Coffee, tea or me(nna)?
Lt Col Wilcke, you're trying to seduce me... aren't you?
Summary:
This week’s looming tower of a Neuroi has its core high up at 30,000 metres, way beyond the 10,000 metre range of a normal Striker unit. Minna and Mio devise a plan, using Karlsland Air Force Rocket Research‘s latest invention – the rocket booster, to send two Witches within range. Sanya is chosen as the attacker because of her Fliegehammer missile launcher but Eila is unable to pair up as her defender because she has no combat experience using her shield – much to the latter’s consternation, Yoshika is assigned to the role instead.
Despite getting Perrine and Lynette to help her train, Eila’s habit of using her Bismarck Waldstein geass kicks in yet again and she dodges all of Lynette’s shots effortlessly without raising her shield even once. She gives up and quarrels with Sanya when the latter tries to encourage her but, in the course of the mission’s ascent, finds that she can’t bear not to be the one to be there for Sanya. Yoshika gives Eila a leg up and hands over her lovely defence. Eila duly summons her shield, defending Sanya like a prince on a white horse, allowing our Orussian heroine to destroy the Neuroi’s core and return safely to base.
Reaction:
This episode was definitely my cup of tea too
TO YURIFINITY AND BEYOND!
Another really (surprisingly) enjoyable episode. I recall having had a vague dislike of Eila in the first season and her mixture of arrogance and meanness, especially towards Yoshika in the opening scene, reminded me why. Even with my penchant for yuri, I’ve tended to find her love for Sanya to be overly possessive and somewhat creepy. But this week’s story got me to see her in a better light – especially through how, in Erica DA BOMB Hartmann’s words, she struggled in a situation where her strength became her weakness. And how her frustration caused her to fight with Sanya – which made their seme-uke gattai even more badass and stratospheric love love reconciliation (complete with insert song) all the sweeter. (P.S. I was also LOL at how she asked Perrine to help her against Yoshika on the basis of the enemy of your enemy is your friend, how she called Perrine ‘tsun tsun megane’ and her disdain at Perrine asking her to imagine she was Sanya and then letting her take all the shots. The enemy of Perrine is indeed my friend.)
Speaking of sweetness, I also loved the little details of the Witches playing house such as the varying reactions to Lynette’s ginger tea and Shirley’s delight while playing dress up with a hapless Francesca. Man, they could make an episode just about a midnight tea and cosplay party (and destroying a random Neuroi in the process) and I’d still watch it with great delight.
P.P.S. All this talk about shields has got me thinking: is that how they have safe sex too?
Toothpick in Eva 1.01, straw in Eva 2.22, twig for the next movie
Perhaps it’s because I only recently watched Evangelion 2.22, I got a lot of Eva-type vibes from this episode. The incredibly risky and dangerous rocket boosted assault reminded me of the kind of crazy stuff that Misato would come up with. The Romagna naval and air forces’ visually impressive but ultimately futile attack on the Neuroi recalling how all that conventional firepower makes great eyecandy but, in the end, merely sets the stage for the real hero/heroines and their mecha to kick the ass of the Ramiel-like Neuroi. Even next week’s preview of the infiltrating Neuroi bugs reminded me of Iruel – except with more Trude pantsu love.
This post was written by...
Zyl – who has written 233 posts on Sea Slugs! Anime Blog.
I have a penchant for Bishoujo, Oneesama and Yuri character dynamics. Genre-wise I enjoy drama and satire; tilt-wise I am terribly weak against self-consciously arty farty styles and reference humour. Sieg Lunamaria!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Great episode this week nice to see more characters getting screen time! also seeing more additions to the Strikers with the boosters this time wonder what else they can do next.
Yeah that was nice and fun, wasn’t it?
Of all the technological improvements, actually I, like Trude, was still most impressed by Mio’s DIY Neuroi Beam Slicing Sword. Pity she hasn’t had another chance to showcase it again or that no one else seems to have taken interest in such a magnificent HAHAHA advance.
I will take the tea and you… Minna,
LOL, you’ll have to get past Mio first.
Playing back that scene, I couldn’t help but smirk a little at how the naval fleet looked as though they were seemingly destroyed by the tidal wave that resulted as a backlash of the giant neuroi pieces falling into the sea, caused by the fleet’s own attacks no less. If that really was the case, that must have been one of the best OH SH- moments for them ever.
Story-wise, I adored this episode. Not very fond of Eila myself but I am a fan of Eila x Sanya. While I think Eila’s arrogance can be rather cynical at times, I like how her feelings for Sanya are nothing short of being real and sincere. I find her gestures, like giving that cypress twig to Sanya, really sweet; similar to how a nice guy makes his girlfriend happy by gifting her a bouquet of flowers. As cheesy as her reconciliation with Sanya was towards the end, I won’t deny that I was giddily grinning away like a drunk idiot the whole time I was watching it. That was without a doubt, the best part of the entire episode for me.
Btw, Mio x Minna’s private teatime reminded me of Natsuki x Shizuru’s Mai-Otome teatimes. The Major and Lt Col definitely need to drink tea together more often (and then some).
Verily Romagna cruisers Zara and Pola were hoist by their own petard. At least the aircraft seem to have made it out unscathed. I wonder what’s that shiny anti-Neuroi powder made of though?
Yes, the cypress twig – tying in with the view of the Urals – was very sweet. I also loved how Yoshika chased after Eila (unsuccessfully) while trying to get a closer look at the twig. Normally I’d be totally on Eila’s side (i.e. mind your own business) but Yoshika is just so earnest and cute that it’s hard to be harsh to her (like that puppy dog w the sailor hat on her crest in the ED).
So does the red dress x pistol scene count as Minna going Shizuru on Mio already?
LOL! I thought I was the only one who’s reminded about Shizuru x Natsuki on Minna x Mio teatime scene there!
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