[DreamSword]

Episode 17: Extinguished Star

Seimei is back, and with her, a giant leap forward in the plot.

This one was unique in that, while alot happens, alot also kinda doesn't happen? It's hard for me to explain, exactly.

There's alot of exposition, and this episode is very much a lead-in to the climax of the anime overall. Which is weird to say, considering there's 7 episodes left to go. There's also alot of internal character drama going on, with Seimei especially.

But like, talking in terms of events, specifically? Not a whole whole lot. As such, I can really only go over what all was revealed here, and give my impressions as to how these reveals were pulled off. The short version? Not bad, and definitely makes me interested as to how this is all gonna go.

First off, it's revealed that the Crimson Moon is infact an ancient alchemic seal placed upon an ancient Horror called Rudra, known as one of the strongest Horrors ever, to the point that's more referred to as a catastrophic disaster rather than as a simple Horror. This seal was created by Seimei's' ancestors, and Ashiya Doma recently was able to crack it open somehow.

Seimei meanwhile has been struggling with the darkness that seal absorbed from Raiko, which has been slowly eating away at her and giving constant feelings of depression and anxiety. This too, was a part of Doma's' plan, as he wished to create his own powerful Horror using Seimei as a vessel. I definitely liked the character drama aspects of all of this, even if the build up this exact plan could've been handled and showcased alot better. As I've said before, it helps that Seimei has proven to be a rather likable character throughout the show.

And lastly, and probably the weakest part in all of this, we get a small insight into Xehanort's' motivation: A big reason as to why he wants to destroy the world is to get revenge on Michinaga, the corrupt lord of the Light Palace. Which is really odd to me considering Xehanort directly cooperated with Michinaga early on in the show. I'm sure we'll be given more detail later on, but as of right now, that's pretty weak, and Xehanort was better off as a simply for the evil type of guy. But hey, maybe it'll improve, and if nothing else perhaps tie into the commentary on corrupt officials that this show has had so far.

Outside of that, there's the usual affair here when it comes to Crimson Moon: Weak action scenes with alot of exposition. Although said exposition did feel alot more natural this time around, and the fight between Seimei and Xehanort wasn't bad. All in all, a pretty solid build up episode to lead us into the final act of the anime.