Synopsis: The Loose Souls team section chiefs are holding their regular meeting in Hell. Haqua questions Bureau Chief Dokuro about the rumors she heard from Nora concerning goddesses and Vintage, but Dokuro rejects her claims. Unsatisfied with the response, Haqua prepares to leave hell. Back on Earth, four of the goddesses have assembled in an attempt to awaken Kanon and Apollo.
Impression:
I’m just saying and all but… I’m pretty sure Tenri ‘grew’ her wings in episode 4? And now, here in episode 8, Diana is, once again, complaining about the fact that she ‘doesn’t have wings’ and that it’s her fault? I don’t even know any more… I’m going to blame Manglobe because, you know, it’s easier that. way. It’s not really that big of an issue, it’s simply disconcerting when you’re trying to keep track of every strand and loose end in the arc, and then it turns out that the animators (and writers) can’t actually keep track of them themselves… I’d say it was lazy but I’m always making spelling mistakes in my own blog posts so… hypocrisy? Yeah, let’s go for that.
But I digress, episode 8 was a return to form, Keima gunning for one girl in an attempt to find the final Goddess. I’m just going to throw this out there because there are so many episodes left, Chihiro doesn’t have a goddess inside of her. Now this is only speculation, but I’d like you to think back for a moment. Every girl’s Goddess so far has shown themselves (either to Keima or their respective hosts) before Keima confirms their existence. But no such Goddess has been seen in coalescence with Chihiro. ‘That’s because they want to keep it a secret’, I hear you crying out. No. I have more. There are four episodes left. Four. With the pace that this show is moving at, it’d be impossible for Chihiro to be the Goddess simply because, unless they throw in four more episodes worth of plot (regarding the Weiss probably), they’re going to have to stretch the conquest out for another episode (or two). That said, Ayumi isn’t exactly showing any signs of remembrance either, but I think it should be pretty obvious at this point that Ayumi is hiding something from Keima. Remember what she was like during her conquest? Brash, rude and sexy angry. This Ayumi is… jealous? No – she’d making compromises for Chihiro’s sake and if Keima f*cks this up/doesn’t handle this right… he’s going to end with up with neither of the girls liking him. Just saying.
Let’s talk about the ‘other half’ of this episode; the Haqua chronicles, if I may. Poor Haqua. She tried to do the right thing and she ended up in jail. I’ll be honest, I haven’t liked Haqua that much this season. She hasn’t really done anything, y’know? And now that she’s finally done something… it’s placed her in jail. Again, poor Haqua. It does however, impose an interesting question; is New Hell not as heavenly (pardon the contradiction) as it seems? With the leader of New Hell (Dokuro?) being accused of corruption, what does this mean for Haqua and the rest of the loose souls team? Why was Elsie assigned to Keima (yes, this is an age old question that I’m bringing up now…)? I mean, no other loose souls team member has ever been assigned to someone so… why Elsie to Keima? There’s more there than meets the eye… But I digress, Haqua. And New Hell. And Nora. Nora! Is Nora corrupt? You’d think so but… I’m thinking that she’s more of a ‘Rogue’ (from Sonic the Hedgehog…); an anti-hero, if I may. I can only presume that Nora is going to help Haqua get out of jail, otherwise it looks like Keima will be taking a trip into New Hell (can he even do that?) to save Haqua… making her more of a hindrance than before…
And, finally, let’s talk about Apollo and Kanon… aw! If Keima ends up with anyone in this show, I think that it’ll either be Kanon (because they have the best chemistry, I feel), Ayumi (because she was his first 😉 ) or Haqua (because why the fck not?!) and I like that the show hasn’t completely dismissed the fact that Keima might have feelings for a lot of these girls… harem ending (anyone)? On a more important note, it would appear that the Weiss is ‘leaking’ into the human world and corrupting sht up… But, luckily for us, Apollo is on the job! Let’s just hope she can hold out for three days… I think it’s good that they’ve reintroduced the aspect of ‘time running out’ because it adds an element of urgency to the show, an element that, I thought, had been long forgotten. Now they didn’t make it very clear, but I don’t think Kanon’s in danger anymore (well, not from her condition anyway) and at least that means no more worried Keima faces… probably.
On another quick note, I don’t actually know what the Weiss is… They bring it up all the time and I think they’ve explained it once… a long time ago…
In conclusion, episode 8 wasn’t too bad. No noticeable animation blemishes (like the last episode) and a ‘return to form’ make for a very enjoyable episode! Let’s just hope that Chihiro is a host so that we can get on with the plot… that said, I wouldn’t mind seeing a bit more Ayumi Keima action again, you know? I ship them. They’re cool. Plus, it would appear that I have a thing for girls with semi-short hair… Just thought I’d throw that out there.