Rating: B+
I have seen some claims that this installment is only supposed to be 15 episodes long instead of two full cours. If true, that means a much faster-paced adaptation than the previous story arc, as volumes 16-18 are collectively at least 100 pages longer than volumes 12-14. (And that’s without factoring in the bits from volume 15 used in episode 1.) While doing the whole arc in only 15 episodes leaves me with some concerns, original author Omori’s writing has tended to become a bit more bloated as it progressed, so I can see places where the adaptation might be sped along some. That is definitely what we see going on with episode 2.
The core story content of novel 16 is interspersed by some reflective monologue pieces, which the adaptation is clearly skipping. (And honestly, they would have been hard to fit in anyway.) This adaptation is also somewhat condensing some of the early set-up for the date of Syr, such as Hedin’s harsh training regimen for Bell to be the perfect date. Really, this is a great meta joke, since Bell is anything but a suave ladies’ man (and with all of the female attention he gets, he doesn’t need to be), but it does work for a while; he’s able to initially completely throw off Syr, who up to this point has pretty much always been the one in control of their relationship. She’s flustered, though whether more because Bell is acting odd for him or because he’s genuinely affecting her is hard to say. Does she actually want to be charmed by Bell? Or is his natural awkwardness part of the appeal for her?
Either way, Syr has always been implied to be extraordinarily clever, and that doesn’t fail her here. Bell is acting so perfectly towards her that she can’t gather herself (which was likely part of Hedin’s intent) until the unexpected – running across Ais – happens and distracts Bell enough for her to get her bearings. Ais’s reaction to this is easily one of the episode’s two funniest moment (the other being Daphne’s reactions to how Bell is acting towards Cassandra during his training), but ultimately that’s less important than how Syr takes advantage of this. The big twist, though, is what she asks of Bell when she finds out what’s going on.
And that brings up again who Syr is to Freya Familia. Mia clearly knows about it, and unlike others doesn’t seem the least bit intimidated by Freya Familia. (This is something that is elaborated on a bit more in the unadapted novel Familia Chronicle: Episode Lyu.) It’s a big enough deal that Hedin dodges elaborating when Bell – the person who most deserves to know – asks him about it, but he’s still putting a lot of effort into training Bell and a veritable horde of familia guards are lurking around her and Bell’s date. In other words, they’re treating her like she is Freya, even though we’ve seen her and Freya physically in the same place twice now and Freya’s words to Ottar early on also suggest they’re not one and the same. (And yet, the exact wording they’re using is a bit dodgy, isn’t it?) But in addition to being smart, Syr has never been one to follow anyone’s rules or expectations, and she clearly feels the overbearing protectiveness of Freya Familia to be stifling. Sure, the stakes are high for her based on her confrontation with Freya at the end of last episode, but she also wants to just go off and do her thing without constraints. Hence, asking Bell to “kidnap” her does not seem the slightest bit out of character despite how shocking that proposal might seem. She clearly doesn’t seem to care how much of a ruckus that’s going to make, either. But is Bell even capable of granting her wish? He may be level 4 now (and far along in that level, according to what Hestia said last episode), but does he have any chance of evading Freya Familia under these circumstances? Syr’s so cozy with Freya that she has to know that, and has to know that she’s asking a lot here.
Much more rapidly than I expected, this is getting to the point where familiarity with Episode Freya will make a difference in how viewers understand what’s going on here, especially based on the projected title for next episode. In fact, I recommend checking it out before next episode if you haven’t already. How Bell may or may not successfully run off with Syr isn’t the only detail looming here, either. Hestia is on the hunt for Bell, and it looks like Ais is getting dragged into that. If Bell does take up Syr on his request, that’s sure to make things messy as both Freya Familia forces and Hestia pursue, but things getting messy is pretty much the norm for this franchise, so I’m looking forward to seeing it play out in animated form.
Finally, on the visual front, Syr’s date outfit is an interesting choice. She looks great in it, but it’s also remarkably conservative, especially compared to the much sexier dress she was wearing when she met Freya. And boy, the series has certainly fallen in love with seeing the Maiden of Fertility hostesses changing, hasn’t it? Mind you, I’m not complaining about this, but it does increasingly feel like the series is trying to meet some fan service quota.
USA Anime 