This was another busy episode for Hidan no Aria. Kinji needs to retreat after the end of the previous episode. Once Kinji and Aria were prepared they faced Riko once again and had more success. Thanks to damage to the plane an emergency landing was needed with help from other butei. In the end Kinji had to make a decision about quitting or becoming Aria’s partner.

Opinions:

Yeah that’s right, Riko’s uniform really did turn into a parachute :D. I mean really what more can you say? She has a nice explosive way to exit the plane and then pulls that stunt. Takes some guts to pull off a move like that since you are kind of landing in somewhat of an embarrassing state. But we are talking about Riko so she probably has a boat waiting for her and could probably turn her uniform back to normal before she hits the ground. This all shouldn’t be a surprise since Riko was already mentioned as being an expert at adjusting her uniform.

Well we now have the first kiss between Kinji and Aria. Of course I’m sure part of Kinji’s thinking was that in order to stand up to Riko they needed Hysteria Mode, but also Aria was hysterical and he needed to calm her down. This episode was just key for the two of them deepening their bond. It’s a long road of partnership and it starts here. Thankfully Aria gave Kinji that present earlier since it was important in making him take action. No matter how much he wanted to quit being a butei he can’t abandon Aria. Seeing Aria so emotional with mentioning how Kinji saying he hated her hurt and crying when he initially turned down the partnership was good to see on her part. With Aria we really get to see quite a flurry of emotions and she doesn’t hold a bad attitude for long. We even got her saying that she wouldn’t call him a slave again.

It was nice this time that Aria was able to interact pretty well with Hysteria Mode Kinji without getting flustered. They balance each other pretty well and definitely have skills. But seriously what on earth was with that beam of light? Couldn’t they find a less annoying way to censor? Though I’m not sure why they needed to bother since it seems like they’ve shown more. Maybe just a method to try and get people buying the BluRay?

Kinji did some good fighting though briefly in this episode. In Hysteria Mode he really is a different guy to go up against. I mean cutting a bullet in half with his knife was pretty good. You can argue that his ability requires a partner as much as Aria seems to. With a kiss he can just completely go badass and be able to go up against some tough opponents. Normal Kinji is still a good guy so not wanting him replaced or anything. It’s an interesting mix when you have that mode.

I’m starting to get curious about Kinji’s brother. Riko has mentioned him a few times and it does seem like he might not be dead. She mentioned both that he was her boyfriend and that Kinji could see him if he went to EU. I really don’t think it was just an attempt to get Kinji flustered. I’d assume with a ship that went down that they didn’t find any body. It wouldn’t be tough for Riko and Kinji’s brother to vanish during that incident. I’m not sure if he betrayed the butei or what, but it’s definitely possible. That would be painful for Kinji though since he did so much because of his brother’s supposed death. It might have been more to do with how society responded, but he still planned to quit over that incident. Would set up a good duo showdown with Riko later.

I’m sorry, but did Shirayuki really have to do her break-in at the end of the episode? She could be likable if she really didn’t seem to cross the stalker/yandere line. While Kinji doesn’t dislike her it doesn’t seem like he feels there is a special romantic relationship there. His issue with Hysteria Mode might be part of it, but probably her obsession is also part of it. There’s no reason to snap and start trying to kill Aria here. While being a partner isn’t necessarily romantic it certainly is likely with how close they are bound to get. Might be for the best for her to step back on this.

I’m just enjoying the series so far. This first arc has been entertaining and has given us some great action. It’s easy to look forward to more of the action and the character development that should be on the way.
Score: A