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「魔眼蒐集列車5/6 残像とオークション」 (Magan Shuushuu Ressha 5/6 Zanzou to Oukushon)
“Rail Zeppelin 5/6: The Residual Image and Auctions”
This is no true case. It’s the afterimage of what was once a case. What does that mean? There was a lot to unpack this week. So I’ll go through the premises one by one.
Hephaestion and the Ionian Hetaroi
A theory I’d like to posit about Hephaestion is that rather than being an imposter, she fundamentally disagreed with what Iskandar strived towards, as seen during Gray’s dreams. Choosing to split away rather than follow him till the bitter end could very well have relegated her from the Ionian Hetaroi, hence why Waver never saw her within Iskandar’s Noble Phantasm. Which could help explain why she holds so much resentment and hatred towards Waver. She sees him as having usurped her rightful place by Iskandar’s side, as well as following him through in a way which she couldn’t. I’m quite certain this is explanation behind Hephaestion, and can’t wait to see how it plays out. Namely the way in which her difference in belief clashes with Waver, and whether they can be ultimately reconciled or not. Because at the end of the day, their feelings of loyalty towards Iskandar are certainly unquestionable and that’s a common ground I can see them uniting over.
Waver and Olga Marie
My one point of contention is that I didn’t feel compelled by Waver’s interactions with Olga Marie. Not that I have an issue with either of their characters on an individual basis. Just the chemistry seems so off. It reminded me of the way in which Harry Potter extracted the secrets of a lost horcrux from the ghost of Rowina Ravenclaw’s daughter – a thoroughly unconvincing dialogue that was only included because it was required to solve the mystery at hand. A poorly substantiated plot device born out of necessity. I guess she’s still a kid, so it makes sense that as an adult and respected teacher, he can influence her so easily. It was nice that he opened up to her about his personal experiences. Nevertheless, their whole conversation felt so brief and forced and I hope any future interactions between them will be minimised for the most part, or significantly altered for the better to make it seem more natural or organic.
Miscellaneous Characters and the Auction
Conversely, Svin and Flat are always great additions to the series, full of energy and charm, so it was great to see them again. I’m rather disappointed that they didn’t feature much in the run of this series, and wish that they had more time to shine. But I’m glad they’ve gotten something of an important role from Kairi to help resolve the mystery at hand, and I look forwards to seeing the role that they play. I’ll admit, going into this series, I was quite disdainful of Luvia. But these mini-investigation scenes with Kairi have slowly been winning me over. I can empathise with Tohsaka on this one, because Luvia’s propensity to ‘Oh ho ho‘ still annoys me to no end. Yet that bath tub scene finally tipped over the scales for me. Yes, she is absolutely glorious with a fantastic mix of smug and elegance. I have now seen the light. And I also look forwards to seeing how Waver has enlisted her to help wrap up the mystery too. Perhaps mages have too much pride. But if his issue with the auction was money, and knowing that Luvia is quite literally Ms Moneybags, I think it could have been worthwhile asking her for a loan. Though I suppose Melvin ultimately chooses to bail him out, which didn’t really resolve the issue considering that Yvette proceeded to utterly outbid him anyway.
In terms of the actual auction itself, Yvette and Adashino both gave Waver a hard run for his money. But I suppose it was a lose-lose situation from the get go. It seems extremely underhanded to me that Policies, by virtue of possessing the mystic eyes through a highly questionable confiscation, are entitled to its bidding proceeds as opposed to the Holy Church. Yet it doesn’t really surprise me. Adashino has always seemed to be a loose gun, enforcing justice in a way that suits Policies’ agenda, which typically entails incarcerating an individual that allows for Policies to make a gain, as opposed to pursuing proper justice where the true perpetrator is definitively caught. And I reckon Adashin is only symptomatic of a wider issue over at Policies. It’s not just a case of one bad apple. I’m starting to think the whole bunch is rotten.
Pursuit – Cornered
Now, for the elephant in the room. In one of my previous posts, I speculated that Adashino was a red herring and that I wasn’t going to fall for such an obvious ploy. Now, I eat humble pie. Because it’s quite hard to justify why she shouldn’t be guilty at this point. And Policies is beginning to look like a corrupt and colluding department to me. But in that case, I’d be somewhat let down. As a villain and mastermind, her calculations fell short because she lied in such a way that forced her into a dead end. I like to think that there’s more to it. Surely the investigations and clue-gathering done by Luvia and Kairi can’t have amounted to nothing? In which case it’s typical for the actual figure in question to remain in the shadows until the major reveal is made, because that’s how it’s been for the majority of this series. In smaller arcs comprising of one or two episodes, that kind of story-telling works fine. But in extended arcs like these consisting of six episodes, it seems cheap to have all the information scattered around like that, while not having any kind of chance to piece them together and figure things out. So I suppose we can only wait to see how it plays out, given that we only have one episode left to go. Anyway, that’s about everything I wanted to discuss. There’s much I want to say, which I’ll be leaving for my series conclusion. As always, thanks for reading my post and see you next week for what I anticipate to be a thrilling finale!
NOTE: I know people who’ve read the novel or read the spoilers are really excited to gush about what they know. Great, you’ve got it all figured out. But please, for the love of God, can you curb your enthusiasm for a second and let other viewers enjoy the build up to the conclusion of this arc. Yes, people might be wrong in their deductions. But that doesn’t give you a right to directly or indirectly spoil stuff. – Signed by an annoyed writer who got completely spoiled.
Show Spoiler ▼
Edited your reply. You sound like a novel reader or someone who has read spoilers. Things you mention as fact do not explicitly happen in this episode. I know people who’ve read the novels must be excited, but do try to curb your enthusiasm. Others want to see how things unfold to maximise their enjoyment of the mystery, and I would encourage potential comments to be respectful of this wish.
I was actually theorizing just with all the info given in these episodes. Everything I mentioned there was mentioned already or it’s easy to assume with the info given so far.
But if you consider those are a spoiler that’s fine.
This quote suggested to me you had familiarity with the source material. Apologies if I was wrong.
While yours is still a feasible conclusion to come to, the dots are really vague and it requires a lot of assumptions, leaps in logic, ignoring other potential culprits, etc. You did not consider everything Show Spoiler ▼
and your conclusion lines up too perfectly with what actually happens, based on what I ended up investigating to make sure you didn’t post a spoiler that could have ruined it for other readers. Better to be safe than sorry, so I’ll keep the comment within the spoiler tags. But feel free to talk about everything next week when the finale comes around.
I’m not really giving her a free pass, even more after that ominous line Luvia had about a certain family relationship (and Adashino showing up at the same time that was said). I just think she is too obvious (to the point of red herring) and while she is definitely up to something shady, I don’t think she is the mastermind here.
What currency were they using? US dollars or Yen? And is Trisha good or evil? I can’t tell if Trisha is alive or dead in that last scene. If Trisha is evil, I have to say, Olga has the WORST luck in trusting and worrying about the wrong people. I am curious why her dad stopped loving Olga, he seems like a nice dude.
https://randomc.net/image/Lord%20El-Melloi%20II%20Case%20Files/Lord%20El-Melloi%20II%20Case%20Files%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2029.jpg
What is Waver’s buddy suffering from? Am wondering if that is curable or contagious.
https://randomc.net/image/Lord%20El-Melloi%20II%20Case%20Files/Lord%20El-Melloi%20II%20Case%20Files%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2013.jpg
And what is this gibberish?
https://randomc.net/image/Lord%20El-Melloi%20II%20Case%20Files/Lord%20El-Melloi%20II%20Case%20Files%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2022.jpg
And honestly Waver, just let your cute pink hair student BUY the damn eyes for you. For someone who is smart, Waver is not showing me all of his brain power when it comes to auction buying; he is just increasing his debt when he can just get it from his pink hair student after agreeing to let her be his mistress.
On the side note, Luvia is HOT. I REALLY hope they use this art in her possible FGO swimsuit version. Seriously. People complain that her FGO artwork is horrible, but not that bad from my view.
Olga’s stuff with her father is mostly added anime original by TM, so it’s likely going to be important in Fate/Grand Order. This is speculation on my part but: Show Spoiler ▼
Yvette does seem a bit loony. So you have that age old adage that Waver seems to be rather conscious of which is preventing him from seeking her help – never stick your member in crazy.
You think Yvette, who came to that train for her own purposes and whose family collects mystic eyes, will buy those extremely rare eyes for Waver, for him to return back to Karabo who will have to wait until the next auction to have them taken out and she’ll have to bid for them again? Are you a joker, no way in hell would anyone take such shitty odds, her infatuation isnt that deep.
“her infatuation isnt that deep.”
You know, anyone who says in class “I want to be my teacher’s mistress” it wouldn’t shock me her infatuation is deep. Meh.
https://randomc.net/image/Lord%20El-Melloi%20II%20Case%20Files/Lord%20El-Melloi%20II%20Case%20Files%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2014.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Lord%20El-Melloi%20II%20Case%20Files/Lord%20El-Melloi%20II%20Case%20Files%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2016.jpg
I did not realize how much of a young Agness Moorehead quality Luvia has to her, until I saw that scene.
Show Spoiler ▼
Edited your reply. You sound like a novel reader. Something you mention as fact does not happen in this episode. I know people who’ve read the novels must be excited, but do try to curb your enthusiasm.