「アネモネ」 (Anemone)
“Anemone”

At this stage I’m expecting nothing from Assault Lily’s grand finale, though it doesn’t mean I’m not dreaming of something coming through in its final moments. An episode devoted to Kaede going full crafty craftsman? Please, it’s all about that teasing at the end with Yuyu’s former senpai. At least, I sure hope it is.

Given where Assault Lily has been going these past few weeks I can more or less forgive a denouement moment devoted to Riri suffering. Her new favourite girl in Yuri is apparently dead, she couldn’t help her in the slightest, and local bureaucracy decided a scapegoat was in order to keep even greater hounds off its figurative back. Hell, we even got some touching moments to complete the ensemble! It’s an episode which makes sense, but I really feel something like this is better served occurring earlier on when you have time to maximize the potential it invites. Two weeks to leverage it and tie up multiple plot points at the same isn’t enough I think, especially when a lot of those same points haven’t been touched on since the start of the show. In my opinion it’s simply another aspect which shows Assault Lily has increasingly bit off more than it can chew and doesn’t really have a way out of its predicament. Of course, it doesn’t exclude the possibility of some grand unifier appearing at the end to ameliorate all, but even anime can be hard-pressed to rely on such narrative Hail Marys.

For all my criticism, however, I cannot lie that there’s parts of this episode which tickled the fancy. Besides the usual enjoyment of all things bath time—not limited to the chuckle-worthy use of Miliam’s hair—little things like Tazusa’s love of donuts and the cat motifs never stopping to feature really keep the humour humming along. Top it off with Kaede doing Kaede things and I cannot deny I still get a kick out of Assault Lily, even if it just reinforces how much better it could be with a bit of work. Slash the cast, trim the story, deepen the personality and traits of the main cast, and darling you have a half-decent magical girl show. Assault Lily’s universe arguably has the material needed to sustain such an endeavour, it’s only up to those utilizing it to take full advantage of what it offers.

But as the saying goes, it ain’t over ‘till it’s over, and we still have two weeks to see just what this show plans on leaving us with.

 

Preview

End Card

6 Comments

  1. I still don’t even understand how Yuri died, she like exploded herself with a extra big sword slash? Plus wasn’t leaving school a big deal? now the whole crew is gone for 7 days and basically the whole school goes on vacation for 1. With the way this show seems to be going Yuri and the ‘boosted’ humans probly wont be mentioned again lol

    Spike
    1. The show didn’t highlight it well but they technically didn’t leave the school grounds; the beach is actually part of the school as it serves as the funnel for Huge to directly assault the academy.

      As for Yuri yeah her manner of death isn’t very clear, however, that should be indication enough that she’s not actually dead. I firmly believe the girl is still alive and the focus on the Charm freed from the Huge a few episodes back this week is IMO indication enough she’ll pop back up as part of another Huge which Riri gets to confront.

    1. Not likely I think. Based on the Blu Ray info this season is only 12 episodes, and I’d expect some rumours already if such a thing was in the plans. Not that it isn’t possible, but I consider it highly improbable.

  2. With an ahoge like that, have trouble believing Tazusa actually had trouble getting along with cats. I’m sure they wouldn’t be able to resist seeing it twitch that way. XD

    Always thought runes in this show was viewed through video game logic, with it’s use through crafting. Rather surprised they used it this way plot wise. Actually had to watch ep. 2 to figure out its actual apilication: Magie control. Surprising nobody ever tried it on Huge. After all, they’ve tried making a human out of one.

    When it comes to proper use of the available material, still waiting for an episode that shows team work utilizing each members capabilities. This episode shows that the cast are capable of figuring it out. They used a good methodological approach too. Would really love to see something like what is shown in the opening, but with actual context.

    theirs
    1. Something tells me they have tried it on Huge already, but probably were unable to make it work. The focus on the absorbed Charm is enough to give the game away IMO, at least if it remains as a relevant plot point for the last bit (and there’s no guarantee of that). If a Charm can affect a Huge so, what happens when it’s an artificial Lily?

      The abilities are something which really irks me too. There’s some neat opportunities regarding them and their downsides (Riri’s in particular), but outside of Yuyu’s we barely have touched on them or what they can (and cannot) do. This episode was probably the first with any real focus on them overall.

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