First Impressions / Tegami Bachi

I knew something was unique about Roda’s eyes, but I had forgotten what Gauche’s original dingo’s looked like.

It just looks like a flashlight, but it can control Gaichuu with ultrasonic waves. Now if only Bees could get their hands on one of those to make their job easier.

Roda is caught in the wave of the swarm’s attack. I guess that means she’s deemed disposable…?

「光、闇を照らす」 (Hikari, Yami wo Terasu)
“Light, Illuminate the Darkness”

With a lot of the immediate loose ends tied up in this episode, this could have very well been a precursor to a finale next time. Had I not known better, I’d be inclined to believe that the producers planned for a possible one-cour sequel just to be on the safe side. Even if all the human experimentation going on in Akatsuki was never formally addressed, I would’ve been happy as long as the search for Gauche was, just like it was depicted this very episode.

 

Ask and you shall receive. Niche bursts onto the scene to save the day.

It really didn’t feel the same without Niche for a couple of episodes, so it’s nice to see her come back in style…

…without any underwear on.

The headbutt drilling was unbelievably cute.

Hopefully Roda recovers her memories one of the days, as they would bring about a drastically different side of her.

As a bonus of sorts, this week also confirmed my suspicion from two episodes ago that Roda was likely fused with Gauche’s dingo, bringing a sense of fulfillment to finally see that explained. Unfortunately, it didn’t open up the story to the possibility that the current Roda would betray Reverse, even though I highly doubt she died from the fall in the chasm. The fact that she gave Lag his letter bullet back does suggest that she isn’t completely heartless though, so the possibility still remains.

 

I’ve been wondering who Connor is carrying in this scene, after it was shown in the preview at the end of season one.

This is probably the first time feelings of anger have surged through Lag, and boy did it have an impact.

Meanwhile, Zazie’s got his hands full with a Gaichuu he has no chance of beating.

Lag shows us his version of going Super Saiyajin when he turns into an artificial sun of his own.

I guess this makes Lag a successful human experiment.

Bewilderment is probably the only way anyone could have reacted to the sight of that.

Lag is the light in the darkness to rid Noir from Gauche’s body!

The Akabari didn’t do the trick, but this one’s got a lot more “oomph” to it.

Niche’s reappearance in her semi-recovered state served as the first surprise in this episode, since she’s now showing some impeccable control over her hair similar to her sister. The second was of course Lag putting all of his heart into his letter bullet, which made him emit a light of his own that was powerful enough to erase Gauche’s shindan with ease. The sight of his emotional outpouring on learning what happened to Sunny gave me some truly shounen-like vibes — a first for this series. As such, it did make Lag look unbelievable cool just before hitting Gauche before the bullet containing the short letter saying, “I miss you.”

 

Poor Connor. His rage can’t be calmed yet he can’t avenge Sunny.

“Hibike, Kokoro!” (Resound, Heart!)

Even though it was only for a moment, I even had flashbacks of Gauche from season one when he finally showed his true self and helped Lag free them from Carbernet’s clutches. The dual shindans gave it a pretty climactic feel, despite the gigantic Gaichuu surviving the attack.

 

This could have been a wrap-up for the series, except Gauche has fallen into a coma from overusing his heart.

For Sylvette, the fact that he’s alive and is still much better than the alternative.

I can’t wait to see what sort of a reaction Aria has when Gauche comes to. It better happen!

What really gave a degree of completion was seeing Gauche back at the Bee Hive under the care of Dr. Thunderland Jr., with Sylvette at his bedside and Aria shedding a few tears that she’s probably been holding back on this time. The best part of it is that the story isn’t quite over yet, meaning that we should have a really sweet reunion when eventually Gauche regains consciousness. That appears to be the focus next time, and it looks like Lag will be the one to get in his mind to wake him up. As much as I am looking forward to that, the prospect of Aria filling in for Lag’s delivery duties (with Niche and Steak as her dingo) is going to be just as sweet. We definitely need more female Bees.

 

Preview

Aria dusts her hat and old uniform off and shows us what a veteran Bee can do.

18 Comments

  3. Wow this part being animated seems to go really quick. I think it was because if you followed the manga it was a year or so between lag getting the letter and then using it. Show Spoiler ▼

    Shadiic
    Reply

  10. Super Saiyan? Nah… I thought he represented Allen walker’s crown clown more. Hmm I think Roda died. Or issit just me. I dont want her to die though.. Oh and how many ep is this show gonna be?

    gcsasuke
    Reply

  11. Does anyone know where that dragonfly gaichu is falling to? And did Lag become his own heart fragment? (Or was that to show his “resolve” to obliterate Noir?) I can’t believe there’s another episode when I thought this was the finale. I am so happy for there to be another episode. ^_;

    Rika
    Reply

  12. This episode was EPIC! It truly felt like it was going at a movie’s pace with all of the important events going on. Lag’s reunion, Roda’s demise, Lag’s hidden power, and the duet of Shindans, in addition to the superb music that accompanied each of those parts, has made this one of the best episodes yet.

    And it’s slated to be 25 episodes.

    I also concur it reminds me of Allen Walker, esp with the whole ‘red left eye’ thing.

    frubam
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *