Phos, still not sleeping, is up late helping some of their fellow jewel people with different things. They describe their most recent Lunarian fight to Alexandrite, then agree to patrol for Jade until Master Kongo wakes up. Afterwards they let Rutile examine their alloy hands again. Just when things appear to be quiet for the night, Bort shows up and suggests that Phos go out on patrol with them instead of Diamond. Phos is torn about the idea but reluctantly agrees.
Bort leaves the task of breaking the news to Diamond to Phos, who is not at all eager to hurt poor Diamond. Diamond does initially appear a little stunned, but admits that they were one of the people who encouraged Phos to change, so they can hardly complain right? Diamond asks only that Phos look out for Bort.
The next day Diamond appears to struggle with being left behind after spotting Phos and Bort leaving on their patrol. Jade, Rutile and Euclase aren’t sure if Diamond is really ok with the two of their friends patrolling together, but Diamond assures them that Bort is never wrong and thus this new idea is ok.
Out on patrol, Bort is giving Phos more battle advice. However they are interrupted when they both see something they’ve never seen before: a double sunspot. Out of one emerges the usual platform, but instead of the usual spirit-like Lunarians appearing, “rips” open up the sky and from them emerges a MASSIVE Lunarian. It looks like some kind of religious deity or monster, one I won’t guess at naming because I’ll probably fuck it up. >>; It’s huge, whatever type it is, and it quickly gets the upper hand over Phos and Bort.
Bort grabs Phos and races back towards their home, with the Lunarian in hot pursuit on its hovering platform. Phos rings the bell six times, the cue for all the jewel people to hold their positions. Some hear the bell and stay where they are, while others don’t appear to hear the ringing and are oblivious. The Lunarian chases Phos and Bort into the building before disappearing.
Diamond is one of the latter. They are in the compound arranging flowers in a vase when they hear and notice the ground shaking. The Lunarian appears before them and Diamond rushes to find a safe hiding spot. What ensues is a long cat-and-mouse chase all over the jewel people’s home, with Bort and Phos chasing the Lunarian without initially being aware that it was after Diamond.
Backed into a corner, Diamond first decides to wait for someone to help them. They give that idea up pretty quickly though and decide to attack the Lunarian alone. Bort and Phos find Diamond during this part of the battle, and can only watch helplessly as Diamond first loses one limb, then another. However that doesn’t stop Diamond and they defeat the Lunarian by shredding it with their broken arm.
Bort breaks through the cage on the window and rushes to Diamond’s side. Both admit that they didn’t like being seperated from each other, but being apart from each other helps them appreciate the other in a new light. They can respect their partner and see how much they mean to them.
Suddenly, two more large Lunarians appear. They look like twins, though not as large as the first one that Diamond destroyed. Will Phos be able to step in and help Bort fight?
My thoughts: The conversation with Alexandrite at the very beginning of the episode prompted an interesting thought: what IF a jewel person experiences a personality shift when they have limbs replaced with other materials? Could this, coupled with their grief for Antarcticite, explain why Phos underwent such a radical personality and demeanor change during the course of the winter?
“Shiro” is the Japanese word for “white.” Could the title be referencing the inside of Diamond’s body? The color of the Lunarian chasing Diamond? Something else I’m missing?
I hope Master Kongo wakes up soon! o_O He’d be able to handle those big Lunarians with no trouble, probably. Hopefully.
I had this thought the other day: the series started out with Phos wanting to help Cinnabar, but the show deviated away from that concept pretty quickly. Will Phos be able to help Cinnabar at some point in the next two episodes, or will that be something that might show up in a second season of anime?
There’s only 2 more episodes to go, and I’m super excited to see how the season will end. ^_^v
P.S – For a show that’s entirely CGI, this episode had some kick-ass chase/action sequences. Definitely nowhere near as clunky as Berserk (2016) or Berserk (2017) were. Either technology has advanced enough in that short of time, or maybe it’s because Houseki no Kuni is using a different “type” of CGI?