First Impressions / The Tower of Druaga

Summary:

Inside his fortress, the other Gilgamesh is relishing the idea that he’ll soon be free and able to become god. Outside, Neeba is getting ready to sneak in despite Ki’s warnings about his death. Her visions had led her to bring Jil here, but since Neeba rejected him, Ki is starting to think that fate can’t be avoided. Jil’s group arrives outside shortly after Neeba moves out, but they decide to take a more direct approach of attacking through the front. They break through, however Gremica then runs off in one direction and Melt goes off in another. Melt is searching for Coopa, though what he doesn’t realize is that she has managed to escape on her own already. After dealing with the foot soldiers, Jil and company find Henaro waiting for them, and she gets Uragon and Might the Fool to join her by invoking Amina’s name. When Jil tries to question Henaro’s resolve by bringing up how she brought Coopa along so that Kaaya could heal her, Henaro insists that Coopa was just a hostage. Jil nevertheless feels that she’s not cold-hearted, and he feels that she’s betraying herself, but Henaro just sics Tear of Ice on them and leaves.

Meanwhile, in Meskia, the battle is going poorly for Ethana and her forces. Right when it looks like Ethana is finished though, Kelb shows up with reinforcements and scares off the attackers. A relieved Ethana falls into his arms. Back inside the Mythical Tower, as Neeba sneaks through the fortress on his way to get to Gilgamesh, the Succubus and Ki talk about Ki’s goal of getting the Blue Crystal Rod and destroying the Tower. Elsewhere, Coopa gets discovered by a guard but is saved by Melt. Their reunion is broken up by the sound of fighting in the distance, and they realize that it’s probably Jil and company. The group has their hands full with Tear of Ice, and it is ultimately Fatina’s magic that manages to take the knight out. Before they move on though, Utu questions why they have to keep going and what Jil plans to do about Gilgamesh, Neeba, and Kaaya. Jil’s answer is that he’d climb even without a reason because he’s a Climber, and he leads them forward. In the throne room, Neeba is able to defeat Sword of Blood, but Gilgamesh has Kaaya strung up and is slowly trading places with the real Gilgamesh. Dropping his bow, Neeba takes Sword of Blood’s sword and prepares to fight. Jil, Fatina, and Utu are still en route to there, and along the way, Fatina admits that she took refuge with Jil after what happened with Neeba because she knew that Jil wouldn’t betray her. However, she’s still worried about Neeba, and Jil reveals that he is as well. The three are then reunited with Melt and Coopa, and they all face the throne room together.

Preview

Well that was fun. Along with all the plot stuff, there were some good battles this week with the knights. Both Neeba and Fatina took out a knight each, but Fatina managed to look much more impressive doing so. Speaking of her, I think it’s a shame if she either ends up alone at the end of all this or back with Neeba again. What she said about worrying about him keeps that latter possibility alive, especially since I doubt FatinaXJil will happen. And on the topic of relationships, Kelb showing up at the perfect moment and giving that speech felt a bit cheesy to me, but it was nice to see him and Ethana together finally.

As for Gilgamesh, his ranting at the beginning of the episode made me think that he was a bit fruity in the head. He got just a bit too excited about being free. I still think of him as a pretty standard bad guy though, as far as motivations go. Also, it’s been in the back of my mind that Gilgamesh is voiced by Seki Tomokazu, the same guy who voiced Gilgamesh in Fate/stay night, but that comparison didn’t become so obvious until this episode with the golden armor. I wonder if that casting was intentional now. In any case, the preview makes it seem like Gilgamesh might not have much trouble with Neeba and will only be a bit annoyed at Might the Fool attacking him. It would make sense that Jil and/or Kaaya be the ones who finally take him down, and with only two episodes left, it could happen as soon as next week.

27 Comments

  1. Kelb this episode was great. His entrance while smacking soldiers into the air was a nice touch.

    Also seriously? The same voice actors? Hot damn, I didn’t notice that either.

    Chicle
    Reply

  10. It’s still silly to just kick Fatina to the side like this after she’s been the one to take care of Jil for 6 months. And this is the same guy who writes FMP ffs. It just seems Gonzo can’t escape it’s cliche roots when doing a series.

    The best thing would be for Kaaya to give up her life to defeat Gil and send everyone else back home. Any other type of sugercoated perfect ending will be silly.

    GP
    Reply

  11. Oh and Fatina saying she’s worried about Neeba just means she’s not a cold hearted bitch. Not that she’s still got a crush on him like the start of season 1. I’d rather she be alone at the end, it’s a slap in the face of her character development if she runs back to Neeba like a little schoolgirl.

    GP
    Reply

  12. too bad, that fatina said to jil, that she used him as an escape, because of the betrayel…i do like fatina but to say something like that and meaning would be too harsh for everybody, thought jil didn’t seem to be sad about it…

    !!! fatina and neeba will die, that is the only way for jil and kaaya to stay together, without a second thought OR kaaya and neeba will die, leaving fatina and jil coming together. whatever the case the four (neeba, kaaya, fatina and jil) won’t survive all, imo. !!!

    tomtom
    Reply

  13. all jil cares about is kaaya he claimed he doesn’t have a reason to climb the tower and i noticed when fatina was talking to him about how she felt about the only thing jill just did as if he was deaf or something so the only reason why kaaya betrayed them in the first place was to protect jill
    and the others she felt she had to do this alone ( getting rid of gilamesh’s shadow) well she underestimated him if he picked kaaya over fatina it would be a shame.

    Peter Rice
    Reply

  15. In this episode Fatina also mentions that she still had feelings for Neba and that she was just using Jil to feel better or something. In other words it’s going tobe Jil x Kayaa ending like 99.99999%. I would find it silly that Jill didn’t show any feelings for Fatina at the start of this series when she wanted to be with someone. Fatina > Ahmey > loli Ki > Ki > Coopa (although I hate her VA) > Kayaa

    Maka
    Reply

  16. Whatever happens in the next two episodes, they’re most likely going to stick us with another cliffhanger ending. I’m sure you all remember the last scene from the first OP, right? The scene with the movie poster with the date July 2009? Hopefully it’ll be good. Hopefully…

    boznia
    Reply

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