Rating: B
One thing that this franchise is not known for is being plot-intensive; while it does have writing continuity from episode to episode, it rarely has much of anything for an ongoing plot outside of the movie – and even then the plot is pretty thin. That’s why it’s a bit surprising to see one actually develop in the late stages of this episode. The rarely-used epilogue is setting up circumstances that will ensure plenty of chaos coming very soon. And of course, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
In retrospect, I probably should have seen this coming. The Seven Shadows formed around Shadow in large part because he convinced them with his BS that an evil organization called the Cult of Diablos was afoot in their world and either directly or indirectly responsible for both their own personal suffering and circumstances and all manner of manipulation and evil in general. The running joke/irony in their series is that the cult is actually real and doing everything Cid/Shadow claimed it was, and the girls are all much more aware of that than Shadow is, so they don’t treat his BS as gospel just out of blind devotion. They have also all suffered personal harm and loss of their previous lives from the cult’s machinations, so they’re plenty devoted to the cause even without taking loyalty to Shadow into account. Hence it’s completely in character for them (especially Alpha) to take any references to dark powers or devils very seriously. And in this setting you’ve got Ains, the “ruler of darkness,” and Tanya, who is regularly referred to as a devil behind her back by both the teacher Rerugen and her enemies in her setting. (“The Devil of the Rhine” is her semi-official nickname.) And Alpha was getting along so cordially with Tanya earlier in the episode, too. . .
That whole epilogue scene is even more loaded than that, though. What Shadow says to the Seven Shadows is his standard vaguely-worded theatrical BS, which the girls interpret however they like (and seeds have literally been planted of late, so there’s plenty for them to work with here). One significant detail here is that purple-haired Eta – the group’s resident scientific genius, who almost never speaks in her source series – actually gets a whole line of dialog. Another is that Delta carries off Gamma when the Seven Shadows depart from the tree; this is an oblique reference to how utterly clumsy Gamma is. (She’s the business brains and face of the group, and one of the most powerful members magically, but so physically inept that she often trips going down stairs.) Delta, meanwhile, is her polar opposite: the most physically capable of the bunch but also every bit the simpleton she’s shown to be here.
While that’s easily the episode’s most important scene, it’s hardly the only thing going on this episode. Tanya’s always been a “leave no stone unturned” type, so her spearheading the effort to learn about the mysterious Shadow is completely in character. Alpha wasn’t lying or even stretching the truth when she told Tanya that Cid Kagenou isn’t their comrade, either; the Seven Shadows revere Shadow and so regard him as being above their level, an object of devotion rather than a compatriot. In this episode’s edition of “characters from different series being in sync,” Alpha and Raphtalia show what they have in common: wanting to be more useful to the lead male character in the series (whom they love) and lamenting that they can’t stand as equals with them. It’s also a reminder that, of the six series now featured here, Tanya is the only female lead in the bunch and the only one with mostly male subordinates. (Except for the walking stomach that is Serebryakov, of course; that joke continues here, too.) And yes, CZ2128 Delta is enamored with cute things in her source series, too, so her adoring Filo is completely in character.
Compared to all of that, the business about the morning glories needing to be transplanted is just an excuse for a bunch of characters from different series to interacti, as is the picnic meeting. (And of course the plants got out of hand given the personnel involved. Totally saw that one coming!) My favorite moment from these scenes was Weiss calling out Ram as hypocritical for complaining about Aqua acting arrogantly, and Ram not exactly denying it.
Overall, this episode is far being one of franchise’s funniest or craziest episodes, but it still has plenty enough going on to be sufficiently entertaining.
USA Anime 