[DreamSword]

Episode 22: Drifting Hearts

Urobuchi is head writer for this episode and I...

Call me crazy, but I actually really liked this episode. Its style, tone, and overall message is completely out of place with the rest of show, but that's a good thing!

I'd say the only real weak part is the the very beginning, where Sasha hands over the anti-nanomachine data over to Amanda despite Amanda in no way being a scientist, and then declares she doesn't want another Zwolf to be formed.

Which is double weird since Sasha's' entire introduction was her parroting Zwolf's' ideals of bringing about an early apocalypse and then you know, subjecting her brother to experimental torture. But I guess the show is just gonna pretend that none of that stuff ever happened.

Right after that though, we get what actually might be my favorite scene in the entirety of Blassreiter. Hermann sits down with the comatose Malek and gives a monologue that's just so... anti-Blassreiter that it's absolutely incredible. He talks about how even if you royally screw up, all it means is that you have the opportunity to learn from it and to do better next time.

Honestly, and I'm kinda getting ahead of myself here but... it really feels like Urobuchi saw the previous episode and right then and there started making this episode specifically to counter it. The message Hermann beings to Malek is one of hope and redemption, as well as one of introspection and self-reflection. He basically outright says that people can change, people can improve, and that our lives have meaning, regardless of how bad things might get.

Heck, ontop of all that, the backstory we get in this episode is really good! Yeah, it's minimalistic, but the atmosphere, the elaboration on scenes we've seen in previous episodes, as well as how it has to do with characters we've actually grown to have a solid idea of in terms of their personality and characteristics make these scenes really engaging. Xargin's' horse gets a backstory here, for crying out loud! So I gotta ask, just where was all of this the entire rest of the show!? If this anime had this sort of quality for most of its run that'd've been great!

Beatrice is the one who shines during these segments though. We finally fully learn just what her deal is and why she's so devoted to Xargin, and how her past experiences over the years did so much to harden her heart into the fearsome warrior we now know her as. She used to be a kind-hearted stable girl who took care of horses. One day though, due to being overworked, the owner's' favorite horse breaks its leg, and rather than try to treat it, the other stable workers opt to try and force Beatrice to kill it. Beatrice attempts to run off with the horse, only for them both to be caught and get beaten nearly to death. It's then that Xargin appears and saves them both.

Again, it's not some super deep or complex backstory, but it's pulled off well, and does just enough to get you actually feeling for how Beatrice became the way she did. I liked it!

This all leads to a fateful showdown between two people who both come from similar stances in life, yet chose different paths. Both carrying the burdens and ideals of those they hold dear. Hermann with Gerd, and Beatrice with Xargin. And I'll admit, it is hands down the best action sequence in the entire show thus far. The entire fight scene not only carries a solid bit of emotional weight, but the action itself is swift and well choreographed. Given the homing lazers and spinning camera angles, it makes me think the director(Itano) took inspiration from Eureka Seven, and I am a-okay with that.

In the end, the fight ends in a draw, with Beatrice having delayed the counterattack on Xargin, but Hermann having avenged Gerd, as well as having waken Malek up from his coma. And honestly, for the first time ever, these deaths are actually pulled off very well in terms of the emotions they carry, and are in no way wasteful or feel like they were done for the sake of cheap drama. Very well done here, Urobuchi.

In the end, this might actually be my favorite episode in the entire show. It's not perfect, but most of what's here was very well done.