Shuumatsu no Izetta – 03
Tree is an effective counter to Izetta.
Now that was an action-packed episode of Shuumatsu no Izetta.
Defense at Coenenberg
All-out attack.
The majority of this episode is essentially fan service for all the military and WWII nerds out there. The Eylstadt soldiers dig in and prepare to hold off the Germanian forces at Coenenberg. With a fortress built into the side of a mountain, the location appears highly defensible at first. However, the relentless onslaught of the Germanian military pushes the Eylstadt soldiers back slowly but surely. As previously mentioned, their tactics involve a combined assault from both air and ground forces. Bombers first pummel the emplacements, killing and disorienting the defenders. Then infantry and armor push forward, breaking through their ranks and wiping out any remaining survivors. It’s a bloody affair, and despite the Germanian advance being slowed by artillery fire, it looks as if the invading empire is poised to seize an easy victory. Throughout this hellish nightmare, the show retains a human touch as we experience the conflict through the eyes of a young Eylstadt soldier. Jonas is clearly an inexperienced soldier. But as the battle unfolds, he grows from being a nervous mess who hopes to escape unharmed and reunite with his family to become a man with the conviction to fight to protect his comrades and those he cares about. While his development is rather straight-forward, and it’s unclear if he’ll even have a role of importance later on in the story, it’s still nice to see the episode focus on the circumstances of the ordinary soldiers at the front lines.
Princess’s Duty
Finé laments her powerlessness.
While this is happening, Finé and Hans’s men can do no more than watch the bloodshed from afar. Despite the soldiers wanting to charge in to avenge their dying comrades, Finé does not permit them to throw away their lives meaninglessly. Instead, she reminds them that their duty is to protect their people and their families; dying in vain to avenge fallen comrades will not help them do this. She even goes on to lament her powerlessness in the situation, expressing regret for having failed to secure the future and prosperity of her country and people. It’s a moving performance that we’ve come to expect from the righteous princess, who has pretty much solidified her image as a paragon of human virtue at this point. Seriously, every week I ask myself if Finé could possibly outdo herself in being such a perfect and morally outstanding character. And every week, the answer continues to be a “yes” somehow. To further the point, the princess even prohibits Izetta from acting in defense of Eylstadt because of the overwhelming odds they face. Even with the witch’s magical abilities, there is only so much that one person can do to change the tide of war, after all. And Finé most certainly does not want to see her dear friend injured or even killed while fighting for a country that she technically has no duty to defend (remember that Izetta and her grandmother were wanderers).
Game Changer
Don’t mess with Izetta.
But of course, Izetta isn’t going to listen to the princess’s words. And thus we get the juiciest part of the episode. Needless to say, it was only a matter of time before the witch got herself involved in the war effort, and boy did she make yet another grand entrance. Izetta arrives in the nick of time to save the Coenenberg fortress from incoming dive bombers that were sent to dispatch the spotters for the Eylstadt artillery that have been holding the Germanian armor at bay. Flying through the skies with a squadron of medieval lances, she destroys the bombers with acrobatic flair, and then proceeds to recruit the help of some old swords from the fortress and a machine gun from the front lines. Descending upon the battlefield, she goes on to thwart the Germanian forces by literally throwing their tanks around. Yes, that’s right. She picks up tanks and throws them around; sometimes at each other. Amazing. And that’s not all. With her magic, she is able to weave the swords into a shield capable of deflecting a tank round (it also helps that she positioned the shield at a shallow angle), as well as accelerate a bullet from the machine gun to such incredible speed as to pierce through the armor of a tank (this is followed by a Hollywood-style explosion, of course). It’s an unbelievable spectacle, and both sides are paralyzed by the surreal sight of a girl flying on a gun, flanked by swords, tossing tanks left and right as though they were nothing more than pebbles.
Extras
Given the chaos incited by Izetta’s arrival on the battlefield, Finé had to do something to reinvigorate the morale of her country’s soldiers. And so naturally, she proclaims that Izetta is the second coming of the legendary White Witch, and urges the Eylstadt soldiers to rally behind her and fight by her side to protect the freedom of their country. This was pretty much the only explanation that the princess could have given now that Izetta has revealed herself to the general public, and it was a development I’m sure many of us saw coming. So it will be very interesting to see how the young witch’s future changes now that she is burdened with the task of being the country’s ultimate protector. I believe that more than the possibility of Izetta being wounded in combat, the crushing weight of this burden is something Finé feared her dear friend would have to bear should she choose to use her powers for the sake of the country. But the die has been cast now, and if nothing else, the two can help each other share this burden, given the princess’s own position as leader of Eylstadt now that her father has passed away.
A princess and her idiot.
About Sumairii
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
And Finé most certainly does not want to see her dear friend injured or even killed while fighting for a country that she technically has no duty to defend.
What Fine hasn’t considered is that Izetta may feel obliged to fight for Fine’s own safety and freedom – to protect a dear friend.
POWUH: iLurker with 19 comments
I don’t think Izetta fights because she feels obliged. I think she just wants to help her friend. She’s just that kind of person imo.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
I think Izetta’s main motivation is just that she doesn’t want to see Finé sad. We see that she only decided to act after watching the princess shed tears over her inability to do anything to stop her people from being killed.
POWUH: iLurker with 19 comments
She wanted to act since last episode, actually. And of course she doesn’t want to see her friend sad, but generally she just wants to help.
Additionally, she also has her own reasons to fight. Remember that flashback in episode 2, how the Germanians wiped off her village? She’s clearly still very angry about that.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Yes, she’s been wanting to help since before that point. But she respected Finé’s request not to get involved despite her own feelings. It took the princess’s tears to finally push her into action.
POWUH: iLurker with 19 comments
Seeing Fine cry was the the last straw, sure. But that’s not her motivation as she wanted to get involved even before that point.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
So we still don’t have an answer as to the source of Izetta’s magic power. Previously doing much less than she did in this episode she was left with her power exhausted or nearly so. Yet here she destroys a squadron of Stukas and tosses tanks around like they were toys and still seems to have power left. Was her weakness earlier due to the fact she had been in an induced coma? Was it because she only had a weakened source for her magic earlier?
It’d be nice to get an answer to the source of her power in order to explain the huge difference in her power between this episode and the earlier ones. I still like the idea that the country of Eylstadt itself is a source of great magic power Izetta can draw upon. That also would seem to explain why in the past a powerful witch was able to come to the country’s aid. However, I admit I’m basing this entirely upon my thoughts without any evidence so far from the show.
I know Izetta’s grandmother told her she’s the most powerful witch in generations, but that could be because she’s the most successful at drawing upon whatever magic source is available. The power might not actually be within her, but rather the ability to use it.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I like the idea that the Eylstadt witches are very powerful on native soil. Magic usually needs to have some sort of narrative limit to keep it in check or else you get “well why doesn’t she use her magic to do X”…or you can have a writer that just uses magic to get a character out of a jam with little to no build up “it’s magic, I ain’t gonna explain merde”…
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Yes, there has to be some kind of limit or else a top ranked magician is indistinguishable from a god.
Your comment about native soil brings up a thought. Izetta and her grandmother wandered around, but where was she born? Or where does her family hail from originally? Maybe Izetta is an Eylstadtian by birth or heritage. If that proves to be the case, then this war is her fight for more than Fine being her only friend.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Yeah, answers about Izetta’s powers have yet to be given. I’m sure they’ll come in due time though. It could be because she’s back on Eylstadt soil as you mentioned. Or it could be that she had plenty of time to accumulate a lot of mana during the time between the two episodes.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Spammy.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I got both…
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Thanks.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
At this point, if I see any oblong-shaped object that can hurt people, I know she’s going to use it as a “broomstick” eventually…
Anyways ahhhh that was such an intense episode. Izetta is strong, but it never felt like it was a totally one-sided fight since even a single hit would probably kill her. She really had to fight for that win, it wasn’t a guarantee. I wonder if she’s actually won over people into thinking she’s a friendly White Witch or if she’ll face some more discrimination down the road.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I really looooooved this one. The build up to, and the follow through on the main battle was brilliant. Cutting back and forth from the poor common solider in the trenches defending his home, to the generals practically salivating over their champagne was a good way to reinforce which side is really fighting the good fight.
I also love how they had Izetta rush in, damn the choices. Being youngish, sheltered in a way, and naive in lots of others builds up to her making a very quick decision to enter the field of battle, especially in a very public sort of way. News will travel fast and it makes me scarred to see if Germania has it’s own form of magical deterrent it’s been holding, not wanting to use but now feels it has too.
The only complaint I have it Izetta’s Olympic Level tanking floating exhibition. It felt a bridge to far in it’s execution…
A challenger appears….
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Izetta would never see her coming.