Zero no Tsukaima F – 11
The Lesbian Louise Licker returns!
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Well, the other show that I was covering has come to an end, but Zero no Tsukaima F is still alive and kicking. Let’s see what JC Staff has in store for us in the final 2 episodes of the original Shana clone. |
Continuing right where we left off, the Ancient Dragon turns to rock once it finishes chewing up Pope Vittorio. Saito is exhausted and Julio isn’t in such great shape either, so our heroes decide this is a good time to retreat, back to Gallia, apparently. Our queens and Julio, with the help from Osmond, that perverted head of Tristain Academy, try to think of a way to defeat the Ancient Dragon; though it was defeated by the 4 void mages 6,000 years ago in legend, there’s no reason why they need to do it the same way, and with half of the void mages now dead, they kind of have to come up with another method. (An aside, how stupid are the people of this world!? Think of how much our society and technology have advanced in the last 6,000 years! And we didn’t even have magic to help us along!)
Saito wakes up to the not-royal members of his harem Louise, Tifania, and Siesta watching over him, ready to get right back out there and kill the ancient dragon. They make him rest though, and outside his room, Louise confides in Tifania that she’s sure Saito must be hiding his pain from losing his sword. And she feels bad that, even though the rest of them are fighting to protect their homeland, Saito isn’t, because he came from another land.
I have to question the wisdom of designing a bed like this. I mean, I don’t recall seeing any giants – extremely thin or otherwise – in this world.
Once Saito is up, he goes to our elven sidekicks and asks them about the fighter plane that he had found in their oasis (hey, that made a return!). Even if that one’s not salvageable, if the elves have any others, that could easily take down the Ancient Dragon (again, how come they didn’t produce this kind of technology in the past 6,000 years!?). They don’t have any, but now that Louise can make portals, they can try to go back to Saito’s homeworld and grab another one (don’t ask me how they planned to jack a military combat plane. It’s not like they have timestop powers like Homura). So they waste no time with this plan, having Louise, with the help of Saito’s powerup, attempt to portal into his world.
And it works! Saito recognizes Japan and steps right in to proceed with their mission, but Louise isn’t following him in. Instead, she tells him that she really loved him and, with a smile, closes the portal behind him, leaving him locked back in Japan. This apparently wasn’t part of anyone’s plan except Louise’s, and though everyone is surprised, they understand her not wanting to make Saito get involved. Now the population of Halkeginia have to save Halkeginia with their own power.
Have to smile for your loved one, even if you want to cry ;_;
Osmond says that the Ancient Dragon is attracted to void mages – explaining its initial approach to Romalia where the void mage Pope Vittorio was – so they decide to relocate to Tristain Academy in order to bait it to a relatively secluded area. When Louise and Tifania arrive there, they find that no one has left – in fact, Tabitha has arrived first along with the elf sidekicks and even the Elemental Siblings whom she hired. They all want to stick around to help fight for the survival of Halkeginia.
Meanwhile, Saito isn’t enjoying being back home at all. He goes back to the alleyway where he was first accidentally teleported into Louise’s world, wondering if there’s a way to activate it again. In the process, he – apparently willingly, given his fighting skills – gets beat up by a trio of thugs looking to mug him (of course, he doesn’t have any cash on him, Japanese or otherwise).
Back at Halkeginia, the Ancient Dragon has awakened and apparently it can fly now, perhaps thanks to powering up from eating Vittorio. It heads to Tristain Academy, destroying some airships along the way, and the episode closes with a classic split screen shot, showing Louise looking out the balcony awaiting battle against this legendary enemy.
So that was actually a solid episode, easily worthy of being the penultimate episode of this much maligned but long running series. Yeah, Louise suddenly getting the ability to make a portal to our world and then unilaterally using it to force Saito to go back was dumb, but hey, there’s a certain level of that we’ve come to expect from this series. Dumping Saito back home with no foreseeable way to return, and with just one episode left was a great move and created exactly the right type of drama for this show. I’m not ashamed to admit that I was touched when Louise was saying goodbye to Saito. The master tearfully saying goodbye to her familiar dog is a cliche I enjoy.
Of course, there’s no doubt in my mind that Saito will be back. He is the title of the show and the final episode after all. But what if he didn’t come back and spent the rest of his life in Japan as a delusional lonely man always returning to that one spot on the wall where he first teleported into Halkeginia, wishing only to see his first love again? If the novels didn’t end that way, JC Staff certainly doesn’t have the guts to pull that off. But man, what an awesome troll ending that would be.
You know, though, the Ancient Dragon just doesn’t seem all that legendary to me at this point. I feel like the show should’ve spent at least one more episode showing it killing and destroying stuff. Since it was only introduced midway into last episode, it’s going to be dispatched in fewer than 3 episodes – just like Joseph was in the beginning of this show. But Joseph wasn’t supposed to be the final boss, and it allowed the show to start off hitting the ground running. With the Ancient Dragon (it doesn’t even have a cool sounding name!), it just kind of appeared last episode, didn’t do much of anything this one, and it’s going to get killed in the next one, and we’re supposed to take this as some impossible world-saving feat. I’m just not feeling it, guys. I’m much more interested in finding out how Saito is going to make his way back. Be summoned as the familiar of yet another attractive girl maybe? Nah, that would work as a sequel hook, which obviously can’t happen.
Preview
Of course, the final episode title has to be that of the series. And how come Henrietta had to wait until the last episode to whip this outfit out!?
About lvlln
A math/science geek and a self-dubbed cynical optimist. I don't care if it's deep, if it can make me feel something or laugh, it's fine in my book. @lvlln
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Every time I see that stone dragon my mind jumps right to World of Warcraft! It looks a bit like Deathwing…then again Zero No Tsukima F always makes me think of WoW thanks to the fantasy setting.
Saito back in his own time!? OH NOES!! How the hell will he get back? Well…we all know he will use some power of love or destiny to return to Louise <3 <3
Henrietta looks so amazing in that preview shot and of course sexy! She would easily be my 3rd favorite next to Tiffa and Louise...well Siesta is good too...
POWUH: 700-799 and Parkouring Fanboy with 776 comments
Zero no Tsukaima F started to get a very video game feel recently. I mean, already the setting and the airships made it feel like a JRPG somewhat, but the end-game upgrades of Louise’s abilities and Saito’s powers thanks to becoming Tifania’s familiar is pretty much a JRPG staple. And escaping from a dungeon through the sewers? How many times has that been done in a JRPG?
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
^^^^^^^^^ This is 100% right on! Lvlln xD
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 116 comments
*Yu-Gi-Oh! OST “Passionate Duelist” plays in the background*
Me: ‘I activate my trap card, “Dragon Capture Jar”! As long as this card remains face-up on the field, all face-up Dragon-Type monsters are changed to Defense Position and cannot change their Battle Position’
All Saito needs is a deck with Dragon Capture Jar in it and a Kaiba-corp duel disk and that Ancient Dragon problem is solved. Haha.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 323 comments
what !! where ??
POWUH: iLurker with 1 comments
Im pissed. I feel like this was so forced, the whole season for that matter. And like you said, they didn’t spend nearly enough time detailing the dragon, just kinda pops up….lame. As for saito going back I’ll be honest, I got a little emotional. But obviously he’ll be back half way-3/4 through the final episode. All and all, very disappointing anime. If anybody reads this take my advice, fuck the anime, fuck the manga, read the light novel. Leaps and bounds better. Mainly? Details. Juicy details. Plus it’s the REAL story not sone botched re-hatch like the anime/manga. I’ve ranted long enuff. Bye. -Seamus
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
The Familiar of Zero taking flanderiztion to a whole new level.