Kuromukuro – 24

Muetta officially joins the good guys, fighting against her former allies, a contrite Graham reinstates Sophie, and Ken offers the crummiest marriage proposal Yukina could ask for—it’s a busy episode of Kuromukuro this week, in contrast to the previous episode’s leisureliness, and that’s before the giant battle to retake Kurobe Lab and deactivate the Pivot Stone.

There are no cliffhangers for this counterattack: it’s presented in its entirety this week, ending in a near-total victory for the good guys, which is surprising, almost to the point of implausibility. Kuromukuro, the surviving GAUS 1, Zell, Liddy, and his Glider, and Muetta’s Medusa seem an awfully raggity force to take down Mirasa, Yoruba, Imusa, and Refill, but they get it done in mostly convincing fashion thanks to two things the Efidolg don’t seem have: teamwork and a sense of their own mortality.

It’s teamwork that splits the Efidolg forces, teamwork that keeps them off balance, and teamwork that brings their glonguls down one by one. It’s another exciting battle that really pops thanks to the now-wintry backdrop of the Lab’s environs, and the clashing personalities, like Muetta and Mirasa, pop even more.

As for Sebastian surviving, well, I’ll just say I would have preferred if he’d stayed dead. I have nothing against the guy, but his heroic death put much-needed weight and a human face on the capture of Kurobe. Heck, he’s the only character of note among the good guys who actually died in the first place. Others were brainwashed, but they seem to be okay as well, provided the implants can be extracted.

 

Once Yoruba and Mirasa are killed (at least I think they’re killed), Imusa’s glongur combines with his commander Refills to make One Huge Super Mecha that starts tearing everyone up with its four flexible blade-tentacle thingys. This battle had the progression of an RPG, with the good guys having to defeat foot soldier-level foes, moving up to the elites, and finally the big bad boss with multiple points of attack.

At this stage of the battle, everyone is wondering how much longer they can hold out, until Yukina takes it upon herself to direct the action, calling for a simultaneous attack on each of the four blades while she and Ken blast through their swipes. Ken gets to yell a lot, but this time Yukina gets to as well, seeming to connect with the Kuromukuro in a new way in the process.

Completing the team effort, and escaping Refill gets stabbed in the back by Zell, who unmasks him to reveal…one of this own kind; at least a brainwashed clone of one. While under Zell’s own brainwashing microbot, Refill warns that if the Pivot Stone remains inactive, another, larger Efidolg fleet will be sent to Earth, a journey that will take 224 years but will happen.

That may sound like a long time, perhaps even enough time for Earth to reverse engineer enough Efidolg tech to build a defense. But it’s also just over half the time that’s passed since the Washiba Clan were wiped out. So while this particular crew of bad guys has been knocked out and the immediate danger would seem to have passed, there’s still much to be done to protect Earth for the long run.

As for Yukina, she seems shaken by her most recent experience co-piloting Kuromukuro. Is she, as Zell warned Tom, starting to feel the effects of the the permanent change “giving oneself” to a glongur enacts? I’m intrigued by the fact so much has gotten done with two whole episodes remaining. Should be an interesting finish.

Kuromukuro – 23

I must say I didn’t expect Yukina, Ken, and Muetta to go to school what with everything that’s going on, but it’s not as if there’s that much more for them to do. The Efidolg are being really really nice in not trying to kill anyone else or attempting to secure either the Kuromukuro or Muetta’s glongur, but the Earthlings don’t really have a plan for how to proceed quite yet. As such, we get a calm-bef0re-the-storm episode, and a fair amount of fanservice, starting with Muetta in Yukina’s spare uni.

In this calm, both Ken and Muetta try to figure out what they’re going to do with themselves if and when Earth survives the Efidolg onslaught. Again, the timing for a career counseling session seems a bit odd, but I appreciated the practicality of a samurai figuring out something else to do with his life – though I’m pretty sure he could make good money in the modern world demonstrating his fighting skills for education, entertainment, or both.

As for Muetta, she is even more a fish out of water than Ken, since she’s not sure who or what she is anymore, whereas at least he had his ideals and an object of devotion in Yukihime. Just as the other teacher gives Ken some sage (if somewhat obvious) advice about the future, Marina also flexes her counseling skills by telling Muetta not to despair in her new situation, but to take life by the horns, as all humans do.

I enjoyed Muetta’s reaction to the deliciousness of omelette rice (and the speed with which she consumed it), her description of the sustenance she’s used to (“square”), and her general bemusement with English loan words and earth technology (like “movies”). Ken is equally amusing as unreliable translator – the blind leading the blind.

Most importantly, Ken has made peace with the fact that Muetta is not Yukihime, but her own person…and he wants her to fight with them. He expresses this wish during a shoot for a movie, the script for which Carlos has been working on since the attack and by all accounts seems completely absurd and incomprehensible.

I’ve gone on record as not being the biggest fan of Carlos or his desire to be remembered, but the shoot is fine harmless fun, even if it’s mostly a chance to see various characters in different outfits.

This was a quiet, somewhat rambling episode, but it wasn’t entirely pointless, and is likely the last episode of its kind. With only three left, Kuromukuro needs to get down to the business of thwarting the Efidolg threat.

Kuromukuro – 22

With Kurobe Lab captured, its remaining staff brainwashed, and the Pivot Stone in Efidolg hands, the enemy halts its advance, allowing the good guys a measure of uneasy peace this week. Zell pays a visit to the Shirahane household to tell the story of how he met and befriended their husband and father Takehito.

From the moment Zell jumps out of the shadows when Takehito tries to cut himself (to lure the “ogre” to his trap after many other baits failed), their entire interaction is pure gold. I love how unafraid Takehito is of Zell, and how Zell, while a little weirded out by this guy just runs with it, inviting him to his cave for some tasty boil-in-a-bag, showing him where he came from, and warning him of the Efidolg threat.

Yukina’s father parted ways with Zell but got caught in a sudden snowstorm that claimed his life. Koharu would’ve just been a baby when this happened, but Yukina regrets calling her dad a liar, when he was right about everything. The “ogres” (or “oni”) that are a part of Japanese legend were actually ancient aliens.

That night, as Yukishi says a prayer for Takehito, Muetta…wanders off, but not back to the Efidolg. She actually has no idea where she belongs anymore, only that it isn’t here. She can’t get the childhood memory of her homeworld out of her head, and the fact that memory may be fake doesn’t make it feel any less real or powerful.

Ken and Yukina go out to look for her, but the activated Pivot Stone lowers the temperature of the vicinity significantly, causing premature snow. Yukina trips and falls into a snowdrift, but Koharu’s ferret finds her, runs back to Muetta, then leads her Lassie-style to Yukina.

Once again proving she’s not evil, Muetta strips down and warms the freezing Yukina up with her own body heat, causing Yukina to wake up very confused, but then very grateful for saving her life (and I’ll just say Ken really dropped the ball leaving Yukina behind without making sure she got back home safely.) When Muetta breaks down into tears at her frustration of not knowing where to go or what to do, Yukina gives her the only thing she can: a comforting hug and her belief that everything will be fine.

Like everyone else in this episode (who hasn’t been brainwashed), all Muetta and Yukina can really do is keep on surviving. Muetta notes that the premature Winter is the effect of the Pivot Stone, which will soon open a “star path” for the main Efidolg invasion force—if it isn’t open already. I simply don’t see how anyone survives if that force reaches Earth, so if anyone has an idea how to stop it and send the Efidolgs packing, now’s the time.