天下制覇

Juri, you are the best thing about this show and I will miss you.

Impressions:

Man, why couldn’t the entire series have been like this episode? Well, minus Tomokazu Seki, but I think I’ve irrationally ranted enough about him lately. Shinozuka actually fought this episode instead of just teleporting around, Kotoha chanted out a massive tank weapon, Juri bodyflopped and then straddled Hime, Yae got to pretend to be cuisinart hood ornament, Kyosuke tried to hit people with the street, and random mobs fought goo monsters. There’s nothing sillier than seeing random people clinging to a goo monster’s head while other people wail on its legs with a shovel. Actually, I think the proportions on the Kotoha eyecatch this episode were probably sillier, but that’s more easily ignored than mobs on goo.

I also really liked that they just briefly and succinctly dealt with Kyosuke’s backstory here. No long flashbacks, no needless exposition, just a quick aside to show why he cares about Hime and Touka as much as he does. Enjin hanging out on the Tokyo Tower Not-The-Tokyo-Tower was a bit over dramatic and silly, though I loved Kotoha’s bits. Of course, in true Clamp Not-Clamp fashion, they blew it up. The moment they showed Enjin sitting on it, I knew the poor thing was doomed. Damn you, Clamp… setting the precident for the doom of our anime towers!

Brief Summary:

The remaining guardians split up, Kyosuke and Akina will go on the attack while Ao and Kotoha try to track down Enjin. Kyosuke starts out by saving ol’ whose-his-face the old guy from one of the goo monsters. Kyosuke flashes back briefly to protecting Touka in the woods when Hime found them and welcomed them to the city, and that’s why he’s determined to not fail her. Meanwhile, Ao directs leads them on to one of the pillars, avoiding the shadows on the way. Hime’s still recovering, and tries to leave, but Juri bodyflops on her and tries to pin her down. When Hime keeps struggling, Juri headbutts her into unconsciousness.

Back on the battlefield, Akina finishes off the goo monster and then destroys a shadow with his power, but it clearly takes a lot out of him. Kyosuke yells at him to be more careful in a gesture of tsundere battlefield love, but they’re interrupted by a thrown vending machine. Shinozuka follows up on the attack and Kyosuke engages him. Elsewhere, the shadows are getting thick around Ao’s group, but Yae falls from the sky and rides the hood of the car, slicing away the shadows as they drive. At the shelter, Touka worries about her brother and Akina while the old men argue about the fate of the city. Ao climbs the pillar and unleashes her Satellite ability to search the town. She manages to find him on the knockoff Tokyo Tower.

Hime gets up and receives the sacred spearhead from the old man. Juri and he see her off. As she goes, she sees a bunch of normal people looting protecting the city. She gives them directions, and as she leaves to join the other guardians, she sees the mob fighting off (and defeating!) one of the goo monsters. In a parking lot, Shinozuka and Kyosuke keep fighting. They’re pretty evenly matched, but Shinozuka gets Kyosuke in a headlock and Akina can’t do anything. They all hear a car, so Akina fires a blast to the side of Shinozuka. The recoil lets Kyosuke kick him away and the two leap into the window of Ao’s group’s car (now with Touka too) and drive off.

On the railroad tracks, Kotoha chants the components of a giant cannon mounted on a train. She finishes, and takes off, running parallel to the rest of the party in their car. She takes aim at Enjin, still far away, and fires. Enjin laughs and just adjusts the wind so the shot would go wide, but Yuuhi sends a massive blast that re-redirects the shot to hit Enjin full on. Now extremely pissed off, he jumps to one of the pillars and thrusts his hands into it. All of the pillars begin to bloom as Hime arrives and engages Enjin.

Delicious Wanton Property Damage

Preview:

Final battle. Cherry petals everywhere.