Solo Leveling – 12 (S1 Fin) – Shadow Monarch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gushing over Magical Girls – 10 – Matchmaker Baiser

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gushing over Magical Girls – 09 – Out of the Shadows

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – 15 – Futile Thermos

While Yhwach and Ishida watch from the throne room, the Stern Ritters return to Soul Society to carry out his majesty’s simple directive: eliminate the enemy instantly. Of course, this is a shounen anime, so nothing ever happens “instantly”.

Assuming the Ritters are ranked from A to Z, Haschwalth is up there at rank “B”, so he pays a visit to Squad 1’s Kyouraku and Ise. Rank “D” Askin Nakk Le Vaar infiltrates R&D, Rank “H” Bazz-B takes on Hitsugaya and Matsumoto, and Rank “K” BG9 goes after Omaeda. That’s right; it’s four battles for the price of one.

Squad 10 vs. Bazz-B is fun because it’s an ice-vs.-fire battle. The difference between Hitsugaya’s bankai and shikai is the smallest of all the captains, but with help from Matsumoto (who is elated to be finally able to support her tiny captain) they’re able to encase him in a wall of ice and ash.

Squad 1’s battle is one of words against the top Stern Ritter. Kyouraku is his usual laconic self, while Ise Nanao uses a new anti-Quincy kido she’s developed. The catch is that it’s only a “temporary” barrier. When it drops—and I’m sure it will—they’ll have to face Haschwalth head-on.

When cutting up Lt. Omaeda doesn’t get him to reveal Soi Fon’s location, BG9 turns his blades onto Omaeda’s adorable little sister Mareyo. He shields her with his body, and BG9 whips out a damn minigun. But he doesn’t get to fire it long, as Soi Fon arrives in all her stealthy assassin glory.

While Hitsugaya may be the ice boy, the fact of the matter is Soi Fon is, in my opinion, the coolest captain. Her sleek outfit, imperious smirk, husky voice, and newly improved wind shunko are all points in her favor. Not to mention she’s not so cold-hearted she’d let lil’ Mareyo come to harm.

Finally, there’s Askin, who is laid back like Kyouraku. Kurotsuchi Mayoi and Nemu arrive from seemingly another plane of reality, having adopted and modifed the same technique the Quincy used to infiltrate Soul Society. This also gives them trippy disco outfits. When trying to provoke him doesn’t work, Askin simply gives up trying to fight him and walks away.

The song of ice and fire turns one-sided when Bazz-B takes his game up a notch and uses a single finger to fire a beam of flame that pierces Hitsugaya’s tightly-woved ice wall and goes into his midsection.

Like Bazz-B, BG9 doesn’t stay down long, and like Hitsugaya and Matsumoto, Soi Fon celebrated too quickly. BG9 reveals he’s not alive, but some kind of robot armed to the teeth. He launches an itano circus of missiles, and while Soi Fon evades them all, BG9 still gets a blade in her wrist. BG9’s second volley doesn’t miss.

Kyouraku and Ise watch helplessly as their captains fall one after the other, while Hachwalth says maybe it would have been a better idea to make sure all the captains had this anti-Quincy barrier. Kurotsuchi also feels Soi Fon and Kyouraku’s spiritual pressures disappear, but I won’t believe they’re dead like Yamamoto quite yet.

The Stern Ritter claw and tear away at the soul reapers’ remaining hope this week. But as Urahara reports to Kurotsuchi that he’s found a way to get the bankai back, it’s clear that hope is far from dead. The Vizard have yet to take the stage, while Ichigo is still gearing up for his big return…but first he’ll have to pass his latest test, involving something called irazusando.

P.S. Bleach has had a lot of OPs throughout its run, but I’d definitely rank this one in the Top 5. Like the very first one, it puts our heroes in stylish clothes and has them just hanging out, but also gives us wonderful little scenes like two Quincies fighting over karaoke and Rukia shooting a fire extinguisher at another.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride – S2 08 – Mage-Snack Camp

Chise insisted that Elias not accompany her on her camping trip, because she wants to learn how to take care of herself. Elias proposes a compromise. He makes a smaller, dog-sized duplicate of himself that isn’t very strong. Chise shares her tent with Lucy, and while fetching water from the lake, meets an each-uisge, a white water horse that drowns anyone who tries to ride it. She makes sure to warn Lucy not to get on any horses she sees.

While Chise really wanted a more independent trip, she’s still comforted by the presence of both Ruth and Lil’ Elias, which quiets the voices she’s not sure are neighbors or those of her classmates. But there’s something out there lurking in the sea.

The next morning, Chise makes a Philomela sighting, but she scurries away after exchanging good mornings. Lucy doesn’t understand why Chise is bothering with Mela; Chise sees a bit of herself in her. Lucy, however, hates all sorcerers, which makes sense if they killed her family.

The last night of the trip comes before Chise knows it. Lucy says she has to study as soon as they’re back at the College. She says she has important things to do, “unlike” Chise, but Chise says there are things she needs to do too, only she’s not certain if she’ll ever be finished. Giving Lucy a taste of her own medicine, rather that say what those things are, Chise simply says goodnight.

Later that night after going to the bathroom, the pages of a magical book turn, and Lucy ends up passing out on her way back to the tent. Chise wakes up to a sudden magical disturbance and locates Lucy, who has been completely drained of magical power. Chise is a veritable font of magic, so simply holding Lucy helps her recharge, but she and Elias have bigger fish to fry: a nuckelavee, a giant centaur-like amphibious monster.

Ruth returns with the boys when Chise and Elias are running away from the nuckelavee, and while Zoe’s head snakes temporarily stop the monster, he soon passes out, and it’s on the move again. Lil’ Elias calmly reminds Chise that he’s in a form that can’t defeat something like this, so it’s up to Chise. That said, he can offer her advice and information on their opponent, who cannot touch fresh water.

Chise has Elias summon the each-uisge, and she and Rian hop on its back. This serves as an enticing lure for the nuckelavee, which gives chase all the way to the freshwater lake. The each-uisge dunks Chise and Rian, then kicks the nuckelavee in too.

It starts to disintegrate, as the fresh water is poisonous, but not before it’s able to grab Chise. It almost kills her, but in a gorgeous sequence, the dragon that dwells in her blackened arm awakens with one purpose: to destroy the “horror” before them.

The arm essentially has a mind of its own, and it confidently slashes the nuckelavee to bits. Chise swims to shore, where Rian is holding the each-uisge from attacking her with a magical axe. Chise isn’t about to let the water horse eat her, but she snips off her ponytail for it to each, and that appeases it enough for it to return to the depths of the lake.

On their way back, Chise isn’t just sporting a new-look with her hair, but her face. Only Rian recognizes the face, because he’s seen it many times before…in his mirror. It’s the face of someone who didn’t know what to do when things took a turn, and they certainly did take a turn suddenly here!

Chise was saved thanks to Elias’ knowledge of monsters, Rian’s brave stand, and most importantly that blackened dragon arm of hers, which certainly did know what to do. But this camping trip demonstrated that even when she’s not looking for trouble, trouble finds her, and she wasn’t in control when it mattered most.

The thing is, Chise shouldn’t be so hard on herself. That dragon arm isn’t going anywhere, for one. Even if Elias isn’t a a true groom, he’s still committed to being her lifelong companion. And she continues to bond with her new friends at College. The times when she’s ever going to be totally alone, able to rely only on herself, are vanishingly small.

The Eminence in Shadow – 02 – Toiling in Obscurity

Kagenou Minoru is hit by Truck-kun, then resurrects as Cid, the infant son of a noble family, while maintaining all the intelligence and awareness of his 18-year-old self. When his parents are puzzled that he doesn’t cry, Cid simply fakes it. As the second-born, he plays second fiddle to his supremely talented sister Claire, but that’s the way he likes it.

In the day he’s content to be “Background Character A”, but at night, in the shadows, he practices his magic on the bandits and baddies of this world as a vigilante. He’s partial to using magical slime to create weapons and even disguises, and is a one-boy wrecking crew; even seasoned warriors can’t last more than a minute before being eviscerated.

While inspecting the bandits’ loot Cid hears sounds coming from a wagon and assumes it’s a slave, but it’s…well, it’s basically Mitty. He experiments thoroughly and exhaustively on the amorphous blob of overloaded magic, until one day he’s finally able to purify and stabilize it, resulting in the coalescence of a beautiful blonde elf girl.

Assuming she’s a tabula rasa he decides to try out his Eminence-in-Shadow act for the first time, ad-libbing tall tales about her origin as one of the original heroes and the identity of a great foe, the Cult of Diabolos. The girl buys it all, and in exchange for having saved her life, agrees to join Cid in his quest. He names her Alpha, and Shadow Garden is born.

Three years later, to Claire’s eyes Cid hasn’t improved as a dark knight at all, but she still spars with him—and beats him—every day. There’s a neat little moment when Cid sees all of the movements that would defeat Claire, but instead he takes her strike and ends up in the drink. Claire then touches her neck, where he had placed his blade for the tiniest fraction of a moment. I wonder if any part of her wonders if her little brother is holding back?

The day she’s supposed to start attending Midgar Academy for Dark Knights, Claire is kidnapped. Cid’s mom lashes out at his dad demanding to know what the plan is, but Cid and Shadow Garden—now seven Greek letters strong—is already on it. They’ve narrowed down the hideouts where Claire was taken, and a rescue op commences with all due haste.

Claire is the captive of a Viscount Grease, but isn’t that worried about it. Indeed, she breaks her magic bonds when Grease even mentions the possibility of harming her dear little brother. Just as the bandits in her home village were no match whatsoever for Cid’s magic, the seven members of Shadow Garden make quick work of Grease’s small fry. Grease himself has to take a strength-enhancing drug in order to keep up with Alpha.

But Alpha isn’t going all out; she doesn’t want to kill Grease, she wants him to talk. When he goes to ground, she’s not concerned, because he ends up right in Cid’s clutches. Grease takes more drugs, and tries to intimidate Cid with his talk of “the depths of true darkness”, but Cid just vows to dig deeper still.

There’s actually a measure of pathos in Grease’s depiction as we see how his own daughter suffered from a curse similar to Alpha’s before Cid saved her. But at the end of the day, Grease is no more than another bandit to Cid, who ends “playtime”, powers up, and kills Grease with a flashy coup-de-grace.

Cid doesn’t let Claire know who saved her, but simply withdraws from the Viscount’s castle, enabling her to escape on her own. It only takes her a day to recover from the ordeal, and then she’s off to academy, her little brother happily waiving goodbye. Cid himself is still two years away from Midgar, but he intends to make full use of those years honing his skills and sharpening the seven-pointed sword that is Shadow Garden.

But Alpha & Co. apparently have other plans, and suddenly tell Cid that it’s time to leave him. My first guess would be that they’re going off to hone their skills independently, possibly to make themselves more “worthy” of Cid’s leadership, but we’ll have to wait until next week to test that theory. Until then, for the first time in this new world, Cid is genuinely flummoxed.

Summertime Render – 23 – Realm of the Dead

Haine has devolved into an eyeless, helpless child that Shide apparently has no further use for. But he does want her Observer’s Right Eye, which is now in Ushio’s head. He provokes Ushio and Shinpei into following him to through a tear in the cave wall into another dimension.

Ushio tells Shinpei if he goes in he’s not coming out, but with both Ryuunosuke possessing him and her by his side, he’ll be fine. But even if things go pear-shaped, he hastens to tell Ushio he loves her, he wants to be with her, and he will never leave her side again.

The remainder of the episode takes place in a thoroughly weird—and hauntingly beautiful—dream world: Haine/Hiruko’s true home. As a result of Ryuunosuke pushing his body too hard, Shinpei’s right leg is ruined, but Ryuu offers to control his body and taking on the pain.

This enables Shinpei to walk, which he needs to do to find Ushio, whom they know is both still alive and no more than 50 meters away due to the shotgun she printed still being whole. Shinpei and Ryuu come upon a ball—Haine’s handball. They follow it into a Hitogashima frozen in time from when Haine lived.

There they find Ushio, apparently in great pain and in contact with Haine. But this Haine is different: she’s just a kind little girl like the one Ryuunosuke’s sister befriended years ago. Assured there’s no threat, Ushio introduces Haine to Shinpei and Ryuunosuke.

Haine tells them they’re in the realm of the dead, Toyoko. While the power of the awakened Observer’s Eye can only be fully utilized in the real world, Shide has brought Ushio here to steal the eye from her. Once he has the eye, he will transcend to a still higher dimension…and destroy the world.

Right on cue, Shide uses Baby Hiruko to summon one of Haine’s memories of her island being firebombed by a squadron of B-29s in World War II. Ushio’s hair shield protects them while Haine prepares to use her innate power to suspend the memory, giving Ushio a shot at attacking Shide. Without Hiruko in his possession, his armor will disappear, and she can kill Shide’s inner body within.

As you can tell from the screenshots, this episode is a trip, packed with gloriously detailed, imaginative, gorgeous, and frightening imagery, and an even more heightened reality when it comes to action, with Ushio using falling bombs as steps up to the plane where Shide is.

But as cool as this sequence is, it still isn’t enough to stop Shide, because the body she attacks is a hollow one – nothing but an empty suit of mud armor being controlled remotely through Hiruko. Gaining this new piece of information may prove costly, as Ushio passes out and starts to fall.

If any of this is wrong, I apologize, but the plot mechanics and rules of Summertime Render become more and more baroque with each passing episode. But this is such an engrossing spectacle and I’ve come to love these kids so much, I don’t really mind the growing complexity.

Summertime Render – 22 – Red-Eye

Ushio returns better than ever, and demonstrates how her hair-blades can erase Shide’s armor, leaving his inner body vulnerable. But while Shinpei appreciates her enthusiasm, Shadow Mio stops her from charging in, then transmits the careful plan Shinpei has set up. We get a little flashback to the morgue where Toki explains how they can use Guil to hide Haine’s handprint, making it impossible to track him.

Shinpei shoots himself while holding Ushio’s hands, creating a tenth loop inside Guil, who is in Hiruko’s Cave. They know Haine and Shide—both Shides—will find out soon enough where they are and what they’re up to, so they use the festival fireworks to blast through the mud barrier Haine created to get to where her main body is located. Shin’s team is truly humming like a well-oiled machine.

The closer they get to the main body, the louder and harsher Haine’s transmitting signal is to the ears of Shadows. Since he’s now hosting Ryuunosuke, that signal is particularly excruciating for Shinpei, but Ushio manages to help him by transmitting her signal at the same wavelength, neutralizing Haine’s. While Shide attacks Ushio (who uses her hair as a shield), Sou manages to ambush Haine (in her Shinpei form) and pins her, not with a shadow nailgun, but with the original she was unable to sense.

But while both of Haine’s inner bodies are killed and Haine’s body is sliced in half, it’s apparently not over. Ushio turns around to reveal she now has a red right eye like Haine’s, and Shin has one too. Shide reappears, ready to start some shit, and Shinpei has to ask himself: is he freakin’ immortal?

Even the best laid plans in this intricate chess game of feints and diversions are bound to face some setbacks, and the fact that killing Shide and Haine didn’t kill them is…problematic, to say the least. Not sure what they can do about that, especially with all their moves in this plan exhausted and no more loops to make a new plan.

Summertime Render – 21 – Everything Ends Tomorrow

The OP of STR’s Spring cour features a shot of Ushio looking alone and forlorn, which stands to reason: she started out the show having already died. But the OP of this Summer cour features her and Shinpei side-by-side in the sunlight, triumphant and proud. Ever since Ushio was killed by Karikiri, that new OP mocked me with its optimism, but no more.

While this episode starts of on a gloomy, rainy beach, hope is far from lost. Shinpei is still getting the hang of having Ryuunosuke possessing him, but being able to see two seconds into the future is sure to come in handy. As for the little seashell, Shadow Mio tells him it contains all of Ushio’s memories, but only Ushio can scan them. Shinpei then remembers: on the night of July 24th, another Ushio with no memories washes up on the shore…and she will again.

The night of the 23rd could still be anyone or everyone’s last, so the confessions come fast and furious. When Sou confesses to Mio, she initially pretends to be Shadow Mio, only to light up like a beet when Sou correctly guesses that she loves Shinpei. No biggie; they’ll still be friends. He just wanted it off his chest.

That inspires Mio to finally confess to Shinpei on the moonlit roof of their house. As expected Shinpei thanks her, but he has feelings for Ushio, while Mio will always be his little sis. Saying the words are a huge weight off Mio’s shoulders, though she still has to cry into Toki’s bosom while Shadow Mio points out that if they win and defeat Haine, Ushio will disappear and Mio will have her chance again.

But that’s putting the cart before the horse. In the early morning of July 24th, Shinpei first runs a quick explanation for the looping by the gang, explaining how there are two Ushios and then showing them the shell that actually points them towards her sea-bound doppel. Everyone has their role in his plan, but bottom line: getting Ushio back is crucial.

Haine and Shide know that too; after all, Haine copied a good deal of Shinpei. As the shrine festivities commence, the two mutter possibilities to each other, resulting in Haine sending Shide’s doppel into the sea with a fleet of shadows in hopes of finding and destroying Ushio before Shinpei can get to her. Shide fails.

Before opening her eyes, Ushio relives those painful moments on the day Shinpei left. But then she hears Shin calling out to her and opens her eyes, and finds both Guil (with Shinpei inside) and Shide’s double bearing down on her. Guil scoops her up, surfaces, and leaps into the sky. Shide slices Guil up, but the Ushio scans the shell and slices Shide up good with her lethal Rapunzel hair.

Yes, Ushio is back, she knew Shinpei would bring her back, and she’s ready to kick some ass. I’m ready to watch! It’s about time the good guys got a solid win, and while I’m sure another setback (or sacrifice) is in store, I’m hoping the promise of the OP with that shot of Shinpei and Ushio together in triumph holds true to the end.

Summertime Render – 20 – Just a Lone Child

After slicing Shide to bits only for him to reform, Hizuru tries to get Haine to scan her so she can destroy her Shadow Shinpei vessel. Only Haine realizes that Hizuru was granted immunity by Mio. Haine also betrays her inherent inability to understand why Hizuru is doing what she’s doing: trying to save those lives that haven’t been lost after getting her brother killed.

Hizuru switches to Plan B, which is to transfer Ryuunosuke from her body to Shide’s mud armor of “nothing”. It succeeds, Ryuunosuke emerges from the mud, exposing Shide’s vulnerable human body just as Tokiko arrives aboard Ros, ready to pound Shide into the stone age.

By the time Shinpei and Shadow Mio make it to Alan’s garden, Shide’s clone tells them they’re too late; Mio and Sou are probably already being devoured by Shide in her cave. Shadow Mio confirms her original is dead, and she figures it’s time for Shinpei to loop.

A badly wounded Tokiko then arrives, having successfully escaped from Haine and Shide thanks to Nezu and Tetsu. She’s there only to warn Shinpei to go to Torajima Island to help Hizuru. Rather than go there in this loop, Shin assumes that like Mio and Sou, the others are dead, or will be before he and Shadow Mio arrive. So he shoots himself with Dr. Hishigata’s Derringer, and loops back to 10:10 AM.

Thanks to Shadow Mio’s speed, she and Shinpei are able to intercept Mio and Sou before they meet their doom, and redirect them to protect the kids. Mio has a chance to confess to Shinpei, but instead wishes him well before they part. He rides on Shadow Mio’s back as she glides through the forest and then takes to the sky to avoid enemy Shadows.

They arrive in style just as Shide is dispatching Ros, and he and Shadow Mio join Tokiko, Tetsu, Nezu, and Guil. Unfortunately, they’re just a little late to save Hizuru, whom Shide stabs in the heart and looms over menacingly.

Haine!Shinpei senses something…off, a brilliant glowing emanating from Shinpei’s pocket (the shell that is all that’s left of Ushio), and then tells Shide that they’re withdrawing for now. While the immediate threat to everyone has passed, Hizuru is in a bad way.

Shinpei prepares to shoot himself and loop again, but Hizuru doesn’t want him to, and Mio stops him from doing it. He’s no longer in the position to save everyone. For her part, Hizuru doesn’t fear her impending death, and considers she’s getting a better death than most.

Before she dies, she tells Shinpei to remember that at the end of the day, Haine’s base personality is still that of a lonely little girl who loved to be spoiled. She’s also certain that Shide and Haine’s goals are different, and that at this point Shide is likely using Haine. Just before breathing her last breath, she transfers Ryuunosuke to Shinpei.

I doubt she’ll be the last person to die who Shinpei can’t bring back by looping, but Hizuru’s dying words should prove vital in any eventual victory. Her returning to the island is the reason any of the others are still alive with a fighter’s chance of winning.

It’s looking like that chance will rely on creating a rift between Haine and Shide, shattering their bond so they’re isolated and weakened. Considering that bond has lasted centuries, that’ll be no easy task.

Summertime Render – 19 – Haine-ous Affair

No sooner does Shinpei wake up in what might be his final loop does Haine swoop down on him in the form of a mocking, gloating crow. She copies the little girl, seemingly just to mess with him, then raises a whole mess of shadow minions that surround him and the kids.

But just when it seems like it’s all over…she stops the attack, and withdraws. Shinpei, who had instictively reached into his pocket, pulls out the contents: a single seashell—presumably all that’s left of Ushio. But if there’s still a shell, can she still raise hell?

Haine apparently isn’t content to simply kill and/or eat Shinpei and his friends. She insists on messing with him, which seems like a bad idea, because it raises the chances of her enemies to mount a comeback from zero to less than zero. It’s as if the number of remaining episodes, rather than logic or common sense, are driving Haine’s actions.

Nevertheless, she uses the copy of Shinpei she had stowed in her back pocket to call all his friends while the real Shinpei has no bars. Mio and Sou go to Alan’s Garden where an all-too-suspicious Karikiri is waiting for them, while Hizuru, Nezu, Tokiko and Tetsu go to a remote island accessible on foot during low tide.

The real Shinpei comes home to find Mio pinned Shadow Mio out of fear Ushio’s hack died with her, but Shadow Mio is still on his side. With her offensive power, they definitely have a chance.

Hizuru, smelling a trap, heads to the island alone with a sledgehammer after saying her maybe-goodbyes to Nezu & Co. She meets Haine!Shinpei, doesn’t fall for her charade for a second, and is then confronted by Karikiri.

Ryuunosuke and Karikiri/Shide have a little game-recognize-game moment, and then have at it there on the beach, with Haine transmitting Ryuunosuke’s two-second foresight—which was, it turns out, a glitch that occurred shortly after she copied him way back when.

Ryuunosuke still manages to put up an impressive fight, but the bottom line is Shide has an infinitely regenerative armor of corpses, while he has…his sister’s regular human body, which he knows he’s slowly tearing apart by making her fight.

Hizuru takes over and reminds him that this is probably their last stand, and there’s no reason to hold back. In fact, if he doesn’t hold back for her sake, they’ll lose. But she assures them they can still win. How exactly they’ll do that is a matter for next week.

Summertime Render – 18 – Final Fantasy MDCCXXXII

Hizuru tells the story of a famine in 1732 that threatened to wipe out Hitogashima’s population, until a whale washed ashore. The whale was a shadow, and it copied the first human to come close to it: a little girl named Haine. Back in the present, Karikiri offers Shinpei some cold barley tea and conversation. While initially presented as a friendly or at worst neutral party, there’s a tension and building dread to the ensuing one-on-one chat.

The thing is, Shinpei already knows that Karakiri is really Hishigata Shidehiko, AKA Shide. He’s not a Shadow, but he’s not quite human either. In previous loops, Hizuru and Dr. Hishigata’s information paints the picture of how Haine birthed a child with Shidehiko, and the resulting child grew into a perfect clone of Shidehiko.

He then had Haine transfer all his collected memories into the clone, thus making him indistinguishable from himself and enabling him to live for over 300 years. Considering how crafty he must have grown in those years, it’s pretty impressive Shinpei and his pathetic band were able to get this far.

While in the loop flashbacks we see that Shinpei’s group gathered all the information they can and prepared the best they could for a confrontation, with Shinpei insisting that he wanted to know why Shide killed his parents before deciding whether to kill him. After all, if he’s human he can’t be reasoned with, right?

Wrong. Shin made a critical error in confronting Shide in human form, and especially in letting Ushio accompany him. Sure, he’d have easily fallen into Shide’s clutches without her protection, but when she’s had enough of Shide’s blathering and slices half his head off, Shide gets exactly what he needs, all because Ushio insists on doing the dirty work so Shin’s hands remain clean.

When Ushio is on the phone, a copy of Ushio casually plunges a spear into her shadow, and then slices upward, killing her. Shinpei empties his gun, but Shide puts up his Shadow Armor and catches the bullets, then throws the spear at Shinpei, impaling him and sending him flying out of the temple and into a tree.

Shin loops back to when he and Ushio saved the kids from the Shadow that took the form of their old teacher, only this time Ushio isn’t there. She’s gone, presumably for good. That’s a punch to the gut, but as Ushio said, she was happy for the “bonus time” after her human self was killed by Haine, and she and Shinpei got to reunite and kick some ass together.

The episode closes with Shin crying blood, wallowing in despair. But even if Ushio isn’t coming back in any form, the fact remains she’d want him and the others to finish the job and save the village. They can’t turn Shide, but they still have a Shadow Mio, two Shadow Babies, and guile. It’s not Game Over quite yet.

Summertime Render – 17 – Hands Not for Hurting

Since we’re now only 17 episodes into a 25-episode series, it was only a matter of time before the momentum slowed a bit and our intrepid band of shadow hunters took a bit of a rest. This week we get a calm-before-the-storm episode that allows for moments that deepen our understanding of these characters, as well as give them an opportunity to bond more, for better or worse.

Ushio worries she may go crazy like Haine did in the memory of Hizuru’s she saw, but Hizuru promises she’ll kill her if that happens. Shadow Mio, who knows all the little ways Mio Prime hates herself, urges her to tell Shin her feelings before it’s too late. Sou’s pops hid the truth from him because he knew his son’s heart was too good to bear the darkness. Tokiko suggests that Shin, who has developed pronounced bags under his eyes, to catch some shut-eye while he can.

That night Nezu tries to sneak out but Ushio catches him and insists on accompanying him. Turns out Nezu is putting the last of his affairs in order before shit starts going down. Ushio learns that he keeps the Shadow of his wife Kaoru pinned in his garage, having not had the heart to kill it until now.

Shadow Kaoru is beastly like so many of the Shadows, but Ushio urges Nezu to hold his fire, as her hacking might be able to restore her. Nezu’s not interested; Ushio may still be Ushio, but his wife is gone; this is his “wife’s enemy” who copied her body. So Ushio gives Nezu his privacy, and sheds tears for two more lives among the countless ruined by Haine’s appetites.

The next morning the group splits up to investigate various family homes in hopes of reducing the number of Shadows as much as possible before the festival. The two Mios are put in the same team, and Shadow tries to egg Mio on, but she clutches onto Sou as a sign she won’t let Shadow push her buttons.

Mio also has a thoughtful gift for Ushio: hairs from her original body that she found around the house. Ushio is able to use them to restore the length of her hair (adorably done with a Sailor Moon-like aesthetic) and, perhaps all too death-flaggy, tells Shin she has something to say to him when he and Ushio return.

Shinpei and Ushio end up having to kill the Shadow of their old teacher, nicknamed Bucchi, and Ushio remembers when she beat up a couple of bigger boys teasing her for her blonde hair. Bucchi, ever the gentle soul, told Ushio her hands weren’t for hurting people, but for holding hands, patting heads, and the like.

Unfortunately, Ushio doesnt’ really have a choice in her present scenario, though it’s arguable that the Shadow’s are “people” so much as unrelenting killing machines bent on wiping out the village. So she and Shin work together to save three kids from Shadow Bucchi and her two Shadow sons.

The little kids mock Ushio and Shinpei for looking like a classic couple, to which they respond in unison that it’s “not like that.” Isn’t it though?

In a creepy moment, Ushio seems to be taken over by…someone, neither Haine nor Shide, but maybe another deity observing what’s going on and briefly using her as a vessel. The two teams then regroup and report on their investigations. Turns out the Shadows don’t seem to be preparing a direct attack on them, but are primarily focused on the upcoming festival when the great slaughter and feast is to commence.

Naturally, if the festival can be cancelled, there won’t be a convenient huge group of people ripe for the picking. To that end, Shin heads to the shrine maintained by Karikiri—a place where he just happened to die the first time. Karikiri welcomes Shin warmly, but whether he’s a friend, foe, or neutral party in this struggle remains to be seen. I just hope that’s Ushio on Shin’s wrist, and he’s not really alone up there.