her hand into Kao’s.

We’re hearing the same story Komichi’s class is hearing in her extended introduction of herself and why she appears to be the class libero (in volleyball) or goalkeeper (in soccer)—the one who stands apart from the others. She more than stands, she does an elegant acrobatic move that is meant to show everyone something funny she does for her sister…it’s just she really should have worn bike shorts underneath her skirt!

When the class splits into quartets for lunch, we learn Komichi is one of the only Roubai students to have never attended cram school—such was her single-minded devotion to getting into Roubai so she could wear the fuku, she studied so hard she didn’t need cram school. We also meet two new classmates, soon to be friends: the kindly glasses-wearer Kojou Tomono, and the mischievous shit-stirrer Usagihara Touko.

Komichi may have attended school to this point alone—the only other person in her tiny school being her teacher—but just as she got into Roubai her own way, she also manages to be naturally gregarious without even trying; simply by being her own cute quirky self. She captivates her new classmates by perfectly reenacting the idol Miki’s lip gloss finger kiss gesture.

At Touko’s bidding, Komichi goes on to do a number of cute poses that capture the entire class’ attention. Turns out she had nothing to fear from wearing a uniform different than everyone else. Everyone in the class is different and unique in their own way, and the rookie homeroom teacher believes that will make them a fun an interesting first class.

While Komichi dishes out no shortage of entertainment for Usagihara, et al, she also happens to be having the absolute time of her life on her first day. Never is she so full of joy as when Usagihara and Kojou say “see you tomorrow” when she’s headed home. Komichi doesn’t walk home, she dances, bounds, leaps, and soars home, through achingly gorgeous, idyllic surroundings.

She comes home to find her father is home for the first time in what seems to be years. Perhaps demonstrating where Komichi gets her quirkiness, he’s so self-conscious about interacting with her all grown up, he pretends to be asleep. But after her bath with Kao (who insists Komichi bring Kizaki home to meet her) she finds her father outside, and the two talk as father and daughter under the stars.

When she learns when he has to leave in the morning, she tells him she’ll make a point to be up and in her sailor fuku so he can see her. Flashing another multidimensional smile, Komichi tells her dad what her new friends told her: “See you tomorrow!” Some curious yet still lovingly rendered animated tangents aside, Akebi’s Sailor Uni is comfort food that’s earnest, pure, and sweet almost beyond belief.