「スミレ」 (Sumire)
“Violet”

From the trappings of thigh high yuri to fight night yuri, no denying Assault Lily knows how to get around. Even if that adventuring is, well, less than rational so far. I still believe there’s some sort of narrative binding agent here to help weave all these cute magical girls together into one cohesive battle academy arrangement, but getting to it in time for season end might be a challenge.

While Assault Lily finally indulging in a bit of concerted action isn’t particularly bad, I cannot be the only one just a tad confused about what happened this episode. Yuyu’s Riri’s legion learning to how utilize tag team tactics and function as a well-oiled machine? Fine enough, and a reasonable development given what transpired previously—now where the hell did this Huge suddenly come from and how did we quickly get into more backstory and ominous foreshadowing? It’s fairly obviously where Assault Lily plans on taking this story given the Huge absorption of Yuyu’s old CHARM, the magic-infused similarities linking Lilies and Huge overall, and all the random breadcrumbs liberally sprinkled throughout, but rapid shifts like this week don’t help in keeping things straight. All good climaxes need a proper buildup after all, and rushing through the latter does not provide it.

On the plus side, however, we’re getting a good chunk of characterization. Yuyu getting brought down again by Riri and properly voicing her angst is good to see for example, as it both helps bind these two girls closer together while providing Yuyu some further depth. I wouldn’t go as far to say it’s the best development since sliced bread (this cast is too cookie cutter for such intricate technology) but at least we’ll likely see some personal redemption on Yuyu’s part before all is said and done—because nothing says happy ending like learning to accept the past. As for Riri I’m still down for her doing something that messes with things (the girl is perpetually flirting with disaster), but as always it’ll come down to what happens next. Is death still on the cards? Will we go full on despair? Or are we destined for six episodes of flirting with suffering while safely enjoying the view?

Stay tuned next time to find out more!

 

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4 Comments

  1. Would love to see more of this series as I think there’s a lot that could be built upon this series. I would also single this series out as one of the best sounding ones out there with its soundtrack.

    seancorr
    1. IMO it’s a lot like Madoka in that sense, the sheer number of characters and setup makes it easy to concoct stories (particularly here given what Assault Lily is based on), but eventually it will grow stale. There might be enough to justify a sequel, but it’ll come down to how this season ends.

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