Kimi to Boku no Saigo no Senjou, Aruiwa Sekai ga Hajimaru Seisen – 03

「邂逅　―黒鋼の後継と氷禍の魔女―」 (Kaigou ― Kuro-kou no Koukei to Kouri-ka no Majo ―)
“Encounter: Successor of the Black Steel and the Ice Calamity Witch”

From last episode’s ending, I was looking forward to seeing how Alice would deal with Iska falling asleep into her bosom. Unfortunately, no more cute moments. She immediately hails down a taxi and sends him back to the Empire’s capital. Regardless of my disappointment, those two truly belong on the same wavelength – meeting up the next day without planning it out beforehand.

But let’s be real. That’s not intuition or destiny connecting them. That’s more or less acting on the instinct of wanting to see each other, and consistent logic that they’d mostly seen each other around the Neutral City. Moreover, I actually think Iska and Alice have realised their feelings for one another. Just that admitting it is the difficult part. As cute as their interactions are, some obstacles seem insurmountable.

Why A Relationship Couldn’t Work Out at Present

First off, Alice’s mother – The Queen of the Nebulis Sovereignty – despises the Empire and its persecution of witches through the centuries. She will have none of it – Alice’s appreciation for Empire arts let alone cordial relations with one of its soldiers. So it really doesn’t seem like the Queen can be convinced in any way. On the other hand, the Empire’s conditional pardon for Iska requires him to capture the Ice Calamity Witch – Alice – and present her to them. Assuming that the Queen and Founder’s hatreds aren’t irrational, I find it hard to trust the Empire’s elders. Their motives aren’t clear and it wouldn’t be farfetched to assume there’s an element of bad intent in seeking out Alice’s capture. And I would be extremely disappointed if Iska went along with that plan – even if he had a grander scheme in mind.

If you ask me, neither side can be trusted in their current form. So what next? The two clear paths to peace are forming a third faction and forging a direct path. Be that through bloodshed or diplomacy. Alternatively, Iska and Alice could wait it out until they become the most powerful political entities in their respective nations. But that would take too much time. And they might be able to realise their young love under such conditions.

Also the Founder’s manifestation throws a spanner into the works. She seemed extremely powerful – with the combined efforts of Iska and Alice barely defeating her. Her familiarity with Crossweil was ominously foreboding – especially since Crossweil didn’t look old. So I would be curious to find out more about their connection and hope the series will reveal it to us someday. After all, I doubt she’s gone for good and reckon she will be back. And as long as she exists, seeking out the Empire’s destruction, I doubt things could work out between the two nations.

Concluding Thoughts

What are my thoughts after three episodes? My praise for the series would come down to its world building. I enjoy the conceptualisation of two warring states – the Empire and Nebulis Sovereignty, as well as this idea science is in conflict with magic. The aesthetics (art, animation, background) are pleasing to the eye. Unfortunately, my criticism of the series so far is that the characterisations have been rather shallow so far – including Iska and Alice.

Beyond their romance, they don’t have much substance going for them as a black swordsman clone and typical princess tsundere. The Queen and Jhin seem mysteriously fascinating – but their appearances have been limited. The likes of Nene and Mismis have only served as insufferable blobs of fanservice, while Rin is annoyingly stiff. There’s no character I particularly like out of the gate – and that’s the most important aspect for my personal evaluation. Consequently, I have decided not to continue coverage of KimiSen. Though if it develops into something great, I’ll consider writing up a finale post.

Anyway, that’s about everything I wanted to discuss. Sorry to any readers who feel disappointed by my choice. But I hope you all understand. As always, thanks for reading this post – and see you all next time.