Rinne no Lagrange - Episode 11

After all that build-up, it's time to fight for the safety of Kamogawa and possibly the world - but can Lan and Muginami really get the job done when they're one person short in their Vox team?

Not only is Madoka making her way over to Pharos and the Vox Aura as quickly as she can, but her mecha of choice is also helping to push for her reinstatement as a pilot by broadcasting Madoka's inner thoughts to her fellow pilots, much to the confusion of all concerned.  Such ponderings have to be quickly placed aside however, as Ovid forces swoop down to begin their assault in massive numbers - the Vox may have the technology to make mincemeat of individual units, but once they attack on mass it's an entirely different kettle of fish.  With Lan under a constant bombardment of fire and Muginami held at bay by Villagiulio, even Pharos' own shields begin to buckle under the full-on assault aimed in their direction.

In spite of this and evidence compiled by Kyono's sister, the Chairman still staunchly refuses to rescind her decision to ground Madoka - at least, she does until the very last minute, when she makes a U-turn that would have been usurped anyhow as Madoka takes to the skies.  With the Jersey Club reunited and their powers boosted as result, and equally importantly with the remainder of Kiss choosing to protect Kamogawa over aiding in the assault, it seems as if the day is won and the Ovid forces have been repelled.  However, things are about to go horribly wrong, shifting Madoka's mental state in the worst possible way and at the worst possible time.

This week's Rinne no Lagrange will hardly live in the pantheons of spectacular mecha action anime, but for the most part it still does things well enough, backed up by the season's most awesome background music once again.  If there's one real problem for this instalment, it's that everything feels decidedly predictable - we knew that Madoka would return to her seat within the Vox Aura to fight, and it seemed like a given that something would go horribly wrong with this.  It isn't the kind of predictability that holes the series beneath the water or anything like that, but it does detract from the freshness that the series occasionally exhibited earlier in its run.  Still, despite this I'm continuing to enjoy the show for the most part, and I only hope we aren't left with an overly cruel cliff-hanger next week while we wait for the second half of the series in the summer.

Mind you, even in that scenario the show's soundtrack is released next Tuesday, which should keep me a happy bunny for a few months...