Rating: A-
Last episode I mentioned that Methode was the one character present whose background hadn’t been established to some degree. While this episode only touches on it briefly, it’s enough to make it an integral part of how her segment of the three-part battle plays out and explain at least a bit about why Methode is the way she is. (Except for the glomping on cute things part. That’s just her.)
Essentially, Methode’s background is most similar to Stark’s: she’s from a village of warriors, only hers was laser-focused on combating demons. Unlike Stark, though, there’s a heavy implication here that she left by choice, most likely because she found her village’s singular focus to be too limiting, especially when it comes to magic. She’s used a wider array of magic than most of the mages we’ve seen so far, and one brief comment this episode suggests that she’s somewhat like Frieren in enjoying the diversity that magic can offer. Because of that, she doesn’t match up well with a fundamentally rock-solid opponent, but she also knows she doesn’t need to; eliminating an obstruction for an ally who’s far better-suited for dealing with such an opponent is more effective. Probably my favorite moment in the episode is her line about how someone else from her village probably couldn’t have won this fight because, ironically, they would have been too over-specialized in combat to deal with something like the other demon’s fog.
That is the pivotal moment in two of the three fights featured this episode. Fern was stuck in an especially bad match-up for her, but take away the magical location-sensing fog constraining her and she makes almost laughably short work of the two teenage-looking demons; I daresay that there are few demons who could defend against a long-range Zoltraak from a hidden position. She’s not the only one who got to show off, though, as Methode also had some slick, even acrobatic moves of her own.
Both of those fights are relatively simple compared to the Stark/Genau battle against Revolte. Seeing a fantasy battle where an inhuman foe fully uses all of their form’s capabilities is a real joy, and Revolte certainly proves why he was a menace to almost anyone else. But the Genau/Stark teamwork was the real highlight of this one. Neither was beating Revolte without the other, and they both instinctively seemed to understand that. The battle teaching Genau both that he isn’t as heartless as he’d like to think and that Stark is worthy of his respect in battle are also nice touches.
Ultimately, though, the episode’s greatest strength is how well it organized and managed these battles. This was a masterwork in shifting back and forth between the battles and keeping everyone involved, and that’s without factoring in the sterling animation and musical efforts. This was an impressive set of battles.
Methode and Genau were both minor characters who didn’t make much of a lasting impression during the First-Class Mage Exams arc, but this three-episode arc definitely raised their merits. The active cast of this series is deeper and richer for it.
USA Anime 