I have to say this was a good episode for the sake of development even if no games were actually played this time around. Got a lot of information about Steph’s grandfather, but also about Sora and Shiro. I was hoping we’d get some more background on these siblings and we certainly got that. Even Jibril got a bit of development in her understanding of humanity and its potential.

Of course I certainly have to wonder as well how Imanity managed not to get wiped out during that ancient conflict. Just seeing some of the crazy stuff Jibril can do leads to you imagining what she could do in a fight. Must have required some insane tactics and cautiousness in order to survive.

I think a lot of what happened in the episode couldn’t really be helped. I think the shock of the King going against the Eastern Federation over and over again would lead to some cold statements being made. The instinctual reaction would be that the King was just simply crazy or stupid. Going against a group that powerful so many times and losing over and over again….the normal reaction would be that the man was an idiot. But there was some method to the madness and in the end he was a bold gambler, but not an outright fool. He knew that it’d be tough for even the best of Imanity to win. So he did everything he could to give them an edge.

We can already see the thinking of the Eastern Federation. Against a powerful opponent like Jibril they wanted to ensure there wouldn’t be a repeat match. If Jibril could keep her memories she might find a way to win and that’d be risky. So they took what they could get from her initial challenge and was satisfied with that. But against an Imanity they could be more bold. They could try and lure him in to keep challenging because they felt he’d never win no matter how many times he tried. If Blank challenged them and lost they’d probably be considered a risk that would result in a memory wipe so they wouldn’t gain anything.

It does make Steph’s Grandfather one hell of a gutsy guy. He was willing to go down in history as a fool in order to give his people the best chance to win. A real king to the very end. He put his people first and made bets that would give up things of little value. Of course he wasn’t a total genius either. He sacrificed the library to Jibril like that. I wouldn’t bet that he figured the next King could just beat her and gain her skills. That’s giving the former King a bit too much credit I think.

Of course was glad that things got patched up with Steph and Sora by the end. The dilemma for Steph remains somewhat entertaining. Was forced to fall in love, but has stayed close to that point on her own. Points where Sora does really reach her and points where he drives her nuts XD. I’m sure dealing with people hasn’t been the easiest for Sora either. It’s probably that ability to read people and saying what’s on his mind that resulted in people rejecting him in the first place. But in the end he knows Steph is a good person and did want to find some basis for her iron clad belief in her grandfather. And in the end he found it.

Props to Jibril who did think about what Sora needed and pulled Steph towards the library. While she probably doesn’t care that much about Imanity still, she does care about those she serves. It was certainly well timed and allowed Steph to hear what she needed. Of course Jibril also got to hear some important things which I think did her some good. I think she still doesn’t think much about Imanity in general, but Sora has some similar feelings. It’s about the potential he believes in not where humans currently are.

In the end all that hope and belief comes from Shiro. Does appear we have another not blood related siblings situation, but almost doesn’t matter. They still have lived together for long enough that they do consider each other siblings. When in the end they are siblings in every sense that really matters it’s fine by me. It works for the story as well. Sora and Shiro were isolated in their own ways and it seems meeting each other allowed some hope to be born. Something that might not have worked so well if they grew up together.

It’s a touching sentiment really. In Shiro, Sora found hope in humanity’s potential. Someone like her could come from humanity then really it means humanity has the potential to reach some amazing heights. Likening her to other geniuses that understood what people could do and dared to reach for the impossible even when everyone else thought it was crazy. The ability to fly or go into space would never be possible otherwise. Of course there are often situational necessities for innovation, but someone still has to consider it as a possibility for anything to get started.

Somewhat curious to get Shiro’s point of view later. We can get why Sora became attached to Shiro and found hope in her. But also curious what really drew in Shiro to end up caring so much about her brother and deciding to follow him wherever he went. Regardless it was a nice scene. Showed how Sora pushed himself to meet up with his sister’s level. Probably would never be where he is in terms of games if he didn’t feel the need to match up with that genius of a sister.

In the end a really strong episode for the series. I can’t wait to see what comes next and the challenge against the Eastern Federation. Certainly the series has gotten even more entertaining with Jibril bringing comedy in her obsessed ways. The bath scene pretty well representing what’s most fun about that character. Good thing Shiro has a good grasp on her reigns XD.
Score: A