天下制覇

Future, present, past, present, future, present! A trip through time indeed.

Impressions:

A rather interesting episode, not so much for the content as the questions it raises about the future that everybody is trying to avoid. We’ve yet to ever see any glimpse of a future where Shiho or Aoi turn to the dark side, and it’s already been hinted (with a little more force than a sledgehammer) that there’s a lot more going on with future Kaoru than her just waging a war against normal humans. This episode just drives that home even further. It still begs the question as to what the catalyst is going to be, although the way they’ve been setting things up, I imagine that Minamoto will ‘betray’ the Children in some way, causing a backlash of all their (well, Kaoru’s) affection for him. I just really hope they don’t use his new possession of the Esper Killer gun to do that. Yes, it’s for specifically killing Kaoru… yes, there might also be other applications for a line of work where you’re life is regularly targetted by some of the most powerful esper terrorists and megalomaniacs in the world. Just maybe.

We also got a bit of Kyosuke’s past, but it was honestly rather boring. Just his superior officer calling espers monsters and trying to kill him. Bullet’s 30 second badly drawn and animated mob scene had more emotional impact than some one dimensional fruitcake rambling about the purities of humanity’s… precious… bodily… fluids.

Brief Summary:

Fujiko shows Minamoto that the Children’s Good/Evil ratio is getting even worse and forces the Esper Killer on him.

In the future, Kaoru sneaks into the apartment, but is waylaid by Shiho and Aoi. She blasts them away, but quickly makes peace and their memories drift back when they hear a music box playing in the wreckage.

New school year for the girls. Minamoto picks them up and gives them some rather plain cake before collapsing for a nap. They get mail from Kyosuke telling them to meet him. He congratulates them on their anniversary together and offers them new limiters as a present. He then takes them to an amusement park to play. It’s totally abandoned, which they realize isn’t normal, but he reminds them that they aren’t normal either. He even has the limiter releaser that he stole previously and lets them run amok with their powers released.

After playing until evening, Shiho wants to get back to Minamoto. Kyosuke offers to take them out to dinner, but Kaoru suggests they go back to the apartment to make dinner for him. Over soup, Kyosuke tells them about his time in the military and when he was nearly executed for being a ‘monster’ by his superior officer. Minamoto blearily stumbles in, but can’t see a thing without his glasses. Aoi teleports Kyosuke outside and Shiho into the bath to drown as a distraction. Minamoto runs into a door.

Kaoru goes outside with Kyosuke, who reveals that he had been using a limiter on himself the entire time. He makes a less than veiled threat against Minamoto as the person that will hurt Kaoru, and she flips out. She warns Kyosuke to never lay a hand on Minamoto and attacks, but Kyosuke effortlessly fends her off and then blasts her. He taunts her for being unable to protect Minamoto. Kaoru gets up and focuses her power and manages to slice through Kyosuke’s shield, making him drop the BABEL releaser. She angrily reminds him again that Minamoto is off-limits.

Back in the apartment, Minamoto tells them that he remembers tomorrow is their anniversary and he got a present. It’s a music box. They happily glomp him and take their picture together. In the future, the three of them fly off together.

The next day, Kyosuke’s come to Minamoto bearing gifts in a designer PANDRA bag which he forces into Minamoto’s arms.

Preview:

PANDRA vs Black Phantom