天下制覇

Who are these random girls?

Impressions:

Sophie's episode early on was one of the stronger ones of the series, so it's not hugely surprising that they're coming back to her for the ending, though I have to wonder why this random group of C-Squad girls are all of a sudden getting billing above the rest of the cast. As always, the mediocre animation does the show no favors, but the fast pace makes it not hurt as much as, say, Malev Spirits. At least we bounce quickly through one encounter to the next, but it certainly would be far improved to have some action eye-candy instead of just closeups of butts and nudity.

I don't know that the actual things they're wringing their hands about make a whole lot of sense though. The whole programmed to kill the hero and shortened lifespan things were done with Iona and deus ex handwaved away. Returning to that stone and hoping to squeeze a bit more blood out of it is a little silly. Similarly, it's weird to take the stance that once brainwashed, it's forever. They're taking orders from what appears to be a corpse and a tape recorder on loop, guys. I know grand mysteries/reveals aren't this show's thing so hiding that's not its big concern, but still could've had a bit more mystery around it. Or nothing at all, rathering than giving the obvious way out of just… going on to the next datalog.