First Impressions / Zero no Tsukaima

Summary:

Even though Colbert objects to the idea of launching a surprise attack on Menville, he tells his students that he can handle the situation and asks them to leave things to him. Along with Saito, Colbert works quickly and assembles a set of items to use in the battle. While they’re doing this, he asks about everyone using technology equally in Saito’s world and says that he’d like to see that world. Then, as the two are returning to the waiting girls, Colbert asks Saito to take him to his world when he goes back. Inside the dining hall, Menville is telling Agnès about how he wanted to know how strong his captain was, so he attacked him all those years ago. Unfortunately for Menville, his captain blocked his magic and returned fire. In any case, Menville now demands that Osman send a message to Henrietta asking her to withdraw her troops from Albion. When Osman refuses because he doesn’t have the authority to do that, Menville threatens to reduce the students to ashes. Julio, however, calls this a stupid way of doing things, but before Menville can strike him down, a bunch of balls float into the room. These balls suddenly explode in bright flashes of light, blinding everyone so that Tabitha, Kirche, Louise, Saito, and Colbert can take care of Menville’s men and free the hostages.

Unfortunately, they find out too late that Menville was unaffected because his one eye had been burnt back then. Menville is about to blast Kirche with his magic when Colbert suddenly steps in and counters the attack. To everyone’s shock, Menville quickly recognizes that Colbert is the captain he’s been searching for – the Flame Serpent. After taking care of one of Menville’s men, Colbert instructs Saito and Louise to free everyone and escape before he starts his battle with Menville. Agnès meanwhile watches from the sidelines as it slowly dawns on her that Colbert was the one who took everything away from her, so she charges at him with her sword. Colbert manages to sidestep her, but when she tries to attack him again, Menville lets loose a fireball directed at her. Not wanting Agnès to get hurt, Colbert pushes her out of the way and takes the hit himself. Despite being severely burned, Colbert manages to get back up, and as he does, Agnès notices that the scar on his back that matches the wound of the person who had saved her all those years ago. Colbert then fires off a couple of magic attacks at Menville, but Menville is able to shrug them both off and gathers his power for one massive fire blast. With Colbert’s strength giving out, Agnès takes initiative and rushes at Menville, stabbing him and killing him.

With this done, Agnès returns to the fallen Colbert to ask him why he saved her back then, so he explains that it was because he realized his mistake. Louise, Saito, and Kirche then come to Colbert’s aide since he’s injured, but Agnès wants them to get out of the way so that she can kill him. To the students’ surprise, Colbert feels that Agnès has the right to kill him, and he recounts how after burning down D’Angleterre, one of his men informed him that there was no trace of an epidemic. Colbert had then run back into the burning village and saved the lone surviving girl, and he got hit by a falling piece of wood in the process. He had realized that killing was a crime, even in times of war, and although he is willing to let Agnès kill him now, but he wants her to stop killing in general. Colbert falls unconscious soon after saying this, and Agnès raises her sword to stab him, but Louise suddenly realizes that Colbert has already died. Agnès brings her sword down anyway, though it hits the ground beside him. In the aftermath, Agnès brings Saito a letter from Colbert that she had found in his room. In it, Colbert wrote about his crime and how he tried to make up for it, but he realized that he wasn’t able to. That’s why he wanted Saito to promise not to get used to death, fighting, and killing. At the end of the letter, Colbert reiterated his desire to see Saito’s world and his hope that Saito would take him someday. Saito is barely able to fight back the tears after this, so Louise hugs him and cries with him.

Preview:

Most of this was pretty predictable given all the hints they’ve dropped about Colbert being the Flame Serpent, but I thought the ending was actually pretty good with the way they handled Colbert dying. The one part that didn’t fit at all was placing the normal ending song right after all the sadness and tears – that would have been a great spot for a special ED or an instrumental piece or something that wasn’t so upbeat. Still, there was some pretty high animation quality this time, at least compared to previous weeks, and I generally enjoyed the episode.
With this, I assume Agnès’ story is done, and we can move on to the actual war now that they keep talking about but we don’t really get to see. I’m not sure how much they can do with only three episodes, but hopefully there’ll be at least a satisfactory ending.

44 Comments

  20. Can we trust the opening? The boat incident that is in the S1 opening was shown in the S2 ep 4, right? So the wine incident, well. Considering the fact that the anime deviate from the novel, they can cut short the war into 3 episode. Wouldn’t it be too rushing???

    tylon
    Reply

  21. the original story would not allow to cut the war down becasue if they want to make season 3 they will need to new characters and events in the war. + Fans of the novel (at least I will…) will go bashing the studio if they actually screw the events of the end of the war.

    Julio
    Reply

  25. Jeez, what are the chances of them having to drag it on to a 3rd season? But this anime is getting kinda draggy… Whats the difference between a 2 seasons of 13episodes and a 1 season 26episodes though. they had to divide it all into seasons

    Firstimer
    Reply

  30. I guess if they follow the novel *somewhat*, season 2 will ends with either (Novel spoilers):

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Julio
    Reply

  31. can like any one put up a link to the shushi Y or what ever the site is that does the novels i wanna read =3 ///also what happened to colbert should happen to the maid girl( doesnt want to remember her name).all who says th slutly maid should die just put ___die maid___ in any ZnT form

    Ryunatta
    Reply

  33. What happened in novel, roughly:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Julio
    Reply

  34. They could cut the war down pretty easy.
    They fight battle, Saito and Louise fly in, Louise does Void Spirit Bomb attack, war over 😛
    I was really hoping this second season was going to be more about void and earth technology, but sadly, it was some lame arc 🙁

    Kiron
    Reply

  36. I didn’t quite get where the part about Menville attacking Colbert. When someone told Colbert that there wasn’t any plague, it looked like there wasn’t any kind of commotion that Menville attacking Colbert. So, does that mean that Menville got burned after Colbert saved Agnes? I mean it’s kind of weird that the other people there didn’t have any reaction that their comrade was burned. Or they just didn’t show it?

    Liezl
    Reply

  38. I laughed at young Colbert….they ripped the style off Full Metal Alchemist well close though. Young Colbert and Roy Mustang look alike, both are fire users, Ordered to kill people Colbert a town (by mistake) and Mustang Winry’s parents, wanted to kill themselves for doing it. But the difference is that Colbert died/roasted and Roy lives. Should be a third season.

    Dexter
    Reply

  40. RIP Colbert sensei, you were great teacher, and true friend to Saito…
    I hope, for her own sake, that Agnes will find peace of mind and doesn’t lose herself in battle and bloodshed…

    ewok
    Reply

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