Score: A

If this episode didn’t warm people up to Elma then nothing will. She was the star of the show and honestly it allowed for a really enjoyable episode. Even if I didn’t expect much change it did leave me cheering Elma on at various points. Whether she was fighting against poor business practices or launching herself out of the sea to attack Tohru it was easy to support her. Although I suppose for the last one I was supportive of the both of them since Elma and Tohru are both extremely likable. I just didn’t want them to cheap out and yank things all the way back to the status quo. You can’t have that kind of emotional moment with Elma and Tohru and not stick with it.

This was beautiful

It always amazes me how KyoAni just goes 100% in on the action for this show. A show like this is mostly the comedy and character drama. So it isn’t as if it would have a bad reputation if the fights were just average. Instead they just really create a spectacle that a lot of shows that are supposed to rely on action can’t live up to. Elma vs Tohru was just outstanding. Of course the over the top attacks were a treat to watch. But they even managed to make sure you could feel the weight of what was going on. The attacks definitely did land and the characters responded.

And much like the first fight against Ilulu there is some real physical effects on each combatant. Although I also just appreciated the wardrobe changes as the fight went on. With Tohru tossing her damaged headpiece and ribbon while Elma got down to a basic bodysuit. Just making it easier for themselves to fight without letting damage slow them down. By the end of it you really could tell that these two had been through an ordeal.

Going into this season I just wasn’t sure if Elma was all that powerful. The early going in the first season had Tohru either tricking Elma or sending her flying when Elma didn’t expect anything. Which I suppose is fair considering that situation, but it just left me wondering if their so-called equal power levels was accurate. But this fight really established where they stood. Even with basically holding the city hostage Ilulu wasn’t able to do more than annoy Tohru during their fight. And when there was an opening she KO’d Ilulu with one shot. But there’s no doubt that Tohru was trying in this fight and was feeling the pain herself. Elma may be a bit stupid at times, but she isn’t lacking in pure power.

The best thing though was that this fight finally let them clear the air. Much like Kobayashi thought they really did still care about each other. All the frustrations and resentment had built up and they simply couldn’t communicate properly. And I get Elma’s pain. Tohru said a lot to her in the past, they fought, separated, and then it appeared like Tohru had died. Then when she found her again Tohru was pretty cold and getting along with humans. She couldn’t get along with Elma, but with humans it was fine? Of course Elma would get angry about it. But finally they were able to express their feelings, apologies were given, and they could finally be friends and rivals again. That’s some good stuff right there.

Keep on fighting Elma

The rest of the episode almost pales in comparison to that. But it was a really good episode still. I enjoyed Elma trying to improve things. Sure her main motivation was a food related one. But I don’t doubt she did care about the humans around her getting treated more fairly. And she really did put in the effort day after day. Even if it won’t happen immediately, she’s really trying to turn things around. While that company may not be as much a black company as it used to be, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to improve. Even if the episode ended without the fight being won, I do hope she wins that battle someday.

Always prepared

There was plenty to enjoy in the little trip for Shouta, Kanna, and Saikawa. The big moments of course still connected to Elma. Her showdown with the bear was amusing. Because of course she’d have zero problems with a bear. That thing is lucky to still be alive. As always Kanna is ready for anything including bribing Elma…and Saikawa. I have no doubt she grabbed that flower to bribe her with if needed and making sure she grabbed a second flower for Saikawa since she’d feel bad for being left out otherwise. I still wish they would just let Saikawa in on the whole thing. It’s fine in this case to keep her in the dark since I’d rather the first dragon she truly learns about be Kanna herself. It just feels right for things to happen that way. But she still needs to find out for that to work.

The little short scene with Ilulu and Take isn’t very involved. But it was still amusing. Kind of refreshing to have a character like Ilulu who can have fun with that kind of situation. Nothing over the top there and neither had a line. But I did get a chuckle out of it.

Really good episode

I can’t do anything less than praise this episode. This season did make the past between Elma and Tohru a main focus. So I’m glad to see that they did pay that off and resolve things. I’m also thankful that the last scenes were just about a tickle fight and not those two going back to being antagonistic to each other. Let’s actually allow the characters to grow. They won’t always get along since they do have differing mindsets. But they should be able to get along a great deal better than they had previously. Makes me happy to see positive developments like that.