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「Force & Solution」
Did Pancakes say war? Because war is exactly what we got. The politics in K&M may be hammy, but only a tough cookie wouldn’t appreciate the exposition we received this episode. That, and the incredibly animated action sequences! With Ikaruga finally making a grand entrance, and showcasing its combat prowess, I want to excite people by saying this is merely a taste of what we’re about to get. Got that?!? Tis but a mere taste!!!
The Fall of Shild Triber
The King of Kuschpercha’s last stand was truly heroic. Too bad it was all for naught, seeing how Eleonara, Martina and Isadora all got captured. The Zaloudek Empire deserve full credit for their victory and receive top marks for successfully carrying out the blitzkrieg strategy, in spite of their blatant villainy. There’s the Tyrantos, using stolen technology from Helvi’s Telestale to manufacture the strongest mass-produced Silhouette Knights currently in existence, as well as the fact they went a step further by innovating airships. As for Prince Cristobal, I really dislike this slimeball. Although there was no mention of drugging the Princess in the novels, making it an anime original device to depict him in a bad light, it’s still a stretch to kill someone’s father then coerce them into a political marriage. There’s a reason why most Game of Thrones fans hate Joffrey.
Silver Phoenix Merchant Association
It seems pretty apparent King Leotamus is in a tough spot. On the one hand, his sister and niece (Martina and Isadora) have been captured, while his brother in law (Duke Fernando) has been slain by the Zaloudek Empire. On the other hand, the Zaloudek Empire is a superpower, meaning it would be irresponsible for him to drag Fremevilla into war for the sake of his own personal ties. I have to praise him for the solution he develops. Surely there’s no way these Silver Phoenix merchants have anything to do with Fremevilla, right? Of course not. Just a mechasexual trap singlehandedly razing down an entire platoon of Tyrantos. Every single moment of that scene was glorious, but I think the particle cannon blew all of its competition out of the air!
Meanwhile, it takes one to know one, particularly when Dietrich called out Gustavo for being a sword idiot. Maybe he’s just in denial that someone spectacularly outdoes him in the sword department. Here is what the original design for Gustavo’s Silhouette Knight looked like. And if you were wondering, they did in fact remove swords from the anime design. Absolutely crazy stuff!
Concluding Thoughts
Perhaps you might have found the exposition pretty clunky, and the setup is obviously made to glorify our protagonist. However, it’s difficult not to feel pumped when Ernesti is finally about to harvest the fruit of his labours. My justice boner is also on full pelt. Cliché as it may be, I can’t wait to see Ernesti and the Ikaruga tearing a new one for the Zaloudek Empire. Specifically, what he comes up with in order to deal with the Zaloudek airships.
Preview
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P.S. Thanks to Pancakes for helping cover, and allowing me to enjoy my holiday in Japan!
I came for the mecha action pron, and got mecha action pron. Nice episode. The politics are really basic fantasy fare, but eh they’re really just an excuse to show off the mechs so idc. The evil prince might have been hammed up a bit lol, such a generic evil bad guy. At least the King seems to be more balanced. Rarely in real life are the lines of good guy vs bad guy so cleanly drawn, but on the other hand it’s hard to get a justice boner if the other side is too sympathetic. Overall a nice episode with lots of stuff happening.
Extra LN info for the curious:
– The Cristobal-Eleonora marriage is a political design to further bind Kuscheperca to Zaloudek’s grip, sending a message to any opposition that resistance is futile.
– Zaloudek correctly guessed that Martina and the girls would most likely run to Duke Fernando’s lands if they escaped. So they sent an advance force to conquer the Duchy and kill the Duke, cutting off their escape and trapping the women.
– Emrys’s motives are very straightforward; he just wants to rescue his aunt and cousins.
I liked the OP sound effects. So much emerald splash JoJo vibe. Too bad the sound effects are muted at some parts.
Yeah, I was going to comment on that. Hopefully they add in the SFXs in the OPs other segments! Also, can’t wait for the Vento Aureo anime 😀
I see why they simplified Gustavo’s Swordmech design, since the WN design could be a pain to animate.
Reminds me of the Re: Creators recap episode when Meteora complains about Altair’s overly detailed design being hard to animate properly.
“What an evil look. This armor, so many lines. The puffy skirt just gets in the way during action scenes. And this weird rectangular part around the waist. Her hair is too long. It’s a pain to animate it. Especially when viewed from the back. She just looks like a light-blue ball of fur. Just like a mutated mop.
If I may speak on behalf of the animation staff, this character was designed just to make their jobs difficult. It makes us question the sanity of the designer. We must reform this cunning and vicious character as soon as possible. Make her change into a track suit and sandals. I just can’t stop myself from wishing for this.”
— Meteora Österreich, Re:Creators Episode 13
Ep 8 1-panel gag manga:
http://i.imgur.com/sa41V65.png
I too think Ika-chan’s a great mecha nickname – de geso! :3
Full album – de geso:
http://imgur.com/a/xDGjL
Ernie and Dietrich tie up their hair – de geso:
https://twitter.com/isiyumi/status/900569022747492352/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fknights-magic.com%2F
meh the reclamation of their lost land it’s just an excuse to gain resources for their continuous survival. look at the images of their territory and all you see is a barren wasteland. so yeah they totally went the evil overlord empire with this but this is what happens when you only have 1 cour to animate so much mecha pr0n. on the other hand this is a good opportunity to support the author and buy the novels to supplement what you seen of the show.
Sounds dangerously like some historical nutter who spoke of a Lebensraum. Also to some extent Japan in WW2 looking for land that would not be afflicted by earthquakes/tsunamis.
I have to get this out of my chest, Carlitos? Yeah… noit a really intimidating name you would use for the Evil Overlord.
As I recall his name was Cristobal in the LN. I always imagined the Zaloudek to be the typical Fair haired blue-eyed villans, them being Persian/Latin themed in the anime threw me off for a bit XD
Carlitos is the ruling Overlord of Zaloudek.
Cristobal is Carlitos’ younger brother.
Ooh Forgot about that, havn’t seen hsi name mentioned since the opening aprt of vol. 4 XD
At this pace the show may end up further than the translated novels (I really hope they do, the last part of the war is just wow!)
As a trivia, Ernesti was 9 when he entered the academy and 16 when Ikaruga was build. And he is still so petite!
Time simply flies by when you’re having fun!
Since they are 16 years old, i kinda expect Addy to be a little bit more… well endowed.
Huh that’s interesting. One thing the anime hasn’t conveyed properly is a sense of flowing time lol. A whole 7 years has passed and it feels like only 2-3! I suppose that much time is needed for a nation to refit an entire army with new tech. I’m a bit miffed that the characters all look the same visually though.
YOU GOT THE TOUCH! YOU GOT THE POWER!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPCNn7FKV1o
https://randomc.net/image/Knights%20and%20Magic/Knights%20and%20Magic%20-%2009%20-%20Large%2001.jpg
Zaloudek’s castle and throne hall looks like it came from the pits of hell.
It’s like the Devil was their architect.
If I remembered correctly, the throne hall looks… organic…
Well, at least its good they spare absolutely no effort to go with villain theme…
Or Dracula, for a moment there i thought I was looking at Castlevania!.
https://randomc.net/image/Knights%20and%20Magic/Knights%20and%20Magic%20-%2009%20-%20Large%2031.jpg
And now we see what Ernesti’s genius would be used by a less altruistic nation: war. The airships were probably already in use for traveling over mountains. Stealing the Telestale to make Tyrantos-class S-Knights was the trigger factor in starting World War One.
Where are the Ether Engines coming from for the Zaloudek Empire?
https://randomc.net/image/Knights%20and%20Magic/Knights%20and%20Magic%20-%2009%20-%2036.jpg
This is when you need the extra-long-range thin-beam cutting laser cannon. To destroy the airship’s engines when they try to get away.
Since aeons the mana Engines from the Mechas was still the same, right?
So what if they go there and recycle every time this Mana Engines for the new Mechas? or the Alvs, sell them to everybody. Or there are other Alvs that can build these Cores
So, to avoid trouble for the manga-ka solution, these Mana cores are very very old ones
It is Ernesti that bring the fresh Kaze into their thinking, to double the cores for more power or perhaps Ernesti can raise the Output or invent some kind of Mana Turbo booster for the melee only mechas leap into the air
But i would go with my Recycle every time the Core
Booster: What happen to the Core if these stored Mana inside the Mecha (Ernstis solution for the Mana burning problem) suddenly injected somehow into the Core?
Booster? or “pow Big bada boom”?
This isn’t brought up in the webnovels either, which is the source material I’m familiar with. However, I’d assume Alvs exist in multiple settlements scattered across the continent. Why should they all cluster around Fremevilla? Some work for, and manufacture ether reactors for Fremevilla, others work for and manufacture ether reactors for Zaloudek, Kuschpercha, etc. Presumably in exchange for resources and protection.
Sure Ernestis Ikaruga is OP, but he is only One. It is the same problem with this Witch Anime, that want to save her Princess against Not-Germany. She can not be everywhere
So, what the Silver Phonix merchants need right now, is not an 2nd Ikaruga (there are not so many Behemoths gems), no they need Mass Production like the Black Mecha and capable Pilots
or (Anime budget friendly) they exploit the weakness of this earlier Prototype they stole. Yes, his huge consume of Mana while in fight. Did not in the 1st mock battle they found it out? Or did the Enemy copies solved this problem?
Perhaps here is the Key for an “reasonable” finale
Ahh the weakness of being a mana glutton.. I won’t give any spoilers but if the anime goes beyond the big battle scene this will hopefully be explained.
What the anime fails to convey during the sword maniacs fight is; Dietrich’s mech was slowing down due to mana consumption as the fight drags yet Gustavo’s mech performs as if mana is not an issue.. thus Dietrich appears to be struggling at the end of that fight.
He is only one, but that one has gotta be worth 1000x.
Agree Fremevilla need a mass produced mecha that can outdo the Tyrantos. Mind you, they’re certainly getting there. The most recent model can be considered a significant upgrade from the original prototype that got stolen.
Seems like we skipped a couple scenes explaining why the Silver Knights are there and why they are claiming to be merchants.