Riddle Story of Devil - Episode 10

Only one final foe stands between Haru and safety, and given that it's the demure Hanabusa surely there isn't too much to worry about?

Indeed, any immediate worries about her hatching a plan look as if they might be unfounded, as an envelope which she hands to Haru contains not an advance notice of an assassination attempt, but an invitation to a tea party - in fact, Hanabusa has even provided an extravagant dress for Haru to wear for the occasion.

Upon arriving at the top floor of the school, which has been especially redeveloped just for this little party, it soon becomes clear that this is not just an opportunity for a nice cup of tea and a chat - Hanabusa has assembled puppet replicas of the other girls of the Black Class, aside from a living, breathing (but strait-jacketed) Takechi.  With an advance noticed now delivered, the fun can really start with Hanabusa providing a room full of weaponry before revealing the surprising (well, partly surprising at best) truth about her own body as she attempts to take out Haru while Tokaku is locked away from the action, before Azuma's quick thinking means that she has to deal with Haru's bodyguard first.  Having done this, it's left to Haru to show off her own impressive survival instincts to avoid her fate and emerge safe and sound.

I was expecting that this week's Riddle Story of Devil might be a bit more of a slow-burner, but boy was I wrong, as it deliver a Terminator-esque final boss with no shortage of weaponry and craziness to deal with. Admittedly, the show's animation struggled with this a little at times but it still made for an episode that was compelling and a whole lot of fun to watch in a simple yet effective fashion. With three episodes still to go there's clearly a lot still to cover - not least more about Haru's background - but I do worry a little that it may struggle to match up to a series that has grown increasingly enjoyable by the week of late.