While both episodes are covered together here, I felt I had enough to say specifically about each to write each one up separately.
Rating – Episode 12: A
Though its animation effort may have its flaws, DanMachi has always excelled above most other fantasy series in the dramatic staging of its fights and the emotions that its fights can carry. Ryu’s final confrontation with the Juggernaut near the end of season 4 perfectly captured both, and episode 12 of this season beautifully brings those strengths to the fore yet again, playing a big role in this being one of this installment’s strongest episodes.
And at the heart of it is Ryu, the Gale Wind. Even if the OP hadn’t spoiled it, her return in dramatic and timely fashion was an absolute given, since, narratively speaking, she had plenty of reasons to get involved. Yes, she’s in love with Bell, but that may be the least of the factors in play here. Freya hurt Ryu arguably more than anyone else, and more personally than anyone else, with her actions and words involving Syr, and it was pretty clearly deliberate, as if Freya were specifically trying to push her away. Freya Familia members had also gotten the better of Ryu more than once earlier this season. But even more than that, Ryu had faced a major personal reckoning in coming to terms with what happened to Astrea Familia last season, and one aspect of that had not yet been resolved: she had not gone back to Astrea. We see brief flashes of that reunion (which is detailed more fully in a side story that I don’t believe has yet been published in English), but it’s plenty enough to understand that Astrea not only welcomed her back but also came back specifically to allow Ryu to participate in the War Game, with her reconstituted familia as escort. Ryu also gets a new weapon and a massive status update; considering that it’s her first in several years and what all she has accomplished since then, an unprecedented double level-up isn’t a stretch at all. She was always one of Orario’s most capable adventurers, one just shy of being able to stand among the city’s true elite. Now she can.
But even that isn’t as significant as what else she gained. Her Luminous Wind has, predictably, become stronger with her new level, but she’s also picked up the new skill perfectly suited to her: Astrea Record, which allows her to call upon the abilities of her familia sisters who have passed on. Despite what Hermes says, the mechanic isn’t that much different in execution than Lefiya’s Elf Ring in Sword Oratoria, but seeing Astrea Record in action packs a far greater emotional punch. In particular, seeing Ryu use Alise Lovell’s signature power, Scarlet Harnel, to dance across the battlefield just feels so right, and Keiji Inai’s musical selection for the scene, which infuses the spirit of a traditional folk dance with just a touch of one of the franchise’s core dramatic themes, strikes the perfect note. Being an adherent of the Goddess of Justice obligates one to pursue justice, but rather than insist on a rigid interpretation of it, Astrea allows her followers to pursue their own ideal of justice. And that it what Ryu is delivering to Freya Familia – and Hegni in particular – in this episode.
For all that the animation may not be flawless, the animation team stillgoes all-out to make Ryu’s fight look dynamic. The way she dodges is especially impressive, as is the fluid flow as she weaves around both the battlefield in general and Hogni in particular. Ryu’s fighting style has always been portrayed as more graceful than brutal, and nowhere does that come through more clearly than here, as she literally glides around on flaming feet. She also shows the power to be convincing as a newly-minted Level 6, and frankly, I’m a fan of the ponytail, too.
But there are plenty of other little tidbits to appreciate here as well. Hogni and Ganesha Familia captain Shakti are far from the only ones who acknowledge what Astrea Familia accomplished; the public clearly remembers them, too, and their reaction to seeing public evidence of the return of one of that group’s heroes is one of yearning. (For more details on why, read the Astrea Record novel trilogy, now fully available from Yen Press.) Astrea also makes a personal appearance as she accepts her flower and joins the fight. Of the other two gods with her, one we already know as Demeter, and the lithe, well-built man is Njord, the Norse god of the sea and wind (and venerated by fishermen), who comes from the nearby port town of Melen; this is his debut in the main series, but he figures quite prominently in one of the Sword Oratoria novels. As to why they’re also getting involved? We’ll see next episode. We also get a brief cameo by Astrea’s new familia and a neat scene showing how puissant a combatant Takemikazuchi is; most gods are pushovers in a fight, but Freya Familia’s rank-and-file have trouble dealing with him even when going several-on-one. Seeing Daphne’s power in action is also neat, and hey, the episode doesn’t miss the chance for some casual fan service, too.
Bell may be getting the crap kicked out of him by Ottarl, and Allen may be leading a rampage through the hide-and-seek gods, but the bigger strategy here may be almost as neat as Ryu’s fights. Forcing Hogni to personally defeat so many foes plays against the same weakness Dix showed back during season 3: cursed weapons are nasty-strong, but they have side effects on the user, too, so the allies getting mowed down was actually a deliberate plan to make it possible to beat Hogni. And that seemed to play directly into Hedin’s plan, too, as he seemed to be waiting for the moment the allies proved capable of striking down one of the Freya Familia elites to make his own move. More about that next episode, but it’s a satisfying round-out to what was, overall, a stellar episode.
Rating – Episode 13: B+
This episode gets rated lower because it does not have anywhere near the same level of emotional impact as its predecessor, but it’s still a fun episode which allows a number of its second-tier and even third-tier characters to shine while also formally bringing a major new powerhouse into the fray. And oh, yes, it features newly-confident Ryu’s confession scene and Bell’s classic reaction to it.
But that’s actually a minor moment in what is otherwise a packed episode. On the Bell/Ottarl side, two new challengers enter the fray. One is Ryu, and the other is the action debut of Mia. We always knew she was an intimidating figure, and more recently we’ve learned that she’s a former leader of Freya Familia, and her actions here strongly suggest she’s a Level 6, too. Even if Ottarl insists that he’s the stronger one now, and she may not be able to beat him alone, she can still stand toe-to-toe with Ottarl in a slugfest, and all while wielding one damn tough shovel. But Ottarl, even aside from being the only Level 7 in Orario, is also the city’s mightiest physical powerhouse on physique alone. Can even two level 6s and a level 5 take him down? He certainly seems to have no qualms about facing all three. But the high points of that fight are reserved for next episode.
That’s because a lot is going on over on the other main fronts, too. Hedin has seemingly turned on Freya, only he, in typical arrogant Hedin fashion, claims he’s doing it out of his own interpretation of loyalty, rather than a true betrayal. He’s long given the sense that his true commitment is to what he’s interpreting Freya really wants, not what she says she wants, and he’s certainly planned well. This episode makes more clear that he scemed this all along if the fighting got to a certain point, with the trigger presumably being one of his elite brethren falling. That’s presumably a signal to him that the allies have the might necessary to pull off what he wants, and gee, isn’t it nice that Allen and Ottarl are nowhere in the vicinity? His ambitions can’t work if Freya’s healers – the true linchpins of the familia’s indomitability – aren’t taken out first, and he’s probably trusting the allied forces to take out the Bringars now that the healers and Hogni are out of the way. The arrival of the waitresses gives the allies the boost they need to deal with the brothers.
What follows is the truth about who really came to visit Anya a couple of episodes back (the anime nicely led the audience along on this point), how she gets convinced to join the fight, and just as importantly, what she can really do; how devastating her howl is reminds us that, as ridiculous as she normally seems, she is a mid-tier adventurer and has the strength and abilities to prove it. Anya’s not the only one who gets to show off her power. We also get to see Chloe’s magic, and the debut of Nahza’s spell, too (and is the first time the main series has revealed her artificial arm? I don’t recall), and the best look yet at Lunor’s physical martial arts might. The presence of Chloe and Lunor also explains why Demeter and Njord arrived last episode; they are the gods for the two waitresses even if neither waitress participates in the activities of their deities’ familia. (The circumstances of this are explained in detail in the novel and manga versions of Familia Chronicle – Episode Lyu.)
For all of the big action, though, two specific moments stand out for the bigger consequences they will generate. The longer-term consequence is Haruhime openly using her power. That won’t matter so much in this arc, but it’ll be a big problem down the road, since her security is predicated on as few people as possible knowing what she can really do. She may be weak individually, but her ability to level-boost multiple allies (even if only for a few minutes at a time) is a game-breaker when used strategically. The more immediate consequence is Mia’s words to Loki about Freya in a flashback, the same one which clarifies more specifically why Mia hasn’t stepped in before: that Syr, by Mia’s observation, represents Freya’s true heart. Horn knows this, Bell clearly suspects this, and Hedin’s actions this season make perfect sense if he has figured that out, too. Can’t rule out that Ottarl also understands this, though the anime version has provided less evidence of this. Most or all of Freya’s other followers idolize her too much and/or are too possessive of her to realize this, but it’s the key to nearly everything in play this season.
There are, of course, still two big hurdles for the allies. One is Ottarl, and the other is the swiftly-returning Allen. An Allen-Anya confrontation seems like, while the three-on-one vs. Ottarl will probably be next episode’s centerpiece. Sadly, we’ll have to wait until February 26th for episode 14, but at least it won’t be a month and a half wait this time.
USA Anime 