Episode 8 starts us off with how episode seven ended. With the fire spear being missed by the last missile and landing in the city, this would be a dire situation for a normal person but these High School Prodigies aren’t exactly what someone would call human. Let’s be real, even the Ultimates from Dangan were more realistic in comparison. I’m fairly good at being able to give myself over to suspension of disbelief, I can write most things off as ‘It’s just an anime.’ or ‘it’s just a movie’ but this whole Aoi guides a missile through the city that is burning as they rush through it with her bare hands and then sends a tornado from her blade to cut a giant fire monster. Might just be putting your foot a little too far over the line. If she came out with burned feet and looking any worse for the ware?
Sure, I actually might be able to swallow it then.
You, You know what? At least episode eight was light on the fan-service. It also gives us a little more insight into Lyrule and what her role in all of this is going to be. She admits to the group that she heard a voice saying to protect them and instantly learned about the magic in the spear, she can also hear spirits. So she begins training with a mage to learn how to control spirits and cast spells to be able to help the group.
We also see at the end of episode eight that the forces under the Seven-Light faith have been provided with more modern rifles. They are ready to go intercept the forces that will be coming after them at Gustov’s command. Thus, Tsukasa sets the order for them to march first and intercept the approaching armies.
We are shown Tsukasa’s skills not just as a politician but as a tactician so good that the main characters of Fire Emblem would be jealous of him. [Still more believable than the missile thing.] As he predicts every movement of his enemies on the battlefield and gets the upper hand against them. Eventually gaining their alliance by seeing his skills first hand by seeing their plans written down, revering him as something of a god.
Meanwhile, Shinobu and her new ally and member of the Azure Brigade Jeanne go to fight Gustov himself. We cross again into that ‘Well, maybe if they were even slightly hurt I’d believe this a lot more’ as despite being hit a few times by Gustov’s attacks before beating him in an epic fashion, he throws the tower in into a pillar of flames to try to take the girls with him. At least, that’s what one would assume but Shinobu doesn’t seem to think that he’s really gone.
No time to go further into that, we’ve gone almost two full episodes without gratuitous amounts of fanservice! So what’s the best way to make up for that? Throw a ton of it at us as the girls get a rub down with oils made for royalty by magic. Also for Shinobu to use her secret family technique of how to make your boobs bigger on Ringo.
Oh, I should mention that poor Akatsuki has to sit and be treated like a girl and put up with all of this too, and being forced to crossdress. All in the name of his safety, of course.
Then, as if that never happened and Akatsuki isn’t sitting there in a white dress along with the rest of the girls the group lapses into a serious talk. About the Azure Brigade and if they could get along with them, flat out, Tsukasa says it’s impossible and that is where episode nine wraps up.
Honestly, I struggled the most through these two episodes because even more then before it felt like there was no real consequences. I’m not asking for much, a bit of a battle scar or some slightly burned feet. It can even be less than would be realistic. I might have even forgiven it if it was just Aoi and Shinobu too because then I could theory craft some reasons behind it but Jeanne didn’t take any damage in that fight against Gustov either. I’m also just like, up to here with the fanservice…
But I hear the source is like that too but I feel like the anime could have held back just a little. Oh well. I’m still pretty interested in how things will be handled with the Azure Brigade, if Jeanne will become a bad guy or if Gustov is really alive somewhere.
So despite its flaws, the show hasn’t lost me yet.