First Impressions / Zero no Tsukaima

「砂漠のエルフ」 (Sabaku no Erufu)
“The Desert Elf”

The plot’s back! As promised, the Elemental Siblings are back and they’ve brought the plot with them. Well, sort of. They were in the vicinity, at least. The thing that surprised me was that the Elemental Siblings didn’t actually have that much to do with the plot here. The fight at the beginning was enjoyable, but it was more like an exhibition match than anything else. I strongly suspect that the only reason they showed up at all was to reveal that Jacques was back in action, and to show how much of a badass Damian nii-sama (Tamura Mutsumi) is. Ohandbytheway, the answer to that is “very”. Damian nii-sama is suuuuper overpowered. So his Magnetic Alchemy can apparently change a substance’s structure at a subatomic level. Ignoring the obvious Jesus parallels (change water into wine? No problem!) – and how characters in a medieval setting know what subatomic means – the possibilities inherent in this kind of magic are practically endless. Oh, and I only say “practically” because I’m assuming he can’t use it on sentient beings, because that kind of high octane nightmare fuel doesn’t feel like Zero no Tsukaima’s style. If he could… *shudder* I now have more respect for the late (?) King Joseph. With someone like Damian nii-sama on his payroll, he couldn’t have been that incompetent. Just, like, 80%.

Anyway, so while the cast was having a dust up with the siblings and Damian nii-sama was strutting his stuff like the only rooster in a football stadium full of hens, the plot snuck into De Ornielle in the form of three elves. We have Lukshana (Kanemoto Hisako), the spunky human researcher, and the two male elves I don’t really care about. No, but seriously, even Lukshana wasn’t all that interesting to me. Her curiosity about humans, casual outlook on kidnapping and generous fanservice were all appreciated, but…okay, I take it back, she was actually fairly interesting. She was just overshadowed in my mind by the return of my second favorite elf in this series, Vitartial. While King Joseph was a monster and Damian nii-sama and his crew are greedy, Vitarial is an enigmatic, potentially tragic antagonist, and that makes me want to know where he’s coming from more than almost anything else. I can’t wait to find out what would possess a man to help out a monster like King Joseph but still show concern for Tabitha’s mom, not to mention actually being the one who cured her. Then I remembered that Vitarial actually tried to stop Saito and co from saving Tabitha back at the end of season 3, and I really want to know what his deal is. For those that know, remember to use spoiler tags in the comments, please!

Overall, this episode felt good, but when you step back and approach it as a standalone episode, it wasn’t all that entertaining. That’s not because it wasn’t done well, mind you. It’s just that it was a setup episode. From getting Tiffania and Saito to the elves’ land to the revelation with the sunken jet, the enjoyment from this episode didn’t come from the episode itself, but from the anticipation of developments yet to come. I mean, we didn’t even get much movement on the whole Tiffania’s familiar thing! No biggie though. With Louise, Tabitha, Siesta (for some reason) and the whole crew of the Ostland on the way to save Saito and Tiffa, I have a feeling that next week will yield some of the answers we’re looking for. Like maybe on that whole Tiffania’s familiar thing. Seriously J.C. Staff, we’ve been waiting for that since episode 1. Get on with it! At this rate, Tiffania is only going to be 100% in Saito’s harem for the last three episodes or so. That’s barely enough time for her to team up with Siesta, Henrietta, and, I don’t know, Kirche (just for the lulz) and put Saito through a little marshmallow hell. Because I think we can all agree, aggressive Tiffania would be the best thing since sliced bread. Or skimpy lingerie. Or gratuitous yuri scenes. Yum!

Other thoughts:

  • My first favorite elf in this series? Tiffania. I mean, just look at that! She makes a persuasive argument.
  • If they get that jet working again – and I assume they will – that’s going to seriously stretch my suspension of disbelief. It’s beat up, been sunk in the water long enough to grow moss and it looks like the nose might be crumpled. The electronics in that thing have to be shot. Yes, I’m fine with Damian nii-sama bitch-slapping the laws of physics on several levels, but I draw the line at soggy fuel gauges. I’m weird like that.
  • It looks like the rest of the eyecatches are going to be in a bridal mottiff. Could not be happier. We all know Louise is going to win in the end, but now we can all print out the finished eyecatch, cut out the girls we don’t like and stubbornly ignore canon. Or, you know, pretend we got the Harem End. That’s the one I’m going for!

Full-size images: 29, 34.

 

Preview

50 Comments

  3. So the storyline is starting to come back! Nice. And I am with you Stilts, I am fine when it comes to unicorns, spaceships, and little blonde kids with musical instruments defying physics, but when I see this without an explosion from a super-tsun, pink haired certain someone I can’t help but call that “unrealistic.” And yes, I have finally learned HTML tags, so happy. So all of you please gasp at my awesomeness!

    Missingnomer
    Reply

  10. Perhaps he is a True Blood Elf, and the Others are Half-Elfs…

    Just combine, the Jet Crew and Elf.. and these Jet are a dual Seat one… Or.. He will find the out that the Crew is still inside the sunken Jet.. Well, we see an Intact Cockpit. So, they dont used the Ejection Seat

    Germanguy
    Reply

  11. Tiffania has just activated the counter-trap card: “Boobs of the Half-Elf.” This trap card cannot be negated, and effects of spell, trap, and monster effects cannot be activated in response to this card’s activation. The controller of this card automatically wins the duel. XD

    Saito’s LP: from 8000 –> 0.

    Tifannia wins the duel – and the argument. XD

    I sense much plot injection in the last three(?) episodes. My wishes for the last episode(s) are:

    1. Saito brings back Louise to his world, they get married, and start a family. D’awwww.
    2. Tristain and Gallia fight over Saito. I’m personally rooting for Tabitha/Charlotte to win and make Saito hers; mind, body, and soul.
    3. Saito marries every girl in the series and becomes The Harem King of Halkegenia (yes, this includes Lukshana, Siesta, Jessica, Agnes, Jeannette, Montmorency, Kirche, Louise’s elder sisters etc.) *Highschool DxD reference*
    4. A Beach Episode (with the cast back in Saito’s world)

    The_Magus_Killer
    Reply

      1. Haha. I am a Yu-Gi-Oh! duelist hailing from Asia, so this had to happen. XD

        I have another wish:
        1. A OVA crossover of Shakugan no Shana Final with Zero no Tsukaima in a beach episode. Haha. XD

        The_Magus_Killer
        Reply

      2. @Magus

        And I thought I’m the only one remaining who is still fascinated with Yu-Gi-Oh. XD

        Anyway nice episode: this is part of volume 18. OK now were(or am I the only one comparing this with the LN?) definitely lost. We jumped from 16 just two weeks ago to 19 this week. Talk about a jump.

        If you want to track the LN, the original LN title of this episode is “The Elf of the Sahara”…

        The Moondoggie
        Reply

  12. I feel bad for Tabitha. She has like no shot at Saito and wavers between trying anyways and giving up and going away.

    As far as the jet I didn’t think they would try and get it up and working but perhaps the rockets/missles it has on board might still be working?

    Karmafan
    Reply

  13. Ah, so this show endorses the Arrogant-Elf cliche… wonderful… We were actually running out of people standing on soap-boxes though, so maybe it’ll be good. At least they took Saito too, so now Tabitha can stick around.

    Tiffa… damn girl! When you come out of your shell you don’t fool around! Wouldn’t be at all surprised if she full-on jumps Saito soon. Unfortunately we’re probably gonna shift focus to the jet and escaping next week, since those Elves don’t seem like the listening types. Although escaping will probably start a war by scaring the hell out of the Elves and getting them thinking the humans are coming to kill them… just, you know, cause… >.<

    I'd be 100% okay if they pulled off a Harem ending. Actually, I'd love it. They won't, but I can dream. He can marry Louise, but I want Tabitha and Tiffa to get some love and be happy too!!

    Aex
    Reply

    1. To be fair, I think Tabitha, Tiffa and the others “get[ting some love and be[ing] happy too” would better be accomplished by them finding other guys who will give them 100% of their love and attention, rather than getting ~10% (at best) from Papa Saito. I love harem shows just as much as the next guy (okay, probably more), but I feel that fact needs to be pointed out occasionally 😛

      Side note: not that Tabitha or Henrietta have a lot of chances to search for husbands who aren’t stuck up noble jackasses, but still, just saying.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. While I wouldn’t be thrilled with Tabitha, Tiffa and the others getting other guys, I’d be okay if they were happy. At this point though that’d be really out of left-field, so Harem would be better. Well… Harem is always better, as long as the guy isn’t an ass. One big, happy, loving “family” XD When queens and nobles are involved, stranger things have happened… 😛

        Aex
        Reply

      3. That’s the problem with 99% of harem anime, they don’t offer “viable” alternatives to the MC for the other girls in the harem to set off. Let’s look at ZnT: in school the only guys are Guiche (taken by Montmorency that in fact has no place in the harem), prof. Colbert (pretty much of a stretch, taken by Kirche nonetheless) the fat guy and the megane that looks like an elementary student. What is a girl meant to do?

        Pietro
        Reply

      4. @ Alex, Pietro

        I agree with what you’re saying, but then again, I was talking more hypothetically. At this point, there’s little chance of a bunch of viable male characters whose personalities are wonderful matches for the other haremettes swooping in and loving them unconditionally, and even if that happened it would feel like a cop-out. I was just trying to empathize with the girls and think about what a true happy ending would be like for them.

        Stilts
        Reply

  16. well it is nice to see that one of the elf is an anthropologist that studies humans. Mmmmm. I wonder what would be her reaction when she sees Japan. Erotic cosplay, S&M play, and so much more things may create some “trauma” in her mind.

    L002
    Reply

      2. Can’t have a cliched fantasy setting without elves… all it needs are Dwarves, which I would presume, hither, in Zero no Tsukaima’s world are probably little shotas and lolis having a penchant for the underground.

        …Are there?

        Gaze of Providence
        Reply

  20. So anyone here was naive enough to believe Saito was going to be faithful the previous episode?

    “We all know Louise is going to win in the end”

    * Stilts, still in denial, eh?!

    Wilfriback
    Reply

  21. Lol that elf researcher would be Speechless if she ever saw the skyscraper Earth city got and well earth in general cause we ain’t the primitive archer and knight no more.

    Just Guns, tanks, copter and planes with missile.

    Oh and Freaking Nukes.

    Redlotusx
    Reply

  23. So Elfs and Humans have a mutual misunderstanding of each other?

    Something tells me Saito is going to be the middle man between the two…

    If anyone’s familiar with Gundam, this reminds me of the 00 movie… Hopefully Saito won’t disappear for 50 years or w/e and come back to a old Louise. That would be so sad.

    Waffles
    Reply

  24. Yep, definitely F-4… electronics is probably all rusted, but maybe, just maybe they might get a 20mm Vulcan gatling gun running (GATLING GOOD). And is it a bomb under the wing?
    At least its Japanese F-4 so this is not nuke…

    So the final part of the plot involves insanely powerful Elves trying to exterminate all the void mages (probably due to their destructive potential – and suggested demonic nature of void magic…).
    Skinnydipping Tiffa FTW! When she made her move she was surely not holding back, and there is not single rival to… boobblock her?
    I feel that by kidnapping those two Elves might inadverently get the rest of the Void mages to converge on their land (Pope and his familiar going incognito at Henrietta’s request, Louise and co. going on their own, and possibly Tabitha becoming a void mage as a result of Joseph’s demise…), in effect creating the very thing they tried to avoid.
    My fave ending would be to war almost break out over Saito between Henrietta and Tabitha – and Saito being forced to take the guilty crown of the harem king to unite the world and protect the peace…

    ewok40k
    Reply

  27. Am I seeing things, but is Ostland getting smaller? It looked WAY more awesome back there, but now it’s just another flying ship.

    Hooray for Tifa, she doesn’t get that much attention by the upper guys, but she just great the way she is!!!

    RoOtZ
    Reply

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