Wizard Barristers - Episode 6

If Cecil has been given an easy ride by her employers when it comes to racking up fines thus far, it seems that this honeymoon is well and truly over as she finds herself having strips torn off her for her repeated infractions as this week's episode of Wizard Barristers begins.

Although there aren't many supportive voices on Cecil's side in the office (not helped by her blaming everybody but herself), Tsunomi at least offers an opportunity for her to cheer up via a mysterious day out at the weekend.  However, it seems as if Cecil simply can't get a break, as even this simple trip in to town ends with her being caught up in an attack by a group of terrorists with a giant flying creature who ultimate take her, and a bunch of school children, hostage.

So, what do these villains want?  To conquer the world, so they say, in lines that sound suspiciously like those espoused by a TV villain.  Speaking of which, it seems that Tsunomi's idea of "fun at the weekend" is cosplaying as a super sentai character with Cecil, and as news breaks about the hostage situation she takes her cosplaying a little too seriously, setting off to save the day.  In the ensuing chaos, the police also storm the building, and it takes all of Tsunomi and Cecil's power (with a little help from Sasori) to win the day... although, it seems that this entire setup was yet another attempt to provoke Cecil into activating her magic; a conspiracy which reaches ever further into society.

Given how much I enjoyed the conclusion to this week's episode of Wizard Barristers, it's somehow all the more frustrating that everything before that point was so clunky - while it's fine to make the hostage situation seem oddly pointless as a hint as to its true aims, it didn't do anything beyond making the much of the story feel horribly twee and generally a bit silly until the impressive action kicked off.  In a sense, this is perhaps the wider problem with the series - its unending focus on its end-game as it relates to Cecil seems to be seriously compromising elements of its build-up, and although it's far from a complete disaster it does take some of the sheen from the show's more positive moments.  Still, the ending to this episode and some of its revelations have certainly more than kept my interest, so taken as a whole Wizard Barristers is still accomplishing its mission.