[Deathscyther]

Originally Posted by Hooves

My reaction when the JohanxPheles Mystery Machine came around.

BAKA PUUUUUNCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Yuji's only weakness by the way)

Baka punch:
Base power 120. Uses the power of love. Super effective against dense male leads.

Originally Posted by Hooves

Spoiler for Seriously??????:

SERIOUSLY??? (Showing a picture like this RIGHT WHEN Yoshida was going to summon Pheles?)

Haha, I agree. This eyecatch felt completely out of place.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

There's some truth to what Dahak86 wrote.

As much as I've largely enjoyed Shana III, I did miss some of the unpredictable "chaotic" action scenes and confrontations of the two previous Shana seasons. Almost everything in Shana III has been very well-executed, but the overall narrative has progressed in a fairly straightforward manner since around the time Shana escaped from Bal Masque quite a few episodes ago.

So this episode was the perfect time to bring in a welcomed, unpredictable "X Factor" in powerful highly independent agents in Pheles and Johan. That did a lot to spice up the Shana & Wilhelmina vs. Yuji & Sydonay fight, as great as the first few minutes of it was anyway (truly glorious visuals on JC Staff's part there with Shana's raging at Yuji).

With this in mind, the conversation between Yuji and Johan was very interesting

"I'm going to blow away this moment you guys had."- Johan Ha ha ha ha!!! I have to admit I loved how Yuji kind of "got told" and upstaged by the showboating romantic Johan there, lol.

It was also particularly nice to see Shana briefly put aside the entire broader fight out of concern over Yuji losing his Reigi Maigo. Having characters conflicted over multiple and somewhat contradictory goals is something that this anime series has done very well, and I think it adds a certain dynamism and realism to everything.


I also liked how several important secondary characters (including Pheles and Johan) truly shined in this episode.

This episode struck me as Kazumi Yoshida's finest hour. I have to also give JC Staff credit for the way they drew and animated her in some scenes. Kazumi had a real aura and mystique about her in this episode, not to mention some added hotness, to put it bluntly. With the way Kazumi was presented in this episode, I'm starting to think that Kristen had the right idea all along!

And wow... my boy Dantalion, do you ever come prepared! You should be making mechs for the entire Principality of Zeon with that sort of talent, and what an incredible refitting of the big tower. Dantalion is starting to seem like a match for Sonic the Hedgehog's Dr. Eggman. Also have to love the "Shining Fist" nickname. Looks like Dantalion and Steins;Gate's Okabe Rintaro also have naming schemes in common, not simply the whole "mad scientist" motif.


And yeah, the whole minivan crashes the big fight and makes off with the two lovers and Kazumi's magically floating body was so wondrously lolzy. Good to see that the Shana anime hasn't lost its hilariously zany spirit even amidst all the epic drama and warfare.

So, 10/10 for this episode! I did find it a bit hard to follow in some places, but it's standout strengths more than made up for it.

In fact, if there's any Shana episode that really showcases all of the various strengths that makes this series as great as it is, it's this one. It somehow managed to bring them altogether.

Really looking forward to the next episode!

That post kind of summed up my feelings. This episode has all the elements which makes this show as interesting as it is. Especially the comedic factor had been lost for some time now. Good to see it back.

The war was indeed interesting, but that's mostly because the story moved forward. Most of the arc was pretty predictable and lacked emotion and character interaction. The flame haze and tomogara were acting like emotionless soldiers who were only listening to orders and couldn't really think for themselves. We got some nice moments from Centerhill and Samuel, but that's about it. The only emotional moment between Yuji and Shana during the war was when they were fighting within the rift and Shana declared her love for Yuji. This was a nice moment though.

So it's good to see that the characters are back to normal during this battle. They're all fighting for their own reasons and that makes this battle much more personal and unpredictable.

I really enjoyed the comedy as well. Everyone was seriously surprised at Shana's emotional outburst and I have to laugh at seeing Yuji's reaction to it. He was like 'OH SHIT!!'. Got to love Yuji asking Sydonay for advice on the matter as well.