2017 Week 8: Episodes 29-32

[Milieva]

This thread is for the discussion of Season 2: episodes 29-32.  Please mind the rewatch rules.

[Somariel]

Finally getting around to writing up my extended thoughts on these episodes, although I'm sure I'll be coming back to this post after rewatching the episodes again.

Episode 29
Between the moment when Hikaru wakes up on the NSX and the moment when Zazu leads her out of the room, there are several full-front, head-and-shoulders shots of her that make her look a lot like a boy and that is giving me AU ideas.

I really love how Hikaru instantly goes on alert and readies herself to fight when she sees Eagle. It just feels so right - like, she was willing to just go with the flow when she didn't really know what was going on, but seeing the guy she was essentially just fighting causes her "fight or flight" reflex to kick in. And of course, then Eagle goes and upends her expectations by being kind and gentle with her.

I swear to fucking God, I want to shoot whoever decided that in this season of the anime, Umi and Fuu could not be allowed to have a conversation with each other that didn't revolve around Hikaru. I mean, it's not like the two of them don't have anything else they could talk to each other about. But noooooooooooooo, the viewers can't ever be allowed to ~possibly~ run the chance of forgetting that Hikaru fucking exists! It's the same damn problem that the Bechdel test measures, just centered on Hikaru instead of a guy.

How Eagle and Lantis are described as meeting here in the anime has long been adopted as my headcanon for how they met in the manga as well, although some comments made during the rewatch chat for this episode have caused me to at least alter the circumstances to the match having ended up a draw, since it did always feel just a little odd for Lantis to have won, even with a lucky shot, when Eagle's had his whole life to learn to pilot a mecha and Lantis had only had a few months at the most.

Exploring what might have happened if Nova hadn't kidnapped Hikaru right in the middle of Lantis and Eagle's fight is definitely the oldest of my anime AU ideas and I'm really going to have to write it someday, especially since it seems like it would fit quite well into the "Innouva as the Season 2 villain" AU.


Episode 30
Of course this episode starts out by handing Hikaru the Idiot Ball again, because that's the only possible explanation for why she thinks it's a ~good idea~ to try to talk to someone who has just expressed a desire to kill her and is now attacking her. And the same is true for why she didn't fucking TALK TO SOMEONE about her dreams after this.

And then the episode has to go and throw the Idiot Ball to Umi and Fuu as well, because they for damn sure should have asked Hikaru about her dreams later, given Debonair's comment about being the one who appeared in Hikaru's dreams.


Episode 31
I seriously believe that Aska would likely devote herself to her studies somewhat better if Sang Yung wasn't always around to bail her out when she doesn't know something she's supposed to.

Caldina is just so utterly outrageous with her comments and suggestions that I can't help but laugh.

Tatra is just such a troll and has so much fun winding Tarta up that it is glorious.


Episode 32
I think that what I love best about this episode is that Hikaru is barely focused on at all, which is so rare in this season.