Mushoku Tensei II – 06 – Plucked from Despair

Rudy documents for us the routine he’s settled into at Ranoa Magic Academy. It seems his favorite parts of the otherwise monotonous days are those he spends with Silent Fitz, with whom he has undeniable chemistry and whom he feels “gets” him. That becomes even more evident when Fitz tells him she also lost someone in the teleportation disaster, but like him, “he” now knows that person (i.e. Rudy) is alive.

Whether it’s because she’s protecting her identity to maintain her position with the princess or because she genuinely wants Rudy to find out for himself, or is happy just with things the way they are, Sylphie remains mum on her true identity to Rudy. Meanwhile, Rudy notes his heart starts beating faster whenever Fitz smiles or laughs, even though he’s convinced he “doesn’t swing that way”.

The main thrust of the episode is that Prince Zanoba desperately wants Rudy to teach him how to create figures. In an unfortunate scene where he he’s naked and rubbing up against a statue, it’s petty apparent he wants to create figures so he can have sex with them. Alas, Rudy said he would teach him, and so he tries to do so.

But Zanoba proves hopeless, both at forging figures the magical way and by carving clay with a knife. When he mentions his problem to Fitz, he suggests they find a particularly dexterous slave who can magically carve them for the prince. Fitz also manages to get Rudy to invite him, which makes him very happy.

Going to the market to browse for and buy slaves is as natural in this world as buying a carton of eggs in our world. Mind you, there’s still plenty of slavery in our world going on, even in “developed” or “first world” countries, but there’s no stigma where Rudy is.

One could say they come across the very kind of slave who is perfectly suited for being taught how to make figures with magic: a young dwarf girl. Dwarves are great with their hands, and the earlier you teach someone magic, the more mana they end up with when they’re grown (this happened with both Rudy and Sylphie when he taught her).

The thing is, Rudy isn’t sure this girl wants to be bought. He isn’t even sure she wants to live. He recognizes the eyes of his past self in hers; someone for whom despair seems to have taken over. He quietly asks her if she wants to die, and even considers putting her out of her misery. It’s a dark, complex scene, but at the end of the day Rudy sees this girl as a person, not simply an object of property.

When the girl manages to utter that she doesn’t want to die, that’s enough for Rudy. Wanting to live can come later. They buy her, and immediately set to work feeding and training her. And while the end reason for acquiring her—so Zanoba can have more figures to do weird things with—if that means this girl, whom they name Juliette, gets to live a lest wretched life, then that’s certainly a positive.

I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get any more time with Rudy’s other classmates, and I truly wonder how long Fitz’s true identity will remain unknown to Rudy, I still enjoyed her and Rudy getting along famously like I knew they would in this quieter kind of Mushoku Tensei episode.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead – 05 – Forget the Reasons

While sleeping in a tent on a rooftop above a ruined Tokyo, Akira remembers his childhood dream: to be a superhero. He once dressed up like his favorite Super Sentai-style TV hero and protected the weak from bullies, and now he’ll become a slayer of zombies for the people. Kencho, who decides to bleach his hair so he’ll have more impact as a comic, naturally doesn’t pooh-pooh his friend’s dream.

They head to the nearest aquarium to find something, and note how it feels a little naughty to be in the backrooms where normally only employees would be allowed. The episode takes care not to show us exactly what this item is until Akira needs to put it to use: it’s a puncture-proof sharksuit embedded with chainmail, enabling him to fight off zombies chasing survivors on a bus without fear of bites.

He also takes the effort to paint it so he looks more like a cool hero than a guy in a shark suit. As fate would have it, one of the survivors running to the safety of the aquarium is “Miss Risk Analyst”, but while Akira wants to look cool, his cosplay is ridiculous and he’s quickly gang-piled by the zombies. He slinks back to Kencho and the others exhausted, alive, and unable to impress the konbini girl.

That said, Kencho urges him to talk to her anyway, and while she doesn’t deny that he saved people, she doesn’t understand why he’d risk his life to save strangers without regard to the people who matter to him (like Kencho, or his family back in rural Gunma). After refusing yet again to exchange contact info, they’re attacked by a zombie great white shark propelled by the legs of three zombies it ate.

The absurd yet frightening foe cuts Miss Analyst’s analysis of Akira acting out his fantasy of being a hero to mollify his inferiority and self-worth issues short. Everyone runs for their lives, and when she tries to calm a panicking girl down she gets shoved to the ground and left behind.

Miss Analyst believes this to be the end for her, and she reiterates her hatred of working big groups. But before the shark thing can pounce on her, it’s mounted like a bucking bronco by Akira, saving her once again. When she angrily asks him why, he tells her to forget about the reasons.

Just as someone hungry will eat or someone will want to talk to a cute girl, a hero doesn’t need a reason to save people, even strangers. Realizing this isn’t a world where analysis and logic alone will necessarily save her (again, she’s being chased by a zombie shark with six zombie human legs) Miss Analysis relents.

Knowing full well Akira doesn’t have a strategy, she comes up with one: using batteries to disable the shark’s Ampullae of Lorenzini. Akira buys time while she locates batteries up to the task, and when he falters, Kencho buys him time by once again stripping down to make an enticing target for the monster.

Somewhat disappointingly, even after going through all this, Miss Analyst doesn’t join Akira and Kencho as they head to Akira’s family home in Gunma. She cites irreconcilable differences in their methods: they want to do things before becoming zombies, and she wants to prevent becoming one altogether. It’s a fair assessment, but there’s also room in the middle.

That said, I love her reaction to Akira telling her she’s precious to him now and he’d save her even if he wasn’t trying to be a hero. Her mask truly cracks, and she shows that she’s not immune to certain charms. And even though they part ways once again, she still gives Akira her contact info at the end, revealing her name as Mikazuki Shizuka.

She says, with a wry smile and the wind catching her hair, it’s fine to give the info to him because it’s because it’s unlikely they’ll see each other again. But c’mon…they’re definitely seeing each other again.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – 19 – The Ice Queen Cometh

Ichigo’s training is now complete, and he’s dressed in layers in order to get through the 72 layers between the Royal Palace and Soul Society. The Squad 0 captains, satisfied with his growth, send him off like parents sending their kid off to his first day of school. Heck, Hikifune Kirio even tosses him some onigiri for lunch!

Once he gets enough Soul Bars, Ichigo uses his Soul Phone to call Urahara, telling him no matter how bad things are going, he’s on his way back, and he promises to take care of business. Like Gandalf the White returning to Middle Earth, he’s poised to complete the turning of the tide that has already begun.

Compare this warm and caring send-off to the far colder treatment Uryuu is receiving at Yhwach’s castle, where Haschwalth exacts swift draconian justice upon Cang Du (“I”) and BG9 (“K”) who failed to execute their targets. Upon death, the power and skills of every Stern Ritter is absorbed by Yhwach.

One wonders how such an entity would ever die, but the fact Yhwach has chosen a successor means that’s a certainty, so Uryuu will be absorbing him in due time. I’d like to think Uryuu momentarily flashes an “I’ve made a huge mistake” face during this scene, but we’ll see if that regret grows or fades in however many of the 9 days remain.

With check-ins on both Ichigo and Uryuu, the remainder of the episode consists of an extremely welcome Rukia battle. She fights Äs Nödt (German for “That’s all”), whose letter “F” stands for Fear. But his Slipknot schtick doesn’t reach Rukia, because fresh from the Palace she’s mastered her gorgeous zanpakuto Sode No Shirayuki.

The sword was never about shooting ice, but lowering temperatures, including her own body temperature to the point where she’s medically dead. Because all fear is rooted in death in one way or another, her already being dead makes her immune to Äs Nödt’s fear inducement, and when her temperature reaches Absolute Zero she turns her foe into an Äs Nödtcicle.

It’s pretty badass, but a cut to Äs Nödt’s miserable past living in agony in a hospital bed all but assures the battle is not over. Yhwach bestowed upon him a terrible power that enabled him to rise from the bed, but in a grotesque, monstrous, undead form.

Äs Nödt shatters Rukia’s ice and creates a Galactic Senate of creepy googly eyes around her. Rather than black slime, the all-consuming fear takes the form of a carpet of flies that cover her body. Once she’s seen this form of his, even the fact her molecular activity has ceased doesn’t matter. Rukia lets out a blood-curdling scream.

Before their battle began, Rukia said killing her “might” bring her brother around. That turns out to be correct, as he slashes through Äs Nödt’s eyes with Senbonzakura. Äs Nödt incorrectly observes that he’s using his Bankai, but he’s not; this is just his Shikai. Like Rukia and Renji, he was able to rediscover the true nature of his zanpakuto in the Palace.

Two of the coolest moments of the series follow (no pun intended). First, Byakuya praises Rukia for having become strong. The words are so simple, but they carry so much weight for Rukia, who was so hurt by his turning his back on her way back when. To have her older brother, who always protected her, finally acknowledge her, is extremely gratifying.

Second: Byakuya doesn’t finish Äs Nödt off, but leaves it to Rukia. He tells her what she’s seeing isn’t her own fear, but her opponent projecting his fear. She has nothing to fear. For the first time, he believes in her and trusts her to get the job done. And boy howdy, does she ever do so.

Rukia utters the word Bankai, and unleashes Hakka no Togame (白霞罸, literally “Censure of the White Haze”), which takes the form of an all-consuming avalanche of ice and snow that freezes and utterly destroys Äs Nödt once and for all. As he crumbles into nothingness, he repeats the mantra “I’m afraid” over and over.

After the big blast, Rukia’s Bankai getup is revealed, and it’s even more beautiful and ethereal than her Shikai was back in the day. She’s the very picture of a perfect ice queen, with a glittering crystal gown of white and soft blue, her eyes sparkling amethysts, and all around her crackling in the pristine coldness.

In a final gesture of brotherly love and care, Byakuya deftly guides Rukia out of her Bankai mode, warning her that while it is powerful, it is also extremely perilous, and will kill her if she doesn’t take great care coming down. Most satisfying of all, there’s no additional rug pull…Rukia started this battle, she finished it, and Äs Nödt isn’t coming back. That’s all.

But just so the Quincy don’t come off as too soft, her victory is followed after the credits with the introduction of the next Stern Ritter, who shows up to torment Isane and tiny 11th Squad Lieutenant Kusajishi Yachiru. Well, I say “show up”, but this Quincy is extremely adept at concealing their presence, to the point Yachiru thinks she’s landed a solid left hook on them, only for her left cheek to take the blow.

If this is the next battle, I hope no one interferes, because I like the idea of the brute force-forward Yachiru facing off against a Quincy whose body isn’t always there, supported by the best medical shinigami left standing in Isane. I can smell another Stern Ritter L.

Until then, I’ll revel in Kuchiki Rukia’s much-needed and appreciated win. She’s always been my favorite female Bleach character since the beginning when she showed Ichigo her awesome drawing skills. She’s gotten a pretty short shrift since that first Soul Society arc, so it was awesome to see her kicking ass and taking names with icy elegance and only a relatively minor assist from her cool big brother.