Shin no Nakama – S2 12 (Fin) – We Can Be Heroes

In a battle of pure swordsmanship, Red has Van’s number, as demonstrated by the ease with which he’s able to parry and counter Van’s thrusts, but also kind of embarrass the kid by bopping him on the back and head with his bronze sword. Van is operating on emotion and adrenaline; never a good thing when you’re up against Red, a zen master by comparison!

When Lav sees her boy is getting schooled, she tries to intervene, but gets a slash to the cheek from Rit, who won’t let her interfere. Lav in turn shatters her tiny faerie avatar and shows her true form as a massive magenta lightning-wreathed calamity, and she is pissed off, but when Rit is outclassed, Ruti steps in and puts the Calamity down, showing she’s still got the Hero goods and then some.

Van decides to turn what was supposed to be a fight with bronze swords into a free-for-all by casting lightning on Red, which shatters his sword, and has him at the edge of being KO’d. But Red is playing dead, allowing Van to come in and use his Healing Hands: Reflect, at which point Van unleashes Ruti’s power through the charm she lent him, which takes Van down.

Van accuses Red of cheating, but it was he who used magic first, everything after that was fair game. As Van stews in his blood, sweat, and tears, Red tells him that the emotion that made him waver was disappointment, something he’d never experienced. He passes out and comes to in one of Undine’s huts. Both he and Lav are bound, but he’s calm. The instincts of his Hero’s Blessing have returned to him.

Red asks Rit to take Lav outside so he and Van can talk mano-a-mano. Red explains to Van that his emotional turmoil caused his Blessing to go berserk. But he also makes clear to Van that a hero isn’t made by a Blessing, but by someone who wants to be a hero, and strives to act like one every day.

Red believes Van has what it takes to be a true hero, but he won’t become one until he learns more about the ways of the world while accepting his emotions are part of him and trusting in his friends. After beating the villain out of him, Red has given Van a way forward: the right way.

When Van emerges from the hut free of the root bonds, Lavender is worried Red did something awful to him, but he’s fine. Not only that, Van does something totally unbidden that Lavender has never experienced: He thanks her for always being by his side. She blushes, smiles softly, and tells him the pleasure has been all hers.

Van proceeds to apologize properly to Esta, Albert, and Cardinal Ljubo (who was healed from his wound and is mostly pissed the nurses won’t let him drink or smoke). No one has to tell him to do this, he wants to, because he sees the error of his past ways. As Red said, these aren’t just members of his party, but his friends, and with their help, and Lavender’s he’ll become a stronger, better hero.

Lavender is a little worried about what Red might’ve said to Van to change him so much in so short a time, but all it takes is Rit asking if she doesn’t like this new Van anymore for Lav to insist that on the contrary, she’s never loved him more.

And while she also insists she hates Red, she also procures a pure blue sapphire for him to make a ring for Rit, as thanks for him looking after Van. Hey guys, I like Van and Lavender now. They’re a couple of real sweeties! Just … ya know, don’t get Lav mad.

Once the ring is made by his Dwarf friends in town, Red spares no detail in crafting the perfect romantic evening. When his preparations are complete he calls Rit, and the foley work exquisitely places us in that room with him as we hear her footsteps above him, then going down the stairs. The moment Rit knows what’s up, tears start to fill her eyes as Red gets on one knee and asks her to marry him.

The answer, of course, is yes, and she even thinks she should be the one asking him. He didn’t need to do this whole song and dance, and a simple bronze ring would have been sufficient. But Red wanted to show her how much he loved her, and also treat her like the princess she is. It’s the most romantic moment of Spring 2024, and it was a Goddamn Tearjerker!

At the reception to follow, everyone extends their best wishes to the happy couple, with Ruti also adding that “she’ll be next”—presumably, she wants to marry Red too, but if you ask me, she should be marrying Tisse. Mr. Crawly Wawly can officiate.

Van and Lavender are also there to join in the celebration, as Van seems to be starting his education in the ways of the world by actually opening his eyes to the joys of the slow life. He’d love it if Red could join his party, but Red is where he belongs: by Rit’s side, in the sleepy town of Zoltan. No doubt they’ll be there until they’re old and wrinkly.

CERTIFIED GODDAMN TEARJERKER

 

7th Time Loop – 12 (Fin) – Even Poison Can Bring Happiness

Called it! Not that I expect any reward, as it was a foregone conclusion that Rishe would show Michel, Kyle, Arnold, and the entire capital the good way to use black powder, which is with pretty fireworks. This application never occured to Michel, so caught up in being the bad guy he had one hell of a blind spot. But that’s what his trusty student is for.

Count Lawvine is about to have Michel arrested for threatening to unleash a more violent demonstration of the powder on the city, but it’s Prince Arnold himself who tell him to stand down. He’s agreed to a technological alliance with Coyolles after all. He’s not doing this out of kindness, but because it’s the pragmatic thing to do. Rishe also privately hopes that in seeing a weapon of war used in such a pretty and joyful way, perhaps Arnold can draw some parallels to his own war-hardened self.

Michel bids farewell to Rishe where they met in this loop, at her herb garden, and he admits that he was wrong: she’s going to make a great empress and bride of Arnold. It isn’t just her scientific mind, but her political one that she flexed in getting him to rethink his plans and getting Arnold to sign a deal with Coyolles. Michel is going to be very busy fulfilling the kingdom’s obligations to Galkhein.

That leaves the deliver of the ring. Rishe presents the box to Arnold, who tells her that wearing the ring is “unnecessary” as he only requested that he be allowed to gift the ring to her. But it’s not unnecessary to Rishe. In her country, a wife-to-be wears the ring on their ring finger and keeps it there for life. Rishe doesn’t take no for an answer, and Arnold gets on one knee to properly slip the ring on her finger (after kissing said finger), a sequence during which time she briefly forgets how to breathe.

Now that the ring, with a sapphire the color of Arnold’s eyes, is on her finger, she feels like she can accomplish anything. Arnold, in turn, finds himself in a much better mood than he’d imagined. Rishe asks for another boon, which Arnold is happy to grant: that they journey across the world together so she can show him all of the beautiful and wonderful things in the world.

He agrees, and adds that he’s already found one of those things, referring to her of course. It’s a very romantic and feel-good way to end this story, at least for now. Rishe looks to be well on her way to avoiding being killed by Arnold in her seventh loop, thanks to all of the skills and experience she amassed in the previous loops. No second season has been announced as I write this, but I wouldn’t mind seeing one somewhere down the road, as Rishe was an infectiously charming, capable, and lovable protagonist.

Ao no Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati-hen – 12 (Fin) – See No Evil

After all that battling and a tense meeting in Mephisto’s office, everyone’s head is spinning about Shima being a spy and a double agent. Rin thinks everyone still trusts Shima, but Bon only said that to save his ass from execution, while Konekomaru doesn’t have a clear answer. Shiemi thinks it would be nice if Shima could return to class with them like nothing ever happened, but even she has her doubts, and doesn’t like how that uncertainty feels.

As for Yukio, he’s setting up to be the next person to have split loyalties. Always the loyal soldier for Mephisto and True Cross (despite never really being able to trust him), Shima bringing up Lucifer calls to mind something we didn’t see back at the lab: Lucifer actually met with Yukio and asked him to join Illuminati. He told him he’s weak, but he can help him unlock his power. This weighs on Yukio throughout the episode.

During an early morning run, Shima and Bon happen to run into each other, and have something of a heart to heart. Shima isn’t lying about one thing: he’s pretty much true neutral, as he told Yukio. That means he can warn Yukio and not want Bon or Konekomaru or Izumo to get too badly hurt, but it also means he’s having a blast being a spy for both sides. Bon, who has always been like a brother to him, admits he still has “zero trust” in Shima, but still wishes him good luck, for at least he’s decided what he wants to do.

With Shura recovered, Mephisto sends everyone to a spa and waterpark for some much-needed R&R, and even Yukio can’t escape it. But he also pulls a prank on them, unleashing the Three Wise Monkeys to stir up some mischief. Yukio, Bon, and Konekomaru notice Shima acting strange and unusually serious and focuses, but it turns out he’s contemplating which girl to go down the water slide: Izumo, Shiemi, or Shura.

Rin, who also falls under the spell of the monkeys, declares that he wants to go down the slide with someone too, but that person can only be Shiemi, thus revealing who he has true feelings for once and for all. Unfortunately, Shiemi doesn’t hear it, as she and Izumo and Shura are already at the top of the slide stairs. Shima and Rin duke it out, collapsing the steps and nearly re-injuring the girls, but Bon uses a charm to cancel out the effect of the monkey and Rin and Shima return to normal so Shura can wreck their shit.

So, the spa trip wasn’t as relaxing as Mephisto had hoped it would be. Rin shows he’s not mentally still in elementary school by telling Yukio that he knows something must be on his mind, and that he can talk about it to him if he likes. But Yukio puts on a fake smile and just says he’s tired; it only exacerbates his inferiority complex to open up to his dumb little brother.

Yukio thinks he’s too weak and wants to get stronger, which means he could easily fall into the hands of Lucifer and the Illuminati. But that’s a story for another arc, which it seems will be coming far sooner than previous arcs. That must be why the series felt comfortable with these last two episodes serving as little more than an extended epilogue to Izumo’s story, and a sneak peak of what’s to come.