Synduality: Noir – 20 – A Better Way

Synduality takes a pause in its present-day narrative to tell two separate stories of yore. First up is a recording of Pascale both telling and showing Kanata, Mystere, and Noir the story of how she, a child of Amasia, went up to the surface to explore the real world with her Magus by her side, soaking everything up.

She didn’t believe Magus were merely computational dolls, but had the potential to become just as “real” as humans. She carried a journal containing a list of things she wanted to do, from tasting real grass to smelling the real sea and witnessing a real rainbow, all with her companion, student, and friend Mystere in tow.

When they located a signal up in space, Pascale had Mystere hack into it. On the same carrier wave Mystere used to access Histoire, Histoire send a signal back: Noir. Pascale never told Mystere, but Noir wasn’t just her safe mode alter-ego, but an independent entity, eager to learn and absorb information, albeit with no body of her own.

Pascale was pursued by Ideal, and in one scuffle, she is seriously wounded. Rather than give Mystere or Noir up, she has Mystere return to her unconscious safe mode in the museum where Kanata would find her several years later. The recording of Pascale regrets that she had to lie to Mystere, but urges her to see through the dream they shared of reaching Histoire. Mystere is understandably emotional, wanting so bad for the recording to be interactive.

As for Kanata, Pascale asks him to take care of her “girls,” and he fully intends to. But first, they locate Pascale’s grave under a great tree, and pay their respects. It’s then when Noir runs her hand down her chest and suddenly asks, “Where’s Ciel?”, heartbreakingly unaware that Ciel sacrificed her life so she could live. Like Mystere with Pascale, Noir lost someone precious to her in Ciel, but must keep moving forward.

The second story, is that of Macht, told while he and Schnee are just chilling in the present day. Macht, Licht, and Weisheit were all elite Coffin pilots given equally elite Magus. Weisheit got Ciel, whom he immediately started to treat and use as a mere tool, while Licht and Macht formed more human bonds with Mouton and Schnee, respectively.

Weisheit decided that the only way to reach Paradise, i.e. Histoire, was for all the youths to rise up against the adults who were administering them. That meant dirty work had to be done, and Weisheit had Ciel do a lot of it. Macht fell in line, as he believed in Weisheit’s dream, but Licht didn’t, and was imprisoned and marked for elimination.

There’s a clear parallel between Pascale and Licht/Tokio in that neither got much out of staying below ground in what remained of Amasia. They also felt that Magus were more valuable as friends and companions than as mere tools or weapons.

When Mouton sprung Licht, Macht had one more chance to choose a path: to go with Licht to the surface, or remain with Weisheit. We know which he chose, but judging from Schnee’s consistently forlorn tone both in the past and the present, you get the feeling she wishes he’d chosen differently.

Even so, once her “Lord” made his decision, she dedicated herself to him until the end, and he started donning his black mask. That mask symbolizes both his embracing of Weisheit’s darkness, and averting his eyes from the reality that it’s not too late to change his (and Schnee’s) path. He can still side with the good guys.

Princess Connect! Re:Dive – 08 – Big Trouble with Little Lyrical

As she enjoys a sumptuous post-rice planting repast courtesy of Pecorine, Karyl remembers “Her Majesty’s” orders to not only observe the always-hungry knight, but Yuuki as well, and introducing her to the Shadows.

Whenever this exchange took place relative to the Targum quest, it’s clear that Karyl continues to struggle with playing both sides, and that struggle only intensifies as the bonds between her and her guild-mates strengthen.

Other than that initial sobering scene, it’s all fun and games this week, as Little Lyrical, Landosol’s Most Adorable Guild, enlist the aid of the Gourmet Guild to help whip them into a fighting force as formidable as they are charming.

I’ll note that Karyl is the least enthusiastic about taking on an unofficial quest like this that won’t net them any cash (so far all their rewards have been food-related), but even she can’t resist the pleas of the pint-sized trio.

Not only that, Karyl puts her all into designing the perfect route for a training quest. She’s definitely the most meticulous and detail-oriented of the guild, and isn’t in the habit of half-assing anything.

Unfortunately, her best-laid plans are sabotaged when Misogi, Mimi, and Kyouka are left in Yuuki’s care for the quest while the other three observe. Yuuki’s sense of direction is no better than that of his charges.

That said, Peco’s monster costume is impressive and she ends up underestimating the trio’s offensive prowess. It’s when they continue to stay from the prescribed path and run into real monsters (all of which want to chew on Yuuki’s head, of course) that Karyl and Kokkoro must act quickly and quietly to vanquish said monsters lest Little Lyrical end up in big trouble.

Ultimately, the off-the-rails practice quest crosses with the quest to defeat a giant bird monster ruining rice paddies, as the bird carries Yuuki to her nest and Little Lyrical are all KO’d after a valiant attempt to rescue him. The peril is upped when Karyl and Kokkoro run out of magic (having defeated monsters all day) and Peco is not only trapped in her costume but too hungry to fight.

That is, until a well-placed strike from the bird frees Peco, she eats the lunch Little Lyrical packed, and Princess Strikes the bird into oblivion.

The quest thus complete, but with Little Lyrical nowhere near the actual designated goal, Pecorine offers a giant egg as their reward, only for it to hatch into a giant, adorable chick that immediately imprints upon the trio, becoming their new mascot and conveyance. With that, the Gourmet Guild returns to the paddies to plant rice, much to Karyl’s chagrin.

PriConne definitely takes the kawaii factor up a couple dozen notches with the focus on Little Lyrical, and your enjoyment of this episode will depend on your tolerance for cuteness. Everything about Misogi, Mimi and Kyouka screams Squeeee, from their play-acting outside the tavern and their initially clumsy tactics, to their instant bond with their new feathered friend.

I for one had a gas watching them, and the Gourmet Guild proved perfect teachers, letting them largely figure things out for themselves and offering aid when needed.

Princess Connect! Re:Dive – 07 – Beating Back the Shadow

When a battered Elizabeth Park arrives in Targum without Shiorin, her sister Hatsune leads a search party consisting of Yuuki, Kokkoro, Rima and Aoi. When Hatsune uses her flight ability  to get a better look at the forest, she is attacked from the ground by Shiorin, whose body has been taken over by one of the creepy “Shadows”.

Suddenly our fantasy culinary slice-of-life comedy has become a serious action drama…and that turns out not to be a bad thing at all. How crazy is that?!

Back in the village, Karyl wandered off by herself when Yuuki and Kokkoro left with Hatsune. She knows all about the Shadows, since her mistress is behind them. This awakens Karyl’s split loyalties, and her inner conflict is further exacerbated when Pecorine tracks her down.

Peco sensed Karyl was feeling down despite the fact Karyl herself thinks she always looks the same. Peco may be an airhead, but she’s got emotional intelligence in spades, and is now good enough friends to know when Karyl is troubled.

Hatsune’s search party is suddenly attacked by Christina, who is excited for this “new act” and wants to have some fun. Despite outnumbering her 5-to-1, the party isn’t able to put a dent in her, thanks to her ability to phase out of solid form, which is almost cheating!

Then she KO’s Yuuki, who wakes up back at his starting point, where the oracle-like guide reminds him only he has the “Princess Knight” power to save the others. He wakes up, buffs his fellow party members, and together they fight Christina until she’s satisfied enough to withdraw for the time being.

As they’re fighting out in the wild, Peco finds herself the only line of defense against an army of Shadows attacking the village, led by Dark Shiorin. She doesn’t have much trouble with individual Shadows, but there are dozens of them, and she didn’t eat a big enough breakfast, so she starts to become fatigued.

After a period of passively observing (as is her mission), Karyl decides to pick a side and back Peco up with her powerful conjuring magic. Hatsune’s party returns, and Hatsune uses her “mild-meld” ability to enter Shiorin’s unconscious, where her true self is being held captive.

However, Shiorin is being held captive as much by her own fear of being a burden to her sister than she is by the Shadow. Hatsune doesn’t want to hear such nonsense, and snaps her sister out of her pity party, holding her arm steady as she fires an Enchanted Arrow at the Shadow.

Meanwhile, Karyl conjures a vortex to suck up the weakened Shadow, and Pecorine delivers a Princess Strike coup-de-grace to secure a complete victory for the good guys. Shiorin is herself again, no one is the worse for wear, and Yuuki is now aware of the power surging within him.

Still, while Yuuki’s role this week was important, the heart of the episode was the pairs of Hatsune/Shiorin and Pecorine/Karyl. At no point did Pecorine call out for Karyl’s help or wonder where she was when she was wavering. Both that confidence in her comrade and ability to sense when she’s troubled ultimately spurred Karyl to Do the Right Thing.

That said, this is the latest of many times she’s gone far beyond her observation mandate. There may be consequences in store for her should her mistress find out how much she’s helping her target. But perhaps Karyl is finally starting to realize she won’t have to face those consequences alone: those whom she sided with care about her and will have her back come what may.

With a briskly moving, exciting episode that brought darker themes to the forefront, PriConne reached a new high. Sure, it’s arguable whether so many characters were required to tell this story (it’s fun having Rima and Aoi around but they weren’t all that integral), but they’re all fun, likable characters, and splitting the Gourmet Guild paid big dividends.