Episode Rating: A-
Series Rating: B+
We’ve seen this franchise do massed battles featuring all of the characters for its climaxes three times before (including the movie), so how can the franchise mix that up? By making the climactic battle a musical, of course!
Technically this is just following up from episode 10, where Class 2 members were fighting off the invading critters while still performing, but this battle pulls out all the stops. The whole class is singing what sounds like a graduation song, Class 1 members provide instrumental backing (including some rock guitar by Reinhard and legit head-banging by Delta, Raphtalia, and Naofumi!), Shadow does a new group version of his “I Am Atomic” while playing the piano, and Ains goes through a ridiculously long self-buffing routine while the rest around him are singing. (He commonly casts a string of self-buffs in his series.) Members from all four series get to shine in the battle, whether it’s the flying assault of Tanya’s forces, Kazuma’s archery and energy drains, Beatrice throwing up a shield, Emilia and Aqua teaming up on an ice slide and exorcism, or any of a number of other littler details going on. (Megumin is trying and failing to get her Explosion to go off in the background at one point, for instance.) It’s a gloriously busy battle, all without breaking stride on the song.
But it all has to come to an end, and Class 2 wins the button, while the Seven Shadows realize that Class 2 was never the enemy. One could say that the button not working in the end is a complete cop-out, but did any viewer actually expect that it would? Roswaal’s statement when he gives Ains the button – “I pray that it ends in the result that you, and I, want” – is telling here, and Ains’ somewhat ironically saying “so that’s it” afterwards (because this time he actually does get it) – indicates that he understood perfectly what Roswaal meant. Though some of the gang do have reasons to return to their source worlds, none of them truly dislike their life here. And the main part of the episode ending with the “smirk crew” getting together is an amusing way to finish.
The one flaw in this episode is a technical one on Crunchyroll’s part: one line of Kazuma’s dialog at the 10:39 marked isn’t subtitled.
The episode doesn’t shirk from having a final bit of fun with its closer, either, by tossing various characters into assorted movie references. Let’s take a look at these in order:
#1: Maybe a reference to the beach scene in Apocalypse Now? Not 100% sure about this one.
#2 – Clearly referring to various scenes from Titanic, including having some of the string players from earlier in the episode take on the roles of the ones playing as the boat sank. (And a couple of people diving off the boat in the bottom right corner!)
#3: Undoubtedly a Raiders of the Lost Arc reference, with Kazuma absolutely being the most fit for the Indiana Jones role here.
#4: The Shining, with Betelgeuse being the perfect character for the famous “Here’s Johnny!” scene.
#5: Saturday Night Fever, with Subaru being a perfect fit for the John Travolta character.
#6: This is the other one I’m not sure about. Maybe a more abstract reference to the 2001 thriller Swordfish, where some of the most important scenes did take place in an airport?
#7: The Empire Strikes Back, with the Death Knight being a fitting Darth Vader stand-in. (Naofumi is an interesting choice for Luke Skywalker here.)
#8: Planet of the Apes (the original), with Tanya somehow feeling like a fitting choice for Charlton Heston’s character.
#9: Definitely one of the Mad Max movies; given Demi-Urge playing the guitar on the one vehicle, they may be going for Thunder Road here.
#10: Most likely Armageddon.
#11: Stand By Me.
In all, this series has been a blast, and I would happily be back for more if more is ever made.
USA Anime 