Samurai Flamenco #10—King Torture is the real deal after all. Once upon a time, he was that kid who liked the villains better than the heroes, and just like Masayoshi and Mari, he decided to live his dream. Nice and tidy! Except for the part about the substances not produceable with Earth technology…
Let’s take a moment to appreciate how far this has come since three episodes and five minutes ago. From those heady days of semi-inept heroes running around after purse snatchers, now we’ve come to Masayoshi revealing his secret identity. And Mari standing alone on stage, singing brokenly as she contemplates the wreckage of her dream. And aliens, time travelers, or somebody deeply science-fictional meddling in things.
But on the plus side, Hidenori Goto, romantic action hero! Rushing to the rescue, then stopping the imminent destruction of Tokyo armed only with a pink Hummer, and yet still stopping to check the text from his girlfriend! Every time I start wondering what the heck they were thinking calling this a comedy, there’s a moment like that.
And speaking of Goto’s girlfriend, every time we see another one of her uber-girly texts, my suspicions grow that there’s a big surprise waiting to be revealed there. Anyone want to make a guess about it?
Kill la Kill #11—The immediate question here is, why did Satsuki never tell Ryūko that she was looking to take vengeance on the wrong person? Perhaps Ryūko’s father really was killed on the orders of the Kiryūin clan, and Ryūko was just wrong about the identity of the assassin. Or perhaps the Kiryūins had nothing to do with it, and Satsuki was just amused by watching Ryūko get it wrong. Just as long as it doesn’t turn out to be because the writer needed an idiot plot to keep things going.
My bet on this next fight is that Nui wins, destroying Senketsu, and the second half of the show is about Ryūko learning the dark arts of tailoring in order to create her own Kamui garment.
Kyousougiga #9—At last, some proper explanation! Okay, so it’s not the Shintō gods after all, but one of those pantheons with the dutiful elder brother and the lazy and mischievous younger one. Although this is the first one to sit around quoting Lewis Carroll while the universe falls apart.
In the end, it’s all about Inari wanting to retire, it seems. First forcing Yakushimaru to become immortal, then leaving him to fend for himself in Looking-Glass Kyoto, and then coming back and deliberately destroying it, it’s all aimed at getting him to start actively using those magic beads to do whatever Inari’s assigned duty has been.
Next time, it’s time to see what kind of world he and the younger Koto build. Or is he going to find some escape clause to push the power back to Inari? I’m thinking probably not.
Galilei Donna #10—It’s all nice and sweet to see Hozuki and Galileo falling in puppy love as they build their fabulous flying machine, until you remember (a) dude, she’s in middle school, and (b) he’s her great-great-great-et-cetera-grandfather. Maybe one of the revelations in the last episode, when Hozuki gets to read Galileo’s last message to her, is that actually he didn’t have kids and her family folklore is a lie. Still, middle school!
Anyway, with the business of the mysterious lady sorted out and the mysterious substance in the amulet having served its purpose (if it’s going to solve the energy crisis, I guess that last message will have to have instructions about how to make more if it), it’s time for a tidy denoument next week!
