These ladies are no slouches when it comes to their work.
What They Say:
Episode #6: “Fellow Traveler”
Dorothea tightens security throughout Rondacia as the anniversary of the war’s end approaches. Between another supposed piece of the Black Fairy Tome surfacing, and one of the new-model artificial fairies malfunctioning, there’s plenty of work to do.
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Back at home base, Marlya has settled into the routine. She’s even comfortable chatting with the local vets at the pub while enjoying a very British looking breakfast. (Which is a bit odd considering the last episode they appeared to be eating very German food.) The Dorothea agents are out on patrol as the anniversary of the end of the war approaches.
There are three main plots operating concurrently in this episode. One is the ongoing search for the Black Fairy Tome. The other is an investigation into a malfunctioning mechanical soldier. The last involves the political maneuverings of the forces behind the scenes, which is the least explained and most confusing element of the story.
This episode also sees Marlya and Free working independently. Marlya is chosen to go on a mission with Agent Klara to track down a man who was seen acting as an agent of a buyer of a black fairy tome page. They go undercover, sort of, and track down their target.
Watching Marlya and Klara work together was a nice change of pace. Klara is no-nonsense and the pink dress she wears throughout the mission contrasted amusingly with her personality. Although I do have to admit that even though the scene with them confronting their lead on the agent was obvious in the direction it was going to go, it was still enjoyable to watch them kick all those goons butts. They made the exchange look effortless and it was an easy way for the writers to show that even the petite women are no slouches at hand-to-hand combat. They get to talk about themselves a bit on the trip, which provides a minimal amount of character development for Klara.
While the two manage to professionally carry out their mission, Free is off question the closest things they had to scientists about what could have caused an artificial fairy soldier to go berserk. Well, berserk is a strong word, it almost attacks a mother and child. This sows seeds of doubt about the new models, but we see what the others didn’t. The robot was sabotaged and remotely commanded by a third party with the same access to controlling the automaton. I question the logic of using whistles to control them, which could easily be stolen or intercepted.
The progress made in this episode occurs mostly without the introduction of new faces. Sweetie and Axel return, and I was honestly surprised to see Axel because I assumed the man was dead. I’m still uncertain as to how he managed to survive and I don’t trust him an ounce. We’re given more background on what happened after the war, with the new government allowing some of the conquered territories to continue to stay in power which is a strange concept. A dangerous one as well, since several of the dukes were subsequently executed or killed for staged coups and uprisings.
One change in this episode is in the music. During Marlya’s pursuit, the music switched to a more jazzy mix which fits the setting far better than the butt rock we’ve been subjected to in previous episodes. The animation, unfortunately, falters when dealing with mechanical objects. The robots were… well…. clumsy to say the least.
In Summary:
This episode of Fairy Gone continues to shine some light on the ongoing political turmoil in the country. The circumstances are almost as strange as the mix of magic and technology. Marlya gets to bond with a coworker besides Free, and she gets to show that she can handle herself without a gun. Yet the show is still missing a spark which makes me care about the overall conflict, and the various names of factions and the who’s who is still just as confusing as it was three episodes ago.
Episode Grade: B –
Streamed by: Funimation
