Score: A-

This was a fun episode. I enjoyed the conclusion to the mind control situation and how the team is still just as entertaining as they were in the first episode. This all ended up being a more Goa focused story than I might have expected. I was sure that somewhere along the way this would turn into more of an Anemone story since she hasn’t quite had as many chances to shine. But it was good to take full advantage of Goa’s skillset and get some great twists. I don’t think Yulia ever expected that a human would utterly outclass her and end up finishing her off in a pathetic way like that.

Hoping for mercy was hilarious

Goa’s destruction of the Succubus Princess! Absolutely wrecked her on a mind control level and brutally finished her off. She wasn’t even worthwhile as a pet! Goa already has the most precious pets/ friends in the world to her. Toto’s resilience to her skill really makes him someone she can’t get enough of. And her bond with Anemone and Ciel is a precious one. This episode did confirm that Goa can mess with them using her skill if she wants. If they were controlled by the Succubus Princess who is outclassed by Goa that seems a given. Now maybe they can build up stronger defenses and will work on doing so now that this has been made clear. But it’s a nice way to balance things out. Those two could absolutely wreck her at range, but up close she’s incredibly powerful.

Blades vs RPG

Anemone vs Ciel was entertaining. Sadly didn’t get a conclusion due to the interference from Yulia. But it was good to see how these two stack up. And it honestly is pretty close. Anemone has excellent balance with her close and long range weaponry. At least at range she had answers to Ciel’s magic. But part of it might have been Ciel’s pride drawing her into a close quarters fight. If she abused her summons and aerial mobility she might have had an easier time against Anemone. My bet is still on Ciel winning that fight if it’s head to head. But there are always ways for things to turn in unexpected ways.

I got a good laugh from Ciel’s method of confirming if Anemone was truly brainwashed. She’s not an idiot and knows that Anemone might consider faking being brainwashed so she could attack everyone freely. But having Anemone declare her love for Toto was a great way to see where her head was at. Even if she wants to play the character of the dutiful priestess there are some things she can only say if she’s brainwashed!

RIP

Toto’s absolute durability and resistance from Yulia’s intense powers. I enjoy seeing various enemies just getting dumbfounded by the realization of how powerful Toto is. It really is no wonder that various forces want to get rid of this guy. Toto doesn’t even truly grasp how powerful he really is. Yulia wasn’t a small fry. The Succubus Princess might not be the most powerful of her people, but she’s probably up there in terms of overall strength. But she couldn’t even scratch Toto. No surprise to us of course. Ciel who is the Demon King’s daughter needed to magically decrease Toto’s defenses by a huge degree to even get a clean hit on him. He’s not someone you can beat without insane firepower.

This whole situation was a great development for Toto. The man wants confidence and to truly protect those around him. And he got to do that this time. He played a big part in saving that town. And I think getting the public appreciation for that will do wonders for his confidence. But beyond even that it just shows how powerful Toto is when he wants to protect someone. There are plenty of good heroic qualities in Toto. He’s just got to believe in himself and what he can do.

Good way to avoid a topic!

Toto starting to notice that things aren’t quite normal with his companions. This time around they really showed their hands more than they usually do. The threat was just that serious that they couldn’t play things perfectly. Even if they try to mess with his memories these things are starting to click in his head. I don’t think we’ll see Toto find out that they are assassins after his life before the season is over. But I do think that reveal is coming eventually. Having Toto find out that his precious companions were people sent after him to kill him would really mess with his head. I’d love to see that drama and maybe the girls themselves needing to do some soul searching about what they really want here.

Fun little arc here

This was a really solid episode. The girls got their chances to shine in different ways. But most importantly they pushed through the challenge. Now they can relax a bit while heading towards their next destination. And Ciel can continue to indulge in her love of fishing! There’s still time left for another serious situation to develop and I look forward to seeing just what might happen.