I can die happy now.
Impression
I’m in an exceedingly good mood right now, as you might expect. I actually had the biggest smile plastered across my face from the moment Eila and Sanya showed up all the way to the group shot marking the end of the episode. Eilanya in my Brave Witches. I still can’t believe it. I thought Nipa was saved by Erica at first for some reason, and then I almost didn’t recognise Eila after not having seen her for so long – and then I saw best girl Sanya and it finally sank in. And they were in Santa outfits, too! My Orussian waifu can’t be this cute! I think Christmas just came early this year.
And you know what? This episode didn’t even need the 501st to make it great. I was sold from the moment Nipa, Kanno and Hikari watched the beautiful Orussian sunrise as they were sledding across the frozen river together whilst complaining about the cold weather (despite wearing hardly anything below the waist but panties). It’s been getting a lot colder where I live too, so it was a comfy seasonal touch. I also particularly loved how it was essentially another Nipa episode, except this time she was even more soft and sweet in getting the rest of the 502nd to celebrate the Saturnus Festival (i.e. Christmas) so that Hikari could enjoy herself. Seriously though. Nipa, Sanya and Eila in a single episode. Remember what I said literally just last week about those three being so best? Is this what happiness feels like?
Two small observations. First, Hikari has just about finished with her unintentional grand scheme of befriending her way around the 502nd. I think it’s safe to say that they’ve all grown to care for her quite a lot now – the point being that if she’d come down with a fever at the start of the series, that would have just been yet another reason to send her back to Fusou. Now, they’re all just feeling apologetic about having exhausted her and trying to help her get better soon. Once Rall heard that Nipa wanted to celebrate for Hikari’s sake, she started pointedly pretending she couldn’t see the other Witches preparing in ‘secret’. Even Kanno had that adorable moment where she gently (at least by Kanno standards) told Hikari to stay in bed. She’s done it! They all love her! And so do we! Krupinski should be all that’s left in terms of both Hikari and us as viewers getting to properly know her, but she was never opposed towards Hikari to begin with. Come to think of it, Rall needs an episode too. I hope she gets one. Anyway, the second point I wanted to mention was about their gradually dwindling food supply. I don’t think it’s a particular strategy or anything (it’d be terrifying it was) but it almost feels like the Neuroi were trying to starve them out. Even when a mid-sized one attacked this episode, it managed to get as far as their front doorstep with its camouflaging before Nipa went out to intercept it. It’s really concerning.
I don’t think I have much else to say. I’m just so happy I got to see Sanya again. Is it too much to hope that they’ll stick around, given that for now the 501st should still be disbanded after the nest in Gallia was destroyed?
I was hoping Eila and Sanya would show up, because I knew they’d moved out to that area after the first disbandment of the 501st, but I hadn’t necessarily expected it. It would be nice if they could stay, and certainly there’s an in-universe justification that the 502nd is in dire straits and needs help fast or they’re going to lose their position. However, from the perspective of someone who has seen a lot of stories like this and has come to understand the patterns of them, I suspect this is simply a cameo. As much as we love these two, Brave Witches isn’t Sanya and Eila’s show. They’ll probably be heading off again shortly. Hopefully Rall will take the opportunity to ask them about the destruction of the Gallia hive before they leave, though.
As for the Neuroi, you say it would be terrifying if they were using strategy… well I’ve been watching their actions over the last several episodes, and I’m appropriately terrified. When Lake Ladoga blocked their advance, potentially giving the witches time to prepare in the month before it would freeze naturally, the Neuroi immediately sent out a giant fan that froze the lake solid a month early. The fact that that unit was dangerous to the witches was pure coincidence. That wasn’t an attacking unit, that was a support unit designed to clear the way for their ground forces. In the next episode their ground forces took advantage of the frozen lake and moved into position to bombard St. Petersburg; and among the first targets they hit were the wtiches’ supply warehouses. That wasn’t an accident: they were hitting the girls where they were vulnerable. Rather than just sending out one unit at a time to try to defeat the witches in battle, which inevitably proves fruitless, these Neuroi are actually trying to win the war. They are attacking supply lines, denying resoureces to their enemy, advancing inexorably… They’re fighting smart, and the 502nd doesn’t have the resources to handle Neuroi that can fight smart.
Fixed as requested!
You never mentioned anything about Eilanya! I had no idea, I was caught totally by surprise! I do agree that it’s unlikely they’ll hang around, as much as I would love them to. It’s enough getting to see them again after so many years, and there was genuinely no-one from the 501st that I would rather have seen than them (except maybe Erica). Hopefully they get a line or two (if only in a flashback) next week whilst Rall or Rossmann lead a discussion on how to deal with these pesky Neuroi movements amidst all the Krupi antics.
Orussian Neuroi are scary. The Gallian (and to an extent Romanian) nests just sent out some Neuroi once every so often, and all they did was fly in a straight line and shoot beams out whenever Witches got close. The 502nd are up against a nest that’s taking the initiative… it’s almost like these Neuroi are more intelligent than they should be. It’ll be really interesting to see how this plays out (if at all) in the final few episodes.
It’s on the wiki, which I’ve perused at least a little. Also there’s a manga that covers what the members of the 501st were doing in the time between seasons one and two: Kimi to Tsunagaru Sora. it’s been translated in various places. Check it out.
There’s definitely something about these Orussian Neuroi that their Gallian and Romanian counterparts lacked. If the 502nd can’t figure out a way to take the offensive soon, they’re going to lose Orussia altogether.
Eh? This ^ was supposed to be a reply to Vantage above… I was sure I clicked reply there.