KonoSuba 3 – 05 – Divine Treasures

Kazuma was soaking up the renown from everyone recognizing his name, deeds, and general awesomeness. But once the battle begins, all it takes is for one scared little kobold to lure him into a pit where a hundred kobolds are waiting for him to suddenly lose his life. Darkness and Megumin steal the show instead with their bravery and explosion, respectively.

Eris resurrects Kazuma once more, but tasks him with collecting the Divine Treasures, meant to be used only by the Resurrected like himself and extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. And while he unceremoniously dumps the still-recovering Megumin on the bed of his room at the palace he’s once again granted, they still get to have a weekly Sweet Megumin x Kazuma Moment.

They’re both ready to head back to Axel, but when Iris comes in to say hi, Megumin notices her golden necklace is imbued with ridiculous amounts of magical power. Iris shows them the inscription on the back, which turns out to be Japanese, and when Kazuma reads it the necklace glows and flashes, and suddenly Kazuma and Iris have swapped bodies.

I’m on record here as loving any and all body swap episodes, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Iris moves and talks exactly like Kazuma, the latter a testament to Iris’ seiyu Takao Kanon’s vocal talent. Fukushima Jun similarly does a great job sounding like Iris in Kazuma’s body with a higher pitch and far gentler and polite speech patterns.

Both Iris and Kazuma decide that now that they’ve been thus afflicted, they might as well have some fun. Iris heads into town without retainers for the first time in her life, in Kazuma’s body and with Megumin as an escort. Kazuma meanwhile gets to serve up a much more smug and haughty version of Iris that flummoxes Claire and Mitsurugi with her new attitude.

Kazuma also uses this opportunity to be a little perv, heading to the bath to wash Darkness and Claire’s back. Claire’s a little too enthusiastic about this, while Kazuma ends up emotionally unprepared for the sheer amount of noble skin that awaits him in the bath. As Iris gets his body’s ass beaten into the stone age by some toughs Megumin provokes on purpose, Kazuma blesses his luck and decides not to worry about tomorrow … until tomorrow.

Solo Leveling – 12 (S1 Fin) – Shadow Monarch

Jinwoo has gone and backed himself into a corner. The knights keep coming, his fatigue and HP continue to drop, and he has no way to raise them. He eventually ends up on the ground, contemplating his demise once again, and haunted by the voices of those who said he was the weakest hunter ever, and even kinder voices like Joohee who told him he didn’t have to push himself so hard. Even his former, weaker self shows up to tell him that beneath his tougher body he’s still weak.

While that might be true, and Jinwoo may be at the end of his line here, his past self doesn’t account for luck here. Because Jinwoo didn’t do his daily quest—push-ups, sit-ups, a run, etc.—he’s transported out of the job change quest and into the penalty zone. There, all he has to do is defeat a bunch of giant centipedes (which are no problem) and he can level up and recover his HP and mana. He even gets to purchase a new dagger that, while pricey, is perfect for armored foes.

When the system sends him back to the dungeon, he’s ready to go (he also has “ruler’s hand”, which lets him use telekinesis without mana), but he’s irked by the fact the knights just keep coming while the mages don’t seem to be attacking. It dawns on him that they’re summoning the gates that are bringing the endless knights through. So he changes his primary targets from the foot soldiers to the mages. As their number decreases, so do the gates.

The mages try to pivot their strategy by merging a bunch of knights into one giant armored golem, but by reducing the number of targets Jinwoo has to deal with, they are actually lowering their defenses. He carves through the scant knights remaining, destroys the three remaining mages, and then destroys the master-less golem.

With all enemies defeated, the system starts cycling through various messages. First, it analyses the battle Jinwoo just fought and deems that he can switch jobs to Necromancer. Jinwoo isn’t sure about that at first as it’s not a front-line job, but considering how strong he is, perhaps he can be the exception to the rule. That proves to be the case, as all the bonuses he earned end up blowing past Necromancer and advancing to the even more badass-sounding Shadow Monarch.

Jinwoo tries out his new ability to raise a shadow army from the dead knights around him, but it takes three attempts to convince their commander Ignis to serve him rather than a king of old who may never return. Jin-Ah is correct: Jinwoo isn’t late coming home because he has a girlfriend. It’s because he can now summon dead warriors of any rank to fight for him.

This likely means that it’s going to be a lot harder for him to keep a low profile and maintain his anonymity from organizations like the Hunter’s Guild / Association. It also means he’ll probably be able to afford treatment for his mother sooner rather than later.

How he figures into the battle of Jeju Island on which the S-Rankers are about to embark, we’ll have to wait for the confirmed second season. I’ll be watching to see just how far this former nobody can go.

Gushing over Magical Girls – 13 (Fin) – Love’s a Game of Give and Take

Vena gives the Enormita girls a much-deserved day off at the beach. Utena rejects the tiny purple micro bikini Kiwi picked out for her, going with a cute lilac one piece instead. Turns out Tres Magia also got the day off, so Haruka, Kaoruko, and Sayo are also there.

Big Sis Haruka builds sand castles with Korisu, Kiwi competes with and shouts at Kaoruko (the two could either be sisters or lovers), and Nemo teach Matama swimming lessons. Sayo ends up with Utena under the umbrella, but perhaps wisely doesn’t bring up last week’s intense massage. Instead, she notices Utena’s Tres Magia bag, and Utena starts to gush about how cool the magical girls are, it gives Sayo a big boost. I can’t help but ship these two.

Unfortunately the peaceful day takes a turn when Kiwi witnesses two drunk girls butting in line ahead of Utena and transforming into Leoparde to threaten them. The Tres girls sense Enormita and transform. Since this is the seaside, Gushing finally has an excuse for Utena to summon a tentacle monster, which not only captures and has its way with Tres Magia, but Kiwi, Matama, and Nemo as well.

Kaoruko, who really hates octopi and tentacles, is almost at the end of her rope when Sayo breaks out her elegant and badass “Maiden of Hoarfrost” new form, much to Utena’s delight. When Utena tosses a couple of her own attacks Sayo’s way, Sayo catches the black bolt in her white shawl, seemingly to deflect it—only to direct the attack back onto herself!

This is the new-and-improved Sayo, who is now able to maintain her dignified façade while embracing her deep-seated love of the punishment Utena is doling out. Utena’s attacks are a form of love, so it’s only right and proper for her to not only take that love, but give some back in return. Haruka is confused, but Kaoruko knows what’s going on: Utena the sadist and Sayo the masochist are having an all-out S&M battle.

Even though Enormita regroups and throws everything they have at Sayo, she’s able to blast them all into the sky, which is just fine with Utena, who has always exhibited switch tendencies. Sayo’s win also allows everyone to transform back into their normal selves, with no one being the wiser about who they just fought (and did … other things too).

It all ends with a (relatively) peaceful night on the beach with fireworks and everyone getting along. Sayo notes how happy Utena looks, and she admits that she is: she has so many lovely friends, and when she’s Baiser she gets to interact up close and personal with the magical girls she loves so much. For all its ecchi raunchiness, Gushing closes out on a sweet note of joy and fellowship.

Synduality: Noir – 24 (Fin) – Forward Together

Noir is the only Magus not shut down by Wiesheit’s order because she’s technically not a Magus, and never was. First inhabiting Mystere’s body and now the late Ciel’s, Noir was little more than data with no body of her own. But now she embraces her status as neither human or Magus, but … just Noir. And she’s not going to let Weisheit win.

Noir leads Kanata to where Mystere is located, and Tokio and Macht switch to manual mode to keep Weisheit busy. When he does manage to get a lase blast off, Mystere puts up a shield that protects Daisyogre, then shows up inside the cockpit to join the Dud and the Hack and complain about being woken up and then having to save their sorry asses.

Noir and Mystere team up, with the latter guiding the former to sense all of the nanomachines Weisheit has launched, and use them for their own purposes. A Dual Magus Skill ensues, firing off a beam that’s bigger and stronger than Weisheit’s Magus-less coffin can withstand. He’s first pinned to the wall of Histoire, then falls through it to float free into space.

Weisheit asks Histoire if civilization can be restored without Magus, and it replies that it can. However, when Weisheit calls Magus “unnecessary”, Histoire takes exception. Whether Magus are necessary or unnecessary is up to the choices humanity makes. In the grand scheme of things, Histoire makes clear that humanity can achieve a more efficient recovery with Magus by their side.

This is apparently a world Weisheit doesn’t want to live in anymore, so he drifts off and waits for his oxygen to run out, and remembers when Ciel first sang to him. For a brief time before his ideals became twisted and prejudiced, he didn’t seem to mind her as his Magus.

Mystere sends Kanata and Noir back down to earth in an escape pod, insisting she stay behind to send the signal to reactivate all Magus on earth, as well as to fulfill her master’s dream. Now that she’s here in Histoire, there’s much to do, but she has all the time in the world. Both Kanata and Noir promise they’ll return to her someday. Back down on earth, Ange, Dolce, and all the other Magus wake up, much to their partners’ relief.

With that, things return more or less to the status quo in Rock Town. Maria continues to test rockets of her own design while Ellie and Ange look on. Claudia and Flamme pay their respects to Mystere’s master, Pascale. Macht and Schnee become Drifters, rescuing Range and Dolce from certain death. Tokio travels the world with Mouton, confident the next generation of Drifters will pick up where they leave off.

And then there’s Kanata and Noir, who search for the materials needed to build another spacecraft that get take them back to Histoire and their friend Mystere. They were able to defeat Weisheit’s backwards, solitary, ultimately self-defeating philosophy. Kanata continues to strive to be the best damned Drifter he can be, while Noir is now aware of who and what she is and determined to stick by Kanata’s side.

Just a couple of bright-eyed dreamers, fixing their gaze to the starry sky, keen to return there and be reunited with their friend. Truly a Eureka Seven for the 2020s in style and scope, Synduality: Noir provided steady, consistent, slick-looking sci-fi entertainment brimming with heart and optimism. Not a bad deal at all.

Solo Leveling – 11 – The Red Knight

I’m going to … level with you. I simply do not care about Cha Hae-In, Baek Yoon-ho, or Choi Jongin’s quest to continue a raid on Jeju Island he believes never truly ended. The show has given us little tidbits of these characters, but it’s not nearly enough to get me invested, even if their battle costumes are pretty cool-looking.

I don’t really care about the Yoo brothers and their little tug-of-war for their father’s approval, either. I do care, however, that Jin-Ah has a good dinner and studies well before going to bed, though I was worried her one scene would indicate she’s being targeted by Hwang. Really, this episode is all about Jinwoo’s job-change quest.

His first opponent is a gray knight, and his best dagger can’t chip its armor. He is able to use his bare hands and brute strength to behead the knight and others like him, but he also ends up fighting mages and assassins, and without being able to use full recovery or potions.

It’s quite a handicap, but it’s a testament to how far Jinwoo has already come that he never really panics when the dungeon turns out to be tougher. He just steps up his game to match the intensity. And no foe has had such a threatening aura since the double dungeon than the dungeon boss, Knight Commander Igris the Bloodred.

Igris is as fast as Jinwoo, but much, much stronger, and also maintains his  ridiculous speed while in some top-notch heavy armor. Like the other knights, his armor can’t be penetrated by a dagger, and even though it drops its weapons when Jinwoo drops his, Jinwoo can’t score a good hit, and has to do everything he can not to get hit himself.

Ultimately Igris wears him down, and even when Jinwoo gets a slight hit on the knight’s neck, he’s then pulled and twisted and tossed all over the throne room like a ragdoll being caught in a building implosion. It’s some of Solo Leveling’s best combat animation to date, as while violent chaos reigns I could still tell what’s going on and get a really good sense of the three-dimensional space.

Jinwoo ends up slumped over on the throne, which I thought was going to have some significance—perhaps the throne and Ignis, were waiting for a ruler? The knight summons its sword and prepares for a killing blow, but Jinwoo blocks it with his bare hand. He’s not ready to die, and he hasn’t lost yet.

Finding another gear, Jinwoo drives his dagger into Igris’ throat, and keeps hacking at it until it’s deep enough to defeat him. He scores a rune stone for something called “Ruler’s Hand”, Igris’ helmet, 1.5 million gold, and an instant teleportation stone.

Unfortunately, he also gets a rude awakening: defeating Igris didn’t clear this dungeon. Dozens of gates open, and knights, mages, and assassins start flowing out by the dozens. While no one of them is something he can’t handle after beating Igris, he’s extremely exhausted and there are dozens of them.

This is the true job-change quest, and it’s a test of endurance. The longer he survives, the more enhancement points he’ll earn, which are needed to be assigned a “higher class.” My educated guess for next week’s finale is that he’ll find a way to earn those points, reach that higher class … and I’m sure we’ll get another mandatory check-in with Jongin, Hae-in & Co.

Gushing over Magical Girls – 12 – Playtime is Back

Utena is now Supreme Commander of Enormita by unanimous vote of the other girls, but morphing Lord into a kid took a lot out of her, and she’s worried about Tres Magia and Azure in particular. When she hears from Matama and Nemo that not only are Tres Magia just fine, but Azure has developed a new ability that was able to crush Lord’s goop monsters, she’s over the moon.

The heads into town where Tres Magia are rebuilding, but without her transformation star, so that there’s no chance of her cover being blown. Azure recognizes her classmate, but has to pretend not to. Utena, barely keeping her composure, offers Azure an innocent back rub that soon gets entirely out of hand(s) when she goes below the equator. I have to think Sayo won’t look at Utena the same way next time they cross paths in class!

Since Utena and Kiwi are essentially Korisu’s parents, they take her to a toy store to treat her to some new toys to replace the ones she sacrificed in the battle against Lord & Gigant. While there they encounter Haruka with her adorable triplet sisters, who proceed to play with Korisu. Haruka notes that it would be nice if days were always like this: quiet and peaceful.

Alas, it’s neither Utena nor Kiwi who ruin the peace, but a Neroalice excited to play with her new toys: a Godzilla-like lizard she blows up to the size of a building, and a magic wand that she uses to similarly size up Magenta once she responds to the disturbance. Unable to stop Alice from having her fun, Baiser and Leoparde join in, climbing up into Magenta to mess with her.

Azure and Sulphur head in to help Magenta out, but having four tiny magical girls crawling all up and down her body have the opposite effect. Everyone eventually gets too overheated to keep fighting, and gravity sends them down into Magenta’s panties, which then tear. Having had quite enough of this, Magenta blasts Utena and Kiwi into the sky, then reverts to her normal size.

All’s well that ends well, with Haruka reuniting with her sisters, who report that they saw Magenta’s butt, but she was still really cool. As for Korisu, after having fun with her toys and Tres Magia, she falls into a peaceful, satisfied sleep beside Utena and Kiwi. So begins Utena’s reign as Supreme Commander, whose standing order is to have fun messing with Tres Magia, not eliminating them!

Synduality: Noir – 23 – Flight to the Final Dungeon

With his boss having abandoned him and the rest of Ideal, Nacht believes Tokio comes to gloat, but he’s not. Instead, he offers his hand in friendship and alliance once more, so that Nacht can get the answers he seeks from Weisheit, and Tokio can kick the twerp’s ass. Both Schnee and Mouton seem relieved the old friends are back on the same side again.

On the eve of Kanata’s big spaceflight, Ange shoves Ellie into his room and she ends up landing right on his bed. It was her Magus’ intention that Ellie both show and tell Kanata how she feels on what may be his last night on Earth. Instead, he sits beside her just to pick up his space shuttle toy and spout some facts about space, like a total dweeb! Nonethetless, he’s her dweeb, and she entrusts him with her favorite doll for his trip, telling him to bring it along with himself back safe and sound.

Noir, who is now beloved throughout Rock Town not just for saving them time and again, but carrying on the late Ciel’s musical tradition, is given a hero’s godspeed. She asks Mam to take a picture of her with all her friends, and when she looks upon the picture she smiles warmly. She wants to get Mystere back so she can return to this place that has become her home, and these folks who have become her family.

The actual launch of the spare space shuttle actually goes off without a hitch; leave it to the arrogant villain not to destroy the good guys’ means of following him. While a bit rushed, there’s still some moments that convey the awe and grandeur of space, such as the sight of the sun rising over the horizon, as well as the gradual approach of the absolutely massive Histoire space station. Maria left out the fact that Kanata & Co. would have to crash land in the station.

Once there, Kanata is sufficiently impressed and amazed by Histoire, which is one massive archive of biological and technological information. The station is a means of reviving any species of plant or animal that goes extinct, as well as any technology lost to war, disaster, or other mishap. It’s also the ultimate base of power for someone to mold the world to their liking, and since Weisheit arrived first with the key (Mystere), Histoire recognizes him as its master.

Kanata/Noir, Tokio/Mouton, and Macht/Schnee confront Weisheit, who confirms that part of his Grand Cause is to eliminate all Magus, which he later declares “give him the creeps” and whose mere name makes his “skin crawl.” By working together, the three opponents manage to claim one of his formidable coffin’s arms, but by then Histoire has finished preparations to implement his dastardly plan: sending a shutdown signal to every Magus on Earth.

Even Mouton and Schnee aren’t immune from this signal, rendering Tokio and Macht’s coffins inoperable. The only Magus who doesn’t shut down is Noir. It isn’t explained why (at least not yet); perhaps it’s because she is from Histoire. In any case, she’s still awake and functioning, seething with anger, and vows never to forgive Weisheit for the terrible things he’s done. Hopefully she and Kanata will be enough to beat him, save Mystere, and throw his big awful master plan in the dumpster.

Gushing over Magical Girls – 11 – Asserting Dominance

Having surprised Sister Gigant by revealing her three stars (along with most of the rest of her body), Leoparde proceeds to beat and bomb the shit out of her huge opponent in a rude profanity-laden assault.

The slime hearts are a nice touch

Even when Leoparde starts to cough up blood from overuse of her power, she’s revitalized by her boundless horniness and the promise of a hotel liason with her beloved Magia Baiser. She also uses her brain, creating cracks in the pavement beneath their battle that eventually swallow up Gigant and make her cry real tears of utter defeat.

Korisu has Lord’s slime monsters pent up in her dollhouse, but when she falls asleep, shes transforms out of her Enormita guise Matama and Nemo protect her, they’re soon surrounded. That’s when Tres Magia makes a stylish entrance, and because everyone is in street clothes they don’t recognize them as enemies. Sayo takes on the slime monsters herself and vaporizes them en masse with her nifty new powers.

Meanwhile at Macht Base, Utena is struggling in her battle with Lord Enorme, but due to lack of motivation and boredom with her schtick. Noting that Lord talks about world domination like a kid, she starts to visualize her as a little brat, and suddenly all her accumulated wounds are healed and she reveals a new, even gaudier form, with what looks like eight star tattoos on her face to Lord’s mere four.

By the time Matama and Nemo arrive with a still-tuckered-out Korisu and a heavily bandaged Kiwi, Utena has things well in hand. She turns Lord’s own slime monsters against her, uses them as restraints, then tears off Lord’s clothes starts giving her a spanking. It’s no longer a battle, it’s punishment for Lord’s misdeeds. Lord begs her former allies to help her, but they want no part of what this particularly unhinged version of Baiser is dishing out, thanks!

After sufficient humiliation has been doled out, Utena finally gets a tearful, blubbering apology from Lord Enorme, who seems to have been relieved of three of her four stars. Turns out Venalita let her borrow the other three all along unlike everyone else, who gets their power from within. But her use to Vena has come to an end, so he has Gigant, who was working for him all along, finish Lord off, which presumably means death.

All’s well that ends well. Kiwi is eager to get her hotel date with Utena started as soon as possible, despite being in no condition for any kind of physical exertion. She even looks Matama and Nemo’s way as if inviting them to get a room themselves; they respond by blushing in unison. Korisu clearly looks like she could nap for days.

As for Utena, Venalita makes her the new Supreme Commander of Enormita, and her response is very Utena-y. Apparently Lord Enorme going rogue was all part of Vena’s plan to make the other girls more powerful, and it appears to have succeeded. The question for the final two episodes of this bonkers show is where Utena and her friends go from here.

Synduality: Noir – 22 – For the Not-So-Great Cause

Weisheit wants Mystere’s black box in the worst way, so he sends a huge assault group led by Macht. Macht is eager to step out of Tokio’s shadow and believes in his boss’ “great cause”, but throughout all of this Schnee has seemed worried about her lord going down this path. She’ll never voice her objections as she feels it wouldn’t be her place, but it’s all in her facial expressions, and MAO’s pained, almost mournful voice.

Weisheit also wants the assault team to destroy the spaceship the enemy has rebuilt. Wait, what spaceship? The dang space shuttle Maria rebuilt from materials scavanged from Carthage. There’s also a brand new linear catapult. This strained credulity for me for some reason. To be less generous, it’s dumb as hell.

Building and maintaining coffins and simple rockets is one thing, but a space shuttle and catapult? With Maria’s fly-by-night team? It should’ve taken months, if not years. Instead, boom, here they are, ready for a test launch with Kanata as the space monkey.

But hey, this is a show that heavily features gussied up rock-em-sock-em robot fighting, so it’s fine. We get a big dumb battle that’s oddly bloodless; Ideal looks like a highly-trained and conditioned military force. You only show up to Maria’s base if you’re ready to kill some people. On the other side, Kanata & Co. have experience killing monsters, but fellow humans and Magus?

Say they’re not killing anyone. It still seems highly unlikely you’d be able to get off enough perfect shots that all of the Ideal coffins and carriers are simply disabled. The utter lack of visceral danger even with all this heavy machinery and weaponry flying around makes the whole enterprise feel toothless. Then again, this is not Gundam.

For all of their gumption and Home Alone-style traps, Team Rock Town doesn’t have anything that’s a match for Weisheit’s coffin once he joins the battle. He’s so fast even Mouton’s “Overclock” Magus skill that lets him virtually stop time for himself can’t track him.

He swoops right down the catapult and into the hanger, and Maria is just chilling in there on her rig with a machine gun (the cutaway to her is woefully under-animated for some reason; her mouth doesn’t even move as she speaks for part of it). Obviously, her attempt to defend the shuttle is futile against Weisheit’s top-of-the-line rig.

Weisheit looks ready to kill her, but Mystere saves her by drawing attention to herself. Weisheit launches a bunch of robo-tentacles (because of course) that string her up in midair and cause a great deal of pain, before he shuts her down and brings her aboard. He later tells Kanata that her ego has been purged, so now she’ll be an obedient marionette.

Weisheit then hops into the cargo bay of the space shuttle, hacks into it, and launches it, which is pretty gutsy, considering it hadn’t even been tested yet and a lot of Maria’s past rockets went boom. But in launching up to Histoire in orbit, he abandons his entire Ideal team, and they don’t seem particularly happy about it.

Macht is ready to obey Weisheit’s final order to kill Macht, but Schnee stays his hand by deactivating his cockpit, embracing him from behind, and asking him if this is really what he wants to do. In doing so, Schnee has finally defied her Lord, for his own good, and her’s.

He admits to her that the day Licht asked him to join him in leaving Ideal, he considered leaving with Schnee. But even if he had, that probably wouldn’t have greatly altered Weisheit’s grand plan. Macht just seems like one more sucker like the rest of Ideal, that their boss stepped on so he could reach Histoire all by himself.

There’s also the whole matter of Weisheit’s plan to create a world without Magus, which even Macht didn’t know about and doesn’t seem to be much of a fan of it. All of the other Ideal pilots seem to have Magus partners, so I doubt they’d want that world either.

He seems to be the only one who seems to hate and dehumanize Magus, while most everyone else considers them valuable companions, even equals. Unfortunately, he’s also the only one on a shuttle headed to Histoire, and possibly gain the means to make his twisted, prejudiced world a reality.

Here’s hoping that second shuttle that was behind the first works, so Kanata, Noir & Co. can go rescue Mystere. Heck, maybe Mystere will even stop calling Noir a dud if they manage to save her.

Gushing over Magical Girls – 10 – Matchmaker Baiser

Even when they were small, Matama always loved to sing, and Nemo hid in the shadows. No one would listen to Matama, and no one would play with Nemo. They essentially became friends because no one else would have them and it worked out for both of them. Now that Matama has decided she’s joining Utena, Nemo ends up following her, because why split up now?

Utena is ready to welcome them with open arms, but they first have to be “purified” of the sin of hunting all those poor magical girls. She traps the pair in a soundproof, shadow-proof dollhouse labeled “The room you can’t leave until you satisfy Magia Baiser.” Utena notes their constant bickering (which they continued here) is a sign of their close friendship, but is certain it goes much deeper than that.

She orders Matama and Nemo to fully explore those depths of their unspoken love, starting with a simple kiss. The girls don’t really put up much of a fight, and not just because they’re trapped. Needless to say, things get quite a bit nuder, hotter, and heavier. It occurs to Nemo that she might’ve always loved Matama like this, as they proceed to go at it with gusto.

Utena watches the whole thing go down and is well and truly satisfied. As a result, the girls are freed from the dollhouse and end up still entangled on the ground, but now fully clothed, before a somewhat confused Kiwi and Korisu. Now that they’ve completed the task Utena set for them, they are now officially allies.

But the fact remains, the four-star Lord Enorme and three-star Sister Gigant are still formidable foes against the two-star Baiser, three-star Neroalice, and zero-star Leoparde. When Lord launches an attack on the town, the girls are overwhelmed by her globular soldiers, who are an extension of Enorme’s power and will only fully disperse if she’s defeated.

Even with Leberblume and Loco Musica on their side, it’s a tough fight, and there’s a point where I was worried Kiwi, tired of being told how weak she is, was going to sacrifice herself for Baiser. Turns out she was hiding the fact that she’s actually a three-star, and thus on equal footing with Gigant.

That leaves Utena free to head to Macht Base to do battle against Lord Enorme, who to this point has been fully clothed, but likely won’t remain so once up against Magia Baiser. And then theres the matter of Sayo continuing to train. Will she finally be a match for Enormita when they return to town?

Chained Soldier – 09 – Is My Big Sister a Baddie?!

After another battle in which Yuuki takes care of the last Shuuki on his own, Kyouka praises him, and it motivates him to keep getting stronger so he can save her. Then his reward acts out the fantasy of saving Kyouka, gathering her in a princess carry so she can kiss him. It’s a rare instance of Kyouka letting her guard down and being a little vulnerable, if only because she’s in reward mode.

Back at base, Tenka is still loitering around, and when talk of Yuuki’s inspiring big sister comes up. Yuuki regales her and the squad of a time one of his classmates and his big brother threatened him, but she came to his rescue, judo-throwing the older brother (who is three times her size). To her surprise, Yuuki also puts the younger bully in a lock, having learned a thing or two from his sis. This pleases her to no end.

Anyone would envy having a tough, cute big sis like Wakura Aoba, and no doubt Yuuki has been missing her every day, and remains both confused and intrigued by the possibility she’s still around, in humanoid Shuuki form. When Nei detects what looks like a kid being chased by Shuuki, Shushu and Himari are dispatched to save her, only for the “kid” to be one of those humanoid Shuuki.

When a second humanoid Shuuki shows up, Shushu and Himari are in big trouble, so despite Kyouka giving Yuuki the rest of the day off to bathe and recharge, they have to head right back out to save their comrades. By the time they arrive, a third humanoid is there: the one who looks like Aoba. When he charges at her, she shouts for him to stop, and he obeys. Kyouka is thrown from his back, and Aoba surrounds her with lesser Shuuki. By the time she’s carved her way through them, the humanoids and Yuuki are gone.

It’s a rare defeat for Uzen Kyouka, but more than that, the fact Yuuki is more than a pet or slave, but a comrade and friend as well, makes it that much harder for her that they’re now separated. He waks up naked, being licked all over by the petite humanoid (her saliva has healing properties). Then Aoba comes in, acts in a way Yuuki immediately clocks as his big sister, and they share a touching embrace.

Aoba, along with her comrades Zanibako Coco (petite) and Yuno Naon (sultry), act pretty much like the humans they used to be … they just look a lot cooler and sexier now. Their chemistry and interactions prove just as charming as the ones among the DDF members. It’s only when Yuuki brings up the DDF that their eyes start to glow and they adopt a more menacing posture, but that soon fades and Aoba returns to the big sister Yuuki knew and loved.

I actually like how much of his time with Aoba the humanoid Shuuki depicts them as less two-dimensional than the heels they make themselves out to be on the battlefield. At the end of the day, they are victims of Mato-related accidents making the best of their new half-monster lives. Like Yuuki, through Aoba I was able to empathize quite a bit with them. These aren’t monsters to be defeated by the DDF, but people with the same souls thery had as humans.

That said, Aoba and her two lieutenants have higher-ups who seemed a lot more one-dimensionally eeeeevil, and it’s clear they have no interest in negotiating or co-existing with the DDF. Suruga and Himari are worried not just about Yuuki, but Kyouka, who holes herself up in her room after they return, but once Yuuki transformed back into a human, Kyouka became a Yuuki detection radar, since she needs to give him his battle reward.

Tenka, Yachiho, and Sahara join forces with Kyouka, Shushu, and Himari for the Rescue-Yuuki mission, but none of them know yet how much more complicated things have gotten. Now that he knows what she is, I doubt Yuuki will allow his big sister to be harmed. It’s your classic case of family-vs-friends divided loyalties, adding a welcome and fascinating wrinkle to what had been a black-and-white fight.

Gushing over Magical Girls – 09 – Out of the Shadows

This week Tres Magia is reduced to bookends, content to train in the wilderness. That said, when she tries to meditate under a waterfall, Sayo only ends up getting turned on by the weight of the water and how wet she’s getting. When the trio bathe together, she covers up her breasts, still remembering what a Dollhouse-influenced Kaoruko did to them. Will these three end up strong enough to take on Enormita? We’ll see!

For now, Enormita is busy fighting the Lord Squad, but first we’re introduced to the sisterly bickering of Loco Musica and Leberblume, who is treating her back wounds from Lord Enorme’s whipping. Loco is eager to get back on stage, partly to lure Enormita girls into a battle, and partly because she truly believes she has the makings of a top idol.

Loco Musica’s next show is Utena’s first opportunity to hear her, and Kiwi isn’t surprised by her reaction. Loco is also playing for a crowd of seeming fans, though something is a bit off. It’s a nice touch that they’re just as out of tune as Loco is, but when Leberblume reveals she has the power to use shadows to control people, it’s clear the crowd is under her influence. Leberblume also features my favorite outfit, showing none of her front and back, but all of her sides.

Utena and Kiwi also end up under her control, but Magia Baiser has a plan. The mortal enemy of shadows being light, she uses Kiwi as bait to lure Leber in, then Kiwi releases a flash grenade. In Leber’s moments of blindness, Neroalice traps her in a darkened dollhouse. Utena threatens to smash the house unless Loco strips and performs naked.

At first, Loco is hesitant and embarrassed, but once she actually starts singing, everyone is shocked to find she can actually carry a tune, as if the discomfort (or comfort?) of being in her birthday suit unlocks the talent she always believed she had, but never demonstrated. She also gets rather hot and bothered by the thrill of performing nude, and when she finishes and Baiser, Leopard, and Neroalice offer their enthusiastic (and genuine) applause, she accepts that his battle is her loss.

With their defeat, both Loco and Leber’s identities are revealed as Akoya Matama and Anemo Nemo. Surprising everyone, including her longtime partner, Matama declares that they’ll be (re-)joining Enormita, and will henceforth be their allies against Lord Enorme and Sister Gigant.

I like the twist because it makes sense: Nemo doesn’t want to be stripped and whipped by Enorme, while Matama is indebted to Baiser & Co. for her true idol awakening. Does this mean next time Tres Magia shows up, it will be five against three … or will Enorme and Gigant team up with the good guys to even the odds?

Shin no Nakama – S2 08 – One Punch Van

Other than the grotesque mad scientist Gedouiin in Ao no Exorcist, Van the “Hero” might be the most hateable villain of the winter. We check in on him as he’s slaughtering the Hill Giants … for failing to attack and kill humans, which is what he believes Demis created them for. That’s right: the conflicts and suffering that tear this world apart aren’t a bug, they’re a feature. They’re all part of Demis’ plan … a plan that frankly sucks shit!

I honestly don’t know how Esta/Theodora can keep supporting this guy. Perhaps she’s staying out of some misguided notion that she can keep him in line if she just delivers the proper nag at the proper time, but most of her guidance is canceled out by Lavender believing Van can do no wrong. Both she and Tisse are in grave danger, but I see the value of keeping someone like Van close by. I also loved the quiet moment by the campfire when Tisse basically gets Theodora to admit she loves Albert!

Zoltan prepares a grand party to commemorate handing the airship to the Hero, but he doesn’t take it well. When they apologize for not considering his duties and offer their prayers, Van rejects the entire town as lazy heretics. Zoltan as a place has no value to him, and be believes the only proper use for its people, and their only salvation, is to follow him into battle: men, women, and children of all ages.

This is madness, but Van is nothing if not consistent. Any evil he perpetrates or allows to occur is justified, because he is following the will of Demis in firm lockstep. Having recently acquired Chekhov’s Fairy King Shield of Mind Control, Van prepares to use it on the townfolk to brainwash them. When Esta and Mystorm try to oppose him, a very pissed Lavender traps them in a magical barrier.

Van’s shield attack is interrupted by Yarandrala, and when she’s disarmed and nearly killed, Danan enters the fray and actually lands a hit on the “Hero” that makes him bleed. Van simply uses his Reflection ability to transfer his wounds and pain to Danan. It’s clear neither of them are a match for him, but they are buying valuable time.

Buying time allows Red to arrive, with Ruti and Rit no doubt right behind him. He crosses blades with Van and learns that while the guy has been leveling up his Blessing like there’s no tomorrow, his swordsmanship leaves much to be desired, as does his basic magic. When a horde of Salt Dragons threaten to level the town in their search for the shield, he yanks it away from Van and gives it back to the dragons, who then take their leave without further damage.

Van now realizes Red is simply buying time, but by then, Ruti’s fist is already firmly lodged in his cheek, and the much deserved and much anticipated punch to his eminently punchable face finally lands. It sends him flying head-over-heels into a boulder, and as he lies dying, he wonders who hit him. “No one important”, the former hero Ruti declares, blowing on her knuckles.

While I’m glad she made it in time to punch the ever-loving shit out of this asshole, I fear she’s only made him more unhinged. Ljubo and Lavender cast resurrection on him, and he heals himself, then resolves to kill the girl who hit her. He never believed it was his divine role to win, only to fight evil.

Being revived will allow him to continue fighting Ruti, who he deems to be the ultimate evil, even though he really should be looking in a mirror. Here’s hoping Ruti can finish what she started and wipe this villainous piss stain off the map for good.