“Just as you’re the only one who can date me, I am the only person who can date you. If anything, you’re the only one I could even consider.” -Aika Fuwa
Summary: Megumu, Evangeline, and Natsumura travel the world destroying parts of the Tree of Genesis. When they finally return to Japan, talk in Samon’s camp turns to the possibility that Yoshino is one half of the mage of exodus and decide that they should try and figure out who is girlfriend is in order to take her hostage and gain control over him that way. Meanwhile, because of her growing feelings towards Yoshino, Hakaze is also trying to figure out who his girlfriend is. When she confesses her feelings to him, Yoshino finally comes clean about his big secret, just as Megumu suggests that Yoshino’s girlfriend has to be Aika.
Impressions: Good to see that Samon isn’t the only Kusaribe one who can throw a psychedelic swirled background fit. Hakaze is also almost at Samon’s level of making silly face too. They really are related, I guess. That aside, this was actually a pretty funny episode, that had some very cute Yoshino/Aika moments thrown in. The main plot only advances minimally, but I guess they weren’t really ready to give up on their roles as detectives from last weeks episode quiet yet, since most of the episode revolves around trying to figure out just who the heck Yoshino’s girlfriend is. By the end, I though they would have dragged it out for another couple of episodes, but I’m glad they finally decided to reveal to the rest of the characters just who the mysterious girlfriend is.
Hakaze is still trying to deny her love, and comes up with the brilliant plan that by having Yoshino describe his girlfriend, she’ll finally realize that he’s in love with someone else who is way better than her. And that will magically fix her emotions. The problem is that Yoshino’s descriptions and stories about Aika don’t really make her out to be all that great. I mean, she tells him that she’d turn him into human shaved ice if he were to love someone else, and I don’t really think she was kidding about that. The two of them are cute together, with Aika’s acidic tongue tempered by Yoshino’s passive and sweet nature, and as Aika becomes more and more of a real character (even though she’s dead) I really can start to see why everything seems to revolve around her and her death. She was a force to be reckoned with and I’d be willing to bet that her role in the war between the Trees isn’t over yet. A girl like that can’t only be ment as a sacrificial lamb to set all these events in motion.
While Hakaze tries to puzzle things out by herself, Samon goes the opposite route and decides to have a full fledged meeting about it, complete with a white board and Junichirou in the role of secretary. A lot of the humor in this episode comes from Samon, Junichirou, Mahiro, and Megumu arguing about what type of girl Yoshino’s girlfriend would be. Things quickly spiral out of control, as they move from a simple school classmate, to things like a nurse, or maybe a Lolita fetish. Samon clearly is the worst of the bunch, since he suggest not just a younger girl (elementary school age, to be exact) but also a married woman, or one of Yoshino’s teachers. Junichirou is all about the boob size of course, worrying that the reason Yoshino hid her was because her breasts were either too large or too small. And you’d think that being Yoshino’s best friend would give Mahiro an advantage, but he also doesn’t really know what he’s talking about. It’s funny to see the four of them, and their different tastes, discussing what type of woman Yoshino would be likely to date. It’s Megumu who picks up on the fact that they’re also skirting around the obvious answer; that Yoshino was dating Aika. Maybe there is some Mage of Exodus in him after all! I’m waiting to see what Mahiro’s reaction will be, since the episode ended before he could do anything other than look shocked (along with everyone else.)
Samon and the rest of his posse also talk about the possibility that the Tree of Exodus separated the heart of its mage from the rest of its powers, and the Yoshino might have the heart, while Megumu got the rest. It opens up a whole range of possibilities and scenarios, made all the more dangerous by the fact that Yoshino has the protection of the Mage of Genesis (Hakaze) since she’s in love with him. Even without Megumu’s destructive powers, this would make Yoshino a real threat. While I still find it hard to believe that cute little Yoshino, whose dark side we’ve only glimpsed a couple of times so far, could really be as cold and calculating as Samon is making him out to be, I think this show is starting to convince me that it is an actual possibility.
With the episode ending the way it did, I’m curious to see how everyone will react now that the identity of Yoshino’s girlfriend has finally be revealed. Especially Hakaze and Mahiro, the two who will be most affected by this information. Now that Mahiro suspects Yoshino of being part of the mage of Exodus, he seems alright with the idea of killing his friend. Will this new information solidify his will to off Yoshino? And what about Takumi, who seems to be using his knowledge of magic gained from his close work with the Kusaribe clan to make a grab for the power he once had? And what is that little piece of stone he has with the snakes on it? Hopefully the plot will pick up a bit, since we’ve only got 7 more episodes to go and I still have no idea what the end game will be. I suspect there will be at least a couple of ZnT’s signature plot twists, and I’m really looking forward to finding out how all of this is going to wrap up.
Final Thought: Oh my god, Mahiro what are you wearing?!? That is a truly horrible jumpsuit thing you have on there. Not that this show really has the best fashion, but that just takes the cake in terms of sheer awfulness.