This episode just blew all of my expectations here. It was both gorgeous and really well told: it just kept revealing more and more about what happened to Nichi in her past. I loved how it used all these legends and stories, not to mention Gauche’s involvement which turned out to have nothing to do with all of those, to twist around this episode.
For once the villagers seemed genuinely helpful, yet their ancestors were so misguided that the stories of what happened became a totally misguided tale of what happened. The village chief seems to be the only one who knew the truth of how Nichi and her twin sister (the fact that Nichi has a twin sister also came as one hell of a surprise, by the way) were thrown into a frozen lake. This episode was already amazing, and we haven’t even seen the parts that really focus on Nichi yet: that’s left for next week (which really is going to be a very annoying wait here…).
Also, Gauche: what was he doing in that cave? And why didn’t he visit Maka? Was that Gaichu so important for his plans? What makes them so important and why don’t they exist anywhere else? And what the hell? Lag isn’t human? Talk about using Nichi as a red herring for that one: it was of course established that Lag is special because of the way he appeared in front of Gauche and all, but I never really took that much notice of it because of how strange Nichi was. Next thing you’ll tell me is that Steak is actually the long lost pet of the One who couldn’t become a Spirit or something…
It’s strange, but the more I write about this episode, the more I’m awed by all of its intricacies, and how much it deepens the plot of this series. It was a truly excellent example of how to do the reveal episodes in a mystery-series: answer a few key questions while creating a ton of intrigue around it, making the revelations creative and yet not too far-fetched.
The art in this episode was also absolutely gorgeous. It first started with that incredibly stylish background, but dear god: Maka’s designs were absolutely amazing. The entire color scheme of this episode formed such a wide contrast with the usual visuals of this series that it made them stand out even more.
Rating: *** (Awesome)
It’s been hinted at since the beginning that Lag isn’t normal, I mean, he does have a magical stone for an eye after all.
And no, Steak seems to be one of the last surviving members of a dieing species if Dr. Thunderland Jr was right in the previous season. XD
This was one of my favourite chapters, and i’m glad to see they were faithful to it, and made something truly great out of it.
That Lag was not recognised as being ‘human’ got me thinking. There is so much backstory here that has yet to be uncovered about Lag. Lag was born on the same day as the misterious event with the airship. And just who is his mother and why was she taken away? Is there some hint there from the ‘mother maryish’ statue that seems to be in the churches?
This episode just left me stunned sitting there stairing at the screen. Simply Awesome
Arghghhg why must I wait a whole week for the next episode of Letter Bee.
The Maka itself intrigues me as well. Does it have some relation to the gaichuu? Are there more of these “gods” about in the Letter Bee universe?
So many questions. Gah!
Congrats studio Pierrot, you’re doing a great job adapting Letter Bee.
Let’s hope we get a third season (although it might take a while, not sure there is enough material for a 3rd season, right now).
Just wait and you’ll have all the anwers by the end of the serie, with the next story arc. I know it’s a pain to wait.
Can’t say more, but the answer about Steak was given when they introduced the Corpse Doctor: Steak’s an animal that has a great affinity to spirit, and so it’s why he stay close to our young couple.