First Impressions / Infinite Stratos

「硝子少女(シンデレラ・ヒール)の透色和音(すきいろわおん)」 (Garasu Shoujo (Shinderera Hiiru) no Touru-iro Waon (su Kiiro wa on))
“Translucent Chord of Cinderella’s Heel”

Tatenashi-sempai is doing a great job of pushing the characters into new and entertaining situations, but there’s something dark lurking amid the school festival.

Meido, China dresses, & Mouthpieces

The first part of the school festival was mostly an excuse to give some loving to some of our neglected haremettes. First of all, though she’s not neglected, meido Char! *Stilts stands up, thrusting his arms in the air like he’s being showered by the ambrosia of the gods* I’ve been waiting for this, and she’s as perfect as always. 15,532/10, would not change a thing.

Fangirling aside, Ling got most of the love. First of all, that dress. Delicious. The pocky bit was predictable, as was Ichika saying something stupid at the end. I will give Ichika credit, though…even though he screwed up the second compliment, he did well on the first, and at least he does know when to compliment a girl. He may be hyper dense, but he’s not that dense. So there’s that.

As for Cecilla wanting to get all up on Ichika’s mouthpiece (hur hur hur)…well, I was like “Damn!” when she got to go with him, so moving on. Seriously, after meido Char and Tatenashi–“nice body”–sempai, I don’t pay much attention to Cecilla. If she wasn’t being voiced by Yukana I’d probably have voted her off the island already. Moving on!

Warring Cinderellas & the Haremette Power Ranking

When did Cinderella become a blood-soaked tale of war and strife? Not that I mind. Sounds like an improvement to me. Also, hilarious! The sheer ridiculousness of Tatenashi-sempai’s war-Cinderella plan had me laughing, not to mention the bait she used to deftly suck the harem into the brawl.

But the one thing this bit did was clearly show the current harem power rankings for all to see. First of all, let me make one thing clear – for various reasons, among them the dream Ichika had last episode, Houki is still the favorite to win. This is a balanced enough harem (trope! …hell, it’s the trope picture and the first example!) that if it goes another way, I won’t be totally surprised, but she remains ahead. These scenes showed that certain other ships have already been all but sunk, while others still have life to them.

Is anyone on the Cecilla and Ling ships? If so you should probably get off, because they’re about twenty leagues down and sinking fast. They’ve been comic relief for a while now, but the way it was made obvious they were never going to come close to the crown made it equally obvious that they’re boned, and I mean that completely figuratively (hur hur hur). Char, Laura, and Houki, though…they’ve all still got a shot. All three of them got held by Ichika, and both Char and Houki understood Ichika well enough to know he responds best to kindness, so I’d put them at the lead of the pack. The real question is where Tatenashi-sempai will fit in when she finishes integrating into the harem. I think she’ll be a real contender. Not enough to dethrone Houki or Char, I think, but Laura had better watch out. Her place in the rankings is under threat.

Looking Ahead – Crazy Bitch Be Crazy

This Makigami Reiko lady is crazy. I don’t know what else to say on her. She telegraphed her ill-intentions pretty clearly, so when she pulled Ichika down into a deep, dark place, I wasn’t surprised when the psycho came out and it was pain time. (That was a stupid sentence, I apologize.) It was also predictable that she was happy when Ichika transformed because his IS is exactly what she wanted.

What has my interest piqued was shown in the preview. Tatenashi-sempai finally jumping in her IS? I’m in. She kicked everyone’s ass with ease last episode – and a door during this one – so I’m excited to see her strut her stuff more. Her delicious, round, perky stuff… Wait, what was I doing?

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Tatenashi is bouncy, Char is meido, Ling is Chinese, Cinderellas are murderous, & crazy bitch is crazy. A fun ride all around! #is_anime 03

Random thoughts:

  • I’ll give Ichika points this time – it wouldn’t be a good idea to massage that body unless you’re willing to go much farther. Like fatherhood.
  • Speaking of: I’ll give you a massage, Saito Chiwa! I’ll do anything you want if you ask me in that voice!!
  • No one should sigh into breasts like that, not unless you’re gay. Though even then, you gotta respect.
  • Haha, Ichika got shocked! Serves him right for having a bevy of gorgeous women…falling all over him…for reasons. I’m just jealous, aren’t I?
  • How did that crown stay on all the time?
  • I think about three-fourths of Ichika’s lines are “Huh?” Even when the crazy woman told him exactly what she wanted at the end, he leads with “Huh?” Use your brain, doofus!

Check out my blog about storytelling and the fantasy novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: It’s all about the characters, Beer does the spirit good, Convenient, and The four levels of consuming art.

Full-length images: 01, 06, 07, 15.

 

ED1.3 Sequence

ED: 「BEAUTIFUL SKY」

Preview

95 Comments

    1. That´s only because Touma´s harem is way too big and some live in different countries but the last time Mikoto and Index got int he same room sparks flew, literally. Put all of Touma´s girls in the same place and you can kiss Academy City goodbye, that´s what you clash of the titans!.

      haseo0408
      Reply

  3. Laura is such a badass, as is Houki. I thought Char’s plan on going the “good route” would work perfectly but I guess life isn’t that easy. But on Lin and Cecilia, all the impression I got was they’re trying to kill him 🙁

    @Stilts:

    >Giving Chiwa Saito a massage
    Well giving pregnant women massages should have a positive effect… 😐 Do we have a doctor here to confirm?

    TheMoondoggie
    Reply

  4. Tatenashi is one of the most enjoyable character in this series ever since she made her appearance. And the fact she’s voiced by Saito Chiwa just makes it even better!

    Also… there is something very alluring about Houki in that princess outfit :D~

    Euzio
    Reply

    2. I say that because yes, she is the first girl, she is one of the three girls that appears to still be in the running (as explained in the post), and because Ichika appears to think of her more, as shown in the dream sequence and during the OVA. I would still highly prefer a Char victory, but I can read the writing on the wall. Even if it might end in a way other than I currently expect.

      Stilts
      Reply

  10. The Cinderella reminds me of that new Snow White and the Huntsman movie. Yet this was done much better.

    Houki and Char again jump out to extend their lead (that touch and looks, you lucky …..), way more then Laura did. Still I’m still going for Houki!!!

    Any bets on that crown has a tracking device on it and Tatenashi comes in and saves the day?

    winters
    Reply

  12. Seriously Ichika….someone wants to kill u for your IS and the first reaction u have is ‘huh?’ Just how dense can u get ?
    On a side note , this episode has pushed me to the Tatenashi ship instead of Charlotte’s.

    Radiosonde
    Reply

  13. Overall, I enjoyed the episode.

    Rin looked gorgeous in that dress, all of them dressed as meido, and all looking gorgeous in those gowns. There was also just something so awesome seeing Laura (and Houki) still being totally badass while dressed like that, and, as mentioned a bunch, Charlotte was just so adorable!

    Yet, at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel like most of the episode was…out of place…? I dunno…

    With the exception of the ending, a majority of the episode felt more like it should’ve been an OVA episode (or two), and not part of the main series, so having it go from the meido cafe, to a minute-long “break-and-date” with Cecilia, to something so…bizarre…like that “play”, then suddenly jumping into the darker main story again felt off.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    Reply

  15. “Is anyone on the Cecilla and Ling ships? If so you should probably get off,”

    No thanks! I’m good..There’s a lot more room here.
    I always go for the underdogs.

    This series really needs to do a better job balancing out its characters.

    GuyverIV87
    Reply

    2. Honestly, I disagree. If they balance things out too much then whoever the end girl is will piss off everybody but the people on that ship. That’ll happen to a degree now, yes, but they’re doing a good job of making Houki the favorite while giving life to some of the other ships, which introduces just enough uncertainty to make us go “Well, maybe…”. The more they do that, the less believable it will get.

      Oh, who am I kidding, it’s already unbelievable. I just think Ling and Cecilla are funnier this way.

      Stilts
      Reply

  17. Houki is still in the lead, with Char and Laura still hanging in second (and onto each other as well), with Rin still where she is and Cecilia not improving her status at all. It was quite sad watching both Rin and Cecilia not move up at all in the rankings.

    Ichika, you need to pick the best girl. And that girl is Laura. Why? Because if you get Laura, you also get Char. 2 for 1. Take it! I know I would.

    Dorian
    Reply

  20. I suppose this was the natural continuation of the series’s relaxed attitude to people getting attacked with real weapons. Since I don’t care that much about Ichika I’d almost like to see the whole thing go to hell when one of these girl’s in a fit of jealousy or development accidentally killed him.

    Agree that Cecilia and Rin are right at the bottom of this harem pool. Both had no problem whatsoever trying to kill the guy they were supposedly trying to get together with. They are just so far behind that they barely are consideration in this whole discussion. Although a discussion is probably pointless since Houki seems like the set winner already.

    Frankly I’d give Char the outright lead for being the only character who never attacked Ichika in the episode and defended him as best she could. Would have won if the president hadn’t rigged the crown.

    Houki would fall second since she started out ok. But in typical Houki it wasn’t long before she let embarrassment take over and try to kill Ichika. Laura kind of fits a third position since she originally did attack him like Rin and Cecilia and only went the other way to defend him when Houki went too far.

    I bet Ichika is pretty happy about the attack at the end of the episode. Finally someone he can legitimately try to beat the crap out of and not just having to run for his life the whole episode.

    FlareKnight
    Reply

  22. This second season is surprising me. There is plot! Even if it’s little by little, among the tons of fanservice, there is plot. Nice.

    As for the harem, yeah, the positions are getting clearer and clearer. I feel some pity for Rin, maybe because she looked gorgeous in that dress (Ichika, you were doing so well, why did your brain stop working at the end?), but she has never used her “childhood friend” and “tsundere” cards as well as Houki, really.

    I miss more Chifuyu-goodness in this season. Am I the only one who is looking forward to that Chifuyu look-alike who seems to be appearing in the next episode?

    Mistic
    Reply

    1. Second childhood friend, not as tsundere as Houki…all Ling has going for her is “pettanko”, and as we all know, that only really works on a certain kind of protagonist. And since Ichika is all about Chifuyu-nee… Yeah, sorry Ling.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. It’s a pity, really. The “childhood friend” trope has been used so often that I was a bit surprised when IS pointed out that people are in fact allowed to have more than one childhood friend, or that you can make friends at different ages.

        And yeah, Chifuyu is clearly his type. If she wasn’t his sister, the solution to the harem would be pretty obvious xD

        Mistic
        Reply

  23. Well, is it just me. But they could summon some Part of their “Battle Suit” for Protection or at last their Shields… I am not so a fan of this Harm comedy

    This show was something with Mecha like Battle Suits. Not an Otome Game

    Germanguy
    Reply

  24. Still no tickling attack by Tatenashi. That’s suppose to be her weapon and why Ichika is easy to give up around her.
    And they cut out the alone time of the other girls with Ichika. They all had time with him besides only Cecilia. Charl went to the Cooking Club with him which inspired her to learn making meat and potato stew(for him of course). Laura went to the Tea Club and wanted to wear a kimono afterwards. Houki went to the Kendo club and decided to attend club again(she was a ghost member). And Dan, Ichika’s male friend, was suppose to be here and meet up with Rin and Ichika.
    Seems they went for the Cinderella event for the bulk of the episode.

    And that’s too early to reveal M’s face. That was suppose to be for later, at the end of volume 6 in fact(still at volume 5 here in the episode). The surprise is gone now. Not that it matters I guess as it’s still a stupid twist, much like almost everything that happens in this show. The girls are still top-notch though.

    Tatenashi will prove next episode why she’s the strongest and the best girl. Should be fun.

    belatkuro
    Reply

  27. First, I think your right about Ichika. There are different kinds of dense. He does know when it is right to compliment a girl, even though he hasn’t learned that sometimes brevity is key. I think that, if he isn’t obfusicating stupid, then he’s really just a teenage boy with abandonment issues who has no real experience with romance. Hell, studies have shown that guys in general have a hard time telling the difference between when a girl is just being friendly and when a girl is flirting.

    Either way, he was absolutely right, any hot blooded man would not have survived giving Tatenashi/Russia-chan a massage. I think she’s just below Char and Laura in my rankings.

    Also, I loved your Twitter comments while you watched this, keep it up!

    GoukaRyuu
    Reply

  29. That opening scene O.O… Tatenashi-“nice body”-sempai is an understatement… a big understatement. Only Ichika would be immune to that. Still, must give Ichika some credit for instinctively protecting the girls, well except for poor “dark horse” candidates Cecilla and Ling. Ling really did look great in that dress. I give more credit to Tatenashi for setting the whole “warring Cinderella” skit up. Really funny, especially Tatenashi’s color commentary (including traps) while the whole thing was going on.

    IIRC, Tatatsuki has helped out Ichika a number of times in the past. Wouldn’t mind seeing her added to the harem as well even if she has lottery type odds of success. Damn you Ichika, even the minor character types around you are HQ. Unfair doesn’t even cut it anymore.

    All in all a fun EP very much true to IS style. As for “best girl”/”who’s in the lead”/etc., after this episode, I’m simply shipping for more scenes like the opening. Whether that includes Houki, Charl, Laura, Tatenashi, Ling, Cellia, some combination or all of the above, I’m not sure I really care at this point. Throw Tatatsuki in as well. Girl deserves a little extra screen time IMO for helping Ichika on occassion.

    @Stilts: Agree, Saito Chiwa really is amazing. Such a wide range of character voicing. For some reason I always think of her as the voice for SW Francesca Lucchini, but she’s done a LOT of other characters. She’s voicing Senjougahara (Monogatari 2nd Season) as well this season. Great choice as seiyu for Tatenashi IMO.

    daikama
    Reply

  31. Ichika’s harem is more than a little yandere. Cecillia shooting at him, Ling with throwing knives, Laura attacking him with knives, even Houki has gone after him with her katana more than once. I’ll give Char points because I don’t think she’s attacked him at all has she? At least not with a weapon. Houki has gotten closer to a kiss than any one of them though (they damn near did it in the previous cour’s last episode). Sorry Stilts, I think Char is going to have to settle for Laura.

    Bear
    Reply

    1. LOL, very true. The harem does have some yandere traits from time to time though that’s been the case for a while. How many times have we seen IS suits used to punish Ichika for some dense action.

      I thought Char (Charl?) was hilarious. “Ichika – over here! I’ll protect you! Oh, uh…btw, can I have your crown?”) Very sneaky – and well played! Oh, and exactly where was Ichika grabbing Char? She might win just from him needing to take responsibility.

      Not sure if there’s any meaning to it, but if you consider the order in which the girls appeared in the “play” as indicating where they stand in the “Ichika Race”, Houki would be in the lead, followed by Laura, then Char/Charl then Ling, and last Cecillia.

      Sorry Stilts, I think Char is going to have to settle for Laura.

      From my viewpoint if Char ends up with Laura, that’s not settling. That’s pure win! I’d definitely take Laura over Ichika :P.

      daikama
      Reply

    2. Reminder: Laura actually stole Ichika’s first kiss back in season 1. So that’s already taken care of.

      Also, Char x Laura ftw. Though I don’t think they’d need me anymore, so that’s not as good :*(

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. Also, Char x Laura ftw. Though I don’t think they’d need me anymore, so that’s not as good :*(

        LOL. That’s why you need to have a contingency plan. 😉 In my case that = Tatenashi 😀 (TBH she very well might be my “main” plan). Better hurry up Stilts – way things are looking, only Ling and Cecillia are left.

        daikama
        Reply

  33. This period of the history is known as the “warring Cinderellas”…
    I dont care about the rankings, Charl(otte) wins for me by not actually trying to harm Ichika. (not dangerous materials my ass, putting dent in the walls!)

    ewok40k
    Reply

  35. Stilts is back <3

    I really liked this episode considering it again focused (for the most part until the end) on the comedy and giving most girls equal screentime – something IS is pretty good in. I laughed so loud when "Ichika tried to clime his way out of the dark space" after he fell with Charlotte. It basically summarizes why you love this kid: his awesome dense behavior!

    Seeing the short preview, I guess the next episode is finally going to introduce more widely the antagonists of this season!

    7threst
    Reply

  36. While the whole “Combat Cinderellas” play was a good laugh (Charl is still best haremette), Tatenashi’s introduction is still unbalancing Ichika’s harem, and I’m afraid that when the whole issue with not-Celestial Being starts, she will not raise a single finger to help just because. She’s way too an overpowered Mary Sue to be of real use storywise. And the attitude of “I just troll them because I can” is really irksome. I like Chiwa Saito, but there are some characters that even a good VA can’t save.
    After the hell Ichika has been through with Tatenashi’s training, if he chokes against Reika next week, that would be the worst training ever (and I can pretty guess that he’ll be totally trashed)

    SeedStriker
    Reply

    1. I think that Tatenashi seems too perfect, too powerful (she subdued Laura and Hoki easily, and now abuses her student council power) and too dominant for her to be a permanent part of Ichika’s harem. To be honest, her power was to be expected since, despite the romantic comedy idiocy, the academy is supposed to have the best of the best. I’m getting the impression Tatenashi is more a plot device, to give Ichika some much needed training and to bring those terrorists to light.

      Mistic
      Reply

    2. She’s way too an overpowered Mary Sue to be of real use storywise.

      Not sure if you have read the LN, but from what I’ve seen, I can’t see how she’s “way too overpowered Mary Sue” or “of no real use storywise”. I thought the battle Cinderella skit was funny and that was all Tatenashi’s doing. Rather than unbalancing the harem, IMO she adds a needed spark to break them and Ichika out of a rut in several aspects. She raises the bar and that will motivate the girls even more.

      If she doesn’t “lift a finger at the start” that neither means she remains on the side-line indefinitely nor for the extent she does without reason. If her goal is to get Ichicka (and I suspect the other girls as well), to “level-up”, then she can’t fight every battle for them from the very start.

      In terms of “Mary Sue”, the other girls are are powerful relative to their classmates, partly due to superior skills but also due to having a persona IS. When you look at the bigger picture, they are not as strong as it might appear. The are national representative candidates. They have yet to to prove themselves superior to their respective competition. Personally I like that since it gives them room to “level-up”. Plus it makes them closer to Ichika’s level. I honestly don’t find a big difference in power level between 1st year students and the SC President who’s supposed to be the strongest in the school unnatural or let alone “Mary Sue”.

      If Tatenashi is so “Mary Sue”, where does that put Chifuyu? Unless you’re suggesting that Tatenashi is more powerful than her (which I don’t believe is the case), then wouldn’t that make Chifuyu “way way way too overpowered Mary Sue”? Plus, talk about hardly lifting a finger to help. Chifuyu rarely provided any assistance so far.

      Just to be clear, while I obviously like the character, there IS one future subplot stemming from her which I do not like. Furthermore, I can also see how her trolling Ichiga might be irritating. So far I’ve found it funny, but there is a limit before that stuff can get old. Even so, on the whole, I don’t see how this makes her character “Mary Sue” or adds nothing to the story.

      daikama
      Reply

      1. Of course, the girls are at least stronger than your average IS user to even be made a candidate to begin with. Not to say they’re anywhere near OP, but yeah.

        And Laura already did a similar thing in Season 1, if people forgot, to Cecilia and Rin, so Tatenashi showing just why she’s Student Council President by being able to easily defeat Houki and Laura (even if not with IS) really isn’t that big a deal to me.

        The girls being stronger is basically a combination of more skill (given most of them, of course, had personal training of sorts prior to attending IS Academy) and having their own, personal IS. The personal IS makes quite a bit of difference given that they’re tuned specifically to their user’s abilities and their fighting style, and also have higher-than-average specs. Skill alone can only take one so far if the gap between IS (or mobile suit or whatever is involved) is just that big.

        I’d say Houki is the biggest example of such differences. Like, in season 1, in the IS tournament, she gets taken out very easily in the match against Ichika and Char, but she was stuck piloting a normal Uchigane, which is an extremely basic IS meant for any IS Academy student to use for practice, so chances are, if anything, its stats are even LOWER than normal as to not overwhelm students using them, so Houki could’ve even been held back because of using it. Now move up to the Akatsubaki; tailor-made specifically for Houki, created by Tabane, being modern (even ahead of its time), and based on the Byaku Shiki. It now makes a world of difference for Houki.

        As for Chifuyu not helping, well, she does (want to) step in if the situation is that dangerous (like Laura almost killing Cecilia, Rin, and Ichika), but outside of such times, it’s more like she “can’t” do it (at least privately), as it could be easily be seen as favoritism by others. I’m sure Ichika being her younger brother already had people questioning things since he just so happened to be the only male capable of piloting an IS, and especially when coupled with Ichika being childhood friends with Houki, whose older sister happens to be the creator of the IS core, of whom happens to be friends with Chifuyu…yeah, lol.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
        Reply

    3. I disagreed with that a bit. Tatenashi’s not that “way too overpowered Mary Sue”. She is what you’d expected as the strongest student in the school.
      The IS world is far wider than we think. Tatenashi’s skills are a glimpse to that adult world that Chifuyu and other fighters live in. I’m sure you’ll also feel that way after this season is over.

      Seorori
      Reply

  39. Well that was just a straight up bad episode. The warring cinderellas thing just had me shaking my head.

    That along with some rather awkward sounding flow in some of the conversations pretty much made this the worst IS (including S1) episode to date. Char and Houki parts were pretty much the only decent things about the episode.

    Kuntzy
    Reply

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