Rinne no Lagrange - Episode 6

Enemy or otherwise, there was something distinctly out of order with the way Muginami was cast aside by her "brother" last episode, and it's the anger borne from this that sees Madoka determined to go on the offensive in the light of Villagiulio's threats.

At least, that's Madoka and Lan's plan, although of course the powers that be aren't exactly about to let a teenage girl rule the roost and tell them when, where and whom they should be attacking.  That kind of decision can only be made via the joys of a meeting... which, of course, gives Madoka and Lan the go-ahead to attack in a few hours time once everything has been prepared.  Meanwhile. it seems as if Muginami herself will have a new role to play in proceedings...

Eventually, it's launch time for our two Vox Aura pilots as they get a chance to strut their stuff in their mission against Villagiulio - however, it's fair to say that nobody was expecting quite the level of opposition that they come up against, with vast swathes of enemies making their appearance to create a decidedly tough job for Madoka and Lan, even if they now have some weapons of their own to play with.  Perhaps luckily for them, this is the point where Muginami puts in her appearance via the third Vox Aura available - what follows is a rather strange ballet of conflicting emotions, as Muginami's thirst for revenge is dispersed by her near-obliteration, while Madoka's own assault on Villagiulio sees Muginami choosing to protect him, leading to a war of both physical blows and words which leads to an effect upon Madoka which changes everything...

What all of this adds up to is an episode which is slick in terms of its presentation - visually the series feels more accomplished by the week, and its soundtrack is simply perfect in terms of accentuating (although occasionally threatening to overbear) what's going on.  The series also continues to have no qualms at mixing humour into the most unlikely places, which makes for some oddly compelling moments when its comedy comes seemingly out of the blue.  The trouble is, this habit also tends to trivialise the show more than it perhaps wishes to be - it's hard to believe we're watching a fight for the future of the planet when the girls are having childish arguments amongst themselves and characters are obsessing over energy drinks, not helped by the fact that we still don't really have a handle on the show's factions or politics and what they truly represent.  This leaves us with a curious little show - I have to admit that I'm enjoying it for the most part, but I'm still not quite sure what it's trying to be or do.  Hopefully such queries will only be cleared up as its mysteries continue to unravel.