English Dub Review: High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even In Another World, “It Seems Aoi’s Specs Are Greater Than Imagined!”

 

 

 

Overview

Duke Gustav launches a gigantic, devastating fire spell at the prodigies’ home base. The rapid destruction forces the prodigies to respond quickly. 

Our Take

After a few episodes of pondering and political intrigue, we’re treated to one of spectacle. 

The insane Duke Gustav ended the last episode by launching a magical lance of fire at the prodigies’ home base. It seemed like their missile grid would stop it, but at the last moment, the lance outsmarted a missile and reached its destination. It was an effective cliffhanger as it seemed for a moment the prodigies might be meeting their match.

We open this episode with the lance landing and instead of exploding as one might think, it instead turns into a pillar of flame. Then, the pillar erupts and morphs into a flaming giant in the form of the Duke, who rains destruction upon the town. This magic lance/spell is a creative subversion of expectations and the result is pretty slick.

Like one would expect of a prodigy, Tsukasa has an immaculate plan in case of a magical bombardment scenario. He even had the city rebuilt with wider streets so that a fire wouldn’t spread across it, which is very smart. It’s too bad the fire is a giant person-shaped avatar who can just throw fire across said streets. 

They learn that to stop all the fire, they need to destroy the source of it, which is the lance. They have one missile left but their guidance system is unreliable in the heat. Thus, Aoi steps up to the plate to guide the missile by hand to its destination. 

When I saw that she would be “guiding” the missile, I thought she’d just lift it over her shoulder and charge forward with it like a battering ram. Instead, the missile is launched near the ground and she runs alongside it, grappling it and piloting it like a car from The Flintstones. Her legs move way too fast, much faster than the rest of her body, so much that it’s comical. This entire scene has such a surplus of frenetic energy and brute force that it becomes kind of silly. Regardless of how credible this is even in its own context, the animation is executed near perfectly and the effect is sold. 

Aoi succeeds in delivering the missile unto the lance and destroying it. As the lance explodes, the Duke’s arms also explode, erupting in blood and fire. It’s a bit surprising, but truly fitting for a deranged villain.

In the aftermath, Tsukasa addresses Lyrule, who was the one that discovered how to stop the fire. She received this advice from the mysterious spirit that possesses her. Upon receiving this advice, Lyrule also gained the ability to talk to spirits and awakened a vast knowledge of magic. 

From this, she astutely deducts that she could use this knowledge to find a way to return the prodigies to their world. 

While this certainly seems like good news, Tsukasa is still suspicious of the spirit’s motives. Additionally, he and Makoto even show reticence to return to their world. This serves to solidify their current motives. Rather than diverting to going the easy way out and getting out of this messed up fantasy world, they will remain dedicated to finishing what they started. The emotional bond is true, even if perhaps some of them might see it as an obligation rather than an imperative. 

The episode ends with Bernard and his retinue of guards decked out in modern armor and guns. It seems we are rapidly approaching a climax.