Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut – Episode 5 [A Girl’s Wish]

I think this is the most “normal” episode of Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut we have seen so far, in that this is the first episode without epic boobage or fanservice. And I like it.

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Deep within the ruins, Krucilfer stands on the altar at the center of The Ruins and it confirms that her existence is the “Key” needed to magically make a doorway materialize in front of them. So much for the little horn being the key. The Ruins are starting to fall down around Lux and Krucilfer, so they hurry through the passageway, and it becomes blocked by rubble behind them. They are trapped.

Lux and Krucilfer ask each other some questions, now that they are alone in a quiet part of the Ruins and appear to be out of immediate danger. Krucilfer reveals that as a baby she was found in the Ruins, and adopted by the Einfolk family. However they always treated her differently, and when she was older she found out the truth behind her origins. She doesn’t know anything about her past, but doesn’t want to go looking for answers because she fears that if she finds nothing, then there will be no one to validate her existence. Lux’s emotions get heated and he rushes to tell Krucilfer not to say sad things.

Then Krucilfer turns the tables and asks Lux why he is so softhearted. Lux tells her that their grandfather was the reason why their family got kicked out of the Imperial Court. No one would help him and his family, even as his mother lay dying on the ground. Both the townspeople and other members of his family abandoned his immediate family after they were kicked out. Only Philuffy helped them, even when Lux felt had no worth or value (since he was no longer a part of the Royal Family). He wanted to hate everyone, but Philuffy’s kindness made Lux want to create a country where the people he loved could live without hate.

Their interlude is interrupted by Lisha breaking through the walls of the Ruins with a drill she had grafted onto her Drag-Ride. She asks him if he’d been doing “strange things” with Krucilfer, then gets embarrassed when Lux asks her to clarify what she means. I want to smack Lisha, she’s so bloody immature and annoying, and if I’m correct in my suspicions that she and Lux are going to be the main couple in this series, I’m going to be really choked.   щ（ﾟДﾟщ） That being said, it was cute that Lisha showed Lux exactly how usefill a drill on a Drag-Ride could be.

Back at the academy, Airi and Lux debrief about what happened in the Ruins. Airi gives Lux a drink from Krucilfer, and when he slips into sleep, we see that Airi drugged Lux at Krucilfer’s request. Krucilfer doesn’t want to get Lux further involved, and only wants him to miss the duel with Balzeride that night. This is primarily because the week-long special request form will expire the next day, so if Lux sleeps through the duel then he will have no further obligation to help her.

Cut to the fight. After a lot of boasting and flashy moves, we learn that Balzeride’s Drag-Ride has the ability to steal and use the special abilities of other Drag-Rides. Furthermore, using their abilities drains the power of the original Drag-Ride, rendering it eventually powerless.  Krucilfer falls victim to his attack after her Drag-Ride is drained, and it looks like she will be forced to bow to Balzeride and his twisted ambitions when (somewhat predictably) Lux shows up! 

He duels Balzeride, who taunts Lux as he steals Bahamut’s Reload on Fire ability and uses it against him. They fight back and forth, and Bahamut’s energy reserves start to run low. Krucilfer pleads with Lux to not fight on her behalf anymore, because she’s emotionally involved despite their boyfriend-girlfriend arrangement being a farce, but Lux asks that she let him fight for her. He calls her his lover and she cries, very sweet and emotional, etc etc. (Though I won’t deny that I enjoyed this moment because hey, I ship it.)

When it looks like all is lost for Lux, he busts out with a new move, Recoil Burst, and defeats Balzeride. Airi is watching the battle from the rooftop of the academy, and she reveals that Lux has pushed his Drag-Ride into a berserk mode by storing away energy until the last moment, and then unleashing it in a new move. Looking at the damage to the battlegrounds, this might perhaps be the move we saw Lux had tried during the flashback in the last episode.

After the battle, Krucilfer and her butler Alterize get Lux to try on a new suit, with Lisha and Tillfarr watching through a window from outside. Krucilfer teases Lux about his admissions in the heat of battle, and he asks her to stop picking on him him. She responds to this by leaning in and kissing him – twice, and naturally Lisha freaks right out.  Krucilfer smugly says that if Lux agrees to marry her for real, she’ll continue to kiss him (and more, presumably) like that. Poor Lux is so flustered and over his head, but before he can give Krucilfer an answer Lisha flings open the door and screams at them to tell her what they’re doing. Really Lisha, what does it look like they’re doing?! -_-

My thoughts: I absolutely can’t stand Lisha. She is whiny, immature, nosy and just an overall pain in the ass. I do not like her as a character, and any redeeming qualities she may have are overshadowed by her idiosyncrasies. She should put her money where her mouth is (essentially what Krucilfer is doing) or shut up.

On the flip side, I’m glad that this episode had no fanservice. Overall it took a slightly more serious tone by delving into Lux and Krucilfer’s respective backstories, and the duel between Balzeride and Lux was pretty sweet. Bahamut ftw!

I know I haven’t mentioned it much, but the music for this series is pretty spot on. I’m not a fan of the opening theme, and the ending theme is only a little more enjoyable, but it’s the music played during the episodes which I am liking the most. I may go looking for the OST once this series is over.