[Sh Ranger]

So it seems obtaining the power of Wonder World has the benefit of stopping Wonder World from getting a red sky (Fukuda's first episode since 31 and the sky turns red!) and bleeding in to our world. I guess this has been necessary since Storious screwed everything up 2000 years ago? Maybe if they can defeat the Megid plague, then Touma will be able to obtain the power of Wonder World without disappearing?

We see another new side of Daishinji. He's usually quite frank when he has an opinion, such as telling Ogami he's loud and telling Yuri he wants to study him. He's gradually come out of his shell around the younger Swordsmen as well and no longer needs to hide behind a book. But he doesn't seem to be capable of giving criticism to Sophia, despite having known her for at least 20 years. You think he has an interest outside of swords?

Tassel's death here seems to be similar to his banishment by Isaac, but based on how Yuri reacts (he's on both the giving and receiving end of "why didn't you say that sooner!" in this episode) and how Wonder World immediately goes to hell, there's a chance he might be gone for good. Maybe he'll find a way to come back though. I was surprised how much my opinion of him has changed from my initial indifference to feeling sympathy for his tragic backstory, getting betrayed by his friends and left alone for such a long time. His motivation was noble from the start, just wanting to spread love and peace to humanity, but unfortunately that goal was hijacked by an opportunist. He's exactly the kind of heroic person that Touma is and it makes sense why they were both chosen by incarnations of Luna.

I'm seeing a slither of depth behind Storious' motivation as well. It's similar to Bacht's in how they both revolve around bringing the world to an end since they only see despair in the future, but in Bacht's case, he was a misanthropist who believed the world deserved to end due to his unfortunate experience of humanity. In the same way that Legeiel is a parallel to Touma and Zooous is a parallel to Rintarou, I think Storious is a parallel to Kento, specifically during his time as Calibur. They were both inspired by the idealism of their friends, Tassel and Touma, but they let their hearts become eroded by cynicism and stopped believing in those dreams. Kento decided the end justifies the means, while Storious decided the means justify the end, to create the most entertaining end he thinks is the least the world deserves. He's somehow a romantic and a nihilist at the same time and that romance is going to make his sword a lot heavier than Bacht's and Isaac's, whose feelings were too shallow and too apathetic respectively. I think Storious might be more complex than he appears on the surface, as he seems genuinely regretful about killing Tassel. He might even be repressing his emotions towards Legeiel and Zooous as well, convinced that their deaths were inevitable and therefore, he did them a favor. That philosophy isn't going to hold and he's probably going to have a breakdown when he realizes how unnecessary his actions were.

Awesome to see more of Touma's and Desast's rivalry after Saber x Ghost! Touma was smart to point out how Ren and Desast have a lot in common, in ways they don't even realize or want to acknowledge. Ren envies Desast for having no friends and thinks he has it easy cause he's all alone, so he can focus on getting stronger without worrying about others. Desast claims he's fine with that, but it's clear from Saber x Ghost that he secretly longs for that kind of connection. Desast resents that Ren has so many people who care about him, but he denies himself that friendship, denies himself true strength.

Mei is great in this episode! I mean, she's always great, but she really shows it here. I love how it's not in her nature to just sit around at the base and instead she earnestly goes out to help the Swordsmen however she can. I'd totally be satisfied with her being the new Calibur. It's interesting to see her and Luna together here, since they're both the heart of the people close to them. I want to see where this goes, since I think Mei might be the perfect person to help Luna decide what she wants to do regarding Touma's destiny.