Synduality: Noir – 21 – Chant du Ciel Noir

While Mystere heads off to Carthage with Maria for more Histoire research, Ellie and Ange support Kanata as he works to get DaisyOgre back up and running. Noir, meanwhile, seems aimless, even moreso than usual. She’s having trouble accepting her new Ciel-sourced body. You could call it Magus survivor’s guilt.

When she discovers that she can charge up her camera with electricity just like Ciel did, my thoughts immediately turned to what else she can do that Ciel could? As she passes by holo-signs of Ciel’s canceled show, she encounters a little girl with bouquet of real flowers meant for Ciel. When the girl sings in her idol’s absence, Noir joins in, singing Ciel’s song in her own voice (i.e. Koga Aoi’s voice, which is lovely).

Tokio returns and stops by to say hi to Kanata and explain how he tried infiltrating Ideal to get his friend Macht out of there, only to fail. Kanata throws back Tokio’s own lessons back at him, telling him it’s not about what you can do, but what you want to do. Tokio, who probably feels bad about what he did to Kanata, asks him to punch him. Kanata’s first blow is a love tap, but when egged on, he launches a haymaker that makes Ellie and Ange “yeep.”

Then Noir shows up and tells Kanata, and everyone else there, that she “wants to sing.” Earlier Ellie told Kanata, who was worried about Noir, that all he can do is keep supporting her. Well, everyone ends up supporting Noir by helping to prepare her debut concert. Tokio reprises his White Mask persona as her MC, while Ellie, Ange, and others help spread the word about the show.

When the concert starts there are only a handful of people there, but both before the start time and when she spots her in the crowd, a surprisingly nervous Noir is clamed down by the little girl with the flowers, her first fan who got the ball rolling. Noir sings confidently, and word outside the venue starts to spread until it becomes a packed house.

Noir ends the show with the last song Ciel wrote, “Your Song,” a song she had only performed for Kanata before she passed away. When Noir really starts getting into the song, the spirit of Ciel is projected beside her and they bring the house down with a stirring duet. This is Synduality at it’s sweetest, guileless, and most heartwarming best.

I’ve made clear that Synduality really scratches that nostalgic, early-00’s Eureka seveN-ish itch, and after all that dark, brooding drama in Amasia, it’s just so satisfying to get a more fun cooldown episode that also delivers significant and compelling character development for its titular character.

This concert was a chance to honor Ciel’s memory and sacrifice, lit the way forward for Noir, and demonstrated the tight-knit community that’s so worth fighting for. Synduality knocked it out of the park with this charming-as-hell outing. It also gave Koga Aoi the chance to flex her angelic pipes, something I’m never going to be mad about.

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.

Synduality: Noir – 19 – Guiding Light

On their way to Old Amasia, Ellie and Ange detect DaisyOgre and find Kanata sitting in the rain with Ciel’s lifeless body in his arms. It’s understandable that he’s not in the best emotional state, but Ellie tells him that whatever is wrong with Ciel, the lives of Noir and Mystere also hang in the balance.

They track down Alba, who determines that Ciel’s Master tried to format her and wipe her memory, but she was able to refuse the format and reboot thanks to the plugin she had Kanata activate. Refusing a reboot is death for a Magus, and it seems Ciel chose death rather than lose who she was. Alba can’t bring Ciel back, but her Type Zero body could be used as a host for Noir.

I honestly still don’t have a clue what Tokio/Licht is up to, or what he’s trying to gain by continuing to interact with Macht and Schnee. Perhaps he wants them to team up with him and Mouton to bring Mr. Weisheit down? Again, I have no idea. I just know that Weisheit pours out some wine in Ciel’s honor, as she exceeded his expectations to the last.

Alba tells Kanata that Noir and Mystere might not last another day, so he has a choice to make: accept Ciel’s death and allow Alba to transfer Noir to her body (which could very well be Ciel’s wish), or hesitate and lose all three Magus. As he recalls all the sides Ciel showed him, he wonders if they were all lies, until he finds Noir’s camera. The images convince him they weren’t all lies. Ellie said as much to him: Ciel loved him, and couldn’t bear forgetting who he was or becoming his enemy.

Kanata decides to give Alba and Ada the okay to transfer Noir into Ciel’s body. Ellie takes his hand to support him as they stand and watch the technicians work. It doesn’t take long for them to hit a snag: while the connection has been made between the bodies, Noir’s consciousness appears to be “stuck.” Kanata tries talking to the unconscious Mystere, in hopes of getting Noir’s attention.

But it’s not Kanata’s voice, but Ciel’s form who ultimately guides Noir to the beacon of light in her dreamscape that represents the path to her new body. This must be a small remnant of Ciel’s personality that remained just long enough to save Noir and Mystere, for once Noir starts heading to the beacon, this Ciel avatar smiles then vanishes, her work complete.

The transfer is successful, and Ada cuts the connection between the bodies. Mystere is the first to wake up, and seems to be her usual prickly self, with her talk of Hacks and Duds. But Noir wakes up shortly after, not knowing whether to tell Kanata “Thank you,” “Sorry,” or “Good Morning.” Kanata simply says “Welcome back,” and Noir smiles.

We have Noir and Mystere finally facing each other then the flesh, but their separation also triggers a stored message from within Mystere. It’s a projection of her old Master, presuming Kanata to be the new Master of “her two girls.” Ciel died so that they could live. Now comes the living part.

Synduality: Noir – 18 – Songtress of the Sky

When Ciel reports to Weisheit, she plays things cool, but it was clear from the start that she remains conflicted. It’s all over her face, and Weisheit, who was apparently her Master all along, would doubtless be able to see it too. Why else would he shove the captive Kanata in her face and tell her he’ll be eliminated if he can’t find a use for him.

After awarding her a necklace with what I assume to be the crest of Amasia, he sends her off to relax, and she ends up crossing paths with Tokio, AKA Licht, AKA White Mask. If there’s any doubt about his loyalties, it’s eliminated when we see him and Mouton fixing Kanata’s Coffin. Ciel doesn’t remember Licht or Mouton were with Weisheit in the past, because she no longer has those memories.

Mouton says Weisheit always liked to “play with his doll,” and when he inevitably gives her the choice of killing Kanata in exchange for her freedom, it occurs to Ciel that all of this has happened before. Weisheit reformats her and wipes her memories, then presents himself as her ideal master. But she feels there’s no escape from the cycle. She’ll always follow his orders because she always has.

…That is, until now. Kanata reminds her of her dream to sing for as many people as possible. She tries to tell him following Weisheit’s wishes makes her happy. He tells her if that’s the case, why she looks like she’s crying. Then she tells him about the endless cycle she’s stuck in, and he tells her it’s messed up and unforgivable, which is is. Then he tells her he’ll save her. He’ll break the cycle.

Kanata takes her hand and walks out into the corridors. As he does, Ciel considers if she’s doing exactly what her master predicted by turning against him and going with Kanata. Even if that’s the case and this ends the way all her past lifetimes have ended, she’s going to live this one to the fullest. They board Daisyogre, and Tokio leads him to a lift back to the surface.

As they make their escape, Ciel has Kanata give his consent to create a ring she wears on her pinky which will “keep her safe.” She then asks him to be her master for real, which consists of him placing his thumb on her throat chip. They’re surrounded by Macht and Ideal Coffins, but Ciel keeps her pinky promise to Kanata and sings her new song. And when she sings here, it neutralizes all of the other Coffins.

When Weisheit sees that Ciel has made her choice, he activates the necklace he gave her, which he can use to remotely reformat her. Once that’s done, his first order for her is to kill the man she loves. Only the order goes ignored, because the reformatting never takes place. The ring her contract with Kanata made blocks the reformatting. But it also apparently knocks her out, perhaps permanently.

After getting Kanata out of Ideal HQ, it looks like her plan was to prevent any further resets, even at the cost of her life. It stands to reason her Type Zero body could then be used to separate Noir and Mystere. If that’s true, it’s a noble but tragic end for Ciel, the Magus songstress who fell for a human.

My Happy Marriage – 06 – That’s Not Me Anymore

Miyo comes to in a stress position, hanging from a length of rope in a storeroom. When the door opens and pours the light of the setting sun onto her face, Kaya and her mother enter, replete with ill intent. They only have one simple demand: that Miyo reject her engagement to Kudou Kiyoka so Kaya can marry him instead.

If Miyo doesn’t comply, well…Kaya and her mom don’t beat around the bush. First Miyo slashes Miyo’s new kimono with scissors. Then she holds the scissors to Miyo’s throat. But crucially, Miyo doesn’t revert to her old submissive self, even in the face of pure evil.

Even when her stepmother smacks her in the face with a fan, Miyo looks back up at her with a defiant look she has never made. I’m reminded of Kei in Classroom of the Elite going through a similar crucible and coming out firm in her resolve not to break or give in no matter what.

This defiance and strength was always there within Miyo, but meeting someone as good and kind as Kiyoka unlocked that power in her, the power that allowed her to  value herself as he does, and to hope that he’ll come for her. And come he does: when the Saimori doors are shut, he blasts through with his lightning. When both Miyo’s father and an increasingly unhinged Minoru attack him, he blasts through them.

Even when a desperate Minoru creates a maelstrom of fire that begins to burn the Saimori house, Kudou Kiyoka, confirmed as the strongest gift-user of his time, takes off the kid gloves and knocks Minoru out with a giant bolt of lightning. As Kouji says, it’s like an adult fighting an angry kid. Minoru never had a chance, which begs the question: shouldn’t he have known that?

Kaya has resorted to trying to choke Miyo into agreeing to cancel her engagement to Kiyoka, but Miyo doesn’t waver, even for a second: she’ll be Kiyoka’s fiancée until she breathes her last. Thankfully, that’s not today, as Kiyoka arrives and catches Kaya and her mother in the act of brutally torturing Miyo. When she realizes he came for her after all, Miyo declares she’s glad she fought, before passing out.

After her mom looks outside to see their palatial home in flames (thanks entirely to Minoru), Kaya tries a feeble last-ditch attempt to convince Kiyoka that she is better suited to be his wife, saying Miyo isn’t even fit to be a proper servant. Kiyoka doesn’t lay a hand on her, but shuts her up with both his words and his icy gaze, assuring her he wouldn’t marry her even if the heavens commanded it.

While unconscious, Miyo meets her mother, who mentions a “power” she has within herself. Miyo isn’t sure what that is, but this confirms that she’s by no means ungifted. It’s just that her gift is either incredibly rare, or entirely unique.

We see a grizzled old man give a younger underling his approval to begin an “operation” to prevent the “accumulation of power”—i.e. a Kudou marrying an Usaba—so the threat to Miyo is far from over, but it’s over for now.

When she wakes up to find a relieved Kiyoka and Yurie by her side, Miyo is again glad she didn’t give up in the face of evil. The old her would have surrendered to the storm, but now she’s someone who can weather it, and come out the other end herself.

Vinland Saga S2 – 23 – Someplace Not Here

Sweyn’s head tells Canute that Thorfinn is dangerous and should be killed. But when the king asks him what he’ll do, Thorfinn says he’ll simply run. He’ll run to somewhere he can’t tell Canute about, a place for people like the two of them, who won’t belong in the paradise he’s building.

Thorfinn intends to “fill the hole” Canute leaves with his methods, and warns him not to “make too much work” for him. To this Canute laughs, and not to mock Thorfinn. Rather, he’s laughing at the sheer absurdity of what Thorfinn did today: take a hundred punches without throwing a single one, all so that he could speak to him.

Canute is struck by how eloquently Thorfinn speaks now, and what a “beautiful man” he’s become, for all his scars and bruises. And you know what? Thorfinn wins. Canute decides to withdraw from the farm, ditch plans to requisition all the other farms, and even disbands his armies in England, trusting the nobles to maintain the peace.

Not only does he do these things that are seemingly in complete opposition to “the Viking way”, but it works. The English nobles acknowledge the trust he’s put in them, and the uprising that was feared never occurs. With no threat of an uprising, there was no need for an expensive army.

Floki and his Jomsvikings are disappointed, but fuck ’em. Their way only leads to ruin. Canute isn’t about that. He admires Thorfinn, and accepts that the two of them can independently peruse their paths to paradise. In the long run, Canute strengthens his reign with these peaceful moves that respect the people’s right to live.

The visual of Thorfinn, who turned a king and his vicious Viking army away with nothing but words, waking up in the same straw bed in a smelly stable as every other morning of his last few years, is a powerful one that speaks volumes. He slowly limps through the peaceful farm and joins Canute, who still tends to Arnheid’s grave.

Thorfinn tells Einar he regrets not being able to tell Arnheid that there was something more appealing than the release of death she sought after so much suffering. But now he knows what he must do: find that place that he can tell others in her situation about. And if he can’t find it, he’ll make it. He embraces Einar as a brother, and they resolve to travel to Vinland.

In another example of his selfless goodness, Thorfinn has Olmar take the credit for negotiating Canute’s withdrawal. He bids farewell to Olmar, who now wants to be strong and kind like Thorfinn, to Sverkel, who maintains he needs no thanks as he was only honoring a deal they struck; Pater, who promises to care for Arnheid’s grave, and Snake, who tells them his real name: Roald, Son of Grim, before wishing them Godspeed.

Life at Ketil’s farm continues as it had, with Olmar embracing the philosophy of tilling the land and carving one’s feelings, one’s love into it. Of building something rather than destroying. Even Snake and his men take up farm work at Sverkel’s, with no imminent enemies to fight.

Pater remains amazed that after such a long life of enduring pain and anguish, that he should come upon men like Thorfinn and Einar: strong, yet dedicated to peace. And so they go forth, a nation of just two, in search of a place without slavery and war that scarred them and so many others. They surely won’t be alone for long.

Vinland Saga S2 – 22 – The Man With No Enemies

The punches begin, and even after twenty of Drott’s best, Thorfinn is still standing. Among the warriors watching, only Wulf realizes that Thorfinn is subtly positioning himself so that the punches don’t impact his core. Einar believes this to be madness and wants to stop it, but won’t interfere; he owes that to his friend.

When Snake arrives with Olmar, Thorfinn is distracted enough not to make the right move, and the thirty-second punch lands true, sending him flying to the ground. Snake tells Thorfinn there’s no need for this; if talking could have solved this conflict, they would have done so. Thorfinn disagrees: Did they really exhaust all avenues of conversation?

The answer, of course, is no. When Canute’s men raised their swords, Ketil’s men raised them in turn. But what follows is one of Thorfinn’s best and most noble and badass moments to date.

He stands back up, points at Drott, tells him his punches hurt less than bug bites, and tells him to hurry up with the remaining sixty-eight, as he’s a busy man with things to do.

Drott isn’t angry. Instead, he regards his indomitable opponent with the respect he deserves, and gets back to the punching. Snake moves to intervene, but Einar grabs his arm and tightens his grip. Thorfinn must be allowed to see this through.

The sun is low by the time Drott reaches one hundred punches, and by then, he is so exhausted they have no power at all. The hundredth is merely a gentle tap against the grostesquely swollen but still-standing Thorfinn’s chest. Drott falls to one knee and apologizes to Thorfinn for doubting him. He is a true warrior.

Drott then begs Wulf to let Thorfinn have an audience with the king. Under the cirsumstances, Wulf cannot refuse this request, and has the other solders make way for Thorfinn and Einar. Whatever else happens from here, Thorfinn and his “first method” has prevailed. He has shown everyone present that 100 punches from their strongest man aren’t enough to break his will.

Canute hears Wulf’s plea and grudgingly allows Thorfinn to approach, respecting his men’s feelings. Canute begins their talk by remarking that Thorfinn must hate him for enslaving him. However, Thorfinn offers the king his gratitude for sparing his life after he struck Danish royalty.

He also apologizes for giving Canute the scar on his face, and Wulf puts the remaining pieces together: despite being so young and tiny, this is the Thorfinn who is a match for that man-beast Thorkell himself. Canute acknowledges Thorfinn’s words as commendable, but when asked to leave the farm, he must refuse.

He explains that Ketil began this dispute, while his son killed ten of his men, and then Ketil refused demands to surrender and grossly overestimated his ragtag army’s strength.

All these things are true, but they are also excuses. We know that because we were in Canute’s private chambers when he decided he needed to make an example of the landowners and requisition farmland to feed his armies. Despite not having been privy to that context, Einar still calls Canute out for what he is: nothing but a thief, no better than a Viking chiefs who raized his village and killed his family.

Canute admits that is true; he’s not only a Viking Chief, but Chief of Chiefs. Thorfinn asks him if he still intends to build a paradise for those who suffer. But just as Thorfinn changed in the last four years into someone like his father who rejects war as nothing but a waste, the past four years have hardened Canute into someone who embraces war as a tool.

Like a farmer tills a land with a hoe, he shall till the very world itself with his vast armies of Vikings. Only then, when he has the power to defeat a God who has denied happiness to all who walk the earth, will he truly be able to build the paradise he envisions.

As Canute gestures for his men to menacingly surround Thorfinn and Einar, it is clear these two men, once boys, share the same dream of paradise but hold diametrically opposed philosophies for achieving it.

Having spoken his piece (and letting Einar speak his as well), the only two options remaining for Thorinn are to die right there on that beach, or flee and live until such a time as his arguments are persuasive enough to convince Canute, or some other king, that war solves and achieves nothing.

RABUJOI WORLD HERITAGE LIST

The Eminence in Shadow – 18 – Absolute Confidence

As her forced smile at his front door suggested, Claire is not here on a friendly visit. She’s there to choke Cid out on his bed for breaking every one of his promises thus far to hang out with her. She presents an extremely exclusive box ticket to the Bushin Festival, and he’d better be there to watch her fight and win, or he’s a dead little brother.

The ticket gives Cid access to a section where only royalty and nobles sit, including Princess Iris, who is seated right next to him. Cid has succeeded thus far as a background character insomuch as Iris only knows him because he’s Claire’s brother, and Alexia’s friend (though Cid disputes that label). Iris’ lickspittles also look down on Cid as an unexceptional irrelevancy just how he likes it!

While heading to the dressing room for his next match, Cid once again encounters the ethereal Lady Beatrix, who like him has a MgRonald bag. Unlike him, it’s filled with burgers, not his Mundane Mann disguise. While she’s apparently here to find her niece (i.e. Alpha), she’s also powerful wild card in a tinderbox of conflicting political interests.

Speaking of which, Perv Asshat helps himself to Cid’s seat while he’s gone, and Hayami Show does his usual good work making even idle chitchat sound incredibly menacing. When he asks who Iris thinks will win the next match: Annerose or Mundane Mann, she gives Mann one thing: his eyes have the look of absolute confidence, like he sees the path of total victory.

Obviously, we knew Cid was going to mop the floor with Annerose, it was just a matter of how he’d do it and how fast. She actually hangs in there longer than any previous opponent, even with his weighted armguards off. She tries to beat his speed with hers, but finds out his speed is far greater than she imagined. When she tries to get him to charge her so she can counterattack, he simply counters her counter.

After that barnburner of a fight, Iris excuses herself from Perv’s charming presence in order to prepare for her match. Perv tells his attendant to find out everything he can about Mundane Mann, since could well represent an unchecked and troublesome threat to his (and Diabolos’) plans for world domination. Ironically, he rules out Mann’s possible affiliation with Shadow Garden, siting its all-female composition and the lack of any motive for Garden to intervene at the Festival.

This reasoning fails to take into the account that while the Garden may not have any reason to participate, its leader does, since it’s his opportunity to be a more public Eminence in Shadow, and show off moves Lord Shadow never would (since he’s in the shadows). But as Mundane Mann he’s snagged one more admirer in Annerose, who accepts her defeat and thanks him for showing her heights she never knew, which she will now aspire to attain herself.

If Annerose has any other designs on Mr. Mann, she’ll have to get in line. Now that she’s cured of the Curse, Rose prepares to do what must be done to save her kingdom and her people from Asshat’s treachery. She still holds the wrapper of the MgRonald burger Cid gave her as a token of what she now knows to be a doomed love and impossible future with him.

With just two episodes remaining, and Rose, Iris, Beatrix, and however many of the Shades show up later in play, the Bushin Festival final is sure to be one for the ages. I just hope that Perv Asshat is put in his place, the poor king is freed from his mind prison, and Mundane Mann shows Iris what true strength is before peace-ing out!

The Eminence in Shadow – 17 – Moonlight Oriana

While sneaking away from his sister (by again flying out a window), Cid notices Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata being played in a concert hall. It’s Epsilon at the keys. Like Gamma and Beta, she’s using knowledge from Cid’s world to advance her position in this one. He doesn’t mind, and even compliments her figure, because he loves the Moonlight Sonata. And why the hell wouldn’t he? It’s the perfect theme song for Shadow.

He asks Epsilon about Rose’s whereabouts, but all she knows is that she is in the underground labyrinth. That’s all Cid needs to know. Alexia is already leading Beta down there, the former by now completely unconvinced that “Natsume” is a weakling. Alexia doesn’t know how fortunate she is that Beta is capable, because they’re heading into a totally unknown and potentially fatal situation.

When an exhausted and bloodied Rose catches her breath, we finally see what she encountered when she met with her father and Lord Perv. The king was clearly not in his right mind, and he and all of the assembled nobles and courtiers were under Perv’s control. Rose lashed out with violence, but now regrets that decision as a princess shouldn’t be so reckless and shortsighted (though considering that’s Alexia to a T, maybe they should?)

The nasty wound on Rose’s chest wasn’t caused by her pursuers; rather it is the early effects of possession; before long she’ll be consumed like Alpha & Co. were before they were freed from their curses by Cid. Just as Cid wishes he could have been there to see Rose go all “rock-n-roll”, Rose wishes she could get rid of Perv and his ilk, marry Cid, and live happily ever after. Now she’s not even sure how much longer she’ll live, period.

Throughout her monologue, which is spoken aloud, I kept thinking Cid would emerge from the shadows to tell her he still believes in her, still has her back. Of course that’s ridiculous; Cid would never act like that. Instead of emerging from the shadows, he appears before her in disguise as Shadow, playing Moonlight Sonata on the piano he borrowed from the concert hall. A gorgeous moonlike light suffuses the hall, and thousands of white feathers fall, all adding to the theatricality. Cid is killin’ it here.

Once the sonata ends, he stands up and asks Rose if she’s going to give up or keep going. Rose isn’t sure how. Shadow tells her he’ll give her the power to do anything and everything she needs and wants to do. With few other options, Rose accepts, and Shadow not only extracts the curse, but imbues her with power comparable to the Seven Shades.

Shadow doesn’t stick around, leaving a single black feather on the piano keys, because he doesn’t have to. Diabolos assassins arrive, but the newly supercharged Rose turns them all into red mist with a single slash of her sword. With this power, perhaps she truly can save her father, her kingdom, and all the other nations threatened by the Cult.

When she encounters Alexia and Beta, the former demands to know what’s going on, but Rose won’t tell her. She doesn’t want Alexia to get dragged into it, and telling her will do that. Alexia won’t take no for an answer, and starts a fight with Rose. While she fights better than Rose expected, she’s obviously no match for her.

Rose leaves an unconscious Alexia with Beta, who doesn’t offer any resistance and even expresses her support for Rose’s future ventures. Their alliance may now be shattered, but Beta suspects they’ll meet again. Beta is hardly one to question Lord Shadow’s actions—if he bestowed upon Rose the same power as her and the other Shades, he must’ve had a good reason.

Chainsaw Man – 12 (Fin) – Not a Bad Life

Last week introduced a bunch of new fiends who will surely play a role in any future seasons, but this week stripped everything back to Aki and Himeno and Denji and his wretched childhood—with a bit if Power and Kobeni being themselves for garnish.

First up, the Ghost Devil actually disobeys Sawatari and does not choke Aki to death. Instead it releases him, and in the moments he’s out, he recalls the day Himeno offered him a cigarette for the first time. Since he was under age, she promised to save it for him.

The Ghost Devil reaches out one of its countless arms to produce that very cigarette, with “Easy Revenge!” written on it. How exactly the Ghost was tamed after Himeno died isn’t important; what is is that Aki is able to destroy the Ghost, and he and Kobeni take Sawatari into custody.

Denji and Power really are the brother and sister to Aki’s big brother in their little found family, and even on the elevator ride to meet with Katana Man they can’t help but bicker over something petty. Power then gets off on the wrong floor because it’s full of zombies, and Power fucking loves killing zombies.

Denji carries on to the floor where Katana Man is. Unlike Sawatari, he’s given an opportunity to voice his grievances to Denji. Whatever the circumstances were, he blames Denji for the death of his gramps and others he cared about, and wants satisfaction.

As has been established, Denji himself is a little unnerved by how easily he was able to get over Himeno’s death, as well as all the other terrible things that have happened of late. But in this case? He couldn’t care less. This guy’s gramps tortured and enslaved him as a child just because he could. He can burn in hell. Katana Man don’t like that, Denji’s game for a rematch.

The two blast out of the building, onto rooftops, and finally onto a moving train, making for a particularly fun and cinematic setting for the final big battle of the season. Unlike the dark warehouse there’s plenty of light and dynamic backgrounds to soak in along with all the sparks and blood.

Katana Man also at least tries to understand what Denji is after, and isn’t impressed when Denji tells him it’s simply to preserve his new comfortable (by his standards) life and be praised by his boss. There isn’t enough nuance in their talk for Denji’s opponent to sympathize with his plight and why that life is such a precious thing to him; no doubt Katana Man lived a damned comfortable life as the grandson of a yakuza.

Their fight spills into one of the train cars and the innocent bystanders scatter (since this isn’t guest directed by Paul Verhoeven, they all escape unharmed). Denji has improved, but he’s still supposed to be fighting with Power beside him, and Katana Man still has his samurai move where he wooshes past Denji and lops off both his arms.

When he tells Denji to yield if he wants a quick death, Denji says he still has a chainsaw on his head, and charged him. Katana Man aims for Denji’s head as he rushes him one last time, but that’s exactly what Denji wanted. Borrowing a lesson he learned from Kishibe, he tells a suddenly cleanly sliced in half Katana Man never to trust someone he’s hunting.

Katana Man eventually reverts back to human form, and Denji chains him to the stopped train to await backup. Aki is the first to arrive, and Denji, who is not quite satisfied with having simply captured their target, proposes a contest…of nutshots. Whoever can make the guy scream more wins.

Aki initially seems reluctant to play along—it’s against their mandate and he’s not sure Himeno would want it—then he takes out the cigarette that saved his life, puts it back away, and declares that he’s game after all.

In the beautiful, sublime, cathartic scene that follows, we cut from the aftermath of the successful operation to a positively giddy Denji and Aki kicking the shit out of Katana Man’s nuts. Aki asks if Himeno can hear the nutshot requiem they’re playing for her up in heaven.

After that, Makima delivers her report to the bigwigs: Sawatari was captured, but apparently automatically killed as part of her contract with the Gun Devil before any intel could be extracted. RIP Sawatari; we really barely knew thee, and I still maintain that’s a shame. On the plus side, the 4th Division now has enough Gun Devil flesh that it’s moving towards the main body. So now they generally know where to look.

As the low-key credits are displayed, we watch Denji, Power and Aki simply hanging out together like the three best roomies, chasing cats, swinging on the swings, and going to the grocery store to buy stuff for dinner. There’s no audio to these scenes, only music, which makes them feel more intimate and resonant. It’s also quite heartwarming to see that after all they’ve been through, they can still live life and have fun like three ordinary young people.

After the trio make dinner, eat it, and enjoy some down time around the table, Denji and Power fall asleep, and we get one last zen balcony moment with Aki as he lights up his “Easy Revenge!” cigarette and smokes it, providing a measure of closure and relief from his deep loss.

Denji, meanwhile, dreams a dream he says he always dreams and then forgets: walking through a dingy alley to a door, hearing Pochita on the other side of that door, then going for the doorknob, only for Pochita to say, with finality, he can’t open that door. The final scene is the most cryptic of all, with a heretofore unseen/unheard young woman with dark hair asking Denji what’s better: a city mouse or a country mouse.

Who this mystery woman is, how she’ll fit in to the ongoing search for the Gun Devil, and a host of other matters will provide fertile ground for a second season of Chainsaw Man. While none has been officially announced, I can’t see one not happening. But this was a pitch-perfect stopping point.

Chainsaw Man – 11 – Asking Nicely

“The Future Rules”, says the Future Devil, who resembles the Forest Spirit from Princess Mononoke, but is a lot more happy-go-lucky. The terms of his new contract with Aki are simple: he’ll reside in Aki’s right eye and lend him his power. In exchange, he’ll have a front row seat to Aki’s death, which he promises will also “rule.”

Kishibe’s tough love training of Denji and Power continues to a point where he’s satisfied they won’t embarrass themselves in the next battle, which will be against The snake woman (Sawatari) and the Katana Man (who is called “Samurai Sword” in the episode.

In his meeting with Makima, Kishibe posits that she knew the assault that claimed so many public safety officers (including his student Himeno) was coming and did nothing to stop it. He doesn’t really mind, as long as Makima shares his overarching directive to save as many people as possible in the long run.

I’m not entirely sure why Makima allowed such a devastating assault to take place, but intentionally allowed or not it led to her consolidating her power in Public Safety, amplifying the importance of her surviving underlings like Denji and Power, and revealing the identities of their enemies—among them Sawatari, who unfortunately has no character beyond “slightly bored baddie”. I kinda wish we knew more about her.

After contracting with the Future Devil, Aki gets a ride back to HQ from Kurose and Tendou. Kurose tries to press Aki’s buttons by telling him his shounen manga-style goal to take the Gun Devil down pisses him off, but Aki isn’t phased. If he can defeat the Gun Devil, he’ll be happy. If he dies, Kurose can laugh all he likes. But while Aki pisses him off, Kurose can’t help but root for the guy.

As for Makima, the less we know about her, the more mysterious and awesome she is. I could watch an entire episode of her politely chatting with a yakuza head. She isn’t the slightest bit intimidated by the soldiers surrounding her as she asks their leader to give up the names of the members of other yakuza families who contracted with the Gun Devil.

The yakuza head declines to snitch on his rival families as it would start a war that would destabilize the Japanese mob and invite foreign mobs to invade. That’s when Makima presents a little brown paper bag that she calmly describes contains the eyes of a loved one of everyone in that room. When one of them raises a hand to her, he’s stopped in his tracks, his nose bleeds, and he keels over dead.

After their brutal training, Denji and Power are excited to finally put what they’ve learned into action. Kobeni is not so enthused, but now that we can see what she’s capable of it’s a plain matter of motivation, not ability. Kishibe sends the three and Aki into the building where Sawatari and Katana Man are holed up.

As Kishibe explained to Denji and Power, this is an all-or-nothing, make-or-break operation. Either Division 4 will succeed in defeating Sawatari and Katana Man, or they’ll fail and be destroyed. They’re backed up by four new fiends: Shark, Violence, Spider, and Angel, all of whom feature cool designs and fighting (or in the case of Angel, non-fighting) styles.

While those four mop up the zombie army in the basement, Aki heads upstairs and meets non-zombie resistance in the form of yakuza soldiers. When he ends up in a four-on-one situation, his our opponents all get bloody noses and fall over dead. We cut to Makina striding confidently out of the yakuza head’s house, having gotten what she wanted. That gives Aki a clear path to Sawatari.

If Sawatari has any particular reason for siding with the Gun Devil and wanting to destroy Division 4, she doesn’t share them with Aki. She’s all business, summoning Himeno’s Ghost Devil to fight him, keeping her Snake Devil in reserve. It’s a pragmatic move that’s also definitely meant to rile Aki up, but he doesn’t take the bait.

Instead, he puts his new buddy the Future Devil to use by anticipating the movements of the Ghost’s arms so he can dodge and slice at will. Unfortunately, the Ghost’s arms regenerated and multiply, and Aki loses his time advantage when he starts to slow due to fatigue.

The Ghost eventually covers Aki in arms and grabs him, and Sawatari orders it to choke him to death. But something tells me this isn’t the awesome death the Future Devil foresaw. Will he find his second wind on his own, or will Denji, Power, and/or Kobeni bail him out?

Chainsaw Man – 10 – Toughening Up

In the aftermath of the attack on the 4th Division, Denji and Power are all healed up, and despite insisting otherwise, are by Aki’s side out of solidarity. They are, after all, three of the last surviving members. When the two leave shortly after Aki comes to, he asks the Curse Devil how long he has (two years), prepares to light a cigarette, and then can’t when he remembers Himeno.

Himeno gets her final wish: Aki lives to cry for her. As for Denji, he’s a little weirded out by how calm and cool he’s been about losing Himeno, the first person who wanted to be his friend. He wonders if he’d be just as indifferent if Power or Aki died. He even figures the loss of Miss Makima would only result in about three days of feeling bad, then he’d get back to living his life of meals and baths.

With Makima determined to strengthen what’s left of her now combined division, Denji and Power’s lives are about to get a lot less carefree. Deemed still too weak against the kind of devils they’ll have to hunt, Makima puts Himeno’s old sensei Kishibe (voiced by Tsuda Kenjirou) in charge of training them.

He immediately likes them, as neither are interested in revenge and will side with whoever will feed them (in Denji’s case) or whoever is winning (Power). They’re both the precise breed of fearless crazy needed to be effective devil hunters.

He pulls the two into a hug, and then casually breaks both their necks with his bare hands, leaving no doubt as to his toughness. After healing them with blood, he proceeds to kill or nearly kill the two again and again, deciding the best way to make them tougher is to hunt them until they’re capable of beating him.

While Denji and Power are enduring this, Kyoto’s Tendou and Kurose pay Aki a visit, and tell him it might be best if he quit while he’s still alive, like Madoka did. Unlike Denji and Power, Aki is still very much driven by the need for revenge against the devils that killed his family and Himeno. But to become strong enough to stay in the 4th Division, he’ll need to contract with stronger devils.

After Tendou and Kurose take their leave, a girl whose face we don’t see pays him a visit. While walking home from the graveyard, Denji and Power decide that the best way to defeat their new drunken teacher is to use their brains. Left unacknowledged is the fact that even if they put both their brains together they only end up with two balls of lint.

The next morning, they set up an ambush for Kishibe, all the while displaying a wholly unearned sense of confidence you can’t help but admire—they even wear glasses to look smarter. Kishibe easily defeats their surprise attacks, once again leaving them both on the floor, down for the count.

That said, he admired their attempt, and says he’ll give them the rest of the day off. The moment Denji drops his guard, he gets a thrown dagger to the forehead. Kishibe warns him and Power never to trust the words of someone hunting them. And so, the bloody trials continue.

Aki is escorted to the bowels of Public Safety headquarters by Tendou and Kurose, which serves as a prison for all of the devils captured alive. When Kurose asks if the girl at the hospital was Aki’s girlfriend, he says no; it was Himeno’s little sister, who brought letters Himeno wrote to her for Aki to read. Among them, Himeno discusses her unsuccessful attempt to get out of Public Safety with Aki.

As he contemplates his past, Tendou and Kurose take him to the cell of the Future Devil, one who took the eyes and sense of taste and smell from one human it contracted with and half the lifespan of another. Considering Aki has only two years left anyway (due to the Curse Devil), and his determination to destroy the Gun Devil, I’m certain the Future Devil can ask for whatever it wants, and Aki will sacrifice it.

Chainsaw Man – 09 – Crunch Time

Whoever ordered the coordinated surprise attack on the Special Divisions, it seems to be going going off without a hitch. There’s no time to mourn any of the dead yet, and Himeno’s last order to the Ghost Devil before they both vanish is to pull Denji’s cord. The bad guys, as Denji calls them, may want his head (i.e. Pochita) but they’ll have to fight him for it.

Katana Man is wounded from his scrape with the Ghost and the Curse, and the reinforcements Sawatari (hoodie girl) calls are just ordinary humans. But Denji makes the mistake of thinking Katana Man cares about subordinates, and as a consequence both he and his hostage are halved.

He’s not the only one who makes a fatal error this week. The train crew thinks Makima is dead, and she certainly looks dead, but in an unsettling sequence of shots, suddenly she’s not dead, but standing in the aisle behind them with that serene Makima smile.

Hunters Tendou and Kurose are waiting for her on the platform in Kyoto when they hear that all four divisions have been massacred. When the train arrives and the doors open, all of the passengers run out screaming—all of them, except for Makima, covered in blood but cool as a cucumber.

She assures her subordinates that she wasn’t shot, then orders them to borrow a bunch of life-sentence convicts and reserve the nearest, highest-altitude temple. We witness the product of those requests first, as Sawatari and Katana Man’s underlings suddenly get a weird feeling, then pop like balloons one after another.

At the temple in Kyoto, Makima uses the convicts as sacrifices, asking them to say the names of those she wishes to kill. Once they do, she puts her hands together in various positions, and all the way in Kyoto the enemies die horribly in hideous, concussive bursts of blood and gore. One of the men flees in terror and tries to take a hostage, but he only ends up coating her in…in him.

When all the convicts are dead, Makima tells Tendou and Kurose they can remove their blindfolds, as she’s “done all she can” from there. The three then hop on the next train to Tokyo. But while her part in the counterattack is over, another unexpectedly alive member of the 4th Division shows up where Denji is.

It’s Kobeni, who was saved when Arai took the bullets meant for her. She then killed the shooter and came across Sawatari and Katana Man as they’re trying to get half a Denji in their getaway van.

She doesn’t let them, and even Sawatari’s massive summoned snake can’t stop her advance. She parkours across the snake, dodges bullets, slices off Katana Man’s hand and then shoots him several times with his own gun. With both of him and her in bad shape (losing fingernails like that can’t be fun) they beat a hasty retreat.

Kobeni then starts to cry-laugh with Denji in her arms, a sure sign that she’s losing it. Part of it is the absurdity of apologizing for trying to kill him, but it goes without saying that her actions today make up for it, as he’d 100% be in the enemy’s clutches were it not for her intervention.

I’m sure Makima will thank her when she sees her, which should be soon. Upon returning to Tokyo she’s met by Madoka, who announces that all four divisions will be absorbed into the 4th, that Makima is now in command of the new combined unit, and he is resigning. It’s probably the right move, as he’s lucky he survived this incident and unlikely to survive another.

Before parting ways, he asks Makima if she knew that all of this was going to happen, but as he’s no longer a devil hunter but a private citizen she cannot possibly comment. She heads back to HQ flanked by Tendou and Kurose, who make sure she understands they’re not joining her outfit, but are only in the city to help with training. Without looking back, she says that’s a shame, as the dining’s to kill for in Tokyo.

Chainsaw Man follows up last week’s nearly perfect episode with one that’s as righteous and unnerving as the last one was heartbreaking. Makima and Kobeni have been hiding in plain sight all this time, but now we know what they’re made of—and why Kobeni is probably in the right line of work, despite not being psychologically suited for it.

Himeno is gone, but thanks to her Aki’s not, and thanks to her and Kobeni neither is Denji. Through all of this loss and bloodshed, Makima never changed her composure for a moment. That cool head is what makes her a good leader in a tough job full of bad, bloody choices. The others will need that steadiness as they pick up the pieces and try to move forward.