Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari Season 2 – 09

「ハミングフェーリー」 (Hamingu Fueerii)
“Humming Fairy”

Ah the joys of being back on track. While Tate no Yuusha hasn’t been particularly egregious in its adaptation so far this season, the recent anime-only changes have thrown some concern on the fire, concern which as indicated last time thankfully proved unfounded. Case in point this week where everything anticipated got some air time alongside the teasing for the major developments coming up next. Let’s just say the fun is only getting started.

Given the last couple of episodes the big thing this week is naturally the characters, particularly one who’s been missing for a while. That’s right, Filo is finally back with the team, and in probably one of the better reunion moments Tate no Yuusha has had to date. For all this show stumbles it nailed the fear turned elation Naofumi had once he found and rescued Filo, particularly in terms of lending voice to the underlying feelings Naofumi has only really hinted towards to date. In truth the guy at heart cares fiercely for his companions, moments often missed because said companions themselves are usually how the relationships are fleshed out. We’re used to seeing Raphtalia and Filo espouse on their adoration of the guy, the likes of Rishia describing his care and assistance. To get Naofumi opening up so is a nice touch and shows this series still retains the ability to tap into what made its first season such a fun watch.

Happy bird reunions weren’t all that was on tap though as one tanuki Raph-chan proves in spades. While the glorified furball is mostly to keep any anxiety about Raphtalia’s fate in check, she (because obviously she’s a girl) does serve a good role in reinforcing how this arc at its core is very much about Raphtalia and the changes she will experience; for all Ethnobalt and interworld differences are fun to watch play out, in the end it’s all secondary to getting the new and improved Naofumi gang back together while also sparing a moment to finally do something about the annoying cackling four-eyed antagonist hogging the limelight.

There’s a lot of battles and beatdowns yet in store before this arc is through, all we have to find out is how the big the budget wound up being for their adaptation.

Preview