Well this episode showed how Johan and Pheles really are one heck of a couple. Johan was completely able to stun Yuji and the Serpent of the Ritual. Those two have been in control for quite a long time, but Johan was able to put them down pretty effectively. Suppose there really hasn’t been anyone who can match up to them in terms of words to this point which of course has lead to plenty of disasters. But Johan is confident in his beliefs and is able to cut right to the core of what Yuji is doing and what is motivating him. This was a pretty fun episode just to see the various groups in motion and starting to get a picture of what might be going on, though to be fair a lot of it is still uncertain.

It was pretty crazy when Shana just snapped on Yuji. Got to see some good flashbacks and bringing up an important question from Shana’s side. He put the goals and plans ahead of the girl standing in front of him right then. Yes, the plan in his mind is also for her sake, but to accomplish it he was the one who stepped away in order to start all this. Despite the end result he didn’t believe they could overcome things just by standing together. Instead he felt it was necessary to go along with all this and never really just talking to Shana.

Now it was pretty fun to have some of the trump cards being played by Shana and Yuji. They both came into this battle prepared to do whatever it took to win. Shana showing off some of the rings she had which had some pretty nice abilities. Of course Yuji had his defenses prepared for what might happen. This episode just shows that Shana does have the ability to come up with some good plans even if Yuji is now on the other side. The start of the episode kind of shows why debating about the positives and negatives of Yuji’s plan is meaningless. Tomogara and Flame Haze are at war and that didn’t just start with this situation. From the start it’s been a kill on sight kind of situation so talking to each other about what should and shouldn’t be done is kind of pointless. Sure, for Shana and Yuji it’s a different situation because of their connection, but overall the two sides simply have to fight to decide what will happen.

Still have to wonder what exactly Margery and Khamsin are up to. Margery seems to be wandering beneath trying to accomplish something that requires stealth. Of course have to think it also requires some pretty skilled spells or someone else would be taking on that role while she fought. I’d be surprised if things remained as simple as her accomplishing her job without a fight, but hard to say. Still if the Three Gods and Shana are acting as a decoy her job must be cruical to stopping the creation of Xanadu. With Khamsin I’ve also got to wonder what he’s up to. Someone at his level is leaving the battlefield to protect Kazumi and the others. While I’m sure he doesn’t have a complaint about watching over Kazumi it does seem strange. Of course with the distortions being so important and him being a tuner, it’s possible the focus is stopping what Yuji is doing. If he can tune the city again then it would make things harder on Yuji. But will have to wait and see since whatever Johan and Pheles are up to will make things interesting.

This gave me a good scare

I’ll admit the series got me. I got sucked into the whole thinking that Kazumi wouldn’t make it out of this situation alive. We’ve had all this time thinking Kazumi would either never use that hougu or she’d die. Instead like I kind of hoped it didn’t end up being fatal. Of course I had a weird idea that it would actually turn Kazumi into kind of a Flame Haze, but hadn’t thought too much about it. Instead it gave Kazumi the chance to make a miracle and summon Pheles to the battle. I’m glad she’s going to survive this. Yes, she won’t end up with Yuji, but she is allowed to love. I give Kazumi my full respect for what she did here. It takes crazy guts to take an action that is likely going to kill you, but deciding its worth using your life to accomplish. It’s like what Yuji said way back in the first season, she isn’t throwing away her life, she’s using it. Still thanks a lot for the scare. They kicked up that music right before she used it and I totally believed that was the end. Strange that I never wanted Kazumi to end up with Yuji, but here I really wanted her to survive.

Of course that summoning lead to a great deal of chaos. Like I said, Johan is just a tough guy to deal with when it comes to words. He really went at Yuji and didn’t hold anything back. Not to mention he almost took back the Reiji Maigo, though can’t really blame him since it does belong to him. I suspect or hope the only reason he let it go was because they can make another one. No idea what it takes to make something like that, but if they did it once I’d think it should be possible to do again.

It was just fun to see Yuji get hammered by someone who could match him in words. Johan and Pheles are certainly a couple that doesn’t hold back when it comes to affection for each other. He makes points that Yuji can’t simply disregard. While Yuji is doing all this for Shana, he has made her suffer and sad in the process. I mean we had all that fun with Shana calling Yuji an idiot and certainly when it comes to girls he is. It also seems like Yuji is still holding things back when it comes to this plan from Shana. He’s not betting on their feelings, but on the plan. Yuji is willing to gamble the very future of the worlds, but he can’t gamble with Shana. It’s all for Shana’s sake, but all that Yuji can focus on is the plan that’s supposed to get him to that goal. Shana has made it clear that she believes in the love between them. Because she loves him she won’t use her final trump card and will after this is over convince everyone to not take action against Yuji for it. But Johan claims Yuji is taking love lightly. Yuji is a logical person himself and his ability to plan shows that. He makes these logical judgments and then takes action. Not to say that it’s wrong to be logical, but its an interesting stance. It’s Johan and Pheles that put their love first and act truly selfishly. While our leads are fighting each other and to a differing degree putting goals ahead.

Really Johan and Pheles are just a fun couple. We’re in the middle of a fight and they just throw themselves together in an embrace. Of course I still feel sorry for Carmel. I mean it’s clear how much she cares about those two, but they continue to shut her out. Pheles didn’t tell her what Johan planned or what he wanted her to do. Instead Carmel is just left locked away wondering what they are planning and why they can’t confide in her. Still the look in Pheles’ eyes seems to hint that it hurts her as well to have to do things this way. Not sure what she and Johan are planning, but hopefully Carmel doesn’t get lost in rejection before they are done.

This episode was pretty damn good. We had some major surprises and the return of familiar faces. I’m still not sure what the Flame Haze are planning, but it should be fun to see both sides throwing their plans right at each other.
Score: A+