Brave Witches – 04
Fall in!
 |
Well, when last we spoke, I was anticipating getting into Nipa’s storyline, but the “Chidori” arc had yet to close, and it looks like this episode took care of that. So let’s see if Hikari can secure her place in the joint fighter group. |
Take Five Steps Forward
Looking forward…
So far I’ve liked how they’ve provided”mission briefings” as most of the show’s cold opens. It provides a nice backbone for the rest of the episode and it puts the needs for the overall show right up front. This is about Hikari finding her place, of course, but it’s also about a much larger concern of war versus the Neuroi. But big picture versus little picture was very much a concern for this one. So the high command has plans for a massive army to stage in Petersburg, which if you recall from last episode, is 1) nearly devoid of it’s civilian population 2) is right next to nest Grigori and 3) most important it’s the home base for the 502nd. It’s time for a counterattack, and as we learn after the OP, Takumi’s condition is not being reported, and Gundala is playing a very broad strategic game with higher command. She looks after her unit, and her unit will probably look after here. There is one more little bit in there, that they’ll probably exploit later on, and that is that the 502nd’s Krupinski is trying to find out from Hartmann how the 501st beat their nest – both of them being Karslanders. Details as they unfold….
There were many variations of this…
But, for the most part, the rest of the episode is taken up with Flight Sergeant Edytha Rossman, Witch Whisperer. Her plan is to have Hikari go large, or pretty much go home. The task was deemed impossible, and as it played out, even an accomplished witch like Kanno was unable to keep at it and accomplish the goal. But then, the spire was always for Hikari to climb. her hands the ones that had to get numb, her having to dodge a very defensive mother bird guarding her nest, her falling asleep halfway up. But, it was a victory of inches, and the most serious one was both Hikari and Edytha learning about how the power is applied for Hikari herself. She tried to brute force it, and needed to learn how to apply her witch’s power with more direction; she’ll learn subtlety and grace soon enough. But it was all just in time for a Neuroi raid, with is par for the course in the Witches’ franchise. You learn a valuable life lesson, then you beat on an alien booger – which isn’t to say they won’t or haven’t done it the other way around, or by having one book-ending the other…
Extra Variations and Such
Just in case you forgot…
Sometimes you focus on the big picture you lose detail; and sometimes you focus on detail so much the big picture is lost as well. So this was a tale of the different lenses using their strengths to find a way. I’m pretty sure Rossman was convinced that Hikari would give up sooner than not at all. But I think she discovered that sometimes you don’t get to have the high level recruit you were looking for. When this Neuroi was beaten Rossman had an exchange with Hikari that she, Rossman, should have had in mind for herself. Hikari isn’t her older sister. They’ve been focused on that so much they lost track of the gutsy, can do, won’t give up little sister they got instead. Battles are won with perseverance, too. So the 502nd, at the risk of sounding a bit cheesy, might not have gotten what they wanted, but could end up making exactly what they need, more than anything else, if they have the patience and perseverance.
I hope they have more characters this next arc….
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
To paraphrase: “You go to war with the people you have, not the people you wish you had.” The trick is to make the most with what you have.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…which I think is a darn good, on point, message for just about any challenge. We always wait for “optimal conditions” before we commit to decisions, and most of the time that is a luxury we shouldn’t or can’t make room for. Now this story really really pushed that, but some things need to be pushed?