Tales of Wedding Rings – 08 – Where His New Worth Lies

Prince Marse had already been derided as a failure by his father’s court before he was given One Job, to take up the mantle of the Ring King. That he couldn’t even do that, and with Princess Saphira forsaking him, he now feels completely worthless. The Oracle taps right into that baggage, unlocks his darker desire for power and redemption, and presents him with an ancient sword that can deflect the Ring King’s power.

Satou is busy getting chaste kisses from his wives when more monsters arrive at the palace doorstep, and that’s when Marse suddenly charges and slashes at him. Alabaster holds the monsters at bay while Satou and Marse duel, and Satou isn’t under any illusions he can beat Marse in a swordfight. But he can also tell something is off. He’s in as bad a shape as he should be.

Throwing caution to the wind like the fool Saphir believes him to be, Satou leaves himself open to what should be a killing strike from Marse, but the cut doesn’t go deep. That confirms it: Marse is hesitating. Marse falls to his knees and asks Satou to cut his worthless self down, but of course Satou can’t and won’t do that. Without Marse, Satou wouldn’t have lasted a day in this new world. If Marse can’t see worth in himself, Satou will give him worth: that of a knight of the Ring King who will save the world.

Once Satou breaks the gem on the pommel of Marse’s sword, he’s freed of the Oracle’s curse. The Oracle then uses a monster to take Saphira hostage. She’ll trade the princess for the rings, but Marse won’t hear of it. Accepting his new worth and resolved to live life protecting those precious to him, he proposes to Saphira right then and there, creating a distraction for Satou to slashs the tentacle restraining her. Marse catches her out of the air, as gallant and romantic an outcome as they could have hoped for.

Again declaring her new husband a fool—but the good kind of fool—Saphir kisses Satou and transforms into a massive water dragon that noms the Oracle’s comparatively puny monster. Defeated, the Oracle vanishes into a dark portal, while Saphir returns to her human form—completely nude, of course—and Hime helpfully shields Satou’s eyes.

With the Oracle’s hold on the king lifted, it’s revealed he’s a lot more youthful and vigorous than before (again, like King Theoden). He gives Marse his blessing to marry Saphira. Watching the happy couple embrace makes Hime a little envious, and then she and Satou blush together when Marse says “your turn”, implying he and Saphira have already consummated their love.

Even Sluder leaves on good terms with Marse, welcoming his brother home when he so chooses. However, their dad would probably less enthusiastic about Marse’s return. The Oracle, who he’d been working with, tries her controlling shit with him and he cuts her down, declaring that nothing, not he Abyss King or the Ring King, will keep him from achieving global hegemony. Well, we’ll just see about that, pops! One wife to go for Satou!

My Happy Marriage – 12 (Fin) – How Miyo Got Her Boo Back

Miyo lays beside her Sleeping Beauty Kiyoka, and Arata instructs her to take his hand so that her soul can leave her body and travel to meet his, using her Dream-Sight ability. But while he seems locked in an endless battle with grotesqueries, she ends up in a dark dream version of the now-destroyed Saimori house.

In addition to giving off creepy vibes, I knew that this is the place her mind strayed to because there’s still a part of her trapped in the storeroom. That part addresses her directly, insisting that she doesn’t deserve Kiyoka, and that anyone she gets close to meets with misfortune. To our Miyo’s credit, she’s past this kind of treatment and doesn’t let it get to her.

She admits she once believed she only deserved to be alone, and was scared of getting hurt, but now she willingly and forcefully advances on her old self, breaking through the brambles she created, eventually replacing the dour storeroom with a cloudy pink void and taking on the garb of the Dream Maiden. She hugs her old self and says she’s going to live a happy life by her husband-to-be’s side. The other Miyo smiles and gives her blessing.

As Miyo was locked in a battle of words with her less confident self, Kiyoka was starting to wear down as the enemies won’t stop coming. He even loses the hair tie Miyo made for him, but that ends up guiding her to where he is. She arrives in a flash of dazzling white light, takes her place beside him, and blocks the dread grotesqueries with a shield of, well, let’s call it goodness.

Even when the Emperor joins the monks presently directing the grotesqueries against Kiyoka and merges them into one huge boss bearing his face, nobody is any match for Miyo in the dream world. With her powers unsealed and fully realized, she’s able to raise her hand and tell the Emperor himself to begone, and he and his monks explode in a burst of flame in the waking world. Good riddance, assholes!

With the enemy defeated, the dark, blood-red forest fades away, replaced by a majestic blue sky, reflective ground, and resplendent blooming sakura tree. Miyo ties Kiyoka’s hair back and apologizes for saying she “didn’t care” what happened to her earlier. Kiyoka apologizes for losing his temper and saying “something unreasonable”. They embrace in joy and relief, and when they hear their friends and family calling to them, they wake up together.

In the midst of the tearful reunion, Arata slips out, but Miyo stops him, asking if he’s leaving. Arata says his work here is done, and that he only did what he wanted to do—for perhaps the first time in his life. Kiyoka tells him he’ll challenge him to a rematch one day—hopefully for lower stakes!

Miyo and Kiyoka then return to their home together, and a series of happy days follows. They’re happy for Miyo because she now knows what happiness is to her: being by her husband-to-be’s side, whether it’s for a meal or laughing or talking about anything or nothing at all. One by one, those moments big and small weave together to form an ever-stronger tapestry of love.

In the final scene, Miyo makes her debut at a party in a gorgeous Western dress, and she and Kiyoka reassert their intention to marry and remain together forever. It’s an achingly adorable capper to an equally heart-bursting episode and season, and it’s thankfully not the last season, as a second has already been confirmed.

Tenten Kakumei – 04 – Breaking the Mold

Anisphila, clearly sleep-deprived from making Euphyllia’s new magic sword, nods off in her lap for quite some time, and thanks her for it when she awakens. Euphie is just glad to be “somewhat useful”, unaware that she’s been Anis’ magicological muse for years.

Ilia, who continues to slay in every scene she’s in, scolds Anis for leaving herself so vulnerable “to the person she likes”, then lays into the princess for stinking and having messed up hair. It’s as if Ilia isn’t a maid at all, but the big sister Anis never had.

Euphie can’t help but feel smitten by Anis, who mistakes her for having suddenly come down with a cold. Into bed Euphie goes, and Nurse Anis prepares some medicine, even patting Euphie’s head like she’s her little sister. As Anis talks spiritedly about Arc-en-Ciel, Euphie simply watches her admiringly, as a beautiful bird that flies as far as it wants. Meanwhile, Euphie feels like a bird that just can’t stop falling.

She feels empty. Anis seems to sense this, and takes Euphie’s hand. Euphie asks what she should do; Anis of course says “whatever you want”. And if she doesn’t know what that is, that’s okay, they’ll take their time looking for that together. That’s when, after weaving her fingers into Euphie’s, Anis draws closer to Euphie, who starts to panic until it’s clear Anis is just touching her forehead to check for a fever. That negative space tho…

After a few moments like this, Euphie relaxes; she likes the feel of Anis’ warmth. She nods off, and when she wakes up, Anis is still there holding her hand as she sleeps, glowing in the sunlight, so bright and beautiful it makes Euphie’s chest ache.

Anis may have minced no words about her prospective romantic intentions with Euphie, but little by little Euphie is coming around to the fact that this girl is special, and makes her feel like no one else in the world ever has. That’s powerful, and I love how gently and poignantly the girls’ love is developing.

We briefly check in with Prince Algard, who is under house arrest after his little stunt. The head of the Ministry of the Arcane pays him a clandestine visit, no doubt to inform him of the appearance of the dragon in the cold open. Then we get right back to Euphyllia secretly watching Anis practice swordsmanship.

Ilia spots Euphie and tells her that the princess has taught herself most of her skills in battle, but then changes the subject to Euphie herself. As Euphie awkwardly follows Ilia as she does chores, Ilia asks her if she finds it hard to voluntarily do things outside her given role; her mold.

Euphie then states that she’d always worked towards becoming the best duke’s daughter and future queen she could be; an ideal Ilia tells her defined her self-worth. Ilia too was once fitted into a predetermined mold, and even offered to an old, rich man for marriage.

That mold was shattered by none other than Anisphila, who took her in, and demanded not to be treated like a princess, but something like equals. Ilia adds that it’s okay for Euphie to worry, because Anis will see to it she has all the time she needs to figure things out.

This lovely heart-to-heart is interrupted by Anis boisterously rushing at them with News: there’s a stampede of monsters, caused by the appearance of a dragon—and she’s going to take it down! It’s the first Euphie is hearing that Anis is not only an adventurer, but a Gold-Ranked one at that. She’s utterly stupified that a princess, even a princess like Anis, could go off and battle monsters.

And yet, Euphie remembers that Anis is a bird who can fly as far as she wants, looks at Ilia, who wordlessly tells her there’s no talking Anis out of this, and tells Anis that she accepts her flying off into danger to battle a dragon…but she’s coming too! Considering she’s a magical genius and has Arc-en-Ciel, I have no doubt she’ll be able to contribute.

Anis and Euphie unknowingly steal a march on Prince Algard, who barges into a royal council meeting and declares to his father that he’ll slay the dragon if he can get what he wants—Lainie Cyan’s hand in marriage. He tells his father and his courtiers how he’s always heard people saying “if only” his sister was a man.

Orphans can tell that after Anis and Algard got along famously as little kids, a rift grew between them when Anis discovered magicology. The resentment and bitterness have been stewing within his only son. He also knows that Anisphila could most definitely assume the throne, and perhaps do a better job than Algard—but made a conscious choice to reject it for Algard’s sake.

But while Anis’ intentions were good and loving, a part of Algard must also feel patronized by his amazing big sister. So the king isn’t going to hold him back from trying to stand on his own two feet and prove himself. The only problem is, I seriously doubt he’ll get his chance at the dragon before Anis and Euphie take care of it.

After two episodes off it’s good to have Algard back in the mix. I still hate him for what he did to Euphyllia, but I also understand why he did it. I can also understand how he wants to be with the woman he loves, not the one chosen for him. He’s an ass, but he’s also a compelling character who wants to break out of his mold.  I can’t wait to see him, Anis, and Euphie in action—either together or at cross purposes.

The Rising of the Shield Hero S2 – 04 – Part of the Gang

The night after the battle, Rishia tells the rest of the party how she and her parents lived happy unassuming lives as poor nobles until a neighboring noble abducted her as payment for debts unfairly levied against her family. She thought she was a goner, but was rescued by Itsuki, who exposed the evil noble. Ever since, Rishia has vowed to repay the Bow Hero (also, she’s probably in love with the guy…I mean look at that face.)

Naofumi’s party, along with Ost, Eclair, and Elrasla, take it upon themselves to finish off the Spirit Tortoise by traveling onto its headless body and finding its weak spot. On the way, Ost wonders why all of the soldiers are saluting and praising her when she’s technically a servant of the Tortoise. The answer is simple: because she fought alongside them, and saved their lives.

After hours of traveling through dense fog with no weak spots in sight, Naofumi decides to stop and camp for the night. While Raph and Filo sleep together, Rishia admits to Ost that she’s a little jealous of their sisterly bond as she was an only child. But throughout the episode and especially here, Ost serves as a big sister figure.

Ost assures Rishia that even though she’s no longer in the Bow Hero’s party—and maybe precisely because she isn’t—she’s able to accomplish something for his sake. The next morning, when they meet up with Queen Mirelia at a village decimated by the Tortoise awakening, Ost provides a soothing presence for Rishia, who is not used to being around such death.

After being comforted by Ost, Rishia pays it forward by telling an also-distraught Raphtalia that she doesn’t have to “get used to” death an destruction. That’s after Mirelia leads Naofumi’s gang to a large dilapidated shrine further within the Tortoise’s back, into which they all brave despite the constant risk of total collapse.

Once there, and there is an ancient language written on the wall to translate, Rishia really comes into her own, both in enthusiasm and competence. Naofumi wonders if from now on she should focus on honing her scholarly skills, but Elrasla tells Naofumi that might yet be a waste of Rishia’s potential, which remains as yet untapped. She then comes upon some writing she can’t ready easily, which Naofumi immediately identifies as Japanese.

Mirelia calls it the “hero’s alphabet”, and while some of it is worn away or obscured, he can make out something about breaking a seventh seal. When the shrine collapses, Ost finally remembers something important: the key to defeating the Tortoise is to travel within its body.

Naofumi prepares to head in with Raph, Filo, and Ost, asking Eclair and Elrasla to keep the armies together should thinkgs go sideways. He’s ready to ask Rishia to stay behind as well, but she refuses: she’s a member of his party; where he goes, she goes.

It’s a brave, bold gesture by someone who, along with Ost, have become my favorite characters in this second season. That said, when she heads into the dark and spooky “large intestine” of the Tortoise, she still needs Ost by her side to keep her wits about her.

That’s when the party suddenly encounters what appear to be three adventurers who claim to have been sent by the queen. Nobody buys that, and when Raph uses anti-mirage magic to nullify their disguises, they’re revealed to be Naofumi’s old pals L’Arc, Therese…and Glass. Now they’re not a trio you come across any ol’ day in a giant turtle colon!

Fruits Basket – 43 – Having Nothing in the End

Hiro is talking with Kisa about his yet-to-be-born sibling, whose gender will be a surprise, when he spots Rin in her school uniform. He’s concerned about her ashen appearance, but she gives him basically the same treatment as everyone else who tries to reach out: Buzz off. Go have your happy life with your nice parents and leave me alone with my misery.

The episode then revisits the time Rin approached Shigure, and we learn that she seeks a means of lifting the Zodiac curse, just like Tooru. She’s willing to give him her body for the info, but Shigure—in a rare instance of not being a total slimebag—rejects her offer. But he also refuses to help in any way, while stating he’ll enjoy the benefits Rin’s and others’ efforts, because, as he himself says, he is the worst.

Spurned by Shigure, who may or may not possess the answers she seeks, she goes through a Souma storage room in hopes of finding something, anything related to the curse and a way to lift it. Exhausted and nauseous, she collapses on the ground, then remembers one of the happiest moments in her life—in bed with Hatsu post-coitus, wishing she could be his heart—followed by one of the worst: her parents telling her they “don’t want her”.

Around dusk, she returns to Shigure’s house, strung-out almost beyond belief, but nobody’s home…until Tooru comes through the door. Even that act of opening a door sends Rin into a hysterical fit, repeatedly begging Tooru not to yell at her. Tooru being Tooru, she does the only thing the situation calls for in that moment: giving Rin a warm, gentle hug to try to calm her down.

Shigure may believe he’s the worst, but delving into Rin’s horrific childhood establishes some healthy competition for the title. By all accounts, Rin’s parents tried for years to put on a happy, fun façade as they raised her. It wasn’t until it started to feel like a performance to her, and she asked them why that was, that they snapped. This is not at all to blame Rin for breaking the façade; it was doomed no matter what she said or did. But it’s clear she blames herself.

Verbal and physical abuse followed, until one day Rin collapsed from the injuries the marks of which her clothes concealed. Kazuma and Hatsu are with her in the hospital, and that’s when her parents tell her flat out they no longer want her. Hatsu responds not by turning into Dark Hatsu, but simply by getting extremely pissed off with the parents, and lays into them, getting no response in return.

From then on, Rin lived with Kagura’s family, and the mere fact it was a genuinely happy household caused her intense emotional and physical pain, since she wonders “what she did wrong” to cause her to lose her own home. The only person in whom she found true peace and comfort was her white-haired knight Hatsu, who eventually confesses his love, and she reciprocates.

For the one person with whom spending time was not painful to also be a Zodiac member only adds fuel to the all-consuming flame of misfortune that is Rin’s life. Akito finds out, and when Hatori’s eye is brought up, Rin declares that she was the one who seduced Hatsu.

Akito doesn’t hold back on the verbal or physical wrath, calling Rin wicked and devious “like all women” and calling her flowing black hair “repulsive”. Seemingly feeding off Rin’s fear by grabbing her, Akito tells her she has no value other than filling one of the Zodiac slots before throwing her out the window. This is witnessed by Hiro, and if he hadn’t, Rin might well have bled out. Instead, she’s still alive…and wishes she wasn’t.

For all of those times I misinterpreted Rin’s standoffish, quick-to-anger nature in the few scenes in which she interacted with others, I can only beg for the character’s forgiveness. She’s had every right to act the way she has. It’s now crystal clear she broke up with Hatsu in order to save him from Akito’s wrath, as well as her own belief her love for him would be so heavy it would one day crush him.

I can only breathe a sigh of relief that Rin is now in the safest possible place: in Shigure’s house and in Tooru’s care. She may act like every bit the wounded horse upon coming to, and stubbornly reject any and all offer of help from Tooru, but the fact is the two share the same goal, and they’ll need each other if they’re going to make any progress.

So ends the darkest and most devastating episode of Fruits Basket to date, an absolutely unrelenting look at the destructive effects of the Zodiac curse on its members. Few episodes of anime hit me as hard as this one. Rin is at absolute rock bottom, neither wanting nor feeling she is deserving of love, happiness, or anything at all. But if anyone can help her, it’s Tooru. As long as Rin is alive, there is still hope. And I hope to hell she gets the redemption she needs and deserves.

Mahoutsukai no Yome – 13

This week’s cold open drips with dread as an evil-sounding guy asks what the adorable Chise will find “at the end of her journey with the failure born in the shadows of the forest”, which doesn’t strike me as the nicest way to describe Elias Ainsworth. Maybe the guy has some kind of grudge? Or maybe he’s jealous that Elias found a Sleigh Beggy?

After that, things take a much lighter tone, as Chise, Ruth, Elias and Silky deal with a sudden infestation of “woolly bugs” in dire need of shearing. Just when Elias steps away for a moment, an icy bug steals Chise’s body heat, but she isn’t in any lasting danger. Elias merely needs to warm her back up.

As a result of that objective, Elias stays with Chise until she wakes up, and the opportunity arises for the two to finally talk a little more about how they feel about each other. Chise had been torturing herself about the “timing” of what she’d say, not the content, and that’s evident here as she’s quite eloquent once the obstacle of when to tell him is gone.

She’s able to clear up a couple of things with Elias—that she’s not afraid of him like most humans are, and that she wants to keep the memory of him going wild, even if it wasn’t pleasant, because it’s the memory of “someone important to her”, which is to say, someone she cares about.

Elias continues to emphasize that he can’t truly emphathize with Chise, or even honestly tell her what his feelings are, because the creature that he is just doesn’t allow for that, or at least hasn’t up to this point.

Elias can say that his home was dreadfully cold when Chise was gone, now it’s much warmer, and he prefer the latters. He also knows that while he may be Chise’s magic teacher, Chise is his human teacher. They have a lot to teach one another.

Chise, unfortunately, doesn’t know not to answer the door alone late at night if she’s not expecting someone, and Elia’s door sadly lacks a peephole, so when Chise opens the door to find the many millennia-old Ashen Eye on the other side, she’s wide open for whatever Ashy might want to do.

Ashen Eye is, of course, the creepy guy we heard talking at the beginning. He seems to be obsessed with Chise, but at least partially informed by a longstanding resentment of humanity he’s built up over the centuries.

He claims he has no intention of “harming” Chise at all, but apparently “transforming her into a red fox” doesn’t fall under the “harm” category of “harm.” So what’s Ahsen Eye’s game, and how will Elias (or Fox Chise, for that matter) deal with him?

I’ve learned not to immediately think everyone who does something weird like this to Chise is automatically a villain with ill intent. It’s possible he’s just teaching both of these youngins a lesson in not answering your door. But that creepy cold open weighs on me…it’s more likely he’s up to no good.

Net-juu no Susume – 10 (Fin)

Sometimes ten is a really good number for a series—it works fine for KonoSuba. Net-juu no Susume also ends at ten eps, and it wraps up very nicely and neatly indeed…I just wish I could spend another episode or two with the surpassingly adorable new couple of Morioka and Sakurai.

Finales are always, in part, a “thank you” to those who have watched the whole time, and NjS’s fulfills that role with aplomb. There’s no more misunderstandings or missed opportunities with these two, just a general (and understandable) nervousness and excitement.

It’s a thoroughly fun and joyful episode, which takes place mostly in Sakurai’s apartment. Morioka’s soaked clothes quickly led to a far more intimate situation than either party expected, to the point Morioka has to snap out of it lest Sakurai see her underwear in the changing room.

Each and every little domestic situation you’d expect of, say, a live-in couple, is experienced for the very first time by both Sakurai and Morioka. Take Sakurai’s computer terminal, which like Moriokas was a place of deep physical solitude for so many hundreds of hours, but sharing his computer and the experience of playing Lily, if only briefly, is as enjoyable for Sakurai as it is for Morioka.

These are also two very well-matched people, with Sakurai being very polite and even “old-fashioned” for his age, which isn’t even that much younger than Morioka to begin with. When they accidentally touch, they’re both embarrassed, but neither fins they really dislike such accidents.

Then Morioka’s stomach grumbles, and she defiantly accepts that this is “just who she is”; she also helps Sakurai cook and wash the dishes, and the two are already looking like an old married couple. They’re both having such a lovely time despite being so flustered.

Inevitably, the konbini incident comes up, and Morioka’s putrid sense of self-worth rears its ugly head. Sakurai, thankfully calling her out, gently tells her that while she often puts herself down, both he and likely everyone else values her a lot more than she thinks they do. He continues that both as Harth, Lily, and Sakurai Yuta, he’s very glad to have met her.

When Morioka cries tears of joy, he dries them with his sleeve, and the two almost seem ready for a kiss when the frikkin’ talking dryer startles them. With her clothes dry, Morioka takes her leave, thanking Sakurai for his hospitality.

Naturally, Sakurai reconsiders simply staying behind and walks Morioka home. Before they part, he lets her know he’d very much like “another day like today”, whether in Fruits de Mer or real life. Morioka agrees.

In a nice little moment while in the game, Lily notes the full moon, but Hayashi looks up and sees a crescent. But it’s really Sakurai talking about the moon IRL. And it’s IRL where they finally have their first (really second) date; with a very pleased Koiwai’s full blessing.

The two can’t help but notice the other couples are acting around them, and it makes them both a little embarrassed…but both want to power through that embarrassment. Gaining strength from their avatars and alter-egos, the triumphant Fruits de Mer music starts to play as Morioka takes a step forward, trips, and is caught by Sakurai.

That means they’re holding hands, but they don’t let go and continue on with their date, drawing strength and courage from one another. The episode ends rather abruptly (and with no “thanks for watching” card), but that’s alright; I’m not going to complain after such an enjoyable, heartwarming finale!

DanMachi – 08

Syr makes Bell wash a lot of dishes, and Ryuu helps out. She says he has a difficult task ahead of him, and she’s only joking about the dishes, but it turns out to be true on another level, as he won’t be able to level up until he goes on an “adventure”, the definition of which is different for everyone.

There were also enough closeups of Syr for me to wonder if she’s up to something nefarious, or merely giving Bell a chance to clear his head with mindless dishwashing.

Hestia doesn’t get a lot of time with Bell, who is so intent on discovering what his adventure is and executing it that he doesn’t even stick around for her to read the latest report on his stats. As far as he’s concerned, whatever that paper says, he’s not yet good enough.

In his final spar with Aiz before her familia goes on a mission to a floor in the dungeon never before reached, Bell is finally able successfully counterattack her. She counters his counter, but his immense growth in so little time impresses her, and they part on amicable terms, telling one another good luck and to do their best.

Still, Bell likely wishes he could have sparred more with Aiz and gotten to the point where he could fight on her level, but he is told to his face and behind his back that he may never be able to catch up to her. Not that he shouldn’t try, but surpassing her is not his “adventure” Ryuu speaks of.

When the Minotaur that the Strong Dude in cahoots with Freya toughened up confronts Bell and Lili (just as they apparently planned), Bell freezes, and only survives thaks to Lili putting her body (and huge backpack) in harm’s way. She’s knocked out, but Bell tosses her aside to fight the Minotaur. When she wakes up, he ignores her desperate calls for retreat, telling her just to run while he buys time for her. Cue Epic Boss Fight Music!

The Minotaur destroys the armguard Eina gave Bell on their sorta-date, and it looks like it’ll be curtains for our young adventurer, but Aiz, hearing he’s in trouble from her comrades, breaks protocol and rushes to his aid…again. This is when Bell shakes off his pain and gets stubborn.

At first I questioned what was so wrong with her saving him again, but that wasn’t going to do this time: This, he decides, is his adventure. He gets back up, dusts himself off, and re-engages with the beast, in a grudge match that’s as brutal as it is thrilling. He swipes his foe’s sword, carves him up, then shoots firebolts into him, literally blowing him up.

The minotaur goes up in smoke, but so do the Loki Familia’s preconceptions of Bell’s ability, as they were all spectators to his convincing victory. An examination of his back by Riviera indicates all of his stats are “S-rank”, indicating even more astonishing growth in an unheard-of pittance of time.

Unfortunately, he also passes out on his feet, unable to savor that victory or see the impressed looks of the Loki familia. He’s placed in bed to recover, tended to by Hestia, glowing with both relief and pride for what Bell achieved, but assuring him it’s only the first page of their journey, with far more trials in store. That’s certainly true if Freya—who seemed to get off on his fight with the minotaur—has her way…and I’m pretty sure she will.

DanMachi – 07

With her new animal transformation and unbuckled and Unbuttoned miniskirt, Lili is now officially Bell’s assistant, but she feels guilty about being forgiven so easily for all the crap she put Bell through.

In order to officially officially be Bell’s supporter, however, she has to meet with Hestia and meet with her approval. Hessie believes Lili when she says she’ll never betray Bell again, but warns her to keep her grubby mitts off her man, making no bones about the fact that she sees Bell as a romantic target.

But being possessive only presents a challenge to Lili that she resolves to meet, the typical “I won’t lose to you” attitude. She later shows what a good team they make by providing long range support with a rapid-fire crossbow against some goblins and trolls.

Both are at a disadvantage, because the girl Bell likes the most is Ais (or Aiz, depending on who’s subbing your anime). Only he’s deathly afraid of contact with her should he say or do the wrong thing and get rejected.

Up to this point he’s been able to believe he has a shot at her because he hasn’t had much contact with her. But she’s the one who initiates contact, and wants to apologize for causing him trouble. He in turn apologizes for making trouble for her. They’re like two peas in a pod, these two!

For now, though, Aiz agrees to train Bell, who is still not that confident in his fighting skills, despite the fact he’s gotten to the tenth floor. Every day, and some nights, Bell spars with Aiz, and gets beaten up by Aiz, who doesn’t go easy on him, and acknowledges his skills are lacking in her stoic  way.

I like how much dignity Aiz carries at all times; not letting Bell embarrass her as he embarrasses himself, not being able to resist trying to kiss her as she takes a catnap, before backing off. She also tells Bell that being a coward isn’t always bad thing: cowardice breeds survival, after all. It’s an extention of fear being necessary in any kind of combat or life-and-death situation. Those entirely without fear have a huge blind spot against opponents who have a healthy amount of it.

Naturally, when Hestia (working another part-time job to pay of Heph) spots Bell at the market with Aiz, she wigs out, making it as clear to Aiz as she did to Lili that Bell is hers, even if Bell doesn’t see her that way, and probably never will. Bell seems content in seeing Hestia as family; as sister—not a girlfriend or lover.

Interspersed with the Bell and Aiz training and the Hestia jealousy and territory-marking, we see a very large and powerful man beating an even larger minotaur into submission, and starts to train it to use a more powerful sword. His training of the minotaur mirrors Aiz’s training of Bell, and in both cases, the training pays off, with the minotaur being able to withstand a magical weapon attack from an adventurer.

It would seem muscular guy has recruited the minotaur as his supporter…or maybe he has darker plans. In any case, I can’t imagine these two won’t be crossing paths with Bell at some point.

DanMachi – 06

As her cold open makes almost too clear, Liliruca Arde is a well-traveled student of pain, suffering, helplessness and loneliness. Orphaned by her parents who were killed in the Dungeon, the Soma familia took her on as a supporter and proceeded to screw her over at every turn, treating her like garbage. The bad guys are so irredeemably, comically, Nobuyuki Sugou evil in their treatment of her, it leaves no room for nuance.

With her past, and present in mind, it makes sense that she wouldn’t trust Bell, and also would deceive him just as she was deceived. It worked for her tormenters, why not her? Besides, she hates adventurers…ALL adventurers. She’s just trying to do what she can to free herself from subjugation. She’s just going about this all the wrong way, and very nearly gets Bell and herself killed in the process.

Hestia doesn’t trust Lili, nor does Eina, though they come to this opinion of her independently. As Bell heads into the dungeon to fight on the tenth floor in an obvious trap set up by Lili, both Eina and Ais overhear her Soma familia planning to take out a guy who matches Bell’s description, and Eina asks a favor of Ais.

Setting up the naive Bell is child’s play for Lili, and when the time comes to reveal her true colors and re-steal his knife, she doesn’t hesitate, and actually shows off some pretty good skills…if only she focused her energies for good instead of selfish purposes. Mind you, with everything she’s been through I can’t really begrudge her doing what she thinks is best for herself, but we also happen to know this isn’t what’s best.

That becomes painfully clear when her ridiculously evil familia show up, ambushing her and taking everything she has, while getting some good stomps and punches in for good measure. The episode really lingers on this disturbing scene, but when a bruised and beaten Lili is left for dead, a decoy for a host of killer giant ants, Bell shows up with his Firebolt to take them all out, saving Lili once again.

That resolution was a pleasant surprise. I expected Eina and Ais to corner Lili, rather than her fam, but instead Ais takes care of the orcs while obscured by the gloom, allowing Bell to rush to Lili’s aid. And why does he save her, as she asks, almost hysterical at the sight of his dopey, noble face? Because he felt like it.

He tells Hestia as much before he heads off to what he might have known could have been the trap it became. But he doesn’t care; he knows Lili’s kind, because he used to be the same before he met his goddess. And he’s not going to stand by and let her be destroyed or destroy herself. I especially like how Hestia defers to Bell here, and it pays off.

The villains were a bit over-the-top, but I’m glad Lili’s eyes are now open to the possibility not everyone in the world is awful.

Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai – 08

Did the writers of this episode recently watch Whisper of the Heart? Both center on a yearning young lady who worries about being good enough, both begin with that girl checking out all the same books as a guy, and both end on a hilltop at daybreak. But before I lay into those writers for shamelessly lifting from a classic, I must note that the similarities pretty much end there.

For one thing, Amasawa Seiji didn’t get nearly as much girl time as Kyoutarou this week. Seriously, Kyou’s all over the shop with the ladies, or rather they’re all over him. From getting squeezed between and fought over by Tamamo and Senri in bikinis on stage, to ending up with Tamamo’s bra, to rescuing Kana from the sea, the show wants to make it clear that yes, he will be giving up quite a lot if he becomes a shepherd.

It’s not what it looks like! Though I wouldn’t be surprised if Senri swung both ways…

Interestingly, the aftermath of Nagi’s kiss-and-run is set aside so that the show can focus on the stakes, one girl at a time, starting with Kana. As we know, Kana is the clown of the group, not counting Ikkei (because Ikkei barely exists). What we didn’t know is that Kana was the clown in her last group of friends…who are no longer friends.

Then, as now, she didn’t choose to be the clown; it was a role she was given and never challenged it. She put doing what she deemed it took to remain ‘wanted’ in a highly-structured group where everyone had a role to play. After her beach play was a failure, the brittle clown facade is crumbling. She compensates by “trying too hard”, which makes her inner struggle more evident to her new friends, who say “this isn’t like you at all!”, inadvertently goading her into trying even too-harder.

The club also works to get their client stage time, and, StuCo Veep Takigawa gives no ground in negotiations. They hold out hope they can change her mind (not knowing that she’s trying to destroy their cub!), but for that, they need Kana to write a new script. Only Kana isn’t coming to club.

One surprising sight was seeing Kyoutarou shadowing Nagi with her trainee shepherd work, with things back to normal; ‘normal’ meaning ‘intermittently awkward and lovey-dovey’. Yet again, Nagi dodges the question of why she wants to be a shepherd so badly, and uses the situation as another opportunity to dissuade Kyoutarou from becoming one. She does that by telling him where to find Kana so he can talk to her, thereby sharing yet another beautiful memory he won’t want to lose.

As payment for her intel, she chokes him with her legs and bites his nose.

Up on that hill, just before sunrise, he finds Kana, and the discussion turns to books. How Kyoutarou started reading books because he was looking for ways to get along with others, something he’s clearly succeeded out. And if you’ll remember, Kana checked out a lot of those same books, perhaps for the same reason.

I really enjoyed the creativity of the closing scene, whether it’s Kana telling her backstory using Madoka witch-style shadow-puppet visuals, or Kyoutarou turning their talk into a theatrical performance. The sun rising behind the embracing friends as catharsis is reached was also a simple but well-executed visual. Sendai Eri also does her best work of the season here and throughout the episode, demonstrating heretofore untapped range.

Kana returns to the club feeling much better about herself and her place in it, which she learns need not be in the role of the clown. She’s excited to write the hell out of a new script, and if it flops like the least one, who cares? It’s not the end of the world, and she had fun writing them.

Then Senri embraces Kana once more, imploring her to stop worrying so much about what others think and start worrying about what she wants…lest Senri take him first! Then, things immediately shift to Senri going AWOL on her music instructor. But that’s a story for next week!

Kyoutarou is sure play a role in her redemption as well, but lest we forget: without Nagi’s help, he wouldn’t have reached Kana at that crucial time and place. If he relies on Nagi again, it will further expose the limits to his ability to help others as long as he’s not a shepherd himself.