Score: A-

I definitely feel a sense of unease coming out of this episode. There is some hope and it’s not as bleak as it could’ve been. If we opened up with Nanahoshi being dead then I wouldn’t have been shocked. It’s not that bad…yet. But the whole situation honestly leaves me with this feeling of stress and fear. Because the story could absolutely kill her off for dramatic effect. Like it did with Rudy’s father. She’s not a main character, her plot armor is thin!

Girl just wants to live and go home…

This was another breakdown by Nanahoshi that was completely understandable. It might be even more justified than her last one! Life is unfair…but that’s just so unfair. She never wanted to go to this world, wasn’t given any special powers, and was basically forced to adapt and survive. And the more time passed the more her regrets piled up. She didn’t leave fighting with her parents, but also didn’t part with them while expressing her love either. All that and she’s been working so darn hard to break through the impossible and send herself back home. Even with all the fears of what could happen she stuck with it.

All that…and now she’s going to die because she’s not suited to this world? Nanahoshi was able to go this far and now she’s just going to fade away? Impending death will absolutely lead to a justified breakdown. All her hard work for nothing, dying on an alien planet without ever seeing her family again, and being left with nothing but regrets. You can absolutely say she’s found a place in this world. Nanahoshi has friends and people that care about her. We are seeing it in this effort to save her. But it’s not home and I get her losing it. Because again…she’s in actual dying pain here. It’s not like she’s fine and losing it. So much easier to snap when you are physically suffering. And I get that she’d look to Rudy and see someone that’s got it all while she’s laying there dying.

Time to save a life!

I’m glad that Rudy stepped up. He was even willing to cross paths with Orsted again for Nanahoshi’s sake. That’s not a minor thing. Rudy still doesn’t know if he’ll come at him with the intent to kill if they ever meet again. Thankfully that guy isn’t their best option anyway. I’m sorry to Aisha and company, but Rudy needs to do this. He’s the only hope that Nanahoshi has. Rudy has found his home and his happiness. Getting a fellow Earthling back home is just the right thing to do. Even if it means traveling back to the Demon Continent. I’m just glad he decided to do the right thing here. They’ve got to chase every hope they can since there’s no way Nanahoshi is going to recover on her own. And Perugius is just not going to do that much in order to save her himself.

Please have a solution!

The worrying thing isn’t finding Kishirika. They actually managed that very quickly. It’s also a huge win that they managed to do her a favor right away too. But the question is whether she knows a solution. She did come through huge with giving Rudy that magic eye. But does she have one that can deal with Nanahoshi’s disease? If not does she have any information that will help? They need both good news and for it to be realistic. It’s a bit worrying that the Demon King is after her. But that’s not an immediate issue. If they can get that help right now they might be able to save Nanahoshi before this first part is done…

It’s all about family

This is it guys! If anyone was wondering why we got so many slice of life episodes, this is it! The story needed to hammer home both the status quo, but also the importance of family to Rudeus. He’s no longer the kid that shut down when Eris disappeared or even the guy he was back on Earth. He now understands the importance of family and what losing it means. You could still have him say the same things regardless. But building up his home life this season helps this moment land better. This Rudy can look past the hurtful words Nanahoshi is throwing out there and empathize. He can see how important he’d been for her as a reminder of home. And Rudy knows that he can’t just ignore this. He has to do everything he can to save Nanahoshi and get her home.

The mission is clear!

It’s a race against time. Well not literally since Perugius did say one of his guys can stop Nanahoshi’s time for now. So they do have some leeway in finding a solution. I wish that guy was willing to do everything in his power, but at least the bare minimum is fairly helpful. But how long is he willing to dedicate that level of care? I half expect he’ll let Nanahoshi die if a bigger incident demands all his forces. I just hope Rudy can pull this off. At least restore Nanahoshi’s condition so she can keep working to get herself back home! I’d rather a scene of her tearfully thanking everyone for saving her than one where they all grieve over her deathbed.

Will admit that I didn’t have as much to say about this episode. The story is kind of hanging in a limbo state. They are moving to save Nanahoshi. But right now they don’t actually know of a way to do it. We’re just hoping the magic eye girl can offer some help.