Kyoukai Senki Episode 16 - Advent of the Phantom

Man… The battle between Zelenoy and Brad was amazing. After the mech battles in episode 4 of Otomege Mob, Kyoukai Senki felt like a freaking masterpiece, no exaggeration, and don’t even need to. But enough of that, let’s get to the episode.

Amou killed a person – an enemy, probably not the first time. Still, just like Misuzu has said, he did not change. About that, I agree. He did not become an edge lord that some of us may have feared, rather he just grew up a bit more and came to terms with his current reality. He did not kill to become cool or something, he did the deed without wavering in other to protect others, and at the end of the line, the kid that we known in the first season was still there, just that he had to grow up so he can retain himself, with the cost of something else. He clearly is in pain after taking a life – even though that life belonged to a scumbag.

Shion, still that sweet girl that we loved, but she too had grown up, unfortunately, not to the level like Amou. When she said that she had been ready to dirty her own hands, you could feel the seriousness in her words. But then, when she saw just how committed Amou was, her thoughts were in shamble. She wanted to return to the past, when she could easily communicate and understand Amou, but she herself knew that was impossible. It’s a strong point for the build-up of her character, but it also made her character development feel a bit weak compared to Amou’s and Tezuka’s, because she did not change much, only the depth in her character become deeper. Tezuka though, is a whole another case.

From that one kid blindingly chasing Ghost to take revenge for his father, distancing himself from others, he now has a good relationship with Shion and the team. He surprised me that he actively tried to make contact with Amou, and even told Amou at the end of the episode that “Were they not friends to each other”. He literally cried out that line! I got goosebumps when I heard that first time. Best regards to his seiyuu, the man did a great job. I dare to say Tezuka’s character development is a success, at least at this point. And all this was possible thanks to Amou, Tezuka saw his determination in the end of ss1 and realize what he must do to uphold his ideal. Now, seeing the person that inspired him becoming a wreck, taking pain upon himself alone, is definitely more than Tezuka can accept. And he must do something to change it.

2 parts that made this episode a great one so far: the trio Shion, Amou, Tezuka, and the rest is the fight between Alexei and Brad. The outcome is kinda too obvious, but the anime did not make Alexei seems like easy prey, he lost because the gap between his and Brad’s AMAIM was too much that skills alone could not compensate for. Both are capable commanders, with actual AMAIM piloting skills and do not hesitate to be on the tip of the front line. Too bad, Brad got Ghost, and it was overkill. Alexei managed to hold Brad’s Brady Fox at bay for a while, even damaging his opponent AMAIM, but that was not enough. Still, the guy has big balls to challenge a CQC combat with Brad even if he knew that his disadvantage is far worse than his opponent’s. The battle was top-notch, not to mention, for each time Ghost has appeared on screen, Brad’s Brady Fox let out an eerie warcry, and it sure suits the nature of Ghost. The music lits along with the combat sequence, the SFX roars along with the clash from both sides, beautiful.

Can’t wait for the next episode though, watching the premise made me realize that it won’t be a clean episode. We will now know what happened to Amou in that 8 months.