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「電話と前夜」 (Denwa to Zenya)
“Call and Eve”
The buildup to the next week’s finale couldn’t have been done better. In what I consider was an answer to my prayers, I was ecstatic that Koogy’s attempt to cheat out real mangaka’s failed. Not only did he get a horrible ranking, but I got a kick from watching him smash his guitar in disappointment.
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「ひが日死の巫女」 (Higanishi no Miko)
“East Maiden”
It’s the precursor to the finale and a pretty good one at that with a huge cliffhanger involving the fourth phase and the revival of King Samekh. There still wasn’t clear indication as to what drove Sugata to Kiraboshi’s side, but further implication that it’s for Keito’s sake makes it the most plausible explanation.
The light of Lag’s heart… dual-wielding style!
「こころの光」 (Kokoro no Hikari)
“The Light of the Heart”
This finale caught me emotionally off-guard when I least expected it and made the entire two seasons so much better because of it. I have a real soft spot for those who pour all their heart into what they believe in and try their earnest to see it through, so once Noir entrusted his Gymnopedies to Lag and the latter showed to the world that he’s the embodiment of a second artificial sun, I couldn’t help but get a little teary-eyed.
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「Ambush! Ravensborne Nucleochede」
Non-stop Pandora/Nova Form action more or less sums up this episode, as Cathy and Milena’s group gets by the third-years’ line of defense and even manages to slip past Elizabeth. The fated rematch between Satellizer and Cathy went off without a hitch, and down a much more one-sided path than even I was anticipating.
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「開戦前」 (Kaisenmae)
“Before War Breaks Out”
Other than the conclusion to the Fuze Kazakiri at the very beginning, this episode felt like a precursor to an all-out war between science and magic. It also came off as the calm before the storm with Touma inadvertently unhooking Himegami’s bra and eating sukiyaki with all this classmates, which was a little odd considering that next week is the finale.
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「10+11 ～Better half～」
As the episode title suggests, this week’s showing is actually a compilation of episodes 10 and 11, whose fully unedited versions will be available on the Blu-ray releases. The finale next week is technically episode 12 and will wrap up this adaptation’s short look at a middle school years for Shuuichi, Yoshino, and their friends.
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「風邪（かぜ）ひきは頑固な友人の夢をみる」 (Kaze Hiki wa Gankona Yūjin no Yume o Miru)
“Girl With a Cold Dreams of Her Stubborn Friend”
The mystery turned out to be a rather normal one by the genre’s standards, but made up for it with the continual uncloaking of Victorique’s dark past.
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「僧院へ」 (Souin e)
“To the Monastery”
The hints about Phryne’s traumatic experience back in episode seven came about this week in a way that I honestly could have done without. It was already unsettling to see Barrot press himself up against Phryne while objectifying her body, so this latest endeavor made him out to be an even bigger sick freak.
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「ゲット・レディ」 (Getto Redi)
“Get Ready”
Like me, a lot of Super Robot Wars fans are still waiting to see some real men “ride one another”, but in the meantime, Infinite Stratos provides its own take on that suggestive idea with Byakushiki mounting on top of Akatsubaki. Mecha fans can rejoice, because the IS variety also starts off with Houki discarding her pride before offering Ichika a good ride up top.
