DMJII PLANE WHEELS
Impression
TORNADO IMPACT
ELFNEIN IS CUTE
IS THIS FOR REAL
IS THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENING
HORIZON CANNON
PUNCH THROUGH THE IMPOSSIBLE
…Wait. So how is that plane supposed to land? It was only ever able to take off because of DMJii, and the Alca-Noise busted its wheels (which is the whole reason there was a crisis to begin with). I’ve never heard of planes having spare wheels on-board, let alone wheels which can be changed mid-flight if something goes wrong with them. Not that I know much about planes in general. I guess it could land in the sea, or send over Hibiki to do what she did with that spaceship at the start of GX?
This was a super cool episode, by the way. Usually, the first encounter with the antagonists ends really badly for the Gears, and on top of that Maria isn’t exactly known for being the most… uh, successful Gear, so I was just hoping it would all end with her… you know, not dying. Put it this way. When Hibiki is around, I’m filled with confidence and a sense of reassurance. She might still lose, but she’ll give whoever she’s up against a good run for their money. Whenever it’s Maria, I just keep praying she doesn’t get hurt too badly. But today she did really good! I mean, she still had to be rescued, and HORIZON CANNON did pretty much nothing, but she’s mostly unhurt! To her credit, she did kill the snake too – it’s just that it came back straight after as if she hadn’t done anything, whereas Bikki’s punches are so stronk that not even space-time alchemy can erase her determination to fist. The other thing to remember, of course, is that these alchemists haven’t transformed yet. Both the frog loli and Cagliostro took on Maria and DMJii without the transformations that we know they have from the OP, meaning that the latter are unlikely to stand a chance if their opponents get serious. There’s the LiNKER issue too, although I’m sure Elfnein will sort that out by the halfway point of the season.
The OP also hinted at some interesting changes. I’m not sure whether this will end up holding true until the end, but looks like the match-ups will be as follows. Hibiki and Kirika will be up against Saint-Germain, and Chris and Maria will fight Cagliostro. That leaves Tsubasa and Shirabe with the frog loli. Which is really unusual, to say the least. I’m not surprised that Cagliostro will be out for Maria’s blood now that she’s had her face damaged multiple times, but splitting DMJii and pairing them with Bikki and Sword is an odd move. I’d have left DMJii together and put Tsubasa with Maria (which is probably what they both want the most) which leaves Hibiki with Chris. With Chris’s angst emerging as a side-plot this season, I think Hibiki being around her for emotional support would work well. We’ll see how things go. They could easily have shaken things up on purpose – for example, up until now Hibiki’s interacted with Kirika the least out of all the Gears. She’s been with Tsubasa from the start, Chris fought her in the first season, Shirabe fought her in the second season and Maria is a former fellow Gungnir user. She knows Kirika relatively less well, and that can be solved if she’s put together with her as a battle partner for the season. I’m just wondering whether we’ll even get a DMJii duet at all, or whether Senritsu Sorority (the DMJii and Maria trio) counts as its replacement.
The other two strands that were developed this episode were about Tiki, the cute Custodian-looking girl, and Chris and Sonya. With Tiki, I wasn’t expecting her to have been relevant again so soon. I thought we’d be made to forget all about her until around Episode 9 or so, when she’d be put out as another opponent for the Gears just when they think they’ve finally got the upper hand against the alchemist. It also crossed my mind for a moment that she looked a little like Miku with Shenshou Jing on. And her hair is similar to Carol’s too. Clearly she’s a totally different character though, especially since she was with Saint-Germain when they fought Pirate Fine all those centuries ago. As for Chris, it seems like there’s now an additional meaning to Takagaki Ayahi singing the ED. Sonya and Chris having reunited after all these years is pushing Chris’s past to the forefront more than it already is, and there’s a twisted irony in Chris having done to Sonya (with the best of intentions, mind you) what Chris herself blames Sonya for with regards to the death of her parents. It’s also been a while since we’ve seen the Noise turn people into carbon. Stefan’s lost limb reminds me of how Hibiki’s arm got eaten by the Nephilim way back then. Except Stefan’s leg probably isn’t coming back. He even liked playing football.