I gotta say, I’m relieved that they finally slammed on the breaks in episode 5 (which was why I waited to do a double-post). It was a good build up of calm before the storm that struck in episode 6, because boy, did shit hit the fan. This week’s was by far the best episode of the season, and they made the time count. For once, it didn’t feel like we’re speed-running through an episode, it felt longer than 20 minutes (if you exclude OP and ED), so I’m delighted to say: They nailed it.
These past two episodes we also got to see Miyo show-off how much she has come out of her shell. She not only stood up to the men talking shit behind Kaoruko’s back, she also stood her ground against Usui, buying time by refusing to go and vowing she’ll never be aligned with his interests. She also made sure to put her foot down that Usui is in-fact NOT her father. He just claims because she’s Sumi’s daughter, that makes her ‘practically’ his. I’m really proud of her because god damn, she’s come so far!
It also makes me happy that Miyo has enough confidence and strength of not being so caught up with the fact Kaoruko was previously one of Kiyoka’s marriage candidates. It also helps that Miyo and Kiyoka have been able to communicate about this, allowing Kiyoka to affirm that she was the one he chose and intends to marry. So despite the fact that Kaoruko did and still harbours some feelings towards Kiyoka, that, I’m glad the two are still able to be friends.
And really, Kaoruko is Miyo’s perfect role model of who she aspires to be. Miyo wants to become someone who can stand tall and proud in the face of those who want to tear her down. The two are so cute together, but unfortunately given what transpired, Kaoruko will be returning to the capital.
As demonstrated, Usui’s power is a force to be reckoned with. It’s a dangerous psychological weapon that few can avoid falling into the traps of, even more so when one cannot sense the danger lurking approaching them, and worse: Causing them to attack each other not realizing who’s actually in front of them. Because of that, Usui was able to simply just waltz right into the military base and take down the entire squad that was responsible for guarding Miyo. Having successfully lured Kiyoka and Arata away from the scene with a bait, there was nobody to stand in his path. Kaoruko did what she could, but man– he’s not someone to be messed with.
And if that wasn’t already bad enough: He even manipulated Kaoruko into tampering with the barrier on his behalf. He tricked her with the illusions that he had captured her father, and tortured him in front of her. And man, they did NOT pull any soft-punches in how horrid that vision was. This was definitely the most violent episode we’ve seen yet.
We also saw a concerning parallel between Arata and Usui. Although their… reasons for convictions for protecting the Dream Maidens greatly differs, there is one thing that they do share in common: The maidens they thought they were destined to live alongside and protect were (in their perspective’s role) taken away from them. That’s precisely why Usui has reached out to Arata, extending an offer to have him join The Gift Communion. We saw that Arata was deeply troubled by it throughout the dinner gathering Miyo and Kiyoka were hosting at their place. He has a lot on his plate, especially since the military members are even gossiping that he had collaborated with Usui to lure them away from the base. He was pretty pissed off about it, and was determined to set things right by investigating the villa again. But whether he’d be swayed by Usui’s words to reclaim what “should’ve belonged to him” is left up in the air.
And finally Kiyoka. I will say…. while he wasn’t really in the spotlight a whole lot this volume I still feel like he got the short-end of the stick this time round. Thankfully we did finally get to see a bit of his backstory as to why he joined the military in the first place, and why he’s especially sensitive when Godou’s the one who got injured as badly as he did. Godou’s father was the previous commander of the unit. He had originally sought out Kiyoka to join the military to replace him, but Kiyoka at the time didn’t want to. He was so frustrated with his family that he wanted to rebel and not follow their footsteps. However what he didn’t know at the time, was that Godou’s father’s powers were dwindling, and ultimately it ended up taking his life during a field mission. While I think we can all agree, this wasn’t really Kiyoka’s fault, he still felt like he was responsible and felt terribly guilty about it, especially since the man was someone dear to him. That’s why he joined and rose up to the position as the commander, and the saber he carries and uses belongs to him.
Last thing to mention before I wrap things up: We saw Miyo feeling guilty for not communicating what she had dreamed of to Kiyoka. But it’s important to remember, Miyo still doesn’t quite have a grasp on what she’s truly capable of. But this episode proved that Miyo’s dream-sight ability has a wide range of things it can do. She can not only help those get out of comas, see visions of the past, but also has visions of future events, probably similarly to the way Prince Takaihito’s gets revelations. And although things have settled down for now, Prince Takaihito has announced another storm is brewing– of course don’t forget: Miyo’s vision from the beginning of the very first episode has yet to be seen…
