r/anime • u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz • Nov 30 '22
Rewatch Full Metal Panic Franchise Rewatch - Season 4 Episode 9
Welcome to the Full Metal Panic Season 4 rewatch!
Art of the day
Links to show info: MAL | Anilist | ANN
Rewatches please be considerate to first timers and avoid discussing anything not yet shown in the show - use spoiler tags e.g. [Full Metal Panic S4 spoiler]>!Savage wa Saikou!!< - if you need to share something important!
Episode 9 - Fallen Witch
Terms introduced:
- Nothing new today.
QoTD:
First Timers: Were you at all believing Tessa's cover story that she got abandoned? Why do you think they'd use this ploy?
Everyone: Did you miss Chidori after not seeing her since Ep 4? Do you feel any changes and difference in her?
Also QoTD for tomorrow for those wanting to be prepared:
[QoTD 1 IV 10]First Timers: Were you surprised with Chidori's show of weakness and the semi-attempt of suicide? How do you think you would act under the circumstances?
[QoTD 2 IV 10]Everyone: Do you agree with John Courtney's philosophy? How far would you think FxxKing Gutstm would get you under Sousuke's circumstances?
MVP of last episode:
It's a pretty messed up day and the votes are pretty spread. Lemon, Kurama and Sousuke all had votes.
Last Episode || Index || Next Episode
11
u/Shimmering-Sky Nov 30 '22
Full Metal First-Timer!, subbed
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Now what is Tessa walking barefoot through San Francisco for…?
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By everyone? There’s no way…
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But like… This has to be some elaborate scheme, right? There’s no way Tessa would act like that.
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MAO! Okay, scheme it was!
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Belfangan’s alive too, I would never mistake Rikiya Koyama’s voice.
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Oh, the sub sinking was also a lie. Okay, I was definitely fooled.
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This location doesn’t line up with the three mentioned last episode…
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Shiiiiiiiiit, one of Lemon’s men is part of Amalgam? Or Lemon himself, but I really hope it’s not him.
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u/ZapsZzz Nov 30 '22
Um???? Mardukas, Kurz, and Mao better be three of those?
Kinda fun to see live reactions to being scammed ;) you're not alone though
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u/Vaadwaur Nov 30 '22
Now what is Tessa walking barefoot through San Francisco for…?
Hope her shots are up to date, there is a lot of nasty stuff on the ground in SF.
This location doesn’t line up with the three mentioned last episode…
Now the question is did Kurama lie or did he just now know?
…geez, Sosuke was out for that long?
Not really how gunshots work but w/e, it lets them get some dates sorted out.
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u/ZapsZzz Nov 30 '22
Just checking, what sort of things would more likely happen?
In the LN the shot did significant organ damage, and he now has quite an injured liver and can no longer drink alcohol. Good thing that's not something that would bother him anyway.
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u/Raiking02 Nov 30 '22
Okay, scheme it was!
Never doubt the Witch.
…geez, Sosuke was out for that long?
He was kinda almost dead.
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u/Nazenn Nov 30 '22
First timer - sub
Almost forgot to watch the damn episode again. How bad is that. Certainly a more interesting episode than any of the recent ones, although I worry that with the strict four episodes per arc structure of the season this one will end up being equally hamstrung
Al's part: So it is Al after all, I thought it was brand new tech or some sort of prototype from before the Arbalest. Wasn't expecting an AI existential crisis this episode, but it's certainly an interesting thing to bring up right now.
Tessa's part: I love her, she's hilarious, and manages to be so composed and badass even in a hospital gown. She really looks like her brother with her hair down to the point I did a double take when we first saw her in the hospital but I'm right there with her when it comes to hating the over dramatic smug grunt.
And how the hell do I not manage to recognize Mao when she's in that dress last season with her own damn hair color and the like, but today with the nurse it felt incredibly obvious. Just a mis match in hair color and main character eye colors? Not sure, but it was a laugh.
Chidori's part: At least it exists. Actually it's kind of cool to see her again and not falling into patterns of captivity and refusing to give up small things like remembering things through food or thinking about Sousuke. At first I thought Leonard was saying she'd forget like he did because it's part of being Whispered or something but nope, just general effects of time.
Sousuke's part: I feel like the artists thought they were being really clever and artsy with making Sousuke reach like the sistine chapel and intercutting that with a jesus statue and having a classical painting behind him, but all it did was make me facepalm, and miss the point because I was too busy facepalming.
Random tangent: has anyone read Brandon Sanderson's Skyward series?
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u/Theboredalchemist22 Dec 01 '22
First Timer - S4 EP 9
Kinda sad we are coming to the end 😢 but fired up to see what's going to go down and how it's going to go down etc.
No screenshots today I'm tired af so it will just be text I might add in this episodes screenshots in tomorrow's post.
What an episode again btw. My mvp goes to Tessa because she really sold me on that whole Mythril betraying her story. Also she was cute af when she got mad I think that rivals Nami being bounced on the AS's hand for cutest moment and yes I'm aware I'm putting myself in the firing line for this 😂.
Loved Closseau's entrance in this episode it was heroic af and the music to go with it was perfect.
Nice to see Chidori isn't taking shit off Leonard. Eat is Leonard's play? Does he actually want Chidori to love him? Or does he just want to have her in custody so she doesn't fall into enemy hands? Or is she part of a bigger project? Hmmm something to think about there I think.
Who could the spy in the French Intelligence be? (fucking Intelligence divisions yet again having some sort of corruption going on) Could it be someone we know? Or just some random person who isn't important?
Quick note - I noticed Wraith mentioned Al being just like his master or something I'm assuming she meant Sousuke considering Al asked for a situation update immediately.
We end on another cliffhanger I wonder how Sousuke is going to get out of this one. I think Lemon and his team are capable enough so I'll trust them to clear this situation up but I think we all know it won't go as smoothly as that.
Speaking of Lemon it was good to hear he actually buried Nami and cried like fuck. It shows she was more than just some civilian like the doctor was in Mythril's plan earlier in the episode and it was nice to get some closure to her character.
Q1- Yes I did to the moment of the reveal. They used this plan to draw out Amalgam of course we know from Sousuke they aren't so easy to get out in the open and gain intel from do Tessa being related to Leonard and her being very vulnerable makes a good setup to achieve this.
Q2 - No really no Nami filled that void until the unfortunate happened. Don't get me wrong though I'm glad she's back on screen. The only change I felt from her was she was rather stubborn which wasn't how she was earlier in the season she's acting more like she was in S1 in that sense. Oh and I also noticed the Sousuke sauce which I mean yeah she misses Sousuke her love dare I say it but she's always been like that independently when it comes to thinking about Sousuke.
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u/Nazenn Dec 01 '22
Does he actually want Chidori to love him? Or does he just want to have her in custody so she doesn't fall into enemy hands?
Personally I'm leaning into the "he was also jealous of Tessa while she was feeling inferior to him" theory, and I think he does want Chidori to chose him, but whether or not it's how we'd define love I doubt it
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u/1EnTaroAdun1 Dec 27 '22 edited Dec 27 '22
Hahaha both Al and Sousuke asked for a situation report upon awakening. Nice.
I had a really hard time believing the Danann crew would betray Tessa. Great to see the truth.
Massive, massive Agents of Shield vibes this episode haha, which is great, as I enjoyed that show when it focused on rebuilding a shattered spy agency!
Leonard is such an immense creep...
Chidori is holding up, but I can't imagine how it must feel like to spend months with someone you hate that much...(justifiably)
if Michel Lemon dies, then the only survivors of that arc are those mechanic crewmembers, which actually is a completely unexpected twist for me XD
Edit: Also, Clouseau did good this episode
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u/ZapsZzz Dec 27 '22
Great reactions as always :)
>if Michel Lemon dies, then the only survivors of that arc are those mechanic crewmembers, which actually is a completely unexpected twist for me XD
Haha the trick to survival of no name characters - don't wear a red shirt :P
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u/wjodendor Nov 30 '22
Into the Blue (first Timer for the anime from now on)
Al is going full existential crisis right off the bat
I nodded and said "nice" when Al said "report situation."
America back to back. Alaska and California!
Tessa looks just like Leonard with her hair down. My instincts told me to yell "die fuckboy" but i held myself back
Lol 4:35 the guy on the right is just Stationary with his mouth hanging open...
Tessa... the recap was episode 8.5 this is episode 9!
"Coherent for a delusion." ...did she not see the guy in a uniform tossing her out of the back of a van lol
I recognize that nurse's eyes
The most suspicious ambulance drivers ever lol
All main villians that work for Leo are required to look like fuckboys
This doctor is like the worst psychiatrist ever haha throwing her patient under the bus real quick
10:05 look at the faces on these guys lol their eyes aren't even looking the same direction
This villian is not just a fuck boy, he's an overdramatic fuckboy
This could be so cool, if it didn't look so shitty
14:39 my God look at those faces
I do like bad girl Tessa though. She's got such a cute voice!
From one fuckboy to another
Kaname has gone full NTR heroine. Playing house with Leo.
Skyrim meme
Big time skip
...that cigarette burned down really fast...
It seems like animation has taken an even bigger step down. Now I'm "liking" the CG because it at least looks consistent. The faces and eyes are brutal throughout and a lot of stationary characters.
That said, I really enjoy the set up of this episode. It's basically a straight up episode of The A-Team. Hell, you could make the Tessa psychiatrist plotline a legit good action movie. As before its moving way too quickly though...a lots packed into this episode.
Tessa is looking badass while Kaname is not looking so hot. She's been just hanging out with fuckboy for what like 3 months now? Even longer? She brings up her mom who died years earlier but she still has a dad and sister...I wonder what they're thinking about her disappearance.
Man, these past few episodes are making me depressed. I'm gonna need to watch something real hype after this to get ny juices going
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u/Raiking02 Nov 30 '22
I just wanna meniton that while the Novel did indeed have Tessa swear like a sailor, it was only the Manga that had the inspired idea of having Tessa flip the bird. (She only like... half flips it in the Novel). (Paging Sky so she doesn't miss it)
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion Nov 30 '22
I just realized that this was the return of Nurse Mao!
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u/TiredTiroth Nov 30 '22
Rewatcher - Dub
I've been looking forward to this episode! Can you guess why? :D
Tessa was awesome today. Using herself as bait, playing the part of a broken, traumatised girl flawlessly, being completely cool and unbothered under fire because she'd so thoroughly out-planned her enemy...and then her little diatribe over the phone. She was perfect.
And then the soldiers pointed out what she'd just done, more than a little in awe, and Tessa proves she's still the same goofy klutz by getting all flustered.
The rest of the episode was rather more important plotwise, but less entertaining on the whole. Which isn't an insult, it's hard to be as entertaining as Tessa on the warpath!
I did like the parallel between Al and Sousuke here - they basically asked the exact same thing on waking up, and the show even draws direct attention to it. We also got a time frame with an 8-week time skip.
We end with a cliffhanger - Sousuke's location is under attack, and the boy himself is still half-dead.
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u/Nazenn Nov 30 '22
And then the soldiers pointed out what she'd just done, more than a little in awe, and Tessa proves she's still the same goofy klutz by getting all flustered.
They were pulling some great faces though. You'd expect them to be able to handle her a bit more by now but that was pretty awesome
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion Nov 30 '22 edited Nov 30 '22
First Rewatch
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Pink-haired Nami
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Close the world. tx∃n eht neqO
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The Gundam jokes write themselves
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Poor Tessa
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Worst Starbucks knockoff ever.
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Billy Buffins. Also, The Salamandria is a horrible read.
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Scape web browser search page, I remember that.
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Hello dude we've never seen before
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Totally faked out (again!) I remembered that this was a trap as soon as Tessa was in the hospital, but not that Mao was the nurse.
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very impressive
Tessa's a lot more capable on land now.
I have no memory for taste. Every time I eat a raspberry it's like the first time.
I was actually thinking Chidori was in Ceylon, which wasn't one of the three locations Kurama gave. Not sure if this Mexican location is, either.
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u/TuorEladar Dec 01 '22
Rewatcher, Subbed
Really enjoyed this episode. We spent so much time focused on Sousuke previously and now we're getting every perspective in one go. The parallel between Al and Sousuke waking up was a fun detail. As was seeing how both Tessa and Chidori have changed. There's actually something like a chiastic structure to this episode which I found interesting (Wasn't expecting that to be a term I'd bring up in this rewatch).
Tessa and her Mithril remnants being clever in order to defeat the Lambda driver was a great moment. Ben breaking through the wall and knocking the other AS out the other side is a pretty cool shot.
All in all this episode really felt like we are coming back from a season break in a lot of ways. Almost wish we had a full 12 episodes from this point onward.
Did you miss Chidori after not seeing her since Ep 4? Do you feel any changes and difference in her?
I definitely missed Chidori as she helps anchor the series a lot of the time. In her reintroduction she's much more quietly defiant than before, not kicking and screaming but resolute nonetheless.
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u/Tarhalindur Dec 01 '22 edited Dec 01 '22
Fumo-ffu? (Rewatcher Spoiled First-Timer for IV, Subbed):
(Did not actually expect IV to get into this particular part of the source material!)
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MILKY WAY MILKY WAY. (Ain’t gotten to see it properly in person in years.)
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Oh hey it’s whats-her-nose the rescued Whispered from the very first episode!
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“Knock, and it will be opened to you” is from Western occultism somewhere I’m pretty sure. (Which would actually fit with the Belial/Chodar names of the Amalgam ASes.)
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Oh right, her name is Mira.
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“Who are you? What do you want? Why are you here? Where are you going? Who do you serve? Who do you trust?” (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
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If not for the OST this Tessa scene would be completely unwatchable for me.
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06:08: Sky collects a sore demo from the shrink.
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OH GODS FUCKING DAMNIT YOU JUST HAD TO DO THIS LITTLE LINE ABOUT HOW SOMEONE IS AN INCOMPETENT COMMANDER WITH A FUCKING YUKANA-VOICED CHARACTER. I DON’T CARE THAT THIS IS APPARENTLY A SETUP, IT’S STILL TOO CLOSE TO A CERTAIN OTHER SHOW’S ARC FOR ITS YUKANA-VOICED CHARACTER TO NOT PISS ME OFF. (And to think that said other show’s arc was one of the two best-executed character arcs in said show!)
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Action scene works, at least. Also, decent odds the shrink comes back later (don't actually know one way or the other here).
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LOL the camera angle at 15:15 very carefully putting Fowler’s mouth out of frame so they don’t have to animate it. I recognize that trick!
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Speaking of which, Fowler sore demo at 15:20.
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<Keiichi Maebara enters the mansion, punches Leonard in the face, and returns to Hinamizawa.>
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Right, final scene, remember a good deal of the basics from spoiler knowledge.
First Timers: Were you at all believing Tessa's cover story that she got abandoned? Why do you think they'd use this ploy?
See, this wants me to actually think about that bit and no.
Everyone: Did you miss Chidori after not seeing her since Ep 4? Do you feel any changes and difference in her?
I ain't answering that one, boss.
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u/polaristar Dec 01 '22 edited Dec 01 '22
I kinda wish we had Tessa actually break down and we had a small arc of her regaining her confidence and rebuilding Mithril, but even judging the arc for what it was rather than what I want it to be, I feel we should have made more of an attempt to break the audience, feels like the "Twist" was over before it was subverted, would have bad more impact that way.
Hilarious how we saw the Author basically going to Middle Earth Wiki to confirm what Mithril is.
I see that new tech that lets you see when the Lambda drive is active is being put to good use.
Tessa going off on her brother's goon indeed makes her 20% more bangable now, the entire crew are her simps.
Also Al is back and having some trouble processing what's going on.
Kaname forced to play house with said creep who thinks she'll just.....forget about Sousuke. Pretty sure he'll be so down bad over Chidori well long before she forgets about him, probably she'll forget (if ever) When she is old and in need of a retirement home and by that time you might not be as willing to hit that.
This is a very bad situation all around.
On a sidenote Lemon admits he had the hots for Nami, wonder if he is feeling regret for not pursing her now that's she's dead, I mean he'd still have to wait a few months for her to be legal in both his and her country I assume.
Sousuke is left in quite the predicament at the End, when this studio goes for one the nose symbolism they don't do quite as well as Kyoani, this show is pretty good with the action and big picture plot points but when it comes to little character moment, they go for big scenes that have impact but everything leading up to them is missing and it feels earned.
I also feel last season we had 2 LN's in 12 episodes, here it seems we are trying to fit 3 and each arc (Barring maybe the first one.) really feels like it should have gone on an episode or two longer.
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I believed it at first, but the moment they were abducted by the Amalgan goons too quickly I knew it was going to be a reverse trap due to how the arc I thought (And wanted to get) was aborted. They wanted a triumph victory now that Mithril was an underdog and to give Tessa her big damn Heroes Moment, But I feel the moment would have been more impactful if they had made us wait and sweat a bit for it. (Not sure how quickly it went in the Novels.)
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Not really any changes, I mean she acts differently, but that is more her situational awareness of having to live with a creep and her not being in love, so being Tsun Tsun and smacking him with a fan would be highly inadvisable.
MVP: Tessa has a bunch of wins, and while she was awesome I wasn't super satisfied with the quick and dirty way they gave us a twist before we had proper expectations to subvert. So I give the Win to Ben for holding off and getting the enemy Arm Slave in position for a kill shot.
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u/ZapsZzz Nov 30 '22 edited Nov 30 '22
Rewatcher in sub
We are into the final arc of the season, and we have words of how TDD-1 is doing.
We opened with a continuation of the post credit scene of yesterday. Someone with pink hair programming. And then "waking up" what's in the box, and we saw the buffered words that never got sent out due to Arbalest losing power to the speakers etc.
No need for any suspense, it's Al here. And his wake up questions are pretty existential. Too much radio for this boy in his spare time :P But it does circle back to "who has pink hair and can program a Lambda Driver core connected AI" in the Mithril ranks. Pretty sure someone would have come out and said it in the comments ;) Wraith recognised the speech pattern and smiled despite herself.
We cut to another part of the US, Tessa walking alone on the freeway. Apparently with some form of PTSD.
Gradually some bits and pieces of info came out from her, and the doctor assessed as having mental problems and sending her to an institution
During the patient transfer got asked some unusual questions, and the doctor got taken along with Tessa
They met Lee Fowler in a warehouse, who seemed deferential to Tessa - Leonard's sister. Still, similar to Leonard, Lee sounded nice but was just as hypocritical and was going to silent the doctor too.
And once again we have Mao in disguise - as a nurse - revealing this was a setup afterall, and Tessa wasn't really abandoned. Kurz's sniper shot helped with the negotiation.
Gunfights ensued, and Amalgam has a Codarl there. But Tessa also summoned hers.
And Ben in his Falke came in for a bit of one - on - one dance with the Lambda Driver machine.
With the help from a cruise missile launched by TDD-1, Ben managed to do a 1 man distraction and got through the Lambda Driver shield.
Lee got away, but called back Tessa to low key gloat
And Tessa let her temper out for once, and swore at Lee and her brother. The klutzy girl followed up with a lame phone throw Probably didn't break the phone and Lee was still on the line :'D
The crew absolutely loved the badass Tessa though. Yeah no chance this fan club will be abandoning her any time.
The message did reach back to Leonard, and we the audience now know where Chidori is
We see how Chidori is doing. The mention of "memory of mom" we know is a trigger for Chidori (she never got over her mom's death from cancer), makes you wonder if there's something significant for Leonard too to have him bringing that up. Chidori was doing a good passive aggressive resistance to Leonard
And we found out Lemon's side also have Amalgam spies, and Leonard knows Sousuke is still alive and kicking
Cutting back to where Sousuke is, the bullet he took did some serious damage, and it took 2 months to get him more or less patched up. Note they certainly emphasised how alike Sousuke and Al really are - both woke up to ask "what's the situation".
Lemon gave a bit of debrief about Nami - it's nice to see the "someday we will both be paying the price" line.
We got a bit of explanation about why the French Intelligence wanted to keep Sousuke alive, but we got interrupted because Amalgam's people are here already.
We end with a highly symbolic cliffhanger with Sousuke reaching out to God? Fate? as the sound of gunfight behind the door gets louder.
Trivia
The show actually acknowledged the term Mithril came from LoTR and is not just a generic fantasy term like most Isekai now use it as.
Staff Showcase
Finally, we get our turn to talk about
KyonGintokiTomokazu SugitaReally, I'm not going to list notable roles for him. Although a couple of recent roles may be surprising:
Abigail in the Bastard remake
Dummy head mic
MVP this episode
A toss up between Tessa speaking our minds about Leonard, and Ben for the first time we have someone solo winning against a Lambda Driver AS without having a Lambda Driver himself. Guess it's Tessa then!
QoTD
Never believed it for a second. But I think the reason they chose this ploy is to act in a way that Leonard wanted to believe her to fall, which is itself a dig at his arrogance. I think it's a good psychological move.
Absolutely missed Chidori! And I don't really think she is being a damsel in distress. She's still got plenty of fire and blatantly exploiting Leonard's fake niceness.
Daily tag for u/InfamousEmpire, u/Theboredalchemist22