The fragile peace breaks down as Kuro goes back to her original designs and hopes to bring Miyu over to her side. Illya just wants a return to a normal life.
What They Say:
Episode 5: “Well, In Other Words”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After Illya blows a hole in the side of their house (while doing some practice in the backyard; let this be a lesson for all you young aspiring mages, you need much more room if you want to avoid collateral damage), the von Einzbern/Emiya household go to Luvia’s house to use the bathing facilities (since it was the bathroom that Illya destroyed). So, a bath episode. While there, however, Illya catches sight of Kuro and smothers her to keep her out of Leysritt and Sella’s sight. Of course, Kuro is a master of escaping, so she breaks free and then interacts with the two maids (giving us shameless Liz-service as we get the larger-breasted and lazier von Einzbern maid’s bust size noted aloud).
Of course, Illya is not going to stand idly by while Kuro damages her reputation, so it’s war under the waters. For a bath episode, however, this one goes into a lot of exposition. After Liz and Sella leave, Rin and Luvia join in the bath and we get a serious discussion of the Mage Association’s concerns. They want to know more about the Class Cards, especially where the Archer card is now and how Illya is able to use her own body as a catalyst to summon a Heroic Spirit.
But they ask what Illya wants to do about the Cards and such. She give the answer she always gives: Illya wants to return to her normal life. Of course, this presents a problem for Kuro, since she’s directly tied to the Archer Card and Illya returning to her normal life probably means the end of Kuro’s existence. So, the “farce” is over and Kuro transforms into “Archer” form and attacks. Illya blocks the attack, but Kuro breaks through the wall to escape into the night. This leaves everyone back at square one, as Kuro, the Archer Card, needs to be captured yet again.
At school the next day Illya and Miyu are still concerned, but leave it to Tatsuko to break the seriousness by having another one of her childish fits. Illya, however, deploys an effective strategy to shut up the annoying brat (by throwing a box over her head). Once things have calmed down, Suzuka explains the origins of Tatsuko’s fit: the girls were all planning to celebrate Illya’s birthday on the first day of summer break, which happens to be Illya’s birthday, by going to the beach. So, everyone is invited…including Kuro, who didn’t turn up at school. (By the way, there is probably what we could consider a small “continuity error” here by the production staff: Suzuka calls Kuro “Kuro,” when she probably should have said “Chloe” kuro-e, the name which the double goes by at school, as established in the two previous episodes). [Edit: As an astute forumgoer has pointed out, in her initial introduction, Kuro asked her classmates to call her “Kuro.” As my attention during that scene was more on Illya’s reactions, I missed this minor detail which doesn’t pop up again until this moment in this episode. So, no continuity error here, but one could be forgiven for not even noticing this minor detail at the time]
After school, Miyu pays a visit alone to the ocean, where she meets with Kuro. Answering Kuro’s summons, Miyu is (rightly) on her guard, though Kuro claims only to wish to talk. She appears to want to bring Miyu over to her side, since Miyu “was here long before Rin and Luvia came” with the implication that Miyu and Kuro have more in common than might seem. Her trump card, however, is laying out the consequences of Illya’s wish to be “normal” again, since that would appear to imply that Illya wants to deny everything that has happened up to this point, including her meeting and befriending Miyu. For Miyu, however, this doesn’t matter. Illya called her a precious friend. She will never allow Kuro to harm Illya. Fights and transformations to come, as Illya also comes to realize the consequences of her desire for a “normal” life.
An expected train of development, since the uneasy truce between Illya and Kuro could not be expected to last forever. Illya wants to go back to her life before the zaniness of magic entered her world, though if you asked her, she would probably want Miyu to continue being part of her life. But this would pretty much spell the end of Kuro’s existence, since she is an emanation of Illya brought about by magic. If you remove magic from Illya’s life, part of what that means is removing Kuro. For good. Of course Kuro is going to act to protect her existence.
Where this is heading, however, is anyone’s guess in the long run. Illya really does want to return to a normal life without having to deal with embarrassing outfits and weird events. Yet at the same time, she probably does not want to lose her friend Miyu, which could very well be a possible outcome of her normal life being restored (since the powers that be in the magic world might demand that no mages or magical beings have any further contact with Illya). In the short term, we know exactly what’s going to happen. Miyu and Kuro will fight. Illya will run to try to stop them. And again, there will be a strategic appearance of the oft absent mother. Perhaps Kiritsugu and Irisviel shouldn’t have left their children alone in the first place.
In Summary:
After Illya ruins the bathroom at home, the family go to the Edelfelt mansion to use their bathing facilities. While there, Illya and Kuro again have it out, the lines being drawn because Illya wants a return to her normal life. This, of course, pretty much implies that she wants Kuro gone. After Kuro escapes again, the next day she attempts to draw Miyu over to her side. With predictable results. It looks like the budget is going to get slightly bigger for next time as battle looms.
Episode Grade: B+
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard
