Impression
This episode was fairly light-hearted and calm (as is the case with many transition episodes) but also contained a bit of action, setting the stage for our next arc rather well! While it’s not the first time our protagonists have been separated, it’s the first time they’ve consciously decided to go down separate paths in order to achieve their own goals – although they’ve decided to maintain a promise to reunite one day, we have no idea when that’ll be. This also means that the linear storyline we’ve had will be split into three different parts, starting with Aladdin’s journey to Magnostadt as he hitches a ride from a caravan transporting Ren Kouha.
Perhaps barring Hakuei, there’s something slightly off about each member of the Kou royalty, and Kouha really does exemplify that. Putting aside his strange tendency to hit his attendants (who are masochistic enough to like it just fine) he really is batshit insane during battle, holding no qualms over splitting apart standard bandits. Sure, they had magic tools (again, probably from Magnostadt) but maybe he went just slightly overboard there 😀 The guy’s totally off the deep end. You can’t deny that he’s good at it, though – Kouha is completely in tune with his djinn’s weapon equip, and can enlarge and contract his sword with precise timing, leaving the momentum to carry him through. I’ve always thought he looked rather androgynous in the manga, but I think A-1 Pictures are really trying to make him seem a little more manly with his seiyuu and character design.
Magnostadt is evidently the titular “Kingdom of Magic”, and for a while now we’ve known that there’s more to things there than meets the eye. It’s not clear just yet why a representative of Kou (a non-magician) has decided to visit Mogamett and his country of magicians. But I’m pretty sure it’s not just to exchange pleasantries and form some sort of treaty, especially given Kou’s expansionist policies back in the first season with the Kouga tribe and Balbadd. Magnostadt are seemingly responding by seeking out powerful and talented magicians (that Bolg test looks really dangerous if you’re not up for it) and to be honest, it’s almost like we’re seeing some initial foreshadowing for that large-scale warfare we saw at the beginning of the season.