GATE has a satisfying finish to the dragon arc and still has time to get busy with new ones. In fact, it was a let-down when I found episode 16’s first bit was a bunny girl singing a happy song before being told to kill Noriko. I wanted to get on with the dragon. But the show managed to lessen my disappointment by throwing in a cute scene where Delilah, the bunny warrior (Sorry, the concept makes me laugh) and Noriko discuss ways to kill her without pain. And the fallout wasn’t bad either. Tyuule is working undercover to destroy the empire but Delilah thinks she’s a turncoat. Some nice future content there.
But we finally get to the dragon, rather, more of a plot device to get Tuka’s head on straight again. Some fighter jets test the dragon’s abilities, unbeknownst to Youji, and the order is given to provide backup. Why they couldn’t do that upfront is mystery to me. Yes, Youji didn’t want others involved, but he has no say in it. Anyway, it sets up a “here comes the cavalry” scene in episode 17, ironically, after the dragon was already dead. The show was smart enough to have the main characters do the heroics, especially Tuka.
Episode 17 has one of those scenes where locals (here, the dark elf warriors), are trained to use sophisticated modern weaponry and totally screw it up when the time comes. Should have seen that coming. But it’s set up nicely, Youji has a plastic explosive trap laid out but they can’t tell where the dragon is because Rory’s com link can’t get through the rock. So it’s a lot of scrambling and improper use of missile launchers or whatever they are. Another nice touch of the show to have the magical local characters strike the first effective blows against the dragon, especially when they were all convinced they couldn’t hurt the damn thing. Youji’s plastic explosives are almost an afterthought, and ignited by some errant magic.
But, wow, this show moves fast. They’re still catching their breath when another plot thing kicks in, this time with Giselle, one of Hardy’s apostles (Hardy gets a lot of mentions these two episodes) who’s ordered to bring Rory with her for marriage, and we learn what Rory thinks about that. Yay, another plotline for the future! It all leads to ANOTHER dragon battle, but, as I said, it’s cavalry time and that’s that. Well, I think they’ve got enough stuff lined up for the rest of the season. Which will they do first, or will they do them all at once? The preview shows a lot of politicing and hiding behind bushes. I suppose you can’t blow up a dragon every week.
And again, another episode in a series I haven’t posted yet comes along. Okay … Gate 18 splits things up. Youji goes off to look for resources while Sugawara and the new ambassador Shirayuri schmooze with the empire to get the peace talks moving along. But Tyuule … wait, did she order that poison or not? She says to hold off but to get something for her, rather ambiguous. But what is her game, anyway? She wants revenge on the Empire, and especially Zolzal, so poisoning the emperor, asshole though he may be, and putting Zolzal in charge, seems counterproductive. But Z’s an easily manipulated tool, so she might have broader schemes in mind. Elsewhere it was nothing much. A cute look at the magical town of whatever where Lily, sorry, Lelei, is going to defend her dissertation. The town is the episode’s title, but nothing much seems to be happening there …
In Nurse Witch Komugi-chan R 4, the strangest thing happens. Komugi enters a ninja contest … and she wins! She trained hard and it paid off! The arrival of another monster does NOT keep her from success! Not only that, she not only wins but she defeats the monster and claims the card, and the other two girls were around, too! Komugi does not screw up in any way! How refreshing.
Episode 5 continues this thought. Sure, Komugi flunked a midterm, but she studied hard after that and passed. The rest of the episode was both dull and strange, dull with Tsukasa’s “I’m alone with (that guy. Can’t remember his name),” complete with fall and hand-on-tit business, and strange because Komugi gets called out of her English test only to find Kokona already dispatching it. Even the characters wonder why Komugi bothered …
And episode 6 was the inevitable swimsuit episode. Nothing more to say, except that the drama show they filmed early on wasn’t bad (the shows within this show are sometimes the best parts), and why did Tsukasa reveal her secret to Komugi at the end when she didn’t have to? Well, who cares?
Too Old for Anime 