Black Clover - Episode 98 [Review]

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O Maidens in Your Savage Season - Episode 9 [Review]

I have to admit that it was almost a relief when I got to be mad at Niina and Milo-sensei again for their intensely stupid or annoying actions after the first half of this episode. Not that I approve of what either of them are doing, or particularly enjoy watching people actively be jackasses, but the walking-on-clouds first love aspect of Kazusa and Sonezaki was also incredibly irritating. In that case, however, it's not because the characters are being ninnies, but rather because it's all too familiar from my own high school days – the way a friend suddenly became some mushy pink lump the moment they began dating someone.

As I've said before, with O Maidens in Your Savage Season, part of the difficulty in reviewing is distancing myself (or perhaps yourself as a viewer and reader) from the parts of it that hit too close to home. At this moment, and possibly for the remainder of the series, Momoko is the most relatable character for me, because while she's dealing with one very important realization about Niina and her own feelings, right now she's much more invested in trying to preserve her friendship now that A Boy has gotten in the way. Momoko's afraid that Kazusa's and Niina's crushes on Izumi are going to destroy their friend group, something that Niina is all too willing to facilitate. She flat-out tells Momoko (or implies, at least) that she's going to choose her crush on Izumi over her friendship with Momoko and Kazusa, which is an awful (albeit fairly believable) thing to say. Momoko quickly goes into crisis mode, desperately trying to keep the trio together, but while she's doing that Niina is actively sabotaging her efforts, along with Izumi's relationship with Kazusa. Her parting line, that you don't have sex with your friends, sends Momoko reeling, but we can see her quickly shove that little moment back into its lockbox in her brain as something she's not ready to deal with yet. While that's a little too bad, it also makes sense, since two of her clubmates and friends are currently obsessing over romantic feelings for boys. This is not the moment she wants to pop up and say that she's different, especially since the Niina/Kazusa dynamic is so threatening to her peace of mind and ideas of the way things have always been in the first place.

It's worth wondering about Niina's motivations for what she's doing as well. There are definitely a few options here: she could be reeling from Izumi's rejection (when, after all, she's The Pretty One as far as the school is concerned, so how could he choose someone else), she could be suffering from her abuse at the hands of Saegusa, who continues to take advantage of her for his own entertainment, or she really could be exactly what everyone thinks she is – the kind of girl who steals someone else's boyfriend just because she can. Since reality is rarely so neatly divided, the truth is probably some combination of all three, and Niina's own internal wounds are almost certainly driving her actions.

The use of Antoine Saint-Exupery's novel The Little Prince is particularly interesting here. Saegusa tells Niina that she is the Fox in the novel, while Izumi is the Prince and Kazusa is the Rose. The Fox wishes desperately to be tamed by the Prince, to have her wildness removed and to belong to him, because it will make the Fox special and unique among foxes, just as the Prince's Rose is special and different from all other roses. But the Prince can only have his Rose, and at the end of the novel he sheds his corporeal body so that he can return to his planet to be with her again, his ephemeral something, ultimately leaving everyone else – Fox and Narrator, King and Lamplighter – behind. Even if Niina does succeed in briefly winning the Prince (in this case, sleeping with Izumi), this seems to imply, she is not his eternal, ephemeral Rose, and she never will be. Perhaps even more important is the fact that it is the Fox who tells the Prince that true things are seen with the heart rather than the mind, which is a lesson Niina herself could definitely stand to learn.

Regardless, what she's doing is awful. And Milo-sensei agreeing to sleep with Hongo? Also bad, although I'm definitely not sure he'll go through with it. Hongo probably should know better than to proposition him, but he's still the adult in this situation, and he really should have shut her down right away instead of letting this play out.

But maybe everyone in this story is just living out their time as the King in Saint-Exupery's book – trying to order the sun to rise and set when and how it suits them best.

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Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? II - Episode 8 [Review]

Haruhime's situation, it turns out, is even worse than Bell and Mikoto at first assumed. Not only was she tricked and sold to Ishtar and forced to become a part of her familia, it wasn't just for her special skill of raising people's levels temporarily. Or rather, it was, but not in the sense that she's simply brought into the Dungeon to buff someone. Because why settle for that when you could give everyone in the familia the ability to raise their own levels via magic cheat? Sure, the way to do that is not only forbidden but also will result in Haruhime's death, but as they say, to make an omelet, you've gotta crack those eggs.

The egg in question is actually a stone – a Killing Stone, to be precise. It's a ritual performed on Renards in order to separate them from their innate abilities by placing those powers into a magical stone via soul transfer. Once the soul is in the stone, it can then be shattered, and each shard will contain the powers of the whole. The catch is, of course, that the soul will also be broken, and there's absolutely no way to put it back together again. The Renard then dies, but her power lives on, usable by anyone who possesses a piece of Killing Stone. That's what Ishtar has planned for Haruhime, and since the only actual requirement for the ritual to create a Killing Stone is a full moon, that implies that making Haruhime work in a brothel has all just been her own twisted idea of fun. It isn't enough that she plans to murder the young woman; she feels the need to humiliate her first and break her spirit. I'd say that perhaps Ishtar just wants to give Haruhime a taste of the sort of activities she herself clearly enjoys, but given that we've now seen her sexually assault both Hermes and Aisha and that Phryne, who also gets a kick out of nonconsensual sex, is her right-hand Amazon, any sort of altruistic motive doesn't seem terribly likely.

This all makes Ishtar the most threatening villain of the series thus far. Apollo was petty and selfish, Freya's calculating and probably going to try something else not good in the future, but Ishtar is utterly ruthless and has zero compassion or concern for the wants or well-being of others. As we saw with Aisha's flashback, she doesn't hesitate when it comes to brutal punishments if she's crossed. Both Bell and Haruhime are just means to a desired end for her, which means that she basically sees them as disposable tools rather than people. She's about as far from Hestia and Takemikazuchi as it's possible to be, almost making Soma look like a semi-decent god.

It also makes “threat of rape” the main weapon for this particular story arc, and I can't say that I'm wild about that. This is the second time Bell has been in danger of being assaulted by members of Ishtar Familia, and Phryne is a terrifying predator. At least the scene in Phryne's sex/torture dungeon isn't played for laughs like Bell's earlier experience with Aisha and the other Amazons. It's also followed up by a very sweet moment when Haruhime comes to rescue him and he hugs her while sobbing. Bell's trust in Haruhime, the fact that he turns to her for comfort, is a balm for both of them: Bell because he's traumatized and she's a safe person, and Haruhime because it means that Bell sees her as a person, one trustworthy and good enough that she can soothe him in his time of need. Given how she sees herself as tainted, Bell's trust and approbation go a long way towards her regaining some sense of self, although this episode makes it clear that she's still more than willing to just give into her fate as Ishtar's sacrifice rather than fight to live.

Fortunately for Haruhime, Mikoto, Bell, and the rest of two familias are willing to fight for her. This may not achieve the scale of the War Game with Apollo Familia, but the emotional value of it may be much, much higher.

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Black Clover - Episode 98 [Review]

A while back we met Fuegoleon Vermillion, the captain of the Crimson Lion Kings. He was immediately one of the coolest and most likable characters in the series by virtue of his strength, but also his willingness to support others. His "Being weak isn't something to be ashamed of," pep talk to Noelle is probably the single best piece of rhetoric in the show. However, he was quickly dispatched by the Eye of the Midnight Sun, losing an arm and falling into a series-long coma which led to his sister taking over his squad. This week, Fuegoleon finally returns in a blaze of glory.

The majority of this episode focuses on the remaining members of the Crimson Lion Kings fighting off the elves while Mereoleona is away from home base. Before Fuegoleon's arrival, this is Leopold's brief time to shine as he proves to himself that he has the grit to one day lead the squad. Our main antagonist is an elf whose name I don't think we receive, so we'll just call him "Randall" after the Lion King vice captain whose body has been taken over. The audience doesn't really have any stake in who Randall was before the possession, or who he is now in elf-form. He's a cookie-cutter bad guy so the heroes have something to react to.

There are only so many ways to extol the virtues of raw shonen magnetism, but the Vermillion family exemplify that spirit unlike anyone else in this show. They'd come across as parodic in their "RAH RAH, NEVER GIVE UP," passion if they weren't so charismatic. As opposed to Asta, who is an underdog with something to prove, the Vermillions are royalty and have already claimed positions of leadership. Their conviction is a part of their responsibility—if they can't stand up for what's important, then who will? Black Clover has been hit-and-miss when it comes to streamlining Shonen Jump tropes, but this week is working for me. Fuegoleon is in a very Goku-like position where he's been taken out of commission long enough for the weaker characters to struggle and fight, and then he appears to save the day when he's most needed. He even arrives with an unexpected power-up in the form of Salamander, the fiery dragon spirit that was fighting with Fana a few arcs ago. The story could not get any more straightforward than this, but the emphasis is on the strength and dependability of heroes like Fuegoleon. We follow him for a reason.

The episode caps off with a tease of what's to come. Elves are gathering all over the kingdom, and the ones we've been fighting are just the tip of the iceberg. We meet Latry, the elf inhabiting Langris' body who also happens to be Patry's cousin. He's powerful enough to fight his way out of the prison that Langris was being kept in, and the episode ends with Finral waking up with the determination to save his brother. (Even though Langris, like, super doesn't deserve it.) With so many moving pieces and various battles all running simultaneously, I'm reminded of Dragon Ball Super's Tournament of Power. There's suddenly a ton going on in the story, but it's all in service of setting up fights and I worry that there won't be enough variety in the plot to help structure it all. It's working well so far, since we can take it one week at a time, but Black Clover's magic duels have a pretty dry pattern to them. On its own, this episode is snappy and exciting, with just enough visual polish to keep things impactful. Whether or not the show can keep building on this momentum is dubious, but for now I'm still enjoying myself.

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