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「涙は己のためならず」 (Namida wa onore no tame narazu)
“Our Tears Are Not For Our Own Benefit”
Where were they hiding the animation budget? Apparently, a good chunk of it went into this episode, with the tournament arc kicking the ante up a notch. Too bad the the whole tournament itself got cancelled due to extenuating circumstances, but I’m relatively satisfied with our Lion’s share of action and drama.
Breaking Point
After keeping everything in the bottle, Nina finally cracks up, setting off a chain reaction too. Nina established long term goals for herself and fell short of achieving them, so her frustration is understandable. Lion being an upstart Logicalist who doesn’t even know how to control her power certainly adds salt to the wounds. Nevertheless, nothing excuses the cruel and hurtful things Nina expressed towards her. Hearing ‘You aren’t my friend‘ from someone that you loved and trusted so much has got to be one of the most heartbreaking things ever. That is why although Nina strived to seek redemption, I personally find it very difficult to forgive the way she treated Lion. When Rosa insinuated that she was not worthy of Lion’s friendship, I felt inclined to agree.
I’m also surprised that Nina went to handle the situation herself. Sure, the setup allowed for some more developments between Lion and Nina, including a chance at redemption. However, I don’t understand where the other friends were in Lion’s moment of need. Mahiro and Yayoi both possess powers that grant them aerial movement capable of providing relief. Maybe I’m oversimplifying matters, but if I was Lion’s friend, I would have gone after her without a second thought.
I don’t blame Lion for subsequently losing control over her trance, but I find Rosa to be an overprotective. It is said that Foreigners possess different Logic, but ransacking the gymnasium, then flying into an Arctic environment to grow a pillar resembling Jack’s giant beanstalk seems a tad irrational to me. Admittedly, advancing onwards through murderous tendrils to free an unconsciously berserking Lion is a really heroic thing to do. And here we see Nina does care, in spite of saying some terrible things on the spur of the moment. Ultimately, to be human is to be flawed, which is why I can find it in myself to forgive her.
Concluding Thoughts
If Belle had to accompany Lion for her entire childhood, while keeping her powers under check, there’s far more to Lion than I had initially assumed before this episode. Belle’s true form and Lion’s trance were both spectacular. While it’s a shame we didn’t get an art card to go with the transformation, Lion looked really stunning! Healing can’t be the only trick up her sleeve, and I look forwards to seeing the other powers Lion can gain from trancing with Belle. All’s well that ends well. The girls made up, so I shan’t gripe anymore for now. I’m just hoping that ALCA won’t be heavy-handed in whatever punishment they deign necessary.
ED2 Sequence
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ED2: 「Logicalist Song」by Leones Yelistratova (Madoka Asahina) and Nina Alexandrovna (Hibiku Yamamura)
Huh. I expected this to be the last part’s arc, but now we have two episodes. Not gonna complain if that was all the seriousness we’re getting, but I think something else will happen to prove to ALCA that Lion is in control now, as this episode showed. I’ll miss the goofy talking 🙁
Hina Loji caught me by surprise, because it’s so fun compared to what I was expecting. Even if we exclude the people who find moe to be a dealbreaker, I feel this show has gone under the radar compared to others.
This really felt like the last episode, but still two to go. Now I am curious what they have for the finale.
Hopefully a scientific breakthrough regarding human access the Foreigner’s world. If not, I’m perfectly fine with a fluff party, but I feel like this is Dogakobo’s chance to do more.
Have to say, this series has actually turned out pretty decent