Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Ars Nova - Episode 4

Although it had hardly been a happy homecoming for Chihaya and his crew in the first place, things look set to become a whole lot more uncomfortable as the port of Yokosuka finds itself the subject of a concerted attack by a pair of Fog battleships.

This deadly duo, known as Haruna and Kirishima to Iori, have no qualms about laying waste to everything that they see before them, and with the I-401's supergravity cannon still out of commission and ammunition in short supply as a whole it seems almost suicidal for this single submarine to take on two opponents in a face-off where it's outgunned and outnumbered.

However, Gunzou has no shortage of tricks up his sleeves, most of which come from the fact that this is "home soil" for him and his crew - thus, they use the now-sunken and ruined city of old Yokosuka below the sea as the starting point for an assault that allows them to hide themselves and deploy semi-automated torpedoes.  Although this is small fry to their opponents, it does give them enough trouble to send Kirishima into a rage - with the two battleships combining to use what they expect to be their final attack, literally dragging the I-401 out of the water as they prepare to obliterate it with their supergravity cannon, this offers up exactly the sort of opportunity to deal a surprise final blow that Gunzou has been waiting for.

As per my comments on episode two, this is further evidence of what Arpeggio of Blue Steel does best - never mind that whole "plot" malarkey, just give us a 3D CG-rendered game of battleships filled with tactics, strategy and lots of things blowing up and I'll be more than happy.  This proved to be another hugely enjoyable and occasionally thrilling ride that makes good use of the show's scenario to deliver the goods, while also fitting perfectly with the aesthetic Sanzigen has to offer.  This isn't going to be the kind of series we're talking about for years to come (apart from its use of CG, perhaps), but boy is it great fun to watch when it provides material like this, techno-babble, crazy weapons and all.