“INTERSECTION – Hold You, Never Let Go”
What They Say:
Azur Lane, a combination of all the different Camps in the world, was once successful in repelling the underwater menace, the Siren. Now splintered, they must face a new threat in Red Axis, former allies who crave to wield this otherworldly Siren technology for their own nefarious desires! Who will be victorious in the never-ending war between these battleship girls!?
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Hey, everyone is still alive! I guess they didn’t die in the last episode after all. That’s swell. The Azur Lane shipgirls are pretty shaken up. What the heck was that all about? What’s the deal with Enterprise? I’m not sure if they were all teleported to one of the poles or if the sea suddenly froze over. Either way, it’s freaking cold and the shipgirls aren’t dressed appropriately for the situation! Poor Laffey has a runny nose because of how cold it is. Javelin and Laffey got separated from the group and desperately search for them. They come across Ayanami instead! She starts having an existential crisis. When did life get so difficult? It used to be easy when the enemies were invaders from the outside. They fought them in order to save humanity. That was the whole reason for their existence. It was a tough world but they fought to protect. But what about now? Why must they fight other shipgirls?
Ayanami admonishes the two shipgirls for not attacking her, an enemy. But their answer is still the same – they want to be friends with her. It doesn’t make sense to Ayanami. Enemies have to attack each other, right? It’s that simple. Javelin responds by saying that no, shipgirls aren’t that simple. Not going to lie, that was a great line. They certainly have a complicated friendship. Ayanami’s fan club shows up and takes her away. Belfast also randomly shows up. Belfast screentime is always welcomed. Back to the subject of existential crises, Enterprise is having her on somewhere. She shares the same thoughts as Ayanami. When did the world become so complex? They used to be fighting on the same side but now their guns are pointed at each other. Enterprise is in some trippy hallucination and meets what appears to be a Sakura Empire shipgirl. I don’t know who she is but I wouldn’t be surprised if turns out to be Akagi’s sister. She tells Enterprise to remember that they all have a connection. They were all born with memories of warships embedded in them. Countless emotions are braided together. She should never forget that the prayers of humanity lie within her. That’s deep.
The Sakura Empire shipgirls are quite perplexed by the current situation. By the way, there are dimensional rifts scattered all around. At least I think they’re dimensional rifts. They could be cracks in space-time. I don’t know. Who the hell knows what’s going on? Kaga goes crazy when she’s told that Akagi is missing. The others suspect that Enterprise may have finished her off. Shoukaku questions Akagi’s motives in the first place. They were never really told anything about Project Orochi. Too many secrets. What is being kept hidden from them? Elsewhere, Javelin is still troubled about Ayanami. Why must they fight each other? That question is sure getting asked a lot in this episode. Belfast comforts her and tells her to keep dwelling on it. Don’t let the situation continue to dictate your actions. You’re free to think whatever you want. They were created to fight, not to destroy. BELIEVE IN YOUR SHIPGIRL HEART! Okay, Belfast may have not said that last line. But we all know she was thinking it, right? Just me? Alright then, moving along. Things are getting dangerous so Belfast tells Javelin and Laffey to regroup with the others. They decide to help her search for Enterprise instead.
Kaga is informed that they’re stopping the search for Akagi. As you can probably imagine, she does not take the news very well. They’re not willing to endanger the fleet over one shipgirl. Harsh but true. The Azur Lane shipgirls have tracked down the location of Sakura Empire and decide to attack them. They won’t let them get away because this is war. And it’s on tonight. So get up and fight! I hope someone knows where those lyrics are from. Anyway, the Sakura Empire shipgirls know that Azur Lane is going to attack them and decide to retreat. Shoukaku and Zuikaku stay behind to hold them off while everyone else escapes. Elsewhere, Observer and Tester are watching the shipgirls fight. They are quite entertained by all of this. They are particularly amused by their contradiction of not wanting war but still choosing to fight. Their actions reflect humanity and conflict has always been the core of humankind. Sad but true. On another note, they also picked up Akagi. I guess she’s not dead either. They have high hopes for Alter Enterprise.
Speaking of Alter Enterprise, she shows up in the middle of the battle between Azur Lane and the Sakura Empire duo. Before Shoukaku or Zuikaku even have a chance to react, she summons a whole bunch of bombers. They unleash a rain of bombs and bullets at the sisters. Zuikaku was about to get nailed with a direct hit but Shoukaku shoves her out of the way and takes the brunt of the attack. Everyone can only watch on in awe. An angered Zuikaku attempts to attack Enterprise but it has no effect on her. Enterprise wonders if there will ever be a time when conflict has ended? That’s a silly question though because she already knows the answer. There won’t be because war never changes. Again, sad but true. She attempts to finish off Zuikaku by dropping a bomb on her but Ayanami deflects it at that last second. It explodes and it sends her flying towards one of the dimensional rifts or whatever. Javelin and Laffey save her in the nick of time. Enterprise looks horrified at her actions once again.
In Summary:
The episode was based around a single question – why must they fight each other? It’s a question that no doubt troubles a lot of the shipgirls. I liked that they questioned their reason for fighting. In Javelin’s own words, shipgirls aren’t that simple. BELIEVE IN YOUR SHIPGIRL HEART! I really wish someone would have said that. I can certainly appreciate that the story is moving along. Granted, I’m still not entirely sure of everything going on. But hey, I’ll take it as it comes and try to enjoy the ride. There were a few beautifully animated scenes in this episode but there were also a lot of blunders. There was this one scene near the end where Enterprise’s hat was blown off and it magically teleported back to her head in the next one. Not going to lie, that did make me laugh. There was another scene where Belfast’s hair was stuck in place while everyone else’s was blowing in the wind. That one also made me chuckle. Hilarity aside, there were quite a few jarring scenes. I’ve stated numerous times that I try not to let the animation bother me too much but noticeable instances like these should at least be mentioned. That being said, I hope they up their game for the final stretch.
Grade: C
Streamed By: Funimation