you really think so?
While this episode was indeed The Melancholy of Kazumi Yoshida, I’ll less harsh on Yoshida than big meanie Aroduc. For Pheles’ hougu, batteries are not included and x1 Yoshida POE charge is required to use. To insult to injury, Pheles said ‘I Choose You’ to Kazumi because she can use the hougu (doesn’t freeze inside a fuzetsu) and because she is expendable and her death is perfectly acceptable. Ouch.
I’ve moaned before about how London’s Forbidden Planet and Japan Centre doesn’t seem to stock MEGAMI. But I happened to see that evil magazine in the display window of Orbital Comic’s Moor Street branch. And the price was just shinjirarenai.
I’m really glad that the unreliable Saya won her match through a combination of skill and a time out technicality. Also great to see Kirino handily winning her match despite her recent difficulties. I was actually quite annoyed by how they nerfed Satori through over-eating; it seemed cheap especially when compared to how Kirino and Tama-chan were overcoming much more serious problems. But then again, it was probably the only way to make Tama-chan’s match the decisive one for the team given how Satori’s skill had been emphasized previously. Ok and I did laugh when her animal friends got swept away by the gastric flood.
This was a surprisingly SERIOUS BUSINESS (TM - Kurogane) episode without the usual A/B side narratives and no Aika or Alice.
I think this was an important episode in building towards a conclusion where Akari eventually becomes a prima on two levels. Firstly, Alicia’s intervention subtly addresses Akari’s own lack of self-confidence and self-awareness regarding her suitability to be a prima undine. Secondly, Alicia also represents the author/studio preparing us, the viewers, for Akari’s teleological apotheosis, so to speak.
