“The Raging Bull Joins the Showdown!!”
What They Say:
In a world where magic is everything, Asta and Yuno are both found abandoned at a church on the same day. While Yuno is gifted with exceptional magical powers, Asta is the only one in this world without any. At the age of fifteen, both receive grimoires, magic books that amplify their holder’s magic. Asta’s is a rare Grimoire of Anti-Magic that negates and repels his opponent’s spells. Being opposite but good rivals, Yuno and Asta are ready for the hardest of challenges to achieve their common dream: to be the Wizard King. Giving up is never an option!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Raia has brought back the other two members of the Third Eye, Vetto and Fana. In case you need a brief refresher, these two were defeated by Asta and friends a while back. Vetto was killed and Fana’s soul left the body it was possessing. Thanks mostly to Sally’s research, Raia was able to create new bodies for them to reincarnate into. It looks like the elf side just gained two powerful pieces. Raia clues them in on everything that’s going on. By the way, Vetto and Fana are completely naked and it takes them a while to notice it. Vetto bashfully asks for some clothes and Raia gets slapped in the face after making a naughty comment towards Fana. He deserved that slap. Anyway, they all head for the Grimoire Tower once they get dressed.
A whole bunch of reincarnated elves are gathered at the top of the tower. These particular elves are called the Apostles of Sephira. Licht is also there but it doesn’t seem like he has awakened yet. Raia remarks that it’s only a matter of time before he wakes up and joins them. He leads everyone in a ritual that’s purpose is to open the door to the underworld that’s sealed under Clover Castle. Is this Sword Art Online now? You know because the current arc of SAO is called War of the Underworld? Yes? No? Maybe? I apologize for that joke. Moving right along, this turn of events certainly isn’t good for humanity. Down below, the reincarnated elf possessing David explains to Noelle’s party that it’s a magic space that acts as the border between this world and the next. It’s called the Shadow Palace and only the Apostles of Sephira open it. Once they put the final magic stone inside it, the reincarnation of the elves will be complete. Also, all humans will be sent to the underworld. That doesn’t sound good at all. After the explanation, David hightails it out of there.
Jack suggests they go over there and put a stop to it. Yami tells him that it won’t be so easy since the Apostles of Sephira are going to be guarding it. Regardless, they’re still going to have to fight and it’s unfortunate they don’t have Finral’s spatial magic backing them up. But fear not! It’s at that moment that the rest of the Black Bulls appear. Oh snap, the gang is back together! Naturally, they’re riding inside the Raging Black Bull. Yami is quite amused and comments that they made a pretty cool entrance. Everyone starts engaging in fun banter. Asta tells Noelle that she looks cool in her new armor. Vanessa tells Finral to wake up faster. Rades wonders where the hell is Licht!? Catching up is fine and all, but they can’t forget about the enemies that are right in front of them. No more time for pleasantries as they start attacking the Black Bulls. Unfortunately for the elves, the Black Bulls are working together perfectly. Luck uses his magic sense to detect the enemy’s magic. Vanessa uses her fate manipulation magic to make the enemy’s attacks miss. Charmy uses her busted magic to recover everyone’s mana. All of this allows Henry to attack with the Raging Black Bull and he manages to defeat a few of the elves. Nice teamwork!
Patry is not amused by any of this. Vanessa’s magic in particular greatly irritates him. How dare they stand in his way? The Captain of the Coral Peacocks, Dorothy Unsworth, assures him that she will take care of this problem. She activates her Dream Magic: Glamour World spell. Parts of the buildings disappear and Asta notices that Vanessa, Magna, Luck, Charmy, and Sally are gone. Kirsch explains that Dorothy’s magic sends her targets to the dream world and that there’s nothing they can do about it. That sounds busted. Patry and Gauche use this chance to destroy the Raging Black Bull. Gauche tells Patry that he can go to his precious Licht and that he’ll handle the rest. Patry does just that and leaves him to it. Rades and Valtos go after him, as do Yami and Jack. Yami tells the rest of the group to surpass their damn limits as he leaves. Nice pep talk capn’.
Gauche and his little sister Marie are currently their enemies. They combine their Eye and Mirror Magic to unleash the Combo Spell: Reflect Iris. Woah, Marie can use magic!? That’s interesting. Her magic immobilizes anyone that looks into her eyes. Very interesting indeed. The group is in a tough spot…for about a few seconds. Asta can nullify magic, remember? Everyone is free and Gauche notices that Asta is using Licht’s Demon-Destroyer Sword. This pisses him off because he shouldn’t be allowed to use it. Gauche relentlessly attacks them but they all block his attacks. Everyone has faith that they’ll bring Gauche and Marie back to their senses. Grey says that she wants the old Gauche back, the one that always showed pictures of his little sister and had constant nose bleeds. Henry hilariously adds that he’s creepy. They’ll make sure to turn their friend back to normal, no matter what!
In Summary:
While there was some action this episode and we did learn a few new things, it felt like not much happened at all. Too much talking, not enough fighting. Believe me, I enjoy good dialogue but I’m not a fan of repetitiveness. I also know what to expect animation-wise every week but just note that it could have definitely been better. This episode was basically a setup for what’s to come. On the bright side, we have a few fights to look forward to in the coming weeks. I hope they deliver! Also, did you know the reincarnated elf that’s possessing Gauche is named Droit? Gauche means left, Droit means right. This amuses me way more than it should.
Grade: C-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll, VRV