Zetsuen no Tempest – 23
Evangeline’s pants… It’s like I’m in the 90’s again.
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At last, a chance to write about this episode of Tempest. Yes, I’ve been stuck with a paper that I underestimated the past couple days. So yeah, another episode of preparation and the beginning of the final battle~. …I think I like this version better than the dream I had where Mahiro’s grand plan was for Hakaze to turn him back into a shota, have him wear a pink frilly dress with fairy wings as a distraction and this would somehow solve everything. …It made sense at the time (and this did have crossdressing in it regardless). |
…I see the fanfics coming already.
Er, besides that though, that conversation between Mahiro and Megumu was definitely something. I say this a lot, but WOW, Mahiro’s character is so different from how he was originally portrayed. It’s nice that he can sit down and have a heart to heart with Megumu like that. Even better, that conversation made me feel like having Megumu as the main player (even though he was completely absent from the first half of the plot) was more fitting in a sense. He might not be the most reliable person, but everyone can kind of relate to him in a sense (especially people like Samon who want to minimize the casualties). He’s the main protagonist for this final mission and while all of the other protagonists thus far have fallen back a bit (some more than others), they’re all supporting Megumu in this. …Now if only we knew who Yuu-chan was.
Samon line about “If things go wrong, this is where my past actions all catch up with me” (or something like that) was interesting too. I wish the anime had included some of the things I’ve heard about the manga since all of the characters sound so much deeper there. Apparently Samon sees himself as the villain due to his actions against Hakaze in the first arc (and yet a necessary villain). I wish the anime had highlighted that more since it sounds like an interesting character point and he obviously still thinks that way about himself (and Takumi too apparently). …Though no big deal since I’m probably going to read the manga around the summer or so (when I have time to read it all in one go). It just would have been interesting to see more character interaction and depth here and now.
I understand Hakaze’s frustration on Yoshino being on the mission but… who knew that Yoshino felt that way about everything. For someone who keeps pretty much everything to himself, I would have never expected a guy like him to openly confess that he’s grown attached to everyone. Hell, I wouldn’t have been able to tell if he hadn’t said something. I could have guessed about Mahiro, Hakaze, and maybe Evangeline but I don’t even think I’ve seen him meaningfully interact with anyone else. After watching the whole episode, it kind of felt like this was added for the benefit of the drama of the end if anything… Though given his character, that’s probably why we couldn’t tell if he felt that way or not. I mean, we couldn’t really feel his affection for Aika in the flashbacks and he was pining over her the entire series. Though it’s good news for Hakaze that Yoshino says that he’s come to terms with his death.
Aaaaand in the end, crossdressing saves the day. Funny how none of the ship captains noticed that the Mai Hime had a really masculine voice, but overall, I’d say that Mahiro’s plan is nothing short of brilliant. From having Megumu and Hakaze switch costumes to get one mage closer to the Tree to the switch with Tetsuma, it all seems like a really, really good plan. Hakaze’s displays with Megumu actually did serve a purpose! And now they can exploit that! Yaaay. But yeah, a good move overall and it solves pretty much all of the problems since it draws the ships away without them realizing. …The only problem is how Megumu is going to destroy the core after all of the ships have moved away and what comes after that. He’s pretty high up. I wonder if he’ll lose his powers too once Genesis is destroyed. I can see so many things going wrong (and things have already gone wrong), but at least Mahiro and Yoshino (oh wait, never mind) are there to make any last minute adjustments.
…This was made slightly harder to take seriously due to the mask.
“YOSHINOOOOOO“, indeed. I guess Tempest did throw a last minute plot twist in there. Who’s next? Mahiro too? Didn’t the first half already end like this? Well, Hakaze did say that they were going to leave them behind and with all of the other Kusaribe mages busy, so there’s not much they can do. …Unless they’re in range for talismans to work since Mahiro can use those. Provided that they have any. The thing is too that we can’t even blame the guy who shot Yoshino since he probably thought that he was protecting world peace. Sigh. Well, we’ll see if Yoshino dies or not (that looked like he was shot in the heart, but obviously not since he’s still alive in the preview). It would be a shame if he never read that letter from Aika though. …Not to mention Hakaze’s whole reason for wanting to save the world would be gone. Really, I expect both him and Mahiro to make it out alive though since they have the letters waiting. Or at least one of them. Either that or we just have Hakaze at the end all alone reading the letters, but I can’t see that being the ending since Tempest seems to all have been a build up for a good ending.
So we’re on to the last episode (which will be out sooner than this one was. No, really). Again, I can’t really see Yoshino actually dying since the letters have yet to be opened. Mahiro, Yoshino, Hakaze or Megumu dying just seems like it wouldn’t fit in with the overall tone the show has set so far. …Or maybe this is just denial on my part because I want everyone to get through this alive. Oh well. This has been a great series so far with plenty of twists and turns, so I’m looking forward to seeing how all of this ends up. Will Aika’s death become a tragedy, or will they find out a workable way to solve everything?
…At least we know that Aika will make a final appearance.
About Karakuri
University student and the one at Metanorn who's known for wearing glasses. Likes blood, insanity and plot twists, but also plays otome games and adores cute romance anime. It balances out... somehow.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I’m imagining the point of Yoshino being shot, and seemingly so fatally, is to set up a race against the clock: Hakaze could heal him with Kusaribe magic, but only if 1) the research ship gets outside of the pillar’s influence, 2) Hakaze breaks her oath to not come back for him and 3) they do all this before Megumu destroys the pillar.
This is a reason I frequently don’t watch previews, although having someone be alive in a preview in this show hardly matters, as much flashback as it has. But I certainly don’t want Yoshino to die, that would just be too cruel to Hakaze.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
It could be a flashback, but it’s more common sense really. If Yoshino had been shot as fatally as it looks, I he wouldn’t even be alive for a flashback. I don’t want him to die though for sure. …And I’ll have to wait 4 more hours until I can even watch the finale and find this out or not OTL
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Mahiro’s strategizing prowess is mind blowing. Purely amazing that a kid born into a privilidged life could create such an elaborate plan down to micro managing every little detail. I find it unique that he wants to have a position where it enables him to help people against living the high life he’s always had. Not many people would even bother to make that sacrifice. And I also give him and Yoshino props for throwing themselves into a fight.
I like that each of the characters are straightforward with concerns about what could happen during the battle and hold nothing back for the sake of needlessly comforting someone with false hope. They know the risks and are willing to take them.
Yoshino has finally come to terms with Aika’s but I’m wondering if he felt troubled about knowing that Hakaze loves him when he was still hung on Aika. If he was hesitating about moving on with Hakaze because he felt it would be like insulting Aika’s memory.
The crossdressing had me scratching my head at first but it turned out to be effective. It’s doubtful the captains were around the princess long enough to notice the voice. I guess they wanted to go as far outside the box as they could before the show ends. I think Yoshino getting shot at end of the episode was pretty cliché. He nearly died halfway though but survived so there’s doubt this time will be any different. Hakaze saved him so it’s likely the same thing will happen again.