As the competitions continue, something rotten is going on under the surface of the waters.
What They Say:
Episode 12: “Nine Schools Competition Part V”
During Women’s Battle Board, Mari Watanabe has an accident and is taken to Susono Base Hospital. Tatsuya helps her recover her magic. Still, she has to withdraw from Mirage Bat. Tatsuya suspects the accident wasn’t just an accident at all.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Please, enough with the boring explanation of magic in this world. I’m sure that’s too much to ask, but at least they then try to balance it out with something approaching an action set piece, though it’s cut off too quickly in favor of a lingering look at our boring protagonist before the opening credits play. There was a decent level of fluidity and craftsmanship in the brief sword swinging, but it was far too short. What shall the balance of this episode be? Boring details or interesting action?
Action wins the day for the moment, as we have Mari taking part in the magical surfboarding (windsailing without the sail…or the wind). A horrible accident occurs, however, and Mari is seriously injured. Tatsuya shows us by his blank looks that something strange is up. In the hospital later, Mayumi explains to Mari what happened as well as gives us the expected news that it was Tatsuya who first rushed to Mari and knew that her ribs were broken. He then instructed the paramedics what to do, since…he’s obviously a fully-trained doctor as well, right? See, this is where this show goes off the rails so often. What is there that Tatsuya does not do? You know, the protagonist does not have to do everything.
Le sigh.
Of course, Tatsuya is the one to head up the investigation, which shows that there was magical interference during the race. It turns out to be more troubling than one might expect, as the interference was apparently carried out under the noses of the competition officials, who deploy counter-magic magicians all along the course to prevent something like this from happening. Tatsuya develops a working theory that someone on the competition’s managing committee interfered with the CAD of the competitor who lost control and ran into Mari, but it’s going to be hard to get evidence of just how it happened.
All of this, of course, complicates First High’s goal of winning the competition, especially as Mari was one of their best competitors. In fact, now it will be Miyuki who will have to pick up the slack, taking Mari’s place in the Mirage Bat “official” competition, whereas before she was only going to be the school’s representative in the “rookie” level contest for that sport. Boy, did so many of the Student Council members look so solemn and sober during this meeting. Unless it was constipation.
The one thing that becomes clear is that suspicion is deliberately being placed on Third High School, who are poised to benefit from Mari’s setback. Could they be so low as to cheat to win? Who knows. We don’t, because instead we have a long boring explanation of the mechanics of shooting magic during Shizuku’s speed shooting competition. At least it’s not Tatsuya providing it this time, but the usually taciturn student council officer Suzune. Nothing wrong happens during Shizuku’s match, which is a relief to Tatsuya.
As usual, we have a balance of something approaching action, but which rarely builds up much momentum, balanced by the boring explanation of magic that completely drains “magic” of everything that makes it…magical. Added into the mix is the mystery surrounding who is sabotaging First High’s path to victory. And what happened to the evil international criminal organization that was so prominently pushed to the fore at the beginning of this arc? Were they just a red herring, to divert us from the real villains of this arc? It’s hard to get a handle on what to care about here.
Streaming note: When this episode first went live, it was hard-subbbed in English only—subtitles were not selectable and could not be turned off. I’m not sure what to make of this development, other than rampant speculations of various sorts. This was the status when I watched the episode for this review. A check later in the day (after hearing about other video weirdness related to this streaming episode from others) found that things were back to “normal”—there were multiple subtitle language options and the subs were removable entirely. Very, very odd.
In Summary:
Mari Watanabe suffers a serious injury during a contest, putting a dent into First High School’s otherwise uneventful walk towards coronation as the champions of the Nine Schools Competition. The incident, however, appears not to have been an accident. Who was behind it? That will be left to our all-knowing, all-powerful main character to figure out, while more and more of the supporting characters are turned into adoring sock puppets.
Grade: C-
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard
Come on, this review doesnt even make sense. It was already explained that Tatsuya has that sight that he used during the Blanche incident on the school that allows him to see through objects and even into people. It is quite clear that he would be able to notice which parts of her was broken during the incident. If he was truly a trained doctor as you say then he would have patched her up…
For one to be so focused on Tatsuya Im baffled how one is missing the culprit of the arc.