「とっておき」 (Totteoki)
“Up My Sleeve”

Oh the difference a week makes. From the threat of the sniffles to outright viral doom, mass quarantines, and economic catastrophe with every manner of shock, awe, and meme in between – I swear we live in the best timeline. And hey, even Plunderer thinks so to, because for all that lecherous teasing we’re actually getting somewhere interesting now. Who knew, patience does pay off.

Probably the biggest surprise from this week is the relative lack of surprises. It was a given Jail would eventually join the crew for example, and courtesy of dear daddy-kins Gregorovich (of course he’s Russian) he now has no choice in the matter. Probably a little roundabout in getting Jail to take Licht into custody himself when you could’ve simply sent a squad with him to guarantee success (considering the boy’s recalcitrance and the omnipresence of our new bad SSU folks), but hey, I think we know what he actually had on his mind. At least the manner of Ace power has been elucidated with Ballots (as expected) being the primary source of power while some form of surgery accentuates their effectiveness. Of course what that surgery is and if it’s even an actual surgery remains up for debate, but don’t worry, we’ll get there soon enough.

If there was one shocker though it definitely lay with Nana, because oh boy I bet few saw that Ace reveal and associated special power coming. I mean it was obvious there was something to the girl and her relationship with Licht, but a potential time traveller? Yeah that was out of left field. Besides the nature of Nana’s ability and how it’s going to impact those involved (it’s pretty clear it’s not your bog standard time travel methodology), it raises the question of just what happens next. Pretty easy guess our black clad blondie and his gang of paramilitary misfits will be identified as enemy numero uno during this quasi-flashback sequence after all, and that Licht and crew will be doing whatever is needed to stop their so-called plundering. Then there’s the matter of the remaining Aces, where they are, and what side of the fence they fall on, although something tells me we won’t have to wait long to find out.

Considering how hard Plunderer is stepping on the gas, we’re about to get more tasty info than we’ll know what to do with. At least barring any Corona-chan shenanigans!

 

Preview

15 Comments

  1. Yeah. We have started with the explanations.

    Take notes that things are going to start getting complicate.

    First spoiler revealed: The real power are the Ballots.

    Second spoiler revealed: The story happens in the earth in the future.

    New questions: From where did the ballots come?

    Kinai
  2. Am I late for the grop…I mean party? This episode is great though I’ve to admit the sexual jokes will make every viewer that this series is again not taking itself seriously. Unless they’re willing to become cultured people…😐

    Anyway reason I claim this episode is great is because the BGM soundtracks are done right, the time travel rainbow effects are stunning, and the screenwriter making a natural and sensible scene of (ahem!) encountering a familiar face IN THE PAST. for the source material, it was a new character that readers are wondering why this person is introduced (won’t spoil for the newbie viewers right here) and why not Licht/Rihito right away.

    It’ll be a wild ride once we’ll unfold what made Licht become the Ace & whether his remaining comrades were idealist in ending a war that went on forever for them even if the physical ones are long over already.

    RK
  3. I know this is random but is Althing a living being? Because they seem to React more and one hand wrote “Don’t mind” to Hina. So are they (gasp!) deceased souls? Because that would be a great plot twist in the later series because of what happened in the past.

    And speaking of past, I’m sure either Ryota Osaka or Toshiyuki Toyonaga will voice a close friend to our main hero or else another possibility he’ll be voice d Yuki Ono.

    RK
  4. I see the complaints about bouncing between serious and lewd, but that’s literally this author’s personal style/trope.

    His other work Sora no Otoshimono had the same thing going .

    kiryuu
    1. A lot of the complaints are likely from those unfamiliar with the author, and also the nature of the fanservice. For example Nanatsu no Taizai plays it very differently, arguably keeping it above ground by having Meliodas almost do it as an afterthought while Licht actively seeks it out—i.e. a gentle tap vs. sledgehammer approach. As a result you have to like the format or be increasingly able to look past it to really get the most out of it.

  5. There was a moment in this episode I found strange. These Althings, these black hands and arms seems to recognize a person’s feelings. The moment I am talking about is when these hands told Hina to chill out.

    When Nana brought the crew to the past, and the past was our modern society I was like OH! How this resembles Grancrest Senki!

    RenaSayers
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