「キンモクセイ」 (Kinmokusei)
“Fragrant Olive”

Ignoring the inevitable wave of doujins to come from talk of magical girl legions and literal yuri—not to mention a glorious love of thighs continuing apace—Assault Lily pretty much did the usual when it comes to pre-conflict buildup. Friends were found, underlying issues made apparent, and the potential of suffering gets one step closer to being fully realized.

While Assault Lily is still being coy in just what exactly it intends on being—i.e. cutesy alien battling or full bore Madoka pain train—I think it’s fairly obvious what we can generally expect from this show going forward. Lily legions for example are indication enough that a major fight or two are coming in the near future, while the growing bonds between certain characters (especially Yuyu and Riri) mean that testing said bonds and various character commitments are not far off either. Given the sheer number of girls being thrown at us every week it’s honestly hard to care too much about anyone outside of the major players (and those with noticeable features—man this show loves its cat motifs), but provided the attention provided to those like Yujia and Shenlin is rewarded with some actual tension and struggle it’ll do what’s needed. Execution after all can often trump originality.

The curiosity going forward, however, is in what Assault Lily’s twist will be. Considering previous genre examples we all know there’s something at work under the surface, and scenes like this only reinforce the shock and awe to come in this show’s latter half. Are the Huge related to Lilies? Are the Huge former Lilies? Are the Huge being controlled by Lilies? Pretty easy thinking it’ll be something along those lines, but whether the intended twist matches up to expectations is the question given Assault Lily is riding more on goodwill than actual strength of material right now. Give us something that makes going through the ubiquitous motions worthwhile and all will (mostly) be forgiven, but overly indulge in what’s been seen plenty before and maintaining momentum is going to be a serious challenge.

For better or worse it all comes down to what these Lilies do next—and just what the enemy has planned in response.

 

Preview

3 Comments

  1. The yuri is so subtle here. XD
    Really like the execution, especially the sniper challenge. Though quite surprised that Shenlin was actually pissed at Yujia. Still, the opening really suggests that the line between love and hate is paper thin.

    Not too fond of a world with nothing made in Taiwan. Got a lot of good computer stuff from that island.

    theirs
    1. I was laughing out loud when she said that her home island was taken over by Huge…

      That is some heavy symbolism there… People across the straits be mad at that reference

      Henrietta Brix
      1. The subtle swipes at China from the strangest angles right now are incredible, and the best part is few outside of the Chinese mainland are really caring about the Chinese reaction. You wouldn’t have seen such stuff 5-10 years ago.

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