First Impressions / Zero no Tsukaima

「タバサの戴冠」 (Tabasa no Taikan)
“Tabitha’s Coronation”

In this episode, some of our heroes(‘s less important friends) learn a valuable lesson: no matter your race, where you come from, or what you believe, women are still crazy, and men are still stupid. Amen, brothers and/or sisters, amen. No, but in all seriousness I’m glad that all the characters are getting over their brief fling with racism. While I have no problem with an anime exploring hard subjects, this show isn’t going deep enough to make anyone really empathize with the victims or reexamine their own biases. Perhaps that’s because Japan is a largely homogeneous nation that has been able to mostly ignore racism, whereas I hail from the good ‘ol USA, which has a much more, uhm, brutally tragic history with the subject, but this all felt like Baby’s First Racism. Thus, I was really glad when the two groups realized they weren’t so different after all and bonded over the perceived eccentricities of the opposite sex. Let’s put that crap behind us and get back to what this show is good at!

So aside from the racism thing, this episode was largely spent on Louise being jealous of Tiffania’s newfound closeness with Saito. Pretty standard fare, but what I enjoyed was Siesta getting in on the act. Before Siesta said anything Louise was perfectly calm, but then she did, and Louise was not. I’m beginning to think that our lovely meido is even more dangerous than Lemon-chan. Ohandalso, her Iguchi Yuka impression was spot on. Hah!

Still, far more interesting than any of that was what was going on in the plot. The first thing is that Tabitha is now Queen of Galia. I’m glad they finally got back to this plot thread, because it was starting to annoy me how long they were putting it off. But before I get ahead of myself, the more interesting thing this week was the revelation of exactly what Saito’s new familiar powers do. Along with already being Gandalfr, Saito is now Lifdrasil, the Heart of God, and his new ability allows him to boost the power of any void spell. That’s all well and good, but there’s a drawback: every time he uses this power, he reduces his own life, and if he uses it all up…he will die. Ohandbytheway, the Pope decided not to tell Saito about this, because he was concerned he would get scared. What. A. Dick. As is, I’m undecided whether the Pope is going to end up being a villain, or whether he’s just a really dangerous ally to have, but I don’t much like him either way. From enticing Joseph to attack Romalia earlier this season to withholding valuable information now, he’s acting like a guy who is just so sure that he knows what’s best, even if what’s best means betraying the trust of his allies. Tell Saito! He wouldn’t get scared. He has charged at full-blown armies and enemy fleets single-handedly. All news like this would do would be to make him appropriately careful with his Lifdrasil powers. The Pope’s lying is going to get someone killed eventually, and if the past is any indication, it’s probably going to be Saito.

Sketchy popes aside, it looks like Tabitha’s reign is going to start off with a bang – and not the good kind. The empathy doll shot (TVTropes!) is code for “A CHILD DIED HERE,” and with volcanoes errupting, there’s good reason to believe that’s exactly what’s going to happen. It also looks like Saito will get to play “booster” far sooner than Louise would prefer. Should be fun!

Random thoughts:

  • Saito just loves to take off his shirt now. Show off.
  • Louise’s new spell is confirmed to be “World Door”, which is probably significant, though I’m not sure how. What I do know is that it’s not liable to be game-breaking. Teleport spells can be insanely useful, but it looks like this one is only big enough for a few people, so no relocating-an-entire-army-behind-enemy-lines here. Plus, it appears to be the type that people have to actually walk through, so no telefragging (trope!) for Louise. Not that she’s evil enough to do that…though I totally would be >:)
  • Way to go, Maricorn! Sure, you almost paid dearly for it , but at least you finally got a little action. Maricorn is quickly becoming one of those goofy dark horses that I’m oddly fond of, like Andy of Aquarion EVOL. You can do it!

Full-size images: 05, 08, 11, 15, 20, 23, 28, 30, 35.

 

Preview

21 Comments

  2. This Pope is actually mild compared to his LN counterpart, but he still gives off the feeling of not really caring if Saito dies… which I really don’t think he does. Louise and Tiffania and summon another familiar if Saito dies with the exact same powers, so Saito’s safety isn’t really that high up on list of things the Pope cares about, if it’s even on there.

    Louise was actually putting a good foot forward to stay even if Tiffania! I like it, keep doing it!! Was great seeing Ari and Guiche bonding over being abused by their women, although Guiche definitely deserves it more 😛

    Hoping Saito being Tiffania’s familiar means that she’ll move in with them after all this is over XD

    Oh hi Agnes, you’re still around? 😡 Good to see her!

    Aex
    Reply

    1. Also, the Pope was suppose to be the one with the World Door spell that allowed him to connect to our Earth. I feel like the anime is cutting off too much stuff from the LN, placing too much filler or unimportant stuff. This weeks episode felt duller than usual and made me feel like I didn’t want to watch it. IMO, the best season was the first one because there wasn’t so much of this fanservice and louise jealousy shiz. The best finale was the second season but the anime still messed it up.

      Suppa Tenko
      Reply

  3. It´s quiet obvious that Saito is going to have serious problems with his new powers but we all know that he´s going to live at the end. The wedding images are all the evidence that´s needed and if goes down like I think it would be that lucky bastard it´s going to score one of the best harems in the history of anime.

    haseo0408
    Reply

  5. I could understand why Louise is so insecure with Saito since he is so popular. And Louise isn’t hiding that fact for sure (put some trust in your man). And the order doesn’t really matter, which I agree with in terms of love.

    random viewer
    Reply

  6. I’m sorry, but this IS 12 episodes right? IDK, I feel like a lot needs to be explained, and I can’t seem to surmise to a mere 3 episodes on how things are going to end?

    Kelfistan
    Reply

  8. I don’t think the meido or Lemon-chan are quite as dangerous as Remon-senpai from Ano Natsu.
    She’d exploit all their hidden desires in a day. Imagine poor (or lucky?) Saito dealing with it all!

    Hastella
    Reply

  9. Maricorn, YO DA MAN! I say, not having any of the main characters (super)powers and plot armor he proves bravery beyond the duties of secondary – or even tertiary – character!

    ewok40k
    Reply

  11. Gimme some of that Half-Elven sugar. :ifyouknowwhatImean:. This 6 way with the maid and Tabitha AND the queen… Saito should just get busy :ifyouknowwhatImean:. Bahaha damnit, I want a fun harem like this. Real life women.. are pleasant too… but… but… 🙁

    Sabrael
    Reply

    1. Not at all! However, the subs I was using looked wildly incorrect, so I did some research and found that spelling. If it turns out to be wrong I’ll correct going forward…though we don’t have too much more “going forward” to deal with at this point.

      Stilts
      Reply

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