Ange ain't having none of your bullshit.
Boy I love it when episodes of this show feel brisk when watching. We not only get quite a bit explained about why Salia, Ersha, and Chris join Embryo, but we get to spend more time with God himself. Embryo’s been rather an enigmatic presence in the series, what with his resurrecting and the overwhelming fear and hatred his mere name generates from people. As such, knowing him a bit more is the most welcome of developments, especially when it takes place at the potential epicenter of the final conflict.
What is there to say about Embryo? I can’t help but enjoy him the more screen time he gets. This God (or as he’d rather prefer to call himself, Tuner) is unflappable in his ability to manipulate reality and people, yet despite that satiates them from want and provides purpose. Judging from the way his little stratification game has played out in the World of Mana, it seems to have worked (Heck, that actually may explain why Arzenal exists like it does nevermind the strange stuff like that Festa in episode 7!). Maybe it’s just Seki Toshihiko’s performance as him, but the way he holds complete and utter confidence in getting and doing whatever he wants has quite a way in sounding endearing, at least to me. Even when his plan to seduce Ange into his thrall is inadvertently foiled, instead of anger he becomes overjoyed at it, pleasured by the challenge Ange brings to him. This show is doing a terrific job refusing to pigeonhole the guy as a clichéd, racist, villain like the rest of the World of Mana and it shows.
Thankfully the next episode looks like it’ll continue explaining things, as Embryo continues his little spiel about why he’s doing the things he does. It is interesting that for some God he has to exploit and destabilize another world for this one. On top of that, does he have dominion over other worlds, especially the ones revealed during Whoremonic Convergence? We at least know he may not be TOO omniscient, given how he didn’t anticipate the DRAGON attack until extorting it from Riza, so how that’ll be exploited (if it is at all) will be something to look forward to. Same goes with Jill/Alektra’s further connection to the guy.
This is still fun. I’m still having fun, and if you’ve still been watching it I hope you still are too.
Rondo of Notes:
- Oh yeah, from the look of things we’re now back to perspective switching again in this line of episodes, a surprising rarity given how this approach I thought would be the case from then on after around… Episode 11 when Ange escapes from the Misurugi Empire.
- I think we’ve finally reached the point in the ED where all the stock images from the first one are now replaced by new ones. Look SO Much better.
- Poor Rosalie. If you thought Ange was treated poorly, that girl has fared much worse. Thanks to the episode preview for covering that.
- Dunno if I should be amused or bemused how Racist Cripple Princess Sylvia just disappears and is no longer shown in any shot after Embryo reveals himself in the episode. Hell she was in the same room and wasn’t shown to exit it at all during that time.
- Tusk and Vivian, while surviving the attack, vanish after the prologue. Given their presence the past few episodes, I’m totally okay with that. Ange should be interacting with more people now anyway.
