Thus, once the group have all found one another and regrouped, it's time for Itsuki to break out the bikinis for herself and Akiha, which I suppose was inevitable really given the fan service we've seen from the series thus far. If you can tear your eyes away from that however, it's Leopard that steals a lot of the screen time with his usual over the top reactions and slapstick moments to make up most of the comic value of the episode. Meanwhile, Benkei and his assistant have also crash-landed on Earth, although we only see some brief glimpses of this pairing as they look to make themselves at home.
The whole "crash landing on a ruined Earth" concept has been done to death before, so it's no surprise that much of what this episode serves up feels a little tired - Derelict buildings, technically illiterate savages littering the place (feel free to make a joke about your parents here) and so on. Still, beyond that this episode sees fit to throw plenty of other stuff at us, from a glimpse or two of a Kirkwood seemingly entirely under Nerval's control, as well as a brief visit by his minions to try and snatch away some Earth-goers - An abduction attempt that Akiha almost falls straight into.
As per usual, I'm not entirely sure whether everything in this episode actually made sense to me, but as with most of this series I'm just going with the flow and nodding sagely, while quizzically admiring the fact that this series continues to be fun even when it's looking for excuses to get Akiha undressed and putting together some pretty uninspiring plot points together. Quite simply, I still can't put an exact finger on why I like Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo (beyond Leopard's continued "incompetent Lelouch vi Brittania" turn anyway), yet I keep on coming back week on week, and even at its weaker moments (such as this episode) I can't find it within myself to really complain too much.
>Benkei and his assistant
ReplyDeleteI think that it's obvious that as far as she's concerned, it's Tsutsuji and *her* Brain. Fun to see this character, who's been waiting in the wings since the series started, step out and forcefully assert her will over everybody she meets (while rocking a fine Lum/Shanna The She Devil-homage bikini in the process).
I'm enjoying the way the series is quietly building its background while the adventures and galloping fanservice zip along in the foreground: Aleida's dialogue in episode 11 about how Brains, being a new form of life, are insecure and need someone around to look after them went nearly unremarked, but it's evident that all the Brains in the show have slightly varying relationships with their human familiars (each of whom seemingly bears the title of SoraKake Girl). Does Xanthippe have a SoraKake Boy of her own, I wonder? And is Nerval's big universe-conquering scheme motivated not by plain evilness, but by the fact he's lonely and doesn't know how to keep people around without controlling them?
Other things to ponder: is the person alluded to by Honoka, who used to be Leopard's SKG before Akiha happened along, Aleida/Kagura/Mama Shishidou, as seems implicit? And who's the daddy to all these idiosyncratic sisters? I'm placing a tentative bet on the cross-dressing nutter from the close of this week's episode....