Reign of the Seven Spellblades – 08 – A Bit of Cleverness

While they’re watching this world’s version of Quiddich, Oliver and his circle of friends are approached by fellow first-year Tullio Rossi. He doesn’t come off as evil or anything, but the tight bond the friends share, and the notoriety they’ve received so far…it just kinda pisses him off.

In sword arts class when he’s paired up with Pete for a duel, Tulio quickly exposes Pete’s offensive shortcomings, even going so far as to call him a “princess” who is always being bailed out by his stronger friends (though there’s no indication he knows Pete’s a Reversi).

Afterwards, a defiant Pete tells his friends that he wants to get better at sword arts. This causes Oliver and Chela to bicker over which fighting style they should teach him, and seem equally matched in their logic, so they agree to both teach him: Chela offense, Oliver defense.

While the friends have a meal in the dining hall, Tullio once again stirs the shit. He doesn’t like how Oliver & Co. get all the attention while everyone else gets left out, and declares it’s time to determine who the strongest first-year is. To that end, he sets up a tournament and calls for volunteers.

Nanao, Oliver, and Chela all agree to participate, as does Chela’s cousin Stacy. One Evelynn Odets, famous for talking fast, is the first to challenge Nanao. She’s supremely confident she can embarrass the Azian samurai, but she’s the one who ends up embarrassed, as Nanao easily redirects her spell with her sword.

After running Pete ragged with a sword arts training session (though there’s no further discussion of Pete’s Reversi status) Oliver receives an invitation to tea from Gwyn and Shannon via Miss Carste. On his way, he encounters Ophelie, but she isn’t interested in succubussing him, simply having a little chat.

We learn she was once friends with Alvin and Carlos, and she also issues a friendly warning for Oliver to stay out of the Labyrinth and keep his head down for the next couple months. I appreciated how “Lia” (as Shannon later calls her) isn’t just a sexy cartoon villain, but portrayed as an actual person here.

Oliver is greeted warmly by Gwyn and Shannon, who tell him he should consider the little hideout his home whenever he needs it. He tells them how much he’s come to care about Nanao, and Gwyn gently warns him not to let such a charismatic girl “change the very essence of who he is” by getting too close. After all, Noll has a lot more names on his list to take care of.

On Oliver’s way back to the dorms, he senses he’s being tailed and calls Tullio out. Tullio wants to prove which one of them is stronger once and for all, and it’s clear from the outset of their ensuing duel that Tullio plays dirty. He has to, because none of the three classic styles worked for him.

His creative self-made style leaves Oliver with a bloody nose and bruised face, but just when Tullio thinks he’s just getting started, Oliver calmly tells him he’ll defeat him in eight moves exactly…and proceeds to do just that. There’s nothing Tullio can do against Oliver’s mastery of by-the-book fighting.

That said, Oliver admits to the beaten Tullio that he’s always a little envious of anyone who is able to fight with their own talent, as opposed to the borrowed knowledge he’s amassed and practiced. That said, he warns Tullio that he’ll soon reach his limit if he relies on just his talents forever.

Miss Carste was watching the fight, as she emerges from the shadows to praise her “lord.” She draws close to him and says that his kindness is a sheath that can dull his raw power, and if killing her will sharpen his blade, she’s ready and willing to be his disposable whetstone. Oliver doesn’t play like that; he’s not going to use and discard her, or anyone else.

This interaction, which is the first time we get a good look at Teresa Carste (and learn just how into Oliver she is), takes place as the credits roll, followed by Tullio, still in the Labyrinth, being challenged by Joseph Albright. Will Oliver’s warning about Rossi’s talents only going so far prove prescient once again?

Reign of the Seven Spellblades – 07 – For Pete’s Sake

It’s been four months since Professor Grenville disappeared in the Labyrinth. Headmistress Esmeralda gathers the faculty to ask if any of them are responsible. They aren’t, but they consider who might be. When asked what happens if it’s a student, Esme simply says they’ll suffer like any other culprit.

It’s clear Oliver is biding his time after finding the perfect opportunity to off one of the individuals on his list who betrayed and murdered his mother, so the show presents us with something entirely different and unexpected: One morning, after a dream where he transforms into a woman, Pete wakes up with breasts.

He—or rather they—keep it a secret both from their dorm-mate Oliver and from the rest of their friends, who pass it off as prickly Pete being particularly standoffish that day. The group has their first broom-riding class, and Nanao is worried that it won’t go well since she’s used to riding a horse.

Upon given access to the broomhouse, she learns that brooms are living magical creatures who choose their partners and allow them to fly with them. While Nanao proves quite popular with the friendly brooms due to her massive amount of mana, she ends up choosing a “bucking” broom, embracing the challenge as she did her trusty steed.

After speaking a few words declaring her intent to pair with it, the broom flies up into the air, and then straight into her hand. After a brief red glow, she and the broom are matched, and she flies into the sky for the first time. It is one of the most joyful moments of the show, and I loved watching Nanao as much as her proud friends. Also, that wild broom’s last rider? Oliver’s mom.

I should also mention that during broom class Chela encountered her cousin from a branch family, Stacey Cornwallis, but Stace brushes her off. Later at lunch, Chela’s father Theodore pops in and gives her a big hug. It’s nice to see Chela off balance for once! She and the others learn that Theo is their new substitute alchemy teacher in missing Grenville’s stead.

After alchemy, we sit in on the group’s first magical engineering class with Professor Forghieri, one of the people on Oliver’s list. He runs an unyielding class, which includes throwing them into the task of diffusing four magical trap boxes in 60 minutes or suffering whatever they contain. Oliver and Chela manage to diffuse three of the four, but the fourth opens to reveal vicious flying snake/eel creatures.

Pete, who has been suffering bouts of pain throughout the day, is right next to the box, but Oliver shields them, getting bit in the process. Also, Guy does a thing! Having grown up on a farm and being well-versed in these creatures, he douses himself in water and casts lightning on himself to knock them out.

After this ordeal, Oliver, who is aware that they’ve changed, requests a private chat with Pete in the conservatory. Pete confirms that they now possess a female anatomy, and Oliver tells them it’s because they’re a Reversi, someone who can switch back and forth between sexes.

From the get-go, Oliver takes care to describe this as an extremely rare gift, not a curse. He demonstrates how by telling Pete to cast a lightning spell, and to their shock (pun intended) they’re much better at that element as a woman than they were as a man.

The two are interrupted by Chris Whitlow, who tells Pete that Oliver told them everything he wanted to say, showing Oliver’s quality as a friend and a person. Chris offers Pete an invite for a gathering that night.

Pete is escorted to the first-level of the labyrinth by Oliver, as well as President Godfrey, who takes the opportunity to apologize for the incidents they’ve gotten caught up in. He’s been working hard to make Kimberly a safer place, but worries he hasn’t made enough headway. Oliver internally praises Godfrey as one of the good ones.

This is borne out when Godfrey grants them access to the gathering, which is full of students with sex-based magical traits such as Pete. In other words, this is this magical world’s version of the LGBTQ community. Three upperclassmen soon approach Pete and Oliver, whose stiff formality evokes laughter. They tell both Pete and Oliver that there’s no need to worry, they’re all friends here.

That’s when attention is directed to the stage, where Chris begins to sing in a gorgeous enchanted voice while Oliver’s brother Gwyn accompanies on the violin. Oliver notes that there’s no charm ability in Chris’ song, but it’s something simpler and more pure. And that’s what this part of the episode felt: simply pure, and beautiful.

Yes, Pete went through a sudden and immense change, but they’re not alone. Both Oliver and the many others like Pete are there to provide affirmation, support, friendship, and love. I especially appreciate Oliver being empathetic and kind even after he dropped his mask to kill Grenville. He’s a complex dude!

Pete and Oliver meet up with the others after the performance, and make up a white lie about magical training. I’m sure, when the time is right, Pete will tell the others (no doubt to prevent Guy from grabbing them as if they were still a dude). Even the reveal at the end of some sneering dude not happy about these friends being all buddy-buddy can ruin the lovely vibes of this episode. And like Oliver last week, Pete is suddenly much more interesting!

Overlord IV – 06 – Runes for Revival

Feo Jera is about to be besieged by the Quagoa, and the Drawves’ scant military contingent prepares for the fight of their lives, but their general is suddenly informed of another visitor: an Undead wanting to discuss the Quagoa. When the general meets Ainz Ooal Gown, he recognizes that time is of the essence. He doesn’t consult with the Regency Council, but asks for Ainz’ aid in this immediate existential battle.

Of course, it’s just a dawdle for Ainz to summon two Death Knights to go out and slaughter the Quagoa. It’s only the fact that they start crossing the bridge across the Great Chasm that the Quagoa’s commander Lord Yohz cuts the ropes and sends them plummeting. With his forces decimated, Yohz and the survivors flee, concerned that the Dwarves have managed to tame Golems.

When Ainz senses his Knights have been eliminated, he assumes someone powerful, perhaps even a fellow Player to be the culprit, not mere gravity. But the Dwarves’ Regency Council (a colorful, hairy bunch) give him an audience, and he states his case: in exchange for reclaiming the Dwarves’ Royal Capital, he not only wants to open trade routes, but also claim all of the Dwarven Runesmiths and bring them to the Sorcerer Kingdom.

As Gondo mentioned, Runesmithing is on the decline even among the Dwarves, so while it’s an unusual request, the Council ultimately decides to agree to Ainz’s terms, even if they don’t think he can drink alcohol and thus can’t entirely be trusted (Ironically, Gondo is the rare Dwarf who doesn’t enjoy alcohol).

Ainz meets the assembled Runesmiths personally (with Shalltear bearing choice hooch), showing them a twenty-rune sword (made by a former Player) and inspiring them to reverse engineer it and revive runesmithing to the time of its heyday.

Gondo volunteers to be Ainz’s guide as he, Shalltear, and Aura head to the Royal Capital. The “three dangerous areas” are crossed with effortless ease thanks to Ainz’s Mass Fly spell, while even the poisonous labyrinth is neutralized when he protects the non-undead Gondo and Aura with magic.

Ainz is operating under the mistaken impression that he’s dealing with an adversary capable of dispatching his Death Knights, when in reality Yohz relied entirely on luck (and a super-deep chasm). But even with an abundance of caution, there’s little doubt he’ll be successful in reclaiming the Royal Capital and even defeating the Frost Dragon.

But as with so many battles Ainz and his Floor Guardians happen to fight in Overlord, knowing the end result is victory isn’t a bad thing, it just makes the process by which they arrive at those victories that much more engrossing and fun.

Shin no Nakama – 03 – Off the Path of Blood, On the Path of…COOKIEEES!!!

This week’s Shin no Nakama takes place entirely in the present day, but it doesn’t get off to a strong start when Red (and the camera) gazes a bit too long on Rit’s bazongas spilling forth from her ‘jammies. I mean for real, I thought my player had frozen! Fortunately, the rest of the episode is a lot less leery.

I have a bit of a problem with how easily Red ended up living with a literal warrior princess who has basically already made it quite clear she loves the guy. Heck, you can love whoever you want for whatever reason, but Red didn’t really do anything to engender such undying love from Rit. The flashback ep help explain their friendship, but not their sudden fauxmance.

Despite this, I can’t help but love watching these too together. Whether Red is helping Tanta’s friend Al after a bullying incident, to simple scenes of Red and Rit having meals or enjoying his new nutritional biscuits, the two just work well together. There’s a difference between their mutual bashfulness around each other and outright pretending they don’t feel something for one another. Shin no Nakama exploits that intermediate space with aplomb.

Other than the morning pop-out, the episode doesn’t go in lame or predictable directions like Rit being awful at tending a shop (or cooking), or Red being pervy. Instead, when he lifts Rit up and spins her around, there’s a genuine innocence to it, along with unbridled joy. And Rit is just as happy to be spun as Red is to spin her. No sudden pull-back shots of the exterior where we hear a scream and a slap!

Also interesting is the brief but increasingly consequential cutaways to the Hero’s Party. As I suspected, the big dude and the knight dudette aren’t happy Ares unilaterally banished Gideon, and when the big dude decides he’s going to go off to find Gideon, he gets Ruti’s blessing. I’m glad the party isn’t just falling into lockstep behind Ares’ conniving, but I also don’t need Red returning to the party. I’m here for the slow life!

Overlord II – 07

As “Momon” contends with mounting expenses for his various ventures, Gazef (who considers Ainz his savior) seeks out Climb, the princess’ bodyguard. He may have come from nothing and is young and inexperienced, and Gazef seems certain there’s a ceiling to his ability, but Climb is still someone who can hold his own against Gazef in battle, which is more than he can say for most other fighters.

Climb needs to be strong. His Princess, Renner (voiced by The Heroine herself), is called a “monster” by her own older brother, the second prince. There is all manner of wrangling and under-the-table deals between the royals and nobles and Eight Fingers in this kingdom. As such, despite noble warriors like Climb and Gazef, it’s a kingdom slowly rotting from the inside.

Princess Renner, one of the kingdom’s few principled, moral leaders, seeks to cut out that rot, but without any kind of military force of her own she needs willing swords and shields. She has them in the elite adventurer group Blue Rose, who we were introduced to last week burning Eight Fingers’ drug fields.

Renner welcomes Climb to a meeting she’s having with members of Blue Rose, who are preparing to hit other Eight Fingers targets. Renner doesn’t want Blue Rose’s Lakyus Aindra to sully her name and that of her families in such activities, but she has little choice, as she can’t very well send Climb out alone. Instead, Lakyus will “borrow” Climb.

Meanwhile, in the mansion seemingly occupied only by Sebas and Solution, the former has made Tuare a maid, much to the latter’s chagrin. Solution does not like humans and doesn’t see Tuare’s presence as anything other than a nuisance at best and a threat to Ainz at worst.

When unsavory parties arrive who wish to get Tuare back from Sebas, and they give him until the day after tomorrow to surrender either her or the “lady” of the house, Solution. These guys are obviously scum, but they and Solution are alike in one important way: neither of them give a shit about Tuare’s well-being.

Only Sebas does, and since only 41 or so people in the whole dang world are stronger than him, Sebas would normally get his way, and Tuare would remain safe. But even he can’t be everywhere at once, which is why when he goes for a stroll to think things over, Solution breaks protocol and contacts Lord Ainz to report the possibility that Sebas has turned on them.

That seems farfetched to me, in that so far all he’s done is demonstrated his empathy for humans and been a Good Samaritan for a woman who had nothing and no one else. If anything, if Ainz hears the whole story he’d find a way to applaud Sebas’ actions. Is Solution overreacting, or does she sense something Sebas a mere human such as myself cannot?

Overlord II – 06

And now for something completely different. Head Butler Sebas Tian witnesses a man tossing a sack into the street; a sack containing a horribly battered and bloodied human girl. Because Sebas does not detest humans as many Guardians of Nazarick do, he takes pity on the girl, takes her back to the mansion, and has Solution heal her wounds.

Solution considers it beneath Sebas to bring human in, and beneath herself to heal her, but Sebas offers no explanations; he only issues orders, which Solution obeys. The girl is a new person when Sebas sees her post-healing, and offers her some porridge. The girl, whose name is Tuare, offers tearful thanks to Seba for saving her when no one else would.

Meanwhile, we check in with Brain Unglaus, who has been shaken to the core by his defeat at the hands of Shalltear. Gazef Stronoff plucks Brain off the rain-soaked streets where he had apparently lost the will to live, insisting he eat something before making the rash decision to go off and die. All Brain can think about is how weak and puny even the strongest humans are against the likes of Shalltear.

Sebas, Solution, Brain, and Gazef not enough for you? Don’t worry, there’s more: two kunoichi stealthily kill a patrol, then set a series of fields ablaze.

We learn the twin ninja are part of a group of powerful-looking adventurers determined to destroy as much of the of the super underworld syndicate Eight Fingers’ drug production and distribution network as possible. Solution mentioned that Tuare was most likely addicted to a drug; most likely the “Black Dust” the adventurers speak of.

Finally, we get a look in at a meeting between the leaders of Eight Fingers, including the one in charge of human trafficking and slaving, who laments he recently lost the girl we know as Tuare. Something tells me that as tough and connected as these guys might be (an adventurer says 8F can “topple nations”), they’re no match for Sebas, who won’t be letting Tuare get hurt anymore.

While I almost lament the conspicuous lack of lizardmen in this episode, a change of scenery is welcome. This is a huge, rich world, after all; focusing on just one small part of it would be a shame.

Overlord II – 05

Following his thorough intimidation of the Lizardmen, Lord Ains and his guardians travel to his newly-built forest stronghold. He learns it comes with a super-creepy throne made partially from human bones, and decides he’ll finally dole out Shalltear’s punishment by sitting on her.

Shalltear turning the intended pain into naughty pleasure, combined with Albedo’s violently jealous outburst in the next room, are both examples of OverLord silliness at its best. Things get even sillier when Ains uses a spell to see inside one of the village’s huts, only to catch Zaryusu and Crusch doing the nasty.

The Lizardmen elders and warriors, including Zaryusu, make their one last desperate stand against Cocytus, and are (figuratively) disarmed by his polite and respectful demeanor before being disarmed (literally), halved, and riddled with icy projectiles.

The comedy shifts from the silly to black, as Cocytus calmly, quietly explains how not a single one of his opponents’ magical or physical attacks will have the slightest effect on him; they’re simply too low a level to put a dent in his Guardian-class defenses.

That doesn’t stop Zaryusu & Co. from charging forward, even if it’s right into their grisly deaths. Zaryusu is the last to be killed, but Cocytus promises he’ll remember his name and that of his brothers as the names of warriors.

Back at base, Cocytus is praised for his victory by Lord Ains, and suggests the bodies of the dead Lizardmen be used for undead research. Cocytus makes a counter-proposal: raise Zaryusu, who had been such a valiant fighter, from the dead.

Something like that is well within Ains’ mighty means, but he wishes to make it a transaction, and so asks Crusch to spy on the other Lizardmen in exchange for the resurrection of her lover. (Her momentary assumption he wanted her body enrages both Albedo and Shalltear.)

Crusch agrees, and Zaryusu is brought back to life, and yet even here OverLord doesn’t shy away from having a bit of a laugh; Zaryusu’s speech is all high-pitched and messed-up, like he didn’t quite come back 100% right (rest will apparently restore his former gravitas).

But Ains got what he wanted: the allegiance of the Lizardmen tribes, and a mole who will alert him if that allegiance ever wavers, secured by a “spell” (in reality just a lie) that will kill Zaryusu if Crusch ever betrays him. All in all, some shrewd maneuvering by His Skullfaceiness.

Overlord II – 04

The Lizardmen are allowed to bask in their victory over an army of the undead for an evening, while back at Nazarick the Great One Ains Ooal Gown is debriefing Cocytus before his other guardians.

Momonga got what he wanted: Cocytus forms an original thought—that he doesn’t want to exterminate the Lizardmen. But when he can’t come up with a good reason to spare them, Demiurge comes through with an alternative plan: they’ll make the Lizardmen an experiment in rule without fear.

Everything is going according to Ains’ plans, and his guardians think that’s only natural, but privately, Momonga is excited at the prospect of his guardians learning independent thought and gaining experience through defeat…not that he likes defeat.

That much is clear the next day when he shows up with an enormous magically-armored undead army, catching the still celebratory Lizardmen unawares.

Ains himself shows up, and makes quite an entrance, freezing an entire lake, using Gargantua to throw a huge cube of rock into the middle of it, then having his grunts form an undead staircase.

Ains climbs to the top of the rock with his retinue of guardians, proud as you please, and when Zaryusu and his brother meet them in the lake, Demiurge has them prostrate themselves.

Zaryusu knows he and his people are at the mercy of Ains and his forces, and that they don’t have a hope of victory against such power. However, he also presumes the Great One does not intend to utterly exterminate his people, but wants a proper battle to make things interesting.

If that requires a few sacrificial lambs, with him among them, Zaryusu can live with that, even if it distresses the woman he loves. He asks that she put up with his selfishness this once and hold out hope he’ll come back from the battle in one piece. She seems willing to go along with this…IF he impregnates her first. Love: it’s all about give-and-take.

Overlord II – 03

In order to build great things, one must construct a solid foundation. The first two episodes accomplished that. At first, I wondered why all of a sudden we were so immersed in the lives and politics of a bunch of Lizardmen. Then, when I got to know a few of them, I became emotionally invested in their fate, even rooting for their victory against the armies of Cocytus, even though Cocytus is a servant of our ostensible protagonist, Momonga.

What was made clear this week is that not only was it well worth all the table-setting, which I enjoyed far more than I ‘endured’; but that Momonga and his court were given heightened mystique by being pushed into the background, such that every time we cut to them (which wasn’t often, or for a very long duration), it felt like an occasion.

Things start out small, with Zaryusu earning Zenberu’s trust and an alliance after fighting him one-on-one. Crusch heals both, and after returning to Zaryusu’s brother Green Claw, the five assembled tribal leaders have a strategy meeting.

The enemy outnumbers them over three to one. Zenberu is confident every lizard can take out three zombies or skeletons each, but they have to plan carefully to avoid being routed. Zaryusu forms an elite squad with Crusch, Zenberu, and his trusty hydra Rororo, to face the enemy commander when they show themselves.

Cocytus orders his army to advance, and Ains Ooal Gown seems slightly disappointed that things aren’t going the way he hoped, and that’s all we see of him. From here on in, it’s all battle, which means it’s all payoff for the careful preparation of the previous two episodes.

The Lizardmen send out their forces to meet the undead army, while their magical units efficiently keep the foes at bay. Cocytus confides in Demiurge for advice on how to proceed (that is, how to salvage what is starting to resemble a defeat on the field); Demiurge muses that their great lord meant to give Cocytus a weak army and a wide berth in hopes it would promote his awareness.

Cocytus is ready to take his medicine, but first sees how his reserves will fare, led by the Elder Lich Iguva, who launches huge fireballs in Zaryusu’s direction, helpfully revealing to the elite unit the position of the enemy leader.

Zaryusu decides upon a direct frontal assault, using Rororo’s bulk to shield himself, Crusch, and Zenberu. Once close enough, Zenberu starts carving up the reserves while Zaryusu faces off against Iguva, who is a formidable opponent from any range. It’s too bad none of the Lizardmen had Holy magic!

For a moment, Iguva has Zaryusu caught trapped in a Scare spell, but Crusch comes through in the clutch and breaks him out with Lion Heart, in addition to healing Zaryusu’s wounds. Good to see Crusch can hold her own on the battlefield, and indeed plays a vital role keeping Zaryusu up and running.

Iguva is full of hubris until the end, when he wrongfully assumes Zaryusu foolishly unleashed the full power of his Icy Burst against him (as a lich he’s immune to ice). However, the ice was only meant to provide cover for Zaryusu’s attack from above, stabbing Iguva through the eye.

After a struggle, Iguva is vanquished, and the Lizardmen are victorious, in what was a hard-hitting, heart-pounding, perfectly-paced battle. From his base, Cocytus congratulates the Lizardmen; it was a very close victory, but a win’s a win.

Not only that, the battle forced the Lizardmen to give up their tribal squabbles, come together, and sacrifice for the sake of their race’s survival. I would think they would continue in peace the unity that was forged by the threat of annihilation, while Zaryusu and Crusch, having come out of the battle in one piece, are poised to marry.

Overall, this episode was as satisfying, complete victory; a sure-handed execution of an intricately-constructed, multi-layered story in which the lines of heroes and villains are blurred. I’m eager to see what Lord Ains has planned next—and for whom.

Overlord II – 02

Overlord II takes a deep dive into the tribal Lizardmen (and women) corner of Yggdrasil, this week, and in doing so demonstrates that even with non-human characters, the show excels at straightforward yet immersive world-building.

The Green Claw tribe has been given eight days to prepare a “desperate and futile defense” against certain doom, and considering fourth-tier magic was used to deliver the message, the tribe’s head priestess fears the worst.

Zaryusu Shasha, while a traveler and no longer a member of any tribe, is nevertheless sent by his brother and tribal chief to speak with the other four tribes about forming an alliance against their mutual enemy, believing that enemy is depending on their remaining disunited.

We get a cursory look into the Tomb of Nazarick where the confident penguin Assistant Butler Eclair enthusiastically prepares for the day he’ll rule Nazarick—by keeping it thoroughly and obsessively clean.

Zaryusu rides his trusty giant hydra to the lands of the Red Eye Tribe, where he is shocked to find their acting chief and head priestess, Crusch Lulu, is an albino lizard. He is immediately smitten with her, which catches her off guard, but they are able to find common cause with relative ease.

I feel like we spend a great deal of time in that hut with Zaryusu and Crusch, but it also feels like time well spent, as we’re able to learn a great deal about the conditions that led to her leadership.

In a dire food shortage the former chief resorted to cannibalism, which Crusch and the tribe endured for a time, but eventually there was an insurrection, and she was their leader.

Her description of the trials she and her people have endured are vivid and well-told, and Zaryusu, while initially a bit forward, treats her with the respect she’s due. I was legitimately please to hear she’s all for an alliance.

I also appreciated the very human behavior assigned to these anthropomorphic lizards; I never forgot they weren’t human but I could still easily sympathize and empathize with both of them, and there was a good portion of casual humor mixed in to keep the proceedings from getting too stodgy.

Crusch (wearing a bush to protect her pale skin from the sun) accompanies Zaryusu to the next tribe, the war-loving Dragon Tusk. Their leader, Zenberu, knows why they’re there, but Zaryusu will have to prove he is strong before they ally themselves with Green Claw and Red Eye.

Meanwhile, Cocytus prepares for battle, I’m assuming it will be against the Lizardmen tribes (I may well end up being wrong, of course). If true, the show puts us in an interesting position of rooting for the underdogs and caring about their plight, all while feeling a kind of kinship to Momonga and his cohorts.

The lines of hero and villain are blurred, despite the fact one side is fighting for survival, while Cocytus merely seeks to distinguish himself in glorious battle. I’m eager to see where this is all headed.

ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka – 07

All the clues and hints have been laid out, ready to be taken and fitted together to get the larger picture around Jean Otus, who for a protagonist halfway into a show remains either deliciously inscrutable or, as Franklin has said, exactly as vapid as his surface indicates.

Mind you, the larger picture of Jean and his sister Lotta only seem to be part of a yet larger picture, one that both Grossular, Niino, and his second mystery contact would seem to know about.

For the whole run of the show, I’d been trusting my instincts, which told me Lotta was important. Why else would the King and prince be so naturally drawn to her, and why else would someone who looks an awful like her be the dancer in the end credits?

The blonde hair; the blue eyes, the affinity for sweets and the royal district of Dowa, and of couse, all the swirlings of a coup—all of it points to Lotta and Jean Otus being themselves royalty. The flashback threw me off the scent, but their parents who died on the train were the second princess and her guard Abend.

That, as Mauve reports to Jean in her home district of Korore (which is both a strong matriarchy and a chocolate superpower) makes Jean Otus first in the line of succession for the throne of Dowa.

It also explains a great many things about how people have been treating him all this time. Naturally, Jean, who “never asks questions about himself” but merely carries on, didn’t have a clue.

While this revelation is delivered the same way any information is—in a suble, natural, understated fashion—it still raises the stakes considerably. Even if Jean doesn’t care about his lineage and won’t get in Prince Schwan’s way, Schwan is still gunning for him, big-time.

Assumptions and suspicions will play a larger role than Jean’s actual intent or desires. Jean and Schwan are opposites when it comes to how much they care about how they’re regarded by others. And then there’s the fact that Prince Schwan has (probably) never left Dowa, but Jean has traveled all across the nation, never knowing it was, in effect, a royal tour.

Now that Jean knows one more thing Niino knows, their relationship doesn’t seem to change much. Jean still relies on him to tell him the specific bakery where he can get snowballs Lotta requested (which happens to be where the King himself stops by for some sweets), or the best chocolatier in Korore.

But while the mystery of Jean and Lotta may be solved, the bigger mystery is what comes next. What will Jean do with this information, once it inevitably gets out? Who will be on his side, and who (presumably anti-ACCA parties) will support the more malleable Schwan?

Things are finally starting to heat up in Dowa…and I’m not talking about the warmth of fresh-baked pastries.

ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka – 06

If it were one of many other slow-burn shows, I might be itching for something to happen already near the show’s midpoint (assuming this only gets 13 eps – I may be wrong), even to the point of starting to hand out 7’s for lack of forward momentum.

And yet, ACCA continues to avoid such scrutiny with its unassuming, calm, quiet competence, all but unique this Winter as a show all about stopping to smell the roses…or freshly-baked bread.

One of the most eventful things to happen happens right at the start, where Jean not only goes up to Grossular, but tells him he knows he’s being followed, denies any involvement in a coup, and expresses his certainty Gross isn’t involved either. Grossular, after all, was the ACCA officer in Rokkusu who made things right when a horrific train accident claimed, among many others, Jean and Lotta’s parents.

Jean meets Mauve at the bakery, but claims to have “nothing of note” to report to her. If he’s trying to stay in the director-general’s good graces, he could have at least told her about the attempted coup in Suitsu. I’d say that was pretty “of note.” Mauve immediately starts to doubt Jean’s usefulness…and loyalty.

Things largely quiet down from there, as both the show, the nation of Dowa, and most of its inhabitants kick back and enjoy a New Year’s shindig in Jean and Lotta’s apartment building.

We learn about the businessmen Jean seems to help out during his auditing duties, and Lotta receives a cake from Rail, only for Owl to give her another cake minutes later.

People seem drawn to Lotta, but there’s still no indication she’s anyone super-special…yet (the flashbacks also seem to eliminate some possibilities in that arena).

Officers note that the start of ACCA’s hundredth year in operation isn’t all that different from the start of previous years. Mauve has a pretty standard speech at an all-hands, and that’s pretty much it.

Something notable does happen: Grossular joins the other four Top 5 officers in their common room, to ask Lilium why he leaked Crow to Jean. Lilium wanted Jean “to do something,” and while Gross may be right that such an action was reckless, Lilium does seem to win the argument by calling for a meeting of the five to discuss what Gross knows and how they’ll proceed together, no longer unilaterally. He gets that meeting; it should be a good one.

Jean then heads to Hare, the tropical district where the ACCA uniforms are short-sleeved and informal and the district inhabitants live the longest lives in the nation, and live life with gusto accordingly.

After striking out with Mauve last time, Jean redoubles his efforts to get something, anything out of Hare’s chiefs. Yet, when he goes to meet Mauve at the bakery, she’s not there. Is it too late?

After Hare (one of Jean’s shorter audits), Jean heads to Dowa again, this time for an audit. Prince Schwan continues to try to force his grandfather’s hand in subtle ways like hanging his portrait in a place he spends lots of sittin’ time. Perhaps Jean will get more juicy info in Dowa.

ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka – 05

Two of Lotta’s stalkers bond over sandwich bread

I continue to be both bemused and delighted by the sheer obsession with food, eating, and dining in ACCA and the culinary minutiae therein. The fact that these characters need their three squares a day, plus the occasional snacks, really anchors them in the land of reality. It also mirrors real life in its lack of traditional “action”, but that lack hasn’t dimmed my enthusiasm for the show in the slightest.

One of the most important moments of the episode—and of the show as a whole—surprisingly happens not during a meal, but during a car ride (which is also, in its utilitarian practicality, a tether to reality). In that car, Lilium basically lets slip to Jean that he has a tail, and the reason he can’t detect him is that he’s someone by whom he’s used to being watched.

Jean’s a sharp guy, so it doesn’t take long for him to narrow it down to his friend the photog. And when he arrives in the wintry, hearty Birra district and Crow is already there with his camera, we finally see a look of shock on his face as Jean stops and turns back to look for…him. It’s not clear whether he sees him or not (Crow seems pretty far away, though he’s wearing black in the snow), but that look back is all Crow needs to know he’s been found out.

“Could you two young brats flirt somewhere else? I’m trying to run a bakery here.”

Two elements of the episode that are a little more obscure in their intentions were the plotlines of Eidar very unsubtly showing up to see Jean, only to be crushed when he’s not there, and Maggie pursuing Lotta, only to learn where she lives, that her parents are deceased, and that she loves sandwich bread. I’m hoping we’ll find out soon what Lotta’s significance is, if there turns out to be any, of course.

After a rather stern dinner with Birra’s ACCA supervisor, Jean walks into the tranquil, snow-covered forest to confront his tail, and the resulting confrontation is wonderfully offbeat. Jean doesn’t seem betrayed; on the contrary, he seems like he could care less…though he doesn’t wonder if all those times Niino got him drunk he was pumping him for information.

Back home, Jean and Niino share a meal with Lotta like nothing happened, and Jean even makes him promise to stay with Lotta and take her out to eat every day he’s off on his next audit, this time of the Western-style Rokkusu District. Niino obeys, likely hoping he doesn’t miss anything good.

The final scene during sunset in Rokkusu is full of intrigue, as is the little chat between Lilium and Pastice at the airport. Is Jean simply saying hello to a vaunted superior in his hometown, or is something else going on? Something…coup-y?

For the first time it looked like Jean was doing something counter to the person we’d seen up to that point; that he was finally showing us something he’d been hiding. I may be dead-wrong, but I’m having fun guessing as I enjoy the food-filled ride.